May 19, 2025

Aleksandar Svetski and the Moral Case for Bitcoin

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Aleksandar Svetski doesn’t just advocate for Bitcoin. He defends it as a civilizational imperative.

A self-made entrepreneur, writer, and sovereign tech builder, Svetski has one foot in legacy-hardening philosophy and the other in startup grit. He’s founded companies, written bestselling books, lost fortunes, rebuilt again — and through it all, he’s emerged as one of the most intellectually outspoken voices in Bitcoin’s global conversation.

But don’t call him just a Bitcoin advocate. Svetski’s vision is much deeper than that.

“We have a massive, massive, massive problem. Civilization has a huge problem with money and money is the most important tool for human competition, cooperation and trade.” Aleks said during his guest appearance on The Coinrock Show.

“You cannot have a civilization without the economic plumbing. And the economic plumbing is as good as the money that is being used.”

From Collapse to Conviction

Aleksandar Svetski’s path to Bitcoin wasn’t linear — it was volcanic. Born in Australia and trained in civil engineering, he left university after losing everything in the 2008 financial crisis. At just 20 years old, he had leveraged his scholarship money into a $60,000 trading portfolio — only to see it evaporate in a single week.

“I built that $3,000 meticulously, I built it up to about $60,000.” he recalled during the Show.

“And I went all in on one position. Then came the crash. I just remember turning the computer on and just like clicking the refresh button like what the hell’s going on here? Why is everything red? What’s going on?”

That collapse pushed Svetski out of school and into door-to-door sales — a brutal, commission-only job he took just to survive. It also marked the start of a recurring pattern: build, crash, rebuild. He would go on to create a successful solar company, run hospitality ventures, and even develop one of Australia’s most popular Bitcoin apps, Amber.

He made his first million by 23 — and then lost it again. Government disputes. Business breakdowns. Yet every failure hardened his resolve. “Perseverance,” he said, “not talent or skill, is what makes you win.”

Watch the full episode of The Coinrock Show below:

Aleksandar Svetski on Bitcoin, Sovereignty, and Building Legacy

From Gold to Digital Gold

Like many before him, Svetski came to Bitcoin through the hard money lens. A former gold and silver bug, he initially dismissed Bitcoin as “internet funny money.” But that changed as he began to see Bitcoin not just as an asset, but as a mechanism for restoring personal and societal integrity.

This philosophical pivot became the foundation of his literary work. In 2022, he co-authored The UnCommunist Manifesto with Mark Moss — a defiant reinterpretation of Marx’s legacy built around individual sovereignty and market-driven value. The book landed him on the podcast circuit, from Jordan Peterson to JP Sears — and yes, even Alex Jones.

It also revealed the essence of Svetski’s worldview: Bitcoin isn’t just money. It’s meaning.

“Excellence,” he explained, “means to separate from the plane and ascend the mountain. But we’ve optimized civilization for safety, comfort, and equality. You can’t get strength from comfort. And you can’t get excellence without leaving something behind.”

To Svetski, the Bitcoin ethos runs counter to the decay he sees in modern civilization. From rootless cosmopolitanism to the erosion of family and tradition, he argues that society has become unanchored — both spiritually and economically.

“We function more like pot plants now,” he said. “We lack the deep roots to not only the sort of the family lineage, but also to the land and to the people, to the ethnos around us. And I think that’s been detrimental.”

Bitcoin, for him, is a tool for re-rooting. It forces individuals to take responsibility, endure volatility, and cultivate long-term thinking. It’s not just about holding an asset — it’s about reclaiming agency in a world of passive consumption and algorithmic manipulation.

That belief has led him to his current project: building a sovereign social network for expats, nomads, and individuals living outside of conventional systems. It’s part philosophy, part product, and entirely aligned with his belief that sovereign infrastructure is the future. It’s called SATLANTIS.

Satlantis is a social network for travelers, nomads, and sovereign individuals, according to Aleks. He describes it more as an “Instagram meets Google Maps”

From Bootstrapping to Bitcoin Maximalism

What separates Svetski from many in the crypto space is his disdain for short-termism. He’s skeptical of meme coin culture, allergic to participation trophies, and quick to challenge the worship of comfort over courage.

“Most people today crumble at the first sign of pain,” he said. “We’re living in a world where participation is celebrated more than excellence — and that’s the decay of civilization.”

That may sound like old-school rhetoric, but it’s backed by new-school action. Svetski has bootstrapped multiple businesses, walked away from venture capital when it didn’t align with his values, and even relocated to live more freely when government policies clashed with his principles.

Whether writing best sellers or building sovereign tech, Svetski leads with conviction. He doesn’t hedge. He doesn’t mince words. And while he respects nuance, he never sacrifices clarity.

A Philosopher-Builder for the Bitcoin Age

In an industry flooded with hype and exit strategies, Aleksandar Svetski offers something different: long-termism, morality, and meaning. He’s not selling digital freedom as a brand — he’s living it as a mission.

From dissecting the historical roots of civilizational collapse to constructing platforms for the sovereign individual, Svetski is building far more than Bitcoin portfolios. He’s building legacies — his own, and those he hopes to inspire.

And in that mission, he’s not looking to convince everyone. Just the ones who are ready.

“The biggest thing that is lacking in civilization today is the desire for excellence. Excellence is not kind. Excellence actually by definition means you leave some people behind. It’s not all warm and fluffy but that’s the fucking point.”