Pierre Rochard, the Bitcoin Maximalist OG, on Mining, Markets and Modern Finance

Pierre Rochard, who calls himself a “bitcoin maximalist OG,” first discovered Bitcoin in 2012 while studying at UT Austin. With interests in Austrian economics and open-source software, he was “captivated” by bitcoin as the intersection of both. He became an early thought leader, co-founding the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute to house foundational writings and cypherpunk philosophy.

Across roles at BitPay, Kraken, and most recently Riot Platforms (RIOT), his work has spanned bitcoin infrastructure and advocacy. At Riot, he led responses to environmental criticisms, including a viral parody video that “put the critics on the defensive” and reframed the debate around mining and value creation.

Pierre Rochard is a speaker at Consensus 2025, in Toronto, May 14-16. Get your pass here.

“Critics think mining is wasteful because they don’t believe bitcoin has value,” Rochard said. “But it’s about monetary sovereignty — the ability to control your own money.”

Now, with The Bitcoin Bond Company, he is taking on the next frontier: unlocking bitcoin for fixed-income investors.

Unlike Michael Saylor’s long-only strategy, Rochard wants to build “bankruptcy-remote, bitcoin-only structures” with clear life-cycles and risk-tranching. The idea is to make Bitcoin more palatable to traditional credit allocators.

His goal? Acquire $1 trillion in bitcoin over the next 21 years — market conditions permitting.

On the price cycle, Rochard believes the four-year halving model is losing relevance for price prediction purposes. “Bitcoin’s CAGR is now tied to interest rates,” he said, noting its shift toward becoming a global macro asset. “Higher Fed rates pull capital out of Bitcoin — that’s what slows adoption.”

While education remains a major hurdle, he’s optimistic. “Ten years ago, this idea was laughed off. Today, Bitcoin-backed credit products are inevitable.”

At Consensus 2025, Pierre is focused on accelerating that education, especially among institutions looking to diversify beyond real estate and equities.

Rochard was also clear-eyed about the risks and hurdles in bitcoin adoption. “The biggest challenge is education,” he emphasized. “Most investors have never seen a fixed-income product backed purely by bitcoin. They’re used to real estate or corporate debt — this is a new asset class for them.”

When asked about concerns like low transaction fees or empty blocks in 2025, Rochard pushed back. “People worry about low fees, but that assumes a static system. If there’s ever an attack or censorship, fees skyrocket — and miners spin up. It’s anti-fragile by design.”

Ultimately, Rochard’s pitch is simple: “Bitcoin is no longer a fringe experiment. It’s a core monetary technology — and it’s time the credit markets caught up.”

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