Hey stackers,

I wrote an essay for my English class and thought I'd share it here. It was very challenging writing an essay to an audience that does not know of or care about bitcoin, but I really enjoy how it turned out. I'd appreciate some of the Musers opinions and critiques. I am really starting to enjoy writing, but I'm novice. Sats for all.

In an expanding digital world commerce on the internet has never stopped growing since it started. All on-line commerce is facilitated by a trust-based model because an intermediary is required to facilitate a transaction between two parties. Just for two people to transact online there are a minimum of five parties involved: the two transactors, a bank with a permissioned account owned by each of them, and a payments network such as Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, or Venmo. In fact, our entire monetary network is based on trust. We need to trust the government who issues our by-decree currency, we need to trust the banks who handle our deposits and withdrawals, and we need to trust the payment networks to facilitate the transactions that take place. We don’t have any other options outside of these trust based models yet the history of them is littered with infarctions of that trust. Governments expand the monetary supply to fund war or to bail out “too big to fail” businesses, banks use our deposits to assume risk where they personalize their gains but socialize their losses, and payments networks exclude people from using them with bias towards their sex, religion, or what they may have said on social media that week.

On October 31st, 2008 an anonymous person or persons under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto proposed a solution via a white paper: Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (Nakamoto). In this eight page proposal, Satoshi laid out the framework for a distributed monetary network run purely by volunteers. Every participant in the network hosts a ledger of every transaction in the order that they happen, validifies and routes transactions, and shares this information with their connected peers. The Bitcoin network uses a unit of account called bitcoin for its transactions. The rules governing what a bitcoin is are clear, transparent, and can only be changed through consensus of the network participants. Satoshi’s idea was that in this digital age, humans need a tool to use for money that cannot be debased by any single party, does not require the need for bank accounts, permission, or identity, and could be transacted between only two people; no intermediaries. On January 9th, 2009, bitcoin was released to the public as free open-source software, and just three days later, the late cryptographer Hal Finney became the second (to Satoshi) person to join the network. He famously tweeted “running bitcoin” January 12th, 2009. Since then, the Bitcoin network and ideals have permeated nearly every corner of the world. Now there are hundreds of thousands of people “running bitcoin” and millions in the world using it every day to solve real-world problems. There is a huge disparity, however, between where and how it is being used.

Bitcoin gives electronic banking ability to those in the world who are denied it. Take the case of Afghan woman Roya Mahboob as a strong example. Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation covers her story in his article Why Bitcoin is Freedom Money, which was recently published by the Journal of Democracy. Roya saw her first computer in an internet cafe as a young girl in 2001 shortly after her family was able to move back to their home in Afghanistan post U.S. invasion and was intrigued right away. The problem? Women were not allowed to use the computers. With persistence and perseverance she eventually convinced the shop owner to allow her to use it before shop hours began. During those morning hours she became a self-taught computer repair specialist. Years later, she started the Afghan Citadel Software Company and employed women throughout the county teaching them to do online work, write blogs, repair and create software. She had a big problem with paying her employees however. If they were married, their possessions were their husbands. If they were paid in cash, husbands would often seize the payments of her employees. Banking inclusion for women in Afghanistan is a struggle today but it was far worse then. Through her software engineer journey she had heard of Satoshi’s invention and decided to give it a try. In 2013, Roya began paying her employees with bitcoin, the uncensorable money. During this time, one of her employees was forced to flee Afghanistan and sought refuge in Germany, where she was able to access her bitcoins; preserving the time and energy she gave to Roya’s company, stored in a currency that cannot be debased and could be easily moved across borders. In 2021, when the Taliban re-took control of Kabul, many had to flee, leaving their possessions and their money that could not cross borders behind. Roya, however, was able to flee, and later access her bitcoin elsewhere. Today Roya is an advocate for women being denied education and is a large reason underground schools in Afghanistan still exist. Her and her team pay the teachers at these underground schools with bitcoin and help spread education on how to turn their bitcoins into local cash, or with finding places to spend it directly, peer-to-peer. Alex points out “it is impossible to use the US dollar banking system to do this critical work, but with bitcoin, it is simple.”

