Mayor Jayson Stewart discusses his mission of giving Bitcoin to all residents of his town.

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In this episode of Bitcoin Spaces Live hosted by Bitcoin Magazine, hosts Christian Keroles (@ck_snarks) and P (@phjlljp) are joined by Cool Valley Mayor Jayson Stewart (@coolvalleymayor) to discuss his mission of giving every resident of Cool Valley $1,000 in Bitcoin. Jayson reveals his career path that led him to being the mayor of Cool Valley, how he got into Bitcoin and why it's so important to him, and the process for giving an entire town some Bitcoin. 

[00:02:37] JS: Yo. What's up, man? What's up, everybody? It's really nice to be here. This is my very first Twitter Spaces. When I do anything stupid, just let me know right away. I'm really excited to talk to my boys up here. Yeah, let's get into it. I'm so excited to be here in a room full of hopefully, a bunch of amazing Bitcoiners.

[00:02:57] CK: Jason, lots of people have heard about how you're going to airdrop Bitcoin to your town of Cool Valley. Why don't you talk a little bit about coming up with the idea and where that project is currently? What's the update?

[00:03:11] JS: Yeah. Our project right now is fully funded, which is so extremely exciting. We're in the process of distributing the money into essentially, a trust fund. We're calling this the Cool Valley Bitcoin Trust. It will sit in this fund for five years, while we give people the education and the onboarding. Also, while we just assist them with holding, because that would be the most important thing to this. It's really exciting, and I want to say thank you to the Bitcoin community, and so many people, like thousands and thousands of people who have reached out. I can't talk about it, because I'll get emotional, because I'm just so grateful for this community.

In terms of coming up with the idea, it was really organic. It just seemed to make a lot of sense, considering the circumstances of the city that I took over and the direction that I'd like to see this city go. I'd really like to see the people who live here move forward with a lot more freedom and power and autonomy in their lives. Bitcoin just is by far for me, the best way that I can help them in trying to get there. Just through thinking of that, it seemed if we expose the entire city to Bitcoin, then good things are bound to happen to the people who live here.

[00:04:38] CK: I definitely want to tease that out a little bit more. P, feel free to jump in here, too, when you have a question. Okay. How did you go from a guy who might become a mayor of a city, to a mayor of the city who thinks that Bitcoin is the answer? I know that's a pretty wide-ranging question, but how did you get to the point where you're like, “Wow, Bitcoin is how I enable my people, or the people, my constituents”?

[00:05:02] JS: Once again, for me to get to that point, I can only show gratitude for the members of the Bitcoin community, who were able to educate me to this point. At least, I thought I understood what Bitcoin was all the way back in 2015, which was the first year that I was able to interact with it in any way. I just thought it was the cool, new Internet money, but I did not understand the fundamentals of central banking and – I didn't even really understand the fundamentals of the technology.

I would say, that basic understanding has come in the last year of my life, and primarily from Clubhouse. The community-owned Clubhouse is dope. P is one of those people that I've actually listened to a lot. P and Lamar Wilson and Bitcoin Tina, and just so many incredible people who are so much smarter than me have taken the time to either educate me directly, or even just to let me listen in on their conversations. From learning more and more about this technology, I went from believing that it was just a cool Internet money to this is obviously one of the most important inventions of human history.

It's imperative that I spend the rest of my life of doing what I can to facilitate this in the world. That can only come through the knowledge of so many people that are smarter than me, who taught me so much. It's one of those things, when you understand the technology, then you become like, where we're all at. It's through understanding that gets you there.

[00:06:37] P: Man, that means a ton. I think, you are way smarter than I am.

[00:06:40] JS: I doubt that.

[00:06:42] P: You’re kind. Yeah, it means a lot to hear that my lunatic ravings have benefited you and all the people that you represent. I'm curious. Tell us about your career. What's your career been like? How did you get to where you are today? Tell us about your constituents.

[00:06:58] JS: To get to where I met today is an entire accident. I never intended to be the mayor of this town at any point in my life. It almost seemed like a divine providence that led me to do this. Before this, I was a very average entrepreneur, average to below average, I would say, and a really passionate environmentalist. I went from the private sector, entrepreneurial world to really trying to shape my career in a way that could allow me to have a positive impact on mostly, animals. That's my passion is wildlife.

I spent the last five years cleaning the oceans, pulling plastic from oceans and canals and rivers and waterways and things like that and recycling that plastic. I was usually more concerned with the social good aspect of it, than the money-making aspect of it, which is why I'm a pretty bad entrepreneur. The circumstances that brought me back to Cool Valley, this is where I grew up, but I hadn't lived here for some time, as I've been traveling and doing my thing. It was a family experience. I had to come back to help out a family member with a medical situation. When I saw the conditions of the city compared to what I remembered growing up, I was really hurt.

I didn't really see the city going in any kind of good direction at all. I couldn't think of a way that I could help do most of the things that needed to be done, unless I got into a situation where I could make some of these calls. That's what inspired me, really last minute in 2019 to run for mayor here. I'm sorry, if that was a long rambly answer. Just trying to sum up my career is crazy, because I've done so many things. Some of them have done well, and some of them were pretty bad.

[00:08:48] CK: Far from a longer rambling. That was actually pretty concise, man. Jason, tell us a little bit more about, you’re mayor, you see a lot of opportunity for change. What are the first few things that you did? Because you did a lot of things that are out of the box beyond just this project to airdrop Bitcoin. Talk to us about how did you approach coming into office, making change and then, go more specifically into how did the people who worked for you and worked for the mayor's office and the city handle those kinds of changes and how do they handle this Bitcoin idea in general?

[00:09:25] JS: I think, I terrify most of the people who I inherited on my staff. Also, my colleagues on the board Alderman, I just think they're absolutely horrified by some of these ideas that I believe are just so necessary. I came into a situation that there's a very old mentality here. My co-workers and colleagues were mostly in their 60s and even 70s. I'm working with 70-year-old people. Not to say that there's anything wrong with that, but they do not always understand why, especially with Bitcoin, but they're starting to. They're starting to understand how some of these things are going to be beneficial.

