TFTC: A Bitcoin Podcast #677: How Bitfury Survived the Early Bitcoin Wars with George Kikvadze & Bill Tai
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Oct 31, 2025 
Bill Tai, a veteran venture investor and early Bitcoin supporter, and George Kikvadze, co-founder of Bitfury, dive into the gritty beginnings of Bitcoin infrastructure. They share tales of resilience and the creative engineering needed to navigate the industry's tumultuous waters. They discuss the evolution of mining technology, the challenges of fundraising during downturns, and innovative strategies in modular mining. George’s book, 'And Then You Win', captures these wild journeys, blending lessons for future entrepreneurs with their belief in Bitcoin as the ultimate insurance against economic mismanagement.
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How Bill Met Bitfury's Founders
- Bill Tai discovered Bitcoin through early peer groups and Stanford meetups and quickly connected with Bitfury's founders.
- He helped bridge technical talent and investor capital by vetting unconventional teams like Bitfury's.
Soviet Roots Shaped George's Conviction
- George grew up seeing Soviet savings evaporate, which shaped his distrust of central banks and drew him to Bitcoin.
- Meeting Val and the Bitfury team felt serendipitous and convinced him to join the infrastructure effort.
Creative Chip Design Beat Old Silicon Dogma
- Bitfury's chip succeeded because the team used unconventional, pragmatic mixed-signal design instead of expensive standard silicon tooling.
- That creativity produced flexible, low-cost chips that could run in unstable electricity environments and scale quickly.
