For this episode of Bitcoin Magazine’s “Meet The Taco Plebs,” I was joined by the host of the “Down The Rabbit Hole Podcast” and Swan Bitcoin employee, Kaz Bycko.
In this episode, we dove into Bycko’s past and talked about what brought him to Bitcoin. As he explained his rabbit hole story more and more, I consistently saw similarities to mine. We both got into Bitcoin during our senior years of college, then dove deeper into it in college and after college, we started to pursue careers in the space full time.
We then jumped into what has changed in Bycko’s life personally after finding Bitcoin, and why he values Bitcoin that much more. Because remember, you don’t change Bitcoin, Bitcoin changes you. After we talked a little bit about high and low time preference, he touched on one’s time preference being more than just their spending habits. How you choose to spend your time and what you spend your time doing is a big factor in one’s happiness and success.
Below are some of Bycko’s most interesting thoughts shared during the interview. And be sure to check out the full episode for more.
How Did You Find Bitcoin And Fall Down The Rabbit Hole?
My Bitcoin rabbit hole story began when I was a senior in high school (circa 2013 to 2014). I was taking a college-level government course at the time and began to explore the world of politics, government and economics. At this point in my life, I had no idea what money really was. I was mainly interested in the overlap of how the money system worked and influenced geopolitics. Sometime during that year, I watched a documentary called “The Zeitgeist” which opened my eyes to how broken the money system was.
Somewhere deep in the dark crevices of the internet, I remember stumbling upon a thread talking about Bitcoin. I barely gave it the time of day. Fast forward two years to college Kaz. This is where my tech rabbit hole started and I began to dive deep into internet privacy, computer security, hacking, etc. This was my second encounter with Bitcoin. I started to see all these sites talking about Bitcoin and the dark web, etc. and I said, “Woah. This is pretty cool.” The concept of there being a currency that was hard to track that you could use as a medium of exchange on the internet piqued my interest (little did I know).
How Has Bitcoin Changed Your Life?
Bitcoin has fundamentally changed my life. It has changed how I define value, how I experience time, my diet, optimism, personal finances and so much more. As of recently, Bitcoin has changed the message I have to the world and how I spend my time expressing that. Two years ago, I never imagined starting a podcast.
What Do You Consider To Be The Most Amazing Thing About Bitcoin?
The difficulty adjustment — it’s not enough to have a hard-capped supply. When I first got into Bitcoin this is something I barely even noticed. Now I believe it is the most crucial piece to proof-of-work and fundamental to Number Go Up technology.
How Would You Advise Someone To Learn About Bitcoin? What Are Your Favorite Podcasts, Articles And Books?
My first advice is always: buy a little bit of bitcoin. Once someone has even $10 worth, they are more inclined to scratch the itch of “Okay, now I have some… what is it?” My next recommendation is to read “The Bitcoin Standard” and get on Bitcoin Twitter. After that, I let them know about my favorite Bitcoin podcasts: “Tales From The Crypt,” “Bitcoin Rapid Fire” and “Stephen Livera Podcast.”
What Is Your Best Bitcoin Pitch?
Assets are hyperinflating due to monetary debasement. Each day, money saved in dollars and fiat currencies slowly loses its value as new money is created to reduce the debt burden of borrows. Average, everyday people, bear the brunt of this practice. Before Bitcoin, the only way to escape this cycle of serfdom was to invest in stocks, bonds or gold — all of which are free to be seized by the same people who are debasing the currency. Now we have Bitcoin — the insurance policy that pays out the more crazy and reckless governments and central banks decide to get with monetary and fiscal policy.
