When people say “Bitcoin changes you,” they usually mean emotionally.
What they don’t tell you is that it also changes your trust assumptions, your economic worldview, and your tolerance for bullshit.

In this 2-hour deep dive with Gary Cardone, I opened up about the biggest mistakes I’ve made on the Bitcoin journey—because I’ve made a few. And I’ve seen thousands of others make them too.

This blog isn't a hype piece or a sales pitch. It’s a map of the scars. The lessons. And what I still do today to protect my wealth in a system that is being rebuilt to entrap you—even with Bitcoin in the picture.

The Most Expensive Mistakes in Bitcoin

I’ve been in Bitcoin since 2011. That means I’ve lived through:

• Mt. Gox
• Blocksize wars
• The ICO boom
• The DeFi cycles
• The CEX collapses
• The ETF takeovers
  
  

Each era had its traps. But the biggest mistake hasn’t changed:
Treating Bitcoin like a trade instead of an exit.

I’ve lost Bitcoin. Trusted the wrong companies. Believed the wrong narratives.
I saw friends get margin-called, rug-pulled, rehypothecated out of existence.
And every single time, it came down to a single blind spot: they thought someone else could protect their Bitcoin better than they could.

You don’t lose Bitcoin by accident.
You lose it when you give someone else control.

Self-Custody or Self-Delusion

There are only two types of Bitcoiners:
Those who self-custody, and those who are still part of the old system.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 10 million sats or 10 Bitcoin—if it’s not in your keys, it’s not yours.

Gary pressed me hard on this. He asked:

• “What if you mess up self-custody?”
• “Isn’t institutional security better?”
• “What if you die without a plan?”
  
  

These are real concerns. And they don’t go away by ignoring them. But what’s worse than getting it wrong yourself?
Letting a BlackRock, Coinbase, or Celsius do it for you.

That’s how you end up being the exit liquidity for the system you thought you were escaping.

Self-custody doesn’t mean doing it all alone.
It means having a plan where you’re the final layer of trust.

Why Yield Broke Bitcoin (for Most People)

Let me be blunt: yield is how they bait you.

The moment your Bitcoin earns yield, it’s someone else’s Bitcoin. You gave up custody for the illusion of growth.

We saw this play out with:

• Celsius
• BlockFi
• Genesis
• Voyager
  
  

They all offered “safe” yield.
They all collapsed because that yield came from risk exposure you couldn’t see—rehypothecated Bitcoin, mismanaged trading desks, and dependence on volatile assets.

The institutions made money off your trust.
And when the dominoes fell, you were last in line.

Bitcoin doesn’t need to generate yield.
It is the yield—over time, over cycles, as the fiat system collapses.

What I Actually Do Today

Here’s what Gary wanted to know most:
“After all these years, what do you do with your Bitcoin today?”

Here’s the answer:

• I hold in cold storage, diversified across geographies and key setups
• I don’t trade Bitcoin — I accumulate in cycles and use price to signal adoption
• I build & infest in infrastructure — that’s why I created BnkToTheFuture: to give people access to equity in Bitcoin companies without trusting banks.
• I use Bitcoin as my primary hedge against fiat debasement
• I still own businesses, equities, gold and fiat for spending—but my sovereignty is Bitcoin
  
  

What I do hasn’t changed much.
But how I do it has become stricter, leaner, and more privacy-conscious.

Because the system around Bitcoin is being rebuilt—to enslave, not empower.

What’s Being Built Around Bitcoin (That You Should Fear)

BlackRock isn’t here to liberate you.
They're here to financialize Bitcoin, just like they did real estate, bonds, and your retirement account.

Let’s connect the dots:

• Bitcoin ETFs? That’s paper Bitcoin for people who never want to hold the real thing.
• Stablecoin rails? They’re not bridges—they’re traps.
• CBDCs? Fully programmable, centrally controlled currencies, used to shape behavior.
  
  

And they’re wrapping it all in the “adoption” narrative.
But here’s the truth:

This is not adoption. It’s capture.

They want to trap you with regulated wallets, KYC-only transactions, and ETF exposure where your Bitcoin can be frozen, tracked, or seized.

That’s why self-custody is no longer optional.
It’s the last line of resistance.

Final Thoughts: From Mistakes to Mission — Why Bitcoin Still Matters

This conversation with Gary wasn’t just another interview.

It forced me to go back—back to the moments I trusted the wrong platforms, believed the wrong narratives, or ignored risks I should have known better than to ignore. Moments where I let yield seduce me into complacency, or thought regulators would act in good faith, or assumed custody could be outsourced without consequence.

But more importantly, it reminded me why I stayed in Bitcoin after all those moments.