In the west, it can be difficult to conclude why we would need such a system as Bitcoin. Here, it’s trivial to get a bank account, our dollar is among the most trusted and strongest currencies among nations, and payment network conglomerates like Visa make electronic payments quick and easy with just a tap or a swipe. But in other parts of the world, it’s not so easy. Access to banking infrastructure is limited to the minority in places like Africa, where according to TheGlobalEconomy.com, of 28 countries bank account ownership averages to just 34%. Additionally, not everyone is financially privileged enough to be born into a currency that holds its value as well as the U.S. Dollar does, which you wouldn’t know by the amount of complaining Americans do about inflation on the internet. According to Venezuelan consumer price index data(TradingEconomics), the Venezuelan Bolivar has seen an average of 3,527% inflation from the years 1973 to 2025. How are you supposed to build and plan for a future when the currency you are forced to use loses its value this quickly? It’s no wonder bitcoin is better understood and used more in Africa and Venezuela than here in the west (BTCmaps). Being subject to extreme financial inequality, they understand the need for neutral alternative currencies like bitcoin. Bitcoin use and education, especially where I’m local to, is important to me. Bitcoin is a network, and the value of any peer-to-peer network is directly proportional to the number of network participants. I am sickened by the idea of people being robbed by weaponized currency debasement, and so I think it is very important to champion bitcoin everywhere and do my part to expand the network. Even here in San Diego California. It is objectively true that bitcoin is being used as money here in San Diego, but the question is: to what degree?

According to BTCmap.org, there are several places listed in San Diego where you are able to spend your bitcoin if you’re willing: A restaurant/pub, a coffee shop, a piercing shop, a dentist, pottery shop, an indoor plant store, and a few others. These numbers are very low relative to Vancouver Canada where there are hundreds of shops posted on BTCmaps.You can live on bitcoin there. I called around to verify the truth behind the BTCmap listings and the news I got was underwhelming, at best. The restaurant Phileas Foggs does still accept bitcoin for payments, and will even give you a 10% discount if you are so inclined, but they informed me they are closing within the next month. The dentist listed said no, they no longer accept it due to lack of interest. The rest however all verified they would accept it and were happy to do so. There is some new hope: a bakery named Paleo Treats in North Park, who just recently started to accept bitcoin as a payment method according to a recently published Yahoo Finance article but they are also accepting other “crypto currencies.” This is disappointing and a clear deviation from the message many in the bitcoin community are trying to spread; money should not be controlled or owned by ANY single entity, be it government or cooperation. Bitcoin is special and stands alone from other “crypto currencies” because there is no leader, no company, no marketing team, no VC funding, only a network of volunteers running and hosting free open source software all around the world with no central authority. From the looks of BTCmap, bitcoin adoption in San Diego is bleak. There is a strong, if small, social movement however in the form of multiple monthly meetups in Pacific Breach, La Mesa, and Escondido. Once a month, San Diego bitcoiners meet up at these various locations to encourage merchant adoption, host educational clinics, talk and share bitcoin stories. If there is bitcoin adoption to be found in San Diego, looking to these places would be a good place to start.

