In this episode of the Cantilever Podcast, Danny Perez is joined by partners Brendan and Jon to break down a rapidly shifting macro environment — and what it means for markets, Bitcoin, and venture capital.

Over the past month, traditional market signals have started to break. Equities are down, but bonds and gold — typically considered safe havens — are also selling off. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has held relatively steady. So what's really going on?

The team explores the idea of a "wartime macro" environment, where geopolitical conflict, rising energy prices, and constrained liquidity are reshaping how markets behave — and boxing in a Federal Reserve already navigating competing pressures on inflation and financial stability.

From there, the conversation shifts to venture capital. With AI driving massive efficiency gains and layoffs across major companies, the economics of building startups may be changing. If companies need fewer people and less capital to operate, what happens to the traditional venture model — and who's actually positioned for what comes next?

Topics covered: 

• Why bonds and gold aren't acting like safe havens
• Bitcoin's resilience in a risk-off environment
• How AI is reshaping capital allocation and hiring
• Why mid-stage VC may be structurally shrinking
• How Bitcoin-native startups have already been operating under these constraints for years.
  • Read the 2026 Bitcoin Ecosystem report by Epoch Ventures. Brendan and Jon co-authored the Bitcoin Venture Capital section, which you can find on pages 171 to 184.

The episode closes with a deeper question:
Are we still operating under the old playbook—or entering something entirely different?

This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

Bitcoin is down ~50% from its all-time high—and Cantilever’s not sweating it. In this episode, Danny, Brendan, and John break down why Bitcoin is being traded like “levered Nasdaq” in the short term, why tightening liquidity is the real driver behind the selloff, and why Bitcoin often acts as the tip of the spear in risk-off moments.

They also unpack gold’s surge as geopolitics push the world from unipolar to multipolar—and explain why gold can absorb sovereign-scale flows today while Bitcoin is still too small and too reflexive. Zooming out, they argue the Bitcoin thesis hasn’t changed: fixed supply, strong network security, growing rails, and long-term monetization still intact.

Finally, they address real risk—quantum computing—and why the biggest danger isn’t “quantum tomorrow,” but rushing a fix that breaks Bitcoin’s core properties.

This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

Bitcoin hit new all-time highs in 2025—then absorbed one of the largest liquidation events in crypto history and… didn’t break.

In this year-end conversation, Danny sits down with Cantilever partners Brendan Quinn and Jon to unpack what Bitcoin’s price action is actually telling us. From OG distribution and ETF-driven liquidity to Federal Reserve behavior, gold’s breakout, and why the four-year cycle narrative is fading, this episode reframes 2025 not as a disappointment—but as a stress test Bitcoin quietly passed.

We explore why Bitcoin’s pullback from ~$125K to the mid-$80Ks was driven by distribution, not failure; how ETFs absorbed systemic leverage without cascading damage; and what gold’s 2025 performance signals about liquidity and capital protection—not competition with Bitcoin.

The conversation also digs into Bitcoin’s technological edge over gold, why quantum risk is real but widely mispriced, and what 2026 could bring as consolidation, M&A, and institutional infrastructure accelerate.

This wasn’t a crisis.
It was maturation.

This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

This month, the Cantilever team tackles the macro forces shaping Bitcoin’s trajectory—starting with the newly passed GENIUS Act, which legalizes regulated stablecoin issuance backed by U.S. Treasuries. Brendan and Jon break down how this law is more than crypto-friendly—it’s geopolitically strategic.

We also explore:

• Why stablecoins are superior payment technology and a “Trojan horse” for dollar dominance
• The symbiotic relationship between stablecoin growth and Bitcoin demand
• How ETFs, in-kind redemptions, and treasury market fragility intersect
• The market’s misunderstanding of Bitcoin’s rise during high-interest rate environments
• A speculative but plausible future: BTC growth → stablecoin growth → treasury demand

This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

As Bitcoin weathers geopolitical tension and volatile markets, a growing number of companies are placing it at the center of their corporate strategy. In this episode, we spoke with Cantilever partners, Brendan Quinn and Jon Frisch  to unpack the rise of Bitcoin treasury companies — businesses whose primary goal is to accumulate Bitcoin as aggressively as possible.

They explore how MicroStrategy pioneered this movement, why MetaPlanet skyrocketed from $20 million to $6 billion in market cap, and what makes these companies so attractive to both retail and institutional investors. From capital market arbitrage to regulatory considerations across the U.S. and internationally, , the conversation dives into how this trend could reshape corporate finance — and what risks investors should watch for.

This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

March has been a month full of market noise, and Brendan Quinn and Jon Frisch are here to cut through it. In this episode, they dive into the historical context of global trade, analyzing how past economic shifts continue to shape today’s markets. They break down the impact of tariffs, exploring their role in trade wars, economic growth, and global power dynamics.

But the conversation doesn’t stop there. They tackle a bold question: Could Bitcoin one day back the U.S. dollar? With the enactment of the U.S. Bitcoin Reserve, such a move could redefine the global monetary order.

This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

Dave Rothschild returns to the show to break down the latest shifts in the U.S. regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies. As a partner at Cole-Frieman & Mallon, one of the nation’s leading investment management law firms, Dave offers expert insights on how the regulatory environment is evolving under the new administration.

The conversation covers major developments, including the repeal of SAB 121, the formation of a crypto task force, and the SEC’s new 10-point plan—which aims to clarify what qualifies as a security, provide guidance on lending and staking programs, and streamline token offerings. Dave explores how these changes signal a move from aggressive enforcement to a more proactive, investor-protective approach, creating a potentially favorable environment for crypto businesses and investors.

Connect with Dave:

LinkedIn: Dave Rothschild

Website: https://colefrieman.com/

Podcast: Tokens of Wisdom

This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

Cantilever Partners Brendan Quinn and Jon Frisch break down the macro impact of the new US administration on global markets, diving into inflation, Fed policy, and a surging dollar. They explore gold’s recent rally and concerns, and how Bitcoin’s digital utility sets it apart. They discuss MicroStrategy’s role in institutional adoption and the geopolitical chess match between the U.S. and China shaping global liquidity. Tune in for insights on how these forces are influencing Bitcoin, gold, and institutional strategies.

This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

On this episode, we’re joined by Matt Dines, co-founder and CIO/CFO of Build Asset Management, to explore Bitcoin’s evolving role in investment strategies. Matt shares his journey into Bitcoin and its potential as collateral for credit expansion, emphasizing its importance in preserving purchasing power amid rising US Treasury debt. He discusses the transition from traditional fiat systems to Bitcoin-backed credit, forecasting a $40 trillion credit expansion over the next decade. Matt also dives into the geopolitical shift from a unipolar to a multi-polar world and how Bitcoin could play a key role in diversifying reserve assets beyond the US dollar.

Connect with Matt:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdines/
X: @LeveredUSTs
Website: https://getbuilding.com/

This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

In our first episode of the new year, partners Brendan Quinn and Jon Frisch, set the stage for Bitcoin trends in 2025. Institutional adoption is finally here, fueled by the launch of Bitcoin ETFs—the vehicle Wall Street needed. Retail investors took Bitcoin from $0 to $2 trillion, but institutions could drive it to $10 trillion, rivaling gold. Companies and governments are now poised to be the largest BTC buyers. Credit is emerging as the vital bridge between traditional and digital finance. We also discuss the need to support entrepreneurs uncovering innovative solutions beyond the obvious.

Who Owns the Most Bitcoin 2025? - River 

Stone Ridge Investor Letter 2024

This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice.