What Bitcoin Did

“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.

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"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.

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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

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“The people who bet right by being early to Bitcoin are the ones who get blamed.”

Avik Roy returns to discuss why he believes America’s debt crisis is far worse than official forecasts suggest, and why Bitcoiners shouldn’t assume they’ll be safe. We get into his 15-year warning, the risk of bank failures and inflation, and how governments could restrict access to Bitcoin or target those who hold it.

We also discuss self-custody, capital controls and the freedom to exit, before getting into Bitcoin treasury companies and whether their incentives align with shareholders.

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

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“The worst thing is to not own any of it.”

Eric Yakes returns to discuss why he believes Bitcoin’s four-year cycle is breaking, why diminishing returns may not be inevitable, and how institutional and nation-state demand could change the next rally. He explains why Bitcoin needs to become bigger and more liquid before its largest potential buyers can make meaningful allocations.

We also get into Bitcoin’s role as a hedge against debasement, the debate over money versus digital gold, and why Eric rejects the “private Bitcoin” pitch around Zcash. We finish with how AI could make Bitcoin’s scarcity more valuable, the security risks that concern him most, and why he still believes the biggest mistake is owning none.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

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

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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:

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“Bitcoin feels alive, but not intelligent. And AI feels intelligent, but not alive.”

Dhruv Bansal joins to discuss why AI may need Bitcoin to survive, why autonomous agents could choose Bitcoin over dollars and stablecoins, and how earning Bitcoin to pay for their own resources could align them with human needs.

We also get into how Bitcoin could help rebuild a free and open internet, the problems with advertising and surveillance, and whether AI could accelerate hyperbitcoinization. Dhruv explores how Bitcoin and AI could give rise to a new form of digital life and why he sees an optimistic path for both.

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/

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

Dhruv Bansal: https://x.com/dhruvbansal