In Episode 45 of The Jake Woodhouse Podcast, Diana from Bitcoin Indonesia joins me to explore how Bitcoin is taking root in Bali. We talk about the local adoption movement, the launch of Bitcoin House Bali, and how Fedi is being used to onboard communities. Diana shares her personal journey, the challenges of running a nonprofit, and why failure setting is a critical tool for resilience. We also get into practical strategies for raising funds, applying for grants, and why, at the end of the day, Bitcoin fixes this.
Website: bitcoinindonesia.xyz
X: @bulebitcoin and @btchousebali
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Bitcoin Indonesia Conference
5:56 – Bitcoin House Bali
11:21 – Balinese Bitcoin Adoption
17:15 – Using Fedi
21:36 – Events at the Conference
26:20 – Diana’s Journey
34:11 – The Power of Failure Setting
35:24 – Running a Nonprofit
43:50 – Bitcoin Fixes This
48:57 – Raising Funds and Applying for Grants
56:18 – How to Connect with Diana
In this inspiring episode, Jake speaks with Diana, co-founder of Bitcoin Indonesia and lead organizer of the upcoming Indonesia Bitcoin Conference 2025. What began as a vibrant two-day event in 2023 has now evolved into Bitcoin Week Bali — a week-long celebration blending grassroots Bitcoin education, community experiences, and wellness activities in one of the world’s most enchanting locations.
Diana shares her personal journey from burnout in corporate Germany to finding purpose in Bali through Bitcoin. After quitting her job, selling everything, and traveling with her partner, she witnessed firsthand how Bitcoin could empower communities. That spark led to the creation of Bitcoin Indonesia, a nonprofit focused on local education, community building, and circular economy development. Central to this mission is Bitcoin House Bali, a grassroots community hub offering free workshops, open-source tools, books, hardware wallets, and a place for locals to safely learn and experiment with Bitcoin.
The conversation dives into the legal complexities of Bitcoin use in Indonesia, how Diana and her team found a regulatory workaround using the Fedi app, and the success of their “closed-loop system” approach. Diana also explains the challenge of running a nonprofit on Bitcoin — from initial self-funding and gaining community trust, to receiving grants from organizations like the Human Rights Foundation, OpenSats, and Block. She advocates for Bitcoin-native philanthropy, describing how transparent reporting, aligned incentives, and decentralized decision-making create genuine impact on the ground.
Beyond the tech, this episode explores purpose, intuition, and taking risk. Diana and Jake both reflect on how Bitcoin can empower individuals to reclaim their time, values, and direction in life — and how decentralized, bottom-up movements are now spreading across the globe.
