Explore how bitcoin as a monetary tool is transforming lives and perspectives. Through in-depth conversations, uncover stories of innovation, disruption, and growth as we chart the ever-evolving bitcoin frontier. Whether you're a bitcoin veteran or just curious, The Bitcoin Frontier is your guide to the future of money.
Inside Wall Street’s bitcoin playbook with Denny Galindo
Denny is a wealth manager and bitcoin research lead at Morgan Stanley, where he bridges traditional finance and bitcoin for high-net-worth investors. He operates inside one of the world’s largest financial institutions while developing frameworks to help advisors understand and allocate to bitcoin.
In this episode, Denny joins The Bitcoin Frontier to share how investors should think about bitcoin in a portfolio, the three core investor buckets driving adoption, and his thoughts on determining whether you’re underweight or overweight bitcoin. We dig into bitcoin’s market cycles and seasonal framework, the role of global money supply in driving returns, and practical strategies for gaining exposure in a volatile asset.
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts) – Intro & Denny’s role bridging traditional finance and bitcoin
2:00 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=120s) – From equity research to leading bitcoin insights at Morgan Stanley
4:20 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=260s) – The three investor buckets: digital gold, venture, and diversifier
7:30 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=450s) – How institutions evaluate volatility and correlation
10:50 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=650s) – Where bitcoin fits in portfolios today (risk asset vs store of value)
14:00 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=840s) – How to determine if you’re underweight or overweight bitcoin
18:00 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=1080s) – Why most investors are still early (0–4% allocation range)
21:40 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=1300s) – Will the three investor frameworks converge over time?
23:10 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=1390s) – Bitcoin cycles: macro liquidity vs halving-driven supply shocks
26:30 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=1590s) – Using cycles for rebalancing vs long-term holding strategies
31:20 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=1880s) – Tail risks: quantum computing and “earthquake” scenarios
36:10 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=2170s) – Bitcoin as a global store of value and M2-driven returns
41:10 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=2470s) – Modeling long-term returns: monetary expansion + adoption
48:30 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=2910s) – How to build a position: dollar-cost averaging and timing
52:15 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=3135s) – Seasons of bitcoin: winter, spring, and portfolio adjustments
55:00 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvECMrjJGts&t=3300s) – What it takes for bitcoin to become a standard portfolio allocation
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13 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
Venture on a bitcoin standard with Allen Farrington
Allen Farrington is an investor at Axiom BTC Capital and a writer known for sharp, contrarian takes on bitcoin and adjacent topics like bitcoin venture capital, fiat “plumbing,” and stablecoins. With Axiom, Allen uniquely focuses on clients’ returns not coming from financial engineering, but from productive deployment of capital to solve real world problems.
In this episode, Allen joins The Bitcoin Frontier to share how bitcoin exposes the fiat distortions inside venture capital, why clear lines between saving and investing change founder and limited partner (LP) behavior, and what a bitcoin-first stack means for payments and stablecoins. We dig into local capital allocation on a sound-money standard, free/open-source dynamics and moats, and why lightning + ecash may be the endgame for stablecoins.
