The Bitcoin Frontier - Unchained Capital, Inc

Latest Episodes:

Everything you know about MicroStrategy is wrong with Brian Brookshire Jul 23, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Brian Brookshire provides a comprehensive analysis of MicroStrategy’s bitcoin acquisition strategy. He begins with his background in fintech product marketing, including experiences at Stanford and in Asia. Brian explores MicroStrategy's use of convertible debt to accumulate more bitcoin per share, evaluating the marginal returns and looking back at the NAV discount in 2022. He discusses the risks of MicroStrategy as a bitcoin yield vehicle, potential new products, and future acquisitions. The conversation compares spot bitcoin to spot MSTR and considers whether other companies will soon follow MicroStrategy's lead. Last, Brian dives into his perspective on the stock-to-flow and power law models.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

→ Subscribe

→ Leave a review

→ Share the show out with your friends and family

→ Send us an email podcast@unchained.com

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:11 Brian’s background—Stanford, Asia, and fintech product marketing

00:02:49 MSTR’s bitcoin convertible debt strategy

00:12:08 Accumulating more bitcoin per share

00:15:26 Marginal returns on increasing bitcoin per share?

00:18:27 MSTR’s NAV blowing out?

00:19:41 MSTR’s NAV discount in 2022

00:21:50 MSTR as bitcoin yield?

00:22:48 MSTR new products and potential future acquisitions

00:24:12 Spot bitcoin vs spot MSTR

00:25:49 Will other companies finally follow MSTR?

00:30:08 S2F, power law, and the models

00:32:00 What’s the biggest risk to bitcoin?

00:34:44 What’s something you believe about bitcoin that many bitcoiners would disagree with?

00:35:26 Closing thoughts

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:

→ Unchained Twitter: https://twitter.com/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter

→ Joe Burnett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IIICapital

→ Brian Brookshire’s Twitter: https://x.com/btc_overflow

Bitcoin is becoming a coiled spring with Nik Bhatia Jul 16, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Nik Bhatia provides a comprehensive analysis of current market conditions, starting with an overview of the macroeconomic landscape and its implications for various assets, including bitcoin. He explores bitcoin's potential performance under different macro scenarios and examines whether broken monetary systems actually hinder bitcoin adoption. The discussion extends to global liquidity trends and their impact on bitcoin, insights into the efficiency of markets, log bitcoin charts, and academic perspectives. Bhatia also identifies potential catalysts for the next wave of bitcoin adoption and debates whether paper bitcoin is suppressing its price.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

→ Subscribe

→ Leave a review

→ Share the show out with your friends and family

→ Send us an email podcast@unchained.com

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:57 Macro—where do you see markets right now?

00:06:47 How will bitcoin perform in various macro conditions?

00:10:56 Does broken money actually slow bitcoin adoption?

00:15:12 Global liquidity and bitcoin

00:26:10 Efficient markets, log bitcoin chart, and academics

00:30:54 Catalyst for next adoption wave

00:35:17 Is paper bitcoin suppressing the price?

00:45:10 Does bitcoin weaken or strengthen the Dollar over the next decade?

00:49:00 What’s it like teaching young people about bitcoin?

00:49:51 What’s something you believe that most bitcoiners would disagree with?

00:50:09 What’s the biggest risk to bitcoin?

00:50:35 Closing thoughts

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:

→ Unchained Twitter: https://twitter.com/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter

→ Joe Burnett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IIICapital

→ Nik Bhatia’s Twitter: https://x.com/timevalueofbtc

Bitcoin is valuable because it’s censorship resistant with Andrew Bailey Jul 09, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Andrew Bailey, author of Resistance Money, explores the philosophical foundations of bitcoin and its role as resistance money. He discusses the need for resistance in today's socio-economic landscape, who benefits from it, and why he wrote another bitcoin book. Andrew argues for bitcoin's adoption based on more widely held beliefs and examines its value in a censorship-free world. He addresses the role of privacy, bitcoin's future, and the importance of self-custody versus centralized custody. The conversation also covers the ossify versus non-ossify debate, personal reputational risks, its political impact, and its biggest risks.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

→ Subscribe

→ Leave a review

→ Share the show out with your friends and family

→ Send us an email podcast@unchained.com

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:24 What is Resistance Money?

00:02:17 Andrew’s philosophy background

00:04:46 What do people need to resist?

00:07:52 Who needs resistance money?

00:10:58 Why write another bitcoin book?

00:12:38 Arguing for bitcoin from more widely held beliefs

00:14:37 Is bitcoin valuable if there is no censorship?

00:15:47 How does philosophy help us understand bitcoin?

00:19:49 Bitcoin as an alien technology drop

00:21:36 What’s the role of privacy and money?

00:23:32 Can there be too much privacy?

