We trace Joël Valenzuela’s path from sound money ideals to closing his bank account and getting paid only in crypto, and we dig into what it takes to make digital cash work day to day. Utility beats speculation, Dash doubles down on instant payments, and DAOs aim to keep decisions in users’ hands.
• Early lessons from Mexico’s inflation and sound money
• Discovering Bitcoin’s peer-to-peer power before payment apps
• Committing to crypto income and going fully unbanked
• Fees, congestion, and switching from Bitcoin to Dash
• Utility versus speculation and why real users matter
• Dash’s focus on digital cash, privacy, and instant settlement
• Keeping older chains relevant through integrations and network effects
• What decentralization means and how DAOs decide
• The Free State Project’s role in early crypto adoption
• Where to follow Joël and learn about Dash
Living on Digital Cash: Joël Valenzuela’s Journey from Principle to Practice
From Currency Instability to Sound Money
Sound money is more than a slogan; it is a response to years of watching currencies lose value and savings erode. Joël Valenzuela traces this conviction to his childhood in Mexico, where the old peso collapsed and the “new” peso quickly weakened against the dollar. That experience planted a question that would guide his life: how can someone live their values when traditional assets like gold or silver cannot easily power daily transactions?
In 2013, Bitcoin offered an answer. It looked like digital gold but moved like cash. Sending value without a bank account or central authority was revolutionary. It opened a door to remittances, cross-border transfers, and small payments without friction or censorship. Joël decided to take the experiment seriously and live by it.
Living Entirely on Crypto
What began as a test soon became a full commitment. In 2015, Joël decided to accept only cryptocurrency as income. At the time, few systems supported this lifestyle. There were no crypto payrolls, few jobs paying in Bitcoin, and limited tools for day-to-day spending. Cutting off traditional income meant learning fast: who would pay him, what bills could be covered, and which tools worked in practice.
The experience was both challenging and revealing. Early successes showed real peer-to-peer commerce was possible, as friends could split restaurant bills in Bitcoin long before consumer wallets made it easy. But congestion and high fees in 2016 made small payments frustrating. That pushed Joël toward Dash, a network focused on instant settlement, privacy options, and scaling for everyday transactions.
Speculation vs. Utility
This distinction between speculation and utility defines much of Joël’s perspective. Any asset can rise in price for a while, but long-term value depends on real users and revenue. The comparison to stock markets is clear: an investor should care about how a company’s product performs, not just the stock price.
For crypto, the same logic applies. If it exists only as a speculative asset, it remains a gamble. But when it functions as a product, something people use daily, it earns true value. Living on crypto gives first-hand insights into how fast transactions settle, how high fees are, and whether merchants accept payments. For Joël, this lived experience provides data that investors and entrepreneurs can use to judge which projects are built for real-world adoption.
Dash and the Digital Cash Vision
Dash emerged in 2014 with a simple mission: digital cash. It prioritized instant payments, optional privacy, and practical scalability. While many projects chase short-term attention, Dash focused on usability and reliability. Over time, this steady approach built integrations, partnerships, and trust among merchants and exchanges.
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In his current role in business development and marketing for Dash, Joël works to expand that ecosystem. His efforts are not about flashy campaigns but about infrastructure, tools, liquidity, and user experience. Each improvement, from a faster wallet sync to a new merchant integration, helps make digital cash feel as seamless as tapping a contactless card.
Decentralization Beyond Buzzwords
Decentralization becomes meaningful when it shapes real decisions. Bitcoin’s open network design created trust through transparency but lacked a built-in mechanism for stakeholders to guide future development. That gap allowed strong personalities or external forces to influence direction. Ethereum’s changing roadmap shows similar challenges.
Decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs, offer a new model. Through transparent, on-chain voting and funding, token holders decide priorities and allocate resources. It is not flawless, but it brings governance closer to those who actually use and depend on the network. For Joël, this model aligns incentives and gives real users a say in how systems evolve.
The Free State Project and Practical Freedom
The Free State Project in New Hampshire provides a cultural backdrop to Joël’s story. It attracts people who value autonomy and voluntary cooperation, creating a fertile ground for early crypto adoption. Within this community, radio shows discussed Bitcoin before it was mainstream, prototypes of Bitcoin ATMs appeared, and early adopters connected through local events.
Living among people experimenting with decentralized systems reinforced Joël’s belief that freedom and innovation grow together. The philosophy is simple: reduce dependence on fragile monetary systems, encourage peer-to-peer exchange, and let communities make decisions with transparency and accountability.
From Philosophy to Everyday Practice
Joël Valenzuela’s story illustrates how ideas like decentralization and digital cash can move from theory to daily life. His commitment to living on crypto is both a personal experiment and a professional mission. For entrepreneurs and marketers exploring new technologies, his journey offers a practical reminder that real adoption begins when technology solves real problems and becomes part of everyday behavior.
When digital payments are as fast and private as handing over a coin, decentralization stops being an abstract goal and becomes a lived experience.
Follow Joël on X: @TheDesertLynx
Listen to his podcast: Digital Cash Network
Learn more about Dash: dash.org
Follow Dash on X: @Dashpay