What Bitcoin Did

“The people who bet right by being early to Bitcoin are the ones who get blamed.”

Avik Roy returns to discuss why he believes America’s debt crisis is far worse than official forecasts suggest, and why Bitcoiners shouldn’t assume they’ll be safe. We get into his 15-year warning, the risk of bank failures and inflation, and how governments could restrict access to Bitcoin or target those who hold it.

We also discuss self-custody, capital controls and the freedom to exit, before getting into Bitcoin treasury companies and whether their incentives align with shareholde...

“The worst thing is to not own any of it.”

Eric Yakes returns to discuss why he believes Bitcoin’s four-year cycle is breaking, why diminishing returns may not be inevitable, and how institutional and nation-state demand could change the next rally. He explains why Bitcoin needs to become bigger and more liquid before its largest potential buyers can make meaningful allocations.

We also get into Bitcoin’s role as a hedge against debasement, the debate over money versus digital gold, and why Eric rejects the “private Bitcoin” pitch around Zcash. We finish with how AI could mak...

“Bitcoin feels alive, but not intelligent. And AI feels intelligent, but not alive.”

Dhruv Bansal joins to discuss why AI may need Bitcoin to survive, why autonomous agents could choose Bitcoin over dollars and stablecoins, and how earning Bitcoin to pay for their own resources could align them with human needs.

We also get into how Bitcoin could help rebuild a free and open internet, the problems with advertising and surveillance, and whether AI could accelerate hyperbitcoinization. Dhruv explores how Bitcoin and AI could give rise to a new form of digital life and why he s...

“We experienced, as a percentage of deposits, the biggest bank run in history.”

Alan Lane joins to discuss the fall of Silvergate, the bank run that followed FTX’s collapse, and how his team kept meeting withdrawals as 70% of deposits left. He explains why he believed the bank could rebuild and what changed between surviving the run and deciding to close.

We also get into Operation Choke Point 2.0, why Alan believes Washington wanted the industry cut off from banking, and the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature just days after Silvergate’s wind-down announcement.

TH...

“You actually have the president and the Treasury working for Bitcoin because they’re working for a weaker dollar.”

Matt Cole joins to discuss why he believes America’s debt crisis leaves the government with few good options, how rising bond yields could force the Treasury and Fed to intervene, and why a weaker dollar could fuel Bitcoin’s next bull market.

We also get into why AI could create abundance without generating enough tax revenue to fix the debt problem, his case for $500K Bitcoin by 2030, and whether Bitcoin is entering a supercycle.

THANKS T...

“I think everyone is underestimating the speed of AI.”

Jordi Visser joins the show to discuss why he believes AI could trigger a major shift in global wealth, weaken the investment appeal of stocks and real estate, and create a new bull case for Bitcoin. He explains why wealthy investors haven’t needed Bitcoin yet, and how AI’s deflationary effects could change that.

We also get into whether AI is a bubble, how agents and tokenization could transform finance, and why Big Tech may struggle to maintain its dominance.

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“The things they need to do to bring inflation down are just too painful for them.”

Andy Constan returns to discuss why he thinks politicians will keep running large deficits, how inflation can shift the cost of America’s debt onto savers and future generations, and why that creates a bull case for Bitcoin.

We also get into how institutions decide whether to own Bitcoin, why its volatility and weak correlation with gold keep Andy on the sidelines, and whether a US debt collapse is inevitable. Andy explains why bonds look more attractive to him today...

“You don’t need inflation for anything whatsoever. It’s essentially a counterfeiting cartel.”

Peter St Onge returns to discuss why he believes 2% inflation is a scam, how central banks transfer wealth from savers to governments and Wall Street, and why technological progress should be making life cheaper.

We also get into Austrian economics, his argument that the Fed causes the recessions it then tries to fix, and America’s growing debt problem. Peter explains why he thinks the AI bubble still has room to run, how he uses Bitcoin as a place to park profits, a...