Because each mistake taught me something you can’t learn in a whitepaper, or from a bullish tweet, or during a pump. Each mistake forced me to confront the systems that benefit when you don’t ask questions—and how easily those same systems are being rebuilt right now under a different name.

Gary wanted to know what I’d do differently. My answer wasn’t about price targets or portfolio ratios. It was this: I’d get to the core truth faster.

The truth that Bitcoin is not a product. It’s a permissionless tool for exiting financial dependency. It’s a system for transferring energy, value, and trust—without needing the gatekeepers who have rigged every other monetary game.

We talked about ETFs. About the lure of easy access. But that access comes at a cost. When BlackRock holds your Bitcoin, you don’t. When your yield depends on rehypothecation, you’re the product. When your crypto app makes it “easy,” it’s doing so by abstracting away the very thing that makes Bitcoin matter: your control.

We talked about self-custody—not as a slogan, but as a strategy. Because the longer you delay holding your own keys, the more likely it is someone else already is—on your behalf, for their benefit.

We talked about mistakes—mine and others’—and how they always start the same way: by treating Bitcoin like a trade rather than a transition.

Bitcoin is not just about money. It’s about power. It’s about taking back control from institutions that fail, lie, exploit, and rebuild themselves under different names.

Right now, those institutions are lining up to wrap Bitcoin in their language. They want to offer you exposure. They want you to hold it in a regulated wrapper. They want your Bitcoin to be their collateral. Their liquidity. Their backstop for the next wave of digital control.

And the moment you forget that, they’ve already won.

This blog, like the video, is not here to impress you. It’s here to remind you of what’s at stake.

Bitcoin is a lifeboat. But it’s not automatic. You have to choose to get in. You have to row. You have to unplug from the system that taught you that safety comes from compliance, and yield is a reward for obedience.

If there’s one message I want you to take away from this interview, it’s this:

Buying Bitcoin is the beginning.
Sovereignty is the destination.
And only self-custody gets you there.

Call to Action

If you care about your sovereignty, you’re not alone—and you’re not early either. People are waking up. Fast.

SimonDixon.com is where they’re going.

That’s the headquarters. If (or when) I get banned from X, YouTube, or Rumble—which, let’s be honest, may only be a matter of time—it’s the one place where I can still speak freely and reach you directly.

▸ Go to SimonDixon.com and join the BitcoinHardTalk membership portal.

Here’s what you’ll get:

• Access to the full archive of every BitcoinHardTalk episode
• My original 4-part video series The Great Depression of the 2020s (not available anywhere else)
• A free PDF copy of Bank To The Future — the first published book to ever mention Bitcoin (Amazon sells it, but you get it free)
  
  

Once you're in, you’re also added to my private newsletter.
That’s where I share what I can’t say anywhere else—and where I’ll notify you first when a new episode goes live or a major shift is coming.

While I’m still on the big platforms:

▸ Follow me on X: https://x.com/SimonDixonTwitt
▸ Join my Telegram Group: https://t.me/simondixonchannel
▸ Watch livestreams on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@SimonDixonBTC
▸ Backup on Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/SimonDixon

Prefer to listen?

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▸ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bitcoin-hard-talk/id1769631667

Don’t wait until the signal is censored.
The next system is being built without you.
This is where you get ahead of it.

Watch the Video on YouTube. Like, comment, share and subscribe. 

⚠️ Disclaimer

This blog was generated with the assistance of AI and is based on the views, insights, and experiences shared by Simon Dixon during his conversation with Gary Cardone in the video titled “Watch This Before Buying Bitcoin.” While the structure and language have been shaped with AI support, all ideas, stories, and perspectives are derived directly from Simon Dixon’s personal commentary, history in the Bitcoin ecosystem, and professional analysis.

This blog is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, tax, investment, financial, or other professional advice. Nothing herein should be interpreted as an inducement to buy or sell any asset, including Bitcoin or related financial products.

Cryptocurrency investments, especially Bitcoin, carry inherent risks—including volatility, custodial risks, legal uncertainties, and evolving regulatory pressures. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research, practice secure self-custody, and consult with qualified professionals before making any financial decisions.

References to institutions, products, platforms, and individuals are made for illustrative or critical purposes only and do not imply endorsement or partnership unless explicitly stated. Discussions around regulatory capture, institutional behavior, or systemic risk are based on publicly available information and opinion at the time of publication.

By reading this blog, you acknowledge and accept that neither Simon Dixon nor any affiliated entities or individuals shall be held liable for any financial losses, strategic missteps, or misinterpretations resulting from the use of this content.

Bitcoin is not a guaranteed path to wealth. It is a technological, monetary, and philosophical tool—and like any tool, its effectiveness depends on how it is used, and by whom.