One of the first things I did when I got into office, I wanted to affect the war on drugs. I think, the war on drugs is bullshit, a waste of time, waste of money and at its very worst, I see it as a pure evil way to imprison people for using drugs. It's really stupid. I did decriminalize cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms within my first, I think, three months of being elected. I don't know if anyone in Missouri had ever done that before, but it made common sense for me.

I'm 31-years-old. For me to be authentic in my beliefs and life story, I had to make that move. Of course, people were terrified, but not really. There was just this initial shock that, what the fuck is this kid doing? They see me as a kid. I'm 31-years-old. They see me as a kid. After that shock, I think, there's come a bit of acceptance. Okay. This is what's going to happen, and maybe this is actually for the best.

In terms of my actual city, our residents, they seem very happy. I don't get a lot of complaints. I think some of them were waiting for someone younger to come into office and express some of their ideas, because we've been run by old folks for so long and it hasn't been going the way we want it to. I think, a lot of the people who live here are happy with something different.

[00:11:33] P: What's some of the most significant pushback that you've gotten from the – you mentioned the staff that you inherited, the people of Cool Valley. What's the most common Bitcoin related FUD that that comes up?

[00:11:44] JS: Good question. Unfortunately, I'd say the most common thing that I hear is why are you giving people Bitcoin, when you could give them US dollars? I know that's just an education thing. I could've seen myself being there, if so many people didn't take the time to educate me and really sparked my curiosity and what this asset is. I hear that one probably more than any other, is why don't you just give these people cash if you care about them?

It seems like, that's not a valid criticism, because we all know if you give someone cash right now, or Bitcoin in five years, we all know what's going to be more valuable. It’s just an education thing, I think.

[00:12:32] P: Yeah. I guess, you can't just scream at them, “Cash is trash.”

[00:12:35] JS: I'm going to force y'all to hope in that bet. It’s about the best I can do. I hate saying words like that, too. I'm very small government and I just don't like the idea of government getting too involved in people's lives. At the same time, I'm not giving you fiat, and I'm going to make you hold your Bitcoin. It's just the right thing to do. It's more of a gift. I feel more comfortable in doing that.

[00:12:59] P: Yeah. I forget who it was. There's a very famous scientist. His name is eluding me right now, but he said something like, “Is it really our job to drag the unwashed masses, kicking and screaming into the modern era? I'm afraid that it is.” I definitely don't agree with the premise of forcing anybody to do anything. I think, that deciding to freely give a group of people something at no cost to them in a specific form is so far from forcing anything on anyone that I feel like it applies.

[00:13:30] JS: I'm glad you agree with me. That means a lot to me. I like when my residents feel good about what I'm doing, because obviously, they matter. I'm sworn to serve them. I really love them. My OG Clubhouse people really care about – or feel I might be doing the right thing.

It means a lot to me to have you guys’ respect and approval, because like I said, so many of y'all taught me, and you're still smarter than me, especially in this space. I'm just trying to do things the best that I can. I do want to do us proud as Bitcoiners in this community. I hope that you guys can look at this and feel somewhat inspired, or happy, or that something good is happening in the world for Bitcoin, because of what we're doing. Yeah, that was one of the criticisms I've gotten.

Then the other one, of course, I would say, the second most common is the buying votes part of it. On that one, I just feel that's idiotic. No offense to anyone who believes that. The reason I think that is, you can say anything is buying votes. When I ran for office, I gave these people a list of five campaign promises. Every time I do something good for them, technically, I'm buying a boat. I'm trying to fulfill these promises that I made to them. I did say that if it ever came down to me, making sure everyone in my town gets this Bitcoin, or me being mayor, then I'll just give them the Bitcoin and retire, because I don't care about being mayor right now, as much as I care about improving their lives.

I don't think it's going to come to that. It's a really foolish criticism, but it's something that I hear a lot as well. I would say, those are the top two. Why don't you give them US dollars? And, are you somehow vote buying?

[00:15:14] P: Got it. Yeah. I just think it, I think it's such a power move. It's so beneficial to your constituents, even if they don't realize it. Because as I said, you're giving them this thing freely, which, we all know is the soundest money on earth. That is the most, in my experience, one of the most effective ways to get people involved and thinking about Bitcoin. I certainly feel this moral imperative to help as many people get involved and understand Bitcoin as rapidly as possible, because cash and so many of the other assets that are available to people and that are presented as what it takes to be a successful human, that is say, investing in them are ultimately just melting ice cubes. Cash more than almost anything else. It's just tragic to me that is not something that most people realize. I think, what you're doing is it’s pretty incredible.

[00:16:05] JS: Bless you, P. You're absolutely right about the ice cubes. That's a really great way to put it. It is a little bit tragic. I get a little bit sad when I think about certain people's savings just disappearing. When we look at poverty in the United States, a lot of people are working, right? Most people in the United States have some income producing thing, whether it's a job, an asset, or a mixture of both.

For people who are trying to elevate themselves to let's say, this middle-class, like they're trying to go from lower to middle, they're saving. They feel like, “Oh, maybe I should buy stocks, or something.” Some people don't even buy stocks, because they feel they don't have enough money to do that. They won't buy Bitcoin if they don't know about it, so they're saving in dollars. We know what's happening. The inflation numbers are what? Officially 2%. Some people say, 5%. Some people say more than that.

I'm sure there's some smarter people in this room who can enlighten me about that. Their savings accounts are being looted. That's what it feels like, when they set aside some money and just leave it there and think when they come back in five years, that's the same amount of money and it just isn't, and it's horrifying. Bitcoin is the answer though.

[00:17:19] P: Yeah, absolutely.

[00:17:21] CK: Jason. I was in Miami for the Human Rights Foundation’s event titled the Oslo Freedom Forum Miami, and introducing it on day one where the mayors of Miami Beach and the mayors of Miami. They talked about how there's three political parties. They are Republicans, Democrats, and mayors. We've seen a lot of other mayors see the opportunity with Bitcoin and start to embrace Bitcoin, as well as other politicians in other areas of government. Do you agree with this framing that there's this coalition of mayors across the country? What's your impression of Bitcoin being adopted by just a smaller locales, such as yourself and others around the country?

[00:18:08] JS: I've never heard that before, but I think it's accurate, the political parties thing. There absolutely is this coalition of mayors and I wouldn't call us a coalition, because we're really working independently. In terms of making big changes, I believe that small town government is really where those big changes are going to happen. It's certainly where they have the potential to happen the fastest. It's one of the things that attracts me to being the mayor of a small town of between 12 and 1,500 people, depending on who fills out the census.