“I think the primary product that they’re the most interested in selling is AI psychosis.”

Erik Cason returns to discuss why he believes American capitalism has already ended, how AI could accelerate the rise of the surveillance state, and why owning your own AI could become as important as holding your own Bitcoin.

We also get into AI dependence, his warning of a “digital 9/11”, the competition between Chinese open models and American AI companies, and the personal AI system he’s building. Erik explains how Bitcoin and cryptography fit into this future, and why Bitcoin coul...

"The rest of the world, of course, should always have been paying attention to Bitcoin, but they should be paying attention to it for a very different set of reasons now because they’re next.”

Jameson Lopp returns to discuss how AI is accelerating the race between hackers and defenders, what the Coldcard and Liquid hacks reveal about Bitcoin security, and why he sees Bitcoin as the canary in the coal mine for other industries.

We also get into hardware wallets, multisig and protecting life-changing amounts of bitcoin, the risks of KYC leaks and physical atta...

“I think AI is officially too big to fail.”

Jeff Ross returns to discuss why he expects an AI-led manufacturing boom in the US and how rising productivity could help America grow its way out of debt.

We also get into why AI-driven deflation could benefit people but threaten a debt-based monetary system, and why the government may eventually have to backstop the AI buildout with QE or yield curve control.

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“We don’t really have the tools to deal with fiscal-driven inflation.”

Lyn Alden returns to discuss why the US is entering deeper fiscal dominance, what the Treasury’s recent buybacks signal, and why America’s growing debt and $2 trillion deficits are changing what monetary policy can actually achieve.

We discuss the increasingly K-shaped economy, why developed markets are beginning to take on characteristics once associated with emerging markets, and why Lyn believes this macro environment could persist well into the 2030s.

Lyn also explains why she believes Bitcoin is increasingly well positioned for the ye...

“There is a reckoning. There is a point at which something has to be addressed.”

Nik Bhatia returns to get into America’s $40 trillion debt problem, why the real danger is the share of tax revenue being consumed by interest, and how continued Treasury bill issuance could eventually trigger stress in the repo market and force the Fed to intervene.

We discuss whether Treasury buybacks helped drive Bitcoin’s recent 20% rally, why the UK, France and Japan may face major monetary intervention before the United States, and how Washington is attempting to reclaim control of the offs...

“You could have a massive cycle here this time around that will shock people.” — Joe Carlasare

Joe Carlasare is a commercial litigator, Bitcoiner and author of Unconfiscatable.

In this interview, we discuss why he believes the Bitcoin bottom is in, how the recent drawdown changes Bitcoin’s risk profile, and why a move above $100K could trigger the next major cycle.

We also discuss institutional adoption, the future of the four-year cycle, Bitcoin-backed banking and credit, Treasury buybacks, fiscal dominance, AI investment, structural inflation and why Joe is bullish on the economy, markets and Bitc...

“Everything’s structurally changed.”

Eric Yakes is back on the show to explain why Bitcoin may never suffer another 80% crash, and why the recent 50% drawdown could prove that the four year cycle is finally dead.

We discuss whether yield curve control has arrived under another name, why Bitcoin is becoming a hedge against monetary debasement and the potential for a great rotation out of AI and gold and why gold could reach $10,000 while Bitcoin runs from $80,000 to $800,000.

Eric also gets into how the US push for stablecoins could unintentionally accelerate Bitcoin adoption, why stable...

“Your conversations and your money should not have to live in totally separate places.”

Seth for Privacy is the COO of Cake Wallet and Radar, a Signal-compatible messenger combining encrypted conversations with self-custodial Bitcoin payments. In this episode, he explains why the next wave of Bitcoin adoption may begin inside an everyday messenger—not a standalone wallet.

We discuss how Radar makes sending Bitcoin feel as natural as sending a message, why Spark made that experience possible, and the challenge of combining simple UX, privacy and self-custody at scale. Seth also breaks down Radar’s connecti...

