🎙️ My guest today is Joe Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Unchained, a leading Bitcoin financial services company known for its collaborative custody model. A long-time entrepreneur and early Bitcoin adopter, Joe has built one of the most trusted platforms for secure key management, estate planning, and Bitcoin-backed lending. In this episode, Joe shares how his unconventional upbringing in Alaska and years living on a sailboat shaped his frontier mentality and entrepreneurial drive. We discuss why Unchained is Bitcoin-only, how multisig remains the gold standard for custody, and why legacy finance models are incompatible with Bitcoin’s ethos. Joe also breaks down the regulatory grey zones surrounding lending, inheritance, and self-custody, and offers a sober perspective on avoiding the next wave of over-leveraged failures. Above all, this is a conversation about designing resilient systems, building for longevity, and preserving individual sovereignty in a Bitcoin-native future.
► This episode is part of the "Bitcoin Vegas 2025 Special" in collaboration with Ben Samocha, Founder of Israel’s CryptoJungle and Crypto Talks podcast.
This episode is also on Twitter, Spotify, Fountain, Rumble and more.
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We talked about:
00:00 – Coming Up
01:11 – Intro to Joe Kelly
02:30 – Alaska. living on a sailboat & approach to business
05:30 – Joe’s businesses & entrepreneurship
07:15 – Bitcoin’s Long Terms Potential
09:50 – The Difference Between Bitcoin & Crypto
12:50 – Why “Unchained” Was Founded
17:50 – Handling Inheritance & Estate Planning
19:30 – Why Multisig Over Multi-Party Computation (MPC)
24:50 – What “Bitcoin-Native” Really Means
29:50 – Regulatory Clarity For Unchained
31:20 – Risk Management Policies for Investors & Borrowers
35:10 – US Regulation & Legal Hurdles
40:20 – Mistakes & Scaling in Bull Markets
42:00 – Lessons from Being a Pilot & Decision-Making
45:40 – What Gives Joe Hope
My takeaways from this episode:
Joe reflects on how his childhood in Alaska and years living on a sailboat shaped his frontier mindset, entrepreneurial drive, and desire for freedom over time
He explains how a personal tragedy and his father’s decision to travel instead of retreat inspired his independent approach to life and business
Joe shares how he co-founded Unchained to serve long-term Bitcoin holders with products rooted in self-custody and collaborative security
He outlines why Unchained chose a Bitcoin-only strategy, rejecting crypto opportunism in favor of building infrastructure for true monetary sovereignty
The conversation explores how multisig enables shared custody, legal clarity, and inheritance planning without compromising user control
Joe emphasizes that true self-custody includes seed phrase backups and explains how Unchained supports clients with education and key checks
We discuss the risks of new lending products that repeat the mistakes of FTX and BlockFi, and how transparent, collateralized models reduce systemic contagion
Joe explains the limitations of traditional financial regulations when applied to Bitcoin, and why updates to UCC law are essential for legal certainty in lending
He contrasts Bitcoin-native institutions with legacy finance bolting on Bitcoin, arguing that values like privacy, autonomy, and fixed supply must shape the product
He touches on Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and the need to protect access to basic banking services for Bitcoin companies
Joe ends with a message of hope, grounded in real people, who are saving in Bitcoin and choosing sovereignty for the next generation
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Joe's Twitter | Unchained's Twitter | Unchained's Website
Ben's Twitter | Ben's LinkedIn | Ben’s Website
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