Rob Banks

Before the hashtags, before the headlines, before your favorite influencers learned how to pronounce “decentralized”—there were a few stubborn humans writing code in the dark, sending emails at odd hours, and believing that money could be both math and freedom. One of those humans was Sirius—you might know him by his real name, Martti Malmi—an early collaborator who stood beside Satoshi when Bitcoin wasn’t a movement yet.

Markets don’t move in straight lines; they move like weather. A sudden storm in one country turns into airport delays worldwide. A central bank blinks, a war headline hits, a major exchange freezes withdrawals—and somewhere, a newbie opens their app and sees a sea of red. Welcome to global finance in real time: one push here, a ripple there, and crypto feels the splash.

Most people treat crypto like a museum exhibit—look, don’t touch. But you don’t understand the future of money by staring at it. You understand it by using it. So this October, I’m inviting you to a tiny, low-stakes challenge: The $20 Experiment. Your baby steps into crypto...

Crypto is the permissionless picnic. You bring your own basket, lock it with a code only you know, and decide who gets a taste of your sandwich. No gatekeeper, no surprise park entrance fee, and no one confiscating your lunch when the weather turns ugly. If that sounds chaotic — good. If it sounds scary — also good. Both reactions mean you care, and that’s where the learning starts.