From Footballer to Bitcoiner with Conor Okus - WBD677

Conor Okus is Product Manager at Spiral. In this interview, we
discuss his journey from being a footballer to becoming a
Bitcoiner, Real Bedford and the alignment of Bitcoin with a
grassroots football club, his current role at Spiral managing the
grant programme for developers, and his view on the benefits of
open source development of Bitcoin.


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Bitcoin has been making waves in various industries, and sports
is no exception. Conor Okus is a footballer [a.k.a. Soccer
player!] who found Bitcoin. Peter is a Bitcoiner who came back to
football. They met in the middle when Conor provided Pete with
advice and support in establishing Real Bedford.


Real Bedford is using Bitcoin in various ways, such as a treasury
reserve asset and for educational efforts. They plan to
incorporate it into football games by tipping players with QR
codes. The grassroots movement of Bitcoin aligns with Real
Bedford's grassroots approach to football, making it a perfect
fit.


Conor and Pete discuss a new wave of football and sports teams
based on ideas that resonate with dispersed communities, and the
challenges of setting up a new football club. They also talk
about the downside of vested interests looking to exploit sport
and fan bases for selfish means.


Now Conor lives and works in the US as part of the Spiral team,
managing an invaluable grant programme for developers. Conor then
shares his experience and expertise in supporting open-source
Bitcoin development, scaling Bitcoin transactions through
lightning, the importance of the user experience in Bitcoin, and
fostering an innovative open-source design community.