It seems like the first time Joe Rogan, the mega-podcaster, ever heard about Bitcoin was caught on the mic in a very early episode. That clip can now only be found as a clip other people have posted online, because that old episode, #110, is no longer available from Rogan himself.
But it gets shared around often enough.
In this podcast episode, I take us through some of the key conversations on the Joe Rogan Experience where he talks about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. By my read (and you can feel free to debate me on this point), what seems to grab Rogan about the original cryptocurrency is more its allegiance to core values than its remunerative potential or the business use cases that appeal to startup founders.
Many have said that what will really make this technology appealing for people is better UX, better speed and/or more functionality.
Rogan’s story looks different, though, as I go through in the episode. Let me know if you’re convinced.
There are clips in here from 2011, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024. If you put them all together, Rogan goes from: hmm? To, ah-ha!. To, hey… To, oh damn.
What he never becomes is a true believer or a hardened critic. He’s just intrigued (and a bit worried).
Show notes:
Here’s links to all the shows I pulled clips from for this episode, plus some other additional material that I consulted.
Joe Rogan Experience #110. The video isn’t watchable any longer. I got the clip from this tweet, and it has some lame background music on it.
JRE #446, 2014. The first with Andreas Antonopoulos.
JRE #490, 2014. The second with Antonopoulos.
JRE #1236, 2019. With Jack Dorsey, when he was still CEO of Twitter (and of Square, which is what’s relevant here)
JRE MMA #124, 2022. With Khalil Rountree, MMA fighter.
JRE #1921, 2023. Peter Zeihan, geopolitical analyist and author.
JRE #2044, 2023. Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO and Worldcoin co-founder.
JRE #2234, 2024. Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z, web pioneer. Like Rogan: bald.
Legendary Twitter thread starts here:
Other materials that were useful:
How crypto converted Joe Rogan, Daily Coin, April 2025
Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank. 1959 novel.
JRE #844. A 3rd with Andreas. Didn’t use it in this episode, though.
Jack Dorsey, Marc Andreessen and the Makings of a Crypto Holy War, The Information, 2022
Market Realist, 2022
Central Bank Digital Currency tracker, Atlantic Council
On debanking:
Court warns FDIC of sanctions over crypto documents (Axios)
Crypto firm’s debanking story (Axios)
Recommended reading:
The Right to Transact, by Zelinar Xy
A note on the clips: Some of the clips are clipped within the clip or clipped together, for length, clarity or an excess of explanation. If anyone thinks I warped anything, hit me up.
Mostly the clips are just as they appeared, though.
Music in the episode:
“Bitcoins going up” by SunoMusicShowYouTube
All from Pixabay Music
Thanks for listening! Let me know what you think!
