The Cantilever Podcast

Bitcoin has climbed from approximately $63,500 to $84,000—even as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates and the 10-year Treasury yield moves above 5%. Is the bear market ending, or is this another temporary rally?Cantilever partners Brendan Quinn and Jon Frisch examine what changed. They discuss renewed ETF inflows, institutional activity, Treasury-market instability and why Bitcoin’s latest move appears broader and potentially more durable than its previous Strategy-driven rally.They then discuss the accelerating intersection between Bitcoin and artificial intelligence. As AI investment consumes enormous amounts of capital and energy, Bitcoin entrepreneurs are helping address two emerging constraints: power infrastructure and digitally native financial rails.The team also explores Strategy’s Bitcoin sales and AI-designed preferred-stock products, Cloudflare’s efforts to charge AI agents for accessing online content, and whether Bitcoin could become the permissionless settlement layer connecting otherwise closed payment networks.Finally, Brendan and Jon reflect on how Cantilever’s original thesis is evolving—from Bitcoin as an escape from a fragile monetary system to Bitcoin as a gateway into energy infrastructure, streaming value and the emerging agentic economy.This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

As of August 20, 2026, Bitcoin is trading near $63,500 despite moderating inflation, institutional adoption and recent exchange-traded-fund inflows. So why isn’t the price performing better?Danny, Brendan, and Jon examine the macroeconomic forces keeping Bitcoin range-bound, including stagnant global liquidity, elevated interest rates, energy uncertainty and the enormous capital buildout surrounding artificial intelligence.They also discuss whether Bitcoin’s four-year cycle remains intact, Strategy’s unexpected Bitcoin sales and the devastating COLDCARD vulnerability that compromised recovery phrases on affected devices. While Bitcoin itself was not hacked, the incident raises difficult questions about self-custody, multisignature security and the growing role of institutional custodians.Finally, the conversation turns to Bitcoin miners pivoting toward AI infrastructure. With AI companies willing to pay substantially more for energy and data-center capacity, the shift may represent rational capital allocation—and could ultimately create room for smaller, geographically distributed Bitcoin miners.Is Bitcoin hammering out a bottom, or does the bear market have further to run? And could the AI boom unexpectedly make Bitcoin mining more decentralized?This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

In this episode of the Cantilever Podcast, Danny Perez is joined by partners Brendan and Jon to break down a rapidly shifting macro environment — and what it means for markets, Bitcoin, and venture capital.Over the past month, traditional market signals have started to break. Equities are down, but bonds and gold — typically considered safe havens — are also selling off. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has held relatively steady. So what's really going on?The team explores the idea of a "wartime macro" environment, where geopolitical conflict, rising energy prices, and constrained liquidity are reshaping how markets behave — and boxing in a Federal Reserve already navigating competing pressures on inflation and financial stability.From there, the conversation shifts to venture capital. With AI driving massive efficiency gains and layoffs across major companies, the economics of building startups may be changing. If companies need fewer people and less capital to operate, what happens to the traditional venture model — and who's actually positioned for what comes next?Topics covered: Why bonds and gold aren't acting like safe havensBitcoin's resilience in a risk-off environmentHow AI is reshaping capital allocation and hiringWhy mid-stage VC may be structurally shrinkingHow Bitcoin-native startups have already been operating under these constraints for years.Read the 2026 Bitcoin Ecosystem report by Epoch Ventures. Brendan and Jon co-authored the Bitcoin Venture Capital section, which you can find on pages 171 to 184.The episode closes with a deeper question:Are we still operating under the old playbook—or entering something entirely different?This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

Bitcoin is down ~50% from its all-time high—and Cantilever’s not sweating it. In this episode, Danny, Brendan, and John break down why Bitcoin is being traded like “levered Nasdaq” in the short term, why tightening liquidity is the real driver behind the selloff, and why Bitcoin often acts as the tip of the spear in risk-off moments.They also unpack gold’s surge as geopolitics push the world from unipolar to multipolar—and explain why gold can absorb sovereign-scale flows today while Bitcoin is still too small and too reflexive. Zooming out, they argue the Bitcoin thesis hasn’t changed: fixed supply, strong network security, growing rails, and long-term monetization still intact.Finally, they address real risk—quantum computing—and why the biggest danger isn’t “quantum tomorrow,” but rushing a fix that breaks Bitcoin’s core properties.This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

