Joe Rogan first heard about Bitcoin back in 2010when the cryptocurrency was trading at just $10, but the podcaster wasn’t exactly rushing to invest.
During an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with comedian Steve Rannazzisi, Rogan briefly acknowledged the digital currency’s existence without showing much enthusiasm for the technology.
Rogan’s co-host was the one to bring it up. He asked Rogan, “Have you heard of bitcoin?”
Rogan’s response made it immediately clear that Bitcoin wasn’t yet on his radar. He asked what it was and asked his co-host to spell it out for him.
After spelling it out, Rogan’s co-host attempted to explain the concept. He says, “It a new peer-to-peer currency that’s going on the internet right now. It’s kind of based off of torrents, you know?”
That explanation jogged Rogan’s memory, and he immediately connected it to something far more controversial.
Rogan stated, “Oh, I know what you’re talking about. You’re talking about that psychedelic store. Yes. Where you can buy anything you want.”
The co-host then elaborated, referencing Silk Road, the infamous darknet marketplace that had begun attracting media attention around that time. He said, “There’s a store that if you set up your computer correctly, like you have to make it random IP addresses so it’s not trackable, then you can access this one site called the Silk Road. And you can pretty much buy any d**g you want to.”
Bitcoin at that time wasn’t a revolutionary financial technology. It was simply a tool used for anonymous online purchases.
He stated, “These guys have been buying acid there and using bitcoins though. So it’s even more untraceable.”
Rogan remained skeptical. He asked, “Is it really untraceable?”
By this point, the discussion made it clear why Rogan wasn’t particularly impressed. Bitcoin, at least as it appeared in 2011, was being talked about primarily in connection with underground markets and anonymity.
Rogan then summed Bitcoin in a way that perfectly captures how obscure and niche it still was at the time. He said, “For those folks who don’t know what we’re talking about, if you just Google, the underground website where you can buy any d**g imaginable.”
At the time of this recording, Bitcoin was still in its infancy, having launched just years earlier in 2009. The $10 price point represented early adoption phase, long before the cryptocurrency would capture mainstream attention or reach valuations in the tens of thousands of dollars.
At that time, few people outside of cryptography circles and technology forums had even heard of it, let alone considered it as a potential investment or future financial technology.
Looking back, Rogan’s casual dismissal of Bitcoin at $10 represents one of those moments that takes on greater significance with hindsight. The cryptocurrency would eventually become a major topic of discussion in tech and finance circles, frequently appearing on later episodes of his podcast.
