🎙️ My guest today is Susie Violet Ward, CEO and co-founder of Bitcoin Policy UK, a financial analyst and journalist (Forbes) focused on Bitcoin and the environment. In this episode, Susie unpacks the regulatory hostility toward Bitcoin in the UK, from the FCA’s refusal to distinguish it from crypto, to the media’s relentless misinformation, especially by the BBC. We discuss her personal journey from accountant to developer to Bitcoiner, and the uphill battle of educating regulators, advocating for mining, and defending financial sovereignty. Susie shares her efforts to expose flawed climate narratives, resist CBDCs, and challenge the FATF Travel Rule’s surveillance overreach. We also explore the risks of mining centralization, media capture, and why misunderstanding at the top is often worse than malice. Above all, this is a conversation about standing up for truth, pushing back against state overreach, and building a decentralized future, one policy at a time.
► This episode is part of the "Bitcoin Vegas 2025 Special" in collaboration with Ben Samocha, Founder of Israel’s CryptoJungle and Crypto Talks podcast.
This episode is also on Twitter, Spotify, Fountain, Rumble and more.
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We talked about:
00:00 Coming Up…
01:10 Introducing Susie & Bitcoin Policy UK
06:30 Current Bitcoin Policy & public adoption in the UK
11:10 The State of Mainstream Media and Bitcoin Sentiment
12:45 Bankers & Politicians Understanding of Bitcoin
14:30 Susie’s FOI with The BBC
19:00 UK Legislation & Regulation Concerns
20:00 Dangers of KYC & the FATF Travel Rule, and MiCA
26:00 Belief in the System, Leading To Mass Surveillance & CBDC
29:50 Taxation and Privacy in the Digital Age
35:00 Centralization Risks of Bitcoin Mining - clip 37
38:00 The Digital Pound / CBDC Developments
41:40 “Climate Change” Policies
44:30 The Importance of Studying Bitcoin
46:15 Susie’s Message of Hope
My takeaways from this episode:
Susie outlines how Bitcoin Policy UK advocates for those who buy, hold, or sell Bitcoin, aiming to reshape hostile regulation through education and policy responses
She explains how the FCA’s failure to distinguish Bitcoin from crypto creates damaging one-size-fits-all legislation that stifles innovation and access in the UK
Susie shares her personal path from accountant and developer to Bitcoin advocate, emphasizing how her background in finance and IT helped her connect the dots
She recalls how a curiosity-driven purchase of Dogecoin and XRP in 2020 led her to Bitcoin, sparking a deep, ongoing journey into its economic and technical foundations
The conversation explores how UK media, especially the BBC, misrepresents Bitcoin through clickbait narratives and discredited sources, suppressing balanced coverage
Susie details her 13-month battle to challenge a false BBC article, revealing systemic opacity and media capture under the guise of journalism exemptions
She breaks down why the FATF Travel Rule and aggressive KYC policies create honeypots for hackers, fail to stop crime, and endanger personal safety and privacy
We then discuss how banking hostility, both in the UK and globally, prevents lawful access to Bitcoin and undermines financial self-determination
Susie warns that centralization of mining power in the US, Russia and China poses short-term risks to censorship resistance, but expresses hope in grassroots mining innovations
She critiques CBDC efforts like the UK’s proposed digital pound, highlighting their vague plans, lack of transparency, and alignment with mass surveillance trends
The episode closes with a message of hope—Susie urges listeners to study Bitcoin deeply, find their personal entry point, and defend freedom through education and intentional action
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