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“I think we're going through a quote-unquote ‘fourth turning,' so a time period where we're examining our existing institutions. We're decreasing our level of trust in them, whether it's governments, whether it's media, whether it's corporations… basically the things that have been built over the past 50-100 years, and wanting to build new institutions. And that transition is always very messy.”— Lyn AldenLyn Alden is a macroeconomist and investment strategist. In this interview, we discuss the macro environment. We zero in on the current inflationary crisis, focusing on the demand/supply problems with energy, prospects for recession, and the impact on markets and countries. - - - - The last time inflationary pressures seriously concerned the US was the 1970s. The decade ended with inflation at nearly 15%. Many believe current inflation, real inflation, not the figures provided by the US Dept of Labor, is at least 15% if not higher. And yet, we are in a much more precarious position now than in the period of the 1970s referred to as the “The Great Inflation”. Global debt is at an all-time high. US government debt is over 137% of GDP. Unprecedented money printing during the global financial crisis was followed by more extreme money printing during the pandemic. Most countries are now bloated with debt. Further, interest rates are still at abnormally low levels. Economies are precariously balanced. Recession is close at hand.At the same time, there is an energy crisis. Decades of underinvestment in energy infrastructure, poor policy decisions, and geopolitical issues means we have insufficient energy supply and price spikes. In the UK 40% of households could be deemed to be in energy poverty soon. There is talk of oil reaching $300 a barrel.Then there is an emerging food crisis. The war between Russia and Ukraine is affecting some of the biggest suppliers of wheat, sunflower oil, and fertilizer. According to the World Food Programme 276 million face famine. A cost of living crisis is hitting the most vulnerable in all corners of the globe.We are in very uncertain times. History suggests such pressures fuel populism, protest, and conflict. How should we protect our investments in such times? What assets could weather these storms? Who can we trust? This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD509 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“The larger these stable coins are, the more adoption there is, and the more stable they're likely to be. But then the worse and more contagious the effect is if it fails. It's almost like you have to be really big, in order for it to be stable. But once you get that big, the cost of failure is immense.”— Jonathan WuJonathan Wu is head of growth at Aztec network. In this interview, we pick over what happened when the stablecoin UST crashed, how it linked to the Terra blockchain and Luna governance token, the issues with recursive lending, and the need for financial disclosure in the industry.- - - - Stablecoins have provided financial sovereignty for millions who have been failed by their financial institutions and want predictable value in a currency. So, the failure of a stablecoin that had been financially backed by some of the biggest investors in DeFi has been particularly traumatic for many investors. Unlike some stablecoins, UST, native stablecoin of the Terra Blockchain, was under collateralized i.e. it wasn't backed by another asset. Maintaining its peg to the dollar was (theoretically) stabilized algorithmically: linkage of UST to a governance token, Luna, and a complex dance of creation and burning of both of these coins. In theory, this enabled UST to remain decentralized. In practice, there were some inherent weaknesses in the process. Not only was the stablecoin designed to be a payments rail, but the governance token, Luna, could be staked to derive yield. It was accepted by lending protocols that allowed for recursive lending (rehypothecation), an activity raised as a significant risk to DeFi by many critics of yield farming (e.g. Allen Farrington). Then the house of cards started to crumble. Or, as Jonathan describes it: the death spiral began. The result was a quick unravelling of an asset, which had had a market cap of over $18 billion. An asset that many investors believed, wrongly, was devoid of the risks associated with altcoins. An asset now with an effective value of zero.The story involves large profits being made by major investors, a CEO who overplayed his hand and got some major calls wrong, some shady characters in the DeFi lending ecosystem, complex strategies not many understand, and a lot of people who could ill afford to lose their investments getting seriously burned. The critical issue is this again places Bitcoin in a bind. Its price was directly affected, but its reputation suffers: retail investors are warier to adopt, and regulators are more empowered to pounce. There is a lot for the industry to learn, and learn quickly. The stakes are currently stacked unfairly, and it's the same people who end up losing.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD508 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“When you look at the giving trends of the Bitcoin community, what's interesting is they're not like the traditional philanthropic community, they're not really interested in Symphony tickets, or the art. They're looking at ‘where are there game-changing impacts that if they were scaled would have world-changing effects, and have world-changing effects for human freedom?'”— Victor BoutrosVictor Boutros is CEO and co-founder of the Human Trafficking Institute. In this interview, we discuss the anger that drove him into tackling human trafficking in the US and then set out to prove it could be tackled across the globe. His work literally saves lives. He needs support. - - - - Human trafficking is a hidden scourge. Most of us would assume human slavery is a shameful historical relic. Yet, the market for trading humans is thriving. People are traded for labour and sex in huge numbers. It is estimated that there are at least 25 million victims of this brutal industry, but the true number could be much much higher. Both perpetrators and victims hide in the shadows. Yet, statistics are just dry numbers. It is the stories of individual victims that evidence the evil that permeates human trafficking. Such stories display the cold heartless depravity that enables some to view others as tradable commodities to be exploited. It is these stories that have driven people such as Victor to dedicate themselves to trying to tackle this issue and save lives.Victor learnt and honed the skills necessary to combat traffickers in the US. But, with the knowledge that the majority of human trafficking takes place across other countries, he set up the Human Trafficking Institute. This mission has successfully proved that through thorough investigation, and dedicated enforcement, it is possible to curtail this scourge anywhere it exists.But, this work needs to be scaled, which needs funding. Bitcoiners have shown that they are a force for change, using their funds to help shape a better world in numerous ways. It is Victor's hope that the philanthropic zeal within the Bitcoin community could assist his mission. Can Bitcoin become the driving force behind the effort to make trafficked people free at scale across the globe?This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD507 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“It's the worst parts of us that sometimes are displayed on these centralised networks because it's driven by these algorithms, and I do think that the algorithms don't know the difference between love and hate because they're not humans; they just know the difference between high engagement and low engagement and virality.”— Justin RezvaniJustin Rezvani is the founder and CEO of Zion. In this interview, we discuss completing Ironman, his near-death experience, recovery and perspectives, and motivations for building a new business. Justin explains his vision to enable creators to own distribution and the future of social media. - - - - Not many of us walk through life thinking any day could be our last. But most live as though we have unlimited tomorrows. We leave dreams unfulfilled, arguments unresolved, our attention diverted to the wrong priorities. For those who experience death, but live to tell the tale, it is a pivotal event that leads to a refocused life. And for those who do get a second chance, they tend to grab opportunities as they arise. Justin came through a near-death experience and traumatic rehabilitation. Once recovered he seized the chance to use Bitcoin to remake social media. Better for creators, and users. Better for the curation and protection of online discussion. Better for the development of communities. The issues with current centralised platforms are obvious to all at the moment. Business models are incentivised to capture attention, not to nurture civil debate. The digital town square has turned into a digital bear bit. And yet censorship has turned into a blunt instrument open to abuse. The rule book needs rewriting. Bitcoin, decentralised identification and other technology offer an opportunity to provide creators ownership of the distribution. Communities will no longer be tied to a platform. There will always be aggregators of content, but creators and their audience will now have the flexibility to move across a decentralised internet if and when they choose or require.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD506 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“I don't think it's going to work, I'm sure it's going to work. Because the fundamentals are there. We can have some bumps in the road like everything… but, the fundamentals are the same. And it's going to work because the philosophy of it is right. Just give it time. It's going to work for El Salvador, it's going to work for Bitcoin, it's going to work for the world.”— Nayib BukeleThe full interview with President Nayib Bukele, undertaken days after the Bitcoin Law became effective on September 7th 2021, sections of which were included in my film “Follow The Money #1 - Bitcoin in El Salvador”. In this interview, we discuss motivation, opposition and legacy. - - - - A few days following Bitcoin being given legal status, I was granted an exclusive access interview with President Bukele for the purposes of my film “Follow The Money #1 - Bitcoin in El Salvador”. Following the release of the film, it is time to publish the full interview. It has been over 8 months since El Salvador became the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender. A lot has been written about El Salvador's Bitcoin Law, and a lot has happened since. But what was it like to be at the centre of this unprecedented event? An event that could change not just El Salvador's future, but also Bitcoin's and the rest of the world. The discussion covers President Bukele's enthusiasm for what Bitcoin can do for his country and his people; the incredible timescale within which the law was passed (it was a mere 3 months from being enacted to becoming law); the strategy behind the country's purchases of Bitcoin; internal and external opposition; and the plan behind the articles of the Bitcoin Law. As background noise to all these changes is vocal concerns about authoritarian actions Bukele is taking; he has removed judges, influenced a change in the constitution to enable a potential second term, had troops enter parliament, and implemented stern policies aimed at reducing gang violence. The term “dictator” is banded around. Nevertheless, he is an extremely popular president: he has an approval rating of 85%. Many citizens, sick of the years of violence and corruption, are pleased to finally see a decisive Salvadoran President. Could he become a beacon for the wider region? Could he be the leader of the Bitcoin age?This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD505 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“I think we're at the precipice of really next-level civilizational change, and it's probably going to be messy a little bit in the transitionary period. But on the other side of this, or as we move forward, I think more good is coming than bad, and that's something to be hopeful for.”