Main Takeaways
Binance’s Jessica Walker sat down for a wide-ranging and timely interview with Pete Rizzo, a Bitcoin historian and journalist.
They discussed the recent Bitcoin all-time high and its implications for the industry and finance at large.
Read on to find out why Pete Rizzo is both bullish and bearish about the market situation.
"If you had told me back in 2013 what the world would look like when Bitcoin hit $100,000, I would've said we'd all be using Bitcoin by now."
— Pete Rizzo, Bitcoin Historian
Welcome to the Top of the Mountain — Again
In July 2025, Bitcoin smashed through yet another milestone, hitting an all-time high of over $123,000. On the frontlines of this moment was Jessica Walker, Binance's Head of Global Media, who sat down for a wide-ranging and timely interview with Pete Rizzo, Bitcoin Historian and Editor-in-Chief of Bitcoin Magazine. Pete is one of the most OG bitcoiners, and it was a privilege to hear all his takeaways about the latest all-time-high.
The interview, broadcast via Binance Studios, was a 360-degree tour of Bitcoin's present, future, and ideological roots — from Bloomberg’s updated charts to BlackRock's bullish calls and the legendary "Buy Bitcoin" sign now worth millions.
This is your briefing — complete with quotes, takeaways, and highlights — for anyone trying to wrap their head around what this ATH means and what comes next.
The Sentiment Check: Bullish, But Not Euphoric
"We're still early... You can still get thousands of sats for under a dollar. People aren't waking up yet, even at $100,000!"
— Pete Rizzo
Industry veterans met Bitcoin’s $123K moment with cool-headed clarity. Rizzo, who entered the Bitcoin space in 2013, reflects on how the ecosystem matured:
The bull case? Major institutions are finally participating, and regulations are being drawn up worldwide to provide more clarity.
The bear case? Retail still doesn’t quite get it. Mass adoption? Not yet. Crypto OGs are no longer going to pretend that it is not frustrating that even at $123K, cryptocurrency usage is still not as ubiquitous as it should be.
This ATH isn’t the endgame. It’s the start of a new cycle, one that feels less like a frenzy and more like inevitability.
Watch the full video here.
Quote Check: The Biggest Bitcoin Soundbites Around ATH
Below are Pete Rizzo’s takes on some of the biggest ideas voiced in the Bitcoin space in the recent market cycle.
1. Michael Saylor: "Bitcoin is capital — perfected, programmable, incorruptible."
Strategy’s Michael Saylor at Bitcoin 2025 conference said: “Clarity comes the moment you realize Bitcoin is capital – perfected capital, programmable capital, incorruptible capital.”
Jessica Walker: You’ve watched the Bitcoin narrative evolve, what impact has Saylor had on the current wave of institutional and public discourse?
Rizzo's Take: Saylor speaks to CEOs. He saw what many missed: Bitcoin isn’t just reserved for individuals, now it is also used as corporate capital preservation. Companies have balance sheets, why not hold BTC?
2. Larry Fink: "Bitcoin to $700,000."
In January 2025, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink made headlines saying Bitcoin could reach $700,000 per coin.
Jessica Walker: How do you feel about legacy finance driving the price narrative now versus grassroots adoption?
Rizzo's Take: Legacy finance finally gets it. BlackRock’s ETF now holds 700K BTC. The gap between TradFi and crypto is closing fast. Within a year, expect banking apps and crypto exchanges to look eerily similar.
The Icons Behind the Movement
Midway through the interview, Pete took time to explain one of the most iconic moments in Bitcoin’s cultural history.
It took place in the summer of 2017, during a televised U.S. Senate hearing where then-Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was testifying on interest rate policy. In the background, a young law intern named Christian Langalis quietly held up a yellow legal pad with the hand-scrawled message: “Buy Bitcoin.”
The sign instantly went viral, making its way across CNBC, Twitter, and crypto forums within minutes. At the time, Bitcoin was still fighting for legitimacy, re-emerging from the shadows of a major crash in 2014. Langalis, later dubbed Bitcoin Sign Guy, was escorted out but quickly became a hero in the community, a living symbol of Bitcoin’s anti-establishment ethos.
Years later, he publicly revealed his identity and auctioned the original sign for 16 BTC, which at today’s price, is worth well over $1.6 million. The moment endures as a rebellious watermark in Bitcoin lore, proof that even in institutional spaces, the grassroots voice of Bitcoin can’t be silenced.
The Institutions Are Here — And It’s Only the Beginning
"Businesses are just waking up... What applies to individuals applies to companies: Buy Bitcoin to protect purchasing power."— Pete Rizzo
It’s not just Michael Saylor. From restaurants in Canada to multinationals, businesses are realizing they can store capital in BTC, just like people do. And the momentum is accelerating:
125+ public companies now hold BTC
BlackRock ETF alone holds 700,000 BTC
Rizzo’s prediction is that the next 3-5 years will be the “business wave,” as firms leverage capital markets to accumulate Bitcoin, just like MicroStrategy did.
Looking 10 years out, Rizzo believes Bitcoin will evolve not just as a store of value, but as programmable money integrated into financial infrastructure. Think stablecoins, tokenized treasuries, and Bitcoin-compatible everything.
He also reframes tokenization: not as TradFi co-opting crypto, but as TradFi becoming Bitcoin-compatible.
Rizzo’s 3 Rules on Understanding Bitcoin
Suspend Your Disbelief
“I guess my one rule is: suspend your disbelief.”Rizzo underscores that Bitcoin’s origin story is so outlandish and unconventional that most people’s initial reaction is disbelief. To truly grasp it, newcomers need to let go of what they think they know about money and systems — and approach Bitcoin with an open, curious mind.Ask: What Would New Global Money Look Like?
“What would it look like if global money was bootstrapping from zero and spreading slowly around the globe?”
Rizzo quotes Alan Farrington’s thought experiment to frame Bitcoin as a real-time phenomenon. Instead of treating Bitcoin as hypothetical, he invites newcomers to recognize the moment: global money is being rebuilt from scratch — right now.Recognize That You Now Have a Choice
“You now have a choice to store your time, value, and energy in a global database… different from the traditional government-run system.” Rizzo emphasizes Bitcoin as a new paradigm: instead of passively storing wealth in fiat — a government-managed system — individuals now have the agency to opt into Bitcoin’s decentralized model.
TL;DR
$123K isn’t the top — it’s the next beginning.
Institutions are buying — BlackRock, MicroStrategy, and more to come. There are still a lot of funds that have not opted in.
Bitcoin is not going to be just a store of value, it is going to be fully integrated into our financial infrastructure.
The political battleground is heating up — Elon’s America Party is forcing crypto into Washington.
Bitcoin Sign Guy’s paper sign sold for $1.6M, proof that history and conviction pay over time.
Rizzo’s 3 rules for understanding Bitcoin: suspend your disbelief, envision the new global money, and recognise that you now have a choice to opt in to a new decentralized paradigm.
Share this with:
Your community and any opinion leaders you know
New users entering crypto
Anyone wondering: "What now, after ATH?"
Watch the full interview →
Stay orange.
Further Reading
It is 2025 and Bitcoin is Stronger Than Ever: a Look at Key Metrics
From Bars to Bytes: Gold, Bitcoin, and the Future of Value
Bitcoin Crossing $100, 000 is a Reflection of Our Evolving Humanity
