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Bitcoin For Organisations - My First Bitcoin - James Dewar, David Pool, Darren Freemantle. #609

5/16/2026 · 68 min · transcript via whisper

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Key topics

Bitcoin for Organizations curriculum: James Dewar, David Paul, and Darren Fremantle have developed an open-source educational framework (hosted on MyFirstBitcoin.org) designed to help mid-to-large organizations evaluate Bitcoin through a risk management lens rather than as a speculative investment.

Risk management as the entry point: The curriculum positions Bitcoin assessment as a fiduciary duty and risk management exercise. Organizations should document Bitcoin as a potential threat or opportunity on their risk registers, regardless of conviction about its probability or outcome.

Agentic AI and Bitcoin payments: The group discussed Bitcoin's unique suitability for payments between autonomous AI agents. Unlike traditional systems requiring KYC and legal identity, Bitcoin and Lightning Network enable instantaneous, irreversible micropayments between agents globally—a capability no other system can provide at scale.

Overcoming institutional resistance: Rather than knocking on corporate doors directly, the team is focusing on embedding Bitcoin education into business school curricula and approaching risk, compliance, and legal functions within organizations where educational traction has been strongest.

Curriculum structure and contributions: The framework covers industry verticals (energy, government, investment management, banking, technology, and others) and internal functions (risk, IT, treasury). It includes 10 "myth-dispelling" modules addressing common FUD and additional content on Bitcoin's adoption cycle and technical history. The curriculum is open-source on GitHub; contributors can add sections for industries or functions not yet covered.

Academic and institutional progress: Early wins include interest from business schools (Salford, Henley, Bayes/Cass in London) and law firms navigating MICA regulations. The Czech central bank has experimented with Bitcoin holdings, suggesting institutional exploration is beginning.

Market & price signals

None discussed.

Actionable insights

If you work in a Bitcoin-accepting organization or have influence over risk management, use the Bitcoin for Organizations curriculum (myfirstbitcoin.org) to frame a risk register entry as a fiduciary duty, not a speculative bet. Position it as documenting a low-probability, high-consequence scenario—similar to how insurance operates.

For "sleeper Bitcoiners" embedded in larger firms, you can embed Bitcoin risk and opportunity messaging into existing training, compliance frameworks, or innovation discussions without explicit Bitcoin advocacy. David Paul's approach of weaving content into technology and AI strategy conversations demonstrates how to normalize the conversation.

If you have domain expertise (HR, pharma, real estate, etc.), consider contributing to the open-source Bitcoin for Organizations curriculum on GitHub. The project explicitly needs industry-specific chapters; this is a high-leverage way to help organizations in your sector think about Bitcoin systematically.

Episode sponsorships

Paid placements mentioned in this episode. BTC Pods is not sponsored by or affiliated with these advertisers. Links are included so you can find offers mentioned on the show.

Club Orange is a global Bitcoin meetup platform with over 20,000 members worldwide, allowing users to find local Bitcoin communities and events. Club Orange

Bitbox.swiss.com is a self-custody Bitcoin platform emphasizing non-custodial ownership. Bitbox.swiss

MyFirstBitcoin.org is an open-source Bitcoin education project offering textbooks and curricula for students, educators, and organizations. MyFirstBitcoin

The Meetup Breakdown is a UK-focused Bitcoin newsletter highlighting Britcoin meetups and community events. The Meetup Breakdown Discount code BITTERN available for conference tickets.

Bitcoin conferences mentioned: Ireland (next week), Prague (June), Helsinki (September) with code BITTERN for discounts.