— John VallisJohn Vallis is a Bitcoin podcaster who hosts Bitcoin Rapid Fire. In this interview, we discuss what freedom means, parallels between Bitcoin and religious values, living a meaningful life, psychedelics and their importance, and a new civilisation centred on truth. - - - - Bitcoin provides freedom. Financial freedom; freedom from coercion; freedom of movement. But how should those who benefit from Bitcoin use this freedom? Should they use it to fulfil their own desires? Or are there higher values that Bitcoiners should strive to attain? Should Bitcoiners draw back into their citadels? Or, should they actively engage in trying to shape a better world? Such decisions will be influenced by the values such individuals hold. In our fiat economy, self-interest is deemed to be the principle that supports a functioning and prosperous society. Institutionally driven moral codes have been supplemented by the needs of the market. Religion has been replaced; prayer and faith have given way to data and patterns. It is assumed that science and rejection of the divine have driven a more advanced society. And yet, ephemeral pursuits of money and power seem to be the root of a lot of the problems we face today. Some feel that more sophisticated behaviours were displayed by previous civilisations: humans have previously been more in tune with nature. Psychedelics is thought to have played a part in this process. Many cultures throughout history used psychedelic practices to enable them to break away from their ego. This gave them a wider perspective - a more holistic view of the world around them.Bitcoin shows that current values in a fiat world are misaligned: selfish short term pursuits are failing us; we have lost sight of the truth. Could psychedelics hold the key to helping more people to make that shift to see the fallacy of our current systems? Is the loss of ego needed to determine how best to mould this new world evolving around us? This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD504 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“It's a competition of ideas… and it's a collaborative competition of ideas. So if you propose an organised set of ideas as a proposal, some parts of them might end up being good and used, and some parts might not. And you just have to be open to that.”— Adam BackAdam Back, an original cypherpunk, inventor of Hashcash and co-founder and CEO of Blockstream. We discuss the controversy around BIP 119: the soft fork proposal aiming to add “covenants” to Bitcoin. We also talk about the collapse of Luna. - - - - Flexible smart contracts are a USP of Ethereum and other blockchains. Currently, Bitcoin only enables basic smart contract functionality, such as a timelock that specifies when a transaction can be spent. BIP 119 proposes to add more flexibility for applying restrictions to transactions via a new programme operation code (opcode) called CheckTemplateVerify (CTV).CTV would enable conditions on spending UTXOs that would limit, not when they are spent, but how. These are referred to as “covenants”. It is envisaged CTV could significantly enhance Bitcoin by enabling a raft of new and powerful applications to be developed; these could bring new security, privacy and scalability benefits. The concern is that CTV is a significant change and could open up potential unknown security risks, or that if this functionality is desirable, it could be possible be better achieved with a different technical approachBIP119 has been authored and enthusiastically promoted by Bitcoin developer, Jeremy Rubin. It has been around now for 2 years, and whilst Rubin has generated support for BIP119, he has also faced criticism from prominent Bitcoiners for his approach and so far there doesn't seem to be consensus among the protocol development community on implementing the proposal.The consideration, approval and activation of changes to Bitcoin are methodical and slow. Further, such changes normally involve the development of competing ideas, and a collaborative approach to combine the best elements from these efforts. Notable critics feel that BIP119 is being too forcefully promoted and that more time is needed to test and consider alternatives.The pressure to innovate will always be there. The issue at hand is Bitcoin's USP: it has never been hacked. This has been hard-won. So it seems BIP119 isn't going to get a formal consensus at the moment. Rubin, however, could bypass the Core developers and implement a UASF. Could we again be about to test the limits of Bitcoin's rough consensus process? This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD503 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“What's the end game? It is honestly to do less harm. Bitcoin doesn't actually need politicians to make it succeed, it will succeed on its own merits; what would be helpful is to not have people actively attacking it and elongating the inevitable collapse of their own currencies, but also rise of Bitcoin as a global reserve currency.”— Will ColeWill Cole is Chief Product Officer at Unchained Capital. In this interview, we discuss Texas and Austin as ideological centres for Bitcoin, the undervalued importance of state sovereignty in the US, CBDCs being the greatest disaster for liberty and personal freedom, and toxicity on Twitter. - - - - Something is happening in Texas. It has always had an independent streak, rooted in its rich history. The state was born of revolution, and it was initially a republic in the mid 19th century before the Mexican-American War. That thirst for freedom is hard-wired into the Texan psyche. Now it is a beacon to Americans from other states seeking increasingly elusive sovereignty.It is therefore not surprising then that Bitcoin has been adopted and fostered in Texas. From very early in it's history, a strong community of maximalists united and sought to safeguard Bitcoin in this part of the US. That effort is now starting to pay off. The strong affinity for Bitcoin by Texans has evolved such that the state is fast becoming the centre of groundbreaking efforts to integrate Bitcoin and energy grids. The state is arguably spearheading a new adoption wave within the US that includes serious politicians. Could Texas take the next step and create the conditions to orange pill a nation? Those Bitcoiners in the state aren't waiting to find out. They're moving at pace to help Texas and other states continue the outreach, policy drafting and technical buildout to realise the benefits of what is a keenly American innovation. They're also keenly focused on the attack vectors on the horizon, be it CBDCs or divisions within the community. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD502 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“The idea is that fix the money fix the world, the thing that's often said, and that most of our problems in the world come from bad money. And I think my point is that malevolence in man is something that is so core to the human condition that fixing the money isn't going to actually magically fix all these problems.”— Rob HamiltonRob Hamilton is a programmer and data scientist. In this interview, we discuss the risks associated with a transition to hyperbitcoinisation, the limits to what Bitcoin fixes, the issues of a libertarian world run on a Bitcoin standard, the benefits to the energy grid, and Bitcoin's eternal September.- - - - Hyperbitcoinization, the adoption of Bitcoin as global money, was once a theoretical pipe dream that all but the most hardened Bitcoiners thought would be an impossibility. But we have witnessed a number of unprecedented events in recent years that mean impossible scenarios have now shifted into the realm of the possible. Does this create a new foundation for conversations regarding hyperbitcoinization? The abstract idea of hyperbitcoinization has been enthusiastically supported: it is a fresh new idea that provides hope for a better world. But where such discussions could afford to be utopian a few years ago, do discussions now need to mature as a Bitcoin standard becomes more real?Are there limits to what Bitcoin can fix? Further, does hyperbitcoinization create new issues? Would we be replacing one elite for another? And, if this new world is shaped by a libertarian ideology, who will determine how to organise consensus, solve problems and resolve conflict? The reality of what may be possible certainly requires more sober consideration. The flip side is that the tremendous benefits that Bitcoin has to offer could actually be realised. A better world may be within our reach. The excitement for proponents is that Bitcoin's potential is more than just as a new currency; it has second-order effects such as its use as a payments rail and arguably more importantly, as a catalyst for a stronger and more sustainable energy grid. And all the time, there are new users of Bitcoin who are seeing in it both novel opportunities, and also new risks to be mitigated. Wider adoption, therefore, means that what hyperbitcoinization will become is always evolving. The discussions on what this means have only just begun. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD501 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Human rights don't come easily, they actually have to be fought for; fought for with encryption, fought for with principled individuals, fought for with giving people other alternatives, and the best alternative is economic sovereignty.”— Austin HillJeff Booth is an Entrepreneur and Author of ‘The Price of Tomorrow' and Austin Hill is a cypherpunk & former Blockstream CEO. In this interview, we discuss the unique sense of hope in El Salvador, the loss of freedom, Bitcoin as objective truth and hope, Elon Musk and Twitter.- - - - Show 500!!!What a ride it's been since I recorded my first show in November 2017. I'm so grateful to all the listeners, particularly those who send their support. Thanks to all the fascinating people I've had the privilege to interview: so many great stories, opinions, and advice. Thanks to my amazing sponsors - you enable my team to make what we think is the best show in the market. And finally, big up to the team, roll on the next 500!This show is as good as it gets in terms of guests and subject matter. Two major figures within the industry who I'm now lucky enough to call friends. And I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I did. They're as excited about Bitcoin's opportunities as they've ever been. We speak about their recent visit to El Salvador and the unique and inspiring mood of hope within the country. The media are still dubious about Bukele's Bitcoin reforms, and the government is dealing with tough domestic and international challenges. However, it is infectious to hear how inspired two seasoned entrepreneurs are by what they witnessed in the country.Jeff and Austin also talk about the societal issues that Bitcoin is perhaps uniquely placed to mitigate: threats to freedom, not just from authoritarian governments but also from traditionally liberal establishments; pervasive misinformation directed at citizens; and rapid technological changes that will upend society. This is why Jeff and Austin are bullish that UX improvements have the potential to onboard hundreds of millions more to Bitcoin.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD500 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“I don't understand the moral position of absolute freedom, and the reason is because, when I hear people talk about it, it's very obvious to me that absolutely everybody knows that there are limits to freedom, so absolute freedom is not something that anybody believes in.”— JunsethJunseth is a OG bitcoiner and the former co-host of Bitcoin Uncensored. In this interview, we discuss government being the logical extent of libertarianism, the evolution of news media, falling for conspiracies, admitting when you're wrong, opinion versus fact, and the return of Trump. - - - - Our lives are full of examples of infective institutions, inefficient governance, waste, want, and an eagerness to wage war. It is hard to argue in defence of the state. Yet, any popular movements against the actions of the state are ignored. In these times, libertarian arguments are powerful and persuasive: the state, shielded by coercion, is ineffective so we need to tear it down. However, we don't need to be fans of the state to be worried about the alternatives. In a world of 8 billion people, with increasing complexity, specialisation, and disagreement, is it rational to think that we can organise ourselves into voluntary and agreeable groups? History lacks examples of such structures working to support advanced functioning societies. So, why are we so ready to accept at face value vague promises that a better world can be achieved through radical means? Is it that uncertainty and nuance aren't rewarded by today's click-bait driven media? Like moths to a light, are we all drawn towards more exciting, adventurous, and confident narratives built on conspiracy and anarchy?In a small way, podcasting is an attempt to provide airtime for the truth. Whilst it's true that those who take extreme positions can build strong audiences, the biggest audiences are drawn to the more honest explorations of subjects. Despite attacks from MSM, the popularity of Joe Rogan shows there is a huge demand for authentic and reasoned debate. People want the truth.The question is, as MSM becomes increasingly unwilling to provide such a service, are we going to have to rely on a community of independent content creators to meet this demand?This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD499 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“The short of it is that I was involved in an online cult, I think it's fair to call it that way…. and it's not like I lived in a commune, but it was really involved. And a lot of my friends were involved with that too. And it was very, toxic and confusing. And it took me a long time to figure out what was going on and leave.”