Mentor Sessions Ep 095: Bob Burnett and Nacho Pauls of Ocean discuss Bitcoin mining decentralization, the BIP-110 chain split, hash rate flight, and Bitcoin Knots.

Bitcoin's first real hard fork just tested mining decentralization for real — and Ocean's hash rate dropped from roughly 40 exahash to 23 before clawing back. Bob Burnett (Barefoot Mining, Ocean chairman) and Nacho Pauls break down what actually happened when the chain split, why rented hash fled while owned hash stayed, and what the loss of Bitcoin Knots means for client diversity going forward.

You'll learn why the "template centralization" problem is still the core issue even after BIP-110 was resolved, how a non-KYC pool kept paying miners through the chaos, and why Bob argues Bitcoin needs 3 to 5 competing clients — drawing a direct parallel to how the PC industry standardized USB, PCI, and Bluetooth. You'll also get the honest story behind Ocean's high-profile team departures, who's stepping into the CTO and chairman roles, and why Bob calls the whole episode a "distraction" the community ultimately settled the right way.

Whether you run a node, stack sats, or care about who really controls Bitcoin's hash, this is a candid, insider conversation about mining, consensus, and what comes next.

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

0:41 - Hard Fork Fallout and What Happened

1:12 - Have Bob's Decentralization Views Shifted?

1:54 - Datum Templates and Decentralization Fix

3:25 - Ocean Hash Rate Drops From 40 to 23 EH

3:43 - Overcoming Defeatism Among Motivated Miners

4:11 - Nacho Explains Why Miners Left Then Returned

4:57 - Only Pool That Let Miners Choose

6:37 - Owned Hash Rate Versus Rented Hash

8:34 - True Cost of 15 EH Rented Hash

9:38 - Non-KYC Mining and Unknown Customers

10:50 - Why Large Miners Avoid Switching to Ocean

13:20 - Ocean's Jump to 30 EH and Path to 100

17:23 - Sponsor Break

18:50 - Team Drama and Key Departures

20:17 - Amicable Split With Departing Founders

22:01 - Jason Hughes Becomes CTO and Board Changes

23:28 - BIP-110 Debate and Your Hash Your Choice

33:15 - Bob's Personal Take on Departures

34:13 - Mistake of Treating BIP-110 as Crisis

38:39 - Community Consensus and Bitcoin's Strength

43:57 - Losing Bitcoin Knots Client Option

45:53 - Short Medium and Long Term Client Strategy

46:48 - Plea to Core on Extended Version Support

47:27 - Why Bitcoin Needs Three to Five Clients

48:32 - PC Industry Lessons on USB and PCI Standards

51:16 - Where to Follow Nacho and Bob

Guests mentioned: Bob Burnett (Barefoot Mining, Ocean), Nacho Pauls (Ocean), plus discussion of Luke DeWolf, Jason Hughes, and the Bitcoin Boomers.

🔗 Links & Resources:

• Ocean: https://ocean.xyz

• Bob Burnett on X: https://x.com/Boomer_BTC

• Nacho Pauls on X: https://x.com/NachoPauls

• BTC Sessions: https://btcsessions.ca

⚡Previous Episode:

Brent Johnson: https://youtu.be/UoIwpsOB9O0

🔔 Subscribe for weekly Bitcoin Podcasts

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/BTCSessions

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/theBTCmentor

⚡Sovereign Sessions — AI, Privacy, and Bitcoin education: http://youtube.com/@SovereignSessions?sub_confirmation=1

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#Bitcoin #BTC #BTCSessions #BitcoinMining #MiningDecentralization #BIP110 #BitcoinKnots #OceanPool #HashRate #BobBurnett #NachoPauls #HardFork #BarefootMining #ProofOfWork #SelfCustody

Mentor Sessions Ep 094: Brent Johnson explains the 2026 dollar outlook, the collapse of the rules-based order, Bessent's Treasury moves, and how AI and stablecoins entrench the US dollar.

The rules-based order that kept markets stable for 80 years is dying - and Brent Johnson explains what replaces it, why the US dollar gets STRONGER not weaker, and how AI and stablecoins entrench American power for decades.

Brent Johnson (Santiago Capital, Dollar Milkshake Theory) sits down for a wide-ranging conversation on the biggest structural shift in markets since World War Two. You'll learn why he thinks the American Republic could give way to an American empire, why Scott Bessent's Treasury buybacks matter more than the headlines suggest, and how passive management can turn a bond wobble into a full crisis. You'll see why he's concentrated in North America and the Western Hemisphere, why he calls the US-China relationship a "divorce," and why he refuses to bet against the US Treasury even as others call for the dollar's death. He also breaks down why AI is now a matter of national security, why stablecoins are structurally bullish for the dollar, and where Bitcoin fits in the emerging digital-asset order.

