Beyond Borders #10: Voices of Impact and Inspiration
Independent educators are changing the world. They unite once a month in a General Assembly of the Node Network, an initiative from My First Bitcoin, to create a thriving ecosystem…
Independent educators are changing the world. They unite once a month in a General Assembly of the Node Network, an initiative from My First Bitcoin, to create a thriving ecosystem of educators around the banner of “independent, impartial, bitcoin-only and community-led bitcoin education”. The GA from February 27 was attended by a record of 30 individuals!
Welcome to this tenth write-up of all progress that has been made in the past month. Welcome to the stories from these 10 countries!
”We’ve unlocked our third city in Indonesia with the first cohort in Surabaya and celebrated the graduation of our second cohort in Bali! Two graduates have already integrated Bitcoin into their businesses and joined our Closed-Loop System.
Our second online cohort is ongoing, with around 50 participants attending each week. University classes are postponed to March, and we’re now a FULL NODE!”
From Indonesia to the Caribbean—our journey continues!
”We’ve launched our second cohort with 24 students and are now using translated slides from Felix, along with printed Bitcoin Diploma materials in Haitian Creole. Our goal is to expand Bitcoin education centers to more cities in Haiti and introduce initiatives like a Bitcoin art project, where students earn sats to paint drums as trash cans.
Former students can play a key role in inspiring new ones by sharing their experiences at the start of each cohort. We’re thrilled to see growing curiosity and interest in Bitcoin within our community!”
From the shores of Haiti to the heart of Bitcoin adoption—our journey now takes us to El Salvador!
”This February, we kicked off weekly online intro classes at various times and in-person sessions on Saturdays in San Salvador.
We launched two new Bitcoin Diploma cohorts for locals and have started intro classes in new schools while directors finalize schedules for full cohorts. So far this year, we’ve taught 1,600 students across intro and diploma courses.
We onboarded four new teachers who are now teaching in newly opened schools across different cities. Additionally, we are finalizing a self-paced online intro class, starting with Spanish and testing the registration process for non-English speakers. The English version is set for March.”
Our journey now takes us to the vibrant land of Bitcoin Sranan!
”We hosted a Bitcoin meet-up and celebrated another Trezor course graduation! Our second MPB cohort starts on March 12, this time in English.
Education and adoption keep growing—people visit our center daily to learn about Bitcoin and our courses. Progress is steady, but we’re reminded that this mission is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Next stop: the USA!
”We’ve completed our first class of 2025 at our new location, The Innovation Barn! Four students covered Chapters 1-3, and we may have sparked at least one Bitcoin Lightbulb Moment! 💡
We’re exploring college grant funds from the Bitcoin Research Club to support travel for the Unconference in Nashville and will be presenting at 1 Million Cups on March 12—a local networking event for entrepreneurs.
One college student has reached Chapter 5 of the Bitcoin Diploma and is on track to become our first graduate!”
From the USA to South Africa—our journey now takes us to Bitcoin Ekasi!
”Last month, we hosted a successful and well-attended Adopting Bitcoin event in Cape Town! Right after, Sassa traveled to El Salvador, attending the Summit for Circular Economies and the Plan B Forum, where she connected with other nodes, gaining valuable insights into Bitcoin adoption.
Tonight, we’re hosting a Movie Night featuring a documentary on El Salvador, where Sassa, Luthando, and Lukhangele will share their experiences with the local community.
Our team is actively visiting schools to recruit students for the Bitcoin Diploma, promoting education and financial empowerment. For long-term sustainability, we’re focused on strategies to strengthen the Bitcoin circular economy through networking and collaboration.
Looking ahead, we’ll celebrate another Bitcoin Diploma graduation in the first week of April!”
From the shores of South Africa to the turquoise waters of the Caribbean—our next stop is beautiful Curaçao!
”We’re working with a new marketing team on Facebook and Instagram ads for BTC Curaçao Institute, focusing on Bitcoin savings and merchant adoption. Once the Bitcoin Training Room is ready, we’ll promote My First Bitcoin courses in Papiamentu and Dutch to attract students.
Our team is researching which countries use Bitcoin wallets, with Peter and his wife editing the report—set to be ready in a few months.
For our first cohort, we’re considering starting with high school students instead of adults.
Looking ahead, in September 2025, we’ll bring back Tech Meetups with Adric Walter, featuring Natan Smith from BTC Maps as a speaker. We’re also exploring the possibility of hosting the event at the Bitcoin Villa and are searching for additional speakers.”
From the sunny shores of the Caribbean, we’re heading back north to the USA—next stop: San Antonio Bitcoin Club!
”We completed our 2nd cohort this month, graduating five students, and our 3rd cohort starts in late March. Huge shoutout to our new teacher, Jonathan, for doing a great job! We’re focused on marketing to grow awareness, while Gabriel is orange-pilling his church to accept Bitcoin donations.
Exciting collaborations ahead with another MPB light node in San Antonio. We also attended the Texas SBR hearing in Austin—proving that Bitcoin education is more crucial than ever. Two local professional athletes have mentioned Bitcoin on social media, and we’re working to connect with them.
Next up: Nashville for the Unconference and Grassroots!”
Now we’re crossing the Atlantic to Europe, landing on the breathtaking island of Madeira, Portugal!
”The first revision of our translation is complete, with pagination more than halfway done and a final proofread in progress.
Translating certain Bitcoin terms has been challenging, so we’ve made decisions to move forward and plan to open-source a glossary to involve the community.
We’re excited to be getting closer to launching our first cohort in Q2, while merchant adoption in Madeira continues to grow. Additionally, our online shop is successfully helping fund our education efforts!”
Last but not least, our journey takes us from Madeira’s rugged coastlines to the lush, vibrant landscapes of Pura Vida—Costa Rica!
”We graduated our 1st cohort (IRL/virtual) about three weeks ago and hope at least one student will become a future MPB teacher.
Our 2nd cohort is set to start in mid-March, and Pablo S from BullBitcoin is producing material for us to use.
We just wrapped up the Bitcoin Freedom Festival in Uvita, onboarding many new Bitcoiners and merchants—another step forward for adoption!”
If you are a community leader and bitcoin educator and want to be part of the Node Network, check out our GitHub page.
If you want to use our open source Bitcoin Diploma workbook, you can! It’s available on GitHub as well.
For any questions about the Node Network or any other international collaboration, feel free to reach out to Arnold Hubach ([email protected]).