— Tuur DemeesterTuur Demeester is a Bitcoin investor and economist. In this interview, we discuss how he was drawn into a toxic online cult, his awakening and leaving, Twitter enabling cultist behaviours within Bitcoin and why it's key to give air to all voices within Bitcoin.- - - - Wisdom is developed through experience: an individual's interaction with other people and events, and their personal reflections on the outcomes, enhance understanding of both the self and the world. Knowledge isn't endowed genetically, and education provides limited direction. Perspective on exposure to our environment is what drives tangible learning and growth.People can easily find themselves developing beliefs, and engaging in actions, with the benefit of hindsight they later deem antithetical to an evolved worldview. Submission to a cult, that is adherence to common belief systems and behaviours advocated by a charismatic leader, is an extreme example of this. People will largely dismiss the idea that they could be susceptible to becoming a cultist. And yet, even the most infamous cults are full of highly educated, principled, and engaging people. People who have then made life decisions that are hard to objectively comprehend. The truth is that we're all susceptible.Commonly cults are cast as people in white robes; collectives holed up in fortified buildings; empty-eyed automatons following a messianic figure. But cults are less obvious and more pervasive than we'd imagine. Today, with easy access to powerful and toxic social media tools, building and energising and channelling an audience is available to anyone with a voice. It's never been easier to develop a cult.So, where are the dividing lines? What's the difference between impassioned rhetoric and dangerous invective? Should we try and conduct reasoned debate using tools that are structurally deficient for such tasks? How open can we be to divergent opinions in a world full of noise and pressure? Could we sleepwalk into a cult, or worse, become a corrupted cult leader?This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD498 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“There are certainly genuinely evil people who do not hesitate to sacrifice entire nations to further and maintain their hold on power, and that to have some kind of civil discussion about this is so missing the mark, it's not even funny.”— Michael MaliceMichael Malice is an anarchist, author, and podcaster. In this interview, we discuss declining versus flourishing US cities, transitioning away from the state, Ukraine and Putin, conspiracies to cancel, challenges to free speech, and the enfeeblement of the media and education system. - - - - Anarchism has quickly evolved from being an extreme ideology, which was at best a interesting thought experiment, to a political vision whose merits are being given increasingly serious consideration. Even those who believe in the power of collectivism are questioning the effectiveness of our current institutions. But with power comes responsibility. Do anarchists truly believe that tearing down the state and its associated power structures will result in a better world? Or is there a more nuanced and pragmatic approach? Is retention of some collective organisation desirable? Would decreased centralization and dominance of the state be a sufficient victory for anarchists? Whatever the end state envisioned by advocates of scholars such as Bakunin, Goldman, Berkman and Rothbard, there are plenty of power structures that anarchists believe require radical reconstruction. Mainstream media, universities, schools, and rent seeking businesses: they are all targets. Even if some anarchists are changing to think that a better and fairer world does not mean starting again from the ground up, don't think that their objective is anything short of an extensive reordering of society.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD497 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“All of these monetary transitions involve people that could think of the unthinkable. And that could look past how the system currently is and envision: if you just start with a blank sheet of paper, how could it be? What are the alternative kind of timelines we could be under?”— Lyn AldenLyn Alden is a macroeconomist and investment strategist. In this interview, we discuss currency crises, the history of money, the properties of good money, and whether Bitcoin can usher in a new era of programmable, commodity money. - - - - What is money? We are taught to critically question and evaluate the world around us. Yet, most people never query the essence of what is perhaps civilisation's most important tool. We readily accept the money we have and use it without examining its history, characteristics, or whether it could be improved and changed. We are living through extraordinary times. The world around us is in flux: established norms are being upended. Yet, the most extraordinary change is occurring without, arguably, the fanfare it deserves. Money is changing. A viable alternative to fiat currency has taken hold. An open and free, censorship-resistant currency available to anyone with qualities that surpass previous forms of money is carving out its place as the future of money.Coins and notes are examples of money we are all familiar with. Yet, shares, property, or in fact, any tradable item are also forms of money. We interact with various forms of money, and implicity utilise their attributes without proper examination. So, what are the qualities and features of money? Why do we use different forms of money? What is money? It is only through proper consideration of these questions that the unique and revolutionary properties of Bitcoin become apparent. Bitcoin is much more than just a speculative digital asset. It seeks to be the best money ever invented, combining the benefits of gold, cash, and various contemporary stores of value. More importantly, Bitcoin provides new features seeking to protect the individual in the digital age. Bitcoin may be much more than a useful tool, it could be a necessity.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD496 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“We have a lot of things that make me extremely bullish on Bitcoin… did I wish this to happen on the world? Absolutely not, I wish we didn't need to have Bitcoin because we could trust, but we can't.”— Dan HeldDan Held is the Growth Lead at Kraken. In this interview, we discuss the splintering and factionalization of the Bitcoin community, trying to be honest in a toxic environment, update on the Bitcoin supercycle, and Bitcoin application (selling, hodling, lending, and collateralizing).- - - - Bitcoin is under almost constant attack, but despite significant pressures, efforts to ensure the technology remains truly decentralised and open have been successful, in a large part, thanks to the toxicity within the bitcoin community. But those who have worked at close quarters to the Bitcoin ecosystem have witnessed a rapid evolution and segmentation of beliefs, business proposals, and market for what is still a nascent innovation. The original libertarian community that nurtured Bitcoin has been diluted by new groups. Conservatives and progressives have aligned themselves to Bitcoin with their own dogmas. In the wake of the maximalist victory in the Blocksize Wars new divisions have arisen based on divergent ideologies. Can we find a unifying narrative to coalesce these factions?Equally, the industry that has developed around the unique monetary and payment characteristics of the technology has resulted in an explosion of new products and features. No longer is Bitcoin merely a static store of value: hodlers can now lend, short, and collateralize their asset. Should we fully embrace the investment opportunities this asset can provide?Finally, the cyclical nature of the asset price has continued to evolve. Macro forces, game theory, and geo-political events are potentially aligning to create a supercycle: a new phase of adoption that could propel Bitcoin into becoming a global reserve currency to rival gold. Will those who have prevised such a future be proven right?Are we finally about to enter a phase when Bitcoin matures and becomes money for all? This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD495 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“The one thing that's certain is it's never going away because this is the best accounting technology, which is instrumental to run the world, that has ever been invented. And so the rest of it is just noise to me, it's going to go up, it's gonna go down, the daily price fluctuations are meaningless, we just keep building. ”— Alex EpsteinDarin Feinstein, an early investor in Bitcoin, co-founded Core Scientific, one of the largest Bitcoin mining operations. In this interview, we discuss the revolution of triple-entry accounting, providing 8 billion people property rights and banking, combating FUD, and rapid advances in mining chips.- - - - Bitcoin is causing tectonic shifts in global financial and political systems that have companies, authorities, and nations reeling. This creates a lot of noise. But, has this resulted in the community easing off on extolling Bitcoin's principal revolutionary characteristic - the consensus protocol? And, does that open it up to attack?Triple entry accounting, the trustless verification of peer to peer transactions, is an innovation that is arguably in the same league as the wheel or printing press. For Bitcoiners, this understanding is implicit; discussions have moved on to other more immediate concerns. However, because we're still so early there is widespread ignorance of why Bitcoin has such transformative power.Has this created a space for those wanting to undermine Bitcoin? The industry has had to contend with FUD since the early days. The constant risk is that those in positions of great power don't have the necessary knowledge to separate fact from fiction. Is this why there are serious considerations being given at the highest levels to banning proof of work consensus?The unavoidable issue is that challenging the status quo is hard. And, the status quo will always exploit weakness. As such, is it possible to have a decentralized community without a centralized voice? Would we fail without the efforts of the likes of the Bitcoin Mining Council and the Bitcoin Policy Institute?These questions are becoming increasingly important: the greater the scale of adoption, the more severe the response. China banned Bitcoin because it was a great idea that threatened their top-down ideology. The US benefited from this, but there are still voices who would see a ban on this side of the Pacific. New York is already considering its own ban on mining.Our enduring advantage is that we have truth on our side - Bitcoin is the greatest money system invented. Will that be enough? This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD494 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“If you have any influence on a situation, and you're using that influence to prevent or discourage low cost, reliable energy, I think you're contributing to the life catastrophe that is widespread poverty.”— Alex EpsteinAlex Epstein is a philosopher and author of ‘The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels' and ‘Fossil Future'. In this interview, we discuss how energy abundance has enabled humans to flourish, whether climate mastery has made us unnaturally safe, and the need for more low-cost reliable energy. - - - - According to a recent survey for the UN, 64% of people believe that climate change is a global emergency. News reports are dominated by stories of floods, heatwaves, droughts, hurricanes and other events, highlighted as potential signs of a warming world. The implicit assumption is that urgent reductions in the use of fossil fuels are required to minimise the potential impacts. But increasingly, a growing collective is questioning these opinions. Exploitation of fossil fuels is linked to civilisations' rapid development in the 250 years since the industrial revolution. Yet, billions still lack access to adequate levels of energy. The concern is alternative energy sources won't be able to meet current demands, let alone demands that aren't currently being met. Furthermore, there is scepticism regarding climate change projections and forecast impacts on societies. Those who hold such views are labelled as climate change ‘deniers', a pejorative term meant to imply resistance to science and facts. This is emblematic of how combative and polarised the two sides of the debate have become. Some are now refusing to engage.Perhaps, such division is understandable given the stakes. If global warming has the capacity to be an existential threat this century, then delays in curtailing fossil fuels could be catastrophic. Equally, if such warnings turn out to be wrong then we could be constraining the empowerment of billions of people. In our view, this is why we should remain engaged in the debate. