Pierre Rochard, who calls himself a “bitcoin maximalist OG,” first found Bitcoin in 2012 whereas learning at UT Austin. With pursuits in Austrian economics and open-source software program, he was “captivated” by bitcoin because the intersection of each. He grew to become an early thought chief, co-founding the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute to accommodate foundational writings and cypherpunk philosophy.
Throughout roles at BitPay, Kraken, and most just lately Riot Platforms (RIOT), his work has spanned bitcoin infrastructure and advocacy. At Riot, he led responses to environmental criticisms, together with a viral parody video that “put the critics on the defensive” and reframed the talk round mining and worth creation.
Pierre Rochard is a speaker at Consensus 2025, in Toronto, Could 14-16. Get your move right here.
“Critics assume mining is wasteful as a result of they don’t imagine bitcoin has worth,” Rochard mentioned. “Nevertheless it’s about financial sovereignty — the power to manage your personal cash.”
Now, with The Bitcoin Bond Firm, he’s taking on the subsequent frontier: unlocking bitcoin for fixed-income buyers.
In contrast to Michael Saylor’s long-only technique, Rochard desires to construct “bankruptcy-remote, bitcoin-only constructions” with clear life-cycles and risk-tranching. The thought is to make Bitcoin extra palatable to conventional credit score allocators.
His purpose? Purchase $1 trillion in bitcoin over the subsequent 21 years — market situations allowing.
On the value cycle, Rochard believes the four-year halving mannequin is dropping relevance for worth prediction functions. “Bitcoin’s CAGR is now tied to rates of interest,” he mentioned, noting its shift towards changing into a worldwide macro asset. “Increased Fed charges pull capital out of Bitcoin — that’s what slows adoption.”
Whereas schooling stays a significant hurdle, he’s optimistic. “Ten years in the past, this concept was laughed off. At this time, Bitcoin-backed credit score merchandise are inevitable.”
At Consensus 2025, Pierre is concentrated on accelerating that schooling, particularly amongst establishments seeking to diversify past actual property and equities.
Rochard was additionally clear-eyed in regards to the dangers and hurdles in bitcoin adoption. “The most important problem is schooling,” he emphasised. “Most buyers have by no means seen a fixed-income product backed purely by bitcoin. They’re used to actual property or company debt — this can be a new asset class for them.”
When requested about considerations like low transaction charges or empty blocks in 2025, Rochard pushed again. “Individuals fear about low charges, however that assumes a static system. If there’s ever an assault or censorship, charges skyrocket — and miners spin up. It’s anti-fragile by design.”
In the end, Rochard’s pitch is easy: “Bitcoin is now not a fringe experiment. It’s a core financial expertise — and it’s time the credit score markets caught up.”
Disclaimer: Elements of this text had been generated with the help from AI instruments and reviewed by our editorial staff to make sure accuracy and adherence to our requirements. For extra info, see CoinDesk’s full AI Coverage.
