Bitcoin did not rally in 2025, yet the foundations for the next decade were laid quietly and decisively. This conversation breaks down why ETFs ended the four-year cycle, how the global collateral crisis points toward bitcoin, and why AI-driven abundance makes fixed digital scarcity more valuable over time. It is a long-term, low-time preference discussion on where capital ultimately settles when incentives, regulation, and technology align.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Why bitcoin underperformed in 2025 but fundamentals strengthened

03:06 - Why the four-year bitcoin cycle is ending

05:17 - ETFs changed bitcoin’s market structure permanently

07:33 - How fast bitcoin adoption is really happening

10:13 - What if a bitcoin ETF launched in 2013?

12:18 - Strategic bitcoin reserves and unmet price expectations

15:12 - Why bitcoin supply no longer matters

17:44 - The global collateral crisis and why bitcoin solves it

23:32 - Larry Fink, ETFs, and financializing bitcoin

25:26 - The bamboo analogy for bitcoin’s next growth phase

28:50 - Why a US bitcoin reserve would trigger global adoption

36:19 - Liquidity, manufacturing, and a new economic cycle

40:14 - AI, abundance, and why scarcity makes bitcoin inevitable

47:27 - Bitcoin treasury companies, sentiment, and opportunity

57:57 - Why bitcoin reaching $10 million is plausible