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD493 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“You can put on this Bitcoin miner attached to your nuclear facility… and since your Bitcoin mining site can be dialled up and dialled down for how it's dispatched, you've just put a supercharger on your nuclear plant; you can now actually provide flexibility to the grid because you have the ability to ramp your nuke through the Bitcoin mining.”— Shaun ConnellShaun Connell is Executive VP of Power at Lancium and an energy trading expert focused on incorporating Bitcoin mining into energy transition services. In this interview, we discuss the fundamentals of energy trading, the need to balance energy supply with demand, and the symbiotic relationship between Bitcoin mining, renewables and the energy grid.- - - - If climate change forecasts are to be believed, the implications for society are profound. Many believe that the sources of energy that enabled our society to thrive and prosper over the past 250 years need to be replaced by alternative types of energy deemed to be more sustainable. Others fear that such a transition risks millennia of civilisational advancement.The debate around climate change and energy is therefore highly charged. And yet, there is a significant deficit in our general understanding of how the energy system works. Wind and solar are now the cheapest sources of energy, so why aren't we rapidly progressing to 100% renewable energy grids? If we need to decarbonise the grid, why do wind and solar producers have to curtail energy production? If Bitcoin mining is becoming an increasingly more significant user of energy, why are grid managers increasingly seeking to assimilate it? Whatever the reasons for the ignorance of the energy system, and whether or not it has been or will be exploited by special interests, the obvious concern is that it will lead to bad policy being formulated at a critical time. Knowledge is power. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD492 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“When we say Bitcoin fixes this it's now so clear, it is the only non-corruptible network… you see it right there on the blockchain, you can check it by your own rules everything. That's really the only thing we have going for us because everything else is under someone else's control.”— Adam CurryAdam Curry is a DJ, internet entrepreneur, and, along with Dave Winer, the creator of podcasting. In this interview, we discuss Texas and guns, how Bitcoin features in world events, food intelligence and smarter education, as well as the origins, ethos, and future of podcasting. - - - - The ubiquity of podcasts has masked how innovative and ground breaking the technology is. In only 2 decades an idea about using RSS feeds to distribute audio blogs has now arguably become the most effective media channel rivalling both main stream media and increasingly social media. It is estimated that more than a third of Americans regularly listen to podcasts. Market forecasts suggest the industry will be worth over $2 billion in the next few years. The relative ease of production, lack of editing constraints, and its long form character, has resulted in an explosion of content.At a time when trust is in short supply, clickbait is employed over honest reportage, and toxicity is increasingly infecting discussions, podcasting is providing a desirable alternative for those seeking truth and facts. As a result, podcasting has been important to disseminating knowledge across a range of subjects. And yet, there are risks that podcasters could make the same mistakes of other media: audience capture and reliance on centralised distribution channels could undermine the effectiveness of the industry to continue to provide a valuable source of truth. Adam Curry had a critical and central role in the genesis of podcastings. Yet, his passion for the medium is as fervent as ever. He's at the forefront of both Podcasting 2.0 technical developments, whilst also being one of the industry's most industrious contributors. He was orange-pilled via podcasts, now he's using his knowledge of Bitcoin to strengthen podcasting. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD491 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“There are so many opportunities to use freedom technologies to build civil disobedience, to put power into the hands of individuals, and Bitcoin's a part of that.”— Austin HillAustin Hill is a cypherpunk & former Blockstream CEO. In this interview, we discuss the dangers of absolutism within Bitcoin's community, building consensus in promoting freedom money, and advancing the human condition. - - - - The development and adoption of Bitcoin is predicated upon a reaction to the manifest failures of current economic and political structures. The associated need to defend Bitcoin from multiple attack vectors resulted in a protective maximalist ideology. The end result is that the current Bitcoin community is dominated by big personalities with firm and unyielding convictions. Yet, maintaining an adoption curve mirroring that of the internet means proving the benefits of this innovative technology to everyone: the wider public, companies, and state-level institutions. This will require building consensus: coalescing around positive characteristics of the technology whilst working to ensure divergent opinions don't overwhelm the debate.As Bitcoin enters a more nuanced phase of maturation, a pragmatic approach to furthering its adoption and effective development may be required. Do battle-hardened Bitcoiners now need to become more politically flexible? Is it possible to find agreement with those who hold contradictory views? Is compromise possible whilst protecting Bitcoin's unique innovation? This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD490 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“These ideas of communism and free-market collide, and they're both communism over time. And that sounds harsh, but it's a control structure. There is no free market, if there's a distortion of money, because everything else is on top of that distortion of money.”— Jeff BoothJeff Booth is Entrepreneur and Author of ‘The Price of Tomorrow'. In this interview, we discuss the distortion of money, how Bitcoin can herald in a fairer system based on truth and a free market of ideas, and the transition from scarcity to abundance. - - - - Bitcoin is revolutionary. More than its cryptographic protocol, monetary policy, and decentralised technology, Bitcoin is built on promulgating truth. It is feasible that a new economic paradigm is being built that democratises knowledge and information. The old ways of spin, exaggeration, false equivalence, hustle, denial, and outright lies served the fiat system well during the 20th century. Being ‘economical with the truth' became a necessary tactic of the game, employed by leaders of companies, institutions, and countries alike. The corrosive effects of increasingly systematic subterfuge were inevitably going to counter balance any fallacious societal benefits. This has become increasingly clear since the beginning of the new millennium: events and shocks have chipped away at the current economic edifice.It's not that a new system would be beneficial to society, it's rather a new system is required to enable the major issues of today to be resolved. Can Bitcoin be the basis of this new system? This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD489 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“The moral case for Bitcoin is that you don't have this cesspool of theft, corruption and cronyism that you do with the US dollar. Fiat money is just straight up evil, it is an institution of corruption, of theft, of extracting value from people that can least afford it; and bitcoin is one that's way fairer.”— Jimmy SongJimmy Song is a Bitcoin educator, developer and entrepreneur. In this interview, we discuss Bitcoin's growing political power, how Lightning has better privacy properties than Monero, why decentralisation is binary, and the moral case for Bitcoin.- - - - There is plenty to be concerned about in today's world: economic, social, and political issues are compounding in severity. Solutions from governing elites are in short supply. And there seem to be bad faith actors at every turn. Imagine then a world without Bitcoin. But whilst people may thank God (or blind serendipity) for Bitcoin, we also need to be cognizant of, and prepared for, the associated pitfalls and critical examinations. A powerful and growing constituency of Bitcoiners, who cut across political divides, is seen as ripe for cultivating by ambitious and power-hungry politicians. How do we distinguish between genuine support for the community and exploitative manoeuvring?Further, what about Bitcoin's fixed monetary policy? In a time of rampant monetary and fiscal stimulus, where inevitable inflationary effects are beginning to bite, Bitcoin's potential as an unrivalled store of value could see its adoption accelerate. Those in the industry contend with these concerns at regular intervals. What is apparent is that Bitcoiners are kept energised by Bitcoin's most unique utility: its strong moral underpinning. This is one of the attributes that give people faith that Bitcoin can be the basis for a better world. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD488 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“There's some pretty big stuff happening behind the scenes. I'm no commodities expert, I'm not in this every day, but I've been watching the charts and it's like, my god, there's something's breaking. You see volatility across commodities, equities, credit markets, foreign exchange. I think it's going to intensify, there's no happy ending here over the short term.”— Dylan LeClairDylan LeClair is a Bitcoin and macro analyst working for Bitcoin Magazine. In this interview, we discuss the playing out of the long term debt cycle, the coming commodity wars, how Bitcoin is a lifeboat, and transitionary investments. - - - - We are living through unprecedented times, where the old ways of order are expected to crumble. And yet, life seems comfortably familiar. This can lure people into a false sense of confidence that the political, economic, and monetary norms will continue undiminished into the future. The same sense gripped German citizens during the 1920s. ‘When Money Dies' documents how “Financially, for nearly four years, the ultimate cataclysm was always just around the corner. It always arrived, and there was always an even worse one on its way — again, and again, and again.” And we're seeing the beginnings of such cataclysms affecting the price of living.Inflation, shortages of goods, energy price spikes, and currency failures could be mischaracterized as isolated singular events. But are they in fact, signals of a wider connected pattern of seismic shocks as the global economy adjusts to the impact of the long-term debt cycle? If Bitcoin is a lifeboat, why isn't it reflected in the price? Bitcoin is still acting like a risk asset, but for how long? This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD487 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“What's a desperate decision that can actually start a symbolic chain reaction? And then how do I pursue that? How do I do something like an artistic act or a creative object that could be received by an audience as this kind of provocation to initiate some type of chain reaction?”— Cody WilsonCody Wilson is the founder and director of Defence Distributed and the face of 3D guns, and Jessica Solce is an acclaimed film-maker currently documenting his story. In this interview, we discuss the intersection of the right to bear arms and the right to freedom of speech. - - - - The first and second amendments are as symbolic of American identity as the stars and stripes. Yet, despite being bedrocks of the constitution for over 230 years, they are arguably now as fiercely contested as they have ever been. Many republicans believe that the right to bear arms is a vital check on state control, and ensures the protection of the first amendment. A strong progressive counter argument contends that gun violence in the US is at epidemic proportions, and controls are required. This debate is becoming more profound due to the effect of technology, particularly the internet.Julian Assange laid the foundation for using the decentralized and distributed nature of the internet to bypass the established gatekeepers of information with the aim of democratising its availability. Others quickly followed, including Cody Wilson, who saw the opportunity to provide open access to the digital tools needed to make guns - ‘Wiki weapons' was born. Despite the backlash by government agencies, it is becoming increasingly apparent that governance is unable to keep up with both technology and Cody's responses to legal constraints. This is not a new or isolated phenomenon. But as technology continues to push the boundaries of what power a single person is able to wield, it is stretching the limits of the social contract between the state and individuals. As a result, the forces pushing for individual autonomy and centralized control are becoming harder and harder to reconcile. