The Hurdle Rate Podcast

The Hurdle Rate goes LIVE at the Bitcoin Treasuries Conference in New York, back where the Strive and Semler deal started a year ago. The panel looks back on that deal, which brought the two companies' roughly 6,000 and 5,000 Bitcoin together, and explains why getting bigger was what made SATA possible. Matt explains the game theory behind SATA's daily dividend now that Strategy is following suit,...

In this week's Hurdle Rate, the crew breaks down Strive's latest 1,355 Bitcoin purchase, Bitcoin's breakout, and why short-term traders may miss the move. They also discuss how digital credit could reshape the next bull market, why liquidity is the clearest measure of trust, and what Michael Saylor and Warren Buffett teach about building balance-sheet companies. The episode closes on the affordabi...

This week on The Hurdle Rate: Adam Livingston joins Strive as VP of Investments, Strategy buys back $139 million of STRC with stretch back near 99, and Strive adds 469 Bitcoin at an average cost of $77,954 while hitting an all-time high market cap of $2.75 billion. Jeff makes the case that trust is the real infrastructure of capital markets, and why Bitcoin makes that trust legible. We get into th...

In this week's Hurdle Rate, the crew discusses SATA hitting $999 million outstanding, Strategy doubling its STRC repurchase facility to $2 billion, and Strive adding another 1,000+ Bitcoin. Ben breaks down the art and science of running the desk and why amplification stays on. Matt makes the case that we've never seen a bull market with a perpetual preferred model in place. We also get into execut...

In this week's Hurdle Rate, the crew unpacks a market that has come roaring back to life, from Strategy returning as a Bitcoin buyer at 0% net leverage to Strive growing its stack 14.4% in two weeks to 23,156 Bitcoin. Jeff brings back lessons from Bitcoin Asia, where investors are building structured finance on top of Bitcoin and digital credit faster than the US, and we dig into why STRC hasn't s...

In this week’s Hurdle Rate, the crew reacts to Strategy’s latest investor Q&A and breaks down why the company is prioritizing STRC, building cash reserves, and treating Bitcoin as flexible capital. We dig into why Bitcoin has held firm despite Strategy selling, the Coldcard self-custody exploit, and broader market stress, and what that resilience could signal about the bear market. The convers...

  In this week’s Hurdle Rate, the crew breaks down Strive’s Q2 results, including a 23.9% Bitcoin yield and how the company’s incentive structure supports its broader Bitcoin treasury strategy. We then turn to Strive’s refreshed website and redesigned Bitcoin Dashboard, exploring how the new tools improve transparency, make key treasury metrics easier to understand, and give investors a clearer vi...

In this week's Hurdle Rate, the crew breaks down the Coldcard self custody exploit and how the Bitcoin community responded to it, before turning to what the event revealed about how few people understood the cryptography they were relying on. We dig into the yen hitting its weakest level in forty years and what a fragile treasury market means for everyone holding dollars, Strategy's decision to se...

Episode 67: We’re Playing For Trillions In this week’s Hurdle Rate, the crew breaks down Strategy’s Q2 2026 earnings call and its focus on returning STRC to par while building a trillion-dollar digital credit market. We explore why liquidity, simplicity, and preserving Bitcoin’s upside remain central to the strategy, along with the risks of borrowing against Bitcoin or using derivatives for short-...

In this week’s Hurdle Rate, the crew breaks down the slow summer market and strategy's focus on building up its balance sheet to improve credit quality. We explore how Strategy and Strive are navigating macro uncertainty, steadying operations, and executing consistent Bitcoin buys through the summer doldrums. We also dig into the derivatives market, short interest dynamics for ASST and SATA, and h...

Shifting Institutional | The Hurdle Rate Podcast | Ep. 65 In this week’s Hurdle Rate, the crew opens with updates from Strategy, Strive, and the digital credit market before recapping the major developments from Q2. We cover Strategy’s growing cash reserve, market feedback, and the evolution of Bitcoin-backed credit. We also explore institutional adoption, structured products, AI, intellectual pro...

