First episode of 2026 and we’re setting the frame for what matters this year: AI is hitting escape velocity, “creation” is getting commoditized, and that changes everything from business models to the metaverse thesis.
We talk through the cultural shift (the 2025 existential turn), why low-sentiment periods are when you should be paying the most attention, and how social media incentives reward overreaction. Then we zoom out to the macro: metals ripping, Bitcoin lag dynamics, and what a “real” 2026 setup could look like.
On the crypto side, we dig into the creator coin debate and why the fan-to-investor switch breaks expectations, using the Nick Shirley Zora post as a live case study. Finally, we share our north star: a world where CoinGecko has an “NAT” tab, non-arbitrary tokens become a real market category, and miners distributing NAT becomes the moment the market can’t ignore.
A Florida judge has ordered that Craig Wright turn over 50% of his Bitcoin and intellectual property from before 2014 to the estate Ira Kleiman. We discuss how this lawsuit is going and what it means for the community supporting BitcoinSV. We also notice the development of new stable currencies, seemingly sprouting at a rate near the 2017 ICO mania. Next we get into the difference between Andrew Yang and all previous candidates and how this candidate encourages a higher voter turnout. Finally we discuss new developments in our game we're designing for Decentraland!
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Welcome back to episode 23 of The Block Runner Podcast. Here is where we discuss the latest in Crypto. You can watch this podcast on our YouTube channel to follow along with our discussion. As always, I am your host William talking with your cohost Iman and with us on this podcast is Oscar because today is the day we launch our Decentraland game into the Meta verse. Listen in on us traverse the game world and to get the full experience follow along on our youtube channel. Lets jump right in!
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On episode 22, William and Iman discuss how Mr. Wonderful could be misleading people on the value and purpose of cryptocurrency. We go over two videos, one that occurred in may 2019 and another that was uploaded in April 2013. Kevin O’Leary has many positive things to say about Bitcoin but then has a different stance on it 6 years later. Could he really be manipulating people or has he changed his mind on crypto? Then we debate on the value of gold in comparison to Bitcoin. If Bitcoin is more scarce and harder to mine, are we approaching the peak of Gold? There are many developing situations around the globe that could contribute to the demise of humanity, including nuclear war, artificial intelligence, global warming, and an impending financial crisis. We discuss these dangers and how humanity’s resilience can withstand and thrive in a dwindling environment. We also look into the decentralized identity platform called Civic and discuss how decentralized identity could work.
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On episode 21, William and Iman discuss the recovery Bitcoin has made in the last week indicating another bull run is apparent. It appears to be on its way to $14k again with not a lot of resistance. The Federal Reserve has cut 25 basis points (0.25%) from interest rates therefore encouraging spending; ultimately increasing the supply of the U.S. dollar. When the supply of the dollar increases the prices of everything goes up which impacts the price of Bitcoin directly. This could contribute to the price of Bitcoin exceeding $100K at its peak in this halvening cycle. What do you do with all the crypto gains you earned in this cycle? We discovered Compound where you can stake your DAI stable coin and earn up to 17% continuously compounding interest.
If you believe in the cyclical nature of Bitcoin, then you would agree that by 2021 we’re going to see extreme all-time-highs followed by a year of a bear market. Early on William and Iman discuss what the new low will be in the near term and after the bubble bursts once again. In preparation for this next run, a discussion of a reasonable exit strategy will be critical to take advantage of this cycle. Justin Sun, founder of the Tron platform, had a scheduled lunch with Warren Buffet but a sudden illness delayed the meeting. However Justin was found at a Tron meet up event, what is going on? Next we discuss nefarious activities on decentralized and censorship resistant apps and how best to manage them. Finally, whats the difference between Twitch versus DLive.
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