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:17 - Iran War and Dollar System Resilience

4:10 - Iran Conflict Pressure on Treasury Yields

5:41 - Rising Yields Create Global Collateral Strain

8:25 - Bessent Long-End Buybacks Explained

10:20 - Mike Green on Passive Bond Risks

11:48 - Rules-Based Order Has Ended

13:39 - Shift to America First Proactive Policy

17:31 - Signs the Rules-Based Order Is Dying

18:27 - Vance and Rubio Munich Security Speeches

21:41 - China Also Wants Strategic Divorce

23:26 - Multipolar World or US Remains Dominant

24:44 - American Republic Falls Into Empire

27:00 - Republic Versus Empire and Authoritarianism

31:07 - Positioning Portfolios Amid Geopolitical Chaos

33:28 - Building Fortress North America Strategy

35:19 - Canada US Relationship Realities

39:41 - Energy Trade War Leverage Analysis

44:16 - Bessent Druckenmiller Soros Trading Lineage

48:51 - Market Outlook Violently Sideways Year End

53:01 - AI Now National Security Priority

57:02 - AI Short Term Employment Risks

58:06 - Stablecoins Strengthen US Dollar Position

59:31 - Bitcoin Role Alongside Stablecoins

1:01:57 - Global Institutions Must Adapt Next

Brent Johnson's written research and weekly show "Milkshakes, Markets and Madness" are at Santiago Capital - links below.

🔗 Links & Resources:

• Santiago Capital research: https://research.santiagocapital.com/

• Brent Johnson on X: https://x.com/SantiagoAuFund

⚡Previous Episode:

Luke Gromen & Lyn Alden: https://youtu.be/xoAuuJyBg6E

🔔 Subscribe for weekly Bitcoin Podcasts

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/BTCSessions

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/theBTCmentor

⚡Sovereign Sessions — AI, Privacy, and Bitcoin education: http://youtube.com/@SovereignSessions?sub_confirmation=1

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💡BOOK Private Sessions with Nathan, Ben and the BTC Mentor Team: Master self-custody, hardware, multisig, Lightning, privacy, and more.

👉 Visit btcmentor.io

#AmericanEmpire #FortressNorthAmerica #FortressAmerica #RulesBasedOrder #BrentJohnson #DollarMilkshake #SantiagoCapital #USDollar #USD #ReserveCurrency #TreasuryMarket #Gold #Bitcoin #DigitalAssets #Stablecoins #Geopolitics #Hegemony #China #MacroEconomics #CapitalFlows #Multipolar #ScottBessent #AINationalSecurity #BTCSessions

Mentor Sessions 093: Luke Gromen and Lyn Alden explain the 2026 global bond market crisis, private credit risk, yield curve control, and Bitcoin and gold as safe havens.

The global bond market is bleeding out in slow motion, and the real danger is buried in private credit that insurance companies can't sell without going insolvent. Luke Gromen and Lyn Alden break down why the long end of the Treasury market is grinding higher, why Scott Bessent intervened before any visible crisis, and what happens when trillion-dollar balance sheets finally hit the sell button.

You'll learn why China is the one nation conspicuously absent from the sovereign debt rout, how AI-driven deflation is reshaping Chinese manufacturing, and why Gromen argues the U.S. now faces a "Weimar gold reparations" problem with true interest expense at 105% of receipts. You'll see why both guests believe rate hikes are no longer even a usable tool under fiscal dominance, how a Blackrock "one phone call" scenario could freeze $5 trillion in a crisis, and where Bitcoin and gold fit as bearer assets when markets get locked down. Alden makes the case for holding scarce assets and extra cash through the air pockets; Gromen explains why he trimmed Bitcoin and exactly when he'd aggressively buy it back.

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:12 - Treasury Event or Broader Sovereign Debt Crisis

1:34 - Why China Avoids the Global Bond Rout

2:00 - Hyperscalers Emerge as New Bond Vigilantes

3:41 - Path Leading to Yield Curve Control

4:15 - Why Chinese 10-Year Yields Hit Global Lows

6:00 - AI Driving Deflation in Chinese Manufacturing

10:17 - Orderly Bond Market Grind vs Sensationalized Crash

13:43 - The Dog That Didn't Bark in Bessent's Move

14:38 - Silent Crisis Brewing in Private Credit

15:38 - Insurance Insolvency Risk Triggers Treasury Sales

19:01 - Liquidity Versus Solvency in Private Funds

27:44 - Will Warsh Raise Rates This Cycle

29:43 - True Interest Expense Hits 105% of Receipts

33:43 - Rate Hikes Fail Against Fiscal Dominance

35:50 - Crack Spreads, Diesel and Physical Bottlenecks

37:37 - Wall Street Awakening to Fiscal Dominance

40:12 - BlackRock's $5 Trillion Lockdown Scenario

41:00 - Past the Point of No Return for Markets

45:47 - Non-Linear Reset Versus Slow Economic Spiral

50:19 - Physical Constraints in Beef and Refineries

54:05 - Gormen Adds Back Bitcoin After Selling

57:07 - Lyn Alden on Bitcoin and Gold Outlook

🔗 Links & Resources:

