The What Bitcoin Did Podcast is a tri-weekly show where Peter McCormack interviews experts in the world of Bitcoin development, privacy, investment and adoption. Rated 4.8/5 on Apple Podcasts.
Robert Breedlove is a philosopher and podcaster within the Bitcoin space. In this wide-ranging interview, we discuss the consequences of the middle class getting destroyed, the hubris of central planning, games of mimetic desire, how Bitcoin is a high-trust environment, Bitcoin’s enemies, fasting and living life beyond the ego.
Read MoreBalaji Srinivasan is an angel investor, tech founder, and author of ‘The Network State’. In this interview, we discuss the idea of starting new countries ("network states”), based on social networks built around a shared ideal that can monetize effectively. We also talk about how and why the media ignores major global news stories, and how to prepare for the coming collapse.
Read MoreAaron Daniel is an Appellate attorney and author of The Bitcoin Brief, a newsletter analysing Bitcoin’s effect on law and society. In this interview, we discuss how justice in arbitration can be applied in a Hyperbitcoinised World. We talk about systemic issues with current legal systems, and how using Bitcoin tools like Fedimint can enable arbitration to become decentralised.
Read MoreConor Okus is Product Manager at Spiral. In this interview, we discuss his journey from being a footballer to becoming a Bitcoiner, Real Bedford and the alignment of Bitcoin with a grassroots football club, his current role at Spiral managing the grant programme for developers, and his view on the benefits of open source development of Bitcoin.
Read MoreMargot Paez is a Bitcoin Mining consultant & Troy Cross is a Professor of Philosophy. Both are Fellows at BPI. In this interview, we discuss the fracturing of political movements (particularly the progressives), why the left is in favour of CBDCs, how Bitcoin is a political tool, the Bitcoin Policy Summit, Bitcoin’s image problem, and the issues and strengths of higher education.
Read MoreErik Hersman is the co-founder of Gridless, & Marshall Long is the Head of Architecture for Rhodium Enterprises. In this interview, we discuss Bitcoin in Africa: the need, the use and the support the wider community can give. We also talk about energy poverty in Africa, Bitcoin’s role in supporting mini-grids, and how Gridless’s business model & Marshall’s financing plan accelerate this process.
Read MoreAlex Gladstein is Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation & Natalie Smolenski is an Executive Director of the Texas Bitcoin Foundation. In this interview, we discuss Alex’s new book: ‘Hidden Repression: How the IMF and World Bank Sell Exploitation as Development’. We talk about debt traps, western support for dictators, US and UK culpability, and what freedom means.
Read MoreAllen Farrington is a professional investor and the co-author of Bitcoin Is Venice. In this interview, we discuss the problems with fiat, or as Allen characterizes it “fiat fuckery”. We talk about how money printing leads to inflation and a misallocation of capital, the complexity of the fiat system hiding the resultant theft of capital, the slow demise of pension funds, and the confusion around what growth is and isn’t.
Read MoreThe Rational Root is a Bitcoin on-chain & cycle analyst. In this interview, 9 months on from our last interview, we look into the various Bitcoin price models Root has developed. We again review his Bitcoin Spiral Models, Bitcoin Hodl price models and Bitcoin halving & cycle charts. We discuss the growing evidence of Bitcoin scarcity, and bullish cases as we approach the next halving.
Read MoreMatt Corallo is a Bitcoin Core developer and open-source engineer at Block/Spiral. In this interview, we discuss the nexus of ordinals, mining rewards & decentralisation risks. We also talk about the impact of a permanent high fee environment on digital transactions, the challenges faced by Bitcoin wallet developers, and the new wave of talent working on Bitcoin Core.
Read MorePeter St Onge is an Economist at the Heritage Foundation and a Fellow at the Mises Institute. In this interview, we discuss the differences between Keynesian and Austrian economics, the role of marketing in shaping public opinion, and the potential of Bitcoin to displace central banks and cut off one of the main channels that governments use to seize people's resources.
Read MoreJeff Snider is Head of Global Research at Atlas Financial Advisors and Lyn Alden is a macroeconomist and investment strategist. In this interview, they debate whether QE is money printing, if the Treasury market broke in early 2020, dollar shortages, whether there’s an ideal form of money, the importance of Bitcoin, and the problems with central and commercial banks.
Read MoreTroy Cross is a Professor of Philosopher and Fellow at BPI, and Harry Sudock is Chief Strategy Officer at Griid. This interview was a live recording made at the Bitcoin 2023 Conference in Miami, where we discussed Bitcoin mining: the industry’s rapid evolution, how it’s optimising other markets, and why its relentless search for cheap energy will facilitate human flourishing.
Read MoreJason Maier is a teacher and the author of ‘A Progressive’s Case for Bitcoin’. In this interview, we discuss the importance of teaching money and Bitcoin in schools, the future of education in the shadow of AI, and the challenges of having a public persona. We also talk about the feedback Jason has received since publishing his book and Bitcoin’s potential to bring people together.
Read MoreNic Carter is a Partner at Castle Island Ventures and co-founder and Chairman of Coin Metrics. In this interview, we discuss Real Bedford, ordinals, the Bitcoin fee market, Bitcoin culture wars, layer 2 innovations, Chokepoint 2.0 and the 2022 banking crisis, and how people can stand up for Bitcoin against the current US administration.
Read MoreJohn D'Agostino is the Institutional Lead for Advisory and Strategic Partnerships at Coinbase. In this interview, we discuss his background working for the New York Mercantile Exchange, seeking out enjoyment, and the flip side of getting kidnapped. We also talk about the maturity of the Bitcoin market, covering both the regulatory threats and institutional appetite.
Read MoreJames Seyffart is an analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence covering ETFs. In this interview, we discuss the how and why of ETFs, Grayscale’s legal battle with the SEC over the approval of a Bitcoin ETF, and the complexities of Grayscale implementing a redemption program for GBTC. We also talk about the role of the SEC in regulating Bitcoin and Gary Gensler’s political ambitions.
Read MoreArthur Hayes is an entrepreneur and the former CEO of BitMEX. In my first interview with Arthur, we discuss the state of the world at the moment: what happened with FTX, money printing, the coming collapse, debt jubilees, the need to acquire assets outside the system like Bitcoin, good and bad AI scenarios, and a powder keg of issues that’ll hit the markets this fall.
Read MoreTor Ekeland & Mike Hassard are defence attorneys representing a Swedish-Russian national, Roman Sterlingov, arrested in early 2021 by the IRS at LAX. He was accused of creating and operating the Bitcoin Fog mixing service to launder over $300 million. He had his assets seized and was incarcerated. He’s awaiting trial. Tor and Mike are still trying to find corroborating evidence. But they’ve uncovered conflicts of interest within the DoJ.
Read MorePascal Gauthier is the CEO of Ledger, NVK is the founder of Coinkite, Matt Odell is a podcaster and Bitcoin educator and Harry Sudock is Cheif Strategy Officer at Griid. In this interview, we host a group discussion, regarding Ledger’s Recover firmware update. We talk about the questions this update has raised about the trade-offs between mitigating seed recovery risk over state seizure risks.
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