Bitcoin 2025: Has Bitcoin been captured by politics and institutions?

Is Bitcoin still the decentralized money movement it set out to be — or has it been co-opted by politics and institutions? 

In this week’s Byte-Sized Insight, Gareth Jenkinson travels to Las Vegas for Bitcoin 2025, where political figures, Bitcoin treasury companies, and institutional giants shared the stage. Featuring interviews with Metaplanet’s Dylan LeClair, Twenty One’s Jack Mallers and legendary cryptographer Adam Back, we explore the rise of Bitcoin-native public companies, the implications of mainstream political embrace, and what this all means for the future of BTC.

(00:46) Cointelegraph heads to Bitcoin 2025 
(01:32) The rise of Bitcoin treasury companies 
(04:56) Metaplanet on the risks of Bitcoin treasury companies 
(06:50) Jack Maller on the rise of institutional and political Bitcoin 
(09:11) The evolution of Bitcoin’s use cases
(11:23) Adam Back on the future of Bitcoin
(14:01) Institutions vs individuals, who really owns Bitcoin now?

This episode was hosted by Gareth Jenkinson and produced by Gareth Jenkinson and Savannah Fortis, @savannah_fortis.

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