Bitcoin’s future depends on scalable rollup and L2 solutions. In an interview with nic carter, he explains Castle Island Ventures’s bet on Alpen, inspired by innovations from other chains and how these advances are inevitable and existential for Bitcoin. Watch the full interview below.

Nic Carter: The most important thing that's ever happened in blockchains is uniting Bitcoin's collateral base with rollup assurances and programmability. It will throw the rest of the ecosystem into absolute chaos as Bitcoin reaches its destiny. 0:00:40 Karate Combat & Bitcoin Culture 0:01:41 Nic's Fight: Crohn's, Training & The Knockout 0:08:15 Journey into AI 0:10:46 AI's Impact & Compute's Future 0:15:29 Jevons Paradox: Its Impact on AI & Blockspace Demand 0:23:02 Scaling Bitcoin: L2s, ZK Rollups & Data Availability 0:25:20 Bitcoin L2s: Miner Revenue & Securing the Network 0:29:20 Bitcoin Culture: "Delusions," S2F & SBR Fallacy 0:33:41 Bitcoin's Path: "Number Go Up," Risks & Gov't Adoption 0:40:06 Stablecoins: True MOE & Censorship Questions 0:51:09 Alpen Labs: Castle Island's Early Bet on Bitcoin L2s 0:59:53 BitVM: "The Most Important Event in Blockchain History?" 1:01:37 Nic Carter's Reflections: Building "Bitcoin Cathedral" 1:04:49 AI & Crypto: Validity Proofs for Verifiable AI 1:07:37 Tech Dichotomy: AI (Offense) vs. Crypto (Defense)

DeFi’s momentum is just getting started. BTC staking is poised to become a $12B industry by 2025. Ethereum L2s are proving their profitability with skyrocketing gains. AI-powered tools are redefining the way trades are executed. The future belongs to those who stay ahead of the curve. What’s your top pick for the next big leap in DeFi?

@nic__carter @CastleIslandVC If you have a slow base layer, it’s never going to work. It’s the osi model for finance. It won’t work. #Bitcoin #BTC is… Inefficient, Has high fees when moving, Slow TPS, Isn’t green, No ISO20022 standard, And has high energy consumption. #FactsOverReligion

@nic__carter @CastleIslandVC nice one

@nic__carter @CastleIslandVC Nic you need to graft your eyebrows onto your lips.

@nic__carter @CastleIslandVC Remove the background music and maybe I'll listen to this, lmk when you do

@nic__carter @CastleIslandVC At 51:10