When Sergei talks about bitcoin, he doesn’t sound like someone chasing profits or followers. He sounds like someone about to build a monastery in the ruins.
While the mainstream world chases headlines and hype, Sergei shows up in local meetups from Sacramento to Cleveland, mentors curious minds, and shares what he knows is true – hoping that, with the right spark, someone will light their own way forward.
We interviewed Sergei to trace his steps: where he started, what keeps him going, and why teaching bitcoin is far more than explaining how to set up a node – it’s about reaching the right minds before the noise consumes them. So we began where most journeys start: at the beginning. 
First Steps
- So, where did it all begin for you and what made you stay curious?
I first heard about bitcoin from a friend’s book recommendation, American Kingpin, the book about Silk Road (online drug marketplace). He is still not a true bitcoiner, although I helped him secure private keys with some bitcoin.
I was really busy at the time – focused on my school curriculum, running a 7-bedroom Airbnb, and working for a standardized test prep company. Bitcoin seemed too technical for me to explore, and the pace of my work left no time for it.
After graduating, while pursuing more training, I started playing around with stocks and maximizing my savings. Passive income seemed like the path to early retirement, as per the promise of the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early). I mostly followed the mainstream news and my mentor’s advice – he liked preferred stocks at the time.
I had some Coinbase IOUs and remember sending bitcoin within the Coinbase ledger to a couple friends. I also recall the 2018 crash; I actually saw the legendary price spike live but couldn’t benefit because my funds were stuck amidst the frenzy. I withdrew from that investment completely for some time. Thankfully, my mentor advised to keep en eye on bitcoin.
Around late 2019, I started DCA-ing cautiously. Additionally, my friend and I were discussing famous billionaires, and how there was no curriculum for becoming a billionaire. So, I typed “billionaires” into my podcast app, and landed on We Study Billionaires podcast.
That’s where I kept hearing Preston Pysh mention bitcoin, before splitting into his own podcast series, Bitcoin Fundamentals. I didn’t understand most of the terminology of stocks, bonds, etc, yet I kept listening and trying to absorb it thru repetition. Today, I realize all that financial talk was mostly noise.
When people ask me for a technical explanation of fiat, I say: it’s all made up, just like the fiat price of bitcoin! Starting in 2020, during the so-called pandemic, I dove deeper. I religiously read Bitcoin Magazine, scrolled thru Bitcoin Twitter, and joined Simply Bitcoin Telegram group back when DarthCoin was an admin.
DarthCoin was my favorite bitcoiner – experienced, knowledgeable, and unapologetic. Watching him shift from rage to kindness, from passion to despair, gave me a glimpse at what a true educator’s journey would look like.
The struggle isn’t about adoption at scale anymore. It’s about reaching the few who are willing to study, take risks, and stay out of fiat traps. The vast majority won’t follow that example – not yet at least… if I start telling others the requirements for true freedom and prosperity, they would certainly say “Hell no!”
- At what point did you start teaching others, and why?
After college, I helped teach at a standardized test preparation company, and mentored some students one-on-one. I even tried working at a kindergarten briefly, but left quickly; Babysitting is not teaching.
What I discovered is that those who will succeed don’t really need my help – they would succeed with or without me, because they already have the inner drive.
Once you realize your people are perishing for lack of knowledge, the only rational thing to do is help raise their level of knowledge and understanding. That’s the Great Work.
I sometimes imagine myself as a political prisoner. If that were to happen, I’d probably start teaching fellow prisoners, doctors, janitors, even guards. In a way we already live in an open-air prison, So what else is there to do but teach, organize, and conspire to dismantle the Matrix?
Building on Bitcoin
- You hosted some in-person meetups in Sacramento. What did you learn from those?
My first presentation was on MultiSig storage with SeedSigner, and submarine swaps through Boltz.exchange.
I realized quickly that I had overestimated the group’s technical background. Even the meetup organizer, a financial advisor, asked, “How is anyone supposed to follow these steps?” I responded that reading was required… He decided that Unchained is an easier way.