Lyn Alden: https://www.lynalden.com/

Luke Gromen: https://fftt-llc.com/

⚡Previous Episodes:

Michael Sullivan: https://youtu.be/wp5IYzcThUo

Tom Luongo: https://youtu.be/zkvdfR7LTuU

🔔 Subscribe for weekly Bitcoin Podcasts

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/BTCSessions

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/theBTCmentor

⚡Sovereign Sessions — AI, Privacy, and Bitcoin education: http://youtube.com/@SovereignSessions?sub_confirmation=1

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💡BOOK Private Sessions with Nathan, Ben and the BTC Mentor Team: Master self-custody, hardware, multisig, Lightning, privacy, and more.

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#BTCSessions #Bitcoin #BTC #LukeGromen #LynAlden #BondMarket #Treasury #FederalReserve #InterestRates #YieldCurveControl #PrivateCredit #FiscalDominance #SovereignDebt #USDollar #Inflation #Gold #ChinaEconomy #Japan #MacroFinance #MacroEconomics #BitcoinEducation #BitcoinPodcast #BitcoinInterview #GlobalEconomy

Mentor Sessions 092: Michael Sullivan explains Bitcoin sentiment analysis, emotional cohort signals, OG optimism, narrative shifts, and why the data may point to a bottom.

Bitcoin sentiment just did something it rarely does after a 22% rip: it stayed calm. No euphoria, no desire spike, no retail flooding back — and that gap between the price move and the emotional data is where the real signal lives.

Michael Sullivan — an engineer and fiction writer turned Bitcoin sentiment analyst — breaks down how he tracks 14 distinct emotions across cohorts of Bitcoiners, from OGs and technologists to MSTR treasury speculators. You'll learn why he cohorts the crowd instead of scraping social media, why the Fear & Greed Index misses all the nuance, and why he reads OG optimism as one of the most reliable early signals that positive things are on the horizon. You'll see why 'desire' language sits inversely correlated with price, why the near-total absence of a new narrative can be wildly bullish near a bottom, and how the BIP-110 debate produced algorithmic engagement patterns that looked artificially farmed. He also lays out the AI-bubble-to-Bitcoin thesis and why he's personally bearish by instinct but bullish on the data.

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

0:38 - Why this rally feels like disbelief

1:09 - Massive sentiment phase shift after crash

2:01 - Rally lacks expected euphoria levels

3:05 - Tracking caring language in ColdCard event

3:58 - Technologists impressed most during crisis

5:12 - Studying Saylor's four Bitcoin cohorts

6:33 - MSTR shareholders as conviction outlier

7:18 - OG optimism as reliable bullish signal

7:59 - Are OGs turning optimistic now

9:56 - Emotions linked to time and excitement

11:40 - Downturn negative language uniquely severe

12:40 - Desire language at market tops and bottoms

16:52 - How language analysis became his focus

19:11 - BIP-110 debate through psychology lens

21:09 - Algorithmic engagement that felt farmed

26:55 - AI bots distorting sentiment data

29:47 - Spotting leaders and narrative first movers

32:56 - Narratives shaping markets and price

34:37 - Absence of narrative as bullish signal

36:42 - Does price or emotion move first

40:03 - AI deflation versus Bitcoin scarcity thesis

40:30 - Euphoria missing at prior all-time high

45:17 - Bitcoiners versus treasury company speculators

50:07 - Conviction language versus hedging explained

54:03 - Denoising sarcasm with cohort analysis

59:31 - Signals needed to confirm bearish view

1:00:06 - Data pointing bullish over coming months

1:02:10 - Where to follow Michael's latest work

Michael writes deep analysis on Bitcoin sentiment and shares it on X and Substack — links below.

🔗 Links & Resources:

https://x.com/SullyMichaelvan

⚡Previous Episode - Tom Luongo: https://youtu.be/zkvdfR7LTuU

🔔 Subscribe for weekly Bitcoin Podcasts

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/BTCSessions

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/theBTCmentor

⚡Sovereign Sessions — AI, Privacy, and Bitcoin education: http://youtube.com/@SovereignSessions?sub_confirmation=1

💡BOOK Private Sessions with Nathan, Ben and the BTC Mentor Team: Master self-custody, hardware, multisig, Lightning, privacy, and more.

👉 Visit btcmentor.io

⚡ POWERED by Abundant Mines: Fully managed Bitcoin mining. Learn more at https://qrco.de/bgYKPB

⚡ Sponsored by BITCOIN WELL: Best Place to BUY & SELL BITCOIN

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#Bitcoin #BitcoinSentiment #BTCSessions #BTC #MarketPsychology #MichaelSullivan #DisbeliefRally #BitcoinRally #BitcoinBottom #BitcoinCohorts #BitcoinOG #CryptoPsychology #FearAndGreed #NarrativeShifts #OnChainAnalysis #BitcoinAnalysis #CryptoSentiment #BitcoinTwitter #SelfCustody #BitcoinTreasury #MSTR #StackSats #BIP110 #BitcoinInterview

Mentor Sessions Ep. 091: Tom Luongo explains the 2026 currency war, Scott Bessent's yen bomb, oil collateral, European bond squeeze, and the US Treasury buyback plan.