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD486 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“We've swung very heavily towards putting bitcoin's asset on this pedestal, that Bitcoin is this asset that does not compete with anything, but it has these Invincible qualities. And I think that what we might find is that we've over-optimised for that.”— Pete RizzoPete Rizzo is the editor of Bitcoin Magazine, and one of the industries leading journalists. In this interview, we discuss the evolving narratives used by Bitcoin maximalists, fundamental questions of who Bitcoin is for and what it will be, and what lies beyond maximalism. - - - - The rise of Bitcoin, a new form of money, has been unprecedented. In just 13 years, Bitcoin has come from being another manifest innovation derived from ideas around cryptographic security, digital gold, and peer to peer cash, to an asset that is seriously being considered a new global reserve. Despite the genius behind Satoshi's design, this meteoric rise wasn't inevitable. The nascent currency has had to organically forge a defensive infrastructure to counteract and overcome various attack vectors. This saw the rise of Bitcoin maximalism, a highly effective yet divisive ideology. But, just as Bitcoin technology has evolved, so have the narratives that have been used to buttress the maximalist position. Bitcoin was once considered to be the best of a range of different blockchain technologies; now it is viewed as being distinct and unique. Some believe Bitcoin's rise is invincible, whilst others are scanning for the next inevitable threat. Maximalists' stories and beliefs have changed as Bitcoin's strengths and weaknesses have been realised over time. What does this mean for the future of maximalism? Indeed, do rudimentary questions about Bitcoin's purpose, role, and utility need to be reassessed? Does Bitcoin need a paranoid community to continue to strengthen its defences? This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD485 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“What the fuck is society? Is it this group of people? Is it that group of people? It's a useful fiction – we're describing a group of people with a fictional term, like society, or collectivist, or communist, or whatever the term is, and you don't know who's included and excluded from that group so you can never have clarity of conversation; whereas if you focus on the individual, that's very clear where the individual starts and ends.”— Robert BreedloveRobert Breedlove is a philosopher within the Bitcoin space. In this interview, we discuss useful fictions used for collective organisation, slavery as the violation of property rights, Bitcoin changing the logic of violence, and the reality of an anarcho-capitalist world.- - - - Cooperation across large groups is the basis for the rise and evolution of human civilisation. As the historian Yuval Noah Harari espouses, such cooperation has been enabled through the exploitation of useful fictions (i.e. religion, national identities) by elites throughout time. The rights of the individual were crushed under the weight of the demands and cohesiveness of the group.A rebalancing of power between collectives and the individual occurred during the enlightenment. It began with the development of a theory of natural rights, where individuals were determined to deserve access to "life, liberty, and estate (property)". The French and American revolutions in the 18th Century were premised on this belief. A modern theory of universal human rights has developed since WW2. And yet, many feel we still have a long way to go before we achieve true liberty for the individual. Even the most open democratic societies work under an implicit social contract, where certain rights are foregone in exchange for political order. Coercion and control are less explicit, but still apparent. So, what is the extent of the libertarian ideal? Is it an anarcho (i.e. without a leader) capitalist state? Or, is a hierarchy of power a necessary evil to thwart the chaos of natural law, which Hobbes stated would result in human life being "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short"? The problem has been that states throughout history have tended to extend their control. Maybe the question isn't a binary choice between an inevitable creep of state control over anarchy, but a balance that aims to achieve the benefits of both approaches. In such a situation individuals would need the power to ‘dethrone' the ruler(s) without resorting to violence. Does Bitcoin enable such a balance? This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD484 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“If it's too hard to manage your own keys, which even today it is too hard for people, that we wind up in a world in which just a few global custodians hold all the keys and that's unlikely to result in the Bitcoin that we know and love and want to see for the world; so it's very important that a sizable percentage of Bitcoin users are controlling their own keys.”— Steve LeeSteve Lee is Lead at Spiral, a subsidiary of Block. In this interview, we discuss how Spiral is enabling lightning integration, Block's aim to create an open Bitcoin mining ecosystem, a vision of zero cost decentralized Bitcoin mining, and inspiring open-source Bitcoin projects. - - - - The orange pilling of Jack Dorsey was a hugely consequential event, affecting the evolution of his business plans and Bitcoin. Jack and his team believe Bitcoin is the best money, and they want to help it spread. As a result, Block has developed a symbiotic mission: it seeks to nurture Bitcoin, strengthen its development, and enable its wider adoption. This is where Spiral comes in. It is a non-profit subsidiary of Block that builds and funds free, open-source projects. Amongst other important enterprises, Spiral has developed the Lightning Development Kit, which enables Lightning integration with Bitcoin wallets.Block's ethos is rooted in an appreciation of how unique this situation is: the creation of a new version of money that is free from centralized control may never be repeated. Protecting and enhancing Bitcoins decentralization and privacy are therefore core objectives. That is why, for example, Block is developing a hardware wallet that combines security that doesn't depend on trusted servers; decentralized user-friendly custody for the masses. That is also why Block is planning to develop and make available for sale ASIC chips (with data sheets). Whilst Block is also developing Bitcoin mining rigs, the provision of dedicated chips opens up the whole mining rig industry for innovation and competition. These efforts are crucial and enable all of the exciting expansions of Bitcoins utility to continue. This includes Steve Lee's vision of zero cost decentralized Bitcoin mining. This is surely the most inspiring industry in the world. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD483 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“I feel like so many people that have multiple Bitcoins, 100% of their focus is to get more Bitcoin, or they're playing this trading game, and they just don't appreciate how many Bitcoin they already have. I'm just saying, appreciate your Bitcoin man. If you have one Bitcoin, respect that, that is generational wealth, respect that one Bitcoin could mean such an enormous amount to your lineage, and treat it as such.”— Christian KerolesChristian Keroles is Managing Director of Bitcoin Magazine. In this interview, we discuss hyperbitcoinisation as a zero-sum game and how that could lead to $26 million bitcoin.- - - - Hyperbitcoinization is a scenario where Bitcoin has achieved mass adoption: it is widely used as a medium of exchange, it is a store of value held by individuals and businesses, and it has become a primary global reserve currency. Essentially, it is a ubiquitous and dominant form of global money.Over the last few years, a series of unprecedented global events has helped accelerate the adoption of Bitcoin. The pandemic gave rise to unsustainable monetary and fiscal policies that made the economic case for adoption by major institutions and a nation-state. Now, in the shadow of the Candian trucker protests, where fears regarding the curtailment of individual freedoms were realised, and a new conflict in Europe may signal a reordering of the global monetary system, the political case for wider adoption of Bitcoin has been made. We now live in a time when rather than being viewed as a wild abstract theory, hyperbitcoinisation is being contemplated as being a plausible culmination of ongoing trends. But what does this mean? What will the transition to a Bitcoin standard look like? This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD482 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“The best new idea I've come across… it's a market-based, voluntary, bottom-up mechanism to resolve individual qualms around sustainability relating to ownership of bitcoin.”— Nic CarterNic Carter is a Partner at Castle Island Ventures, and Troy Cross is a Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute. In this interview, we discuss Bitcoin mining as an ESG offset and how Bitcoin miners could be the frontier of energy development whilst helping nations attain energy sovereignty. - - - - The two extremes of the climate change debate are engaged in a zero-sum game. For some, the existential threat of climate change requires humans to rapidly transition to energy production 100% derived from renewable sources. A particular contingent believes a transition is required by force: a carbon tax to dissuade investment in fossil fuels and a degrowth agenda to enable society to prioritise the use of more limited but sustainable energy sources.The counterargument is that catastrophic climate change isn't inevitable. Therefore, whilst there are insufficient cost-effective and reliable renewable energy sources, constraining the use of fossil fuels is a dangerous dogma that risks preventing vast swathes of the world from being able to escape poverty. Does the argument need to be this binary? Is there an alternative that uses the power of the market rather than relying on coercive measures?If we assume that if energy sources were equally cost-effective and reliable, the obvious choice would be to invest in those that are renewable and that have the lowest negative impacts. The issue would then be how do you make renewable energy cost-effective and reliable. The answer is counterintuitive: meet what those who promote fossil fuels want - facilitate energy abundance. Troy Cross thinks this is how Bitcoin can help bridge the divide, enable a rapid transition to renewable sources, whilst ensuring the world's population can flourish. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD481 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Once you have international trade getting settled in Bitcoin instead of the dollar, I think that's when you'll know: alright, we're under a Bitcoin standard. ”— Marty BentMarty Bent is the founder of the Bitcoin focused media company TFTC.io, Venture Partner at Ten31, and Director of Cathedra Bitcoin. In this interview, we discuss resisting centralised narratives around the Ukraine/Russia conflict and the push for ESG and renewable energy. - - - - The fragmentation of modern media provides access to a limitless supply of analysis, interpretations, and opinions. But rather than bringing clarity, this cacophony of commentary more often results in confusion. Into this mix, powerful centralised institutions mobilise significant resources to drive narratives. Over the past few generations, fearless investigative efforts have identified examples of deficient and deceptive institutions. This has resulted in such centralised messaging being treated with caution, if not explicit, cynicism. But does that mean we should be sceptical of all messaging emanating from centralised bodies? What are the implications for society if there is widespread distrust of such communication? The result is that there are different prisms through which to view events. The human misery caused by the Ukraine and Russia conflict is heartbreaking, but does that mean there are clear paths of action we can support? The forecasts of climate change impacts are worryingly bleak, but is there reasonable uncertainty, and what are the full implications of promoted mitigations?The only thing we can do is to remain engaged, and, as Marty Bent states, “bring back civility to these types of conversations.”This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD480 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Most people are good, and have good ambitions for the world, and want things to be better, and so the goal is not to just scream at someone when you disagree with them, it's to figure out what values you share; and, in the case of advocating for Bitcoin, for example, showing how Bitcoin leads to those values.”