021 The Internet Just Split In Two – Which Side Are You On? w/Derek Ross - All In Bitcoin With CK
The internet is quietly splitting in two. A KYC, permissioned, censorable web on one side… and a small, unstoppable, permissionless one on the other. Derek Ross has deleted every legacy social account, staked his name and face on Nostr, and is betting his life on freedom tech, Bitcoin, and open protocols, even if his own family doesn’t fully get it. In this deeply personal conversation, Derek and I dig into what censorship actually feels like in the so-called “free world,” why YouTube and X suspensions are not a China-only story, and how Nostr lets you truly own your identity with private keys you can’t be deplatformed from. Derek explains why the “Nostr is too technical” myth needs to die, how circular Bitcoin economies and zaps are already working at scale, and why losing your keys would mean losing years of “proof-of-work” reputation. We talk about family who don’t believe in Bitcoin, political blow-ups at home, changing his mind 180° on COVID restrictions, and the real emotional cost of being visible instead of anonymous. Derek also shares how AI “vibe coding” turned him into a builder overnight, why he’s now doing dev-rel for Soapbox, and how he ended up literally marrying two friends who met on Nostr.
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👇FOLLOW DEREK'S WORK:
Nostr: derekross@grownostr.org
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X: @allinbitcoinpod
TIME STAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
5:59 Letting go of the old world
10:11 The real cost of stepping forward
14:11 The resistance that surprises him
17:07 The problem simplicity can’t solve
19:39 A truth he rarely says aloud
21:50 The tool that still doesn’t exist
27:46 What ownership actually means
33:02 When censorship stops being theoretical
36:20 The shift happening faster than expected
38:27 Building without permission
41:05 When passion unexpectedly becomes a job
45:07 The fear that lingers beneath the work
47:22 The conflict closest to home
52:03 A belief he completely reversed
55:59 Pride and isolation at the same time
59:51 What would remain if he disappeared
1:01:22 A great story NOSTR made possible
1:04:00 On the feeling of being free
1:05:13 Where to find Derek
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