Unchained

The Chopping Block: The Macro Special – Trump’s Trade War, Bitcoin Reserve & Market Chaos - Ep. 799


Listen Later

Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner break down the biggest stories in crypto. This week, we’re joined by special guest Quinn Thompson, Master of Macro at Lekker Capital, to dissect Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve. The US government is now officially hodling Bitcoin —Trump’s executive order creates a BTC reserve using seized funds. But markets didn’t buy the hype. Bitcoin tanked, and traders are still questioning what this means for crypto’s future. Meanwhile, the global macro picture is a disaster—stocks are down, trade wars are escalating, and recession fears are mounting.Is this controlled demolition of the economy, or just a side effect of Trump’s economic agenda? And most importantly, what does this mean for crypto? Let’s dive in.

Show highlights

🔹 Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve Announcement – The US government officially holds BTC, but it’s not buying more. No new demand—just a change in optics.

🔹 Digital Asset Stockpile – XRP, ADA, SOL? Treasury isn’t sure what it owns, and no guarantee these altcoins stay on the balance sheet.

🔹 Market Reactions – Bitcoin pumped, then crashed. No net buying pressure, just an end to government auctions of seized BTC.

🔹 Trade War Fallout – Tariffs hit Mexico, Canada, EU, and China—S&P 500 posts worst day since 2022, losing $1.4T in market cap.

🔹 Trump’s Endgame? – Is this a controlled demolition of asset prices, or just chaos in motion?

🔹 Crypto’s Liquidity Crunch – The Fed isn’t stepping in (yet), but the macro backdrop is grim. Rate cuts may be the only way out.


Hosts

⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly

⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures

⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly 

⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate


Guest

⭐️Quinn Thompson, Founder & CIO at Lekker Capital


Disclosures


Timestamps 

  • 00:00 Intro
  • 02:36 Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve
  • 05:17 Bitcoin Tanks
  • 14:30 How This Affects Crypto & Traditional Finance
  • 19:36 Trade Wars Escalate
  • 31:30 Corn Twitter Is Mad
  • 35:16 Why Stocks & Crypto Are Dumping in Sync
  • 41:39 Trump's Historical Stance on Tariffs
  • 54:57 Government Spending and Crypto Market

  • Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    UnchainedBy Laura Shin

    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6

    4.6

    1,181 ratings


    More shows like Unchained

    View all
    Real Vision: Finance & Investing by Real Vision Podcast Network

    Real Vision: Finance & Investing

    908 Listeners

    CoinDesk Podcast Network by CoinDesk

    CoinDesk Podcast Network

    639 Listeners

    The Pomp Podcast by Anthony Pompliano

    The Pomp Podcast

    1,835 Listeners

    The Breakdown by Blockworks

    The Breakdown

    747 Listeners

    On The Brink with Castle Island by Castle Island Ventures

    On The Brink with Castle Island

    291 Listeners

    Markets Daily Crypto Roundup by CoinDesk

    Markets Daily Crypto Roundup

    135 Listeners

    Bankless by Bankless

    Bankless

    1,049 Listeners

    The Wolf Of All Streets by Scott Melker

    The Wolf Of All Streets

    229 Listeners

    Empire by Blockworks

    Empire

    167 Listeners

    Supply Shock by Blockworks

    Supply Shock

    112 Listeners

    Coin Stories by Natalie Brunell

    Coin Stories

    425 Listeners

    Raoul Pal: The Journey Man by Real Vision Podcast Network

    Raoul Pal: The Journey Man

    123 Listeners

    The Milk Road Show by The Milk Road Show

    The Milk Road Show

    39 Listeners

    web3 with a16z crypto by a16z crypto, Sonal Chokshi, Chris Dixon

    web3 with a16z crypto

    62 Listeners

    The Limitless Podcast by Limitless by Bankless

    The Limitless Podcast

    36 Listeners