Episode 3 - Negotiating with Penguins

[00:30] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[01:20] Tariffs are based on deficits, right?

[21:18] What position is the US workforce in to absorb these changes?

[31:10] Universal Basic Income

[39:40] Should we expect more volatility in the market?

[43:05] How does all of this impact Bitcoin?

[51:59] What is the path out of this?

Episode 2 - GME On!

[00:30] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:54] GameStop and the current state of Bitcoin Treasury Adoption

[26:00] Metaplanet’s big move

[29:27] The Trump Family’s involvement in the Bitcoin Community

[38:56] Liberation Day and tariffs

[53:36] Is Bitcoin Risk-On or Risk-Off?

[59:04] Closing thoughts

Episode 1 - Bitcoin is the Hurdle Rate

[0:20] Welcome to The Hurdle Rate

[01:17] Meet Matt Cole

[03:12] Meet Ben Werkman

[04:48] Meet Jeff Walton

[06:29] What does Hurdle Rate mean in this current environment?

[25:44] Is Bitcoin the Hurdle Rate?

[01:07:03] Which AI tools are the guys using?

[01:24:30] Tariff talk 

[01:36:47] What will happen with inflation?

Episode 5 - DXY vs. Store of Value Assets

[00:30] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[01:26] DXY Breakdown

[22:51] Gold vs Bitcoin as the Hurdle Rate

[36:59] Interest rates and stagflation

[48:00] Strategy, Metaplanet, and Bitcoin dominance

Episode 4 - Bitcoin Portfolio Theory

[00:30] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[01:30] Catching up on economic news from the last week

[24:15] Jeff’s Monte Carlo simulations

[43:13] Matt and Strive’s engagement with Intuit

[53:30] Strategy’s mNAV

[01:03:41] Closing thoughts

Episode 6 - Win or Win More

[00:30] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[01:15] MSTR Earnings

[29:19] 21 Capital’s Announcement

[41:10] Next week’s Bitcoin for Corporations Conference and MSTR True North World

[43:25] What’s taking so long with GameStop?

[49:47] Ray Dalio - Is it too late?

Episode 7 - Fully Torqued Bitcoin

[00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:20] Strategy (MSTR) earnings call recap

[01:39] 42/42 Capital Raising Plan

[11:43] Permanent Leverage without Refinancing Risk

[12:19] Seniority & Volatility of Strategy’s BTC-Backed Securities

[17:38] Using BTC Risk for Credit Analysis

[23:29] Strategy Liabilities and Capital Structure

[33:53] BTC Torque

[40:39] Credit Comparison of Strategy products

[45:14] Closing thoughts and looking ahead to Orlando

Episode 11 - People Are Dancing

[00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:11] Recap of the Past Week

[03:48] GameStop’s Bitcoin Treasury Announcement

[16:24] True North Meetup in Vegas

[22:22] Strive’s Big Announcement

[39:07] Closing Thoughts

Episode 10 - Have Bitcoin, Get Money

[00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:40] Another Big Buy for MSTR

[17:11] Semler Scientific adds Natalie Brunell to their Board

[26:55] Jamie Dimon’s Bitcoin comments

[37:26] US Debt gets Downgraded

[53:20] Class action lawsuit vs Strategy

Episode 9 - A Movement Has Started

[00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[02:14] The latest in the Bitcoin Treasury space

[12:12] Being bold and having courage

[28:00] Why are retail investors understanding Strategy’s playbook better than  institutions?

[34:46] What will be the main themes for investors to learn about?

[49:00] Closing thoughts

Episode 8 - Strategy World Recap: A Revolution Ignited

[00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:34] - Strategy World Recap

[07:10] - Strive’s Announcement

[19:44] - How Michael Saylor utilized AI to create fixed income products

[23:19] - Tim’s takeaways from the conference

[26:52] - Ben’s conference breakdown

[29:07] - Matt’s remarks on the conference

[30:55] - Is Jeff a double or triple Maxi?

Episode 12 - Upgrade with Junk Grade

[00:00] - Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:20] - STRD Announcement Reaction

[29:40] - Has Bitcoin Peaked for this Cycle?

[37:02] - James Wynn’s Wild Ride

[38:40] - What Should the Bitcoin Interest Rate Be?

Episode 14 - The World's Evolving

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[00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:30] Altcoin Treasury Strategy?