“They’re saving all their money in Bitcoin and they’re doing all the right things. They’re self-custodying it. And then overnight, it’s just gone.”

Frostsnap’s Lloyd Fournier and Nick Farrow join me to break down the catastrophic Coldcard vulnerability that made supposedly secure Bitcoin keys guessable and allowed attackers to drain more than 1,700 BTC without ever touching the devices.

We discuss how a five-year failure in Coldcard’s randomness generation went undetected, why every safeguard failed and the role AI played in discovering and exploiting the bug. Nick also explains how he reproduced th...

“The reason it goes up is because you get to seller exhaustion. No one wants to sell anymore.”

Checkmate is a Bitcoin analyst and founder of Checkonchain. In this episode, he explains why Bitcoin may be entering the final stage of the bear market, even after $8.2 billion of ETF outflows, Strategy selling, the Coldcard attack and the failure of BIP110.

We discuss whether $58k marked the bottom, why a fall to $45k would inflict damage comparable to the brutal 2015 bear market, and the key levels that would signal Bitcoin is turning bullish again. We also get...

“We’ve already fucking won.”

Bitcoin went from a weird internet experiment to an asset that Wall Street, corporations and governments can no longer ignore. But as the suits pile in, is Bitcoin losing the culture that made it matter?

Recorded live at PubKey in New York City, American HODL, Junseth and Erik Cason & Thomas Pacchia are on the show for an unfiltered conversation about Bitcoin’s conquest of Wall Street, why everyone still thinks they’re late, the promise of $100 million Bitcoin and whether Bitcoin needs a new narrative.

We also discuss the rise o...

“The people who are truly productive are going to be on a rocket ship.”

AI is about to split society in two: those who learn to command it and those whose value it destroys.

Zack Shapiro, Head of Policy at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, explains why AI could dismantle the traditional white-collar career ladder while creating millions of millionaires. He argues that judgment, agency and decisive thinking will become exponentially more valuable, while simply working hard may no longer be enough.

We discuss why most people are using AI incorrectly, how it could tran...

“There’s no balance sheet in the world that can cough up a trillion dollars.”

In this episode, Mauricio Di Bartolomeo explains why he believes Bitcoin-backed loans could become a $1 trillion market within the next five to ten years, and why traditional lender balance sheets cannot finance that growth alone.

Mauricio breaks down Ledn’s $188 million Bitcoin-backed securitisation, the significance of its investment-grade senior notes, and how institutional capital could transform Bitcoin lending into a global credit market. He also explains partial liquidations, auto top up, tokenised gold and the potential for hybrid Bitcoin-and-gold collateral.

Th...

“I would give myself 95% confidence that the bottom is in.”

Mitchell Askew and John Haar are on the show to get into whether Bitcoin’s price bottom is already in, and why this drawdown looks different.

In this episode we discuss the disconnect between record global liquidity and a Bitcoin price that has fallen 50%, the selling by OG holders, miners pivoting toward AI, and the potentially self-fulfilling nature of the four-year cycle. Selling pressure is becoming exhausted and we're now facing time pain, not price pain.

We also get into AI stealing Bitcoin’s bull r...

“Who is left now that wants to sell at $65K?”

Bitcoin has gone through the price pain. Now comes the time pain.

Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy, is back on the show in New York to get into whether Bitcoin has already found its bottom, why sellers may finally be exhausted, and how the next rally could begin before the wider market notices.

We discuss the on-chain signals around $58K, the changing shape of Bitcoin’s market cycles, and how the enormous debt funding the AI boom could revive the curren...

“The companies are bubbles, but I don’t think the technology is a bubble.”

Luke Gromen is back on the show to explain why the debt-fuelled AI boom may have become too big to fail, why slowing investment and valuations could threaten the wider financial system, and how even a small move from the Fed could trigger the unwind.

Luke also explains why he still hasn’t bought back most of the Bitcoin he sold near $96,000. He believes Bitcoin could trade lower alongside tech over the next few months, but his long-term thesis has not changed...