You can do more if you're courageous, I think. If you think about it, if I want to do something here, I can either do it in partnership with the private sector right away. Or if I have to go through the government, governments are so inefficient. It's so tough to make a decision in a government setting, and that's by design. If I have to go through the government, I really only have to convince four people and two of those people have to make a decision. Whereas, anything on the national scale, you're convincing hundreds and hundreds of people who all have dozens and dozens of lawyers writing things for them. You get these 15,000-page bills that no one's ever read, and now they have to vote on it.

That does not happen as much in the small towns. We can really focus on doing what needs to happen. There's a lot more independent thought, I think, in terms of mayors, and even certain governors, for sure. For making change, I absolutely believe that starting small is the most effective way to do it. You can work with a lot of different mayors. We have so many cool mayors doing so many cool things. Mayor Suarez seems pretty cool, even though I don't know what that Miami coin thing is about. Y'all are going to have to tell me about Miami coin, but he still seems a really cool, open-minded guy.

[00:20:02] CK: I was going to say, I'm very lenient with people shitcoining. I feel like, there's a learning curve. Yeah, Miami coin is [inaudible 00:20:08].

[00:20:10] P: Yeah. It's a garbage. Buy Bitcoin.

[00:20:13] CK: I loved your comment that went viral. I think, it was last week or two weeks ago, where an article, in mainstream media they mix up crypto and Bitcoin. They use it synonymously. Title is like, Mayor Airdrops Bitcoin. Then under it, it said, “Mayor says crypto is a revolution, or it gives them whatever.” You're like, “I said, Bitcoin.” I love that. Talk to us a little bit about, just that trend in general and why Bitcoin is special to you.

[00:20:40] JS: Yeah. I said what I said, and we have wonderful media in this country, a lot of it. We have so many amazing journalists in this country who actually work so hard to get the facts and facts check their facts, and then report those facts. I'm so grateful for that. In terms of what you're saying, it seems absolutely right. Where someone says something about Bitcoin and then everyone's so quick to say crypto after it.

I just wanted to make that correction, because it's just one small word, but it changes the meaning of what I was saying, CK. You and I were the ones having that conversation. They were quoting me talking to you, and we were for sure, talking about Bitcoin and why Bitcoin gives me hope. I'm not hating every other crypto. I'm not here hating on eth. If you want to get NFTs and stuff, buying digital art is cool. I'm an art collector. If you want art, get art.

When it comes to the hope for society to rise above some of the past evils we've been forced to deal with, that conversation needs to be had about Bitcoin. I'm only having that conversation about Bitcoin. I wouldn't want anybody to conflate my feelings for Bitcoin, with my feelings for anything else in the crypto space, even though I'm not here to hate on those things. This is a Bitcoin conversation for a reason, for many reasons.

[00:22:04] CK: Yeah. I think, it's really important. I think, that's a big part of what we're trying to do with Bitcoin Magazine and Bitcoin 2022 is, we're not necessarily having a conversation about the things. We're here to talk about Bitcoin. That's our big differentiator.

Again, I talk to journalists all the time. Every single time they bring anything up about the Bitcoin industry, or anything like they think is, let's just say, untasteful about that. I like to remind them about a lot of just misconceptions and ill-informed misinformation that typically gets shared, just casually, as if it is fact. I think, just saying crypto and mixing up crypto and Bitcoin is something that we got to keep pushing back.

[00:22:46] JS: I agree completely. I absolutely agree. Which is funny. This is a little side note, but I was just talking to my friend, Sam Altman, who is not super popular in our space right now, but it just so happens that we went to the same high school. I've learned a bit from him. He's a decent guy. Actually, a really smart guy, really nice guy. World coin and Bitcoin, that's one of the reasons why we have to keep these conversations so separate. Bitcoin is this pure, true technology. We know what it is, why it exists, what it's doing and what it's going to do. If we continue to conflate that with crypto, people are going to keep coming up with crazy ideas in the crypto space. Now, we're a part of that, when we really aren’t. It's a completely different technology with an entirely different ethos for existing.

[00:23:38] CK: This subject is one of the most difficult things to explain to people who aren't intimate with the space. I feel, it's something that you're passionate about. My colleague, Pete Rizzo wrote an excellent article for Forbes, detailing why Bitcoin is different than other cryptos from a property rights perspective. He makes a very compelling argument there. I guess, do you think it's possible for Bitcoin to shed crypto from its public perception? Just because I feel like, it's something that to some degrees, I think that it's the stress end effect for Bitcoin, like altcoins are. In which, I think it amplifies its marketing. On the other side, it's also like a weight. Because the crypto industry has so much baggage and it has so many things that are just completely unrelated to Bitcoin.

[00:24:26] JS: It's a good question. I think, as more people get heavily into Bitcoin among that section of the population, that's always where we're going to be able to make that distinction, where it's going to make the most sense. I do believe in the long-term. As Bitcoin, it's going to do so much better than every other cryptocurrency where I think it can become accepted that. That yeah, maybe this thing is different. Because it's already in a class of its own, but that hasn't even started yet. The separation of Bitcoin from these altcoins is going to be so large. I absolutely think that could happen.

[00:25:07] CK: Yeah. Again, I think that's definitely the Bitcoin maximalist perspective.

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[EPISODE CONTINUED]

[00:26:10] CK: P, you got a question?

[00:26:11] P: Yeah. I suspect that the distinction between them will become clearer and clearer as Bitcoin becomes publicly accepted and understood. That to me is an inevitability. I do think that the rest of the crypto space provide very useful cover fire for Bitcoin. I think that from a regulatory perspective and from other perspectives as well, I think that entities that would otherwise be trying and ultimately failing to influence Bitcoin more, instead direct their energies into the rest of the crypto space.

I do think that it's tough, because I think a lot of the time, people are – no one is the villain in their own story. They genuinely believe that the thing that they're doing is going to be good for the majority of people. I know that Mayor Suarez certainly does., and he's an awesome dude. The thing that causes me existential pain, so to speak is that, thinking of the people who are investing in some of the more the worst projects and basically, just me knowing that they're going to probably get rugged. Then, they'll miss out on this incredible lifeboat and savings technology that is Bitcoin. It's the evolution of any large system, I think.

