A weekly podcast covering the underlying mechanics of the bitcoin protocol, its ongoing development, project funding, and real-world applications of the technology
Early Riders Media
Claim This Podcastby Early Riders
70 episodes
Updated Daily
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Podcast Overview
A weekly podcast covering the underlying mechanics of the bitcoin protocol, its ongoing development, project funding, and real-world applications of the technology
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
3/31/2025
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Recent Episodes
July 28, 2026
Dorsey’s Buzz & Open Source is Building a $1M Bitcoin Future
<p>Connect with Early Riders — https://www.earlyriders.com/contact</p><p>Connect with Onramp — https://onrampbitcoin.com/contact-us/</p><p><br></p><p>Presented collaboratively by Early Riders & Onramp Media…</p><p>Final Settlement is a weekly podcast covering capital markets, dealmaking, early-stage venture, bitcoin applications and protocol development.</p><p><br></p><p>This week Michael, Liam, and Brian open on the open-versus-closed AI debate: Jensen Huang's first-ever tweet and NVIDIA's letter backing open models, the new Security Alliance consortium, the researchers quietly wishing they could slow it all down, and NVIDIA's reported $250 billion financing for OpenAI's Ohio data center. They dig into Jack Dorsey's Buzz, the open-source workspace built on the same Noster and Bitcoin primitives as BitChat, and what shared compute and censorship-resistant protocols mean as BitChat downloads spike 32-fold in India. The guys run through a stack of payments deals: Stripe's talks to buy OpenRouter near $10 billion, Cursor, Ramp, and Meta building model routers, and Natural Pay's $30 million Series A for agentic payments. They get into their favorite topic, the DATs: Mallers exiting 21 Capital as Tether's XXI merger collapses, Strategy's first Stretch buyback, and the new Bitcoin security consortium taking on quantum. They close on Augustus's $180 million raise, Worldcoin, and Travis Kalanick's return with Adam.</p><p><br></p><p>Chapters</p><p>00:00 - Introduction and overview of AI and open models</p><p>02:10 - Jensen Huang's first tweet on open models and global cooperation</p><p>09:08 - Discussion on slowing AI development and game theory</p><p>18:03 - Jack Dorsey's Buzz: Open source workspace and primitives</p><p>24:55 - Shared compute, decentralized protocols, and open standards</p><p>35:02 - Regulatory landscape and geopolitical implications</p><p>45:11 - Impacts on privacy, security, and censorship resistance</p><p>54:03 - Recent deals and industry movements in AI and crypto</p><p>01:02:08 - The future of Bitcoin, open protocols, and decentralized data</p><p><br></p><p>If you found this valuable, please subscribe to Early Riders Insights for access to the best content in the ecosystem weekly: https://www.earlyriders.com/research</p><p><br></p><p>Keep up with Michael:</p><p>https://x.com/MTanguma</p><p><br></p><p>Keep up with Liam:</p><p>https://x.com/Lnelson_21</p><p><br></p><p>Keep up with Brian:</p><p>https://x.com/BackslashBTC</p>
July 21, 2026
The Bitcoin Catalyst Wall Street Isn’t Pricing In
<p>Connect with Early Riders — https://www.earlyriders.com/contact</p><p>Connect with Onramp — https://onrampbitcoin.com/contact-us/</p><p><br></p><p>Presented collaboratively by Early Riders & Onramp Media…</p><p>Final Settlement is a weekly podcast covering capital markets, dealmaking, early-stage venture, bitcoin applications and protocol development.</p><p><br></p><p>This week Michael, Liam, and Brian break down Moonshot's Kimmy K3 release and what a more open, cheaper Chinese frontier model means for the race against Claude Fable 5 and GPT 5.6, from cyber guardrails and export controls to the Trump administration weighing a ban on Chinese models. They dig into the AI capital markets: Anthropic and DeepSeek's IPO plans, Nous Research's $75 million raise at a $1.5 billion valuation, Gavin Baker's intelligence-per-dollar thesis, Liquid AI, and OpenShip's self-hostable app platform. The guys run through the payments story: the $53 billion Stripe, Advent, and Block bid for PayPal, Visa's new OUSD stablecoin platform, and Amazon Japan's move into a yen-backed stablecoin. They cover a stack of digital asset headlines: IBIT options limits rising to 1 million contracts, Citadel's $400 million investment in Crypto.com at a $20 billion valuation, the ECB's digital euro pilot, Velocity's $38 million Series A, Tether's Genius Act countdown, and Lynn Alden's new Bitcoin-focused PE firm. They close on where the Clarity Act stands, Early Riders' mid-year letter, Onramp's back-to-basics promo, and AI's arrival in film and music.