Kent is the CEO of Sazmining and a longtime bitcoiner who previously led large-scale solar operations before building a non-custodial bitcoin mining platform. Recently, he became the victim of a sophisticated in-person scam that resulted in the loss of $220,000 worth of bitcoin.

In this episode, Kent joins The Bitcoin Frontier to share exactly what happened during the scam, what red flags he missed, and why he decided to go public. We dig into the psychology of social engineering, how attackers exploit self-interest, and why even experienced bitcoiners remain vulnerable. We also cover how to build operational security inside a business to mitigate social engineering attacks, how families can prepare for deepfake attacks, and why bitcoin’s immutability still strengthens personal responsibility even in difficult moments.

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Intro & Kent’s disclosure of a $220k bitcoin scam
3:20 – Why he chose to go public: PSA, law-enforcement pressure, and justice
7:10 – Kent’s background in solar, bitcoin, and building Sazmining
10:05 – The setup: a “family office” deal, travel, and early yellow flags
14:40 – The first meeting in Amsterdam & unusual trust-building exercises
19:00 – How the attackers built credibility and portrayed ultra-wealth
23:15 – The second meeting, Atomic Wallet, and how the sweep unfolded
28:40 – The psychological trap: self-interest, exhaustion, and urgency
34:00 – Why immutability didn’t shake his conviction in bitcoin
37:25 – Internal policy changes: whitelisting, diligence, and cooling-off periods
41:50 – Distinguishing roles: CEO instincts vs. bitcoiner instincts
45:05 – Scam evolution, social engineering, and the danger of urgency
49:20 – Efforts to recover funds & the limits of both private and public options
54:10 – How AI deepfakes raise the stakes for family safety
57:20 – Why code words, local trust, and multisig can protect loved ones
59:40 – Closing thoughts, personal accountability & Sazmining’s mission

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
 → Unchained X: https://x.com/unchained 
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 → Kent Halliburton’s Twitter: https://x.com/khalliburton 
 → Timot Lamarre’s Twitter: https://x.com/TimotLamarre 

Zack Shapiro is the head of legal and policy at the Bitcoin Policy Institute and a key architect behind the Peer-to-Peer Rights Fund. He’s spent years on the frontlines where law, technology, and human freedom intersect—helping lawmakers and judges understand what it means to hold value in the digital age. In this episode, Zack joins The Bitcoin Frontier to break down why self-custody is foundational to bitcoin’s value, how the Clarity Act could define financial freedom for a generation, and why the right to hold your own money might be the most American right of all.

We dig into the constitutional roots of property rights, how U.S. law is being stretched to fit a peer-to-peer world, and why the fight for non-custodial software developers will determine the future of bitcoin in America.

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Intro & the mission behind The Last Free Americans series
2:00 – What self-custody really means and why it’s the foundation of bitcoin’s value
3:45 – ETFs, financialization, and the fading connection to real bitcoin
5:00 – Why self-custody matters more than ever in 2025
6:15 – How outdated laws are clashing with a peer-to-peer world
7:40 – The Clarity Act and the battle for non-custodial rights
9:00 – Would bitcoin even be valuable without self-custody?
10:00 – How self-custody connects to America’s founding values
12:00 – The Constitution’s protections for holding bitcoin: 1st, 4th, 5th, 9th Amendments
16:00 – The history lesson: Executive Order 6102 and gold confiscation
18:30 – Enumerated powers, the 9th Amendment, and the people’s retained rights
21:00 – Why protecting non-custodial developers is critical to freedom
23:30 – Tornado Cash, Samurai Wallet, and the dangerous new legal precedents
27:30 – Knowledge vs. intent: how the DOJ’s theories stretch the law
31:00 – The risk of calling developers “money transmitters”
33:30 – Steelmanning the other side: why regulators see a loophole
37:00 – How the Bank Secrecy Act evolved from mob busting to digital dragnet
40:30 – From halawa networks to bitcoin: applying old laws to new rails
42:30 – The real ideological divide: state control vs. individual liberty
46:00 – Why self-custody embodies the American idea of limited government
47:30 – If Bitcoin existed in 1776, would the framers have protected self-custody?
49:00 – Strategy going forward: the Clarity Act, education, and vigilance
52:00 – The political battle ahead: Elizabeth Warren, ICOs, and what’s really at stake
54:00 – How bitcoin helps the least powerful—and why that matters most

