Bitcoin.com Podcast Episode 1 Recap: Andreas Antonopoulos

In case you didn’t already know, Bitcoin.com now has its own podcast. In this show, our host Zach Doty brings on recognizable members of the Bitcoin community to discuss topics related to Bitcoin.

Also read: BitSquare: The ‘Missing Link’ for Decentralized Bitcoin Exchange

Bitcoin.com Podcast: Sitting Down with Andreas Antonopoulos

The first episode of the Bitcoin.com podcast, which aired on January 15, 2016, featured Andreas Antonopoulos. The topic of this episode was “The Other 6 Billion.”

There are 7 billion people living on earth, and 6 billion of them do not have access to financial services, or “power banking,” as Andreas calls it. Bitcoin can bring this massive portion of the population into the global economy, increasing the economic welfare of everyone.

Bitcoin is not bound by borders and it can be used by people of all socioeconomic classes. Unlike a banking system, it does not require much capital to set up a Bitcoin network. Furthermore, its borderless nature allows people to access the Bitcoin network without actually having any infrastructure in their region. All they need is a device that can run a light wallet, and they can connect to the network and begin transacting in bitcoin.

In addition to Bitcoin’s ability to bring the unbanked into the global economy, Andreas discussed two projects: Bitcoin Meetup and his book, Mastering Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Meetup is a subgroup on Meetup.com, and its purpose is to provide a platform for coordinating Bitcoin-related meetups. In this Meetup.com subgroup, there are 696 groups with a total of 131,452 members worldwide. According to the map on the Bitcoin Meetup homepage, the highest concentration of members are in Europe and the Eastern United States.

Andreas’ book, Mastering Bitcoin, is a guide for beginners who are interested in the digital currency. The book is in the process of being translated into 32 different languages. Additionally, Andreas is working on a second edition of the book, which will cover the many new Bitcoin developments that have emerged the Bitcoin block size debate emerged after the book’s publication.

The Bitcoin.com Podcast already has a growing list of guests who will appear on future episodes. Our show will feature names such as:

Charlie Lee

Jeff Garzik

Byrne, Uphold

Timo, CryptoFacilities

Theo, Social.Finance

Arthur, Bitmex

Kent, Purse.io

Paul, Airbitz

In episode 2, Zach will sit down with Erik Voorhees of ShapeShift. Many topics will be discussed in the second episode, including Bitcoin Classic, the block size debate and Segregated Witness.

You can listen to the first episode of the podcast here:

Be sure to tune in to the second episode of the Bitcoin.com Podcast, it’s coming very soon!