Bitcoin’s volatility is falling—and Trace Mayer thinks that may signal the end of its wealth creation era. In this episode, we sit down with early bitcoin investor and proof of keys holiday founder Trace Mayer to unpack where we are in bitcoin’s lifecycle and what comes next. Trace breaks down his recent debate with Peter Schiff, explaining why subjective value theory and entrepreneurship are at the heart of bitcoin’s superiority over gold. We explore bitcoin’s declining volatility, why Strategy’s strategy may be riskier than it looks, and how bitcoin financialization is accelerating faster than expected. Trace also shares why proof of reserves matters, the long-term risk of custodial centralization, and how legal frameworks might evolve to protect against contentious forks.

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TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Intro

1:24 - Debating Peter Schiff on sound money and bitcoin

5:44 - Why Satoshi was a monetary entrepreneur

10:07 - Bitcoin vs gold: scarcity, portability, and use cases

20:36 - The light side vs dark side of investing with bitcoin

23:18 - Saylor’s strategy: capital gains vs cash flow

28:01 - Bitcoin volatility is declining—is the wealth creation phase over?

33:45 - The financialization of bitcoin is accelerating

40:01 - Global instability, geopolitics, and bitcoin

49:46 - Capital controls: bitcoin’s role

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