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
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Tim Hite is the director of policy at Exodus and a former congressional staffer for Rep. Warren Davidson. He helped shape early self-custody legislation—including the Keep Your Coins Act (a playful nod to “KYC”)—and bridges law, technology, and individual rights. In this episode, Tim’s discussion kicks off The Last Free Americans miniseries to share the origin story of self-custody protections on Capitol Hill, how “keep your coins” language differs from the Clarity Act’s approach, and what meaningful safeguards against CBDCs could look like. We dig into the evolution of property rights in a digital world, why illicit-finance fears are often overstated, and how social media has changed the legislative battlefield.

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Intro, disclaimers & why self-custody matters now
0:51 – “The Last Free Americans”: series premise
1:16 – Tim’s path: 2017 bull run, law school, FINRA, and meeting Rep. Davidson
3:34 – From Hill staffer to crypto policy: Token Taxonomy Act & early frameworks
6:51 – The spark for the Keep Your Coins Act and naming the bill
11:12 – Two legislative styles: affirming a right vs. restricting regulators
16:24 – Digital ownership as a new chapter in American property rights
19:05 – CBDCs vs. self-custody: opposite ends of the spectrum
22:30 – Social media’s role: sunlight, mobilization, and changing the odds
30:34 – The 2020 “unhosted wallet” rule & why KYCs on self-hosted wallets don’t fit
39:00 – Bank Secrecy Act’s $10k threshold, report overload, and diminishing returns
41:37 – House passage, Senate path, and realistic timelines for the Clarity Act
47:26 – What’s next: tokenized securities and the future of self-custody
52:58 – Peer-to-peer (with an asterisk): whitelists, accounts, and true control
55:01 – Closing thoughts: momentum, vigilance, and “nature finds a way”

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
 → Unchained X: https://x.com/unchained 
 → Unchained LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom 
 → Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter
 → Joe Kelly’s Twitter: https://x.com/josephkelly 
 → Tim Hite’s Twitter: https://x.com/TimHite 
 → Jose Burgos (Director of Media Production): https://x.com/DeFBeD

Joe Kelly is the co-founder and CEO of Unchained. In this latest episode, Joe shares his story and Alaskan roots that shaped a deep respect for self-sufficiency—an experience he now applies to the digital frontier. In this episode, Joe joins The Bitcoin Frontier to share why Unchained is launching a new miniseries, The Last Free Americans, how self-custody became his life’s work, and why the conservation movement offers a powerful analogy for protecting financial freedom. We dig into the frontier phases of new assets and ideas, the role of ETFs as a bridge (not the destination), and how policies like developer protections and “keep your coins” language can ring-fence essential rights.

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 → Book a free call with a bitcoin expert: https://unchained.com/consultation?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Intro: The Last Free Americans and what’s at stake with self-custody
1:06 – Alaska, boats, and learning self-sufficiency
2:54 – Conservation mindset: preserving wilderness and preserving peer-to-peer money
4:03 – From accounts to keys: the “aha” of sending bitcoin yourself
5:39 – Seeing the water we swim in: intermediaries, fees, and privacy tradeoffs
8:03 – Frontiers and phases: from prospectors to politics—how new assets mature
10:57 – Gold rush parallels: excess, scams, and integration into the mainstream
12:55 – National parks as a model: ring-fencing what matters for future generations
15:00 – “The last free Americans”: a proud warning about peer-to-peer rights
17:02 – Building Unchained on bitcoin’s assumptions, not fiat rails
19:16 – ETFs as a useful bridge vs. living the peer-to-peer experience
21:03 – Who are today’s “John Muirs”? Gear, guidance, and making self-custody approachable
23:42 – Beyond one bill: culture, developer protections, and keep-your-coins language
26:34 – Free speech, code, and the very American fight for financial privacy
27:34 – Short memories: SVB, protests, and why self-custody matters before the next shock
29:16 – What to expect from the series and the intellectual adventure of bitcoin

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
 → Unchained X: https://x.com/unchained 
 → Unchained LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom 
 → Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter
 → Joe Kelly’s Twitter: https://x.com/josephkelly 
 → Timot Lamarre’s Twitter: https://x.com/TimotLamarre 