On October 22, 2025 (Field notes 1) I went to the Escondido bitcoin meetup at a pizzeria called Goli. I was surprised by the big "Bitcoin accepted here" sign out front because I had asked the meet-up starter and host Duncan Palmer a few months prior if they would accept our bitcoin for beers on at least meet up nights and it was a negative then. Inside was dimly lit, with dark-wood chairs and granite tables, beautiful tube lamps hung from the ceiling, abstract art pieces on every wall, shelves with many wines and wine glasses all around, and only a few people. As I was taking it in, inspecting my surroundings, I locked eyes with the bartender. "you're here for the bitcoin thing?" he asked. You caught me. Was it the wrinkled shirt, backpack, and worn sandals that separated me from his usual clientele? I assured him I was indeed there for the meet up and told him I noticed the big red bitcoin sign out there and asked if he would accept my bitcoin for beers and he said no, which was deflating. A small gust of wind lifted my sails when he said "not yet anyway" as he went to pour my Booze Brothers Green Eyed Amber from Vista, California. Handing me the beer, he pointed me towards the back of the restaurant where the meet up was being held. It was a very inviting and intimate setting. There were tables grouped together to form a large square that would fit twenty people all facing inward to inspire conversation. Our table had the only black tablecloth and there were many large bottles of water and more glasses for anyone attending. This pizzeria is located on one long main road, and there had been an accident, causing bad traffic, and we were already getting messages of late appearances and cancellations. At this time there were only four people, including myself. The host, Duncan, a tattoo artist from Vancouver who seemed to use his own body as an advertisement, and an older gentleman with American flag suspenders. In the corner near our table there was a TV that was to be used for a presentation titled "micropayments" which I looked forward to. I introduced myself, and re-introduced myself respectively, took a seat, and sipped my beer in anticipation for a good Bitcoin conversation. Right away, I got what I came for.

The entire night the conversation was, as I often find in San Diego meetups, refreshing. Early on we discussed why America is leading the way in bitcoin political and traditional finance adoption but had such a relatively weak circular economy. Duncan asked a wonderful question to Vancouver: "We (the meetup) are all about circular economy, how can we move in the direction Vancouver has gone?" Which led to discussion as to why Vancouver's circular adoption is through the roof while their federal law and traditional finance bitcoin adoption was nearly non-existent. We talked about Canada's weaker and faster-debasing currency, Bitcoin-supportive mayor Ken Sim, the largest protest in Canadian history (truckers against vaccines), and general greater distrust in government especially in the Vancouver area as reasons for what's happening there now. Soon after, Duncan introduced to us his new website for the meetup and a badass north county bitcoin meetup business card with a link to a new site promoting the meetup and also local businesses willing to accept bitcoin!

My favorite part about the new site is the marketplace tab. There locals are encouraged and able to post their skill sets in exchange for bitcoin! There seems to be more businesses there than BTCmaps would let on. There are multiple auto mechanics, a non-profit organization that helps families who have lost children, a tattoo artist (Vancouver), a Singer/song writer, IT/computer help, and others. Duncan is a true champion for bitcoin and he's putting in the work. Overall, wonderful meetup. It's so refreshing for me to have conversations with bitcoiners where we can talk and share our different viewpoints of the world under one unifying idea of what money should be. In any bitcoin gathering you'll find plenty of diversity in religion, lifestyle, politics, tech expertise, but everyone agrees that money should be free of debasement, agnostic to political or religious opinions, and uncensorable. It feels really good to just converse with bitcoiners for a change instead of explaining this "radical" idea to the uncaring friends, family, or peers in my life. Bitcoin adoption is beginning to simmer here in San Diego. I foresee a roaring boil in the future and Duncan is a burning source of heat. He is actively taking steps to build the world he wants to see; it's awesome and motivating to see and be a part of.

To further my research, I wanted to go to one of the businesses hosted on BTCmaps and see for myself if I could exchange bitcoin for a good or service. On October 30th, 2025(field notes 2) My wife and I went to Caffe Di Talya, an Italian coffee shop in pacific beach. The only seating is all out doors but there is plenty of shade and clean tables in the expansive area. There are real trees and plants all over offering privacy by foliage and the entire setting feels green and refreshing. It was time to order. Before we came, I had practiced with my wife to familiarize her with spending bitcoin. She wanted to use her Cashapp bitcoin wallet to pay for our coffees. But there’s an issue. When I asked if we could pay in bitcoin the barista pointed to the “we accept bitcoin sign” with an email written underneath it. That email, believe it or not, is a bitcoin receiving address. New tech built just within the last couple years. Yovana types this email into the “send” section of her Cashapp bitcoin wallet a couple times but each time the transaction fails. I have to do it on my phone with a different wallet, and the payment succeeds right away.

