Who speaks: Kamal Hubbard (A), Bryce Weiner (B). Transcribed by We Them Media from the original audio, with Kamal’s permission. Speaker letters mark turns, as the model separated them.
These are the speakers’ own words. We have not checked their claims.
0:04Kamal HubbardWelcome to another edition of Crypto with Kamal here on YouTube. I’m here with my guest Bryce Weiner, and before I introduce him, we’re gonna play a quick excerpt of his foreword to my book DeFi for the Diaspora.
0:26Bryce WeinerForeword. My dad is my hero, and from a very young age he instilled in me a respect for service to others as a function of the privilege we enjoyed. For most of my adult life, I’ve worked to use my station to uplift and empower those who do not share my luck of birth. I learned how to code as a child in the late ’80s, spent 15 years as an employee of everything from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations, And for the last decade, I have developed, monetized, and analyzed hundreds of cryptocurrencies and layer 1 blockchains. I made my first altcoin in 2013, before most people even heard of Bitcoin.
0:26Bryce WeinerI’ve made hundreds of coins since then to understand not only the technology, but what it does to the people who use it. However, I start with who I am, because this is not about me. Except for the perspective from which I offer that which follows. In 2014, I stated that cryptocurrencies would find a global revolution. As I pen this in 2021, it’s hard to argue that this hasn’t been the case. The increased demand for justice, fairness, and dismantling systemic inequality has coincided with a spike in the adoption and use of cryptocurrencies among consumers, The pandemic may have provided the environment for protest, but it certainly didn’t pay for it.
0:26Bryce WeinerRacist oppressors would have one believe decades-old unfounded conspiracy tropes when the reality is far easier and more likely. The explosion in value created by an increased Bitcoin price and the advent of decentralized finance created the retail financial freedom which provided the ability to contribute to mutual aid and therefore add meaningful energy to the demand for and manifestation of actual change. I can say unequivocally that any change we see in the world from cryptocurrency comes not from the technology, but what it empowers people to do within their own lives. The opportunity for the Black diaspora in America and around the world should be obvious. Cryptocurrency enables the ability to conduct commerce with the morals and ethos which are valued by the community which uses it.
2:51Kamal HubbardSo, Bryce, what do you think about when you hear those words, your words that are in the foreword of my book? It’s a little awkward, but I, you know, it reminds me of why we’re here and what’s really important in what we’re doing. Don’t know what it is about these holidays that make me want to holla when all year I’ve been flipping dollars, switching gears.
That was the whole conversation.