Pierre Rochard is one of the original bitcoin thinkers, builders, and educators — now serving as CEO of The Bitcoin Bond Company. Known for popularizing the term “speculative attack” in the bitcoin space, Pierre has long explored how bitcoin can replace legacy finance from the inside out.
In this episode, Pierre joins The Bitcoin Frontier to discuss how banks adopting bitcoin could strengthen global stability, how fractional reserve banking might evolve on a bitcoin standard, and why he believes governments buying bitcoin is inevitable. We dig into the rise of bitcoin treasury companies, the idea behind bitcoin bonds, and whether bitcoin’s decentralization can withstand institutional adoption.

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 → Book a free call with a bitcoin expert: https://unchained.com/consultation?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Intro & bitcoin’s ideological roots in libertarianism
3:00 – Why banks holding bitcoin could prevent future financial crises
7:20 – Can fractional reserve banking exist on a bitcoin standard?
10:50 – MicroStrategy and the rise of bitcoin treasury companies
12:40 – Why collapsing banks would be dangerous for society
16:00 – Financial intermediation, savings culture, and a soft landing to a bitcoin economy
18:00 – “Money for enemies”: Why state adoption isn’t betrayal
20:00 – Bitcoin in U.S. and state reserves: From Texas to Trump
23:00 – Can governments or corporations co-opt bitcoin?
25:00 – What bitcoin bonds are and how the Bitcoin Bond Company works
29:30 – Bringing bitcoin into institutional portfolios through structured credit
35:00 – Comparing bitcoin bonds to MicroStrategy’s convertibles
37:00 – Why treasury companies are undervalued and what investors are missing
40:00 – Hyperbitcoinization, speculative attacks, and soft landings
45:00 – How adoption is accelerating asymmetrically across nations
50:00 – The ETF era: Collaborative custody and the path from convenience to sovereignty
55:00 – Have we peaked in self-custody? UX, education, and generational change
58:00 – Is bitcoin’s freedom money inevitable — and what are the real threats ahead?
1:02:00 – Quantum computing, Satoshi’s coins, and the future of protocol resilience
1:03:00 – Where to find Pierre online and closing thoughts

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
 → Unchained X: https://x.com/unchained 
 → Unchained LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom 
 → Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter
 → Pierre Rochard’s Twitter: https://x.com/BitcoinPierre 
 → Timot Lamarre’s Twitter: https://x.com/TimotLamarre 

Marty Bent is a bitcoin investor, media founder, and host of TFTC — one of the longest-running bitcoin podcasts. He’s also a managing partner at Ten31, supporting companies building critical bitcoin infrastructure. Marty is uniquely positioned at the intersection of bitcoin, energy, and now artificial intelligence.
In this episode, Marty joins The Bitcoin Frontier to share how AI is transforming the bitcoin ecosystem, how his team at TFTC is leveraging it to streamline media production, and how it’s fueling his latest creative projects. We dig into how he built Opportunity Cost, why AI drives decentralization in mining, and how bitcoiners can use these tools to stay ahead of the curve.

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→ Book a free call with a bitcoin expert: https://unchained.com/consultation?ut...

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Intro & why bitcoin and AI are converging faster than anyone expected
2:00 – Marty’s projects: TFTC, Ten31, and bitcoin mining
5:00 – The evolution of TFTC and what the rebrand to “Truth for the Commoner” means
8:30 – How the team integrates AI tools across research, writing, and production
12:00 – From Perplexity to Claude: learning to use AI as a research assistant
15:00 – Automating TFTC’s backend workflows with AI and no-code tools
18:00 – Clipping, editing, and distribution: using AI for speed and quality
23:00 – Building Opportunity Cost: turning fiat prices into sats in your browser
27:00 – Why open-source and privacy-preserving design still matter
30:00 – The birth of AI-generated storytelling
33:00 – Storyboarding, JSON prompts, and producing viral AI bitcoin videos
38:00 – The Trojan horse approach: spreading bitcoin ideas through culture
46:00 – Bitcoin and AI’s overlap: how energy demand is driving decentralization
50:00 – Paying for compute with bitcoin and why eCash may win
55:00 – AI, energy, and the physical limits of growth
58:00 – How bitcoin founders are using AI to build faster and cheaper
1:00:00 – Practical advice: using AI without compromising your craft or security
1:01:30 – Where to follow Marty and watch his latest creations