“This is as code red as it can get for Bitcoin self-custody.”

Rob Hamilton joins me for an emergency episode on the catastrophic Coldcard entropy bug that has exposed Bitcoin held in wallets generated on affected firmware.

A firmware change introduced in 2021 prevented Coldcard devices from generating the level of randomness users believed they were getting. The result is that attackers may be able to reconstruct seed phrases and drain wallets, even when the device was air-gapped and the seed words never touched the internet. Rob explains which Coldcard models and setups are at risk, why...

“The company that I co-founded and wanted to build and the company Twenty One was becoming were no longer the same.”

Jack Mallers is back on the show for his first interview since stepping down as CEO of Twenty One Capital.

Jack explains why he walked away from the Bitcoin treasury company he built with Tether and took public on the New York Stock Exchange. We discuss where his vision began to diverge from the board’s, why merging Strike into Twenty One was never part of the original plan, and the expectations he regrets settin...

“We don’t need a new narrative. We just need to buy the bear, turn it around and smash it.”

Cory Klippsten is back on the show to explain why Bitcoin’s last bull market failed to deliver, why institutional adoption created weak hands rather than conviction, and why the next major move depends on bringing a new wave of people into Bitcoin.

In this episode, we discuss Swan’s campaign to bring the energy back to Bitcoin, the return of Café Bitcoin, 50 Days for Freedom and lower buying fees. Cory explains why ETFs made Bitcoin eas...

“Bear markets are actually more about survival.”

Matt Odell is back on the show to explain why Bitcoin bear markets grind people down, why the fundamentals have not changed, and why he has never been more bullish on Bitcoin.

In this episode, we discuss Jack Mallers stepping down from XXI, the risks of Bitcoin treasury companies, and why profitable businesses should save in Bitcoin rather than make financial engineering the product.

We also get into Nostr’s failure to replace X, the continued need for open identity and private communications, and how open-source AI cou...

“Cycles have no respect for trends.”

Michael Howell is on the show to explain why global liquidity, not Bitcoin’s four-year cycle, is the force driving Bitcoin, gold and global markets.

Michael argues that the liquidity cycle has already peaked and may not bottom until the second half of 2027. He warns that tighter liquidity could create further downside before the next major monetary expansion begins.

We get into the five-to-six-year debt refinancing cycle, why central banks are ultimately forced to keep supplying liquidity, China’s influence on the gold market, the growing debt maturity...

"Bitcoin treasury companies are not the equivalent of altcoins, but there’s a very similar lesson that has to be learned: they’re a great way to get less Bitcoin."

Parker Lewis is back on the show to explain why Bitcoin treasury companies such as Strategy (MSTR) may underperform Bitcoin, and why the digital capital narrative gets Bitcoin wrong.

Parker argues that investors buying treasury company stocks are often paying a premium to take on more risk: leverage, dilution, corporate expenses, execution risk, counterparty exposure and potential tax drag. While the company may accumulate more Bitc...

“In my opinion, not just Bitcoin, but the direction of society for our lifetimes and our kids’ lifetimes will be decided in the next five to ten years.”

Brandon Quittem is back on the show to get into whether Bitcoin can survive its transition from a countercultural movement into a global financial asset without losing the qualities that make it revolutionary.

We discuss the growing concentration of bitcoin in custodians and ETFs, the threat of paper Bitcoin, the importance of protecting self-custody, and why cultural apathy may be Bitcoins biggest danger.

We also get in...

“I think in ten years, the financial system and the Bitcoin system are going to collide.”

Matthew Mezinskis is a macroeconomic researcher, host of Crypto Voices and one of the leading voices on Bitcoin's power law and global money supply data.

In this episode, we get into whether the Bitcoin power law has finally broken, why the four-year cycle still appears intact, and what the data suggests about the current market and a possible $500,000 Bitcoin in 2029.

We also explore the coming collision between Bitcoin’s slowing power law growth, a financial system built on exp...

"They will allow inflation to run hotter than they'll admit to."

