About this episode
In this episode of Bullish on Bitcoin Show, Alexei sits down with Mike, Senior Director of Product at MetaMask — the self-custodial wallet that has shaped the on-chain experience for the majority of crypto users worldwide. With a background spanning AMMs and Trust Wallet, Mike brings an outsider-turned-insider perspective on where MetaMask is heading and what it means for Bitcoin DeFi.
From MetaMask's evolution from a developer-only signer into a full personal finance super app, to the surprising data on native Bitcoin-to-EVM swaps, to the hard questions around why centralized exchanges still dominate Bitcoin trading — this episode is packed with sharp takes on where self-custody is winning and where it still has ground to make up.
In this episode, we discuss:
- How MetaMask evolved from an OG developer tool into a self-custodial fintech app
- MetaMask USD (MUSD): the native stablecoin offering 3% yield out of the box
- Is MetaMask becoming a super app — and what does that mean for users?
- Native Bitcoin support: what users actually do with BTC inside MetaMask
- The surprising data on Bitcoin-to-EVM swap flows and cross-chain behaviour
- Why Bitcoin-to-Ethereum is the most traded cross-chain pair
- The $800B gap: why Bitcoin trading is still dominated by centralised exchanges
- Institutional vs retail: the 75/25 split that explains on-chain's volume problem
- Bitcoin's speed constraints and why L2s remain essential for DeFi
- Why Hyperliquid succeeded where others failed — and what DEXs can learn from it
- Intent-based systems: how solvers can unlock liquidity for Bitcoin on-chain
- Self-custody vs custodial: regulatory tailwinds, MiCA, and the path to parity
- On-chain personal finance: mortgages, lending, and the next wave of DeFi products
- Why 60% of BOB Gateway power users also use Yield Basis
- The long-term case for self-custody winning the financial services race