[00:27:19] JS: Yeah, it's a tough world. People have always gambled with their money.

[00:27:22] P: Exactly.

[00:27:23] JS: It is what it is. I play poker myself. It's my favorite game.

[00:27:26] CK: Again, I think that's where Bitcoin, or altcoins has this Streisand effect is good for Bitcoin. That person gambling is still closer to Bitcoin maximalists, and still more acquainted to crypto UX to some degree. I think, this is good for Bitcoin. Again, I am personally for the emergence of the Bitcoin ecosystem, or the Bitcoin-only ecosystem. Cory just joined the stage, obviously, the CEO of Swan Bitcoin. Again, I think, the Bitcoin Magazine, Swan, and many other companies, CoinChi, Rodolfo's in the audience, area huge part of this movement.

[00:28:02] JS: Yeah. I'd love to get to know some of the people in here. Like I said, I'm an OG Bitcoin Clubhouse. That's where I feel I came up, where I would just listen to these people on stage and learn almost everything that I know today. Coming over here to Twitter, there's so many people that I haven't met yet. I just know I can get so much smarter by hearing a lot of these people talk. I'd love to hear from anyone that you guys think is cool, because if I can get up here and talk the whole time, I'm for sure going to be the dumbest person in the room by the end of it. I've got to learn from people.

[00:28:39] CoK: I just want to answer that and say, thank you so much for spending this time with the mag folks and all of us. This is really cool. Yes, we were aware of your presence many times over on Clubhouse. Hanging out in cafe Bitcoin and the Black Bitcoin Billionaires Club. It was always cool to see you an icon there and speaking occasionally. It's been really fun to watch your progression over the course of the year, getting to this point and glad to have you on team Bitcoin.

[00:29:04] JS: Bless you, legend. Thank you for everything y'all are doing over there in terms of just the education and your platform. It's absolutely incredible. We want to talk about bullish. I don't even have the sell button. What? Respect.

[00:29:19] CoK: There is no sell, and there is no spoon.

[00:29:23] JS: That’s just so legendary.

[00:29:24] P: It’s such a baby.

[00:29:26] CoK: I didn't want to let P off the hook there, because he said these bad projects. It's like, heck, where do you draw the line when you're giving people advice on stay away from shitcoins? Because when you think of some of the top 10 coins in end of 2017, early 2018, they were Cardano was a top four coin, went down 99.8%. What are you going to do with that? The only one that we know for sure is going to be around for your old age and for your kids, and for generational wealth is Bitcoin. I just can't give any of the other ones a pass at all.

[00:29:54] CK: You don’t give them a pass. You just tell them it's a shit coin. If you want to gamble with the shitcoin, you're gambling with a shitcoin.

[00:30:00] P: Yeah. Still, whenever I get on the phone with my parents, I make fun of them and say, “You lend and people pay you in that shitcoin USD?” They just laugh, and I say, “But seriously. The US dollar is going to zero. Then they're like, “Calm down. You've only been here five minutes.” We had rules in my house for Thanksgiving. They're like, “All right, you have to talk about anything else for at least 15 minutes before you mention Bitcoin.” I'm like, “I can't do it.”

[00:30:24] CoK: [Inaudible 00:30:24] family dinner. You should go a 100% Bitcoin. Just kidding. Unless, you’re going to do it.

[00:30:30] JS: Unless, you go and do it. I see Lamar Wilson in here.

[00:30:34] P: I know. We've been trying to pull him up. Oh, Lamar. He came back. Okay, amazing. We were trying to pull him up earlier, but –

[00:30:38] JS: Oh, yeah. We got you, bro.

[00:30:40] P: But it wasn't working. I'm glad you were able to jump in.

[00:30:42] LW: Yeah, that was an error or something. It’s cool. What's going on, mayor? The Honorable Mayor Stewart. How you doing, bro?

[00:30:47] JS: The Honorable Lamar Wilson, man. I'm doing a whole lot better now that you’re up here.

[00:30:51] LW: There you go, man. I always love the fact that you literally executed on something. You're the kind of politician that the world needs, because you came into Black Bitcoin Billionaire, you had the idea, you talked it out, we counsel. I guess, we would counsel, by Bitcoin counsel. Then you went through it, iterated on it yourself, and now you're executing on it.

I'm like, that is powerful. That's the politics and politicians. Here's the thing, it's all in the heart of the people, bro. That's what politicians we need in this country. The fact, even if you are a small town mayor, the fact that you care for your people like that and want to give them value for their future, bro, is amazing. I think, everybody needs to cookie-cutter you out for real.

[00:31:34] JS: Man. I don't even know what to say. Thank you, bro. That's incredible what you said, especially because I feel the same way about you. Thank you so much for being my counsel through this. I don't know if you were here earlier in the room, but I keep thinking that I owe so much to you and to all the people who taught me, because y'all are the reason in many ways, why I'm not out here looking stupid, like shilling something dumb. Because you took the time to really help me understand what this is. Thank you so much, because I feel like I'm nothing without you. Absolutely nothing.

[00:32:11] LW: We all in this together, man. Matter of fact, it's so much bro love going on right now, I'm going to say it. Mayor Jason Stewart, will you marry me?

[00:32:19] JS: Oh, man.

[00:32:21] CK: We talked about the project is fully funded to airdrop this Bitcoin. A lot of partners came out of the woodwork. I'm sure a lot of conversations were happening. What can you tell us about those conversations? I'm sure Lamar can give color to sitting in on counsel per se. I guess, Jason, can you just talk about the evolution?

[00:32:40] JS: Yes. The very beginning, the first time I've mentioned to anyone that I wanted to do this outside of my residents, who I've told them this since the campaign. At that point, I was actually going to use some of my own money combined with some city funds. That was the initial plan. I had enough money to give everyone, every household around $500 in Bitcoin, if I were to go that route. With me not really being a politician, I'm like an accidental mayor, I didn't have a fundraising website, or even a fundraising plan. I self-funded my own campaign, 95% of it.

