Bullish on Bitcoin Show

In this episode of Bullish on Bitcoin Show, Alexei sits down with Jacob Phillips, co-founder of Lombard and former investor at Polychain, to tackle the big question: is Bitcoin DeFi dead or alive? Jacob brings a rare DeFi-native perspective on Bitcoin, having entered the space chasing the multi-trillion-dollar opportunity of idle BTC capital rather than as a lifelong Bitcoiner.

From the rise and fall of the Bitcoin staking boom, to why "productive Bitcoin" was already a reality off-chain long before DeFi existed, to the hard truths about custody, risk, and yield — this conversation is a candid post-mortem and forward-looking roadmap for where Bitcoin DeFi goes from here, including a first look at the upcoming LBTC Phase 2.

In this episode of the Bullish on Bitcoin Show, Alexei is joined by Luke, who leads Go-to-Market for CCIP at Chainlink — one of the most critical infrastructure layers in all of crypto, powering oracle networks, cross-chain messaging, and now the tokenization of real-world assets.

From the thesis that crypto's killer app is actually "boring" financial plumbing, to how institutions are choosing between public DeFi rails and private chains, to the three-part value proposition of tokenized assets — this episode unpacks why the back office is where the real action is happening in 2026.

In this episode of Bullish on Bitcoin Show, Alexei sits down with Mike, Senior Director of Product at MetaMask — the self-custodial wallet that has shaped the on-chain experience for the majority of crypto users worldwide. With a background spanning AMMs and Trust Wallet, Mike brings an outsider-turned-insider perspective on where MetaMask is heading and what it means for Bitcoin DeFi.

From MetaMask's evolution from a developer-only signer into a full personal finance super app, to the surprising data on native Bitcoin-to-EVM swaps, to the hard questions around why centralized exchanges still dominate Bitcoin trading — this episode is packed with sharp takes on where self-custody is winning and where it still has ground to make up.

In this episode of Bullish on Bitcoin Show, Alexei is joined by Philipp Zentner, CEO and co-founder of LI.FI — one of the leading cross-chain aggregation and DeFi infrastructure protocols in the space, with over $80 billion in transaction volume and more than 1,100 active B2B partners.

They go deep on the evolution of cross-chain bridging, the rise of intent-based architectures, why Bitcoin on-chain trading is still a fraction of centralised exchange volume, the case for and against tokens, and how AI is reshaping both the attack and defence landscape in DeFi security.

Dan Held is a Bitcoin OG, investor, and marketer with over 15 years in the space. In this episode of the Bullish on Bitcoin Show, we cover the hottest topics in Bitcoin right now — from whether the four-year halving cycle is dead, to the quantum computing threat to Bitcoin's cryptography, to why Bitcoin DeFi is still the most underpriced narrative in the market.

Dan shares his unfiltered take on institutional adoption, price suppression myths, the debate over Satoshi's coins, and what it will actually take to move Bitcoin trading on-chain.

DeFi Dad and Nomatic are two of the most respected DeFi educators and OGs in the space, co-hosts of The Edge podcast, and long-time Bitcoiners. In this episode of Bullish on Bitcoin Show, we get into the real state of Bitcoin DeFi — why it has struggled to compete with Ethereum, whether Coinbase has quietly solved Bitcoin lending, why traders still prefer centralised exchanges, and whether STRC (Strategy's new yield product) is the Ethena basis trade of this cycle or a risk hiding in plain sight.
Alexei, co-founder of BOB, brings a builder's perspective on what's actually broken — and what's finally getting fixed.

In this episode of Bullish on Bitcoin, Alexei sits down with Nic Carter, co-founder of Castle Island Ventures and one of the most influential voices in Bitcoin — the man who coined the term "Operation Choke Point 2.0" and spent years documenting the US government's informal campaign to cut crypto off from banking. A blockchain analytics pioneer, former Fidelity crypto analyst, and self-described proof-of-reserves enthusiast, Nic brings a uniquely policy-literate and data-driven perspective to where Bitcoin stands today.

This wide-ranging conversation spans the most consequential six months in US Bitcoin policy history — the end of Choke Point 2.0, the Bitcoin strategic reserve debate, SAB 121's repeal, and the SEC's dramatic reversal — before diving into the deeper questions: will Bitcoin become too American? What does the east/west split in Bitcoin adoption really mean? And can Bitcoin L2s realistically save the miners as block rewards continue to halve?