Pierre Roshard, who calls himself a “Bitcoin Maximalist OG,” first discovered Bitcoin in 2012 while studying at UT Austin. With an interest in Austrian economics and open source software, he was “fascinated” by Bitcoin as both the intersection. He became an early thought leader and co-founded the Nakamoto AT Institute, housing basic writings and cypherpunk philosophy.
Beyond the roles of BitPay, Kraken, and more recently Riot Platforms (Riot), his work spans Bitcoin infrastructure and advocacy. In Riot, he led a response to environmental criticism, including a viral parody video that “putted critics on defense,” reframed debates about mining and value creation.
Pierre Rochard is a speaker at Consensus 2025 in Toronto, May 14-16. Get your pass here.
“Critics don’t believe Bitcoin has value, so they think mining is a waste,” Roshard said. “But it’s about financial sovereignty, the ability to control your own money.”
Currently, he is taking on the next frontier at Bitcoin Bond Company. This unlocks Bitcoin for fixed income investors.
Unlike Michael Saylor’s long-only strategy, Rochard wants to build a “bankruptcy removal, Bitcoin-only structure” with a clear lifecycle and risk tranching. The idea is to make Bitcoin more attractive to traditional credit allocators.
His goal? We will acquire $1 trillion in Bitcoin over the next 21 years.
In the price cycle, Rochard believes that half of the four-year model has lost its connection to price forecasting objectives. “Bitcoin’s CAGR is now tied to interest rates,” he said. “The Fed’s high fees withdraw capital from Bitcoin, which delays adoption.”
Education remains a major hurdle, but he is optimistic. “10 years ago, this idea was laughed at. Today, Bitcoin-backed credit products are inevitable.”
In Consensus 2025, Pierre focuses on accelerating its education, especially among institutions looking to diversify beyond real estate and equity.
Rochard also had a clear look at the risks and hurdles in Bitcoin adoption. “The biggest challenge is education,” he emphasized. “Most investors have never seen fixed income products backed purely by Bitcoin. They are used to real estate and corporate debt. This is a new asset class for them.”
When asked about concerns such as low transaction fees and empty blocks in 2025, Rochard was pushed back. “People are worried about low prices, but it assumes a static system. If there is attack or censorship, the fees will skyrocket and miners will spin up. That’s anti-attack by design.”