I didn't come in here with the intention to raise any money for this small city. The idea never occurred to me. What happened was while we were hashing this idea out, people would start to listen. Then, they started to offer support and it was really surprising, actually. I member one night on Clubhouse, 50 or 60 people just offered to give some money, or to do anything they could to help. I thought, “Hey, that's strange. But hey, this is Clubhouse. People must just be really nice.” Then a week later, our first major donor did the same thing.

I was just having a conversation with a professor from Harvard, I believe, just hashing out the idea of it. This guy who I'm going to keep anonymous, because he prefers it that way, offered to match anything that I raised, up to a million dollars. Just right off the bat. Someone who never met me before. I thought that was really cool and really nice. I think after that, maybe the press started to find out about it. There's this really wonderful reporter here who is trying to get the story from me. I kept telling her no, because I just didn't. I don't know. That wasn't my goal to be known for this at all.

Eventually, I said yes, because she was so nice and professional and kept asking. She comes in and does that story that went on the news. That's when it went viral. I think the very next morning, Bitcoin Magazine threw the laser eyes on me. After that, I haven't been able to keep up with the amount of people who want to help. It's thousands and thousands of people via phone, text, email, coming to city hall, sending me mail on Twitter and LinkedIn, and people want to give money. They want to give education. They want to give their time. They want to move here. There's so much going on. I'm just doing my best to manage it all and make sure that I don't miss anybody, because I didn't think anyone would care about us.

Now that so many people do care about us, I think it would be really cool if this project does become a bigger thing within our community. So that when we look back in history, so many people will be able to say that they played a part in it in some way. I think, that'll be an important moment for the history of Bitcoin when we look back at it.

[00:35:43] CK: That's awesome. I'm glad that you've had so much support. We have Bill Whittaker. Bill DM’d me, saying that he's from a neighboring town and has come to Cool Valley and checked it out. I think, he wanted a chance to say what's up and maybe talk about his impression.

[00:35:58] BW: Thank you very much, CK, for having me up. Just wanted to check in. I did step over. I actually got to meet the alderman, Don Johnson. Very nice man, and the woman working in the back there. I think, what you're doing is awesome. This is so exciting. I'm right down the road and I'm working out a school. I've talked to a bunch of people about this project, but we've got a miner, we've got some Raspberry Pis, I've got some guys in the mining industry that are willing to help get hardware out to us for the purpose of education programs to help young people and the citizens learn how to refurbish, repair, set up sustainable mining operations.

We have a solar plant. It's an abandoned solar plant that's been sitting here for the last 10 years. We're getting ready to turn that on, plug the miner in, get the batteries going. My issue here is that the educational process with my board and the people that run the school, they think if I open up the Bitcoin network, it's going to be like Ghostbusters. All hell's going to break loose.

The idea I had of you’re open is, we can get together and come over to town hall and hook up to the Internet there, and get some Bitcoin gatherings together, maybe get some – I have a couple of seniors doing a senior project, but just to collaborate and just keep pushing what you're doing here to surrounding areas. There's a lot of communities that could benefit from this this activity. Great stuff. Thanks very much for having me up and hope we get to meet soon.

[00:37:15] JS: Wow. That sounds amazing, what you're doing. I would love to meet you and explore this idea further. Is there any chance you emailed me about a month ago?

[00:37:25] BW: I did. I emailed you. I think, one of the reporters from Bitcoin Magazine actually hooked me up with your email. Then, I was just driving over to town to meet somebody and I was like, “I'm just going to drop in.” I drove up and Alderman, Don Johnson, and one of the other guys was sitting there. It was really cool. Took out his flip phone, took my number down. Listen, you're overwhelmed and I understand, but I think eventually, we should connect.

[00:37:46] JS: Bless you, brother. I'd love the opportunity. Thank you for offering to help teach the people over here some of those skills. I think, you're onto something really important and very grateful for it. Let's definitely get together. If you send me an email, I'll try not to drop that one.

[00:38:01] BW: No problem. I will.

[00:38:02] CK: Boom, the magic of the Internet. I wanted to ask about, talking about this in public and the benefits of that. It sounds, Clubhouse presented a unique opportunity to both talk to experts, as well as broadcast these kinds of conversations and ideas. Again, it sounds like that was huge for the progress.

[00:38:20] JS: Absolutely. It blew up the vision in a way that I certainly never anticipated. Honestly, didn't even hope for, because I never thought about it. I'm not trying to shill God, or anything. Once again, it felt like divine providence for me, for someone like me, because I'm already an accidental mayor.

I didn't really want to be here, but now I'm here. I certainly didn't want any attention. That usually would make me uncomfortable with my personality. Clubhouse made me feel so comfortable, like I'm just hanging out with my friends. People are genuinely loved and respect and care about. It feels like I was having these intimate conversations. Sometimes in those intimate conversations, thousands of people would be listening. It absolutely changed the entire narrative and made this project huge in a way that I never would have done myself.

If you told me, attention was going to come from this, I wouldn't have done it. I wouldn't have ran for mayor. Maybe I'd still give the Bitcoin, because that's a lot more important to me, but it would have made me more reluctant. It would have made me uncomfortable. The fact that it all happens on accident just because we were talking publicly, it absolutely is the power of the Internet for sure. I know, you guys experience that a lot. You guys are on here all the time, talking to all these incredible people, debating Mark Cuban. It's just hilarious what's going on, because everyone is able to find these things. I certainly never would have been able to do this for myself without the help of the internet and these public platforms, because I'm just too shy.

[00:39:55] LW: What's crazy, mayor, is that when you was talking about, you're not going to shill God, I've just thought of a scripture. It was like, the first shall be last, shall be first. I think, what Bitcoin does, it empowers small communities like yours. It empowers small countries, like El Salvador, right? It actually flips the script on them. Because what it allows you all to do is to empower not only yourselves, but also empower your people with something that's not stealing their time, and something that's not stealing their actual precious work that they put in. I'm like, “Man, it's just crazy to see the whole reason I think Bitcoin was in the beginning.” When I looked at the white paper, all I saw was freedom. I was like, at the very beginning, I saw a way to get out of a system that was completely oppressive, especially towards people who look like me and you.

I was like, that's what I saw, some separation away from that. Now seeing these small communities and small countries being the ones that are taking on Bitcoin right now, because there's going to come a time that everybody winds up capitulating. Guess what? You guys were the small ones, and you guys will be the ones in the head in the later days. I think, that's just amazing, man. I think, that's what it's all about. It's like, utilizing the technology to empower, because so much of the world is built on people being in power over you. The fact that you politicians are trying to empower your people is an amazing thing.

