What Bitcoin Did

“Imagine tomorrow you hear that the US government started putting Bitcoin on their balance sheet. Guess what happens next? Everybody tries to front-run it. Everybody and their mother tries to front-run it.”

Misha Komarov and Clara Shikhelman of [[alloc] init] join me to discuss Shielded Bitcoin, their plan to make Bitcoin private.

We get into how Bitcoin PIPEs use witness encryption to lock Bitcoin behind a cryptographic proof, how a shielded transaction actually works, why you leave with someone else’s deposit rather than your own, and what it would cost compared with a normal transaction.

We also discuss why governments and institutions will need privacy, whether brand new cryptography can be trusted with billions of dollars, how the team plans to pay people to break it, and why they wouldn’t be comfortable with large amounts in it today.

Finally, we get into whether Bitcoin’s resistance to change is a feature, whether soft forks are dead, why quantum resistance is a must-have upgrade, and the legal risks of building privacy tools after the Samourai Wallet case.

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Clara Shikhelman: https://x.com/ClaraShik

“You have inflation, you better own assets.”

James Lavish returns to discuss why America’s $40 trillion debt problem limits the Fed’s ability to fight inflation, and why Bitcoin still isn’t ripping. We get into Kevin Warsh’s latest rate decision, how the war in Iran is feeding higher energy prices, and why raising rates could make the debt problem worse while cutting them could push borrowing costs higher.

We also discuss Bitcoin fatigue, the money flowing into AI and prediction markets, and why institutions are still moving slowly despite JPMorgan’s bullish long-term forecast. James explains why he believes the Bitcoin bottom is in, his base case of $400K–$500K in early to mid-2029, and why another major drawdown could follow the next bull market.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

LEDN - Explore Bitcoin-backed loans and get 0.25% off your first loan.

https://learn.ledn.io/wbd

BITGO - Secure your Bitcoin with institutional grade security.

https://www.bitgo.com/danny

ANCHORWATCH - Insured Bitcoin custody, security & inheritance. Book a consultation: https://www.anchorwatch.com/wbd

BITKEY - Get 10% off the new Bitkey wallet with code WBD.

https://bitkey.world/wbd

EXPAT MONEY - Build your Plan B. Explore second residencies, citizenship and offshore wealth protection.

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“Your house isn’t getting more valuable. Your dollar’s becoming worthless.”

Leon Wankum, real estate developer and author of Digital Real Estate, joins me to discuss why he believes Bitcoin will replace property as the world’s dominant store of value. We get into how homes became savings accounts, why rising house prices can hide currency debasement, and whether buying property still makes sense as a way to build wealth.

What happens when people stop treating houses as investments? We discuss the housing crisis, the difference between buying a home and saving in real estate, and how much of the wealth held in property could move into Bitcoin.

We also get into Bitcoin-backed mortgages, corporate Bitcoin treasuries, and why governments have so much at stake in keeping house prices high. Could Bitcoin make housing affordable again, and how long might that transition take?

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

LEDN - Explore Bitcoin-backed loans and get 0.25% off your first loan.

https://learn.ledn.io/wbd

BITGO - Secure your Bitcoin with institutional grade security.

https://www.bitgo.com/danny

ANCHORWATCH - Insured Bitcoin custody, security & inheritance. Book a consultation: https://www.anchorwatch.com/wbd

BITKEY - Get 10% off the new Bitkey wallet with code WBD.

https://bitkey.world/wbd

EXPAT MONEY - Build your Plan B. Explore second residencies, citizenship and offshore wealth protection.

https://expatmoney.com/wbd

FOLLOW:

Danny Knowles: https://x.com/_DannyKnowles

Leon Wankum: https://x.com/leonwankum

“Our vision was one, his vision was different. Why would he stay?”

Nacho Pauls, Chief Commercial Officer at OCEAN, joins me to discuss why Luke Dashjr and Mechanic left the company, the fallout from BIP110, and how the controversy cost the pool nearly half its hashrate. He gives his account of the internal disagreements, the painful split and what comes next.

We also get into why major Bitcoin miners are turning towards AI, and why Nacho believes the shift could actually strengthen Bitcoin.

How decentralised is Bitcoin’s mining industry? We discuss the influence of large pools and hardware manufacturers, the risks of government pressure, and why control over which transactions enter a block matters. We also get into stranded energy, the economics of staying competitive and the challenges miners face heading towards the 2028 halving.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

LEDN - Explore Bitcoin-backed loans and get 0.25% off your first loan.

https://learn.ledn.io/wbd

BITGO - Secure your Bitcoin with institutional grade security.

https://www.bitgo.com/danny

ANCHORWATCH - Insured Bitcoin custody, security & inheritance. Book a consultation: https://www.anchorwatch.com/wbd

BITKEY - Get 10% off the new Bitkey wallet with code WBD.

https://bitkey.world/wbd

EXPAT MONEY - Build your Plan B. Explore second residencies, citizenship and offshore wealth protection.

https://expatmoney.com/wbd

FOLLOW:

Danny Knowles: https://x.com/_DannyKnowles

Nacho Pauls: https://x.com/NachoPauls

"This doesn’t stop, it accelerates from here."

Rob Hamilton returns to discuss the AI attacks on Bitcoin, the fallout from the Coldcard hack and the volunteers racing to find vulnerabilities before hackers do. He explains how the Bitcoin Red Team scanned around 650 codebases, flagging more than 10,000 potential issues, including 1,500 rated high or critical.

We discuss how a $1 AI scan helped Rob identify the Coldcard flaw, what the team found when it tested Bitcoin Core, and how AI is uncovering problems that security audits missed. Rob also explains why he expects the attacks to spread beyond Bitcoin.

We also get into what this means for self-custody, the risks of relying on a single hardware wallet, multisig, testing your backups and whether Bitcoiners really understand the systems protecting their life savings.

Finally, we discuss why some American AI models refused to help with the defensive work, how Chinese open models filled the gap, and why Rob sees attempts to restrict access to AI as a threat to freedom of thought.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

LEDN - Explore Bitcoin-backed loans and get 0.25% off your first loan.

https://learn.ledn.io/wbd

BITGO - Secure your Bitcoin with institutional grade security.

https://www.bitgo.com/danny

ANCHORWATCH - Insured Bitcoin custody, security & inheritance. Book a consultation: https://www.anchorwatch.com/wbd

BITKEY - Get 10% off the new Bitkey wallet with code WBD.

https://bitkey.world/wbd

EXPAT MONEY - Build your Plan B. Explore second residencies, citizenship and offshore wealth protection.

https://expatmoney.com/wbd

FOLLOW:

Danny Knowles: https://x.com/_DannyKnowles

Rob Hamilton: https://x.com/Rob1Ham