In this week’s episode of the Relai Bitcoin Session, we are joined by Mir Liponi, the Godmother of Italy’s Bitcoin community. She has been given this title because of her passion for connecting like-minded people in the Bitcoin community at a local and international level.
You can watch the episode here.
You can also tune in on AnchorFM.
Main Takeaways
Bitcoin is bringing change to the world. For Mir, this is an exciting time. She considers Bitcoin revolutionary. In the discussion with Relai CEO Julian, she talks about her history with Bitcoin, how she discovered and recognized Bitcoin as something great. She also talks about the role of gender, and the power of education, communication, and marketing in the uptake of Bitcoin.
The Role of Gender in Bitcoin
As one of the first few women in Bitcoin, especially in Italy, Mir got to experience both sides of the world. When she started monthly Bitcoin meetups in Italy that connected different people working in Bitcoin, she realized that she was the only woman taking part in the discussions. This however didn’t shock her.
“Bitcoin is at the intersection of many male-dominated fields.”
She also noted that the fact that not many women are not counted as a statistic in the Bitcoin community doesn’t mean that they aren’t there. In fact, she explained that everyone is a node in the Bitcoin protocol, and the anonymity given by anonymous accounts doesn’t necessarily account for the lack of women in Bitcoin.
As a co-founder of the all-woman podcast “The SatoSHE Show”, she admits that there is a slight difference between how the genders talk about bitcoin. In the discussions, she has been a part of, she noted that in many cases, the male-dominated spaces have structured conversations. While in the women-dominated spaces, the conversations are more flowy and open, especially when it comes to how Bitcoin has impacted personal lives.
Despite these differences, Mir explains that how people interact with Bitcoin is a very personalized journey, no matter what gender they are.
Education, Communication and Marketing in Bitcoin. Do They Actually Work?
According to Mir, there is a lot of information that is available on Bitcoin. Though many people think hyperbitcoinization will be driven by education, she strongly believes that having a personal experience with Bitcoin and Bitcoin products is more likely to change people into Bitcoiners.
Her stand doesn’t discount the efforts made by companies and content creators in the Bitcoin space. In the end, the cumulative effort of all content created will be greater in educating people about Bitcoin.
More so, Mir explained the importance of starting to educate local communities about Bitcoin because many people are not able to access information on Bitcoin due to language barriers. She also noted that one of the most effective ways of marketing currently is word of mouth, and through a web of trust like the Bitcoin community on Twitter.
Investing in Bitcoin
When asked about what financial advice she would give people about Bitcoin, Mir explained the importance of having a balance. In the current world, not everyone is able to access or use bitcoin everywhere. This can affect the way a person’s daily life operates, thus, she notes that having some “liquid” money is important.
She also says that putting aside a little amount in bitcoin regularly helps, especially when you can find it hard to sit down occasionally to do so. Or if you are busy. This was not to be taken as a rule of thumb but as a suggestion.
