Hi everybody. Welcome to Orange Hatter. Today you're listening to a conversation with Jacqui. Jacqui, welcome to Orange Hatter. I'm so excited to be having this conversation with you. I'd love for you to tell our audience a little bit about your background.

I really am excited to be here. I, uh, you and I have been chatting for a while, and we both have a similar vision to empower women to learn more about Bitcoin, to kind of help everyone on their personal journey. And that kind of relates to, to me and what I've been doing. I'm a single mom, and my daughter's 26 now. And I learned about blockchain and Bitcoin about five or six years ago. And my background's law, and uh, but I, I didn't know a lot about finance. I wasn't interested in finance until I kind of, you know, learned about Bitcoin and, and this area. But I'm in the education space, so I definitely believe in asking questions and finding resources. And so, you know, I also have a talk show called CryptoMom2, and I learned about Bitcoin by talking to others in the community, and it's been a, a fascinating journey, and I'm really excited to be here. So, yeah, so that's a quick overview as to what I'm doing, which is just a little.

Yeah, that sounds like there are a lot of stories behind the summary that you gave us. So I'm gonna start, kind of, poking around and getting more details. So can you bring us back to the moment, you said you've been in the space for about four or five years, so if you can bring yourself back to four or five years ago, what were you doing then and how did you come across Bitcoin?

I was, I was basically searching for more information about what cryptocurrency meant. And I met a woman overseas in, in Scotland and she helped me open up my first wallet. I needed help, even though I'm highly educated. I, I still needed a mentor, and... but it was, it wasn't as difficult as I thought. And it, it was nice to have a guiding hand. And I think that that's one of the things that I've learned about people in, in the Bitcoin community is everyone is, open to helping each other. So that's been really nice. I had heard about Bitcoin for a while, but I had not thought about it. And once I, I, I read a little bit more about it, I, I realized that it would be a great way for me, and again, I know our shows are not investment shows, um, you know, not legal advice, they're educational, but I, I realized that this would be a great way for me to put some funds in for my retirement. And so I started to learn a little bit more. And, um, one thing led to another ,and, you know, again, I became a Bitcoin miner. I've done a lot of different things in the space. So I'm, I am... you know, it was, it's been an exciting journey as I've kind of tried to educate myself and then help educate others as well.

Right. So you mentioned that someone from Scotland held your hand through creating your first wallet. So how did you connect with someone in Scotland the first place?

It had nothing to do with my Bitcoin journey, actually. It had, it had to do with the fact that I love to travel the world. I had met her through travel. And then we started to have conversation about our other mutual interests. And one thing led to another, and I found out that she had been in the cryptocurrency, in the Bitcoin space for a short while. And she had knowledge, and she was open to helping me understand, you know, the ins and outs.

So you're actually very lucky, because I, I imagine there are a lot of people out there who are curious, but in their immediate friend circle or family circle, they don't really have someone that they can reach out to that they already trust. So I, I feel like you were very, very lucky in that regard.

Five or six years ago is different than how it is now. How it is now is so much easier to create a wallet and to navigate. I mean, you do have to remember that there are exchanges and then there, you know, there... public exchanges and other... and I don't wanna get into too many details, but the... it is, it's a lot simpler these days, the, you know, to actually to own Bitcoin, so... than it was a number of years ago.

I absolutely agree with you that today is so much easier, because four years ago when my husband and I first came into the space, we literally didn't even know what to do, because neither one of us has any background in cryptography or really computer science, IT, none of those. So I agree with you that it is so much easier today, and there's so much educational material out there that can even, just, guide you through the process. So definitely agree with you on that. Addressing some of the doubts that, uh, women out there have about Bitcoin being a scam... 'cause I, I've heard people say, like, they literally ask me outright, do you think Bitcoin's gonna go to zero? Do you think the government's gonna shut it down? So since you have a legal background, I think that's a really interesting question to pose you. Did you, in those early years, did you, ever consider that maybe this is just a big hoax, and wonder if this is something that the government is going to continue to allow?