At a crypto meetup, I gave a much simpler talk, outlining how bitcoin will save the world, based on a DarthCoin’s guide. Only one person stuck around to ask questions – a man who seemed a little out there, and did not really seem to get the message beyond the strength of cryptographic security of bitcoin.
Again, I overestimated the audience’s readiness. That forced me to rethink my strategy. People are extremely early and reluctant to study.
- Now in Ohio, you hold sessions via the Orange Pill App. What’s changed?
My new motto is: educate the educators. The corollary is: don’t orange-pill stupid normies (as DarthCoin puts it).
I’ve shifted to small, technical sessions in order to raise a few solid guardians of this esoteric knowledge who really get it and can carry it forward.
The youngest attendee at one of my sessions is a newborn baby – he mostly sleeps, but maybe he still absorbs some of the educational vibes.
- How do local groups like Sactown and Cleveland Bitcoiners influence your work?
Every meetup reflects its local culture. Sacramento and Bay Area Bitcoiners, for example, do camping trips – once we camped through a desert storm, shielding our burgers from sand while others went to shoot guns.
Cleveland Bitcoiners are different. They amass large gatherings. They recently threw a 100k party. They do a bit more community outreach. Some are curious about the esoteric topics such as jurisdiction, spirituality, and healthful living.
I have no permanent allegiance to any state, race, or group. I go where I can teach and learn. I anticipate that in my next phase, I’ll meet Bitcoiners so advanced that I’ll have to give up my fiat job and focus full-time on serious projects where real health and wealth are on the line.
Hopefully, I’ll be ready. I believe the universe always challenges you exactly to your limit – no less, no more.
- What do people struggle with the most when it comes to technical education?
The biggest struggle isn’t technical – it’s a lack of deep curiosity. People ask “how” and “what” – how do I set up a node, what should one do with the lightning channels? But very few ask “why?”
Why does on-chain bitcoin not contribute to the circular economy? Why is it essential to run Lightning? Why did humanity fall into mental enslavement in the first place?
I’d rather teach two-year-olds who constantly ask “why” than adults who ask how to flip a profit. What worries me most is that most two-year-olds will grow up asking state-funded AI bots for answers and live according to its recommendations.
- One Cleveland Bitcoiner shows up at gold bug meetups. How valuable is face-to-face education?
I don’t think the older generation is going to reverse the current human condition. Most of them have been under mind control for too long, and they just don’t have the attention span to study and change their ways.
They’re better off stacking gold and helping fund their grandkids’ education. If I were to focus on a demographic, I’d go for teenagers – high school age – because by college, the indoctrination is usually too strong, and they’re chasing fiat mastery.
As for the gold bug meetup? Perhaps one day I will show up with a ukulele to sing some bitcoin-themed songs. Seniors love such entertainment.
- How do you choose what to focus on in your sessions, especially for different types of learners?
I don’t come in with a rigid agenda. I’ve collected a massive library of resources over the years and never stopped reading. My browser tab and folder count are exploding.
At the meetup, people share questions or topics they’re curious about, then I take that home, do my homework, and bring back a session based on those themes. I give them the key takeaways, plus where to dive deeper.
Most people won’t – or can’t – study the way I do, and I expect attendees to put in the work. I suspect that it’s more important to reach those who want to learn but don’t know how, the so-called nescient (not knowing), rather than the ignorant.
There are way too many ignorant bitcoiners, so my mission is to find those who are curious what’s beyond the facade of fake reality and superficial promises.
That naturally means that fewer people show up, and that’s fine. I’m not here for the crowds; I’m here to educate the educators. One bitcoiner who came decided to branch off into self-custody sessions and that’s awesome. Personally, I’m much more focused on Lightning.
I want to see broader adoption of tools like auth, sign-message, NWC, and LSPs. Next month, I’m going deep into eCash solutions, because let’s face it – most newcomers won’t be able to afford their own UTXO or open a lightning channel; additionally, it has to be fun and easy for them to transact sats, otherwise they won’t do it. Additionally, they’ll need to rely on trustworthy members of their tribe to onboard. This next phase of bitcoin will look very different.
- How do you stay current with Bitcoin’s technical developments?
