Julian Liniger: The Surprising Truth About Who's Buying Bitcoin
7/14/2026 · 32 min · transcript via whisper
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Key topics
— Julian Liniger, co-founder and CEO of Relai (Europe's leading Bitcoin-only exchange), discusses his company's growth from 100,000+ onboarded Europeans and ~20,000 Bitcoin purchased over six years.
— Relai's user demographics skew older and more affluent than expected—primarily 40–80-year-old professionals (taxi drivers, hairdressers, students) rather than digital-native millennials; many progress from small recurring purchases to six-figure investments.
— Self-custody architecture: Relai never holds customer funds; instead it integrates a self-custodial wallet with the exchange to eliminate counterparty risk and align with Bitcoin's core principles.
— European regulatory landscape: Relai obtained the MiCA (Markets in Crypto Assets) license by the January 2024 deadline, enabling operations across all EU countries; regulatory friction remains higher in Europe than the US.
— Current bear market sentiment at historical lows; retail investors are distracted by AI/big tech IPOs, geopolitical uncertainty, and cost-of-living pressures rather than Bitcoin accumulation, despite strong "buy the dip" volume when prices drop.
— Relai's vision: build a "bridge" for ordinary Europeans into Bitcoin; pursue unicorn status and eventual public listing as trillions of capital shift from fiat to fixed-supply assets.
Market & price signals
— Julian observes that retail activity is highly cyclical and correlated with Bitcoin price movement and sentiment. During bear markets (like now), new user signups and average volume per user are 50% below Q4 levels; price stability between $60–80k has particularly dampened activity. He forecasts the bottom was reached in April 2024; expects modest gains through year-end (with big tech/AI still absorbing liquidity and geopolitical uncertainty limiting upside), followed by a bull market and new all-time highs well above $100k in 2025 as capital rotates from speculative tech into hard assets. He notes customers with four-year savings plans have never lost money.
Actionable insights
— Recurring Bitcoin savings plans—even modest amounts ($50–100/week)—prove more psychologically durable during downturns than lump-sum buying; disciplined accumulators see long-term gains regardless of short-term volatility.
— Current bear market sentiment and low media coverage may signal a generational entry point for patient investors; mainstream adoption lags technical maturity by years, creating opportunity windows for early believers.
— Self-custody wallets with user-friendly backup (cloud, biometric) are becoming competitive with custodial exchanges as UX improves; prioritize platforms that emphasize true ownership and recovery pathways over convenience-focused ETFs or exchanges that hold your Bitcoin.
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