Why the UK Is Drifting on Bitcoin, And How to Fix It | Ben Cousens #221

<p>The UK has the talent, the capital, and the financial infrastructure. So why are Bitcoin founders still hesitating?</p><p><br></p><p>Ben Cousens — Chief Strategy Officer at ZBD, co-founder of Antidote, and one of the few people who’s been backing Bitcoin businesses from inside venture capital — joins Jordan on the rooftop at Antidote’s Hatton Garden space to get into it.</p><p><br></p><p>🇬🇧 <strong>Join the UK Bitcoin Business Network here:</strong><br>https://bitcoincollective.co/bbn/</p><p><br></p><p><strong>CONTACT JORDAN:</strong><br>X: https://x.com/JayW132<br>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-walker-293955106/<br>Email: hello@bitcoincollective.co</p><p><br></p><p><strong>CONTACT BEN:</strong><br>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencousens/<br>Website: https://antidotebtc.com/</p><p><br></p><p><strong>TIMESTAMPS:</strong><br>00:00 Intro — The UK Is Drifting, Not Falling Behind<br>01:37 Ben’s Background — Video Games, Film and a Hard Pivot to Finance<br>03:00 How Ben First Encountered Bitcoin<br>04:15 The Hairdresser Top Signal and Selling at the 2017 Peak<br>06:25 Top Three Video Games of All Time<br>08:24 Getting Sign-Off to Research Bitcoin Inside a VC Fund<br>09:33 Building a Bitcoin Investment Thesis at Lake Star<br>11:15 What Is ZBD and How Does It Work?<br>15:59 ZBD’s $40M Series C<br>19:29 What People Get Wrong About Building Bitcoin Businesses<br>25:15 The Moment Ben Decided to Found Antidote<br>28:31 The UK Isn’t Falling Behind — It’s Drifting<br>33:32 What Kind of Founders Is Antidote Looking For?<br>38:48 How Early Do You Need to Be to Apply?<br>41:50 Why Antidote Is Based on Hatton Garden<br>49:53 Where Does Ben Want Antidote to Be in Five Years?</p><p><br></p><p><strong>READ OUR NEWSLETTER:</strong><br>https://newsletter.bitcoincollective.co/</p><p><br></p><p><strong>LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE:</strong><br>Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/06sBiOznJDxuhafDmkE9VK?si=3f0a8bb8abd64eec<br>Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-bitcoin-collective/id1561573613<br>Fountain: https://fountain.fm/show/AYHiNhTTv0HOgGEjRjWN<br>YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bitcoincollective?sub_confirmation=1</p><p><br></p><p>All content provided by The Bitcoin Collective and guests in this episode is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial, trading, or investment advice.</p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p><strong>EDITED BY JAMES PEARCE</strong><br>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-pearcesf/</p><p><br></p><p>Available now on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.</p>