We just wrapped up the lively Bitcoin Renaissance AMA, where we explored the intersection of Bitcoin and DeFi (BTCfi), the evolution of Bitcoin through projects like Ordinals, and the role a Bitcoin-first launchpad will play in shaping Bitcoin’s future ecosystem.
Missed it live? Then catch the replay on our X/Twitter.
This session was packed with insights from:
— Valerioshi: Founder of Degen Reports, Former President of X+ DeGods. Once “led a fundraising campaign to buy and burn a cryptopunk with the homies”
— Laila Effiong: Content Marketing Manager at GoMining
— Yann Barry: Community Lead at GoMining
Let’s dive into the key takeaways!
Highlights from the AMA
🔥 Bitcoin Mining with GoMining: GoMining offers users the ability to purchase a share of a real data center, scaling rewards based on power holdings.
🔥 The BTCfi Launchpad Movement: Bitcoin’s first launchpads could shift liquidity back to Bitcoin, reinforcing BTC’s dominance in crypto finance.
🔥 Filtering Alpha in BTCfi: Ignore the noise—focus on projects with long-term vision, strong collectors, a clear strategy and can articulate their value beyond hype.
🔥 Challenges in BTCfi Adoption: Bitcoin needs better onboarding experiences to simplify access to DeFi tools like lending, borrowing, and long-term asset management.
Let’s Dive into Some Key Questions
How does GoMining work with mining Bitcoin?
Laila Effiong: Essentially, you're purchasing a piece of a real data center, and whatever is mined through that data center, you get a share of….So it scales up according to how much power you're holding.
Where does the NFT live? What chain is it on?
Laila: We’re chain agnostic. You can hold the Digital Miners, but to mine BTC you need to be a user of the GoMining app. Then you can also get your BTC rewards on chains like Solana.
Yann Barry: So regarding the chain itself—what we have done is that the NFTs are created through the application, and then we have a KYC process that usually takes between 60 to 90 days to ensure security for all users. This makes it so that it remains a native platform NFT, meaning it's native to our application. After 60 to 90 days, you are able to sell that NFT on the marketplace. Right now, the two main chains we are compatible with for digital miners are our blockchain and Solana, where we have partnerships and limited collections linked to those miners.
Why does GoMining do KYC?
Yann: For us, one of the biggest priorities is ensuring that we can keep the application alive on iOS and Google Play Store while keeping the utility running. To ensure our users continue to generate passive income, we still have to stick to KYC verification for now.
On Finding Alpha
How do you filter through the noise, find the alpha and evaluate what’s truly valuable in BTCfi?
Valerioshi:
We're living in an attention economy where attention directly equates to monetary value. So if you can gain attention, you are going to make money.
One of the issues is that attention is very scarce, so we need to know what we're paying attention to and what we should disregard…We're living in a completely digital space where your liquidity is how you place votes or have a say in the space.
So if you buy something, that's the most direct way you can say, hey, I'm putting my money where my mouth is. This is what I support.
And there's very few projects, I feel, that actually deserve our liquidity. So unless you have unlimited liquidity, you need to play the game. And the game is liquidity extraction, because people come in, traders come in, and then many exit, and a lot of the times it becomes a game of chicken.
..We need to look in terms of: “Hey, is this collection going to survive long term”, and is it going to hold value for people outside of our space? And what's this project actually attempting to achieve? There are pure art projects, but there are also projects with a mission...and if you believe in that mission, you might want to be part of that community.
What are your thoughts on NFTs on Bitcoin, and what’s your advice for users who want to potentially spot the most successful projects?
Valerioshi: One of the strongest value propositions for me, for art on Bitcoin, is that the art actually sits in your wallet, and no one, no third party—can change it. Ordinals and runes are leveraged on Bitcoin, and regardless of if they go up or down, they will always be in BTC.
...Then, for spotting successful projects, you want to check who is in the community, not just the size of the community, because there are some amazing people and really smart collectors. So if you know who's who in the space, and you know what they're collecting, then you can probably trust the project.
A Bitcoin-first launchpad like the GoMining Launchpad is pretty rare. How do you see this BTCfi push impacting Bitcoin as a whole, and maybe the crypto ecosystem as a whole?
Valerioshi: I do feel like Bitcoin is the safest bet, and it's the smartest because you can you can go on Ethereum, and you can layer-2 it up all you want, but at the end of the day, you're going to be holding ETH.
I think holding something like ETH is going to be disastrous in the long run, not just in terms of price, but also because, as more stuff goes on Bitcoin, it'll make less and less sense to be on chains like Ethereum.
I'm sorry if you're into Ethereum. I gotta apologize, because I'm using it as an example of how it’s less relevant today than it was yesterday, and I believe it'll continue to be so, because Ethereum has a first mover disadvantage, right? It came first with smart contract functionality, and now that other chains have smart contract functionality and can do it better, it's like, why should I use Ethereum?
And I don't believe Ethereum is the only chain. Over time, as more and more established [use cases] move to Bitcoin and we have more Bitcoin soft forks, it's going to become difficult for other chains to compete.
Eventually, I do believe most of the liquidity will flow back to the motherchain, because it just makes sense, Bitcoin is the biggest and best brand out there. It's the most recognizable.
And if, you know, you ask your aunt if she's heard of crypto, she might be like, “hey, yeah, I bought some XRP,” right? But guess what? She's not going to hold on to XRP long term. She's going to be like, “You know what? Once I feel like I'm done with being a degen, maybe I should put it in a safe place.” And Bitcoin is the strongest brand out there. In terms of all the crypto, its the most recognizable and has withstood the Lindy effect the longest.
Ultimately, it's a zero sum game, and only a handful live, each with their own unique cases.
What are the biggest challenges and opportunities in BTCfi right now?
Valerioshi: I think one of the biggest challenges is, like I mentioned, onboarding. I mean, it's nice that we're able to lend and borrow BTC and leverage that way, but at the same time, I do feel like there are so many limitations to that.
For example, to be able to take out a long-term loan. And I mean like a 20-year loan, right? So that I can buy a house with just Bitcoin. I still have to go to the bank. I can't do that on Bitcoin, and I feel like that's something we should be exploring, not just short term loans….
…I would love to see apps that allow me to basically release SATs or BTC into a different wallet if BTC has been just sitting in my wallet for like, 10 years, untouched.
Like, say, I have an unfortunate accident, God forbid, and then I pass away. No one else in my family can get access to my wallet. Why is there no app that can basically transfer those assets automatically, like a signature?
So, I do feel like there's a lot of stuff we could explore that has real life utility. After all, we're here because we want to take control of our liquidity and our assets and our freedom, and we still don't have anything that can rival a mortgage with the bank.
I would like to see more innovative things that challenge what we have in real life and the limited issues that we have 100%.
GoMining x Ordinals…? 👀
Laila: We’ve been talking a lot about BTCfi but we actually have something coming in the 2025 roadmap, which is support for the BRC-721 standard with a digital miners collection. And also, possibly a release of a collection on Ordinals. But you didn’t hear that on this space. That’s something really interesting we’re gearing towards in our roadmap, but let’s try to keep it a secret.
What’s Next?
This AMA barely scratched the surface of BTCfi’s potential, but here’s what’s coming next:
📂 Bitcoin Launchpad Evolution — Backing BTC-based early-stage projects on the rise.
📂 GoMining Payment Cards — Making BTCfi more accessible to mainstream users.
Wish you could have joined in live? Don’t worry—we’ll be hosting these kinds of sessions regularly. Stay tuned for the next one and keep an eye out for upcoming announcements!
March 3, 2025
