Bitcoin Audible - Chat_149

We're Not the Main Characters with Aleks Svetski
Released: October 31, 2025
Host: Guy Swann
Guest: Aleks Svetski

Episode Overview

This episode marks the beginning of a new series exploring themes and content from Aleks Svetski's book, Bushido of Bitcoin, now available in audiobook format. Guy Swann and Svetski dive deep into fatherhood, virtue, legacy, the dynamics of online versus real-world engagement, and the evolving identity of Bitcoiners. They frame their personal growth—especially in relation to becoming fathers—around the realization that they are no longer the “main characters” of their own stories, but part of a larger human and cultural cycle. They connect these themes to the ideas in Bushido of Bitcoin, discussing virtues, behaviors, rituals, and collective versus individual identity.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Fatherhood and Shifting Perspectives

[05:44–16:00]

• Svetski reflects on his new fatherhood: Shares the challenges and transformative experience of a home birth. Stresses the evolutionary necessity of discomfort and pain in meaningful events.
  • Quote: “It was a surreal experience… People talk about psychedelics and all this other stuff, but man, this…” – Svetski [09:58]
• Both host and guest agree that having children fundamentally changes how one frames purpose and legacy.
  • Quote: “I’m more conscious of how I intend to behave in front of the little guy, because I’m... they will emulate my behavior more than they will do or emulate what I tell them to do.” – Svetski [36:20]
• The desire to be "main character" fades; focus shifts to supporting the next generation.
  • Quote: “I have less of an interest in being the main character… I’m more interested in helping my son now kind of evolve into that character and watching him grow.” – Svetski [40:01]

2. Comfort, Pain, and Modernity’s Numbing Effect

[11:05–16:00]

• Discussion on the societal drive to prioritize comfort and numb pain, including in childbirth and upbringing.
  • Quote: “The whole point of [an epidural] is so you don’t feel anything, which is strange for a process that we’ve been clearly doing for millennia…” – Svetski [14:19]
• Guy draws a parallel to Navy SEAL training: challenges and pain cement deep memories and create meaning.
  • Quote: “They push you to the absolute limit... because you’re in this, kind of like, very primal state, it burns itself in deeper and it stays.” – Guy Swann [11:05]

3. Virtue Above Ideology: The Core of Bushido of Bitcoin

[15:51–29:32]

• Svetski unpacks the focus on virtues as behavioral primitives, rather than rigid ideology or moral codes.
  • Quote: “They exist because they were a way to label or group together a set of virtues. But what matters is the virtues themselves…” – Svetski [19:50]
• Uses the analogy of ice cream: don’t focus on the label, but on the ingredients that made it great.
• Virtues create productive tension; over-indexing on a single virtue leads to imbalance.
  • Quote: “Justice and compassion… they pull in opposite directions for decision making.” – Guy Swann [23:29]

4. The Value and Necessity of Tension

[29:32–36:07]

• Tension between virtues (e.g., courage vs. caution) is essential for meaningful action; rejecting all tension in favor of comfort creates weakness.
  • Quote: “The idea of the whole go with the flow and absolving this is avoiding the tension altogether when life actually needs that tension all the time so that you can spring into action…” – Guy Swann [30:07]
• Avoiding discomfort in daily life leads to an inability to stand up for truth or act courageously when it matters.

5. “Not the Main Character” – Maturity, Legacy, and Real-World Impact

[36:07–47:24]

• Central thesis: With maturity, and especially parenthood, comes the realization that the world is not about oneself.
  • Quote: “I care less about feeling like I’m the main character. And it did just kind of happen. And I, I wouldn’t have called it that until you called it that…” – Guy Swann [45:26]
• Wealth and Bitcoin are not ends in themselves. Real-world building and legacy matter more than accumulating money.
  • Quote: “What the f** is all the bitcoin for? …Do something with that.”* – Svetski [44:48]

6. Individual, Family, and Tribe

[74:30–83:04]

• Critique of excessive individualism (and collectivism). The need for tribes/family is primal.
  • Quote: “Extreme individualism is just as dumb as extreme collectivism…” – Svetski [74:30]
• Personal anecdote of the need for collective action, especially in the face of societal pressure (e.g., mask mandates).
  • Quote: “I really fed that up in my thirties when I started really becoming a raging sovereign individualist… I really fed that up because I spent a number of years not building deeper relationships when I should have.” – Svetski [74:30]

