In late May, I drove to Las Vegas to attend one of the world’s largest Bitcoin conferences, hosted by Bitcoin Magazine. I had been looking forward to that event ever since returning from Dubai, where I attended Binance Blockchain Week last fall.
In early 2024, I began building an investment in Bitcoin. Over the next several months, I continued to add to that position, and toward the end of 2024, Carole and I went all in—selling our home so that we could increase our exposure to Bitcoin.
I’m thrilled to learn more about Bitcoin, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and investment opportunities that will shape the future. I missed many investment cycles during my term in prison. I wasn’t in a position to build long-term positions that benefited from the rise of the internet, email, smartphones, or other innovations that transformed the world. Without access to the web, I couldn’t keep pace with the rapid shifts in finance, technology, and global communication.
When I began serving my sentence in 1987, the internet—and Bitcoin—didn’t even exist.
By the time I transitioned from prison to a halfway house in 2012, Bitcoin was trading at around $12 per coin. Today, it trades at approximately $110,000 per coin. It’s been the best-performing asset class of the past 15 years—surpassing even tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia—another company I’ve invested in.
Still, the best investment I ever made wasn’t in cryptocurrency or technology. It was the investment I made in myself. I spent thousands of hours preparing for the journey ahead, and that’s why I can live a life of liberty and purpose today.
Bitcoin and Prison
At our nonprofit, Prison Professors, we work to empower people who’ve faced challenges with the criminal justice system. We develop resources they can use to pursue the best possible outcomes—regardless of what stage they’re in. Many people helped me grow, and I feel a duty to show others how to invest in themselves.
While incarcerated, I always considered myself unemployable. Few fulfilling jobs would open to a man who served multiple decades in prison. That reality drove me to spend my time learning, developing strategies that would allow me to generate income independently once I got out. Through the lessons and courses I now create, I strive to inspire others to take ownership of their futures.
Leaders taught me how to build self-directed pathways to prepare for success. Because of the poor decisions of my youth, I knew I’d face challenges ahead. I had to live in the world as it existed—not as I wanted it to be. That mindset led to a deliberate strategy, which required intentional decisions that aligned with my long-term vision.
I was inspired by the story of Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s anonymous creator. Before investing, I read his white paper and many books that gave me a deeper understanding of the protocol. Nakamoto launched the bitcoin network in response to the 2008 financial crisis. Frustrated by government bailouts and centralized financial control, he created a system that didn’t depend on institutions—one that offered a decentralized, transparent alternative.
Attending the Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas was an opportunity to continue learning and building new relationships that I hope to leverage in ways that help me teach others. While there, I listened to and learned from leaders in the crypto industry, including Michael Saylor, Senator Cynthia Lummis, the Winklevoss twins, Jack Maller, and many others I admire. I also spent time with Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, who was serving a double-life sentence until President Trump pardoned him on his first full day in office.
In the U.S., we often criticize other nations for human rights violations. Yet every day, we deprive millions of incarcerated people of a basic human right: the right to learn.
We lock up far too many people, and while they’re incarcerated, we prevent them from gaining the knowledge and skills they need to participate in the future economy—technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the broader digital economy. Without preparation, people reentering society struggle to create income opportunities and build meaningful lives.
That’s why our nonprofit is committed to teaching people how to prepare for better outcomes—at every stage of their journey. These efforts should contribute to broader systemic reforms, including replacing minimum-security camps with home confinement and expanded work-release programs.
Invest in Yourself
I strive to teach people living in crisis that they shouldn’t wait for the system to offer them a second chance. They should create that second chance themselves by:
- Investing in knowledge
- Investing in relationships
- Investing in discipline
By attending the Bitcoin conference and leading the Prison Professors nonprofit, I hope to model what’s possible. I don’t ask anyone to do anything I didn’t do myself. I made it through 26 years in federal prison. I came home with a purpose—and I live that purpose every day through our nonprofit’s mission to help people in crisis prepare for the best possible outcomes.
What steps can you take today to shape a better tomorrow? Reflect on your ideas and take action. Memorialize your vision on prisonprofessorstalent.com and use your story to inspire others to invest in you.
That’s the strategy that worked for me in prison. It’s the strategy I continue living today, and the one I strive to pass on to others.