So I'm gonna break out that question to a few parts, because I think it's important for our listeners to realize that there is Bitcoin, and then there are tokens or cryptocurrency. There's a big difference between the two. Bitcoin is one of the original blockchains, uh, the original coin. And um, blockchain is just a fancy term for the platform on which it's built, created. Cryptocurrency is also built on blockchain, but it's not built on the Bitcoin blockchain. So when, if someone's listening, if they're hearing about other tokens or cryptocurrencies, they, those are created by companies, unlike Bitcoin, which is not created by a company. So as I learned more, I realized that Bitcoin is independent. It's really person-to-person, while with some of these other cryptocurrencies... that's where the problems come sometimes... and not knowing if there's enough, I'll use a financial word, liquidity behind it. You know? And so it's the, that's where the challenges come. So as I was learning more, I realized Bitcoin is not a scam. It's, it's legit. Again, it's personal opinion, but you know, again, from everything it is because... and I'm a Bitcoin miner, so I started to... that means that there's a, a computer, a rig, which actually creates the coin by solving a mathematical problem, and then the miners get rewards and they earn from the solving. No different than MasterCard and Visa do. They get financial fees for all the transactions that we do. But, these rigs, these nodes that are all around the world, they cannot be shut down. So it's not going to, Bitcoin is not gonna not be around. The challenge is, is that sometimes there might be countries that say, okay, it's illegal for you to buy Bitcoin or to access, but that's different than Bitcoin disappearing. Bitcoin is not gonna disappear. And Bitcoin is being used in many countries right now as part of their ecosystem. And so because of the fact that you... and it was... way back when, you could buy a pizza with Bitcoin, too, now, you know, here in the States. And, and actually major companies are integrating the use of Bitcoin into their ecosystem. So the, I think for, for individuals that are listening, it's really important to understand the difference between Bitcoin and the other tokens that exist. So you have to do your research, for sure. But in terms of Bitcoin being a scam, it's not. And I, personal opinion, it's gonna be around for a while. And it will, it's being used as I said, by various countries like El Salvador and other countries. And so it's going to be... it has many properties, so that's why people are looking at it, trying to figure it out, you know, because in some ways it's like real estate. It appreciates in value. So you can buy it at one, you know, at one value, and it can go up, or it could go down. No different. In terms of it going away? No. The only challenge you have that we have, as consumers of this, is that we purchase this digital asset, this Bitcoin, and it goes into our wallet. So we have a responsibility to make sure that we keep our wallet safe, because if we don't keep our wallet safe, then it's not like we have... go into a bank and say, okay, I misplaced my, you know, information. Can you get it for me? This is really, really important as holders of Bitcoin, that we keep this information safe, and I can go down a different path if you want me to keep going, because one of the areas, as for a lawyer on my, uh, wearing my law hat and being a mom, I think it's really important that every family who makes an investment in digital assets like Bitcoin have a will. And if, because if you are putting your inheritance onto an online platform like Bitcoin and you don't tell your family how to access it, then if something happens to you, that inheritance that you're trying to create, that generational wealth that you're trying to create will be there, but they won't be able to access it. So I really think it's important for everyone who's listening to make sure, one, you have a will, so you, and that your family knows how to access that information. And if you don't have a will, you can contact me. I have access to very affordable resources to create a will in every state. It's just basic. Basic. You have to have that protection.

I think that's so true. That's, that's definitely some of the concerns that I've heard as I, Scott and I traveled around the country to even different Bitcoin meetups, people would come up to us, to us and say, I'm the only Bitcoiner in my family. My spouse is not on board. My kids don't know what I'm doing. And I'm afraid that if something happens to me, nobody would know what to do with my, my assets.

Exactly.

Thanks for joining us today and learning with us today. If the discussion with our guest resonated with you and you would like to dive deeper into the world of Bitcoin, don't miss out on joining the Orange Hatter Women's Reading Club. The meetup link is in the show notes. Also, if there are women in your life whom you think would both enjoy and benefit from learning more about Bitcoin, please share Orange Hatter with them. Until next time, bye!