7. Generational Change and Online/Real-World Tension

[85:45–90:11]

• Gen Z is split between “cooked retards” and a very “based” remnant, fueling hope for a new, excellence-seeking nobility.
  • Quote: “It feels like there’s some corrective mechanism happening because the ones who are super based, they’re more based than you and I…” – Svetski [86:47]
• Millennials, entering positions of power and wealth, are more inclined to seek real-world experiences and connection, opting out of the "attention economy" of social media.
  • Quote: “I’m actually now interested more and more in the experience economy. Like, I want to do things in the real world.” – Svetski [91:09]

8. Satlantis, Event Apps, and Experience Economy

[94:09–104:36]

• Svetski outlines his vision for Satlantis: facilitating real-world events with bitcoin-native tooling, moving away from competing with attention hogs like X or Instagram.
  • Quote: “There is no Bitcoin native events app that just does a good job where you can spin up an event and with the event comes a bitcoin wallet. And you can monetize your event if you want immediately.” – Svetski [94:28]
• Plan is to improve discovery and monetization for offline meetups, converting online networks into in-person tribes.
• Events are on the rise (doubling since 2019), indicating a macro shift toward the experience economy.

9. Distinction Between Action and Signal

[104:36–107:40]

• Reiterates that virtues are embedded in action, not in virtue signaling or mere statements—another indictment of online, attention-driven behaviors.
  • Quote: “There is no such thing as courage, justice, respect… These only exist in action.” – Guy Swann [104:36]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Virtue Tensions:
  • “You need to find the tension and the position on that spectrum that you want to be for a particular context.” – Svetski [28:23]
• On Fathers and The Main Character:
  • “I have less of an interest in being the main character… I’m more interested in helping my son now kind of evolve into that character and watching him grow.” – Svetski [40:01]
• On Bitcoin and Wealth:
  • “It’s not the bitcoin unit. It’s just a mirror. Don’t fall in love with your reflection.” – Guy Swann [50:25]
• On Building for the Experience Economy:
  • “I want to build something that is no longer about the content you post, but an app that helps you get off your screen.” – Svetski [91:09]
• On Individualism vs. Tribe:
  • “The necessity for guys to be around other good guys and girls to be around other good girls is like we, we had that really well structured all throughout history. We fucked it all up over the last hundred years when we mixed everything together.” – Svetski [74:30]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Intro and Audiobook Announcement: [01:11–05:44]
• Fatherhood Stories: [05:44–16:00]
• Virtues vs. Ideology: [17:00–29:32]
• Main Character Framework, Legacy: [36:07–47:24]
• Bitcoin, Wealth, and Real-World Building: [47:24–58:20]
• Family Roles, Gender, and Respect: [58:20–67:43]
• Tribes, Individualism, and Brotherhood: [74:30–83:04]
• Generational Change and Nobility: [85:45–90:11]
• Satlantis and Building Experience Economy: [94:09–104:36]
• Virtue as Action, Not Signal: [104:36–107:40]
• Episode Wrap: Why Write the Book, and Closing Thoughts: [122:29–130:05]

Language and Tone

The episode balances deep philosophical points with humor, self-deprecation, and candid personal anecdotes. The language is informal but often profound, peppered with expletives, dark sarcasm, and frankness about personal and societal shortcomings. The camaraderie between Guy Swann and Aleks Svetski injects warmth and authenticity.

Summary for Non-Listeners

Guy Swann and Aleks Svetski use the themes of Bushido of Bitcoin as a launchpad for a sprawling, meaningful discussion about maturity, the evolution from individualism to familial/tribal identity, and the trappings of the modern digital life. They reflect on how Bitcoin is not an end but a tool for real-world change and legacy, advocating for virtue rooted in action, not ideology or online signaling. The episode covers deep cultural analysis, critiques of modernity, the role of discomfort and challenge in growth, and a vision for more meaningful, in-person community among Bitcoiners and beyond.

Svetski’s event platform Satlantis is held up as an answer to the shallow, atomizing influence of social media, aiming to build the “experience economy.” The discussion promises further episodes unpacking Bushido of Bitcoin and exploring concepts like the meaning of war, governance, and the nature of virtue in the modern age.

For further context and future updates, listen to the continuing series and check out the Bushido of Bitcoin audiobook available via the links in the show notes.