What Bitcoin Did
What Bitcoin Did

2025: BITCOIN IN REVIEW | HODL & ODELL

January 2, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

  • The Format: This casual roundtable discussion among Bitcoin insiders recaps the year's market disappointments and future outlook, blending raw frustration with long-term optimism in a year-end review podcast episode. Reflective and candid.
  • The Format: Casual chat among hosts.
  • The Key Players:
    • Peter McCormack (Host): Bitcoin podcaster steering the conversation on "What Bitcoin Did," provoking predictions and debates.
    • Matt Odell: Privacy advocate and fund manager, offering technical depth on quantum threats and policy.
    • American HODL (Hodl): Veteran Bitcoiner emphasizing humility and long-term grind, with sharp critiques of influencers and treasury plays.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:02) **2024 Bitcoin Retrospective: Disappointment Amid Fundamentals**
  • 2 (01:13) **Last Year's Predictions Review: Supercycle Hype Fizzled**
  • 3 (03:13) **Institutional vs. Retail Dynamics: ETFs and Treasury Traps**
  • 4 (06:51) **Market Sentiment and Cycle Narratives: Astrology Over Analysis**
  • 5 (14:47) **Treasury Companies Post-Mortem: Premiums Gone, Survivors Emerge**
  • 6 (18:24) **Asset Performance Divergence: Gold/Silver Crush Bitcoin**
  • 7 (21:13) **Quantum Computing Fears: Real Concern or Engagement Bait?**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

American HODL & Matt Odell join the show for a review of a year that left most Bitcoin narratives exposed. We unpack why expectations ran ahead of reality, why the super cycle never materialised, and how ETFs, treasury companies, and institutional capital quietly changed how this market actually operates. We get into Bitcoin’s underperformance versus gold and equities, the absence of meaningful retail demand, and how leverage distorted outcomes rather than driving real adoption.

We discuss what this means long term. From institutional involvement and shifting power structures, to the breakdown of the four year cycle framework. We also get into custody, incentives, freedom, and whether Bitcoin has to pass through the traditional system before it can meaningfully reshape it.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

IREN

ANCHORWATCH

BLOCKWARE

LEDN

BITKEY

SWAN

FOLLOW:

Danny Knowles: https://x.com/_DannyKnowles or https://primal.net/danny

American HODL: https://primal.net/hodl

ODELL: https://primal.net/odell

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