Bitcoin for Financial Services Podcast

When Bitcoin's price dropped and sentiment hit the floor in February 2025, most people expected adoption to slow. River's numbers told a completely different story… their highest volume month ever. In this episode, we sit down with Ben Epling, Relationship Manager at River, to unpack what's actually driving Bitcoin adoption behind the scenes at the individual, business, and institutional level. Be...

This episode, we sit down with a payments veteran with 15+ years of payment innovation experience to dissect the inherent flaws of modern credit card rails and fiat payment systems. As financial professionals, we often see top-line revenue stripped of hidden interchange fees without fully grasping the burden it places on everyday business owners. Our guest pulls back the curtain on the arbitrary n...

In this episode, we sit down with a CPA and financial advisor to deconstruct why traditional value investing models are failing in the current economic environment. We explore the critical flaw in modern accounting, which relies on an unstable dollar that distorts business performance and erodes long‑term wealth. By analyzing ten years of data comparing the S&P 500 against M2 money supply growth,...

We sit down with a privacy-focused AI founder to discuss the massive security holes in popular tools like ChatGPT and Claude. The convenience of these models often comes at the cost of client confidentiality and transparency, so we explore how financial professionals can mitigate these legal risks while still leveraging powerful technology. Our conversation covers the mechanics of trusted executio...

We sit down with Lightning Network executive Bobby Shell to explore how Bitcoin is maturing from a tinkerer's hobby into an essential enterprise powerhouse. We break down the massive shift in payment rails, revealing how major players like Cash App are generating nearly 10% yield on their holdings without exposure to traditional lending risks. The conversation dissects the mechanics of accessing U...

We explore a massive breakthrough for Bitcoiners looking to enter the real estate market. For years, traditional banks have forced us to liquidate our stack or denied loans because our wealth is not in fiat. In this episode, we break down a new asset utilization model that counts your bitcoin as income without requiring you to sell a single satoshi. We discuss the specific mathematics behind the 1...

In this episode, we sit down with Adam Simecka to discuss the critical importance of building tools for independent value transfer in an increasingly surveilled world. We explore why self-custody is the only true protection against the looming threat of CBDCs and why relying on exchanges is a dangerous game for your wealth. Our conversation breaks down the technical mechanics of private keys, sign...

We sat down with Zach Wischler, Director of Sales at Casa, to dismantle the false security of the ETF narrative and explore the future of wealth preservation. While Wall Street pushes paper Bitcoin, the real value for high-net-worth individuals lies in sovereignty - and for financial advisors, the traditional AUM model is rapidly becoming obsolete. We discuss how collaborative custody offers a "Sw...

We sit down with Travis MacDonald, a CPA and CFA who left the traditional M&A world to build financial infrastructure for the Bitcoin economy. He breaks down why the Bitcoin Treasury narrative is often oversimplified and categorizes the four distinct ways companies are actually putting Bitcoin on their balance sheets. We explore how businesses can use Bitcoin to solve retention issues through long...

In this episode, we sit down with Brandon Karpeles of Sovereign to unpack why so many businesses are failing under leverage and why Bitcoin changes that equation. Brandon shares his journey out of traditional finance, what he learned working with distressed businesses, and why copying Bitcoin treasury strategies without an operating business is a dangerous game. We dig into how real companies are...

We sat down with Jon Gordon and Stuart Lackey, co-founders of SoundHSA, to unpack why healthcare costs keep rising, why patients rarely see real prices, and where incentives break when third parties sit between doctors and customers. We walk through the HSA’s triple tax advantage, how most people underutilize it, and why pairing HSAs with real Bitcoin changes the long-term savings conversation. Jo...

In this episode, we sit down with Jirayr, co-founder of Citrin Capital Advisors, to discuss the evolution of a San Francisco-based wealth management firm integrating Bitcoin. We explore the critical comparison between traditional alternative investments - like private equity - and Bitcoin, arguing why the latter offers superior liquidity, transparency, and returns for client portfolios. Jirayr sha...

In this episode, we sit down with Wesley Schlemmer, President of the Bitcoin Bay Foundation and Executive Director of the Florida Blockchain Business Association. Wesley shares how Florida’s Bitcoin ecosystem has grown from grassroots meetups into a model for community‑led business adoption. We unpack how Square’s Bitcoin rollout changes the equation for small and medium‑sized businesses, explore...

In this third episode of BfFS, we sit down with Jim Crider to explore what it means to build intentional wealth in the Bitcoin era. When does Bitcoin belong in an allocation, and when is holding dollars the responsible choice? How do advisors translate estate, tax, and behavioral planning into a world where money itself is being rethought? Jim traces his path from early adoption to founding Intent...

How do you run a business that thinks in Bitcoin and keeps clean books across Lightning, custody, and payroll? In this episode of BfFS, we sit down with Joe Wood, a CPA who turned his accounting career toward Bitcoin. We discuss how he decided to be Bitcoin-only, how tools like Zaprite and Bitment change the work, and what privacy trade-offs actually matter; as well as whether accountants can gras...

What happens when financial advisors dismiss Bitcoin as a passing trend, only to watch clients walk away? How do you build trust in an industry riddled with scams and short-term thinking? In this first episode of BfFS, we explore the gaps in traditional finance, where fear meets opportunity, and what it means to "Plant the Orange Flag" as a professional. From tax strategies to custody tradeoffs, t...