Intro

The crypto world was shaken this weekend when Donald Trump and Melania Trump launched their own memecoins, ahead of Trump’s inauguration as president. 

Financial analyst Lyn Alden joins Laura to explain why she’s not a fan of memecoins, neutral on a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve, and doubtful the U.S. can disrupt itself even as Bitcoin, crypto and blockchain technology hold the possibilities of upending the geopolitical world order.

Discussing everything from rising tariffs to reshoring strategies, Lyn offers a sharp analysis of the U.S. fiscal and monetary outlook and explains why she believes fiscal policy now overshadows monetary policy. Plus, hear her take on the TikTok ban debate, her skepticism that Bitcoin’s future security could be at risk as the block subsidy decreases, and her Bitcoin projection for 2025.

Show highlights:

• 02:13 Why Lyn is not supportive of the launch of Trump’s and Melania’s memecoins
• 10:01 Whether Trump should airdrop his memecoin to U.S. citizens
• 11:47 Why a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve sparks debate over its potential to devalue the dollar, reshape trade deficits, and challenge the global reserve currency system
• 25:09 How bitcoin’s rise as a neutral reserve asset could shape a multi-polar world
• 27:23 Why she thinks addressing U.S. fiscal issues may require the reshoring of industry and rethinking the dollar system
• 31:22Why Lyn thinks rising tariffs could disrupt global trade, but might also make the government less able to rely on taxation in a world of portable capital and growing privacy tools
• 35:16 Whether DOGE will be bearish for bitcoin
• 39:39 Why Lyn feels that Scott Bessent’s “3-3-3 Plan” faces challenges
• 42:29 Why fiscal policy now overshadows monetary policy, according to Lyn
• 48:21 What the TikTok ban debate reveals to Lyn about government control and the push for decentralized social media
• 52:31 Lyn’s take on MSTR’s plan to increase the number of shares
• 54:56 Lyn’s view on OP_CAT and bitcoin soft forks
• 57:20 Why Lyn doesn’t think that declining subsidies pose a problem for bitcoin’s security
• 1:05:59 Why Lyn doesn’t see value in other sectors of crypto, such as DeFi, aside from Bitcoin and stablecoins
• 1:09:15 Lyn’s projection for the price of bitcoin in 2025

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Somnia Network
• Polkadot

Guest:

• Lyn Alden, founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy
• Previous appearances on Unchained:
• Does Maximalism Help or Hurt Bitcoin? Lyn Alden and Udi Wertheimer Debate
• How Will Inflation Impact Crypto?
• Is Ethereum a Good Investment? 
• Why Bitcoin Now: Meltem Demirors and Lyn Alden on the Perfect Conditions for Bitcoin

Links

• Trump’s announcement of a memecoin 
• Unchained: TRUMP Memecoin Soars Then Sinks as MELANIA Launches
• Balaji’s tweet on the proposal of airdropping $TRUMP
• Unchained: A Bitcoin Strategic Reserve for the U.S.? Senator Cynthia Lummis Reveals Her Bill
• Bloomberg: MicroStrategy May Soon Rival Amazon, Alphabet in Common Shares - 
• Unchained: What Is the OP_CAT Bitcoin Improvement Proposal? - Unchained
• Unchained: Bitcoin Layer 2s Aim to Attract Ethereum-Like Dapps. Will They Succeed? - Ep.638

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