The Bitcoin Layer

In this episode, Nik welcomes Tony Yazbek, co-founder of The Bitcoin Way, for a conversation on why owning bitcoin yourself is the whole point. Tony argues that bitcoin is money rather than an investment, and that anything wrapped in legacy finance, from ETFs to exchange balances, is not the same as holding it directly. He recounts surviving Lebanon's 2019 banking collapse, when he woke up homeless with about $75 after the banks confiscated everyone's savings, and how it shaped his conviction. Tony and Nik also dig into what self-sovereignty does for people, how to think about hardware and air-gapped storage, the volatility myth, and jurisdictional sovereignty, with Tony drawing on 30 years in cybersecurity throughout.

The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.

In this episode, Nik welcomes back Tanvi Ratna, geoeconomic strategist and Fox News columnist, for a conversation on why the Iran conflict is far bigger than the Middle East. Tanvi lays out her thesis that Iran is the node in a global re-architecture of the world order, and walks through how the war is realigning Europe, reshaping NATO as European commanders take over operational theaters, and squeezing Russia out of Latin America, the Middle East, and its energy markets. She explains the Saudi-Israel question still blocking a regional deal, the corridor wars around Hormuz and the Balkans, and how US LNG and new energy infrastructure are redrawing the map of global energy dominance.

The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.

In this episode, Nik welcomes John Tinsman, founder and portfolio manager at AOT Invest, for a conversation on why the AI buildout looks like a revolution rather than a bubble. The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.

In this episode, Nik welcomes back Daniel Batten, bitcoin researcher and longtime voice on bitcoin's role in energy, for a conversation on the collision between AI, the power grid, and bitcoin mining. The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.

In this episode, Nik welcomes back Dr. Stephen Perrenod, astrophysicist and member of the Scientific Bitcoin Institute, for a conversation on the mathematics behind bitcoin's price. The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.

In this episode, Nik welcomes back Joe Consorti, a TBL veteran who helped build The Bitcoin Layer in its early days, for a conversation on bitcoin, AI, and the next phase of markets. Joe explains why bitcoin has lagged equities, why the four-year cycle may be breaking, and why AI could become one of the biggest long-term bull cases for bitcoin. He also breaks down the volatile macro setup ahead, from war-driven oil inflation and higher rates to the AI capex boom, asset price inflation, and why bitcoin may be uniquely positioned as an asset that cannot be disrupted in the AI era.

The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.

The CME just launched compute futures, with CEO Terry Duffy calling compute "the new oil of the 21st century." In this video, Nik argues this is the dominant force in markets right now, and it's exactly what he laid out in yesterday's Substack post, The Token Layer. The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.

In this Global Macro Update, Nik argues a global bond crisis is brewing and it starts outside the United States. Japanese yields are driving the worldwide sell-off, with German and UK bonds close behind, while inflation expectations roar back on the oil shock from the war in Iran. Nik walks through every major asset class, the bear flattener in US Treasuries, why credit spreads show no fear at home, and why the SOFR market signals a flight to safety rather than US bond stress. On the economy, he makes the case that the US labor market is strong, housing inflation is bottoming, and the AI capex boom is creating demand-driven inflation now showing up in ISM prices paid. The could-be crisis is most dangerous abroad, where dollar strength and dollar-denominated oil costs are choking the ability to service debt.

The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.

Nik welcomes Matt Dines, CIO of Build Asset Management, back to The Bitcoin Layer to unpack the UAE leaving OPEC and what it signals about a broader dollar system remake. Dines ties the UAE's pivot toward direct Fed swap lines to the Bank of Japan holding rates, the un-inversion of the 3-month / 6-month T-bill curve after 130 weeks, and the disaster unfolding in UK gilts. He closes with his thesis on the ninth inning of the credit cycle, the 1913 Anglo-American merger, and the Pax Silica vision tying together semiconductors, energy, critical minerals, stablecoins, and bitcoin as the glue of an emerging American-led global order.

The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.

Nik welcomes back Lyn Alden for a wide-ranging conversation on AI's economic impact, the repricing of software stocks, and why the deficit only goes one direction. The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.