
The Mustard Seed—a bitcoin and long-term thinking podcast Was the Bitcoin Crash Just a Fakeout? with John Haar
Bitcoin is entering a new phase where old narratives are breaking down and real macro forces are taking over. In this episode, John Haar explains why the halving cycle is losing its power, how corporate balance sheets and global credit markets are setting the stage for explosive long-term adoption, and why 2026 may redefine every prior price cycle.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro and 2025 bitcoin price action & sentiment02:05 - Why this is not a repeat of the 2021 cycle top09:44 - Are halvings still driving bitcoin or are they becoming irrelevant?12:02 - John’s base case: new ATH above $130k in 2026 and the end of the 4-year cycle meme19:15 - Bitcoin vs Mag 7: why it’s still the best debasement trade in a passive world30:24 - Why “credit came before money” makes no sense logically33:18 - MMT, government IOUs, and the push to normalize debt-based money36:27 - What drives the next wave of bitcoin adoption and who joins next40:10 - What credit looks like on a bitcoin standard vs today’s dollar debt system44:52 - How corporate debt issuance is a speculative attack on the dollar48:45 - Bitcoin treasury companies: from overheated hype to “ice cold” sentiment50:25 - Can $300T of fixed income eventually flow into bitcoin-backed digital credit?58:26 - Why strategy is stockpiling 1–2 years of USD reserves for its preferreds59:38 - Catalysts for the next bitcoin bull run into 2026