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
→ Unchained X: https://x.com/unchained
→ Unchained LinkedIn: / unchainedcom 
→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter
→ Marty Bent’s Twitter: https://x.com/MartyBent
→ Trey Seller’s Twitter: https://x.com/ts_hodl 

James Check (aka Checkmate) is the co-founder of Checkonchain and one of the leading voices making onchain data accessible for everyday bitcoiners. Known for his ability to turn complex charts into compelling stories, James blends his engineering background with market analysis to help people see human behavior imprinted in bitcoin’s ledger. In this episode, James joins The Bitcoin Frontier to share why realized cap is one of the most powerful adoption metrics, how to interpret profit and loss across holders, and what onchain data is saying about the current cycle. We dig into the role of ETFs and treasury companies, the impact of derivatives on market structure, and why the future of onchain analytics remains deeply human.

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→ Book a free call with a bitcoin expert: https://unchained.com/consultation?ut...

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Intro & why onchain data matters for bitcoin
1:30 – Buying the 2017 top, engineering background & finding bitcoin
4:50 – Realized cap, cost basis, and why it just crossed $1T
7:30 – From civil engineering to onchain analysis
10:00 – Orange pill moments, macro influences, and early metrics
12:40 – Human behavior, fear & greed mapped onchain
15:00 – Turning raw data into stories people understand
18:00 – State of the market in 2025: leverage, ETFs, and demand
22:00 – Cycles, late-stage dynamics & institutional flows
26:00 – Rethinking market cycles: the three-cycle structure
31:00 – Sell-side pressure, hodlers, and ETF dynamics
35:00 – Are ETFs and treasury companies changing onchain analysis?
40:00 – Profit, loss, and building decision frameworks for different price scenarios
46:00 – Key support zones: 110K, 90K, and Sailor’s liquidation line
49:00 – Derivatives, ETFs, and how flows shape volatility
54:00 – Risks of leverage, banks entering, and future fireworks
58:00 – Rapid fire: desert island metrics, entry point for retail, and data wish list
1:02:00 – The Australian bitcoin community & grassroots conferences
1:05:30 – The future of onchain analytics, AI, and Checkonchain’s next report

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
→ Unchained X: https://x.com/unchained
→ Unchained LinkedIn:   / unchainedcom 
→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter
→ James Check’s Twitter: https://x.com/_Checkmatey_
→ Connor Dolan’s Twitter:

Rob Warren is Head of Research and Education at Bitcoin Park and the author of The Bitcoin Miners Almanac. He brings a unique ability to explain the economic incentives of bitcoin mining in a way that makes sense across industries and expertise. In this episode, Rob joins The Bitcoin Frontier to share how bitcoin’s incentive structure creates resilience, why mining is misunderstood but critical, and how energy markets and bitcoin naturally align. We dig into the history of mining and the difficulty adjustment, the realities of mining pools and decentralization, and the surprising ways bitcoin miners are accelerating global electrification.

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Intro & Rob’s role at Bitcoin Park
2:30 – From home mining experiments to Riot Platforms and Bitcoin Park
5:00 – Why Rob wrote The Bitcoin Miners Almanac
8:10 – The three essentials of mining: energy, cooling, and connectivity
9:30 – The brilliance of the difficulty adjustment
13:00 – Satoshi’s hard cap and why it broke economic orthodoxy
20:30 – How incentives keep miners aligned, even without ideology
24:00 – The “security budget” debate and what it misses
29:00 – Mining economics: liabilities, waste energy, and heat as an asset
31:00 – Flare gas, hydro, and turning liabilities into profitable inputs
37:00 – Gridless and bitcoin’s role in electrifying rural Africa
43:00 – AI superclusters and their overlap with bitcoin mining
49:00 – The history of mining pools and how Slush solved variance
56:00 – Difficulty, shares, and how pools account for work
1:02:00 – Centralization risks, hidden white-labeling, and Ocean’s model
1:11:00 – Bitcoin’s anti-fragility and the long-tail theory
1:18:00 – Adoption as a 140-year game, not a 5-year scheme
1:21:40 – Where to find Rob and upcoming Bitcoin Park summits

