Chris Pavlesic, co-founder of Coinstop and Bitcoin Alive, shares his decade-long journey through Bitcoin, beginning with exposure to darknet use cases and evolving into deep ideological conviction after reading the Bitcoin whitepaper in 2015. Originally a punk musician with no formal economics background, Chris was drawn to Bitcoin via its cypherpunk ethos—freedom, privacy, individual sovereignty—and ultimately committed to it fully, even ceasing to check the fiat price of Bitcoin for years. This long-term Bitcoin standard living has shifted his time preference dramatically, freeing up mental and emotional bandwidth for health, relationships, and entrepreneurial pursuits. He compares fiat-based monetary systems to high time-preference chaos and sees Bitcoin as an open, fair, rules-based meritocracy accessible to all.

Chris also recounts his transition from mechanical engineering to entrepreneurship, beginning with solving his own Bitcoin custody issue by founding Coinstop in 2016. Starting with 10 hardware wallets, the business grew to seven figures within a year. He replicated this problem-solver approach with Bitcoin Alive, a conference designed to save Australians from flying overseas to experience top-tier Bitcoin gatherings. His commitment to Bitcoin as “the most important technology of the past—and next—100 years” underpins his ventures. This sound money conviction informs his views on politics too: he questions whether real reform is possible within the current political framework but entertains public service if it means helping Australia fulfill its promise under a Bitcoin standard.

Throughout the conversation, Chris highlights how Bitcoin has transformed his worldview from nihilism to optimism. Fixing the money, he believes, unlocks broader flourishing: mentally, socially, and economically. His goal now is multi-generational wealth preservation and finding others solving high-conviction problems with similar values.