The Pomp Podcast
How Bitcoin Millionaires Use Their BTC Without Selling It | Shehzan Maredia
09 Mar 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I think people are realizing that personal finance is exceedingly complex.
Chapter 2: Why do people borrow against Bitcoin instead of selling it?
I think people just want something, a simple way to save, right? So I think Bitcoin really fits that in many ways.
Chapter 3: What risks are associated with borrowing against Bitcoin?
90 plus percent of our users borrow against their Bitcoin to materially improve their lives. Why do people borrow against their Bitcoin?
one of the main use cases for borrowing against your bitcoin on lava is actually buying a house which is very interesting so you know when i started lava originally i thought a lot of our use case would just be leverage you know people borrowing to buy the dip but what really surprised me is how many of our users i would say 90 plus percent of our users borrow against their bitcoin to materially improve their lives and one thing that was very interesting to me about
Chapter 4: How does Lava differentiate itself from its competitors?
These users that we have that have Bitcoin is, you know, a lot of them are actually not extremely high income. A lot of them are what you would call like middle income, but they've actually saved their way through to generational wealth through Bitcoin.
Chapter 5: What role do stablecoins play in global banking?
So it's really interesting because, you know, I got into Bitcoin more than a decade ago. And one of the theses of the community was that you could save your way to financial freedom. You wouldn't have to gamble your way to financial freedom.
It's really inspiring to see a lot of our users that have saved their way to wealth and now are borrowing against it to really materially improve their lives.
Chapter 6: What challenges does Lava face in building its Bitcoin company?
Buying a nice house, for example, is one of the most common use cases we've seen. People use it to basically fund a down payment. A lot of people have actually used Lava to actually just finance their home purchase because they can't get a traditional mortgage as easily as well. It's funny you say this.
Chapter 7: What technologies is Lava optimistic about for the future?
I can't remember if I told the story on the podcast or not, but a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I went to Madison Square Garden for an event. And as we were leaving, I got confused where I was. I couldn't find the escalator to get down. And a usher came over and he said, hey, are you looking for the escalator? So he goes, OK, come on, let's go.
And I know we were in trouble because all of a sudden he says we're walking. He like did like a triple take.
Chapter 8: How does Lava manage risk for its users?
And I was like, Jesus, I got like a booger on my nose or something. Right. And he was like, are you Anthony Pappiano? And I was like, yeah, I think it's okay to say yes, yes. And he goes, I just want to thank you. He shakes my hand. And he goes, I'm a millionaire because of you. So my immediate reaction is like, it's not because of me. It's because of what you did. I said, what do you mean?
And he goes, I have over a million dollars worth of Bitcoin. And I said, yeah. how'd you get over a million dollars in Bitcoin? That's a pretty big deal. And I think he thought I didn't believe him. So he pulls out his phone, he opens up the Coinbase app and he shows me he's got a million and a half dollars worth of Bitcoin. Wow. And I looked at him and I said, you know, how did you do that?
And he goes, I've just been saving my money and I've been buying Bitcoin every single time I've had a paycheck for years now. And he goes, but I'm really proud of myself that I didn't quit my job.
And he said, you know, I make over a hundred thousand dollars as an usher at MSG, but I've got this and I'm still working because I want to get to financial security and build generational wealth for me and my mom. And my wife and I left and we were just like, dude, in what world? Is that story possible?
And I could probably name tens of people, hundreds of people maybe I've met over the years that have some version of that. But I think what you're talking about is it's not somebody who is trying to gamble. It's somebody who's looking to save, but they still need the liquidity if they want to buy a house or do something there. Exactly.
I've actually noticed a lot of our users, we had a bus driver, a school bus driver that borrowed more than a million dollars and he's still working though. But he has, you know, generational wealth that he's used to. Borrowed a million dollars. Borrowed a million dollars. So has more than a million in Bitcoin. Has at least two million in Bitcoin that he pledged as collateral.
And, you know, I think it's just inspiring. One, he's still working. Two, he's saved his way to financial freedom. And three, you know, he's borrowing to materially improve his life. through buying a nicer house, through helping his family.
So I think it is a very unique story of Bitcoin where, you know, so far in Bitcoin's history, people have saved their rates to financial freedom through Bitcoin. And I think that's going to continue over the next decade. Let's talk about some of the risks that people run into when borrowing this stuff, right? So you pledge Bitcoin. When you pledge Bitcoin, you then can borrow against it.
I think you guys do 50% LTV. So if I put down a million dollars, I can borrow up to 500K. When I do that... I could lose my Bitcoin though. You could lose your, you could get liquidated. All right, explain. So one thing that's important to know, I mean, last week is a really great, you know, last week there was a lot. It's a timely topic. It's a timely topic, right?
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