My number one source is Stacker.News. Used to be Bitcoin Magazine, but there’s too much noise there now. Twitter? That’s a dumpster fire of emotional mobs.
Stacker.News is a pay-to-post platform – only quality content survives. I haven’t earned much from it, but I’m around break-even, and that tells me I’m contributing just as much as I get.
It’s one of the few places where truly smart bitcoiners congregate. Outside of that, I keep up with a few Telegram groups – LNbits, Zeus, B-talk (Russian bitcoiners)… Blixt wallet chat is another, though that one gets very technical: servers, code, networking – that’s still beyond my understanding. I chip away at it slowly, but I know my pace.
- You study across disciplines. How does that influence the way you teach Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is not just money. The real money – sovereign money – is the mind, when it’s aligned with true Care. That’s the balanced quantum computer we were gifted. If people act from that space of true Care, they’ll begin to make the world a better place. Some call it Love.
Whatever you call it, it’s bigger than us. Respect comes from “to look again,” so I invite people to look again – at their environment, the living beings around them, the land they’re on.
No, I can’t teach bitcoin to a dog, but my dog knows the difference between someone on a bitcoin standard versus a fiat one. No joke! She gets longer walks and higher-quality snacks.
When I teach nowadays, I try to tie bitcoin to common sense (natural law, karmic law, law of cause and effect… the law of “fuck around and find out”). If people don’t understand what’s right and wrong at a fundamental level, no technology will save them. Bitcoiners, not bitcoin, will fix the world, and only if they’re grounded in the correct principles.
What does the future hold?
- What would you say to someone who wants to teach Bitcoin but isn’t confident in the tech side yet?
Start with what you know best and focus on that. Once you’ve got a solid understanding of one part of bitcoin, talk about it, share what you’re learned. Some people only understand the price, and that’s fine – start there but don’t get stuck.
If all you talk about is price, you’ll become a one-trick pony. Eventually, your peers will get bored, and you’ll need to find new listeners. Look at guys like Joe Nakamoto – he travels and documents how bitcoin is growing. That’s a way to contribute too.
There’s so much more – bitcoin can literally electrify the grid and unlock the advanced old-world technology; maybe one day we’ll mine bitcoin using the Giza Pyramids.
- What’s next for you as a Bitcoin educator – any ideas or goals you’re exploring?
My end goal is ending slavery. That’s extremely hard, because most people have outsourced responsibility for their learning and actions, and that never ends well.
Civilizations fall not from a lack of technology, but from the loss of consciousness. There’s a slow revival happening – more people are seeing the benefits of sunlight, whole foods, less stress. I’d love to see more bitcoin meetups integrate these topics more. My personal mantra is simple: clean up your air, water, food, light, and information.
Only then can your mind open to deeper knowledge – both internal and external. That’s the path to purifying consciousness. I’m especially focused on Natural Law and the many layers of jurisdiction.
I found out a sovereign nation can consist of just one man, and that one may declare his nationality at will, by any means whatsoever. This changed my whole worldview. We’re not ready to hold sessions on that yet. Awareness is low, and the reading load is heavy.
There is definitely a lot to unpack. For newcomers, I still say: “Stay humble, stack sats,” enjoy the memes, and don’t forget: Number Go Up. It’s a long journey and a rewarding one.
Conclusion
For Sergei, the next chapter isn’t about louder stages or flashier content. It’s about refining consciousness, understanding Natural Law, and helping others reclaim personal sovereignty – starting with the basics: clean air, clean water, clean food, clean light, clean information.
Because before you can truly grasp bitcoin, you have to clear the static. Real adoption, for him, starts with a shift in mindset. And that takes time. Stillness.
Space to question and unlearn. He’s not here to rush that process. He’s here to honor it. So no, Sergei won’t be leading mass movements or dropping hot takes.
He’ll be showing up – quietly, consistently – at the edge of the firelight. Asking better questions. Sharing what he’s learning. And waiting, patiently, for those who are ready to carry their own torch.
That’s how change begins. One sovereign mind at a time. If you’re ready to take the Orange Pill and become part of a growing movement of bitcoin educators, visit https://clevelandbitcoin.org/.