00:27:05 Bitcoin is a new tool in today’s reality

00:28:00 Where is bitcoin in a decade?

00:31:59 How can we accelerate self-custody adoption?

00:33:55 What’s the concern with centralized custody?

00:37:35 Ossify vs not ossify fork

00:42:56 Risking your reputation talking positively about bitcoin?

00:46:23 When will bitcoin become not fringe?

00:48:53 How might bitcoin transform politics?

00:52:46 Biggest risk to bitcoin?

00:55:27 What’s something you believe about bitcoin that many bitcoiners would disagree with?

00:56:45 Closing thoughts

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:

→ Unchained Twitter: https://twitter.com/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter

→ Joe Burnett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IIICapital

→ Andrew Bailey’s Twitter: https://x.com/resistancemoney

→ Andrew’s book: https://www.resistance.money

Why Olympic athletes need bitcoin with Jeremy HK Nova Jul 02, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, former 12x USA national mountain bike champion and Olympian Jeremy HK Nova shares his journey from the trails to bitcoin. He reflects on life lessons, proud achievements, and the evolution of mountain biking globally and in the US. Jeremy discusses his transition from professional racing, discovering bitcoin, and his interest in macroeconomics. He explains why he sold his rental properties for bitcoin and why extreme sports athletes should start embracing bitcoin. The conversation explores exercise science misconceptions, Jeremy's bitcoin pitch to mountain bikers, and bitcoin's impact in El Salvador. Jeremy also talks about his work at Studio Shed, demonetizing real estate, and his unique views on bitcoin.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
→ Subscribe
→ Leave a review
→ Share the show out with your friends and family
→ Send us an email podcast@unchained.com

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:20 Jeremy’s journey into professional mountain biking
00:04:20 Mountain biking and life
00:05:35 Most proud mountain biking achievement?
00:07:10 Various mountain biking disciplines
00:08:19 Living in the olympic athlete village
00:09:22 How big of a sport is mountain biking?
00:10:29 Evolution of professional mountain biking
00:12:55 How big is professional mountain biking in the US?
00:13:23 Post-professional mountain biking
00:16:12 Jeremy discovering bitcoin
00:20:06 Why interested in macro, finance, and economics?
00:21:45 Selling rental properties for bitcoin
00:24:06 Extreme sport athletes earning bitcoin
00:26:00 Bitcoin and extreme sports counter culture
00:28:36 Exercise science and bitcoin–what else are experts wrong about?
00:30:09 Are athletes more likely to have a healthy skepticism?
00:30:50 Jeremy’s bitcoin pitch to other mountain bikers
00:34:42 Bitcoin in El Salvador
00:37:51 Spouses and bitcoin
00:41:36 Do other pro athletes earning bitcoin really understand bitcoin?
00:42:27 Other pro mountain bikers deep into bitcoin?
00:42:50 How else can bitcoin help pro athletes?
00:45:35 Jeremy’s day job at Studio Shed
00:47:05 Demonetizing real estate
00:50:27 What’s the biggest risk to bitcoin?
00:52:23 What’s something you believe about bitcoin that many bitcoiners would disagree with?
00:54:09 Closing thoughts

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
→ Unchained Twitter: https://twitter.com/unchainedcom
→ Unchained Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom
→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter
→ Joe Burnett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IIICapital
→ Jeremy HK Nova’s Twitter: https://x.com/JeremyHK

Sound money, bitcoin, and gold on Wall Street with Ray Kamrath Jun 25, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Ray Kamrath, Chief Commercial Officer of Bakkt, shares his journey from Wall Street to embracing bitcoin. Starting with a light-hearted recount of riding scooters and breaking his arm in Austin, Ray narrates his first encounter with bitcoin and the concept of sound money. He contrasts gold and bitcoin, explains his decision to join Bakkt, and he explores the potential for an institutional driven bull market. Ray offers insights into political interactions with bitcoin, valuation methods, and a potential monetary reset. The discussion also covers collaborative custody, differentiating bitcoin from other cryptocurrencies, and Bakkt's future trajectory.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

→ Subscribe

→ Leave a review

→ Share the show out with your friends and family

→ Send us an email podcast@unchained.com

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:20 Who is Ray Kamrath?

00:02:38 Riding scooters and breaking arms in Austin

00:03:36 Ray first hearing about bitcoin

00:07:50 Talking about sound money on Wall Street

00:10:37 Gold vs bitcoin

00:11:36 Why join Bakkt?

00:16:15 An institutional-driven bull market

00:22:20 Government and bitcoin

00:24:39 How do you value bitcoin?

00:27:20 Monetary reset–what does it look like?

00:31:30 Which countries will influence the market most?

00:38:30 Collaborative custody and a network of keys

00:42:18 Bitcoin vs crypto

00:45:47 Where is Bakkt in 5 years?

