Can a country wage war without ever firing a bullet? In this episode of Bankless, we uncover the surprising truth: America’s most powerful weapon isn’t its military - it’s the dollar.
Joining us is Edward Fishman, a former State Department official and the author of Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare. He explains how U.S. sanctions work, why they’re so effective, and what happens when countries try to escape them. From Iran and Russia to the rise of stablecoins and China’s digital yuan, we dive deep into the geopolitical power of financial infrastructure and crypto’s growing role in rewriting the rules.
If you want to understand the silent machinery behind global power, and why crypto might be the next battleground - don’t miss this one.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
5:51 Sanctions 101
8:32 The History of Economic Warfare
17:03 When Sanctions Precede War
22:27 Life After Dollar Disconnection
31:28 Sanctioning Russia: Methods & Lessons
43:49 Measuring Sanctions’ Effectiveness
49:20 The Strategic Tradeoffs of Sanctions
57:28 The Rise of Dollar Dominance
1:04:05 Unseen Costs of Sanction Power
1:08:15 Shifting Global Economic Power
1:15:47 Risks to U.S. Economic Leadership
1:20:43 Stablecoins as U.S. Leverage
1:28:13 Crypto’s Role in Sanction Evasion
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RESOURCES
Edward Fishman
https://x.com/edwardfishman
Edward Fishman’s “Chokepoints”
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/726149/chokepoints-by-edward-fishman/
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