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Susie Violet
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Bitcoin Journalist
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Susie 8 months ago
Heading to BTC Prague? Catch me on the ‘Bitcoin Mining Benefits: Why it Matters’ panel. Saturday 21 June at 1pm on the Expo Stage. @BTC Prague
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Susie 8 months ago
I’ll be @The Bitcoin Conference hosting a panel on Bitcoin mining origin stories. 27 May | 3:00 to 3:30 pm | Mining Stage Three industry leaders share how challenges, lessons, & innovation have shaped their approaches to mining, sustainability, scale, and strategy. Hopefully see you there. image
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Susie 8 months ago
Most people don’t find Bitcoin through marketing. They hear it from a friend, fall down a rabbit hole, or get wrecked on something else first. So, how do you market Bitcoin to the masses? 27 May | 12:30 to 1:00 pm | Genesis Stage I’ll be in Vegas for Bitcoin 2025, hosting this panel. This one’s about community, clarity, and cutting through the noise. image
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Susie 9 months ago
KYC doesn’t just put your data at risk; it puts people at risk. Hackers recently demanded $20 million in Bitcoin from Coinbase, threatening to leak sensitive customer data. While no passwords or private keys were accessed, the attackers obtained full names, addresses, contact details, partial Social Security and bank account numbers, and identity documents. This is the kind of data that can be weaponised for identity theft, fraud, or worse. This is exactly the kind of risk I raised on the compliance panel at the Financial Times Digital Assets Summit last week. While KYC and compliance frameworks are presented as security features, they often do the opposite. They create massive, centralised honeypots of personal data that can and do get breached, sold, or exploited. We’ve seen what can happen when that data gets into the wrong hands. Earlier this year, David Balland, the co-founder of Ledger, was kidnapped along with his wife. His captors cut off one of his fingers and sent it to a business associate to demand crypto ransom. He was rescued by French special forces, but the message was clear: real-world consequences are now linked to digital identity exposure. We need better solutions that don’t force users to sacrifice privacy and safety for access. Compliance shouldn’t come at the cost of security.
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Susie 9 months ago
This week, I attended the FT Digital Assets Summit, and while the focus was largely on 'crypto', Bitcoin kept finding its way back into the conversation. Economic Secretary Emma Reynolds ruled out the idea of a UK national Bitcoin reserve during the Summit in London, stating it's "not appropriate for our market." She added, “We understand that’s what the U.S. is going for, but that’s not the plan for us.” A disappointing (if predictable) stance, especially as more forward-thinking jurisdictions begin to explore the benefits of holding Bitcoin at a national level. I was on the "Building Trust – Risk Management and Compliance Strategies" panel, which turned out to be far more engaging than the title suggests. Some of the panellists claimed regulators were listening to companies and doing a good job, which was jaw dropping to say the least. Richard Byworth from Syz Capital nailed it on his panel about institutional adoption. He kept steering the conversation back to Bitcoin and summed it up perfectly when he said: "Regulators are not doing their job". Despite the out-of-touch comments from the Economic Secretary and some questionable optimism from industry, there were some encouraging moments. Lord Chris Holmes, who has previously leaned hard into CBDCS and digital ID, commented positively about Bitcoin. A sign that there are some in the House of Lords beginning to grasp its economic potential. The summit may not have been Bitcoin focused, but Bitcoin had a presence, and momentum is building, even if the policymakers lag behind and companies leave in their droves.
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Susie 9 months ago
Bitcoin was born as freedom money. Decentralised, borderless, and immune to state control. But is that ideal being flipped on its head? Are a growing number of institutional players backed by governments inflating Bitcoin’s value not as a currency of the people but as a Strategic Reserve Asset to prop up the very system it was built to escape? Is the goal to create artificial demand for U.S. dollars and treasuries through stablecoins backed by U.S. debt? Stablecoins are lifelines for many, but what is the real cost? Will certain stablecoins become some of the largest holders of U.S. treasuries, indirectly funding U.S. policy while serving as the gateway to Bitcoin? By linking Bitcoin to stablecoins and those stablecoins to U.S. treasuries...has a pipeline been created to inflate Bitcoin, attract capital, prop up dollar demand, and sell more debt? Is it ironic that the asset created to resist fiat is now being used to save it? On the day Trump was inaugurated, I published this article. Centralisation is a threat. Are we paying close enough attention? https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/01/20/is-trumps-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-a-threat-to-freedom/ image
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Susie 10 months ago
A rare, well-researched positive article on Bitcoin by the BBC and it’s a good one. It covers: - Real-world impact in rural Africa - Wasted renewable energy put to use - Economic boost via electricity access - Profitable and sustainable model by Gridless - Ambitious plans to expand clean energy powered by Bitcoin More of this, please BBC.
