Bitcoin has climbed roughly 40% from its late-June low, renewing debate over whether the bear market has ended. Episode 117 of the WuBlockchain Podcast, published September 2, 2026, featured frontier-tech investor didier and macro hedge fund portfolio manager Griffin Ardern, who offered opposing interpretations of the rally. Bitcoin briefly fell below $58,000 in late June before rising above $81,000. didier said reclaiming the 200-day moving average was the clearest early signal of a new bull market, while Griffin attributed part of the move to a short squeeze after thin trading and compressed options volatility. Both said positioning had been broadly underweight or short before the rebound. They also discussed fiscal credibility, rising T-bill issuance, funding costs above 5%, and Treasury yields approaching 4.7% to 5% as factors affecting Bitcoin demand. Strategy’s STRC is perpetual preferred stock rather than traditional debt, while the company has around $6.7 billion in convertible bonds, some entering repayment windows this year. didier said Strategy is using stock ATM sales and preferred issuance to build cash reserves and identified Bitcoin’s price, the premium on Strategy’s common stock, and returning STRC toward $100 as priorities. Griffin said Strategy’s financial difficulties would not necessarily end the rally because Bitcoin increasingly trades as a standalone macro asset. The guests also examined whether capital could rotate from crowded AI investments into crypto, with didier citing clean crypto positioning and blockchain’s potential role in machine-native finance, while Griffin said AI had drawn talent from crypto but finance-related crypto applications had advanced since 2020.