[00:41:13] JS: That's deep. That's a really good scripture, bro. That's really good. Go ahead. I was just going to respond a little bit what Lamar said, because the way he said about the systems and people trying to have power over you is so true. I've always found it extraordinarily creepy. Why do people want power over other people? I really never cared about that.

I'd rather just meditate and hopefully, give people some spiritual guidance so that we're free to make our own choices. There certainly seems to be a whole class of government that it's almost like, they get off on controlling people. It's so creepy.

[00:41:50] CoK: Mayor, can I give you a brighter view of people?

[00:41:54] JS: Please.

[00:41:55] CoK: They’re like that, because without real money, which we finally have for the first time in human history, the only way to secure your wealth is to secure power. I think, the will to power is there. You had Nietzsche writing about it and everybody else. It was a sociopath getting in the government, trying to get more power for them and their friends.

The majority of that is actually just trying to secure just wealth and means and preserve it and make sure that other people can't take it away. This is why, especially in, smaller governments around the world, you see anyone that gets wealthy has to get involved in government. They have no other choice, or their money will be taken away by the people in power. That will go away as Bitcoin spreads. I do think that people are inherently good. I think, we're going to see that is true over the rest of the century as Bitcoin spreads.

[00:42:43] JS: I absolutely love that. Nothing gives me hope in humanity, like Bitcoin. The hope that Bitcoin gives me for that reason. Thank you for sharing that, too. I think you're wise. A lot of these bad choices are survival mechanisms. As Bitcoin releases them from that prison of having to do these things to survive, we'll start to see the better side of human nature. God bless you for sharing that.

[00:43:09] BW: I’ll just speak real quick from an educational perspective, because this hierarchical centralized power that Cory speaks to and Lamar is speaking to, it's baked into all aspects of our lives, unfortunately. This is now the second school that I've worked at, where I've implemented, or attempted to implement Bitcoin knowledge. I learned in my past school that unfortunately, just had to keep it a little bit under the radar. What's cool is that young people really gravitate toward and gravitate towards something that's open. They gravitate toward a platform where they can really just learn and they can go.

There's so many aspects of Bitcoin where if you're a builder, an architect, or if you want to be creative, you can do it on and within Bitcoin. It's cool to see young minds get excited, because unfortunately, as we know, traditional education is very linear and it's set up to get people ready to be controlled in a centralized, authoritative system, if you want to call it that. It is a light and it's just amazing to hear these types of things taking place. You can't stop it. That's what's so great about it. People will try to, they attempt to, but when people see the light, they gravitate towards it.

[00:44:14] P: My friends, unfortunately I have to jump out. I just wanted to thank everyone. Thank you, mayor, for joining us. This has been –

[00:44:19] JS: See you later, man. Thanks so much.

[00:44:22] CK: Hey, I want to keep this one going for 30 more minutes. Is that okay with you, Jason?

[00:44:25] JS: Yeah, I'm here.

[00:44:28] CK: All right. Cool. Hey, we have a lot of –

[00:44:29] CoK: I'm going to give up my spot, you guys.

[00:44:30] CK: All right. Cory, thanks.

[00:44:31] CoK: CK, everybody. Thank you so much. Mayor, great speaking to you. Lamar, great to see you. Bye, everybody.

[00:44:35] CK: Everyone, follow Mayor Jason Stewart, guys. Thank you, Cory. Yeah, Sovereign Miner, Alan, Dr. Jeff, Alex, what's up? Welcome to the stage.

[00:44:45] SM: Hey, guys. All this talk about power is great, but in my mind goes immediately to energy infrastructure and what can power the Bitcoin miners. In that regard, mayor, what's the energy infrastructure look like around your city? Is there a possibility of integrating production of the soundest money history has ever seen into promoting the future self-sovereignty of your town?

[00:45:07] JS: I'm certainly open to the idea of it. In terms of understanding what our energy infrastructure is, I'm still in the process of looking into that myself, because we are such a small town. I'm not imagining that we have tons of excess energy. What I'm really interested in is showing how Bitcoin is actually accelerating humanity's adoption of renewable energy resources. My dream project would be to have some solar setup here that facilitates even a small part of Bitcoin mining, even though, it probably wouldn't be much.

I do know that about 15 minutes north of me, maybe even 10 minutes north of me, our big electric company out here Ameren does have a mining facility. They’re mining up by a river, and it's very close to here. In terms of Cool Valley’s specific energy grid, these are questions that I have to take a deeper dive into myself.

[00:46:08] CK: Maybe Bill has some answers here. Bill, it sounds like you're interested in mining and are familiar with the local area. Also, super interesting that Ameren, or yeah, that your power authority is mining. I don't know, Alex, maybe you should look into that point.

[00:46:23] A: Yeah. It's pretty cool that they're mining, especially with the benefits that we know Bitcoin offers an energy grid by making it more efficient. I think, it's so cool that Ameren is mining and they reached out to try to collaborate as well. I'm in conversations with them. That aspect of it is still very new to me, and I'm continuing my education so that hopefully, I can really understand the mining aspect of it more. Because my understanding of it is very elementary.

[00:46:51] BW: Yeah. Just to chime in, when I got to this school, one of the things that really sparked my interest was we have this massive open area. I think, a lot of colleges and these independent schools have these, where they've got resources. We have wide open land right now that's just being used to cut hay and throw it away. There's actually a gentleman, I think, in the audience who we were on a call talking about bio waste and agricultural waste and ways that we might be able to use some of the machines they have to create energy, create energy power plants based on that, and in combination with potential solar. That's one of the reasons we're taking the solar panels offline.

We're associated with the college as well, that has a solar car program, so they have excess panels sitting in storage nobody's using. My thought is to pull some of this stuff out of the dump, retrofit it, get some batteries. We've had a couple donated to us. We're looking for an inverter right now. Really, just to plug them in and see if we can power the batteries up and mine some Bitcoin and get these kids learning. The idea in my mind is creating a prototype that could eventually be a residential, a power supply that's working off at solar, a combination of solar and biofuel, or bio waste and put an asinine in the basement of every house in the town, something along those lines. Where maybe right now that doesn't make sense. 250, half million, million dollar Bitcoin and S9 homing in the basement, creating a little bit of heat and mining some bitcoin to go to the city and go to the residents might be something that could happen.

