What Bitcoin Did

4h ago

Sam Callahan is the Director of Strategy & Research at OranjeBTC. In this episode we discuss why Bitcoin’s fundamentals have never been stronger, why Bitcoin periodically decouples from global liquidity, how internal market dynamics can override macro conditions, and why today’s divergence between improving fundamentals and weak price action may actually be one of the most misunderstood moments in this cycle and why the four-year cycle framework is increasingly unreliable. We also get into the deeper structural risks facing the global financial system, from fiscal dominance and runaway deficits to the looming insolvency of Social Security and Medicare. Sam walks through why entitlement spending, demographics, and interest expense create a problem that can’t be solved politically, only postponed monetarily. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: IREN ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN FOLLOW : Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Sam Callahan: https://x.com/samcallah

3d ago

Saifedean Ammous joins the show to explain why the real collapse didn’t begin in 1971, but in 1914, and how fiat money quietly rewired civilisation itself. We break down how governments escaped monetary discipline through war finance, why inflation destroys savings, culture, and long-term thinking, and how central banks learned to fund wars, empires, and endless deficits without public consent. Saifedean walks through the hidden monetary history of World War I, the death of the gold standard, and why fiat money wasn’t an accident, but a power grab that reshaped the modern world. We also dig into Bitcoin as the first real alternative to this system, not as an ideology, but as a price technology. He explains why Bitcoin’s price is the only scoreboard that matters, how money itself is a market with a $300T addressable size, and why Bitcoin doesn’t need fiat to collapse in order to win. We explore nation-state adoption, gold vs Bitcoin, why reserve assets reprice suddenly not gradually, and why Bitcoin is still early. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: IREN ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN FOLLOW : Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Saifedean Ammous: https://x.com/saifedean

Dec 12

Eric Yakes joins the show to discuss what’s really driving Bitcoin right now and why price is determined by fundamentals, not cycles or models. We break down how marginal supply and marginal demand actually work in Bitcoin, why the four-year cycle may never have been real, and how years of behind-the-scenes work inside institutions and regulators lead to the sudden headlines that reprice the market. We also dig into sovereign wealth funds, nation-state reserve adoption, and why Bitcoin is still one announcement away from a major move. Eric explains why liquidity, not ideology, is the real constraint, why gold still dominates today, and what Bitcoin needs to reach true reserve-asset status. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: IREN ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN FOLLOW : Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Eric Yakes: https://x.com/ericyakes

Dec 10

Jeff Walton joins the show for a deep dive into the state of Bitcoin treasury companies, the rise of digital credit, and why we may be entering the most aggressive phase of institutional Bitcoin adoption yet. We get into Paper Bitcoin Winter, why so many treasury companies are trading below 1× MNAV, and whether the original playbook of issuing equity, & buying Bitcoin may be running out of road. Jeff breaks down why the model isn’t dead, how yield markets are evolving at lightning speed, and why optionality, scale, and genuine operational talent will decide who survives the coming shakeout. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: IREN ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN FOLLOW : Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Jeff Walton: https://x.com/PunterJeff

Dec 8

Erik Hersman, Phillip Walton, Eric Yakes & Mark Kamau join the show for a deep dive into energy, mining, and the reality of electrifying Africa — and why Bitcoin is quietly unlocking possibilities no NGO or government has ever managed to achieve. We get into the wild journey across northern Kenya to the forgotten village of Saru where communities live without electricity, refrigeration, or basic infrastructure, and where abundant energy would completely transform life, opportunity, and even culture. Philip and Eric explain why transmission lines will never be built, why NGOs fail 90% of the time, and how Bitcoin mining finally makes it economically viable to electrify the most remote places on earth. They break down how Gridless finds stranded energy, models profitable solar and hydro builds, and partners with local elders, schools, and entrepreneurs to create real markets — not handouts. We dig into the coming era of “energy first, mining second,” the circular Bitcoin economies emerging across Kenya, why M-Pesa makes Nairobi the easiest city in the world to live on Bitcoin, and how Lightning will become the payment layer for off-grid power. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: IREN ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN FOLLOW : Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Erik Hersman: https://x.com/whiteafrican / Phillip Walton: https://linkedin.com/in/philip-walton-nairobi Eric Yakes: https://x.com/ericyakes Mark Kamau: https://x.com/mark_kamau

Dec 6

Seb Bunney joins the show for a conversation about broken money, distorted reality maps, and why Bitcoin might be the only force capable of realigning society. We get into his personal journey from mountain-bike coaching in Whistler and realising hard work no longer pays, to discovering how central banks, misaligned incentives, and financialisation quietly shape everything from housing and family life to politics and culture. Seb explains why so many young people are turning to socialism, why democracies can’t change course, and how separating money and state could be the only viable path forward. Seb also breaks down his new essay The Curated World — exploring linguistic control, scientific gatekeeping, suppressed technologies, the Invention Secrecy Act, and why “the map is not the territory.” We dig into Bitcoin’s role as a truth-seeking mechanism, what happens when incentives flip from intervention to value creation, and how free markets, energy breakthroughs, and longer lifespans could transform civilisation far beyond money. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: IREN ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN FOLLOW : Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Seb Bunney: https://x.com/sebbunney

Dec 3

George Bodine joins the show for a wild conversation about the fourth turning, AI, quantum, and why he believes the next 3–5 years will be the most volatile period in Bitcoin history. We get into his insane life story — from trailer parks to flying F-18s at Top Gun, ejecting from a crashing jet, working underground as a miner, becoming a pro artist, and eventually going all-in on Bitcoin. George breaks down why he thinks the financial crisis never ended, how AI and robotics will erase millions of jobs, the global arms race for compute and energy, and why quantum could hit faster than people expect. We dig into Bitcoin’s real threats — mining centralisation, quantum-vulnerable coins, BIP444, and the Core vs Knots fight dividing the community. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: IREN ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY SWAN FOLLOW : Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny

Nov 28

Phong Le, CEO of Strategy, joins the show to break down exactly how the world’s biggest Bitcoin treasury company works. The Bitcoin-backed credit markets, the preferreds, the leverage, and how Strategy keeps buying Bitcoin in bull and bear markets. We dig into how MicroStrategy pivoted during 2020, how Phong and Michael Saylor built the Bitcoin treasury model from scratch, and why Strategy believes Bitcoin is still radically undervalued. Phong explains Strike, Strife, Stride, and Stretch, how these preferreds create Bitcoin yield, why they work even when price is down, and how Strategy thinks about dilution, MNAV premiums, and raising billions without selling sats. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: IREN RIVER ANCHORWATCH BLOCKWARE LEDN BITKEY FOLLOW : Danny Knowles: https://x.com/\_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny Phong Le: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phong-le-b53520