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Susie 10 months ago
UK regulators are driving bitcoin businesses away while other countries capitalise on the opportunity. The FCA’s blanket cryptoasset policy is crushing innovation, stifling growth, pushing companies offshore, and making the UK increasingly hostile to bitcoin businesses. Companies are scaling back or leaving the UK due to restrictive and unclear regulations. Meanwhile, the US, UAE, and Singapore are actively attracting bitcoin investment. Bitcoin is not a meme coin. It is the future of finance. If this continues, the UK will lose its financial edge and risk global irrelevance as investment moves elsewhere. My latest Forbes piece. @MUSQET @fnew https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/03/18/uk-financial-conduct-authority-drives-out-business-and-hurts-consumers/ image
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Susie 11 months ago
The BBC’s FOI exemption is deeply troubling, shielding serious scandals from scrutiny. This was the first response I received from the BBC when I tried to hold them accountable for their misinformation and disinformation. I raised concerns about this exception with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and they said the BBC exemption stands; see their response below. The BBC has inflicted notable harm by consistently promoting incorrect and misleading narratives about Bitcoin. This perpetuates negative public perceptions and overshadows its potential as a transformative technology. By framing Bitcoin in a way that often lacks clarity or relies on outdated stereotypes, such as associating it primarily with criminal activity or environmental concerns, the BBC has skewed public understanding and stifled informed discourse. The BBC’s influence as a trusted news outlet amplifies the damage: its narratives have historically shaped opinions that deter adoption, investment, and innovation in a technology that could revolutionise financial inclusion, decentralised systems, and economic sovereignty. This is particularly harmful given Bitcoin’s surged value, reaching a record high of around $109,000, and when global leaders are increasingly recognising its strategic importance, such as the US establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. By obscuring Bitcoin's potential to empower individuals and challenge traditional financial systems, the BBC has delayed societal benefits and reinforced a status quo favouring established institutions over technological progress and freedom. People deserve transparency. The exemption should be scrapped, but then again, so should the BBC.
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Susie 1 year ago
🚨 IT'S OFFICIAL: The BBC cannot be held accountable for misinformation. No right to appeal, no transparency, and the regulator is just another dead end. For those following the case, here’s an analysis of the BBC’s Stage 2 response, highlighting systemic flaws in how they address inaccuracies: 1/ Conflict of Interest Not Addressed Flaw: BBC failed to disclose Alex de Vries' affiliation with the Dutch Central Bank, which has a vested interest in undermining Bitcoin. Impact: Readers lack full context to assess de Vries' credibility. 2/Reliance on a Discredited Source Flaw: Heavily relied on Alex de Vries' commentary, which has been debunked in peer-reviewed critiques. Impact: Treated de Vries' work as credible research, perpetuating misinformation. 3/ Failure to Independently Fact-Check Flaw: Cited similar reporting from other outlets, neglecting their responsibility as a public broadcaster to verify claims independently. Impact: Undermines the BBC’s editorial standards and trustworthiness. 4/ Freedom of Information Request - Refusal Flaw: Refused to disclose the fact-checking process under the FOI Act. Impact: Lacks transparency, raising concerns about their editorial process. 5/ Inadequate Responses to Evidence Flaw: Avoided addressing detailed rebuttals from the Digital Asset Research Institute (@dari_org). Key Issues Ignored: -Misrepresentation of Bitcoin’s energy metrics. -Failure to consider efficiencies from the Lightning Network. -Overreliance on outdated methodologies. -Exclusion of peer-reviewed studies on Bitcoin’s benefits. Impact: Demonstrates a lack of impartiality. 6/ Breach of Editorial Standards The BBC violated their own guidelines in three areas: Accuracy: Relied on discredited sources without fact-checking. Impartiality: Omitted conflicts of interest and rebuttals, creating bias. Transparency: Refused to disclose their fact-checking process. 7/ Avoidance of Accountability Flaw: Avoided engaging with evidence and arguments presented in Stage 1 & 2 complaints. Impact: Resistance to accountability makes it difficult to challenge inaccuracies. Summary of the Process Challenges The BBC’s reliance on flawed justifications, refusal to address rebuttals, and lack of transparency demonstrate systemic shortcomings: 1. Failed to retract or correct misleading content. 2. Ignored conflicts of interest. 3. Failed to adhere to accuracy, impartiality, and transparency standards. Full Stage 2 response attached. This process began on 5 December 2023, and over a year later, we are here with no resolution. This is a clear institutional failure undermining public trust in a taxpayer-funded organisation. The BBC must be held accountable for inaccuracies in their reporting. The BBC must be defunded. Full X thread and history here:
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Susie 1 year ago
Honoured to step into the role of CEO at Bitcoin Policy UK. With a refined mission, a vision for 2025, and a focus on advocating for good policies that will benefit both the UK and its citizens, I’m committed to driving positive change. Thank you for your support—we’re building a stronger future together. View quoted note →
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Susie 1 year ago
Another soul-crushing response from the BBC. After a year, they continue to ignore all the key points raised: - Failed to disclose Alex DeVries' conflict of interest as a Dutch central banker. - Ignored that his research was debunked at the time of publication. - Provided no evidence of their own fact-checking. Instead, they cited other outlets who published the same misinformation. Stage 1 has officially concluded. This is the end of the road with BBC Complaints. I now have 20 days to escalate the complaint to the Executive Complaints Unit—on to Stage 2. image