The previously most powerful people in the world are now price takers, not price makers — and Tom Luongo walks through exactly how Scott Bessent flipped that switch. Global markets just witnessed a structural break in the European bond trade, and almost nobody saw the mechanism behind it.

In this conversation, Tom Luongo and Nathan break down the currency war unfolding across the FX and bond markets: how Bessent 'bombed the yen' by selling euros instead of dollars, why the euro-yen cross froze the moment Operation Epic Fury began, and how Iranian oil loadings were being used as collateral to fuel the short-yen, short-Treasury trade. You'll learn why the US Treasury buyback expansion is a signal and not QE, how the German Bund fits into Europe's alleged default-and-consolidate endgame, and what John Ratcliffe's open trip to Moscow may be telegraphing. You'll also hear Luongo's falsifiable macro thesis — where the 30-year yield goes next, and what it means for gold, silver and Bitcoin.

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

0:44 - Bessent's Moves on Yen and Euro

1:27 - Shifting From Kinetic to Economic Siege

3:06 - The Yen Carry Trade That Shouldn't Exist

4:42 - Bessent Blew It Up Selling Euros

8:26 - Euro-Yen Cross Freezes After Iran Strikes

8:49 - Iranian Oil Used as Trade Collateral

11:17 - Traders Trapped After Buying Oil Breakout

12:59 - How Bessent Scans 270 Markets for Signals

18:05 - Treasury Buyback Expansion Details

22:04 - Defending the 5.25 Percent Yield Level

23:31 - Buyback Limit Is Just a Market Signal

27:15 - Europe's Default and ECB Consolidation Plan

28:45 - Financial Warfare and Carney's Trade War

29:40 - Abundant Mines Sponsor

33:20 - Banks Trading With Iran Cut From Dollars

38:01 - US Taxpayers Funding Global Financial Chaos

41:24 - Is the Budget Deficit Really Shrinking

45:17 - China Iran Canada Oil and Banking Links

47:46 - Why Ratcliffe Is Meeting Russia in Moscow

50:54 - BRICS as Hedge Not Dollar Replacement

53:33 - Gold Silver Bitcoin Surge Explained

55:20 - Pushing the Long End of Yields Lower

59:00 - Key Markets to Watch Through Election

1:00:14 - Reading the Charts That Actually Matter

1:01:16 - Luongo's Falsifiable Macro Thesis

1:02:38 - Where to Follow Tom Luongo

Tom Luongo publishes his macro analysis and the Gold, Goats 'n Guns newsletter — links below.

⚡Previous Episode - Jeff Booth & Scott Melker: https://youtu.be/J7ze_lMKbZM

🔗 Links & Resources:

• Tom Luongo on X: https://x.com/TFL1728

• Gold Goats 'n Guns blog: https://tomluongo.me

🔔 Subscribe for weekly Bitcoin Podcasts

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/BTCSessions

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/theBTCmentor

⚡Sovereign Sessions — AI, Privacy, and Bitcoin education: http://youtube.com/@SovereignSessions?sub_confirmation=1

💡BOOK Private Sessions with Nathan, Ben and the BTC Mentor Team: Master self-custody, hardware, multisig, Lightning, privacy, and more.

👉 Visit btcmentor.io

⚡ POWERED by Abundant Mines: Fully managed Bitcoin mining. Learn more at https://qrco.de/bgYKPB

#Bitcoin #ScottBessent #TomLuongo #Gold #Iran #MarkCarney #BondMarket #USTreasury #YenCarryTrade #CurrencyWar #FinancialWarfare #GlobalMacro #DollarSystem #Geopolitics #BTCSessions #OilCollateral #EuroDefault #GermanBund #KevinWarsh #Silver

Mentor Sessions Ep. 090: Jeff Booth and Scott Melker discuss Bitcoin adoption, ETF co-opting, the AI bubble, self-custody risk after the ColdCard hack, and the debt reset.

Wall Street, the ETFs, and the treasury companies are making every attempt to co-opt Bitcoin — and Jeff Booth and Scott Melker explain why that capture attempt may be exactly what Bitcoin needs to survive. The $350 trillion global debt pile is already insolvent, the AI bubble is still inflating, and self-custody just took a brutal reality check after the ColdCard fallout.

In this conversation you'll learn why Booth believes the existing system and Bitcoin cannot coexist over the long run, why he feels "incredible" even as price bleeds, and how the messy financialization of Bitcoin through institutions still funnels people toward spot self-custody. You'll hear Melker's honest read on adoption — that when arguments come down to "rolling dice for entropy," we are nowhere near mainstream — and Booth's thesis on why AI CapEx can never be paid back when the marginal cost of a line of code is zero. You'll also get a candid post-mortem on hardware wallet security, why "don't trust, verify" broke down for thousands of users, and what a new generation of self-custody solutions might look like.