We sit at our table, there are five other people in the large foliage-covered seating area busying themselves with laptops, all of them. We are close to the street and as I nibble our almond croissant and sip my italian-bean cappuccino I notice a sticker on a street light with the bitcoin symbol on it. Underneath it shows the web-address bitcoin.org and on top of the sticker it says “choose your own money.” Fascinating. I don’t think this sticker was put there by the owner, but rather someone else in town using bitcoin as money and perhaps here at this very location. Encouraged, I walk back to the barista, pull her attention away from her phone, and ask the question. “How often do you get people asking to pay with bitcoin?” she replies“It’s only you.” OOF. Well, UGH. There are bitcoin meetups all over San Diego County, this place is one of the few advertising they accept bitcoin, and since I’d last come here six months ago I’ve been the only one to pay with bitcoin? Sad. Disappointing. At that moment, I’m disappointed in the “bitcoiners” in our area. Where are they? Why aren’t they spending their bitcoin here at this wonderful location? Don’t they care? Refusal to use bitcoin is a refusal to participate in and grow the network that people like Roya depend on to overcome financial oppression and inequality. Bitcoin's power comes directly from its users using it. Not hoarding it on a company balance sheet or squirrelled away for its anti-inflationary use.

Although well-intended sentiment is easy to find here in San Diego, it seems there is a huge lack of people actually using bitcoin for its intended purpose: peer-to-peer electronic cash. Bitcoin use is growing at a surprising pace in parts of the world where non-existent banking infrastructure, hyper inflating currencies, financial censorship, and governments weaponizing the currencies they force their citizens to use are prevalent. I encourage you, dear reader, to look past western media coverage on bitcoin, and peer into the Philippines, South and Central Americas, and Africa. Real people are using bitcoin as a safe haven and peacefully protesting financial oppression by simply opting out of their born-into monetary systems, and into an open, permissionless, transparent, inclusive one. Bitcoin doesn’t care who you are, where you were born, what religion you are, or the color of your skin. It’s being adopted in these places because it simply works as intended and provides large amounts of people access to global monetary networks for the first time ever. In the west, it can be difficult to conceptualize the need for any of this. With a false conflation with right-wing politics, a "commodity” classification by the IRS subjecting every transaction to capital gains tax, and easy access to trusted banking systems with strong payment networks, it really is not surprising how little bitcoin is being used here. I plead with you though, especially if you care about equality, to look for yourself. Look to the under-developed nations. Look to places like Boracay, Philippines now dubbed “bitcoin island,” or Lake Atitlan, Guatemala now dubbed “bitcoin lake.” Look to Sub-Saharan Africa where bitcoin is being used to combat the financial oppression of the French Franc. Open your eyes, and your mind, and just look. Bitcoin is freedom money, and the largest peaceful protest in the history of humanity, and it’s winning. But you wouldn’t know if you don’t LOOK.

Gladstein, Alex. “Why Bitcoin Is Freedom Money.” Journal of Democracy, vol. 36, no. 4, Oct. 2025, pp. 20–35. Nakamoto, Satoshi. Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. bitcoin.org, https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

“Percent People with Bank Accounts in Africa.” TheGlobalEconomy.com, The Global Economy, 2025, https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/percent_people_bank_accounts/Africa/

“Venezuela Inflation Rate (CPI).” TradingEconomics, Trading Economics, https://tradingeconomics.com/venezuela/inflation-cpi

“BTC Map.” BTC Map, btcmap.org/map#13/32.78525/-117.15125. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

“Popular Bakery Accepts Crypto Payments Ahead of Halloween.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo Inc., 31 Oct. 2025, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/popular-bakery-accepts-crypto-payments-164214410.html

Escondido Bitcoin Meetup. “Bring It! (Our Bitcoin Marketplace).” Escondido Bitcoin Meetup, 2025, https://escondidobitcoin.com/bring-it/.