Bitcoin (BTC) has long been branded as “digital gold,” a store of value for believers in scarcity, decentralization and self-sovereignty. As institutional interest grows, geopolitics shift, and new layers emerge on Bitcoin’s stack, is it time for the narrative to evolve?
In this episode of The Clear Crypto Podcast, hosts Nathan Jeffay and Gareth Jenkinson speak with longtime Bitcoiner and entrepreneur Dan Held, who argues that Bitcoin’s next chapter may unlock broader functionality, from programmable use cases to more nuanced messaging that reaches far beyond crypto-native circles.
Political shifts
With US President Donald Trump openly backing Bitcoin — and reportedly owning it himself — Held said he sees a regulatory and reputational change.
“We have the most open administration toward Bitcoin in the United States,” he said.
“It kind of feels weird… Normally in the press, Bitcoin mining is destroying the environment. It’s being used by money launderers… And instead, you’ve got the president encouraging Bitcoin.”
Held traced Bitcoin’s unlikely rise through moments of adversity, from China’s mining crackdowns to the Biden administration’s strict approach to crypto banking. Yet despite those challenges, roughly 25% of Americans now own Bitcoin, he said.
DeFi on Bitcoin
What comes next may push the asset into a new phase. Held and Jenkinson are proponents of building decentralized finance (DeFi) tools on top of Bitcoin, functionalities traditionally associated with blockchains like Ethereum or Solana.
“If we could bring [DeFi] back to Bitcoin, then Bitcoin could utilize not just spot speculation… but these other speculative games then would allow bitcoin to grow even faster.”
That includes borrowing, lending, and staking, all mechanisms that allow users to interact with Bitcoin beyond simple holding or trading.
Related: How crypto payments can become the new ‘tap-and-go’ — Pulsar co-founder
Jenkinson echoed the potential, highlighting a shift in attitude: “If you can use [Bitcoin] and bring DeFi to it, you’re basically allowing people to use digital gold as the underlying asset… It’s a very hard thing to do, because most hardcore Bitcoin maximalists don’t want people to give up their Bitcoin for something else.”
That tension between so-called “Bitcoin puritans” and more moderate voices is not new, Held noted. He recounted the 2017 Bitcoin Cash fork, describing it as “a civil war… brother against brother.” But unlike that contentious split, today’s evolution is happening without rewriting Bitcoin’s base rules. “No one’s proposing to change the rules of Bitcoin,” Held said. “This is innovation built on top.”
To hear the full conversation on The Clear Crypto Podcast, listen to the full episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows!
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