This episode traces Mohammed Roshan's unconventional path into Bitcoin, beginning with a chance newspaper article he read in January 2014. Instead of following typical entry points, Roshan went straight to Bitcoin's GitHub code, was captivated by the halving mechanism, and began mining with a basic AMD graphics card. His curiosity led him to build Saffron Coin, one of India's earliest cryptocurrencies, combining five mining algorithms and even engineering a PayPal gift card workaround so users could buy it with fiat. Roshan recounts meeting the Unocoin team at a Bangalore meetup, traveling to his first Bitcoin conference in Shanghai, and eventually joining Unocoin in November 2014. He shares the chaotic, memorable story of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon campaign, where confused runners lined up for Unocoin wristbands. Throughout, Roshan reflects on why he evolved from an altcoin creator into a Bitcoin maximalist, explaining the Byzantine Generals Problem and why Bitcoin's network effect makes it uniquely durable compared to other technologies and cryptocurrencies.
From a random newspaper headline to building India's first cryptocurrency, Roshan's wild road into Bitcoin.
Where did you and I first actually meet in person?
It was at the Unocoin office in Bangalore, right after you'd come back from the Delhi event. We had done this Airtel Delhi Half Marathon campaign promoting Bitcoin, and after that you came over to Bangalore and we connected in person for the first time.
What was your personal story getting into Bitcoin?
I don't read newspapers much, but one morning I flipped to the business section and saw a small article mentioning Bitcoin. I googled it, found the whitepaper and GitHub code, and was struck by the halving mechanism in the code. That got me hooked, and I bought a graphics card to start mining.
Can you explain the Byzantine Generals Problem and why it mattered to you?
JFK mentioned this problem in a 1960s speech. It's about generals needing consensus to attack together without any way to trust everyone will follow through. Bitcoin solved this for the first time by validating every transaction across every node in real time, creating true consensus without a central authority.
Tell me about Saffron Coin. Why that name?
I combined five different algorithms, including scrypt, SHA-256d, X11, and Blake256, to build my own cryptocurrency. I called it Saffron Coin because I was feeling nationalistic and wanted it to be India's first cryptocurrency. Saffron is one of India's primary colors, so it felt fitting.
How did you get people to actually buy Saffron Coin with real money?
PayPal didn't support crypto purchases then, so I registered as a gift card business with PayPal. People would buy a gift card, get a voucher code by email, then redeem that code inside the Saffron Coin wallet to receive coins. It was a workaround, but it was the only way at the time.
How did you end up joining Unocoin?
I met the Unocoin team at a Bangalore meetup in June 2014 after pitching Saffron Coin to them. We stayed in touch, I went with them to a Bitcoin conference in Shanghai that September, and eventually they invited me to join the team. I came on board in November 2014.
What happened at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon campaign?
We were handing out Unocoin registration wristbands to runners, and our stall had massive lines while the Reebok stall next to us was empty. We later realized runners thought they needed the band just to be allowed to run the marathon. We got about 3,500 signups in two days and our servers nearly broke.
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