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

0:54 - Scott on adoption and why Bitcoin is strongest yet

3:08 - Did Covid pull forward Bitcoin demand like credit?

5:20 - Jeff Booth's first-principles case: $350T of insolvent debt

7:33 - Why Bitcoin and the centralizing system can't coexist

8:33 - If they can't kill it, they have to co-opt it

9:04 - Where each of us chooses to put our energy

11:44 - Does financialization actually risk decentralization?

12:11 - Scott's 2026 tweet on Bitcoin being co-opted

15:22 - Sticky narratives and gaining exposure to Bitcoin

15:49 - Scott's personal path from altcoins to Bitcoin

17:39 - Jeff on watching thousands make the same transition

18:14 - The rational actor trapped inside the system

22:32 - The abundance of deflation and killing the price story

26:07 - Ad: Abundant Mines

27:03 - What Wall Street friends really think of Bitcoin

28:09 - The ColdCard hack hits the Bloomberg terminal

30:09 - Will people flee to qualified custodians and ETFs?

31:11 - How far along the self-custody journey are we really?

33:05 - Rolling dice for entropy and the honesty test

35:47 - Self-custody as an active, ongoing responsibility

39:10 - How would you tell a beginner to custody Bitcoin in 2026?

40:42 - The brutal and beautiful side of the Bitcoin community

45:35 - Testing your recovery: move it, back it up, verify

47:13 - New private federation and settlement security models

48:41 - Scott's view of the AI markets and the coming bubble pop

51:26 - Jeff on marginal cost of code, why everything goes to free

55:14 - Orange juice, private equity, and moving businesses into Bitcoin

57:22 - Where to follow Scott and Jeff

🔗 Links & Resources:

• Follow Scott Melker on X: https://x.com/scottmelker

• Follow Jeff Booth: https://jeffbooth.com

🔔 Subscribe for weekly Bitcoin Podcasts

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/BTCSessions

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/theBTCmentor

⚡Sovereign Sessions — AI, Privacy, and Bitcoin education: http://youtube.com/@SovereignSessions?sub_confirmation=1

💡BOOK Private Sessions with Nathan, Ben and the BTC Mentor Team: Master self-custody, hardware, multisig, Lightning, privacy, and more.

👉 Visit btcmentor.io

⚡ POWERED by Abundant Mines: Fully managed Bitcoin mining. Learn more at https://qrco.de/bgYKPB

#Bitcoin #BTC #BTCSessions #JeffBooth #ScottMelker #BitcoinSelfCustody #ColdCardHack #AIBubble #DebtCrisis #BitcoinETF #SoundMoney #FinalReset #BitcoinAdoption #Deflation #HardwareWallet #BitcoinInterview #BitcoinOnly #SelfCustody #BitcoinPrivacy #FreeMarket #BitcoinNodes #MacroBitcoin #BitcoinCooption #DecentralizedMoney #WoldOfAllStreets

Mentor Sessions Ep. 089: Bitcoin hardware wallet makers Zach Herbert, Tomas Susanka and Drew Fischer discuss the Coldcard hack, multi-sig, entropy and self-custody security.

The Coldcard hack was the single biggest blow to Bitcoin self-custody yet — so four rival hardware wallet makers sat down together to figure out what it means for everyone holding their own keys. This is the conversation the industry needed.

Zach Herbert (Foundation Passport), Tomas Susanka (Trezor), Drew Fischer (Blockstream Jade) and Seed from the SeedSigner team break down the fallout: what the vulnerability actually exposed, why open source alone wasn't the safety net people assumed, and the entropy/dice-roll debate that split the panel. You'll learn why multi-vendor multi-sig is emerging as the strongest defense, how entropy is really generated on these devices, and the honest trade-offs between usability and security. You'll also hear the fresh news on the Trezor fulfillment-partner data leak (disclosed August 10, 2026) and what to do if you're worried about shipping and privacy.

This is a rare, candid roundtable where competitors disagree openly — and that dialog is exactly what makes it worth your time.

