Hi everyone, and happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrated yesterday! We are extremely grateful to all of you for supporting, sharing, and engaging with us here at The Progressive Bitcoiner. I wanted to provide some updates about where things stand with The Progressive Bitcoiner amidst transitions I know many of you have seen with myself stepping back as host of the TPB Pod, Margot Paez taking on the role of host, and where TPB is headed.
Renewed sense of hope and belief in TPB
I’ll be frank with you all. A few months back, as I decided to take a step back from The Progressive Bitcoiner, things were challenging. I was feeling really burnt out from the endeavor, overwhelmed and discouraged at times from constant online engagement, wondering what impact I and our efforts at TPB were having, feeling election season fatigue and beyond. For that reason, and the practical reason of becoming a dad this month (which has been incredible and so many of you have reached out providing support and encouragement, thank you), I wanted to take a step back from the consistent schedule and need to record and plan weekly podcasts. The future of TPB was uncertain to say the least.
So, what changed? Two things: The election, and Margot Paez
A few months back when I was talking a lot about stepping back from the pod, Margot reached out. Here’s what she said, verbatim:
“Trey. First. I hate you, but only because I am about to blame you for what I am about to do. We need the progressive bitcoiner. It is the only prominent left bitcoin show. So. I want to fill in temporarily until we find a permanent host. Think of it like Jon Stewart doing the daily show only on Mondays! Also, do you agree with this? Also, I don’t actually hate you, that was a joke
For those that know Margot, or if you don’t, she is an incredibly busy and smart person. Like, one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met, and also finishing her PhD on climate, bitcoin, mining and beyond! So I knew her saying she wanted to fill in as host, given her busy life and schedule, meant the demand for our content was super important. It caused me to take a step back even then and think, “wow, she’s right. It’s really important that the progressive bitcoiner exist. If not us, then who?” I was incredibly grateful, and still am, that Margot jumped on board to bring her brand and passion to the cause.
Second, as I mentioned, the election.
For a while it’s been incredibly disheartening to be tied to or defend the term “progressive.” For us progressives, many of us formerly using this term to describe anti-war, anti-corruption, fight the man progressives of post 9-11, occupy wall street, then supporters of Bernie Sanders, it’s been a disheartening season, particularly feeling the democratic party continues to betray us. It hasn’t helped how hostile the Biden admin and many Democratic Party operatives and leaders have been to Bitcoin. Well, surprising to some but not to many, the Democratic Party took a hit and lost to Donald Trump—again—in the Presidential election. Since this loss many progressives, and those within the Democratic Party or independent media voices, are viewing this as a reckoning for change. In many ways this has given me a renewed sense of hope that those on the left are ready to fight for change again, to make progressive great again (MPGA…yeah, bad acronym, first and last time I’ll use that) and detach from the corporate, dry, inauthentic and out of touch Democratic party of late Obama, Hillary, Pelosi, etc. I wrote an article for Bitcoin Magazine describing what I feel the Democrats need to do if they want to continue as a political party, and a bit of a rallying cry for progressives to pivot and harness the power and opportunity of Bitcoin.
I think giving these factors, from Margot providing me with a renewed sense of hope in our cause, to the left continuing to feel political homeless and directionless, I think The Progressive Bitcoiner has a real opportunity to harness this opportunity and build a new progressive movement powered by Bitcoin.
On to The Progressive Bitcoiner, Inc.
So, why now the decision to turn The Progressive Bitcoiner into a nonprofit? Well, for one, we’ve always kind of operated like one. We take donations, our mission and focus is on education and social justice, and my own professional background for the past decade has been in nonprofits (currently as a development director in legal aid.) We aren’t looking to build a giant, for-profit, get rich quick scheme for insiders. We’re looking to generate revenue to build out an incredible media arm consisting of podcasts and videos to educate progressives, and many others who find our content intriguing, about the power and social good Bitcoin brings to areas such as human rights, poverty alleviation, climate change and environmental concerns, politics, and beyond. And that’s just the start. Here are our other priorities for the upcoming year:
– create a robust newsletter and publication via our website
– virtual workshops and conference
– community fund providing grants to those in need
– resources for progressive lawmakers on bitcoin
– resources for nonprofits/activists on bitcoin
As a registered 501c3 in the United States (which has been submitted and pending approval now, ETA by end of December) we’ll more easily be able to raise funds (and provide tax deductible receipts for donors), apply for grants, and build a sustainable and full fledged nonprofit organization that amplifies our reach bigger than ever before. I am serving as Executive Director of The Progressive Bitcoiner, Inc. and Evan, who has been our tech consultant and webmaster, will be my partner in crime on this endeavor as well. And yes Margot will continue to host TPB Pod.
I am thrilled to be taking these steps and very excited for the road ahead, taking my passion and expertise in nonprofits and applying it to The Progressive Bitcoiner, a cause and mission I deeply care about.
We are well on our way to building a new progressive movement powered by bitcoin, and providing bitcoin education and advocacy that showcases the social good of bitcoin to the world.
How you can partner with us
As I continue to get into the weeds on this long to-do list for The Progressive Bitcoiner, more specific opportunities to help and get involved will arise, but for the next several months here’s what we could use your help and partnership
- Donate. Any amount is helpful as we’ll be looking to fund all the action items I bulleted above. The best way to do this right now is by becoming a paid monthly subscriber via this substack, which provides stable funding throughout the year for us, contributing to our geyser fund, or if it’s a large donation you can send bitcoin on chain to this address: bc1qv2qx30sk7k2uks63pafjqmlc3hg024ge658m49. My goal is to be able to pursue TPB full time by the end of 2025 — giving one year to build sustainable funding for myself, and building out a team of volunteers, advisors, and critical staff.
- Volunteer – We’ll role out more robust volunteer opportunities, but at present we are seeking volunteers to contribute by writing for our journal and substack, and volunteers to help as assistants in scheduling, social media, admin, communications, and more. Initially a volunteer finance director would be helpful as well until this can become a paid role. If you are interested, feel free to email me at trey@progressivebitcoiner.com
- Board members – I will be reaching out to individuals I feel would make great board members to guide the direction of our nonprofit and work in partnership with myself, but if you feel you bring unique qualifications to the table that would benefit our org, and you believe strongly in our mission, please also reach out via email.
As I’ve said, and will continue to say, thank you all for supporting, believing in our mission, as we fight for a better future where the power of Bitcoin is harnessed to bring good to our world and those who need it most. We’ll be fighting FUD and trying to bring hope to progressives along the way. Please reach out with any questions, feedback, and we’ll see you soon.
Cheers,
Trey