00:47:10 Where is bitcoin in 5 years?

00:48:54 Passive flows, MSTR, and bitcoin

00:50:41 What’s something you believe that most bitcoiners would disagree with?

00:51:47 What’s the biggest risk to bitcoin?

00:53:59 Closing thoughts

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:

→ Unchained Twitter: https://twitter.com/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter

→ Joe Burnett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IIICapital

→ Ray Kamrath’s Twitter: https://x.com/Ray_Kamrath

→ Bakkt’s Twitter: https://x.com/Bakkt

Onboarding the world to the Lightning Network with David Marcus Jun 18, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, David Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Lightspark, discusses his journey from Facebook to bitcoin and the challenges of integrating Lightning at Coinbase. He explores the pace of bitcoin adoption, differentiates between custodial and non-custodial Lightning services, and addresses the market for goods transactable only over the Lightning network. The conversation also touches on the impact of AI on financial services, the future of Visa and Mastercard with bitcoin, and issues with taxes on smaller bitcoin payments.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

→ Subscribe

→ Leave a review

→ Share the show out with your friends and family

→ Send us an email podcast@unchained.com

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:35 Founded and exited multiple companies—why so much success?

00:02:50 Leaving Facebook to start Lightspark?

00:07:03 Telecom and paypal to bitcoin?

00:08:19 David’s first touchpoint with bitcoin

00:12:26 Adoption occurring faster or slower than you expected?

00:15:20 Implementing Lightning at Coinbase

00:17:50 What took Coinbase so long to implement Lightning?

00:20:30 Transaction fees on L1 and L2

00:23:05 Is Lightning broken?

00:25:55 Custodial Lightning vs non-custodial Lightning

00:33:40 Spending bitcoin vs Lightning as payment technology only

00:35:19 Concerns with stablecoins on Lightning?

00:36:50 Tether’s rapid growth

00:38:24 Goods and services only sold over the Lightning network?

00:40:17 Future of AI and AI agents

00:42:45 Wealth created from AI?

00:45:07 Lightspark, Visa, and Mastercard

00:47:09 Barriers to break into in person retail payments

00:49:50 Will Visa and Mastercard be forced to adopt bitcoin and Lightning?

00:50:40 Will taxes always be a hurdle for bitcoin payments?

00:51:25 Will the Visa and bank “3% payment fee” eventually go away?

00:52:39 What’s something you believe that most bitcoiners would disagree with?

00:54:44 What’s the biggest risk to bitcoin and Lightning?

00:56:46 Closing thoughts

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:

→ Unchained Twitter: https://twitter.com/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter

→ Joe Burnett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IIICapital

→ David Marcus’s Twitter: https://x.com/davidmarcus
→ Lightspark's Twitter: https://x.com/lightspark

Bitcoin's strategic value for America with Alex Thorn Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy, explores the implications of states attacking bitcoin and discusses how the U.S. can support bitcoin. He analyzes potential catalysts for the U.S. government buying bitcoin and questions if Nvidia and mega-cap tech are in a bubble. The conversation covers bitcoin’s stability and volatility, the prospect of MicroStrategy in the S&P 500, and when more companies might adopt similar strategies. He also addresses another wave of CPI inflation, Balaji’s $1,000,000 bitcoin prediction, the beliefs of MMTers, and what drives bitcoin cycles. The episode concludes with discussions on bitcoin scaling, contrarian beliefs, risks to bitcoin, and Alex's Unchained and Bitcoin Commons rap.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

→ Subscribe

→ Leave a review

→ Share the show out with your friends and family

→ Send us an email podcast@unchained.com

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:52 “Attacking bitcoin will harm america more than bitcoin.”

00:04:35 How can America support bitcoin?

00:08:15 Catalyst for U.S. government buying bitcoin

00:10:08 Is Nvidia and mega cap tech a bubble?

00:13:52 Bitcoin’s stability and volatility

00:15:42 Microstrategy in S&P 500?

00:18:01 When will more companies copy Microstrategy?

00:19:37 Different corporate bitcoin strategies

00:20:50 When may bitcoin become less volatile?

00:26:50 Why do academics and economists still disregard bitcoin?

00:28:35 Will bitcoin be obvious in hindsight?

00:30:20 Is another wave of CPI inflation coming?

00:32:15 Are assets going up regardless of decreasing or increasing rates?

00:34:47 Balaji’s $1,000,000 bitcoin prediction in 90 days

00:37:26 MMTers—do they believe what they say?

00:39:50 What drives bitcoin cycles? Halving, macro or something else?

00:42:37 Bitcoin was not just a ZIRP phenomenon

00:45:06 S2F and power law models

00:47:38 Research at Galaxy

00:51:48 Will bitcoin scale on Lightning or a different L2?

00:56:20 What’s something you believe that most bitcoiners would disagree with?

