Bitcoin (BTC) has long been branded as &#8220;digital gold,&#8221; a store of value for 
believers in scarcity, decentralization and self-sovereignty. As institutional 
interest grows, geopolitics shift, and new layers emerge on Bitcoin&#8217;s stack, 
is it time for the narrative to evolve?
In this episode of _The Clear Crypto Podcast_ , hosts Nathan Jeffay and Gareth 
Jenkinson speak with longtime Bitcoiner and entrepreneur Dan Held, who argues 
that Bitcoin&#8217;s next chapter may unlock broader functionality, from 
programmable use cases to more nuanced messaging that reaches far beyond 
crypto-native circles.
## **Political shifts**
With US President Donald Trump openly backing Bitcoin &#8212; and reportedly owning 
it himself &#8212; Held said he sees a regulatory and reputational change.
&#8220;We have the most open administration toward Bitcoin in the United States,&#8221; he 
said.
&gt; &#8220;It kind of feels weird&#8230; Normally in the press, Bitcoin mining is 
&gt; destroying the environment. It&#8217;s being used by money launderers… And 
&gt; instead, you&#8217;ve got the president encouraging Bitcoin.&#8221;
Held traced Bitcoin&#8217;s unlikely rise through moments of adversity, from China&#8217;s 
mining crackdowns to the Biden administration&#8217;s strict approach to crypto 
banking. Yet despite those challenges, roughly 25% of Americans now own 
Bitcoin, he said.
## 
**DeFi on Bitcoin**
What comes next may push the asset into a new phase. Held and Jenkinson are 
proponents of building decentralized finance (DeFi) tools on top of Bitcoin, 
functionalities traditionally associated with blockchains like Ethereum or 
Solana.
&gt; &#8220;If we could bring [DeFi] back to Bitcoin, then Bitcoin could utilize not 
&gt; just spot speculation&#8230; but these other speculative games then would allow 
&gt; bitcoin to grow even faster.&#8221;
That includes borrowing, lending, and staking, all mechanisms that allow users 
to interact with Bitcoin beyond simple holding or trading.
_**Related:**__**How crypto payments can become the new &#8216;tap-and-go&#8217; &#8212; Pulsar 
co-founder**_
Jenkinson echoed the potential, highlighting a shift in attitude: &#8220;If you can 
use [Bitcoin] and bring DeFi to it, you&#8217;re basically allowing people to use 
digital gold as the underlying asset&#8230; It&#8217;s a very hard thing to do, because 
most hardcore Bitcoin maximalists don&#8217;t want people to give up their Bitcoin 
for something else.&#8221;
That tension between so-called &#8220;Bitcoin puritans&#8221; and more moderate voices is 
not new, Held noted. He recounted the 2017 Bitcoin Cash fork, describing it as 
&#8220;a civil war&#8230; brother against brother.&#8221; But unlike that contentious split, 
today&#8217;s evolution is happening without rewriting Bitcoin&#8217;s base rules. &#8220;No 
one&#8217;s proposing to change the rules of Bitcoin,&#8221; Held said. &#8220;This is 
innovation built on top.&#8221;
To hear the full conversation on The Clear Crypto Podcast, listen to the full 
episode on Cointelegraph&#8217;s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don&#8217;t 
forget to check out Cointelegraph&#8217;s full lineup of other shows!
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Beyond digital gold, Bitcoin’s next chapter is about to be unlocked — Dan Held

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