[05:46] Is Chanos the Next Hurdle Rate Host?

[14:31] Checking In on the US Dollar

[25:57] Talking Your Own Bag

[37:05] Saylor's Latest Bitcoin Buy & Explaining Strategy

[46:54] Bitcoin's Resilience Amid Global Tension

Episode 13 - Building for Decades

[00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[01:29] What’s Going On with American Politics?

[14:46] Bitcoin Treasury Companies as Tax Advantaged Perpetual Bitcoin Dividend Drips

[20:02] The Upside in STRD

[31:40] Is There Something Holding the Bond Market Back?

[46:39] Thinking Through the Leverage Ratio of Strategy

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Episode 15 - Billions in Bitcoin Treasuries

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[00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[01:16] Tim and Matt Recap BTC Prague

[09:53] Where Can Bitcoin Treasury Companies Be 4 Years From Now?

[24:39] Alt season

[30:20] New Announcements in the Bitcoin Treasury Space

[41:25] Aggression and The Digital Transformation of Investor Relations

[53:02] Matt Cole on True North?

Episode 19 - A Huge Wave of Capital isn't a STRC

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[00:00:00] - Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:23] - STRC - What Does It Mean to You?

[00:20:54] - Real Estate Vs Perpetual Preferred Products

[00:38:45] - Is Winter Coming Back?

[00:50:25] - Ben Breaks The Top 20

[00:51:01] 351 and Joining the Strive Family

Episode 18 - Transparency is Not Priced In

Thank you to our sponsor, Swan Bitcoin.

[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:01:47] Strategy’s Latest Buy

[00:08:25] Altcoin Treasury Companies?

[00:18:58] AI’s Impact on Bitcoin Treasury Companies

[00:25:17] Breaking Down ‘Analysts’ Estimates on MSTR

[00:33:24] So Much for Sideways Summer?

[00:37:51] The End of Earnings Volatility?

[00:41:28] The Mispricing of Risk for Bitcoin Treasury Companies

[00:43:36] New Tariffs, No Flinch

Episode 17 - Strategy hits their STRD

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[00:00:00] - Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:13] - Jeff’s Big Announcement

[00:13:17] - What Does STRD Having an ATM Facility in the Market Mean to You? 

[00:19:19] - How Big Should a Company be Before Issuing Preferred Products?

[00:32:42] - Elon Musk - “Fiat is Hopeless”

Episode 16 - Dividend Drip

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[00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:21] The Dividend Drip

[07:38] Strategy Added to Russell Top 200 Value Index

[13:16] Stock Market Hits All Time Highs

[19:00] Bitcoin - Nothing Stops This Train

[28:52] Will Investors Be Scared Off By This Recent Run?

[50:35] Metaplanet Hits #5

Episode 21 - The Intelligent Leverage Trade: Winter Isn't Coming Back

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:01:34] Recapping MSTR Earnings Call

[00:09:49] Strategy’s ATM Adjustment

[00:21:00] MSTR’s Bitcoin Per Share

[00:30:03] Only Look at Leverage Ratio

[00:45:08] Could Bitcoin Treasury Companies Lead to the Next Bear Market?

Episode 20 - Convert to IPO

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:01:15] STRC IPO

[00:13:07] Converts and MSTR Earnings Expectations

[00:22:38] No ATM Usage from Strategy

[00:37:30] US Trade Deal with EU 

[00:44:16] mNAV Indicator of Store of Value

Episode 46 -  Build The Structure

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:01:05] Kevin Warsh Named Fed Chair

[00:24:38] Clawdbots & Moltbook

[00:32:10] The Pref Only Model & Digital Risk

[00:44:05] Bitcoin as a Term Asset & What a Supercycle Means

Episode 45 - Preferred Equity Demand

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:40] Does the Preferred Equity Present a Systemic Risk to Bitcoin?

[00:21:42] Strive + Semler: The First M&A Transaction in Bitcoin Treasuries

[00:33:30] IBIT Bitcoin Covered Call ETF

[00:41:51] Gold & Silver Price Action

[00:47:30] What is Japan Saying to the World Right Now?

[00:58:54] Bitcoin in an Action-Packed 2026

Episode 36 - Inside the Digital Credit Revolution

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:01:30] Bitcoin Amsterdam & Cantor Conference Miami Recaps

[00:19:24] Volatility in the Prefs

[00:41:08] Underwriting Bitcoin

[00:47:28] Hedging with Zcash?