— David ZellDavid Zell is a co-founder of the Bitcoin Policy Institute and Director of Policy at BTC Inc. In this interview, we discuss echo chambers and groupthink, how Bitcoin being for everyone makes it stronger, the threat of Bitcoin to China, and political exploitation.- - - - Bitcoin's survival and flourishing from the early days was down to having an impassioned and protective community. Some of this was defensive; resilience builds over years of criticism and ridicule. Some of this was offensive as various existential risks have had to be overcome.What has evolved is a kind of ethical militancy, as Bitcoin maximalists have banded together to thwart anything that could damage Satoshi's original vision. However, there is an obvious drawback to this approach in that some have become hardened to any idea or person deemed to be antithetical to the cause. But what is the cause? Can there be divergent opinions on what Bitcoin is and who it should serve to assist? Can Bitcoin be for everyone? If the Bitcoin community doesn't open itself to adoption by those from across the political spectrum does it risk stagnating or fragmenting? What about opposing views at the nation-state level?These seem like positive discussions to be had: it is an obvious sign of maturation. It's intuitive to think it is in Bitcoin's interest to have a broad church. But will isolating its detractors make Bitcoin stronger, or energise the threats against it?This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD479 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“How do we get to the point where people can talk to each other? The only place where I've really seen that happen is in Bitcoin; so to me the social value of Bitcoin is massive because here we're forced to talk to each other.”— Margot PaezMargot Paez is a Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute specialising in Renewable Energy and Environmental Studies. In this interview, we discuss the Occupy movement, a broken capitalist system, and a pragmatic approach to our energy future.- - - - Bitcoin is often labelled as being a currency for libertarians. But, it is increasingly clear that Bitcoin appeals to a wide range of people with a myriad of political leanings. This includes a growing number of progressives who see in the protocol a means of enabling a fairer and less economically stratified society. That Bitcoin appeals to such disparate communities speaks to both the strength of Bitcoin, but also the weakness of the current system. If those on both the right and left are disenchanted with the status quo, that is obviously a strong signal that a major societal change is warranted. Further, it means we have to assess why we're so polarised if we fundamentally agree with each other. There is a debate to be had regarding language, labels, unconscious bias, and manipulation of opinions. The issue is that these false divisions are affecting reasoned consideration of all the major issues affecting modern civilisation, particularly in relation to climate change. The practical implication is that both sides of the climate change debate are resistant to effective and pragmatic measures. Is it possible to view these issues without a political lens?This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD478 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“A legit Central Bank, with a material amount of capital moving into Bitcoin, it was entirely a theoretical proposition. I think what's happened in the past two weeks has made that now plausible… you could see it in the next year or two – that is kind of a game-changer.”— Matthew PinesMatthew Pines is a Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute specializing in national security. In this interview, we discuss modelling complex systems, current US national security priorities, and how Bitcoin can help maintain US hegemony. - - - - We live in unprecedented times. An emergent battle for hegemonic power is occurring during a period of unparalleled advances in technology that politicians are struggling to comprehend. What was previously deemed to be settled global economic and geopolitical strategy is now in flux. Up may be down. The unthinkable suddenly thinkable.This is the environment in which Bitcoin, revolutionary money, is going through its puberty stage. It is to be expected that incumbent US (and other western) power structures are nervous about such an immature innovation, particularly in uncertain times. Yet, as counterintuitive as it may seem to them, Bitcoin offers significant strategic advantages for the US. For Bitcoiners, the issue is not that a case needs to be made, but rather how that case should be presented and conveyed to politicians and bureaucrats. So far the message has been conveyed through grassroots advocacy: orange pilling individuals. But how do you orange pill the world's major power centre? Bitcoiners are disrupters and predominantly work outside of the sphere of government. Bitcoin itself seeks to challenge the status quo. However, the government needs to hear the message in a language they understand, via channels they can trust. This is the gap Matthew Pines is seeking to fill. And “Bitcoin and U.S. National Security” is the report that aims to orange pill the US government.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD477 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Right now the integrity of the dollar is in question, people don't trust US power, US is withdrawing from the international sphere, the international institutions we set up in 1944 are fraying; nobody really trusts them anymore.”— Nic CarterNic Carter is a Partner at Castle Island Ventures and co-founder and Chairman of Coin Metrics. In this interview, we discuss the seizure of Russian Central Bank assets by the G7, the demise of US hegemony, and a multipolar multi-reserve world.- - - - Whilst it is arguable whether America's geopolitical reach can be classed as an empire, the decline of its hegemonic power is compared to the passing of great empires of the past. Such analysis shows that there are no fixed dates to assign to the actual fall of empires; declines are marked by a prolonged unwinding of influence and cohesiveness. Nevertheless, the atrophying of empires are signposted by critical dates: the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths in 410; the humiliation of Britain caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis; the symbolic impact on the USSR of the fall of the Berlin wall on November 9th 1989. Currently, we are living through equally tumultuous times, and February 26th 2022 may be one such date for the history books. It was when the G7, led by the US, seized $630B of Russia's foreign reserves.With the grim humanitarian impacts of the Ukraine Russia conflict being witnessed on a daily basis, this seemed like an appropriate non-violent measure. However, its scale and likely impact is and will be unprecedented. The role of the US dollar has been eroded over the past few decades as economic sanctions have been increasingly deployed as a coercive tool of power. Nevertheless, the G7 freezing Russian access to its foreign assets is a crossing the Rubicon moment. No longer will the US dollar be a unifying store of value across the world. The ramifications are huge.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD476 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“We've assumed global peace: no geopolitical issues, we're all gonna kumbaya, get together; and as we enter a world where that's not the case anymore, we have to put more resiliency into our supply chains, more duplication – so if you have to duplicate things, it's inherently less efficient, and more inflationary, but more resilient.”— Lyn AldenLyn Alden is a macroeconomist and investment strategist. In this interview, we discuss the economic impacts of the Ukraine Russia conflict, including the effect of sanctions on Russia, wider global impacts, and the responses of individuals, companies, and nations. - - - - As the Ukraine Russia conflict continues well into the third week, it is hard to think beyond the wretched humanitarian impacts. But, it is imperative the serious economic impacts are analysed, both in terms of the direct and indirect collateral costs of the physical war, and the unprecedented economic actions being applied as tools of warfare. The main issue is that this conflict is occurring at a critical juncture for the world economy. The Covid pandemic compounded structural issues in the global economy precipitated a decade earlier by the global financial crisis. The conflict is having a detrimental effect on fragile markets, whilst exacerbating existing supply chain issues leading to further inflationary pressures.However, the conflict is also creating new and potentially more important problems. The world economy since WW2 has been based on pillars that were thought to be unbreachable. The central pillar has been the use of the US dollar as a global reserve currency. As a direct consequence of actions taken in response to the conflict, this is now open to question.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD475 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“You hear this all the time: well, how come Ukraine doesn't have the right to join whatever military alliance they want? You hear that every day, all day, well, just think about that. Is that really true? Is anyone thinking for a minute that Canada and Mexico have the right to join into a military alliance with Russia and China? Or is that absolutely preposterous?”— Scott HortonScott Horton is an anti-war radio host, podcaster, and author. In this interview, we discuss whether there are any just wars, the Ukraine/Russia conflict, and how a chain reaction of misunderstood events going back to WW1 got us here. - - - - History is not necessarily objective: observers are usually partisan, and chroniclers of collected stories have their own subjective biases that can affect the evidence base. These issues are most pronounced in the records of wars. This is because history is written by the victors.Mainstream presentation of the history of wars rarely credits divergent interpretations. The major conflicts that involve a given nation-state, particularly those that support politically advantageous mythologies, are treated as being self-evident. Opposing analysis is given the pejorative label of ‘conspiracy theory'. Yet, could the history of our current civilization be open to new explanations? Is there sufficient evidence, maybe hidden in plain sight, that would cast a different light on events? Could the official version be wrong? Was the rationale and motivation for pivotal decisions, which have changed the trajectory of life on earth, different to the commonly accepted understanding?This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD474 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“I think the digital world is going to continue to eat the analogue world and how dystopian or not that ends up being will be entirely a function of the individuals that are working towards one eventual outcome or the other, which is what makes doing this type of work to me so worth doing.”— Travis Kling- - - -Travis Kling is the Chief Investment Officer and Ikigai. In this interview, we discuss the need for decentralization, Bitcoin as pristine collateral and whether we're living in a simulation. - - - - Google, Facebook and Amazon are still relatively young companies, formed in the slipstream of the internet. They rose from a mass of competition to dominate not just the internet, but to become some of the most powerful organisations in the world. Such is their power that they are changing society in profound and concerning ways. At the same time, there has been significant erosion in trust. The Iraq War and the sub-prime mortgage crisis combined to generate widespread disillusionment with the status quo. This was funnelled into social media's new echo chambers with algorithms that stoked fear and anger. We are still struggling to deal with the results. A major issue of concern is that the next wave of technological innovation is expected to be overwhelmingly disruptive: AI and robotics in particular have potentially unlimited capacity to revolutionise society. If we don't resolve the issues caused by centralization now, the future for democratic governance looks bleak.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD473 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“All those bankers we just talked about would laugh at this conversation because they would say, ‘what the fuck are you talking about? Bitcoin standard? Bitcoin is a joke.'… It's like buying Facebook stock 15 years ago, you know, it's going up in price. ‘I'm going to make some money. What are you guys talking about, Bitcoin banking?'”