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

0:56 - Four wallet makers respond to Coldcard hack

1:58 - Ben's question on self-custody downstream effects

3:02 - Zach on short-term setback and great hardening

6:19 - Tomas on AI helping attackers and defenders

8:44 - Drew on custodians, ETFs and verify don't trust

10:30 - SeedSigner on entropy sources and multi-sig

13:11 - Usability versus security trade-off debate

17:20 - Should self-custody be made harder not easier

18:56 - Dice rolls versus RNG entropy disagreement

22:16 - Zach on how many people actually self-custody

26:14 - Priorities when choosing a hardware wallet

29:01 - Security as a journey not a destination

33:03 - Sponsor: Abundant Mines

36:00 - Why multi-vendor multi-sig should be the goal

41:25 - Source available versus fully open source explained

47:34 - Open source as required but not sufficient

51:11 - How to know if a wallet is actually safe

56:57 - Trezor fulfillment data leak disclosed August 10

1:03:49 - Private device purchases and local meetups

1:06:01 - Where to find each project online

🔗 Links & Resources:

→ SeedSigner: https://seedsigner.com

→ Foundation Passport: https://foundation.xyz/

→ Trezor: https://trezor.io

→ Blockstream Jade: https://blockstream.com/jade

🔔 Subscribe for weekly Bitcoin Podcasts

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/BTCSessions

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/theBTCmentor

⚡Sovereign Sessions — AI, Privacy, and Bitcoin education: http://youtube.com/@SovereignSessions?sub_confirmation=1

💡BOOK Private Sessions with Nathan, Ben and the BTC Mentor Team: Master self-custody, hardware, multisig, Lightning, privacy, and more.

👉 Visit btcmentor.io

⚡ POWERED by Abundant Mines: Fully managed Bitcoin mining. Learn more at https://qrco.de/bgYKPB

#Bitcoin #BTC #BTCSessions #BitcoinSelfCustody #ColdCard #ColdcardHack #BitcoinHack #HardwareWallet #MultiSig #SeedSigner #Trezor #Passport #BlockstreamJade #BitcoinSecurity #NotYourKeys #ZachHerbert #TomasSusanka

Mentor Sessions Ep. 088: Parker Lewis explains the hidden risks of Bitcoin treasury companies, perpetual preferred equity, market premiums, and Bitcoin as money.

Bitcoin treasury companies were sold as a smarter way to own Bitcoin. Parker Lewis argues the premiums are a mispricing of risk that will flip to a discount.

In this deep dive, Parker Lewis (author of Gradually, Then Suddenly) breaks down why any treasury company trading at a premium to the Bitcoin it holds is mispricing risk, why perpetual preferred equity is effectively lending fiat forever with no credit protections, and why the whole structure resembles a game of musical chairs. You'll learn how the double-tax corporate structure quietly erodes shareholder value, why $65,000 could buy you a full Bitcoin or only half a share's worth at peak premium, and how the market gets better at pricing this risk over time. You'll also hear why calling Bitcoin "not money" is the deeper problem beneath the marketing — and what that means for long-term holders of Strategy, Strive, and similar products.

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:07 - Parker Lewis on Bitcoin Treasury Risks

1:42 - Self-Custody vs Treasury Company Tradeoffs

4:01 - Premiums Represent Mispriced Risk in Treasuries

5:18 - Why Strive Trades at Larger Premium Than Strategy

6:58 - Premiums Will Flip to Discounts Over Time

7:15 - Problems With Perpetual Preferred Equity Structures

9:13 - You Never Lose Principal in Preferred Equity

10:29 - Unpacking the Backed by Bitcoin Claim

12:26 - Tail Risk and Musical Chairs in Preferreds

14:01 - Products Remain Tied to Bitcoin Volatility

18:46 - Perpetual Preferred Means Lending Forever in Fiat

20:41 - Stretch and Strive Trading Below Par Value

23:09 - Strategy Volatility and Investors Touching Hot Stove

33:30 - Abundant Mines Hosting Sponsor

34:25 - Management Risk and Key Man Concerns

36:52 - Double Tax Structure in Corporate Bitcoin Holdings

41:13 - Treasury Companies vs Bitcoin ETF Differences

46:50 - Bitcoin Market Dwarfs Any Single Stock

48:07 - Greater Fool Theory and GBTC Parallel

1:00:01 - Holding Treasury Stocks at a Discount

1:00:43 - Incentives Behind Treasury Company Messaging

1:12:33 - Bitcoin Is Not Money Framing Problem

1:15:41 - Where to Follow Parker Lewis

Parker Lewis references his book Gradually, Then Suddenly (free online at the Nakamoto Institute), Saifedean Ammous's The Bitcoin Standard, and his work at Zaprite.

🔗 Links & Resources:

→ Follow Parker Lewis on X: https://x.com/parkeralewis

→ Gradually, Then Suddenly: https://graduallythensuddenly.xyz/

→ Zaprite (Bitcoin payments): https://zaprite.com

→ Nakamoto Institute (free Bitcoin literature): https://nakamotoinstitute.org

🔔 Subscribe for weekly Bitcoin Podcasts

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/BTCSessions

🐦 Follow on X: https://x.com/theBTCmentor

⚡Sovereign Sessions — AI, Privacy, and Bitcoin education: http://youtube.com/@SovereignSessions?sub_confirmation=1

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Mentor Sessions Ep. 087: Simon Dixon breaks down the Coldcard hack, BIP-110 chain split fallout, node vs miner power, and Bitcoin self-custody security in 2026.