James Lavish is co-founder of the Bitcoin Opportunity Fund and author of The Informationist newsletter.

In this episode, we discuss Kevin Warsh's first months as Fed chair and whether the Fed is about to change how it measures inflation. We get into the inflation task force, the trimmed mean PCE, why the 2% target was always arbitrary, and how the balance sheet is quietly expanding through treasury buybacks and QE light.

We also cover credit card delinquencies hitting 2008 levels, the K-shaped economy, whether...

“Maybe it’s time to kill your heroes again, and Saylor is now the hero to slay in this cycle.”

Fernando Nikolic is the founder of Perception. In this episode, we get into whether Bitcoin has lost its narrative, why Michael Saylor’s messaging has changed, and how narratives can move markets. Fernando breaks down the shift from Saylor’s early Bitcoin maximalist language to the more recent focus on credit, derivatives and Strategy as a financial product.

We also get into whether Bitcoin’s rebel era is over, why the ETF approval may have marked the e...

“Bitcoin’s value prop remains unchanged and a 50% drawdown isn’t something that should scare you. It should be viewed as an opportunity.”

Joe Consorti is back on the show to break down why he thinks the Bitcoin bottom may be closer than many people expect, why $50k is the key level to watch, and why October or November could mark the final low before Bitcoin begins moving into its next bull market.

We discuss:

– Bitcoin below $60k

– Whether the four-year cycle is still alive

– The role of inflation, oil, midterms...

“The game has changed, it’s very clear.”

Matt Dines is a fixed-income portfolio manager and host of Mind Print Hash. In this episode, we get into why he believes the dollar system has already changed and why Bitcoin may be the endgame.

For decades, global markets have been built around the offshore dollar system: LIBOR, Fed backstops, QE, ZIRP and the assumption that every crisis ends with more liquidity. But Matt argues that world is being replaced by something very different: a Treasury-led dollar system built around T-bills, SOFR, regulated stablecoins and a new set of...

“The market is trying to find a villain right now—and Saylor is that guy.”

Adam Livingston explains the pressure building around Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy and STRC as the preferred stock trades at $88, well below its $100 par value.

Is STRC broken, or is the market mispricing Strategy’s credit risk? Adam explains how STRC works, why its yield has climbed above 13%, whether it can recover to par, and what Strategy’s capital structure means for MSTR shareholders. We also get into dilution, dividend coverage, Strategy’s use of its cash reserve and whether Saylor is now forced t...

“The whole goddamn thing is a charade… finger in the air, wild-ass guess, total gaslighting and bullshit.”

In this episode, Lawrence Lepard is back on the show to explain why the Fed is trapped between persistent inflation, an accelerating sovereign debt crisis and a financial system that cannot withstand genuinely tight monetary policy.

Lawrence breaks down the Fed’s retreat from forward guidance, why its new playbook gives policymakers cover to change course without warning, and why he believes today’s hawkish stance will ultimately give way to rate cuts and more money creation.

We also...

“The real battle is not communism versus capitalism. It’s not the radical left versus the far right… They’re all a different flavour of the same agenda.”

Simon Dixon is an entrepreneur & investor. In this episode we get into the decline of American hegemony, the rise of a multipolar world, the petrodollar, China, BRICS, Iran, Venezuela, energy, AI, surveillance and the institutions that operate above elected governments. He explains why he sees war, debt and political polarisation as mechanisms that move capital, concentrate wealth and reshape the global order.

We also discuss where Bitcoin fits into...

“The dollar endgame is still in play, but it’s going to play out much differently than most people think.”

Peruvian Bull, is a macro analyst and the author of Dollar Endgame.

In this interview, we discuss why the collapse of the dollar is unlikely to play out the way most people expect, why the dollar remains so dominant despite America’s worsening debt problem, and why Japan may be the clearest warning signal for what comes next.

We get into the eurodollar system, stablecoins, treasury demand, the yen carry trade, QE, yield curve co...