</p><p><br></p><p>Chapters</p><p>00:00 - Introduction and Weekly Recap</p><p>01:26 - Kimmy K3 Release and Open Source AI Models</p><p>05:43 - Meta-level Analysis of AI Race and AGI</p><p>08:04 - AI Development: Capabilities and Guardrails</p><p>09:44 - AI as a Commodity and Data Strategies</p><p>11:08 - Global AI Race and Export Controls</p><p>13:13 - US-China AI Power Dynamics</p><p>16:46 - US Regulatory Posturing and Competition</p><p>21:55 - US and Chinese AI Model Competition</p><p>24:58 - AI Infrastructure and Market Share Shifts</p><p>31:40 - AI and Financial Markets: IPOs and Capital Flows</p><p>36:29 - Open Source AI Projects and Sovereignty</p><p>37:16 - Fintech and Payments: Stripe, PayPal, and Crypto</p><p>49:05 - Digital Asset Headlines: Tether, Stablecoins, and Regulation</p><p>52:58 - Crypto Market Dynamics and Capital Flows</p><p>55:25 - Bitcoin and Digital Asset Strategies</p><p>01:00:16 - AI and Bitcoin: The Future of Capital and Innovation</p><p>01:12:50 - Closing Remarks and Future Outlook</p><p><br></p><p>If you found this valuable, please subscribe to Early Riders Insights for access to the best content in the ecosystem weekly: https://www.earlyriders.com/research</p><p><br></p><p>Keep up with Michael:</p><p>https://x.com/MTanguma</p><p><br></p><p>Keep up with Liam:</p><p>https://x.com/Lnelson_21</p><p><br></p><p>Keep up with Brian:</p><p>https://x.com/BackslashBTC</p>
July 14, 2026
Why The Banks Changed Their Tune On Bitcoin
<p>Connect with Early Riders — https://www.earlyriders.com/contact</p><p>Connect with Onramp — https://onrampbitcoin.com/contact-us/</p><p><br></p><p>Presented collaboratively by Early Riders & Onramp Media…</p><p>Final Settlement is a weekly podcast covering capital markets, dealmaking, early-stage venture, bitcoin applications and protocol development.</p><p><br></p><p>This week Michael, Liam, and Brian break down the banks' accelerating tokenization push: BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan joining a 54-firm UK tokenization task force, Swift's blockchain ledger pilot with 17 banks, and what it means for Bitcoin's role in the emerging plumbing. They dig into Satya Nadella's AI sovereignty thesis, Microsoft's Frontier Company data play, Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI, and the Fed's new AI task force under Kevin Warsh. The guys run through a stack of deals: TerraWolf's $19 billion Anthropic infrastructure agreement, OLAMA's $65 million raise, Paradigm's $1.2 billion fourth fund expanding into AI and robotics, and Tether's $20 million investment in Mercado Bitcoin. They close on TradFi's crypto expansion via SBI Holdings and Russia's Alpha Bank, Kraken's $22 million lawsuit win, where the Clarity Act stands ahead of the midterms, and Spiral's new open source push to merge Bitcoin and AI.</p><p><br></p><p>Chapters</p><p>00:00 - Introduction and Show Overview</p><p>00:18 - Market Sentiment and Show Focus</p><p>01:15 - Banks and Traditional Enterprises in Digital Asset Space</p><p>02:40 - UK Tokenization Task Force and Use Cases</p><p>03:40 - Swift Blockchain Ledger Pilot with 17 Banks</p><p>04:34 - Global Sprint in Tokenized Securities and Deposits</p><p>07:23 - Bitcoin's Role in the Future of Digital Infrastructure</p><p>09:39 - The Bullish Case for Bitcoin Amidst Tokenization</p><p>12:28 - AI Tools and Sovereignty in Data Ownership</p><p>15:37 - Microsoft's Investment in AI and Data Sovereignty</p><p>22:16 - Microsoft Frontier Company and Proprietary Data Platforms</p><p>25:07 - The Importance of Human Agency in AI Adoption</p><p>28:40 - AI and the Disruption of Traditional Business Models</p><p>29:08 - Apple Suing OpenAI Over Trade Secrets</p><p>32:36 - The Long-Term Impact of AI and Open Source Models</p><p>36:50 - DoorDash's AI Code Reviewer and Internal AI Adoption</p><p>38:19 - Fed's AI Task Force and Economic Policy</p><p>43:32 - Russia's Strategic Use of Bitcoin and Digital Assets</p><p>50:07 - Paradigm's New Fund and Broader Tech Investment</p><p>55:13 - Traditional Finance's Entry into Crypto and Digital Assets</p><p>01:02:41 - Regulatory Developments and the Future of Crypto Legislation</p><p>01:09:18 - Bitcoin's Role in the Future of Digital Infrastructure</p><p>01:11:21 - Open Source AI and Bitcoin Integration</p><p><br></p><p>If you found this valuable, please subscribe to Early Riders Insights for access to the best content in the ecosystem weekly: https://www.earlyriders.com/research</p><p><br></p><p>Keep up with Michael:</p><p>https://x.com/MTanguma</p><p><br></p><p>Keep up with Liam:</p><p>https://x.com/Lnelson_21</p><p><br></p><p>Keep up with Brian:</p><p>https://x.com/BackslashBTC</p>
70 total episodes available
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This podcast updates daily.
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This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
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Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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