PART 1: Simon Dixon & Doomberg - https://youtu.be/Q0P0X7j_kcA

Over $100 million in Bitcoin vanished in the Coldcard entropy bug — and days later a chain split ended with the nodes defeated and Bitcoin more centralized than before. Simon Dixon joins Nathan to trace what really happened.

This is the deep-dive follow-up to the Doomberg conversation. You'll learn why Simon now treats every incident as an attack "guilty until proven innocent," how the BIP-110 resistance became the most successful node mobilization since the block size war yet still failed to move the mining pools, and why he refuses to die on a hill that ends in an altcoin. You'll see how the Coldcard low-entropy vulnerability, Zeus, Boltz and BTCPay attacks fit one pattern, and hear a clear framework for rebuilding your self-custody with dice-rolled entropy, multisig, and active participation. Simon and Nathan also unpack developer centralization, the loss of Knots as a competing implementation, and why sovereignty is proof of work you can't outsource.

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

0:24 - Resuming After Doomberg Discussion

0:55 - Infrastructure Attacks on Coldcard and Others

1:32 - BIP-110 and Resulting Chain Split

1:50 - UASF and Block Size War History

2:50 - Tether Fees and Scaling Debates

4:02 - Barry Silbert and SegWit2x Deal

4:51 - Nodes Defeating Miners in Past Wars

6:02 - Role Reversal With Core Changes

7:35 - Running Knots to Support Resistance

8:20 - Developer Centralization Concerns Rise

10:14 - BIP-110 Failure and Altcoin Stance

11:39 - Knots Node Adoption Surge to 20%

12:08 - Infiltration Risks and Verification

12:54 - Can Node Minority Influence Miners

14:19 - Consensus Changes Remain Extremely Difficult

17:16 - More Centralized Yet Wiser After Events

18:13 - Social Fallout Losing Ocean and Knots

22:15 - Check Ego and Welcome Others Back

25:21 - Stay Suspicious While Shaking Hands

27:34 - Abundant Mines Mining Hosting

28:29 - Coldcard Low Entropy Bug Details

30:16 - Hack Impact on Bitcoin Purists

31:36 - Difficulty Spending Stolen Bitcoin

32:37 - Fed Recruitment via Stolen Coins

33:23 - Learn Entropy and Generate Secure Keys

36:03 - Assume Attack and Identify Beneficiaries

37:44 - Self Custody Sovereignty Comes at Cost

39:55 - Bitcoin Requires Active Participation

43:37 - Coordinated Message in All Attacks

45:14 - Final Advice Skepticism and Focus

🔗 Links & Resources

→ Simon Dixon on X: https://x.com/SimonDixonTwitt

This is part one — subscribe so you don't miss part two where we go deep on the Bitcoin infrastructure attacks.

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👉 Visit btcmentor.io

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#Bitcoin #BTC #BTCSessions #SimonDixon #BIP110 #ColdCard #SelfCustody #BitcoinKnots #NodeRunning #LightningNetwork #BitcoinSovereignty #BlockSizeWar #HardwareWallet #DontTrustVerify #BitcoinHack #BitcoinFork #HardFork

Mentor Sessions Ep. 086: Doomberg and Simon Dixon break down oil markets, the Strait of Hormuz, the end of globalism, Bitcoin centralization, and Michael Saylor's Strategy.

The forever war is quietly reaching its endgame, the dollar is set to weaken hard over the next decade, and Bitcoin was attacked from every direction at once — Doomberg and Simon Dixon unpack what real capital already knows.

In this deep macro conversation you'll learn why oil never hit $150 and what the sub-$90 Brent price is actually signaling, why the Strait of Hormuz is a card Iran can only play once, and how China may have already won without firing a shot. You'll see Simon Dixon lay out what MicroStrategy's Strategy is really built for — funneling as much Bitcoin as possible into Coinbase and Fidelity — and why holding shares instead of coins makes Bitcoin weaker. You'll also hear a self-described no-coiner and gold bug explain exactly why he'd still tell you to get long Bitcoin as the Western financial system unwinds. This is part one of two.

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:36 - Doomberg and Simon Dixon on Global Shifts

2:07 - Shipping Choke Points Unwind Globalism

5:10 - Western Media Propaganda Exposed

8:14 - How Media Gets Captured by Power

12:13 - Real Purpose of Ukraine and Middle East Wars

22:38 - Biggest Empire Change in Our Lifetime

25:18 - Why Everything Depends on Beijing

28:35 - West Captured by Financial Industrial Complex

39:43 - Reading Oil Gold and Bond Markets

45:17 - Is Blackrock Weaker Than Its Reputation

53:25 - Building Mental Models for Information Overload

59:23 - What Energy Markets Are Really For

1:06:13 - Why Oil Below $90 Risks Greater War

1:09:07 - Real Capital Knows the Deal Is Coming

1:16:34 - Coldcard Hack and Contested Bitcoin Fork

1:17:50 - Doomberg on Bitcoin Encryption Vulnerabilities

1:24:00 - Self Custody Custody Risk and Sovereignty

1:36:24 - Michael Saylor Willingness to Sell Bitcoin

1:39:52 - What Strategy Is Built to Achieve

1:48:54 - Where to Find Doomberg and Simon Dixon

Mentioned in this episode: Doomberg's forthcoming book on analysis and mental models, Simon Dixon's book "Game of Money," abundant mines hosting, and BTC Mentor for secure self-custody setup.