— Bill Barhydt- - - -Bill Barhydt is the CEO and Founder of Abra. In this interview, we discuss institutional investment, the long term debt cycle, the end of fractional reserve banking and how Bill gave away thousands of Bitcoin.- - - - The current banking system is broken. Millions of people around the world still don't have access to proper banking services, the payment rails that facilitate transactions are old and costly, and trust in financial institutions is low. To add to this, currencies around the world are being debased at a rapid pace. Over the last few years, central banks have printed huge amounts of money that is now showing up in inflation, which has a disproportionate impact on the poorest in society. 50% of Americans now have more credit card debt than savings.Bitcoin started as a cypherpunk experiment, but its sound monetary properties have led to it becoming a real lifeboat for those who are economically adrift. With the banks losing momentum, is Bitcoin mature enough to take up the slack?However, you see the future of money and banking - one thing is clear Bitcoin will play a role. The question is, how big will that role be?This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD472 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“You have a right to free speech and a right to religion, but I think the first right is a right to survive; your first human right is the right to live, your first human right is a right to defend yourself, and so when you don't have a gun you simply can't effectively do that.”— Ragnar LifthrasirLocation: Los AngelesDate: Saturday 5th FebruaryCompany: Guns N' BitcoinRole: Chief Range OfficerPro-freedom principles are deep rooted in the Amercian psyche. Liberty is a cornerstone of the US Constitution, which seeks to protect individuals from arbitrary and unreasonable restraint. The Constituion codifying what freedom means for the individual and the state, yet debate on the surface level extents of freedom in modern America mean deeper reasoning is lost.Polarised discourse misses that freedom expects from the individual as much as it provides. An individual must hold and display certain values within a working pro-freedom society. This ideal comes from the ancient Greeks philosophy of stoicism: citizens should apply the virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. As Aurelius would put it “be a good person”. If the citizens and the state can both respect each other and act with values that are in concert with each other, then a pro-freedom civilisation is possible with all the benefits that this brings. But if the state is oppressive, the rationale actions of the affect individuals, and the long term consequences for their civilisation, are obviously going to be antithetical to progress. In our fast-paced ‘fiat' system where debate is dominated by short form communication, we are too quick to prejudge and pigeonhole people. Pro-freedom advocates are associated with far right politics. Yet, any long-form conversation with pro-freedom advocates indicates this ideology appeals to a wide political spectrum as it is predicated on sound and sustainable principles. In short, slowing down and spending time with people we find our commonality exceeds our differences. That is the Bitcoin way.In this interview, I talk to Ragnar Lifthrasir from Guns N' Bitcoin. We discuss what it means to be pro-freedom, the role of the state, the importance of values to build good civilisations, Bitcoin groupthink, printed guns and the safe gun culture. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD471 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Bitcoin is this unbelievably unparalleled asset, that respects your time spent, and your labour, and it puts it into this safe and growing in value bank in cyberspace as Saylor says. But you can screw it up if you lever it... levering Bitcoin literally inverts 180 degrees the way that Bitcoin otherwise respects your time.”— Andy EdstromLocation: Los AngelesDate: Friday 4th FebruaryCompany: Swan BitcoinRole: Head of Institutional InvestmentAs with all assets and commodities, a myriad of financial instruments have been developed around Bitcoin. The riskier end of the spectrum are opportunities to take levered positions. These positions can produce stellar returns, providing opportunities for those who feel like they've missed out on previous bull runs, or have the appetite to try and continue to outplay the market.If only it were that simple. Stating leverage involves risk is a massive understatement. You. Can. Lose. Everything. Liquidation is a brutal experience. The issue regarding Bitcoin is that liquidation of open levered positions is inevitable and rapid due to the volatility. There are numerous stories of markets turning suddenly in unexpected directions, and exchanges being unable to deal with the associated demand to add collateral to open positions. Then there are flash crashes which occur too quickly for anyone to be able to respond. Fairness doesn't come into the algorithms used to close positions and action liquidations.Rekt is a term used too often. A simple mistake can undo years of hard work. Staking sats, hodling, and staying humble are the tried and tested ways of maximizing the opportunities provided by Bitcoin. Developing the discipline of having a long time preference is a cathartic experience. In this interview, I talk to Andy Edstrom, author of Why Buy Bitcoin and Head of Institutional Investment at Swan Bitcoin. We discuss experiences of getting rekt, applying good leverage, the waves of Bitcoin adoption, playing offence on Bitcoin's ESG credentials, and investing in Bitcoin for time and freedom. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD470 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“You'll have Fed coin, JPMorgan coin, Bitcoin, Tether… you have the right to choose how to denominate your labour, your earnings, your savings; and I think that's the future that we're in for is this era of currency choice. And thank God for Bitcoin.”— Nik BhatiaLocation: Los AngelesDate: Friday 4th FebruaryCompany: USC Marshall School of BusinessRole: Author and Adjunct Professor of FinanceBitcoin empowers individuals, the threat to the state is clear. As the New German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asserted in December 2020: “We must do everything possible to make sure the currency monopoly remains in the hands of states.” As a response to Bitcoin, the major world economies are pilot testing CBDCs, and pressure is being applied to low and middle-income countries. In October 2021 the IMF stated in its Global Financial Stability Report that “Emerging markets faced with cryptoization risks should strengthen macroeconomic policies and consider the benefits of issuing central bank digital currencies.” The privacy concerns emanating from CBDCs are being exacerbated by the same organisations promoting them; in another IMF statement in late 2020 they stated a person's online search and purchase history is a suitable data source for undertaking a credit assessment. In addition, the anonymity of cash is known to be an issue for governments around the world. Whilst there are obvious benefits to enabling better payments processes to citizens, CBDCs could also facilitate state controls on how and when people spend money. The Bank of England is considering using smart contracts within a CBDC; the FT raised concerns about the potential for severe restrictions on personal freedom mirroring China's “social credit” system.As we have seen, these fears are no longer being seen as theoretical threats that don't apply to those living in western democracies. What is currently happening in Canada is giving even the most centred observers pause for thought. Bitcoin is the only obvious tool to provide freedom of currency denomination in a secure, trustless way, outside of the purview of Governments. In this interview, I talk to the Author and Professor of Finance Nik Bhatia. We discuss the rationale for CBDCs and their limitations, a new form of heavily surveilled ‘free' banking, Bitcoin as a discovery and a right, and how the Lightning Network makes Bitcoin a currency. This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD469 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Bitcoin stands alone in the world as the only currency that's non-political. And that's why I think it's the only one that has a shot to be this neutral reserve asset that would be globally restraining equally among all players.”— Alex GladsteinLocation: San FranciscoDate: Monday 7th FebruaryProject: Human Rights FoundationRole: Chief Strategy OfficerThe majority of citizens of developed countries are blind to the true cost of modern warfare. Wars are fought in far off lands by technically advanced and voluntary armies; few people have direct or indirect exposure to first-hand experiences. Media coverage is sanitized of the associated brutality. And politicians willfully talk up the benefits of such wars with patriotic vigour. Yet, the cold hard truth is extensive and vicious wars are being fought in our name. The costs of such wars are counted in thousands of faceless lives, and trillions of dollars of debt to be paid by future generations. That such wars have vague and shifting missions, or, are predicated on falsehoods, seems to be of little consequence. Citizens mostly tend to shrug their shoulders. Large anti-war protests are still evident on occasions, most obviously at the moment in relation to the Russia-Ukrainian conflict, and previously in the lead up to the Iraq war. But, such protests are peaceful, sporadic, and ineffective. Wars still get fought. Aside from ethical discomfort, the costs to the majority not fighting the wars are limited. That citizens don't personally shoulder the costs of war is why politicians still feel empowered to engage in such actions, or, more importantly, to stay engaged in wars they did not start. It is why democratic peace theory has broken. There are multiple causes, but the fiat monetary system is a principal area of concern, enabling the financial burden to be offloaded to future generations.Bitcoin doesn't fix war. But, in a Bitcoin standard world, it would certainly make it harder to fight wars without citizens feeling the fiscal impacts. Ergo, citizens would have a greater interest in demanding a say. In this interview, I talk to Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation. We discuss how the fiat monetary system has broken democratic peace theory, why MMT enables forever wars, how Bitcoin could reduce unnecessary wars, and the need to discuss this more honestly within society.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD468 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“And you can even consider Bitcoin as a type of populism, but I would just describe it as one of the better types of populism; basically, it's people rallying behind a new network effect technology, and saying that this is the solution.”— Lyn AldenLocation: RemoteDate: Tuesday 22nd FebruaryProject: lynalden.comRole: MacroeconomistWealth inequality is as an emotive subject as any. At a minimum it can divide societies, pitting citizens against each other. If left to deteriorate and fester it can lead to populist uprisings. Both sides of the political divide put forward causes and propose solutions. And yet, despite the arguments being well worn, most of the assumptions underpinning these opinions don't stand up to scrutiny.Quantitative easing results in increased inequality - well, not necessarily. Globalisation leads to a hollowing out of the working class in developed nations - only in certain parts of the world. Governments enable cronyism to exacerbate wealth disparities - lobbying can constrain competition, but it is unclear whether libertarianism would halt monopolistic practices. Those vying to shape opinion would have us believe in binary arguments. The problem, as ever, is that this subject is complex with many dynamic variables. It isn't a question of making targeted policy interventions. A much more holistic and flexible approach is required.In this interview, I talk to macroeconomist and investment strategist Lyn Alden. We discuss the multi-faceted drivers of wealth inequality, the societal impacts of such disparities, whether we're on the cusp of another great depression, state-led policies, and whether Bitcoin is a mitigation.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD467 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“There's something about the way in which money, and China, and law, and the US government, and technology interact…every institutional player, at some level it seems of any size, capitulates; everybody's recording a hostage video at the institutional level.”