Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
🚨 CHECK OUT TBL PULSE: research.thebitcoinlayer.com
In this episode, Nik welcomes Jack Mallers, founder and CEO of Strike, for a conversation on his exit from Twenty One. Jack describes the guilt and humility of stepping away from a company whose vision he says did not work, and where Strike sits between an operating company like Coinbase and a conviction vehicle like Strategy. He shares his reaction to the Coldcard vulnerability, which he calls a horror because the victims did everything right, and why he still does not think self-custody is dead. Jack also covers the red team of AI agents now testing Strike's code, and why he calls America's AI strategy shameful next to China's open-source push.
Get Nik's weekly bitcoin and macro research: thebitcoinlayer.com/subscribe
The Bitcoin Layer is proud to be sponsored by SOUND HSA. A Health Savings Account is the most tax-advantaged account in the US tax code: contributions are tax-deductible, growth is tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified healthcare expenses are tax-free too. But most people leave their HSA sitting in cash, losing purchasing power year after year. SOUND HSA lets you hold real bitcoin inside your HSA instead. Not an ETF, not a paper claim, but real bitcoin secured in multi-institutional, multi-signature cold storage. Use code TBL to waive the fifty-dollar setup fee. Transfer an existing HSA or open a new one today: soundhsa.com
Timestamps:
00:00 Jack Mallers joins the Bitcoin Layer
01:28 The guilt and humility of leaving Twenty One
03:52 What's the number: when principles get a price
05:50 Jack Dorsey's advice on running two companies
08:05 Why Twenty One stopped being what he founded
10:29 Where Strike sits between Coinbase and Strategy
10:58 The Coldcard vulnerability and a sense of horror
12:17 Why this is not FTX: victims who did everything right
14:43 Life savings swept, one coin at a time
17:05 Strike's in-house multisig and proof of reserves
20:16 Agents as first-class citizens inside Strike
22:32 A red team of AI agents battle testing code daily
24:53 Tokens as the fuel of intelligence
25:38 Why Jack calls the US AI strategy shameful
28:00 bitcoin as the money of humility
31:04 Can the frontier labs ever pay it back
36:14 Open source, IP theft, and where to find Jack
📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm.
▶️ Subscribe and turn on notifications for TBL on YouTube.
🎙 Subscribe to The Bitcoin Layer on your favorite podcast platform.
🐦 Follow TBL on X: /thebitcoinlayer
Nik Bhatia's Twitter: /timevalueofbtc
Researcher Demian Schatt's Twitter: https://x.com/demianschatt
Lead Statistician Augustine Carrasco Twitter: https://x.com/AugustineCarrB
🚨 CHECK OUT TBL PULSE: research.thebitcoinlayer.com
In this episode, Nik welcomes Jack Mallers, founder and CEO of Strike, for a conversation on his exit from Twenty One. Jack describes the guilt and humility of stepping away from a company whose vision he says did not work, and where Strike sits between an operating company like Coinbase and a conviction vehicle like Strategy. He shares his reaction to the Coldcard vulnerability, which he calls a horror because the victims did everything right, and why he still does not think self-custody is dead. Jack also covers the red team of AI agents now testing Strike's code, and why he calls America's AI strategy shameful next to China's open-source push.
Get Nik's weekly bitcoin and macro research: thebitcoinlayer.com/subscribe
The Bitcoin Layer is proud to be sponsored by SOUND HSA. A Health Savings Account is the most tax-advantaged account in the US tax code: contributions are tax-deductible, growth is tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified healthcare expenses are tax-free too. But most people leave their HSA sitting in cash, losing purchasing power year after year. SOUND HSA lets you hold real bitcoin inside your HSA instead. Not an ETF, not a paper claim, but real bitcoin secured in multi-institutional, multi-signature cold storage. Use code TBL to waive the fifty-dollar setup fee. Transfer an existing HSA or open a new one today: soundhsa.com
Timestamps:
00:00 Jack Mallers joins the Bitcoin Layer
01:28 The guilt and humility of leaving Twenty One
03:52 What's the number: when principles get a price
05:50 Jack Dorsey's advice on running two companies
08:05 Why Twenty One stopped being what he founded
10:29 Where Strike sits between Coinbase and Strategy
10:58 The Coldcard vulnerability and a sense of horror
12:17 Why this is not FTX: victims who did everything right
14:43 Life savings swept, one coin at a time
17:05 Strike's in-house multisig and proof of reserves
20:16 Agents as first-class citizens inside Strike
22:32 A red team of AI agents battle testing code daily
24:53 Tokens as the fuel of intelligence
25:38 Why Jack calls the US AI strategy shameful
28:00 bitcoin as the money of humility
31:04 Can the frontier labs ever pay it back
36:14 Open source, IP theft, and where to find Jack
📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm.
▶️ Subscribe and turn on notifications for TBL on YouTube.
🎙 Subscribe to The Bitcoin Layer on your favorite podcast platform.
🐦 Follow TBL on X: /thebitcoinlayer
Nik Bhatia's Twitter: /timevalueofbtc
Researcher Demian Schatt's Twitter: https://x.com/demianschatt
Lead Statistician Augustine Carrasco Twitter: https://x.com/AugustineCarrB
