Gen Z, Student Debt & Bitcoin: Halston Valencia on Why Young People Are Choosing Bitcoin Over Fiat

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🎯 Episode Thesis

Millennials were told to save money, buy houses, and invest in stocks. Gen Z is realizing that path doesn’t work anymore.

Halston Valencia, a 23-year-old Bitcoiner, shares why her generation is rejecting fiat advice, how Broken Money by Lyn Alden opened her eyes, and why Bitcoin is the only tool that lets young people preserve purchasing power and reclaim sovereignty.

This is an honest, raw, and inspiring conversation about debt, inflation, financial education, and why Bitcoin is the lifeboat for a generation drowning in negative real wages.

🎙️ About the Episode

What does it mean to be Gen Z in a world of student debt, sky-high rent, and collapsing trust in institutions?

In this episode, Halston and I explore:

🔸 Why Gen Z is turning away from fiat and traditional “wealth-building” advice

🔸 How reading Broken Money changed her worldview and led to Bitcoin

🔸 The absence of Austrian economics in universities and why that matters

🔸 The parallels between Millennials (2008 crash, COVID, housing crisis) and Gen Z (student loans, rent crisis)

🔸 Self-custody as the non-negotiable path to sovereignty

🔸 Opportunities for women in Bitcoin compared to fiat finance

🔸 Why financial education must change — and what she’d redesign for the next generation

🔸 Her work with Adam O’Brien, Bitcoin Well, and Get Based, plus launching The Adam O’Brien Show

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Bitcoin and Gen Z: does the new generation really care?01:40 – Welcome Halston Valencia03:20 – From university to the Bitcoin rabbit hole11:35 – Self-custody and why “not your keys, not your Bitcoin”13:40 – Millennials vs. Gen Z: what changed along the way20:10 – Rent crisis, wages, and the economic wake-up call22:50 – Orange-pilling friends & education outside the system24:05 – The Game: which Bitcoiner would you go on vacation with?30:35 – The history of money, Adam O’Brien, and new projects33:47 – What’s next for Halston in Bitcoin35:38 – Final message to young people about Bitcoin36:10 – Episode closing

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🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/Halstonvalencia

🎥 Podcast: The Adam O’Brien Show (Thursdays, 6 PM ET)

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