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Which Form of Money Really Deserves Our Trust? | Ep. 72 — #72 Tom
Description
In this episode of Sat Chats, we welcome Tom—co-founder and CEO of Agile Media Group, a startup turning delivery trucks into rolling billboards with a tech twist. Tom isn’t just a startup founder—he’s your classic “Area Man” Bitcoin beginner, who first heard about BTC in 2014 when his college roommate was... let’s just say participating on Silk Road.
Tom shares how he went from a front-row seat to the dark web to stacking a half-coin with genuine curiosity about Bitcoin's infrastructure, messaging, and future. We unpack why Bitcoin stands apart from other cryptos, how its open-source code builds trust, and why "crypto" might be due for a branding breakup. Plus: why Tom thinks the word “money” could be Bitcoin’s secret weapon—and why government tokens might be the new insult.
We cover:
✅ The difference between Bitcoin, crypto, and “government tokens”
✅ Why Bitcoin isn’t just for “degens”
✅ Bitcoin's source code, decentralization, and why it just works
✅ Why Bitcoin has a messaging—not branding—problem
✅ What keeps Tom from going full maxi (for now)
✅ The node network, internet fail-safes, and how Bitcoin survives disaster
✅ Why speed isn’t the point—trust is
✅ The Everything Bagel hummus breakdown you didn’t know you needed
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Bitcoin and the Podcast
02:51 Tom Shea's Bitcoin Journey
09:22 The Branding of Crypto and Bitcoin
15:22 Bitcoin vs Other Cryptocurrencies
24:18 The Rules of Bitcoin
27:39 The Resilience of Bitcoin
28:58 Understanding Bitcoin Transactions
31:22 The Role of Nodes and Miners
32:39 Internet Connectivity and Bitcoin's Stability
35:53 Investment Strategies: Dollar-Cost Averaging vs. Lump Sum
39:02 The Future of Bitcoin and Guest Insights
43:34 The Offer: Sats or Cash
At the end, Tom gets a choice: $50 in fiat or 46,974 sats… and you’ll never guess what he picks. (Okay, maybe you will.