The Last Trade E070: Bitcoin is the Real Hurdle Rate with Richard Byworth

Richard Byworth, who spent 18 years in investment banking trading convertible bonds and navigating the Lehman Brothers collapse, joins The Last Trade to make the case that Bitcoin is the real hurdle rate against which all capital allocation decisions should be measured. He recounts his journey from dismissing Bitcoin on the trading floor in 2009, to buying gold in 2012 as a fiat hedge, to eventually building Diginex—a regulated crypto exchange listed on Nasdaq via SPAC—before stepping down over governance concerns and joining Seez Capital in Switzerland. Richard explains why proof-of-work Bitcoin mining was his gateway to understanding Bitcoin's fundamental differentiation from altcoins, and why the regulated DCA platform Relay may now be the largest in the world. The discussion covers Switzerland's Bitcoin ecosystem, the role of convertible bonds in corporate Bitcoin treasury strategies, and why Bitcoin's monetary properties make it the benchmark for all other investments.