Episode 64: Building The Track Record In this week’s Hurdle Rate, the crew breaks down Strategy’s sale of Bitcoin to fund dividend payments and why the market’s reaction may signal growing confidence in Bitcoin as a liquid capital asset. We explore how Strategy and Strive are using balance sheet management, digital credit, and capital markets access to keep their models moving through volatility....

Episode 63: The Digital Credit Capital Framework In this week's Hurdle Rate, the crew opens with the latest on digital credit volatility and the broader market backdrop, before digging into Strategy's capital framework and how management is navigating stress in the system. The conversation turns to institutional behavior, the realities of managing a cash balance sheet, and the dynamics of leverage...

Episode 62: Digital Credit Weakness Full episodes: https://tnorth.com/hurdle-rate/ In this week's Hurdle Rate, the crew breaks down the mechanics of volatility and liquidation events, before turning to shifting investor behavior and how markets react to sudden liquidations. We dig into how digital credit stacks up against traditional financial instruments, the innovations shaping the future of the...

In this week's Hurdle Rate, the crew breaks down the latest corporate Bitcoin market activity and Strive's growing Bitcoin holdings, before turning to Strategy's Bitcoin sale and what the balance sheet math actually reveals about risk and permanent impairment. We dig into historical bear market scenarios, how to manage amplification ratios, and the product management and demand dynamics shaping th...

Episode 60: The Math of Amplification In this week's Hurdle Rate, the crew breaks down the latest corporate Bitcoin market activity and Strive's growing Bitcoin holdings, before turning to Strategy's Bitcoin sale and what the balance sheet math actually reveals about risk and permanent impairment. We dig into historical bear market scenarios, how to manage amplification ratios, and the product man...

Episode 59: Scale Like Crazy  0:00 - Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate 1:08 - Jeff’s Podcast Circuit & Strategy Retires Debt 21:27 - Strive’s Big Week 32:42 - Strategy’s Retail Q&A 41:29 - Kevin Warsh is The New Fed Chair

Episode 58: Exponential Innovation 0:00 - Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate 1:30 - Strive: The Daily Dividend Company 5:32 - Ringing The Opening Bell at Nasdaq 23:50 - How Strive Paid Off Its Debt 27:00 - How Big Is This Idea? 41:21 - The Infrastructure Behind The Scenes 47:00 - How Bitcoin Will Be Involved In Strive’s Future All episodes are posted on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR9Q6...

Episode 57: The Answer Is Trillions All episodes live here: https://tnorth.com/shows/hurdle-rate/   0:00 - Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate 3:02 - MSTR Earnings Call Reaction 25:22 - Is Digital Credit Too Good to Be True? 42:16 - FDIC & Monetary Risk  

Episode 56: The User Experience All episodes live here: https://tnorth.com/shows/hurdle-rate/ 0:00 - Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate 2:20 - Strategy Flips BlackRock 20:58 - Is The Tokenized Ecosystem Completely Useless? 30:13 - AI Tools & Revamping Portfolios 45:55 - Schwab Education

Episode 55: A Structural Shift [00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate [00:01:30] Digital Credit’s Big Month [00:18:05] Capital Flows [00:26:50] Rethinking Credit [00:42:37] The End of the 60/40 Portfolio

Episode 54: The Management of The Treasury [00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate [00:01:55] The Accumulation Phase [00:21:00] Digital Credit as The Hurdle Rate [00:40:45] Moderate Duration

Episode 53 - Bitcoin, AI and The New QE Thank you to our sponsor, Swan Bitcoin. We buy Bitcoin at Swan.com [00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate [00:01:45] US Debt Crisis [00:17:37] AI Disruption in The Startup Economy [00:30:58] Debasement & Portfolio Construction [00:44:34] Which Type of Non-Bitcoin Company Would Even Be Attractive Now?

Episode 52 - An Increasingly Digital World Thank you to our sponsor, Swan Bitcoin. We buy Bitcoin at Swan.com [00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate [00:01:10] The Latest News from Strategy [00:14:00] Private Credit Liquidity Issues [00:32:23] The Correlation Between Private Credit and Public Credit Markets