Episode 35 - Amplified Bitcoin and Digital Credit

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:30] The IPOs of Digital Credit

[00:12:41] The Process of Launching a Preferred Product

[00:27:06] ASST & SATA Update

Episode 34 - The Preferred Strategy is Digital Credit

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:34] Strive’s SATA Announcement

[00:01:15] Strategy Introduces Stream

[00:15:37] MSTR Q3 Earnings Call Recap

[00:36:10] ROC Dividends

[00:42:02] Additional Highlights from Strategy Earnings Report

Episode 33 - Credit Ratings for Digital Capital

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:30] Strategy Gets a Credit Rating

[00:12:43] How This Will Impact the Insurance Industry

[00:21:50] Interest Coverage Ratio and Industry Credit Ratings

[00:27:23]  What Will It Take for Bitcoin Treasury Companies Credit Ratings to Go Higher?

[00:44:08] Mike Alfred, Big Volumes, and What It All Means

[00:51:18] US China Trade Deal and Other Macro Tailwinds

Episode 32 - Strategic Risk Taking

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:34] Recapping Tim’s Latest Bitcoin Treasuries Digital Conference

[00:13:34] Sentiment vs Conviction with Bitcoin Treasury Companies

[00:25:17] Why do Bitcoin Treasury Companies Exist?

[00:38:18] Strategic Risk Taking

Episode 31 - The Digital Credit Landscape

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:02:00] Crypto Crash of October 11

[00:21:11] Launching a Treasury Company from Zero

[00:43:44] Deep Dive on Private Credit

Episode 30 - Focus on the Future

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:20] Ben Werkman Joins Strive as CIO

[00:18:07] Tribalism and Doubt in Bitcoin

[00:32:47] The Fastest Growing ETF of All Time

[00:35:03] CAMT - Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax

[00:41:52] Uptober Getting Revved Up

Episode 29 - Bitcoin Supercycle

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:01:24] Breaking News: Tim is All In and Dedicating His Life to Bitcoin

[00:10:11] Bitcoin vs Other Store of Value Assets

[00:21:41] Bitcoin Super Cycle?

[00:26:30] Digital ID Rollout in the UK

[00:41:00] Strategy Dividend Day

Episode 28 - The M&A Era has Begun

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:15] Strive Acquires Semler Scientific

[00:19:39] The Impact of Meeting Bitcoiners in Person

[00:26:40] Behind the Scenes of the Bitcoin Treasuries NYC Unconference with Tim

[00:38:55] Operating with a Long Term View in Bitcoin

Episode 27 - The Starting Line

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:32] Strive Announces Board of Directors

[00:29:57] Rate Cut on Wednesday?

[0036:57] Bitcoin Treasuries Unconference

[00:46:51] Options on the Prefs

Episode 44 - Digital Credit Clarity

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:56] Strategy’s Latest

[00:11:55] Credit Spreads Hit All Time Tights

[00:30:06] Coinbase Pulls Out of Clarity Act

[00:43:54] Matt Cole Corners the Bitcoin Treasury Podcast Industrial Complex

Episode 26 - Zoom Out. We're Early.

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:40] No Strategy in the S&P 500

[00:14:20] Michael Saylor Reframes the World of Risk

[00:37:11] The Landscape of Strategy’s ATMs

[00:40:58] Pierre’s Closing Thoughts

Episode 25 - Will Travel for Bitcoin

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:23] Recapping Bitcoin Asia

[00:21:22] STRC Dividend Increases

[00:34:13] Fed Independence and What Rates Should Do

Episode 24 - Fed Signals and Equity Stakes

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:45] Meet The Hurdle Rate’s First Guest Host, Avik Roy

[00:02:44] Strive’s Major News Announcement

[00:08:40] The Fed Symposium in Jackson Hole

[00:29:59] Intel & The US Government

[00:56:33] Update on Tim’s Unconference

Episode 23 - Noise in the Market

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:30] Trading Below 1 mNAV?

