The Peter McCormack Show

Margot Paez is a Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute specialising in Renewable Energy and Environmental Studies. In this interview, we discuss the Occupy movement, a broken capitalist system, and a pragmatic approach to our energy future. - - - - Bitcoin is often labelled as being a currency for libertarians. But, it is increasingly clear that Bitcoin appeals to a wide range of people with a myriad of political leanings. This includes a growing number of progressives who see in the protocol a means of enabling a fairer and less economically stratified society. That Bitcoin appeals to such disparate communities speaks to both the strength of Bitcoin, but also the weakness of the current system. If those on both the right and left are disenchanted with the status quo, that is obviously a strong signal that a major societal change is warranted. Further, it means we have to assess why we’re so polarised if we fundamentally agree with each other. There is a debate to be had regarding language, labels, unconscious bias, and manipulation of opinions. The issue is that these false divisions are affecting reasoned consideration of all the major issues affecting modern civilisation, particularly in relation to climate change. The practical implication is that both sides of the climate change debate are resistant to effective and pragmatic measures. Is it possible to view these issues without a political lens?

Matthew Pines is a Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute specializing in national security. In this interview, we discuss modelling complex systems, current US national security priorities, and how Bitcoin can help maintain US hegemony. - - - - We live in unprecedented times. An emergent battle for hegemonic power is occurring during a period of unparalleled advances in technology that politicians are struggling to comprehend. What was previously deemed to be settled global economic and geopolitical strategy is now in flux. Up may be down. The unthinkable suddenly thinkable. This is the environment in which Bitcoin, revolutionary money, is going through its puberty stage. It is to be expected that incumbent US (and other western) power structures are nervous about such an immature innovation, particularly in uncertain times. Yet, as counterintuitive as it may seem to them, Bitcoin offers significant strategic advantages for the US. For Bitcoiners, the issue is not that a case needs to be made, but rather how that case should be presented and conveyed to politicians and bureaucrats. So far the message has been conveyed through grassroots advocacy: orange pilling individuals. But how do you orange pill the world's major power centre? Bitcoiners are disrupters and predominantly work outside of the sphere of government. Bitcoin itself seeks to challenge the status quo. However, the government needs to hear the message in a language they understand, via channels they can trust. This is the gap Matthew Pines is seeking to fill. And “Bitcoin and U.S. National Security” is the report that aims to orange pill the US government.

Nic Carter is a Partner at Castle Island Ventures and co-founder and Chairman of Coin Metrics. In this interview, we discuss the seizure of Russian Central Bank assets by the G7, the demise of US hegemony, and a multipolar multi-reserve world. - - - - Whilst it is arguable whether America’s geopolitical reach can be classed as an empire, the decline of its hegemonic power is compared to the passing of great empires of the past. Such analysis shows that there are no fixed dates to assign to the actual fall of empires; declines are marked by a prolonged unwinding of influence and cohesiveness. Nevertheless, the atrophying of empires are signposted by critical dates: the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths in 410; the humiliation of Britain caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis; the symbolic impact on the USSR of the fall of the Berlin wall on November 9th 1989. Currently, we are living through equally tumultuous times, and February 26th 2022 may be one such date for the history books. It was when the G7, led by the US, seized $630B of Russia’s foreign reserves. With the grim humanitarian impacts of the Ukraine Russia conflict being witnessed on a daily basis, this seemed like an appropriate non-violent measure. However, its scale and likely impact is and will be unprecedented. The role of the US dollar has been eroded over the past few decades as economic sanctions have been increasingly deployed as a coercive tool of power. Nevertheless, the G7 freezing Russian access to its foreign assets is a crossing the Rubicon moment. No longer will the US dollar be a unifying store of value across the world. The ramifications are huge.

