The human face of cryptocurrency: An Interview with Davi Barker

An Interview with Davi Barker
An Interview with Davi Barker

Davi Barker is highly active in advocating Bitcoin as a real alternative. One of the driving forces behind Bitcoin Not Bombs with M. K. Lords, whom Cointelegraph also interviewed this week, he is paving the way for greater consumer understanding – and not just at home in the US. 

 
With the humanitarian virtues of Bitcoin still relatively under-discussed, we caught up with Davi to discuss his vision of the future and how there is more to Bitcoin than technical advances.
 
CT: How did you first become involved with Bitcoin? 
 
DB: I first heard about Bitcoin on Free Talk Live, and installed the Satoshi client on my machine when Bitcoin crossed $1. Unfortunately I didn't have the good sense to put anything in it. I was writing about economics on a number of different blogs, so Bitcoin was on my radar, and I’d written a little bit about it, but I really became involved when DailyAnarchist.com began paying contributors exclusively in Bitcoin. That was also around the time I was promoted to editor in 2012. To date I have hardly purchased any Bitcoin. Most of what I have I have accepted as payment for products and services. 
 
CT: What inspired you to start Muslim Agorist? 
 
DB: TheMuslimAgorist has been my username on various message boards since 2009. I adopted it simply because it was true. Agorism is a species of market activism that aims at manifesting a society where all coercive systems are replaced by consensual competitors. So you can imagine Bitcoin is a natural tool for Agorists. MuslimAgorist.com has become a kind of hub for all of my other activities. 
 
CT: Were there any particularly memorable moments for you at the Texas Bitcoin Conference this year? 
 
DB: It was strange to be a kind of spontaneous celebrity after my TSA encounter the week before. It seemed like everyone had read the story. I spent most of my time running the Bitcoin Not Bombs table and didn't catch many of the speakers, but hearing Jordan Paige and Tatiana Moroz on the last night was especially excellent. 
 
CT: How do you think would be the most effective and productive way to educate the public at large on the advantages of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general? 
 
DB: Not everyone needs to be educated about Bitcoin to use it. The vast majority of people don't know how their phone works, it just works. If the tools are made user friendly the public will adopt them, and probably find uses for them we haven't even imagined. 
 
CT: You regularly talk about the role of Bitcoin in the context of Islamic law and society on dailyanarchist.com. Do you think there is scope in Bitcoin to realign some of the disparity between the Muslim world and the West, at least on the consumer level? 
 
DB: I wouldn't say "regularly." I've written one article about Bitcoin and Islamic law. Commerce does far more to reconcile people than on a consumer level. It means peaceful interaction, mutual benefit, and overtime even cultural exchange as exotic products become common place. Frederic Bastiat once said, "if goods don't cross borders, soldiers will." That is why economic sanctions are regarded as an early act of war. The advent of Bitcoin has the potential to make economic sanctions unenforceable. You could even amend the statement, "If goods can't be prevented from crossing borders, soldiers can't." Commerce means depending on one another. It is a symbiotic relationship.