[00:27:41] Gold Revaluation

[00:36:51] Bitcoin Treasury Executive Compensation 

[00:42:10] Preferred Liquidation Preference

Episode 22 - Commodity, Security, Token

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:30] Bo Hines to the Private Sector

[00:08:30] ETH Treasury Companies and Scale

[00:31:57] Tim’s NYC Unconference

[00:40:44] Strategy’s 5 Year Bitcoin Anniversary

Episode 43 - The Best Message Is Digital Credit

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:02:55] Strategy’s $1.25 Billion Orange Buy

[00:15:56] Michael Saylor on What Bitcoin Did

[00:39:58] Jerome Powell in Hot Water and Disenchantment with the Fed

[00:49:30] Trump Caps Credit Card Interest

[00:56:03] Strive Semler Merger

Episode 42 - Pensions, Private Equity & Digital Credit

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• 0:00 - Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate
• 0:55 - Strategy Gears Up for Massive 2026
• 12:10 - Looking Back at 2025: Year Zero in Digital Credit
• 30:12 - Capital Allocation and Pension Funds
• 50:18 - 2026 Outlook

Episode 41 - Structurally Bullish

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:01:21] Reflections on 2025

[00:08:14] The Bitcoin Era

[00:18:12] Amplification and the Power of Compounding

[00:30:30] Do You Beat The Hurdle Rate of Bitcoin?

[00:53:04] Tim’s Review of Bitcoin Treasuries Big Year

Episode 40 - Set Up For A Supercycle

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:02:08] The Latest on Bitcoin

[00:10:18] A Decade-Long Supercycle?

[00:19:47] OCC Greenlights Crypto Bank Charters

[00:26:14] Valuations

[00:34:48] Quantum Risks?

[00:40:15] MSTR Staying in Nasdaq 100

[00:43:57] Final Thoughts

Episode 39 - The Hurdle Rate Is High

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[00:00:30] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:01:30] Bitcoin MENA

[00:22:53] Bitcoin As The Hurdle Rate

[00:37:27] Closing Thoughts

Episode 38 - The Incentives Are Aligned

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:40] The Incentives Are Aligned

[00:10:50] MSTR’s Green Dots & USD Reserve

[00:46:16] STRC Dividend Rate Hike

Episode 37 - Meet Them Where They're At

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate

[00:00:50] Market Uncertainty & MSCI Exclusions

[00:34:14] Mike Green Article and the K-Shaped Economy

Episode 63: The Digital Credit Capital Framework In this week's Hurdle Rate, the crew opens with the latest on digital credit volatility and the broader market backdrop, before digging into Strategy's capital framework and how management is navigating stress in the system. The conversation turns to institutional behavior, the realities of managing a cash balance sheet, and the dynamics of leverage and short interest within digital credit. We unpack high yield investing perspectives, what resilience and company DNA actually look like in this market, and the specific investor protections built into SATA. We close with reflections on what it takes to build durable structures in the digital credit era.

Episode 62: Digital Credit Weakness Full episodes: https://tnorth.com/hurdle-rate/ In this week's Hurdle Rate, the crew breaks down the mechanics of volatility and liquidation events, before turning to shifting investor behavior and how markets react to sudden liquidations. We dig into how digital credit stacks up against traditional financial instruments, the innovations shaping the future of the lending landscape, and what it takes for protocols to remain resilient in brutal bear markets. We close with a deeper look at the Federal Reserve, the opinions surrounding Kevin Warsh, and why navigating economic uncertainty requires a unique strategy for the anticipated super cycle ahead. Here’s the latest with Tim Kotzman, Matt Cole, Jeff Walton, and Ben Werkman. 00:00 - Welcome To The Hurdle Rate 06:24 - Analyzing Volatility and Liquidation Events 11:28 - Understanding Market Reactions and Investor Behavior 17:23 - Comparing Digital Credit to Traditional Financial Instruments 22:11 - The Future of Digital Credit and Market Innovations 30:52 - Resilience in Bear Markets 36:07 - Opinions on Kevin Warsh and the Fed 41:48 - Navigating Economic Uncertainty 51:53 - Optimism for a Super Cycle

Episode 53 - Bitcoin, AI and The New QE

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate [00:01:45] US Debt Crisis [00:17:37] AI Disruption in The Startup Economy [00:30:58] Debasement & Portfolio Construction [00:44:34] Which Type of Non-Bitcoin Company Would Even Be Attractive Now?

Episode 52 - An Increasingly Digital World

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[00:00:00] Welcome Back to The Hurdle Rate [00:01:10] The Latest News from Strategy [00:14:00] Private Credit Liquidity Issues [00:32:23] The Correlation Between Private Credit and Public Credit Markets