In this episode of the Sunny Ray Show, host Sunny Ray sits down with Kevin Bell, founder of Kadena Bitcoin, a decentralized platform enabling self-custody Bitcoin lending and borrowing built on a Layer 1 blockchain. Kevin shares his journey from a frugal Scottish-Canadian upbringing through a career on Bay Street and at Credit Suisse advising major institutions on foreign exchange and risk, earning his CFA along the way. He later ran a mortgage brokerage in Canada before regulatory and banking constraints pushed him to rethink the traditional financial system. The Freedom Convoy and the Canadian government's freezing of protesters' bank accounts became a turning point, exposing the fragility of centralized banking and sparking his deep dive into Bitcoin. After relocating to Costa Rica, Kevin witnessed firsthand how developing markets lack access to credit and banking services, convincing him that Bitcoin could solve real economic problems. The conversation explores risk, sound money, inflation, and why opting out of Bitcoin may be the biggest risk of all.
A former Bay Street FX trader explains how the Freedom Convoy pushed him toward building self-custody Bitcoin lending on Layer 1.
Can we start with your backstory, what were you doing before you got into Bitcoin?
I'm Canadian, studied economics, then got into foreign exchange, working for several Canadian banks and a Swiss bank, moving from small business clients up to institutional ones. In 2015 I left to try opening a portfolio management firm, hit regulatory roadblocks despite my CFA and 15 years of experience, then got my mortgage license and ran a mortgage brokerage instead.
How long did you spend advising financial institutions on risk?
In 2006 I went to Montreal to run a foreign exchange desk for large corporations and institutional investors. During the financial crisis I moved to a clearing firm supporting interlisted arbitrage business worth hundreds of millions daily. Later I joined Credit Suisse building their electronic and corporate business, mostly serving big Canadian pension funds and corporates.
What was your view of money growing up in Canada before Bitcoin came into the scene?
My mother had a coupon book and would stop at different grocery stores to find the cheapest food, so money was never wasted in our house. I was naturally drawn to numbers, which pulled me toward foreign exchange trading where you add and subtract quickly. My parents wanted to retire early, but didn't seem to have a great relationship with work.
If you had to say risk is a function of two or three variables, what would you say they are?
Financial risk is generally something working against you, meaning losing money. You can avoid it entirely by hiding money under your bed, or take on more by investing further out the risk curve. What flipped for me is realizing the real risk is not participating, especially once you see Bitcoin's growth and what standard risk questionnaires fail to capture.
Tell me about your Bitcoin aha moment, did the truckers have something to do with it?
I was divorced with kids a week on week off in Ottawa, and I physically handed cash to the truckers along King Edward. Dumb luck kept my own bank accounts from being frozen, but realizing the government could just freeze your money over politics was mind-blowing. That was a real wakeup call that pushed me deep into Bitcoin.
What made you move to Costa Rica and how did that shape your view of Bitcoin's purpose?
About three years ago I moved to Costa Rica, and being away from the matrix let me see things I hadn't noticed before. People there are hardworking and smart but lack access to borrow money for a house, car, or business, which really impedes economic growth. It became obvious that missing capital was the problem, and Bitcoin was the solution.
What ultimately soured you on the mortgage brokerage business in Canada?
As volumes cooled around 2022 and 2023, it became clear the banks were protecting their internal channels instead of paying brokers competitive rates. Being a broker, our whole value was sourcing the best rates, but that seemed to end. I didn't want to build a business so dependent on variables I couldn't control.
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