From Solar Roofs to Bitcoin Blocks

Bitcoin’s price movements may make headlines, but behind the scenes, a deeper transformation is happening—one that’s reshaping how people acquire and think about Bitcoin. In a recent episode of the All In Bitcoin podcast, Kent Halliburton, CEO and Co-Founder of Sazmining, sat down with host Tushar Khatwani to share his personal journey into Bitcoin, why mining is the ultimate way to acquire BTC, and what’s next for the industry.

From watching Bitcoin cross $100,000 in real time to reflections on early Bitcoin adopters, Kent delivered a conversation packed with insights. Here are the highlights:

Witnessing Bitcoin Cross $100K: A Moment of Realization

Bitcoin hitting six figures was more than just a milestone—it felt like a shift in the financial landscape. Kent described how he was outside his home in the Peruvian high Amazon when he checked the price one last time before bed.

“I looked at my phone and told my wife, ‘It’s about to cross $100K.’ She looked and said, ‘No, it hasn’t yet.’ Then I checked again and—boom—it had. We both got really excited,” Kent recalled.

For many Bitcoiners, including Kent, crossing that threshold wasn’t a surprise—it was inevitable. He even doubled down:

“I know it’ll hit $1 million. People might think I’m crazy, but I know it will.”

That price surge also fueled larger conversations about nation-state Bitcoin adoption and how countries are beginning to treat Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.

Bitcoin in 2015: A Different World

Kent first got into Bitcoin in late 2015, during a sabbatical in Peru. Despite hearing about it earlier while working in rooftop solar in the San Francisco Bay Area, he didn’t dive in until he had time to explore.

“In 2015, the community was different,” Kent said. “Crypto wasn’t a bad word yet. Bitcoiners, Ethereum folks, and other early adopters were all under the same umbrella, experimenting and sharing ideas.”

But over time, Bitcoiners began separating from the broader crypto world, leading to the maximalist culture we see today.

One of the biggest differences? How hard it was to find reliable Bitcoin content back then. “You had to be lucky—both in timing and in stumbling across the right information,” Kent explained.

What Early Bitcoiners Had in Common

Kent believes early Bitcoin adopters had some unusual personality traits.

“The biggest one? Extreme disagreeableness. If something is true, these people won’t waver—even if it makes them unpopular,” he said.

But being strong-willed wasn’t enough. Early Bitcoiners also had to admit they were wrong about money before they could truly understand Bitcoin.

“You don’t adopt Bitcoin without first admitting you were wrong about money,” Kent said. “That takes a mix of humility and intellectual curiosity.”

He also noted that pre-2020 Bitcoiners—those who got in before the COVID-era money printing boom—will likely be studied in the future to understand what made them see the value of Bitcoin before the masses did.

The Biggest Challenge for Bitcoin Today? Onboarding New Users

Despite Bitcoin’s growth, Kent sees a major gap: there’s no clear on-ramp for new users.

“Bitcoin is decentralized, so there’s no corporate marketing team, no official outreach. That makes onboarding people tough,” he said.

He pointed out that many people struggle to grasp Bitcoin because they don’t actually understand money in the first place.

“People are great at manipulating money—stocks, bonds, real estate—but they don’t understand what money actually is. That’s why they struggle with Bitcoin,” Kent explained.

This, he argues, is why countries with a deep cultural connection to gold—like India—may be more naturally inclined to adopt Bitcoin.

The Next Frontier: Mining as a Bitcoin Acquisition Strategy

One of the most interesting parts of the conversation was Kent’s take on how Bitcoiners acquire BTC.

He pointed out that most people think exchanges are the easiest way to buy Bitcoin. But they weren’t part of Satoshi’s original vision—mining was.

“The mining process is how Bitcoin was designed to be distributed,” Kent explained. “Exchanges were a later development. But mining lets people acquire Bitcoin in a way that’s more akin to owning an income-producing asset—like an Airbnb rental.”

That’s why Sazmining is focused on making mining more accessible. Instead of dealing with complex setups, hidden fees, or misleading ‘hosting’ models, Kent and his team have built a user-friendly, transparent mining platform.

The Future of Bitcoin & Mining

Kent touched on the biggest trends shaping Bitcoin’s future, including:

• Nation-state adoption – More governments are talking about holding Bitcoin as a reserve asset.
• Scaling solutions – The push to make Bitcoin more usable for billions of people.
• Mining innovation – The shift toward renewable energy-powered mining and new ways for individuals to participate.
• Bitcoin L2s – While Kent is skeptical of VC-funded Bitcoin L2s, he sees potential in scaling solutions like Lightning and Ark.

He also emphasized why Bitcoin security matters more than ever:

“In the last cycle, people didn’t fully understand why Bitcoin’s security was so valuable. Now, more projects are being built directly on Bitcoin because of its unmatched security.”

Final Thoughts

Kent’s conversation with Tushar highlighted how Bitcoin mining is evolving, why early adopters saw the vision before the mainstream, and why education is still Bitcoin’s biggest challenge.

At the end of the day, Bitcoin is about sovereignty—and mining is one of the purest ways to participate in that vision.

“Mining isn’t just financial—it’s about having direct ownership of your Bitcoin, straight from the network.”

As Bitcoin adoption accelerates, the next wave of Bitcoiners will need to decide: buy from an exchange, or mine their own?