Daniel Batten

A bit of honest introspection about where we are facing some headwinds in bitcoin adoption Optimism is good, but it should be grounded optimism. If you want to win a World Cup, you don’t win it by ignoring your setbacks and weaknesses, you win by analysing these and learning from them. Bitcoin adoption had a few setbacks last year that are seldom acknowledged, let alone analyzed, let alone learned from. This article is an attempt to analyze the video footage of our 2025 institutional game and come up with some suggested improvements for this year.

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What happens in price today has been foreshadowed in adoption trends months earlier. Here's my latest piece on where we are facing solvable adopt...

Starting something new: In 2025, I coached a number of Bitcoiners. Their achievements included - launching India’s first Bitcoin-only fund (done) - getting investment from Ego-death Capital for new Bitcoin company (done) - launching a Bitcoin Policy Institute for their country (done) - turning around their Bitcoin mining company (done) - launching a Bitcoin hedgefund, attracting wholesale investment (done) - influencing nation state leaders on how to acquire Bitcoin tax-neutrally (in progress) After some reflection, I've realized the best way I can contribute to mission Bitcoin is by helping more Bitcoiners to reach their potential through coaching. They can do so much more than I can alone! I've found group coaching is the most effective way to help founders, builders and educators reach escape velocity. That way people get both the right coaching, support and inspiration. Simply put: when you’re part of a group of your peers who inspire you by their example - your own game surges ahead. So I've committed to running a special year-long group in 2026. If you'd like to see if you're a fit for the group or you know someone who is (or both), reach out!

One of the less talked about benefits of Bitcoin mining to local communities is how it reduces electricity prices: a phenomenon observed around the world including, Texas, Norway, and now ... rural Kenya.

You can be lonely in a crowd. Of all the people I've coached over the years, CEOs and founders of tech companies have been the ones who consistently reported feeling the loneliest.

Yes, don't sell most of your Bitcoin, but remember: your Bitcoin will be worth a lot more if it achieves ubiquity. Cars, the radio, computers, The Internet became ubiquitous because people used them, and saw other people using them. Kinda weird to imagine that the best way to achieve Bitcoin ubiquity is by everyone not using it.

Imagine waking up to find the money you’ve saved for decades is worthless, because your government decreed overnight it was no longer legal tender This happened to Win Ko Ko Aung. Bitcoin literally changed his life. He tells his story in my newsletter 👇

No Country for Old Money

In Issue #019 we saw how 329,000 refugees had used Bitcoin to set up their lives in a new country. After that was released, I got a message from a...

Bitcoin cannot give you freedom ... Broke my sub-90sec rule to make this one. But it's topical (and personal)

The most important thing happening in Bitcoin this week is not the ATH...

Just gave a 35-min online talk + Q&A to 115 financial regulators from countries including US, UK, Australia, Egypt, Brazil, Indonesia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Uganda (over 20 nations in total) about Bitcoin In the audience was the director of the central bank of paraguay, deputy director of the central bank of pakistan. director of the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) for Brazil, deputy director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and many divisional heads. A big focus for the talk was how Bitcoin is financial inclusion technology for the world's 1.4Billion unbanked, and how it is financial freedom technology for human rights activists around the world. Strongly featured the work of Alex Gladstein and HRF, the work of Bitcoin mining companies who are helping bring people out of energy poverty, while stabilizing the grid and improving energy security and affordability, and the work of the Digital Assets Research Institute who've quantified how Bitcoin has been used as re-locatable re-settlement money for 329,000 refugees. Most had not seen any of the data I'd shared, and were eager to see the real world data that backed up these stories - which thanks to the people and entities mentioned above, we have a lot of. Probably nothing.

Thought for the day: Boredom is essential for sparking creativity and self-reflection! It is also essential for your brain. I kid you not. Here's why (based on RCT reviewed studies, not pop-psychology). 1. It Activates the "Default Mode Network" (DMN) Your DMN is a large neural network in your brain that becomes highly active when you are not focused on an external, goal-oriented task. The DMN is responsible for: Self-Reflection, creative Incubation and conso lidating of your memories That's 3 pretty important things that you miss out on when you rush to escape boredom! When you constantly fill every spare moment with scrolling, podcasts, or video, you suppress the DMN. 2. It Fosters "Divergent Thinking" Creativity isn't just about having ideas; it's about having novel and useful ideas, it's about generating many different solutions to a problem. Studies have shown that participants who were first made to perform a boring task (like reading a phone book) subsequently performed better on creative tasks than those who were not bored. This is because boredom creates an "aversive state. Your brain is unsatisfied with the current low level of stimulation. To escape this state, it starts explore internal thoughts, leading to more original, imaginative outcomes 3. It Builds Tolerance for Uncomfortable Feelings Our modern reflex to reach for a phone at the slightest trace of boredom is a form of avoidance. Constant distraction prevents us from learning to sit with mild discomfort. This can lower our overall threshold for frustration and make you more impulsive Allowing yourself to be bored is a gentle exercise in mindfulness and emotional regulation. You learn that the feeling "I need to be stimulated right now" will pass and that uou don't need an external device to manage your internal state. This builds mental resilience 4. It Leads to Authentic Motivation Boredom is your brain telling you, "What I'm doing is not that meaningful or engaging." This feeling motivates you to seek out a more challenging activities. It might push you to finally start that habit, call a friend, or just get off your butt and go outside. This is motivation born is your true inner motivation, not the external motivation of someone else's algorithm. I guess what it comes down to is "do you want to outsource your motivation to a tech company?" How to "Practice" productive boredom: Delete social media and games from your home screen ( makes accessing them an intentional act) Embrace "Micro-Boredom": Instead of pulling out your phone while in a line, just wait. Let your mind wander. Schedule Unstructured Time: Literally put "time with self" in your calendar Boredom is not an emptiness to be urgently filled. It is an invitation to increase your self-awareness, creativity, and intrinsic motivation. By rushing to fill the gap, you rob your mind of one of its most vital functions: the power to simply be with yourself.