Bitcoin hit new all-time highs in 2025—then absorbed one of the largest liquidation events in crypto history and… didn’t break.In this year-end conversation, Danny sits down with Cantilever partners Brendan Quinn and Jon to unpack what Bitcoin’s price action is actually telling us. From OG distribution and ETF-driven liquidity to Federal Reserve behavior, gold’s breakout, and why the four-year cycle narrative is fading, this episode reframes 2025 not as a disappointment—but as a stress test Bitcoin quietly passed.We explore why Bitcoin’s pullback from ~$125K to the mid-$80Ks was driven by distribution, not failure; how ETFs absorbed systemic leverage without cascading damage; and what gold’s 2025 performance signals about liquidity and capital protection—not competition with Bitcoin.The conversation also digs into Bitcoin’s technological edge over gold, why quantum risk is real but widely mispriced, and what 2026 could bring as consolidation, M&A, and institutional infrastructure accelerate.This wasn’t a crisis.It was maturation.This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

This month, the Cantilever team tackles the macro forces shaping Bitcoin’s trajectory—starting with the newly passed GENIUS Act, which legalizes regulated stablecoin issuance backed by U.S. Treasuries. Brendan and Jon break down how this law is more than crypto-friendly—it’s geopolitically strategic.We also explore:Why stablecoins are superior payment technology and a “Trojan horse” for dollar dominanceThe symbiotic relationship between stablecoin growth and Bitcoin demandHow ETFs, in-kind redemptions, and treasury market fragility intersectThe market’s misunderstanding of Bitcoin’s rise during high-interest rate environmentsA speculative but plausible future: BTC growth → stablecoin growth → treasury demandThis show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

As Bitcoin weathers geopolitical tension and volatile markets, a growing number of companies are placing it at the center of their corporate strategy. In this episode, we spoke with Cantilever partners, Brendan Quinn and Jon Frisch  to unpack the rise of Bitcoin treasury companies — businesses whose primary goal is to accumulate Bitcoin as aggressively as possible.They explore how MicroStrategy pioneered this movement, why MetaPlanet skyrocketed from $20 million to $6 billion in market cap, and what makes these companies so attractive to both retail and institutional investors. From capital market arbitrage to regulatory considerations across the U.S. and internationally, , the conversation dives into how this trend could reshape corporate finance — and what risks investors should watch for.This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

March has been a month full of market noise, and Brendan Quinn and Jon Frisch are here to cut through it. In this episode, they dive into the historical context of global trade, analyzing how past economic shifts continue to shape today’s markets. They break down the impact of tariffs, exploring their role in trade wars, economic growth, and global power dynamics.But the conversation doesn’t stop there. They tackle a bold question: Could Bitcoin one day back the U.S. dollar? With the enactment of the U.S. Bitcoin Reserve, such a move could redefine the global monetary order.This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

Dave Rothschild returns to the show to break down the latest shifts in the U.S. regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies. As a partner at Cole-Frieman & Mallon, one of the nation’s leading investment management law firms, Dave offers expert insights on how the regulatory environment is evolving under the new administration.The conversation covers major developments, including the repeal of SAB 121, the formation of a crypto task force, and the SEC’s new 10-point plan—which aims to clarify what qualifies as a security, provide guidance on lending and staking programs, and streamline token offerings. Dave explores how these changes signal a move from aggressive enforcement to a more proactive, investor-protective approach, creating a potentially favorable environment for crypto businesses and investors.Connect with Dave:LinkedIn: Dave RothschildWebsite: https://colefrieman.com/Podcast: Tokens of WisdomThis show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice. 

Cantilever Partners Brendan Quinn and Jon Frisch break down the macro impact of the new US administration on global markets, diving into inflation, Fed policy, and a surging dollar. They explore gold’s recent rally and concerns, and how Bitcoin’s digital utility sets it apart. They discuss MicroStrategy’s role in institutional adoption and the geopolitical chess match between the U.S. and China shaping global liquidity. Tune in for insights on how these forces are influencing Bitcoin, gold, and institutional strategies.This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal and/or financial advice.