Episode notes
What if every executive recruiter on the planet became a Bitcoiner? That's not a thought experiment, it's Scott Ellam's actual plan.
Scott is back on the show six months after taking XCE public. He breaks down how XCE is solving the three biggest problems facing private recruitment companies — cash leakage, scaling headcount, and the near-impossible exit — by structuring the entire business around a Bitcoin treasury.
Join the UK Bitcoin Business Network here: https://bitcoincollective.co/bbn/
CONTACT JORDAN:
X: https://x.com/JayW132
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-walker-293955106/
Email: hello@bitcoincollective.co
CONTACT SCOTT:
X: https://x.com/btconlyscott
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/scott-p-ellam-5a097449
Topics covered:
- Why XCE presented at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas as the first traditional operating business built around an active Bitcoin treasury
- Accepting 0.516 Bitcoin as payment for a recruitment fee — and what comes next
- How Adam Back has followed on through multiple raises, including a recent equity raise where 100% went into Bitcoin
- XCE's performance-based equity scheme and how it's already attracting staff who aren't even Bitcoin-native
- AI in executive recruitment — what it can do, what it can't, and why person-to-person roles may be the safest careers going forward
- International settlement pain, stablecoins, and where Bitcoin fits
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro — Disrupting global executive recruitment with Bitcoin
01:00 Welcome back: six months since the pre-IPO episode
01:30 Bitcoin 2025 Las Vegas — what the conference felt like
03:00 Who was in the room: institutions, nation states and Michael Saylor
05:30 XCE's Vegas presentation: the first Bitcoin-treasury operating business
06:30 The three biggest problems for private recruitment companies
08:00 How XCE solves cash, scale and exit using Bitcoin
10:00 Educating the recruitment industry on Bitcoin
13:00 How private owners can join the XCE group without needing to self-custody
17:00 Talent retention: Bitcoin-backed equity and the IPL analogy
21:00 How XCE attracted staff who weren't Bitcoin-native
28:30 Accepting 0.516 BTC as a recruitment fee — how it happened
33:30 International settlement, stablecoins and Bitcoin rails
38:00 The latest raise, Adam Back's continued backing and what's next
41:30 AI inside XCE — from negotiation training to full business integration
49:00 The K-shaped AI recovery and why high-skill careers will pull ahead
55:00 Roadmap: growing Bitcoin per share, acquisitions and global disruption
READ OUR NEWSLETTER:
https://newsletter.bitcoincollective.co/
LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/06sBiOznJDxuhafDmkE9VK?si=3f0a8bb8abd64eec
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-bitcoin-collective/id1561573613
Fountain: https://fountain.fm/show/AYHiNhTTv0HOgGEjRjWN
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bitcoincollective?sub_confirmation=1
All content provided by The Bitcoin Collective and guests in this episode is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial, trading, or investment advice.
The Plan to Put a Bitcoiner in Every Boardroom on Earth
How a UK Recruitment Company Is Using Bitcoin to Disrupt a Global Industry
How to Use Bitcoin to Solve the Three Biggest Problems in Recruitment
⸻
EDITED BY JAMES PEARCE
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-pearcesf/
Available now on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.
Scott is back on the show six months after taking XCE public. He breaks down how XCE is solving the three biggest problems facing private recruitment companies — cash leakage, scaling headcount, and the near-impossible exit — by structuring the entire business around a Bitcoin treasury.
Join the UK Bitcoin Business Network here: https://bitcoincollective.co/bbn/
CONTACT JORDAN:
X: https://x.com/JayW132
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-walker-293955106/
Email: hello@bitcoincollective.co
CONTACT SCOTT:
X: https://x.com/btconlyscott
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/scott-p-ellam-5a097449
Topics covered:
- Why XCE presented at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas as the first traditional operating business built around an active Bitcoin treasury
- Accepting 0.516 Bitcoin as payment for a recruitment fee — and what comes next
- How Adam Back has followed on through multiple raises, including a recent equity raise where 100% went into Bitcoin
- XCE's performance-based equity scheme and how it's already attracting staff who aren't even Bitcoin-native
- AI in executive recruitment — what it can do, what it can't, and why person-to-person roles may be the safest careers going forward
- International settlement pain, stablecoins, and where Bitcoin fits
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro — Disrupting global executive recruitment with Bitcoin
01:00 Welcome back: six months since the pre-IPO episode
01:30 Bitcoin 2025 Las Vegas — what the conference felt like
03:00 Who was in the room: institutions, nation states and Michael Saylor
05:30 XCE's Vegas presentation: the first Bitcoin-treasury operating business
06:30 The three biggest problems for private recruitment companies
08:00 How XCE solves cash, scale and exit using Bitcoin
10:00 Educating the recruitment industry on Bitcoin
13:00 How private owners can join the XCE group without needing to self-custody
17:00 Talent retention: Bitcoin-backed equity and the IPL analogy
21:00 How XCE attracted staff who weren't Bitcoin-native
28:30 Accepting 0.516 BTC as a recruitment fee — how it happened
33:30 International settlement, stablecoins and Bitcoin rails
38:00 The latest raise, Adam Back's continued backing and what's next
41:30 AI inside XCE — from negotiation training to full business integration
49:00 The K-shaped AI recovery and why high-skill careers will pull ahead
55:00 Roadmap: growing Bitcoin per share, acquisitions and global disruption
READ OUR NEWSLETTER:
https://newsletter.bitcoincollective.co/
LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/06sBiOznJDxuhafDmkE9VK?si=3f0a8bb8abd64eec
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-bitcoin-collective/id1561573613
Fountain: https://fountain.fm/show/AYHiNhTTv0HOgGEjRjWN
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bitcoincollective?sub_confirmation=1
All content provided by The Bitcoin Collective and guests in this episode is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial, trading, or investment advice.
The Plan to Put a Bitcoiner in Every Boardroom on Earth
How a UK Recruitment Company Is Using Bitcoin to Disrupt a Global Industry
How to Use Bitcoin to Solve the Three Biggest Problems in Recruitment
⸻
EDITED BY JAMES PEARCE
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-pearcesf/
Available now on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.