🔗 Links & Resources

→ Doomberg: https://doomberg.com

→ Simon Dixon on X: https://x.com/SimonDixonTwitt

⚡Sovereign Sessions — AI, Privacy, and Bitcoin education: http://youtube.com/@SovereignSessions?sub_confirmation=1💡BOOK Private Sessions with Nathan, Benn and the BTC Mentor Team: Master self-custody, hardware, multisig, Lightning, privacy, and more. 👉 Visit btcmentor.io ⚡ POWERED by Abundant Mines: Fully managed Bitcoin mining. Learn more at https://qrco.de/bgYKPB

#Bitcoin #BTC #BTCSessions #SimonDixon #Doomberg #MichaelSaylor #Geopolitics #SelfCustody #Globalism #OilMarkets #Gold #StraitOfHormuz #MicroStrategy #Coldcard #SoundMoney #Oil #energymarket

Mentor Sessions Ep. 085: Dr. Peter McCullough explains Fauci's diary, COVID-19 lab origins, mRNA vaccine safety, spike protein persistence, and the biopharma complex.

600,000 Americans may have died from COVID vaccine complications — more than the virus itself, according to Dr. Peter McCullough — and Fauci just pleaded the Fifth on all of it. This conversation breaks down what the diary revealed, why the lab origin was buried, and where the mRNA platform goes next.

Dr. Peter A. McCullough joins BTC Sessions to walk through Fauci's Senate Testimony, 1,100-page diary, the public-vs-private mask and lockdown contradictions, and the nearly million-dollar cash prize Fauci's staff engineered for him. You'll learn why McCullough believes SARS-CoV-2 is an engineered bioweapon, how his foundation found full-length spike protein and mRNA circulating three and a half years after injection, and what that means for the surge in 'turbo cancer.' You'll see the money trail through the biopharmaceutical complex — Gates, BioNTech, CEPI, Event 201, and the captured medical journals that refused to retract the fraudulent 'natural origins' paper. He also lays out the parallel research and wellness system he's building outside captured academia.

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

0:30 - Fauci Senate Testimony and Diary Release

1:30 - 600,000 Vaccine Deaths Compared to COVID

2:30 - Fauci's Private Knowledge on Masks and Fatality Rate

4:00 - Fauci Staff Engineered Cash Prize Applications

7:00 - Fauci's Personal Vaccine Blood Clot Injury

8:00 - Ongoing Booster Push and Seventh Dose Campaign

11:30 - Journals Suppressed Lab Leak Despite Private Admissions

15:30 - Why Wet Market Origin Theory Persists

16:00 - Bioweapons Treaty and SARS-CoV-2 Classification

18:00 - Laboratory-Engineered Spike Protein Features

19:30 - Spike Protein Detected 3.5 Years Post-Vaccination

22:30 - Spike Detox Protocol and Treatment Options

24:30 - Turbo Cancer Rise and Spike Protein Mechanism

26:30 - mRNA Integration into Human Genome Evidence

28:00 - Broader mRNA Vaccine Platform Safety Concerns

29:30 - Hantavirus Scare and Moderna Vaccine Development

31:00 - Anatomy of the Biopharmaceutical Complex

34:30 - Gates Foundation Investment in BioNTech

38:00 - Journal Advertising and Vaccine Ideology

42:30 - Vatican Coin and 300-Year Vaccine Mythology

45:00 - Fourth Turning and Parallel Health Systems

48:00 - Vindication After Media Attacks on McCullough

51:00 - McCullough Foundation Books and Wellness Company

Dr. McCullough references the McCullough Foundation (mcculloughfnd.org), his books 'The Courage to Face COVID-19' and 'Vaccines: Mythology, Ideology, and Reality,' a forthcoming book he says Bitcoiners will love, the Ultimate Spike Detox protocol, and The Wellness Company (twc.health).

🔗 Links & Resources:

McCullough Foundation: https://www.mcculloughfnd.org

The Wellness Company: https://www.twc.health/focalpoints

Follow BTC Sessions on X: https://x.com/BTCSessions

If you follow the money the way Bitcoiners do, this one connects the incentives most people never see. Subscribe for more honest Bitcoin and macro coverage, and follow @BTCSessions on X for the live shows. Reply with your take — where do you land on the origins question?

#Bitcoin #BTC #BTCSessions #PeterMcCullough #Fauci #VaccineSafety #COVIDOrigins #LabLeak #Biopharma #SpikeProtein #mRNA #TurboCancer #FollowTheMoney #MedicalFreedom #Bioweapon #Fauci #FauciTestimony