Lyn Alden is a macroeconomist and investment strategist. In this interview, we discuss the economic impacts of the Ukraine Russia conflict, including the effect of sanctions on Russia, wider global impacts, and the responses of individuals, companies, and nations. - - - - As the Ukraine Russia conflict continues well into the third week, it is hard to think beyond the wretched humanitarian impacts. But, it is imperative the serious economic impacts are analysed, both in terms of the direct and indirect collateral costs of the physical war, and the unprecedented economic actions being applied as tools of warfare. The main issue is that this conflict is occurring at a critical juncture for the world economy. The Covid pandemic compounded structural issues in the global economy precipitated a decade earlier by the global financial crisis. The conflict is having a detrimental effect on fragile markets, whilst exacerbating existing supply chain issues leading to further inflationary pressures. However, the conflict is also creating new and potentially more important problems. The world economy since WW2 has been based on pillars that were thought to be unbreachable. The central pillar has been the use of the US dollar as a global reserve currency. As a direct consequence of actions taken in response to the conflict, this is now open to question.

Scott Horton is an anti-war radio host, podcaster, and author. In this interview, we discuss whether there are any just wars, the Ukraine/Russia conflict, and how a chain reaction of misunderstood events going back to WW1 got us here.  - - - -  History is not necessarily objective: observers are usually partisan, and chroniclers of collected stories have their own subjective biases that can affect the evidence base. These issues are most pronounced in the records of wars. This is because history is written by the victors. Mainstream presentation of the history of wars rarely credits divergent interpretations. The major conflicts that involve a given nation-state, particularly those that support politically advantageous mythologies, are treated as being self-evident. Opposing analysis is given the pejorative label of ‘conspiracy theory’.       Yet, could the history of our current civilization be open to new explanations? Is there sufficient evidence, maybe hidden in plain sight, that would cast a different light on events? Could the official version be wrong? Was the rationale and motivation for pivotal decisions, which have changed the trajectory of life on earth, different to the commonly accepted understanding?

Travis Kling is the Chief Investment Officer and Ikigai. In this interview, we discuss the need for decentralization, Bitcoin as pristine collateral and whether we’re living in a simulation. - - - - Google, Facebook and Amazon are still relatively young companies, formed in the slipstream of the internet. They rose from a mass of competition to dominate not just the internet, but to become some of the most powerful organisations in the world. Such is their power that they are changing society in profound and concerning ways. At the same time, there has been significant erosion in trust. The Iraq War and the sub-prime mortgage crisis combined to generate widespread disillusionment with the status quo. This was funnelled into social media’s new echo chambers with algorithms that stoked fear and anger. We are still struggling to deal with the results. A major issue of concern is that the next wave of technological innovation is expected to be overwhelmingly disruptive: AI and robotics in particular have potentially unlimited capacity to revolutionise society. If we don’t resolve the issues caused by centralization now, the future for democratic governance looks bleak.

Bill Barhydt is the CEO and Founder of Abra. In this interview, we discuss institutional investment, the long term debt cycle, the end of fractional reserve banking and how Bill gave away thousands of Bitcoin.   - - - -    The current banking system is broken. Millions of people around the world still don't have access to proper banking services, the payment rails that facilitate transactions are old and costly, and trust in financial institutions is low.    To add to this, currencies around the world are being debased at a rapid pace. Over the last few years, central banks have printed huge amounts of money that is now showing up in inflation, which has a disproportionate impact on the poorest in society. 50% of Americans now have more credit card debt than savings.   Bitcoin started as a cypherpunk experiment, but its sound monetary properties have led to it becoming a real lifeboat for those who are economically adrift. With the banks losing momentum, is Bitcoin mature enough to take up the slack?   However, you see the future of money and banking - one thing is clear Bitcoin will play a role. The question is, how big will that role be?

