Beyond digital gold, Bitcoin’s next chapter is about to be unlocked — Dan Held

Bitcoin (BTC) has agelong been branded arsenic “digital gold,” a store of worth for believers successful scarcity, decentralization and self-sovereignty. As organization involvement grows, geopolitics shift, and caller layers look connected Bitcoin’s stack, is it clip for the communicative to evolve? 

In this occurrence of The Clear Crypto Podcast, hosts Nathan Jeffay and Gareth Jenkinson talk with longtime Bitcoiner and entrepreneur Dan Held, who argues that Bitcoin’s adjacent section whitethorn unlock broader functionality, from programmable usage cases to much nuanced messaging that reaches acold beyond crypto-native circles.

Political shifts

With US President Donald Trump openly backing Bitcoin — and reportedly owning it himself — Held said helium sees a regulatory and reputational change. 

“We person the astir unfastened medication toward Bitcoin successful the United States,” helium said. 

“It benignant of feels weird... Normally successful the press, Bitcoin mining is destroying the environment. It’s being utilized by wealth launderers… And instead, you've got the president encouraging Bitcoin.”

Held traced Bitcoin’s improbable emergence done moments of adversity, from China’s mining crackdowns to the Biden administration’s strict attack to crypto banking. Yet contempt those challenges, astir 25% of Americans present ain Bitcoin, helium said.

DeFi connected Bitcoin

What comes adjacent whitethorn propulsion the plus into a caller phase. Held and Jenkinson are proponents of gathering decentralized concern (DeFi) tools connected apical of Bitcoin, functionalities traditionally associated with blockchains similar Ethereum oregon Solana.

“If we could bring [DeFi] backmost to Bitcoin, past Bitcoin could utilize not conscionable spot speculation... but these different speculative games past would let bitcoin to turn adjacent faster.” 

That includes borrowing, lending, and staking, each mechanisms that let users to interact with Bitcoin beyond elemental holding oregon trading.

Related: How crypto payments tin go the caller ‘tap-and-go’ — Pulsar co-founder

Jenkinson echoed the potential, highlighting a displacement successful attitude: “If you tin usage [Bitcoin] and bring DeFi to it, you’re fundamentally allowing radical to usage integer golden arsenic the underlying asset... It’s a precise hard happening to do, due to the fact that astir hardcore Bitcoin maximalists don’t privation radical to springiness up their Bitcoin for thing else.”

That hostility betwixt alleged “Bitcoin puritans” and much mean voices is not new, Held noted. He recounted the 2017 Bitcoin Cash fork, describing it arsenic “a civilian war... member against brother.” But dissimilar that contentious split, today’s improvement is happening without rewriting Bitcoin’s basal rules. “No one’s proposing to alteration the rules of Bitcoin,” Held said. “This is innovation built connected top.”

To perceive the afloat speech connected The Clear Crypto Podcast,  perceive to the afloat occurrence connected Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts oregon Spotify. And don’t hide to cheque retired Cointelegraph’s afloat lineup of different shows! 

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