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
→ Unchained X: / unchained
→ Unchained LinkedIn: / unchainedcom
→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter
→ Rob Warren’s Twitter: https://x.com/BikesandBitcoin
→ Timot Lamarre’s Twitter: https://x.com/TimotLamarre

In this episode, Tuur joins The Bitcoin Frontier to talk about his latest report, How to Position for the Bitcoin Boom (2025 Edition). He share why he believes the 2025 bitcoin cycle will be longer than past cycles, why confiscation risk should be taken seriously, and how bitcoin treasury companies could reshape global adoption. We dig into stagflation, institutional adoption, and how to approach investing not only in bitcoin but also in bitcoin-native companies.

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→ Learn more about Unchained: https://unchained.com/?utm_source=you...
→ Book a free call with a bitcoin expert: https://unchained.com/consultation?ut...

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Disclaimer & intro
1:00 – Why Tuur released his latest report mid-cycle
3:00 – Longer bitcoin cycles and why 2021 was an anomaly
5:00 – The institutional cycle and bitcoin as an escape hatch
6:30 – Long-term holders, conviction, and whale behavior
8:00 – Risks to bitcoin: liquidations, hacks, confiscation, and more
10:00 – Government stakes, Intel, and parallels to ETFs and MicroStrategy
15:00 – Custody risk, avoiding low-hanging fruit, and the importance of self-custody
18:00 – Politics, legitimacy, and bitcoin as a reserve asset
19:30 – Macro outlook: dollar weakness, stagflation, and commodities
23:00 – Why money printing is inevitable and lessons from Latin America
29:00 – The “gradually, then suddenly” moment in markets
31:00 – Bitcoin treasury companies, ETFs, and adoption dynamics
35:00 – Consolidation, risks, and differences between ETFs and strategy companies
40:00 – Investing in bitcoin companies vs bitcoin itself: diligence, timing, geography
47:00 – Example: Anchorwatch and the importance of insurance for bitcoin custody
49:00 – Philosophy: bitcoin as a side quest and avoiding idolatry
53:00 – Swords into plowshares: virtue, stewardship, and technology for good

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
→ Unchained X: / unchained
→ Unchained LinkedIn: / unchainedcom
→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter
→ Tuur Demeester's Twitter: https://x.com/TuurDemeester
→ Connor Dolan’s Twitter: https://x.com/conhodlan

Roberto Rios, known online as Peruvian Bull, is a macro researcher and writer. He’s best known for his Dollar Endgame series, where he explores global debt dynamics, reserve currency shifts, and the future of money. In this episode, Roberto joins The Bitcoin Frontier to share his insights on inflation mechanics, the breakdown of the yen carry trade, and how bitcoin fits into the global monetary reset. We dig into debt spirals, Triffin’s dilemma, and why liquidity is the ultimate driver of financial markets.

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→ Learn more about Unchained: https://unchained.com/?utm_source=you...

→ Book a free call with a bitcoin expert: https://unchained.com/consultation?ut...

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – How QE, deficits, and government spending really drive inflation
4:00 – Roberto’s background, macro research journey, and Dollar Endgame series
7:30 – Separating truth from propaganda in economics education
12:00 – QE in 2010 vs. 2020: why one caused inflation and the other didn’t
16:00 – The 2022 rate hike cycle, liquidity drains, and banking crises
20:30 – Reverse repo, TGA, and creative liquidity injections
25:00 – Why global liquidity is the best barometer for bitcoin’s price
31:00 – Triffin’s dilemma and the birth of the dollar system
37:00 – Foreigners owning US assets and the long-term risk to Americans
43:00 – The simulacrum of markets: why asset prices detach from reality
46:00 – The US debt spiral and foreign demand for Treasuries
52:00 – Long-term debt risks, short-term bills, and emerging market dynamics
57:00 – Breakdown of the yen carry trade and why it matters globally
1:03:00 – Japan as a testing ground for future Federal Reserve policies
1:06:00 – How bitcoin solves Triffin’s dilemma and fits into the new order
1:09:00 – Where to follow Roberto and his Dollar Endgame research

WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
→ Unchained X: https://x.com/unchained
→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter
→ Trey Sellers’ Twitter: https://x.com/ts_hodl