Podcast
What Bitcoin Did
Hosted by Danny Knowles · EN
What Bitcoin Did unpacks Bitcoin’s role in reshaping money, freedom, and the future of finance.
44episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Bitcoin’s Bull Market Is Back | Checkmate
Yesterday01:27:16Summary ready“We’re in an era where the monetary system is changing. The world is going to look very different on the other side of this thing.” Checkmate is back on the show to explain why Bitcoin may already be back in a bull market and why the bigger story is not just the price, but the system beginning to crack. We get into his case that the bottom is likely in, why the $60k flush looked like a real capitulation event, and the levels that matter now. Checkmate breaks down the on-chain data behind his 80% bull-market thesis, why bears may be running out of road, and what happens when sentiment flips from selling rips to buying dips. We also get into rising bond yields, broken fiscal systems, the end of trust in government debt, Bitcoin vs gold, ETF flows, Strategy/MSTR risk, Coinbase custody risk, and why the world is moving towards assets that sit outside the system. We then get into Australia’s proposed capital gains tax changes, why Checkmate sees them as a direct attack on savers, builders and young people, and why tax policy may become one of the next major battlegrounds for Bitcoiners. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN CAPE FOLLOW: Danny Knowles: https://x.com/_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Checkmate: https://x.com/_Checkmatey_
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Bitcoin’s Parallel Economy Is Starting | Brian De Mint
5d ago01:02:26Summary ready“The alpha is still in Bitcoin. But it’s just by treating Bitcoin as money.” Brian De Mint is the head of marketing for Club Orange, a real-world social network for Bitcoiners. In this episode, we discuss why Bitcoin’s next phase may not just be holding the asset, but building a real economy around it: Bitcoin meetups, IRL community, the case for spending sats, merchant adoption, Lightning payments, Bitcoin mining as a free-market energy solution, and why treating Bitcoin as money can create stronger economic relationships between Bitcoiners. We also get into food and health to medicine, nutrition and the incentives behind the institutions we’re told to trust. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN CAPE FOLLOW: Danny Knowles: https://x.com/_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Brian De Mint: https://x.com/BrianDeMint
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The Bitcoin Treasury Machine | Harry Sudock & Rory Murray
1w ago01:09:22Summary readyHarry Sudock and Rory Murray from CleanSpark join the show to explain how Bitcoin miners are building entirely new treasury strategy around Bitcoin. Instead of simply mining Bitcoin and selling it for cash, companies like CleanSpark are now borrowing against it, generating yield from it, using it as collateral, and turning their Bitcoin balance sheet into a tool for expansion. We get into why Bitcoin may become the best collateral in global markets, how miners are using treasury strategies like covered calls and basis trades to increase returns, why Bitcoin backed lending markets are rapidly maturing, and how these strategies could completely reshape the way companies manage capital. We also discuss the AI data centre boom, why Bitcoin miners are expanding into AI infrastructure, how Bitcoin and AI are competing for energy, and why the future of Bitcoin mining may actually become more decentralised as AI grows. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN CAPE FOLLOW: Danny Knowles: https://x.com/_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Harry Sudock: https://x.com/harry_sudock Rory Murray: https://x.com/sprainhill
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The Future of Owning Bitcoin | Jonathan Pollock
1w ago00:57:19Summary readyJonathan Pollock is Product Lead for Bitkey. In this episode, we get into wrench attacks, why physical coercion is a structural weakness of private key ownership, why seed phrases may be creating more risk than they solve, and why most self custody setups rely too heavily on users never making a mistake. We talk about the trade offs between security, privacy, recovery, inheritance, and ease of use, alongside BitKey’s new hardware update and the company’s plans to build time delayed vaults designed to protect users during violent attacks. We also get into collaborative custody, covenants, insurance, ETFs versus self custody and why permissionless money still matters. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN CAPE FOLLOW: Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Bitkey: https://x.com/Bitkey
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Jack Mallers | Wall Street Is Rebuilding Around Bitcoin
2w ago01:48:20Summary ready“Bitcoin can change the world because the world can’t change Bitcoin.” Jack Mallers is back on the show to break down his vision for 21, Strike, and the next phase of Bitcoin’s monetisation. Jack explains why he doesn’t want to build another pure Bitcoin treasury company or another crypto casino, but a full-stack Bitcoin business: financial services, lending, custody, infrastructure, mining, capital markets, and a balance sheet built around Bitcoin. We get into the proposed acquisition of Strike, Bitcoin-backed lending, proof of reserves, why profitability matters, and why he thinks the best Bitcoin company won’t simply be the one that owns the most Bitcoin. We also discuss where Bitcoin fits in a world moving towards war, inflation, energy shocks, multipolarity, and whether fiat can survive another crisis. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN CAPE FOLLOW: Danny Knowles: https://x.com/_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Jack Mallers: https://x.com/jackmallers
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The Biggest Lie in Economics | Allen Farrington & Sacha Meyers
