John Vallis will be hosting the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami on June 4 and 5. Make sure that you set a reminder for the Bitcoin 2021 day one YouTube live stream and one for the Bitcoin 2021 day two YouTube live stream now.
Bitcoin 2021 in Miami is less than a week away and I’m excited to see old friends and meet many new faces. Conference MC, John Vallis, is someone I’m particularly eager to meet and have a conversation with.
Vallis is one of the highest-quality podcasters in the Bitcoin space with his show “Bitcoin Rapid Fire.” He has interviewed Bitcoiners of all ages and from all walks of life, from plebs to CEOs, developers, sovereign individuals and more. Running this podcast has changed his life since, as he told me, he’s finally found his tribe. I think many Bitcoiners, including myself, can relate.
Back when I was fairly new to Bitcoin Twitter, Vallis was the second Bitcoiner to interview me for a podcast. It was awesome to sit down and talk about Bitcoin, life and more with him. I really enjoy his outlook and opinions on things and he’s someone I listen to when I’m searching for signal amongst the noise.
I asked Vallis five questions about starting his podcast, his experience interviewing Bitcoiners, finding pure signal, the current state of the bull market and what he’s looking forward to most at Bitcoin 2021. See below for his answers, which will allow you to learn more about the man behind the mic.
What’s the story behind starting your podcast?
It’s pretty simple really. All I could think about was Bitcoin, and then I somehow stumbled into Bitcoin Twitter in mid-2019 and realized there were more like me, and I pretty much started it out of necessity to get some of these thoughts out of my head. My approach to the podcast has always just been to have open, relaxed conversations with people who I find interesting, or with whom I share interests. I tend to explore the more philosophical or “personal development” aspects that seem to be emerging around Bitcoin. The best part by far has been connecting with unknown plebs, and hearing how meaningful the bitcoin journey has been for them. It’s incredible really.
You’ve hosted a podcast for many years, interviewing people from all backgrounds. Can you dive into this experience and share how hearing your guests’ different perspectives has impacted your views on life and Bitcoin?
Well for one it’s been awesome. I came to the realization a few years ago that genuine relationships are one of the things I value most in life. I love how Bitcoin permits and inspires people to be who they really are, cause you need both people to be doing that to really “connect”. Developing relationships with good, honest, principled, dedicated, light-hearted, ride or die motherf***ers has been the greatest reward of doing the pod. Of course, having a forum to air out my thoughts and ideas, and mix them with those of my guests, has been a huge asset in helping me to refine my thinking. As far as how it’s impacted my life, It’s changed everything man. Not so much diet and lifestyle stuff, that was always pretty on point, but I just feel like I found my people, and they all see a similar vision for the world, and are passionately pursuing it. It’s insane how good that feels to be a part of.
I know you are all about truth, freedom and asking questions in order to figure out why things are the way they are. In the current world, with so much noise and virtue signalling surrounding people, how do people find pure signal and where do they go from there?
Tough question man. It’s no small task to “see truth.” So much can cloud up our ability to do so. My whole life I’ve been trying to see things clearly, and prior to Bitcoin, that pursuit didn’t always lead me to the most positive of realizations. That said, my attitude has always been that “I’d rather be tormented by the truth than coddled by ignorance.” I don’t think you can instill that kind of pursuit in someone, they either have it or they don’t. You’ve got to at least be curious. I think that characterizes a lot of Bitcoiners. If you keep asking questions you’ve got to arrive at the truth at some point, right? And I genuinely believe that Bitcoin is a profound form of truth, one which we are only just beginning to understand. In fact, I think we are acting out the truth of it even more than we are consciously comprehending or engaging it, hence the “transformation” phenomenon and my interest in exploring it on the pod. So in a world full of noise, Bitcoin is the pure signal they should be following. From there, you effectively become an alchemist. You use your exploration and refinement of your understanding of the truth of the object, to facilitate the same process in yourself. I struggle to see a more worthwhile pursuit in the face of what my friend Erik Cason describes as an “ontological” object (Bitcoin). “Stranger than we can suppose.”
What do you think about the current state of the bull market, ongoing FUD and the supply of bitcoin getting eaten up by plebs and now institutional players?
I give less and less of my attention to the markets and all the FUD and shenanigans, man. Don’t get me wrong, it’s sometimes fun and exciting and all that, but I just care less and less. I’ve made my mind up, Bitcoin is IT. It’s so much bigger than most people think. I’d rather spend my time furthering my understanding or mixing it up and smashing ideas together with other Bitcoiners than worrying what the decrepit fiat world is up to. The more cheap corn the plebs can scoop up, the better.
You’ll be MC’ing Bitcoin 2021 in a few weeks. What do you look forward to most about this gathering?
I’m super pumped about helping to MC Bitcoin 2021, and thanks to the crew at Bitcoin Mag for the invite. I’m most excited about meeting and hanging out with everyone. I think the energy there is going to be insane, with everything that’s happened in Bitcoin and the broader world in the past year, I think everyone is gonna be really amped to just be mixing it up together.