Why We ONLY Build on Bitcoin ft. Nubank, Btrust, TVP

Why We ONLY Build on Bitcoin: Leaders from Nubank, Btrust, and Recursive Capital explain why Bitcoin is the only network worth building on and where the biggest opportunities lie.

PANELISTS:
• Abubakar Nur-Khalil | Recursive Capital (Bitcoin VC in Africa), Bitcoin Students Network Board Member, BTrust Founder, Bitcoin Core contributor
• Michael Jarmuz | Head of Bitcoin at Nubank (127M+ customers), previously at Apple Pay, Tesla, Cash App, Coinbase
• Zach Young | Trammell Venture Partners (moderator)

WHAT IT MEANS TO BUILD ON BITCOIN:

Africa Examples (Abubakar):
• Gridless: Provides energy to parts of Africa without power through Bitcoin mining, using revenues to develop electrical grid infrastructure
• Bitnob: Pioneering Lightning Network and Dollar Cost Averaging
• Machankura: Allows Bitcoin to be sent offline
• Mavapay: Send/receive Bitcoin to Nigerian bank accounts over Lightning

Block Examples (Michael):
• Cash App: 20-25M users interacted with Bitcoin (on-chain + Lightning)
• BitKey: Self-custody multi-sig wallet making Bitcoin accessible
• Square Point of Sale: Bitcoin acceptance for everyday purchases

WHY BITCOIN (NOT OTHER NETWORKS)?

Bitcoin's Unique Properties:
• Most resilient and decentralized network
• No central authority dictating roadmap
• True grassroots movement
• African entrepreneurs burned by fragile, centralized technologies
• Provides assurance for decade-plus infrastructure building

Separating State from Money (Michael):
1. Never happened in history (Lebanese friends lost 95% net worth to hyperinflation; Argentina currency lost 99.9% in 25 years)
2. Biggest software invention since the Internet
3. Fixing broken money for billions globally

Read "Check Your Financial Privilege" by Alex Gladstein (Human Rights Foundation) to understand how broken money is worldwide.

WHERE THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE:

Short-Medium Term (1-10 years):
• Main product-market fit: digital sound hard money and store of value
• Focus on helping people acquire and hold Bitcoin
• Meet customer pain points
• Build human belief system around Bitcoin

Bitcoin is permissionless: Anyone can build and contribute without asking permission.

HOW STUDENTS CAN GET INVOLVED:
• Be curious and humble
• Focus on solving real-world problems
• Roll up your sleeves and show up
• Don't trust, verify
• Reach out to Bitcoin Students Network for guidance

KEY INSIGHTS:
• Bitcoin is a transformational platform shift in money (first in thousands of years)
• Resilience matters for long-term infrastructure
• Fix the money, fix the world
• We're still in the early innings

COMPANIES MENTIONED: Nubank, Block, Cash App, BitKey, Square, Recursive Capital, BTrust, Gridless, Bitnob, Machankura, Mavapay

ABOUT BITCOIN STUDENT NETWORK:
BSN unites students globally to learn, collaborate, and build the future of Bitcoin.

#Bitcoin #BuildOnBitcoin #Nubank #RecursiveCapital #BTrust #BitcoinAfrica #BSN #SoundMoney #FixTheMoney