Location: Los Angeles Date: Saturday 5th February Company: Guns N’ Bitcoin Role: Chief Range Officer Pro-freedom principles are deep rooted in the Amercian psyche. Liberty is a cornerstone of the US Constitution, which seeks to protect individuals from arbitrary and unreasonable restraint. The Constituion codifying what freedom means for the individual and the state, yet debate on the surface level extents of freedom in modern America mean deeper reasoning is lost. Polarised discourse misses that freedom expects from the individual as much as it provides. An individual must hold and display certain values within a working pro-freedom society. This ideal comes from the ancient Greeks philosophy of stoicism: citizens should apply the virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. As Aurelius would put it “be a good person”. If the citizens and the state can both respect each other and act with values that are in concert with each other, then a pro-freedom civilisation is possible with all the benefits that this brings. But if the state is oppressive, the rationale actions of the affect individuals, and the long term consequences for their civilisation, are obviously going to be antithetical to progress. In our fast-paced ‘fiat’ system where debate is dominated by short form communication, we are too quick to prejudge and pigeonhole people. Pro-freedom advocates are associated with far right politics. Yet, any long-form conversation with pro-freedom advocates indicates this ideology appeals to a wide political spectrum as it is predicated on sound and sustainable principles. In short, slowing down and spending time with people we find our commonality exceeds our differences. That is the Bitcoin way. In this interview, I talk to Ragnar Lifthrasir from Guns N’ Bitcoin. We discuss what it means to be pro-freedom, the role of the state, the importance of values to build good civilisations, Bitcoin groupthink, printed guns and the safe gun culture.

Location: Los Angeles Date: Friday 4th February Company: Swan Bitcoin Role: Head of Institutional Investment As with all assets and commodities, a myriad of financial instruments have been developed around Bitcoin. The riskier end of the spectrum are opportunities to take levered positions. These positions can produce stellar returns, providing opportunities for those who feel like they’ve missed out on previous bull runs, or have the appetite to try and continue to outplay the market. If only it were that simple. Stating leverage involves risk is a massive understatement. You. Can. Lose. Everything. Liquidation is a brutal experience. The issue regarding Bitcoin is that liquidation of open levered positions is inevitable and rapid due to the volatility. There are numerous stories of markets turning suddenly in unexpected directions, and exchanges being unable to deal with the associated demand to add collateral to open positions. Then there are flash crashes which occur too quickly for anyone to be able to respond. Fairness doesn’t come into the algorithms used to close positions and action liquidations. Rekt is a term used too often. A simple mistake can undo years of hard work. Staking sats, hodling, and staying humble are the tried and tested ways of maximizing the opportunities provided by Bitcoin. Developing the discipline of having a long time preference is a cathartic experience. In this interview, I talk to Andy Edstrom, author of Why Buy Bitcoin and Head of Institutional Investment at Swan Bitcoin. We discuss experiences of getting rekt, applying good leverage, the waves of Bitcoin adoption, playing offence on Bitcoin’s ESG credentials, and investing in Bitcoin for time and freedom.

Location: Los Angeles Date: Friday 4th February Company: USC Marshall School of Business Role: Author and Adjunct Professor of Finance Bitcoin empowers individuals, the threat to the state is clear. As the New German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asserted in December 2020: “We must do everything possible to make sure the currency monopoly remains in the hands of states.”  As a response to Bitcoin, the major world economies are pilot testing CBDCs, and pressure is being applied to low and middle-income countries. In October 2021 the IMF stated in its Global Financial Stability Report that “Emerging markets faced with cryptoization risks should strengthen macroeconomic policies and consider the benefits of issuing central bank digital currencies.”  The privacy concerns emanating from CBDCs are being exacerbated by the same organisations promoting them; in another IMF statement in late 2020 they stated a person's online search and purchase history is a suitable data source for undertaking a credit assessment. In addition, the anonymity of cash is known to be an issue for governments around the world.  Whilst there are obvious benefits to enabling better payments processes to citizens, CBDCs could also facilitate state controls on how and when people spend money. The Bank of England is considering using smart contracts within a CBDC; the FT raised concerns about the potential for severe restrictions on personal freedom mirroring China’s “social credit” system. As we have seen, these fears are no longer being seen as theoretical threats that don’t apply to those living in western democracies. What is currently happening in Canada is giving even the most centred observers pause for thought. Bitcoin is the only obvious tool to provide freedom of currency denomination in a secure, trustless way, outside of the purview of Governments.  In this interview, I talk to the Author and Professor of Finance Nik Bhatia. We discuss the rationale for CBDCs and their limitations, a new form of heavily surveilled ‘free’ banking, Bitcoin as a discovery and a right, and how the Lightning Network makes Bitcoin a currency.