Freedom Technologies & Civil Disobedience with Austin Hill - WBD490

Austin Hill is a cypherpunk & former Blockstream CEO. In this
interview, we discuss the dangers of absolutism within Bitcoin’s
community, building consensus in promoting freedom money, and
advancing the human condition.


- - - -


The development and adoption of Bitcoin is predicated upon a
reaction to the manifest failures of current economic and
political structures. The associated need to defend Bitcoin from
multiple attack vectors resulted in a protective maximalist
ideology. The end result is that the current Bitcoin community is
dominated by big personalities with firm and unyielding
convictions.


Yet, maintaining an adoption curve mirroring that of the internet
means proving the benefits of this innovative technology to
everyone: the wider public, companies, and state-level
institutions. This will require building consensus: coalescing
around positive characteristics of the technology whilst working
to ensure divergent opinions don’t overwhelm the debate.


As Bitcoin enters a more nuanced phase of maturation, a pragmatic
approach to furthering its adoption and effective development may
be required. Do battle-hardened Bitcoiners now need to become
more politically flexible? Is it possible to find agreement with
those who hold contradictory views? Is compromise possible whilst
protecting Bitcoin’s unique innovation?