— Eric WeinsteinLocation: Los AngelesDate: Friday 4th FebruaryCompany: Thiel CapitalRole: MDCulture wars, identity politics, the intellectual dark web, audience capture: this is the well-worn nomenclature used to define the battles of open discourse that have been raging over the past few years. Retaining an authentic and honest voice in today's polarised and intolerant society has required fortitude and resilience. But, trying to engage with those who refuse to have (or are incapable of having) an open mind takes its toll. In addition, it is equally waring to engage with those who have a firm opinion on all matters. People generally refrain from admitting they don't know, or that they are open to changing their views, as though indecision or uncertainty are damning frailties. Having a society that is blinkered and entrenched and toxic is obviously counterproductive. In a political context, pluralism is the bedrock of a functioning democracy. In science, openness to new ways of thinking and new ideas allows for the paradigm shifts that propel the advancement of our civilisation.That some of our generation's greatest thought leaders are having to waste their time defending their right to have views, instead of actually developing and sharing their views, is the behaviour of an inward-looking society starting to wither. The people within Bitcoin must help fix this.In this interview, I talk to the managing director of Thiel Capital and podcaster Eric Weinstein. We discuss media fact-checking, colonising other worlds, physics beyond Einstein, intelligent design, narrative wars, modern fascism, and economic deception amidst the rise of Bitcoin.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD466 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“When I turned 18 and I could vote my dad told me just always remember one thing: every new law whether it's good or bad is less freedom… I would always err to the side of allowing other people to make decisions for themselves, because what I see today is these leaders think – and they've openly said it – that you're not smart enough to make decisions on your own, and I think that's wrong.”— Mark MossLocation: Los AngelesDate: Thursday 3rd FebruaryProject: Market Disrupters LiveRole: Market AnalystIn the last show with Mark Moss, we discussed how society is currently at a rare confluence of 3 revolutionary cycles: political/social/cultural, technological, and financial. In this show, we expand on that thesis by discussing the ramifications of living in an age of great disruption. An age when the previous solid principles underpinning the organisation of operation of society are in flux. Truly revolutionary questions that were assumed until recently to have been settled are now being seriously considered as being up for debate. What role, if any, should the state have? How should rules and regulations be determined, implemented, and policed? How can individuals act against the forces of centralization? Can we find truth in this post-fact world?These questions are being debated as some believe monumental change within society is around the corner: we're at peak centralisation and could be approaching a ‘Blow-Off Top'. Discordant forces will stretch and meld society into new shapes. Those not prepared will have their futures mapped out for them by others who are.Those who are self-sufficient will be best placed to react to this changing world; Bitcoin is the means by which people will be able to have geographic freedom so they can escape coercion. Bitcoin is also the basis for helping like-minded groups to mould a new future. In this interview, I talk to the serial entrepreneur and market analyst Mark Moss. We discuss peak centralization, the role of a state, the balkanization of society, the need for transparency and truth, and how Bitcoin enables people to free themselves from the tyranny of place.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD465 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Our system is so broken and messed up… and I want to fix it because people don't deserve to live like this. They deserve to just be able to make money and keep it without losing value.”— Natalie BrunellLocation: Los AngelesDate: Thursday 3rd FebruaryProject: Coin Stories podcastRole: JournalistThe American Dream has enabled the US to act as a beacon to the world: freedom and opportunity are available to all who are willing to strive, sacrifice, and work hard. This ethos was a powerful soft weapon during the cold war, but it still resonates with people all around the world today. That's why the Green Card is the most sought-after immigrant visa in the world.And yet, those living in the US today are struggling to experience the same chances and sense of fairness previous generations took for granted. Risk-taking, endeavour, playing by the rules - displaying these character traits is no longer a gateway to success; some are even starting to believe that those living by these standards are chumps. The system seems just unjust; life is full of contradictions and hypocrisy. There are increasing restrictions on people's sovereignty, whilst those in power aren't playing by the same rules. At the same time, the rights of individuals are upheld in situations where their actions impact the wider society and where interventions and restrictions have sound justification. Will Bitcoin help right the current economic wrongs? In this interview, I talk to Natalie Brunell, a fellow podcaster who hosts Coin Stories. We discuss coming to America, uncovering a failing system through journalism, finding Bitcoin and hope, and developing a mission to fix things.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD464 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Bitcoin is a perfect match for renewable energy, it helps monetize the build-out of renewable energy, it helps monetize the operation of renewable energy, it helps to stabilise the grid; and we need it to happen at a massive scale, a massive scale.”— Troy CrossLocation: San FranciscoDate: Tuesday 8th FebruaryProject: Bitcoin Policy InstituteRole: FellowOn both sides of the Atlantic, politicians and regulators are questioning the sustainability of Bitcoin mining. These positions knowingly or unknowingly use narratives and statistics that have been widely dispelled by authorities within our industry. Bitcoin is cited as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, ignoring the detrimental impact of the petrodollar and other institutionally accepted activities. Bitcoin transactions are disingenuously portrayed as being incredibly polluting; as Nic Carter stated “The question of Bitcoin's energy footprint is riven with misconceptions.”Usage of renewable power for Bitcoin mining is portrayed as being wasteful as though energy use is a zero-sum game, instead of Bitcoin being a flexible load facilitating increased investment and energy production.Satoshi Nakamoto even foresaw energy use as being an issue. In August 2010 Satoshi posted “The utility of the exchanges made possible by Bitcoin will far exceed the cost of electricity used. Therefore, not having Bitcoin is a net waste.” But, despite the obvious attributes of Bitcoin that mitigates its impacts, powerful stakeholders still use environmental FUD to undermine the industry. What if there was a way to explicitly make Bitcoin mining part of the ESG framework rather than having ESG weaponised against the industry? Such an idea would kick away the ladder for Bitcoin mining detractors. Meet Troy Cross.In this interview, I talk to Troy Cross, a Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute. We discuss his personal journey of reconciling Bitcoin's energy footprint, the environmental FUD used against Bitcoin, how Bitcoin mining mitigates climate change, and the game-changing idea to incentivise sustainable Bitcoin mining.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD463 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Now that we've got a technology that actually is not only immutable, but it's better in terms of every other category for money; it's a true innovation and the strongest sense of the word we can prioritise that as something that we should value as part of money now and we can say: ‘okay, we don't even need this trade-off anymore,' we've literally just innovated that away.”— Eric YakesLocation: Los AngelesDate: Wednesday 2nd FebruaryCompany: IndependentRole: AuthorThe Bitcoin rabbit hole is a confusing, perplexing, and thoroughly exhilarating experience. It involves the dissolving of previous certainties and the discovery of a labyrinthine mass of revolutionary knowledge. It is a life-changing experience. This journey necessitates one to consider profound and fundamental concepts that society has almost uniformly forgotten to question: what is the purpose of money, what is the best money, who decides this for us, what is money backed by? The process is like an awakening from a long and childish dream. The result is a realisation that the status quo should and can be changed.Bitcoin is now ubiquitous; it is easy to forget that it is a nascent and rapidly evolving technology. Despite there being a growing library of valuable information by an illustrious collection of authors, those new to the subject often feel swamped. Particularly as there are factions within the community with sometimes conflicting views and opinions.That is why it is valuable to have material written by people who have been on that journey of discovery, those who have had to unravel the twisted knot of diverse subjects that underpin Bitcoin: computer science, cryptography, economics, finance, banking, philosophy, civics, geopolitics, law. And perhaps most vitally, those able to provide a neutral position on Bitcoin.In this interview, I talk to Eric Yakes, author of The 7th Property. We discuss the genesis of the book, the Federal Reserve, the role of libertarianism in our future, and the foundational and unique strengths of Bitcoin.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD462 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Every time this thing pumps a million billion new people coming in and all of them run through the exact same fucking scams again and again and again, and they get here and they pretend like they know what they're talking about and it's literally a manifestation of… I just heard about Bitcoin and I'm here to fix it.”— JunsethLocation: Los AngelesDate: Wednesday 2nd FebruaryCompany: N/ARole: N/AWeb3 is a co-opted term that was originally used to describe an internet that gives users greater control over their privacy and data. It is now commonly referred to as the metaverse.The metaverse, originally described in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, was a dystopian future that envisions a virtual reality-based successor to the internet. The metaverse has been picked up on by VCs and Silicon Valley and is now promising to revolutionise the way we interact with the internet taking advantage of NFTs and 'crypto'.However, bitcoiners remain sceptical. Over the last 13 years, thousands of projects have come and gone, promising huge innovation with little to back it up, from altcoins that promise to be 'the new bitcoin' to narratives like 'blockchain, not bitcoin' and the ICO boom, and bust.In this interview, American HODL and Junseth take aim at Web3, NFTs and the metaverse and discuss why they believe that it will not only fail but that it doesn't even exist in the first place.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD461 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

“Western Union can't allow me to pay for my coffee, Visa won't allow me to remit money? Lightning does both and better and open and global, and so you guys come play on my court, and let's see who can develop the best experience for the consumer, because I bet all my life I can build a better experience on the Lightning Network than Jamie Dimon.”— Jack MallersLocation: Los AngelesDate: Tuesday 1st FebruaryProject: StrikeRole: CEOOver the past few years, Jack Mallers has made your “bank account speak bitcoin” with Strike, started the “pay me in Bitcoin” campaign, and was instrumental in onboarding an entire country on to Bitcoin, but he's only just getting started.Bitcoin is an open monetary network that enables a free market for payments and unprecedented interoperability. With money moving at the speed of lightning on a level playing field, the money and payments industries are being disrupted at a staggering pace.Now, calls are pouring in from massive players trying to understand how the world is changing. So who will Jack orange pill next? In this interview, I talk to Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike. We discuss his interactions with the IMF, Facebook, Jeff Bezos, and Argentina, and the global implications of the Bitcoin network.This episode's sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyBlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial servicesSportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts BitcoinCasa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletCompass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hostingLVL - Bank on BitcoinBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD460 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.