2w ago00:58:03Summary ready“If your system can’t survive without inflation, the problem isn’t deflation.” Allen Farrington and Sacha Meyers return to the show to break down one of the most misunderstood ideas in economics: deflation. Allen & Sacha are the authors of Bitcoin is Venice, in this episode they get into their latest essay, Number Go Down, where they challenge the core assumptions behind modern macroeconomics. They argue that the idea inflation is necessary for a healthy economy is not grounded in reality, but in flawed models, bad incentives, and a fundamental misunderstanding of how growth actually happens. We get into why the 2% inflation target is arbitrary, how Keynesian economics confuses credit collapse with true deflation, and why falling prices driven by innovation might actually be the most important signal of a functioning economy. We also explore the paradox of thrift, malinvestment, and why distorted price signals lead to systemic fragility. Allen and Sacha explain why saving is the foundation of real growth, how deflation can drive investment rather than kill it, and why trying to “manage” the economy through measurement and intervention is fundamentally misguided. We also get into debt, why inflation acts as a hidden bailout mechanism, and what a world built on sound money might actually look like. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN CLUB ORANGE CAPE FOLLOW: Danny Knowles: https://x.com/_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Allen Farrington: https://x.com/allenf32 Sacha Meyers: https://x.com/sacha_meyers
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The Financial System Is Moving to Bitcoin | David Marcus
3w ago00:57:23Summary ready“Money on the internet is still broken.” David Marcus returns to the show to break down why moving money globally is still slow, fragmented, and expensive and how Bitcoin could fix it. David explains how the current system is built on disconnected networks that extract fees, delay payments, and capture data. His solution is a new kind of global account built on Bitcoin infrastructure that unifies dollars, Bitcoin, and stablecoins into a single system that works instantly across borders. We get into why platforms like Uber and YouTube could become financial hubs, how stablecoins might accelerate Bitcoin adoption, and why open networks tend to beat closed systems. Finally, we discuss the future of AI agents that can hold and move money on your behalf, and what that means for privacy, control, and Bitcoin as the underlying monetary layer. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN CLUB ORANGE CAPE FOLLOW: Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\\\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny David Marcus: https://x.com/davidmarcus
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Can Bitcoin Save The West? | American HODL & Peter McCormack
3w ago01:25:30Summary ready“There’s a reality here that you guys are all asleep to… we are the only alternative path.” American HODL & Peter McCormack join the show to break down the growing divide across the West, the collapse of trust in institutions, and whether the current political system is already failing. We’re moving from a high trust to a low trust society, where incentives are broken, democracy is increasingly unstable, and the middle ground between left and right is disappearing. As countries like the UK decline economically and culturally, the risk isn’t just stagnation, it’s escalation. We get into whether this leads to conflict or some form of authoritarianism, why freedom is so difficult to sell politically, and whether Bitcoin can realistically act as an alternative system. We also discuss the collapse of the middle class, AI-driven disruption, the role of media in accelerating division, and whether Bitcoin arrives in time or simply becomes a hedge against what comes next. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN CLUB ORANGE CAPE FOLLOW: Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\\\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny American HODL: https://primal.net/hodl Peter McCormack: https://x.com/PeterMcCormack
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AI Is Coming for Bitcoin’s Energy | Michael Dunworth
4w ago01:39:03Summary ready“Bitcoin has a chance of losing the energy conversation.” Michael Dunworth joins the show to break down what happens when AI and Bitcoin collide over the world’s most important resource: energy. Michael argues that as AI demand explodes, governments and corporations will prioritise data centres over Bitcoin mining, potentially rationing energy and pushing Bitcoin to the margins. At the same time, AI is set to drive massive job displacement, reshape global infrastructure, and concentrate power into a handful of dominant players. We get into whether this is an existential threat to Bitcoin or a hidden tailwind for decentralisation, how AI could reshape energy markets, why Bitcoin mining might survive as a balancing layer for AI grids, and whether AI itself ultimately chooses Bitcoin as its native money. We also discuss nation state adoption, the risk of governments seizing Bitcoin, the centralisation of custody, and why Bitcoin’s biggest risk right now might be losing focus. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN CLUB ORANGE CAPE FOLLOW: Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\\\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Michael Dunworth: https://x.com/MichaelDunwort1
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Should Satoshi’s Coins Be Frozen? | Rob Hamilton
4w ago01:18:43Summary ready“Bitcoin’s values are easy to defend until they become inconvenient.” Rob Hamilton returns to the show to get into Bitcoin as a hero’s journey, and why its next great test may already be here. Rob explains how Bitcoin evolved from a cypherpunk rebellion into an institutional asset, and why that shift is creating a new fault line inside the network. As more Bitcoin moves into ETFs and corporate treasuries, the question is no longer just whether Bitcoin succeeds, but who defines what it is. We get into the debate around quantum computing, whether vulnerable coins should ever be frozen, and why that decision could trigger a chain split. Rob lays out the tension between protecting the network and preserving Bitcoin’s core principles, and why this may become the most important battle since the block size wars. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN CLUB ORANGE CAPE FOLLOW: Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Rob Hamilton: https://x.com/Rob1Ham
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