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→ Book a free call with a bitcoin expert: https://unchained.com/consultation?ut... (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTNxS1FqTmIwanh0MjFCMFhqWUhkcWZLWWNsQXxBQ3Jtc0tsVzZ2aGNRZ1VySWpydk1WY0hyZzJTcmVKb0pyZXpuVU9VWC1FdHRzV0M2Uk5WS0dnUi11SVRUVzJOazQwRS1odV9Tdy13U3lEZWZPeGg4QWx5MGFsMjVuRjhsa25RSkpPN1FkWkNaeUI1MXZpV3A3SQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Funchained.com%2Fconsultation%3Futm_source%3Dyoutube%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Dpodcast&v=KhwGTbWu8v0)
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0) – Intro & disclaimer; setting up VC in a world of finite money
2:12 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=132s) – Bitcoin as “fixing the plumbing”: unwinding fiat distortions vs fantasizing about the end state
4:45 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=285s) – How artificially low rates monetize other assets and push allocators out the risk curve
7:28 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=448s) – Pension funds, liabilities, and why flows into venture decouple from fundamentals
9:46 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=586s) – “Thousand-x or bust”: why LP incentives shape VC behavior (and fund crypto)
12:02 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=722s) – Saving vs investing: why buying bitcoin ≠ venture investing (and Axiom’s thesis)
16:05 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=965s) – Local investing on a sound-money standard and higher opportunity costs for founders
20:52 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=1252s) – Measuring in bitcoin terms: hurdle rates, returns, and what “outperforming bitcoin” really means
27:15 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=1635s) – Trusted third parties are security holes… so where do businesses add value? (non-custodial services)
32:06 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=1926s) – Moats in a FOSS world: compete by delivering value, not lock-in
36:50 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=2210s) – “Zero to One,” monopolies, and why ruthless excellence beats user exploitation
41:10 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=2470s) – Open vs closed source: the healthy tension in bitcoin-native companies
44:22 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=2662s) – Allen’s “half-baked” stablecoin thesis: why new “stablecoin blockchains” are a dead end
47:06 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=2826s) – The Genius Act: fully reserved dollars, surveillance tradeoffs, and limited real-world impact so far
48:55 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=2935s) – Lightning as settlement layer for fiat tokens; taproot assets / RGB today, ecash tomorrow
55:00 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=3300s) – Could fully reserved rails hollow out small banks? Centralization pressures and unintended consequences
56:44 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwGTbWu8v0&t=3404s) – Closing: where to find Allen and Axiom BTC
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30 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT
Dictators fuel bitcoin adoption with Anna Chekhovich | The Last Free Americans
Anna Chekhovich is a Russian activist who manages the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s finances while living in exile. She runs payrolls, budgeting, and fundraising for a movement that faces surveillance, asset seizures, and sanctions. What sets Anna apart is her operational playbook for keeping an organization alive when banks fail you. In this episode, Anna joins The Last Free Americans to share how bitcoin became ACF’s plan B for payroll and donations, how activists build practical off-ramps under hostile regimes, and how she co-designed a simple three-day training that now serves activists from more than 50 countries.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
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→ Send us an email: podcast@unchained.com
→ Learn more about Unchained: https://unchained.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast
→ Book a free call with a bitcoin expert: https://unchained.com/consultation?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro, disclaimers, and why Bitcoin self-custody matters for human rights
1:04 - Running ACF finances under surveillance and in exile
3:23 - Bank freezes and the shift to bitcoin as plan B
4:52 - Paying 300 plus staff when accounts are seized
5:57 - Donor safety in authoritarian regimes and why self-custody is essential
7:10 - Explaining self-custody in the U.S. context
9:37 - The HRF webinar design and why simplicity wins
12:09 - Day 1 playbook: custody types, first wallet, sending sats
12:41 - Day 2 playbook: last mile options, P2P, meetups, and ATMs
13:52 - Day 3 playbook: self-hosted crowdfunding with BTCPay Server and cold storage
16:22 - Why lightning for live demos and choosing simple wallets like Muun
20:57 - Sanctions and supporting family via P2P off-ramps
31:19 - Multisig for nonprofits and where Unchained fits
35:02 - Privacy by default with coinjoin and better ops hygiene
39:14 - The peace time case for self-custody and financial dignity
WHERE TO FOLLOW US:
→ Unchained X: https://x.com/unchained
→ Unchained LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom
→ Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter
→ Joe Kelly’s Twitter: https://x.com/josephkelly
→ Anna Chekhovich’s Twitter: https://x.com/AnyaChekhovich
Inside a recent episode
Inside Wall Street’s bitcoin playbook with Denny Galindo
Published 7 Apr 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] It's not going away. But the question then changes to what's the ultimate penetration going to be? Like if the money supply is about $125 trillion globally, what percent of that will Bitcoin get? And the dollar has, say, 20%. And so these investors are very different than the gold bugs as they're really thinking about this giant addressable market out there somewhere in the future. And they're thinking about where penetration is now. So they think about, hey, is penetration going up or down? Things like positive price momentum might make it go up. Things like new adoption, new financial integration into the financial system might make it go up. […]
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