Layer 2 Ep 3 [The India Series]: Basanta and Paperpsych

<p>In this Layer 2 kick-off to our India series, Avi sits down with two grassroots heavy-hitters:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Basanta Goswami</strong> – ex-fiat dev turned full-time “freedom-tech” maxi. Basanta helped launch the Assam Bitcoin Cohort, runs wallet-security audits, hacks on the Nostr form-builder <em>Formstr</em>, and curates the Bangalore “Un-F*** the Internet” privacy meet-up under his new banner, Unsigned Labs.</li> <li><strong>Paper Psych</strong> – designer-turned-community lead at Bitshala’s <strong>BitSpace</strong>, India’s first Bitcoin co-working / hacker hub in Bengaluru, home to BitDevs, design-athons and a Spanish-style fellowship that pays newcomers to contribute to open-source Bitcoin.</li> </ul> <p>Together they unpack:</p> <ul> <li>how a 2022 Bitcoin conference flipped their orange-pill switch</li> <li>why talking to Indians in their <strong>own languages</strong> supercharges adoption</li> <li>Bitshala’s cohort-to-fellowship pipeline for developers & designers</li> <li>grass-roots tactics that beat alt-coin marketing budgets - Nostr zaps, vernacular podcasts, local meet-ups</li> <li>the promise (and policy pain) of hydro-powered mining in the North-East</li> <li>a vision of decentralized tech, digital self-sovereignty and an orange future for 1.4 billion people.</li> </ul> <p>Whether you’re building, hodling, or just Nostr-curious, this episode is a front-row look at India’s rapidly forming Bitcoin layer - told by the plebs making it happen.</p> <p><strong>Links</strong></p> <p>Bitshala: <a href="https://bitshala.org/">https://bitshala.org/</a></p> <p>Formstr: <a href="https://formstr.app/">https://formstr.app/</a></p>