My guest today is Bob Burnett, veteran technologist, former Gateway CTO, and now CEO of Barefoot Mining. From consumer tech pioneer with eight U.S. patents to leader in sovereign Bitcoin mining, Bob shares his vision for “wild mining,” where miners own their energy using innovative energy sources. He challenges the myth that mining is only for massive corporations, showing how small, strategically placed operations can be both profitable and decentralizing. We discuss adoption curves, block template decentralization, why nation-states should build mining infrastructure before buying Bitcoin reserves, lessons from the early PC revolution, and the coming energy race with AI and High-Performance Computing.
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Bob’s Twitter: https://x.com/boomer_btc Barefoot Mining: barefootmining.com
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-- CHAPTERS –
00:00 – Coming Up
01:29 – Bob’s Background & His Long Tech Career
05:15 – Bob’s Patents & Innovations, Early Adopter Mindset
10:00 – Leap Frog Into New Tech Frontiers - AI & Bitcoin
14:00 – PC As Prerequisite For The Internet Revolution
17:00 – Good & Bad Actors
19:00 – Why Bob Chose Bitcoin Mining
21:10 – Bob’s Bitcoin Mining 101 Explanation
25:00 – Why Bitcoin & Barefoot Mining?
34:20 – Smaller Scale 0.5-5MW “Wild” Mining Sites Can Be As Cost Effective As Larger 50-200MW Sites
39:40 – Barefoot Mining Expansion
41:40 – The Energy Landscape and Bitcoin Mining
43:44 – Opportunities for Small-Scale Mining
46:39 – Meaning of HODL & Role of Citizens in Bitcoin
48:24 – Key Trends in Bitcoin, Inc. Template Creation
54:54 – Political Implications & Weaponization of Bitcoin Mining
1:00:54 – Economic Sovereignty through Mining
1:04:36 – The OP_Return Debate & Facilitating Change
1:12:06 – Bob’s Hope for the Future