Brent Johnson returns to Bankless to update the Dollar Milkshake Theory and explain why the de-dollarization narrative misses the bigger trend. He argues markets may want out of the dollar, but the Eurodollar system keeps pulling demand back in, and “dollar down” headlines do not break the framework. Brent also covers how debt stress can spill into political instability, why stablecoins and the GENIUS Act could accelerate re-dollarization, and what this means for monetary sovereignty. We close with China’s counter-strategy and how Brent thinks about positioning from here.

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
1:20 De-Dollarizing vs Re-Dollarizing: Milkshake Recap
4:18 What a Sovereign Debt Crisis Actually Means
5:45 Central Banks as “Professional Can-Kickers”
8:56 Can They Slowly Let the Air Out?
11:03 Can AI Productivity Save the System?
13:06 2025 Setup: The Narrative for Dedollarization
18:06 BRICS: Conference Talk vs Structural Reality
23:37 Store of Value vs Medium of Exchange
34:24 “Crisis = Dollar Up” (and the April Exception)
39:06 Stablecoin Redollarization and the GENIUS Act
47:20 Monetary Sovereignty, Faster Bank Runs, Faster Dollarization
52:34 China’s Response: Two Currency Stacks
54:21 Positioning as an Investor

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RESOURCES

Brent Johnson
https://x.com/SantiagoAuFund

The Dollar Milkshake Theory
https://research.santiagocapital.com/p/the-dollar-milkshake

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures