#043: Monarchs ♥ Bitcoin
A belated happy new year!
Have you ever thought about the paradoxical nature of truth? Of Bitcoin? Of decentralization itself?
Bitcoin is a decentralized monetary protocol. Yet the biggest adopter of Bitcoin is UAE. The biggest nation state adopter of Bitcoin mining is Bhutan. Both are centralized monarchies! In a conversation I had with Prince Filip of Serbia after our panel discussion at BitcoinMENA last year, he shared that he’s found monarchies to find it easiest to adopt Bitcoin. Monarchies! Why? Because they are centralized and can make decisions very fast that benefit their people, rather than their own chance of re-election.
MSTR was able to adopt Bitcoin because it was highly centralized: a chairman who owned the majority stake in the company and who also, as revealed in his recent WBD podcast, was in the rare position to be able to personally insure his company after MSTR was “de-insured” for four years.
Similarly, the more you know about something, the more you risk becoming the centralized single point of failure, which forces you to decentralize if you care about growing the movement.
In my case that meant time to do more coaching and delegating. That was a big impulse behind me running this training session, where I don’t talk about Bitcoin and energy, but rather train others in how to talk about Bitcoin and energy.
Upon watching it back (always watch the game footage, it’s how we improve), I realized it’s one of my better videos, because it’s about something of great personal significance: passing on knowledge.
Every attribute we have is there for one of two reasons: it was a quality bestowed by God/nature, or a skill you learned from another person. Either way, where are “you” in this equation? The people who have been our guides we cannot pay back, but we can “pay them forward” by helping others. I do this by helping others learn better ways to express themselves.
This introduces another (apparent) paradox: when you praise yourself, you are in fact praising God or nature, and others! Similarly, giving to yourself first is the ultimate way to serve others. True self-love is not egotism, but an act of recognizing others’ glory. Giving to yourself in a way that increases your energy and skills is an act of service.
Reflecting on all this, I asked myself the question at the start of this year “How can I best serve Bitcoin?” The answer was clear and immediate “Spend more time sharing your superpower: coach (more) Bitcoin leaders and builders!”
Switching tack, it’s been a while since we did a deep dive on how Bitcoin mining is improving humanity and the environment, and we’ve got some really inspiring stories to share this edition.
Enjoy!
Top Picks
While most countries were closing out 2025 as usual, Bhutan, one of the nations at the forefront of bitcoin adoption, made another bold move (of course, after using Bitcoin to avoid needing an IMF loan) by pledging 10,000 BTC to fund Gelephu Mindfulness City, a futuristic economic hub grounded in wellbeing and sustainability.
Over the coming years, the Kingdom plans to strategically deploy its bitcoin to finance jobs, infrastructure, and innovation, rather than liquidate it for short-term gains. This decision shows how Bitcoin can serve as the economic anchor for sustainably developing an entire nation! Read that last sentence again. I’m pretty sure I’m not exaggerating. While many countries continue to grapple with “crypto-regulation” , Bhutan has quietly moved lightyears ahead, and is securing its financial future for its people.
Another nation that followed in Bhutan’s footsteps, albeit differently, is Japan, which became the 11th country to officially step into the Bitcoin mining space. It launched a 4.5 MW mining project in partnership with Canaan, utilizing excess energy from solar and wind sources to power energy-efficient, hydro-cooled rigs. More importantly, the project is now part of Japan’s national energy management and technology strategy, aimed at smoothing out fluctuations in energy supply.
Trailblazers
Beyond working with governments, Canaan has also teamed up with SynVista Energy, a Singapore-based energy company, to build an adaptive Bitcoin mining platform powered by renewables. The platform links clean power, energy storage, and smart computing, with the goal of extracting more value from renewables using AI to match Bitcoin mining demand with real-time electricity supply. How cool an application of AI is that? This reduces wasted energy and eases pressure on power grids.
Meanwhile, Sangha Renewables has powered up a Bitcoin mining facility using energy from a 150 MW solar farm. The facility uses flexible mining loads to absorb excess solar output, turning previously wasted renewable capacity into productive economic infrastructure. The project launched at a time when mining profits were tight, yet Sangha’s approach shows how clean energy and Bitcoin can be a highly profitable partnership even when hashprice is low.
And now to a particularly interesting innovation: Softwarm, a company based in central Idaho that builds custom Bitcoin mining heat-reuse systems, has developed a mining-powered snow-melt solution. It works by installing a hydronic loop system inside a pavement slab and connecting it to a Bitcoin mining rig. As water circulates through the loop, it absorbs heat from the rig and transfers it to the outdoor slab, melting snow during snowfall. The cooled water is then recirculated, creating a continuous loop that cools mining rigs while keeping driveways clear, no shoveling required.
Top Features
Late last year, I got the chance to talk about why institutions and regulators so often misunderstand Bitcoin’s true climate impact. (53 mins)
Later on, I joined Alex Stanczyk on The Bitcoin Crucible episode to give a sneak preview of my MENA talk, where I outline why adoption among Sovereign Funds is going slower than anticipated, and how we can speed it up. (1 hour)
During Bitcoin MENA Conference 2025, I went into the details (with receipts), explaining why Bitcoin needs sovereign wealth and pension fund adoption, why $72 trillion in patient capital allocates just 0.03% to bitcoin, and what must change to unlock the next phase of global adoption. (16 mins)
And finally, if you want to share a video on why hitting global green-energy transition goals may be impossible without Bitcoin mining, take a listen to my conversation with Decentra Suze, host of My Two Sats on Roxom TV. (21 mins)
See you next letter!
It's ironic that the countries that are the most "free" are tied to fiat currency which is set up to enslave their citizens.