Again, we got to engineer this. We need the young people learn how to problem solve. I got a kid who does electrical engineering. He's been helping out with trying to figure out how to deal with the wattage. He helped me get the right power supply. I got the wrong one for the first one. I got one for 240 volts and we figured out it was 120. There's a lot of little things that you can learn and figure out, but we got to get started. With some of these miners that are doing this actively in Texas and Wyoming, there's a lot of expertise out there to help figure out how to make this work.

[00:48:41] JS: Yeah, brother. You got to come through city hall when I'm up there. Send me another email. I'm going to give you my cellphone number and we'll set up something for you to come up to city hall and we'll explore this.

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[00:50:53] CK: I have a question for you Mayor Jason Stewart. You said you're an environmentalist and Bitcoiners think that proof of work in mining is going to be a huge part of saving the environment and making the earth a beautiful place. Can you talk about that cognitive dissonance a little bit?

[00:51:08] JS: Yeah. Bitcoiners are absolutely correct in that assumption. As you look into the actual science and data that we have, it's very clear that Bitcoin is actually good for the environment. Not only is the energy usage worth it, that's I would say one of our arguments we hear a lot. We're using a lot of energy, but it's worth it.

Yeah, that's true. In addition to that, Bitcoin is a net positive for the environment. It makes our energy grids more efficient. It captures lost energy. It creates markets for energy, where people can actually pay to set up energy grids in places where we never had a financial incentive before. Ultimately at the end of this, we will look back and say that Bitcoin was likely the biggest accelerant for humanity in adopting permanent renewable energy, because the system of mining incentivizes that. It's the only financial thing that makes sense. That's where it pushing the world.

We've had these technologies, like solar and wind and flared gas capturing for a long time, but it's not always financially efficient for any individual, or group to go capture that energy and use it. Bitcoin perfectly aligns our incentives there. If we really care about pushing through to renewable technology, renewable energy, we have to know support Bitcoin if we care about that happening faster, because it's the biggest accelerant that we have.

Like you said, there is that cognitive dissonance because, oh, it's energy usage. Everyone's worried that we're boiling the oceans and that we're constantly polluting the air. We can get into that conversation, too, with these legacy systems. That's a long conversation, but a lot of people don't want to dive into the petrodollar. Bitcoin Magazine has never been afraid to educate people about the petrodollar. I think, more people should learn about that as well, when it comes to energy usage and money.

[00:53:08] CK: Who wants to jump in?

[00:53:10] PARTICIPANT: Hey, mayor. How’s it going? Fellow St. Louisian here. Very awesome, hat you're doing in your small town. Just the question for you real quick. I know the area you're in is around the Normandy area of St. Louis. I know for the last couple of years, the public schooling system there has been struggling to say the least. I'm curious if you've had any conversations with administrators there about implementing some Bitcoin education, or mining education programs for the students there.

[00:53:39] JS: Yeah. I'm in some conversations with the school board. I think that sometimes, the schools here struggle, because of a lack of vision. I have unfortunately experienced that from time to time. A good example of this lack of vision would be, I was trying to educate our local school. It’s called Cool Valley Innovation High School. Actually, Ms. Nadia Roberts came by. I'm sure, a lot of y'all know Ms. Nadia. Our goal was to educate all the students about Bitcoin and actually, to give them some Bitcoin as well.

We had this event at the school and the kids are loving it. The kids are so excited to get some free Bitcoin, to learn about Bitcoin. They are just so in love with this idea. Then the principal got freaked out, because she was afraid of COVID, even though we were outside and everyone had masks and all this stuff. She ended the event before the kids could really go through the process of learning and getting their Bitcoin. I thought that was really short-sighted. I think, that a lot of the schools up here, they're governed by the same body. I don't know. Sometimes, they're just not as open-minded as they need to be.

I will say the good thing in Missouri is, Missouri makes it very easy to have a charter school, or to homeschool your kids, or to create a new school if you want to. I'm starting to think that might be the answer for a lot of people when it comes to educating their own children. I know, that's a whole tangent, because we're getting into the schooling part of it. You opened up a can of worms for me, because you're right. These school districts are struggling, and I've always felt bad. I came up through these school districts, but sometimes, I don't know, you're a victim of your own mistakes, your own bad decisions. I do think that things can get better.

[00:55:27] PARTICIPANT: Hey Mayor Stewart. I had a question. Forgive me if you already answered this at the beginning. I missed the very beginning. How do you parse your duties as a mayor and your advocacy for Bitcoin and getting Bitcoin into the hands of your citizens now? It seems to me that a lot of people who come into the Bitcoin space take up the Bitcoin agenda of spreading adoption as one of their primary focuses. I was just wondering about that balancing act and what you think about those things.

[00:55:56] JS: It's a good question. Let me clear my mind and really think about what you just said. It's interesting. I think, the way that I've been balancing this, it hasn't really been balanced. I've been leaning on the private sector. My duties as mayor and what I'm doing with Bitcoin, like they are aligned, but I'm primarily handling this Bitcoin project in the private sector. I'm doing that, because I believe government is so inefficient and giving large amounts of money to government, even the local government could just be a death sentence to that money. I have my job as mayor to make sure the city doesn't go bankrupt or anything like that.

I'm also the head of police, so I have to make sure my people are safe and doing those things. Me wishing for them to be financially well off, that's almost more coming from my soul, from my spirit than it's coming from my job responsibility as mayor. I just think that maybe being a mayor has given me a platform to follow through with that vision. I don't know if that answers your question. Did I get close to answering your question? Feel free to ask it again. I'd like to dive into this idea a little bit deeper. I just want to make sure that I'm hitting around the area that you're reaching for.

[00:57:11] PARTICIPANT: Yeah, totally. I'm just wondering how this public life versus personal life versus mayoral life versus private citizen life. It seems like an awful lot to balance to me. You’re such a good spokesperson for Bitcoin, that I just wondered if you try to segregate these kinds of identities at all, or if you're just taken with this one task of spreading Bitcoin and helping your citizens that way.