00:57:58 What’s the biggest risk to bitcoin?
01:02:42 Alex’s Unchained, Bitcoin Commons, and Joe rap

01:04:03 Closing thoughts

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:

→ Unchained Twitter: https://twitter.com/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter

→ Joe Burnett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IIICapital

→ Alex Thorn’s Twitter: https://x.com/intangiblecoins

Understanding the perfect scarcity of bitcoin with HODL Waves pioneer John Ratcliff Jun 04, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, John Ratcliff, a bitcoin blockchain analytics pioneer and early bitcoin adopter since 2013, explores the extremity of bitcoin scarcity. John shares his extensive background as a game developer and how he initially began to understand bitcoin. He discusses the similarities between early game development and bitcoin's block size limit, as well as the interesting connection between bitcoin and freemasonry. The conversation also covers topics like Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), UFOs, and the mindset needed to analyze the bitcoin blockchain. Listeners will learn John’s perspective on bitcoin price models, the true scarcity of bitcoin, and practical advice for young people incorporating bitcoin into their lives.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

→ Subscribe

→ Leave a review

→ Share the show out with your friends and family

→ Send us an email podcast@unchained.com

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:35 John’s background as a game developer and 2013 bitcoiner

00:02:57 Did being a video game developer help you understand bitcoin?

00:07:38 John’s catalyst to understanding bitcoin

00:11:42 Money or markets within video games

00:13:05 Resource constraints in bitcoin and early game development

00:19:39 Bitcoin video games

00:20:17 You’re a freemason–what is a freemason?

00:23:29 Bitcoin and freemasons

00:27:19 Do MMTers actually believe what they say?

00:29:26 UFOs, aliens, and open mindedness

00:34:30 Analyzing the bitcoin blockchain

00:51:00 How scarce is bitcoin

01:05:18 Bitcoin price models—S2F and power law

01:06:16 Advice for young people making bitcoin a part of their life

01:14:20 Something you believe that most holders of bitcoin would disagree?

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:

→ Unchained Twitter: https://twitter.com/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter

→ Joe Burnett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IIICapital

→ John Ratcliff’s Twitter: https://x.com/jratcliff

AI, AGI, and bitcoin: unleashing human abundance with Christopher David May 28, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Christopher David, a self-taught software engineer with two decades of experience, dives into the future of AI and bitcoin. Christopher offers his expert analysis on OpenAI's GPT-4o model release, the evolving dynamics between humans and AI, and the pivotal question of whether AI will replace or create millions of jobs. He also examines the future landscape of closed-source versus open-source models, the innovative ways software engineers are leveraging LLMs, and the potential arrival of AGI.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

→ Subscribe

→ Leave a review

→ Share the show out with your friends and family

→ Send us an email podcast@unchained.com

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:35 Christopher’s software and bitcoin background

00:02:47 Thoughts on Open AI GPT-4o?

00:07:00 Is technology actually accelerating?

00:13:08 Will we use AI as a personal assistant or as autonomous agents?

00:19:18 What is AGI? When will we see AGI?

00:24:30 How will humans continue to interact with AI models?

00:28:14 Will AI replace or create jobs?

00:31:20 AI models and software engineering

00:36:14 Will open source models keep pace with closed source models?

00:38:13 One big AGI model or many niche models?

00:41:22 How does bitcoin fit into the future of AI?

00:43:05 What is OpenAgents?

00:45:53 What is an AI agent?

00:49:22 Does AI destroy moats around SaaS companies?

00:51:23 Are we approaching a technological singularity?

00:52:53 Is AI a centralizing or decentralizing technology?

00:53:58 Closing thoughts

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:

→ Unchained Twitter: https://twitter.com/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom

→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter

→ Joe Burnett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/IIICapital

→ Christopher David’s Twitter: https://x.com/AtlantisPleb

How to win fork wars and bitcoin’s total potential market with Bitstein May 21, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Bitstein discusses critical aspects of bitcoin's history. We begin with an analysis of the 2015-2017 blocksize war and its implications. Bitstein offers insights on potential future bitcoin fork wars and whether he would ever support any future hard forks. We explore bitcoin's antifragility and why institutions like the Mises Institute haven't fully embraced it. Bitstein also outlines the long-term vision of the Nakamoto Institute. We then examine stock-to-flow and power law models to understand bitcoin’s “boundless” total addressable market (TAM).

SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

→ Subscribe

→ Leave a review

→ Share the show out with your friends and family

→ Send us an email podcast@unchained.com

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:36 2015-2017 blocksize war

00:21:21 Will there be future bitcoin fork wars?

00:27:27 Will Bitstein ever choose a future hardfork?

00:32:34 Antifragility of bitcoin

00:43:25 Why is the Mises Institute not a massive bitcoin proponent?