Bitcoin, AI, Energy & Fixing Venture Capital | Israel Muñoz

<p>Israel Muñoz has been in Bitcoin since 2013/2014, when he and a business partner began experimenting with using Bitcoin as the back-end rail for international remittances. The first time he moved value across a border without a bank, permission slip, or intermediary was the moment the rabbit hole really opened.More than a decade later, Israel is the co-host of Build With Bitcoin and spends a lot of his time thinking about the businesses, capital, and infrastructure being built around Bitcoin.In this conversation, we get into how much Bitcoin has changed over the last decade, why actually using Bitcoin is so different from merely reading about it, and why better UX may matter more for adoption than making major changes to the base protocol. Then we get into one of my favorite parts of the conversation: incentives.Israel explains why he believes venture capital has drifted away from some of its original purpose, how easy money helped create a culture of raising capital, burning it, growing at all costs, and worrying about profitability later, and why Bitcoin-native founders may approach company building very differently.We discuss lean companies, profitability, Bitcoin on corporate balance sheets, reduced dependence on future equity rounds, and what happens when capital once again has a meaningful opportunity cost.From there, we explore what Israel sees as a powerful convergence between three technologies and resources that could define the next decade: Bitcoin, artificial intelligence, and energy.We also talk about Mita TechTalks, why getting Bitcoiners together in person still matters in an increasingly digital world, self-custody, collaborative custody, security tradeoffs, avoiding ideological dogma when protecting your Bitcoin, and the responsibility that comes with truly owning your money.Finally, I ask Israel the question I like asking every guest:If you could ask Satoshi Nakamoto one question, what would it be?His answer: Why 21 million?Stick around after the conversation for an original song inspired by the episode.Israel:X: <a href="https://x.com/isramunozp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://x.com/isramunozp</a>Build With Bitcoin: <a href="https://buildwithbitcoin.xyz" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://buildwithbitcoin.xyz</a>Mita TechTalks X: <a href="https://x.com/MitaTechTalks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://x.com/MitaTechTalks</a>Swan Vault:<a href="https://swan.com/vault" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://swan.com/vault</a>TIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro0:22 Israel’s Bitcoin rabbit hole4:02 How Bitcoin has changed in 10+ years6:42 Seeing Bitcoin’s value under capital controls9:19 Signal vs. noise in Bitcoin13:10 Bitcoin’s UX problem17:54 Can Bitcoin fix venture capital?20:08 How easy money changed VC23:01 Building profitable Bitcoin companies26:45 Bitcoin, AI &amp; energy28:09 Energy creates abundance30:43 Why meeting Bitcoiners in person matters32:20 Mita TechTalks36:31 Self-custody and responsibility38:37 Collaborative custody40:18 Avoiding Bitcoin security dogma43:06 “It’s your money”43:58 What would you ask Satoshi?44:38 Why 21 million?45:59 Where to find Israel46:54 Original song inspired by the conversation</p>