[00:57:35] JS: I would say the latter. I'm more taken with the mission. I see the Bitcoin advocacy as my mission, whether I were a mayor or not. My life, I don't separate it too much. My entire life is this job. I've always been that person though. I'm completely engulfed in my work. it just becomes a part of me for sure. There's not much separation. You're right, it is a lot to handle; dealing with my personal life and dealing with being a mayor and then dealing with all the other things that go on. I see it as one big thing. Being a mayor just seems to be a great platform for me to try to get this advocacy out. I'm very fortunate that the people who live here want to see the same future that I do. Thus, they give me the opportunity to be here and get these ideas out.

[00:58:26] CK: We got John Logan. We got Dadu, who I think are up next. John, why don't you go? Then Dadu, you can go after.

[00:58:34] JL: Thanks so much. Hey, Mayor Stewart. Thank you so much for all the work that you're doing. Thank you for just being so progressive in your philosophy and leaning in on something that you really believe in, being unapologetic about all the things that Bitcoin can be to so many people. I appreciate that.

Just a little earlier, you were speaking about the – as an environmentalist, you were speaking about the energy aspect in how the FUD around how Bitcoin will eat up the world's energy and so forth. You spoke to all the good things about how Bitcoin will essentially cause a resurgence of people really looking for ways to have more renewable energy sources. People need – they need data, right? They need something really hardcore to look out. How can you point people in the right direction? Where can you point them to say, “Hey, listen. From an environmental standpoint, you certainly will have this.” What references can you give some of our listeners out there that will surely clearly point them in the right direction and say, “Hey, look at this. Bitcoin will clearly cause and incentivize people to look for more renewable energy sources.” Because this is a hot talking point, right?

People always want to say, it's going to eat up – the FUD mongerers will always say that Bitcoin will eat up the world and cause climate changes in a negative way. How can quell some of that FUD and give people real data points? Because I think that's what people need. How might you be able to do that?

[00:59:49] JS: A great question, brother. Thank you so much for keeping the conversation here, because it's really important. I think that there are so many great resources. If there were someone who is full of energy FUD, but sincerely wants to learn and will put in the work, I would tell them to one, follow Bitcoin Magazine, subscribe to Bitcoin Magazine. They have so many great writers who were destroying the energy FUD argument. It seems like, every single week.

There's also a really great tweet, probably back from August or something. I don't remember. Dan Held. I'm sure a lot of you guys know Dan Held. He has a really wonderful piece that he did, that puts together a lot of the counter-arguments to the energy FUD and compiles them into one place. For an even deeper dive, I personally really enjoyed the paper that Cash App put out in partnership with I believe, it was Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment fund. This paper was just some of the best research that I've seen, showing how Bitcoin is accelerating the adoption of solar. I would point people towards those three resources, maybe to start. That should get them going pretty far down the right path.

[01:00:58] JL: Thank you so much for that. I think, people really need to hear that. They really need to be true advocates, unapologetically. You're doing a great job with it. Anything that you're doing as far as education, a huge supporter of sister Nadia Roberts. It’s a shame to hear that that event was not totally expanded, that you were doing out there at Cool Valley Tech, the school that you mentioned. Anything you're doing over there, please, man. I'm looking to support you in any way I can. I'm over here in New York city, but listen, you got a partner over here. Thanks again for all of that. Hopefully, we can connect, brother.

[01:01:25] JS: Bless you so much. I really appreciate you.

[01:01:27] JL: Yes, sir. Likewise. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[01:01:30] CK: Dadu, why don't you take over?

[01:01:32] D: Hey, what’s going on, everybody? Thank you, Mayor Stewart, for all the stuff that you're doing for the space. I truly appreciate it. Just to change gears here really quickly, I was curious to know this. I know that Bitcoin fits perfectly into your objectives that you want to do as far as writing the past wrongs and enabling citizens to have freedom via Bitcoin.

My main question was, I know that the medium income rate for Cool Valley is somewhere around 30K to 40K. How do you see that $500 of exposure to Bitcoin removing, or lowering the poverty rate in your county over the next few years and decades? Because a lot of people may not think 500 bucks is a lot of money, but when you're dealing with something that has such number go up capacity, it has the ability to really double and triple those gains, do you think that in the future, people will actually start to see a financial benefit from that $500 airdrop in the next few years?

[01:02:23] JS: Only double or triple? Is this a bear room? Are we all bears in here like that? I'm just playing with your, bro. Yeah, I absolutely think that they'll see the benefit. This is why it was so important for me to set up the trust, the trust fund aspect of it, where they are going to receive their asset after five years. It's like a proof in their mind. It's like, I'm getting them off of zero. I'm exposing them to it, and they're going to see several runs up and down, but they're going to notice that it always trends up and up.

In five years, who knows what that – it's a $1,000 is what we're giving them. I personally believe that $1,000 in five years is going to turn into enough to make it to where no one will be below the poverty line. I believe, we'll have an entire city without poverty. We do have a relatively low median income, but a lot of that too, is we have a lot of older people that live here and they're retired. They're living on their savings and retirement accounts. Technically even me, I live on savings and investments. I donate my entire salary back to the city.

We have a lot of people here who are just, they're retired, so they're not earning as much as they were, but they have a nest egg. God blessed them. I really hope that they start to keep a significant portion of that nest egg in Bitcoin. I really just hope that, because it's not just a $1,000 that we're giving them. We're giving them education as well, and the tools to financially empower themselves.

They can match our $1,000 with their own money. Who knows? With all the support we're getting, maybe I can come back and give them more than a $1,000. I absolutely believe that this project has a chance to completely eliminate poverty within the city of Cool Valley.

[01:04:09] D: Thank you for that. That was brilliant.

[01:04:11] CK: I feel like, if you're in Bitcoin for four to five years, if the cycles continue to play out how we've seen them in the past, there's no way that you haven't at least 10, if not more. That's a minimum. I think that the time lock is a very interesting aspect and component of this whole thing, Mayor Stewart. I'm curious. Can you break down exactly, what qualifies a resident to actually receive the Bitcoin? Because I feel a lot of small towns, they have brain drain. I think that the way that you're thinking about this, as well as the current climate, it actually combats brain drain.

[01:04:46] JS: Before I go, could you get into brain drain just a little bit? When you say

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