Why Strategy's Capital Stack Is Starting to Show Cracks

Why Strategy's Capital Stack Is Starting to Show Cracks

Strategy sold Bitcoin for the first time since 2022 — a small sale, but a meaningful signal. Ram, Austin, and Chris work through the capital stack math: $15 billion in preferred stock needs Bitcoin to appreciate 11.5% annually just to cover dividends. What happens if it doesn't? With: * Austin Campbell, Founder, Zero Knowledge Consulting; Adjunct Professor, NYU Stern - https://x.com/austincampbell * Ram Ahluwalia, Co-Host, CEO of Lumida - https://x.com/ramahluwalia * Chris Perkins, Co-Host, CEO of 250 Digital Asset Management - https://x.com/perkinscr97 This clip is from a longer conversation on Strategy's Bitcoin capital stack, the Anthropic IPO, and crypto's political fight with the banking lobby. Full episode here: https://youtube.com/live/eIarmme4Jvc [https://youtube.com/live/eIarmme4Jvc]  We go live every Monday at 4:30pm ET. Subscribe to catch it live. If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to Bits + Bips, since the show will migrate there in a few weeks. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, X, Unchained and wherever you get your podcasts.  🔥 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786  🔥 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ  🔥 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0  🔥X - https://x.com/bitsandbips  🔥 Unchained - https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/

Why Crypto Is Losing the Momentum Trade to AI Stocks Right Now

Bitcoin’s implied volatility just hit a nine-month low. ETF outflows have been running for weeks. And a memory chip ETF may have matched IBIT for the fastest ETF launch in history. So what’s happening to crypto? Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, and Steve Ehrlich break down the structural forces working against crypto right now: AI stocks doing the heavy lifting in portfolios, upcoming SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic IPOs pulling momentum capital, Kraken and Ledger delaying their own listings, and the ‘crypto tourist’ problem — ETF buyers who bought on momentum and will sell on momentum the moment something else outperforms. Is this a cleansing moment, or is crypto just one sector now? Guests: Steve Sosnick, Chief Strategist at Interactive Brokers. Host: Steve Ehrlich, Head of Research at SharpLink. This clip is from a longer conversation. Full episode here: https://youtube.com/live/H31JcAM0evI [https://youtube.com/live/H31JcAM0evI]   If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to Bits + Bips, since the show will migrate there in a few weeks. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, X, Unchained and wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786] 🔥 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ] 🔥 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0 [https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0] 🔥X - https://x.com/bitsandbips 🔥 Unchained - https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/ [https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/]

Why Arjun Sees a Link Between Pope Leo and Bitcoin

What does Pope Leo's first AI encyclical have to do with the Bitcoin white paper? Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, traces a philosophical thread from Augustine's City of God through Catholic social teaching's subsidiarity principle to Satoshi's monetary architecture. Austin Campbell finds the same argument in the Federalist Papers. Ram Ahluwalia brings in Immanuel Kant and the Tower of Babel. And Chris Perkins asks the question the whole room is thinking: is the Pope into DeFi? Hosts:  @austincampbell, @perkinscr97, @ramahluwalia Guest: @arjunsethi This clip is from a longer conversation on Kraken's global strategy, tokenized equities, and the SEC's paused innovation exemption. Full episode here: https://youtube.com/live/KKec65JyBjw [https://youtube.com/live/KKec65JyBjw]  We go live every Monday at 4:30 pm ET. Subscribe to catch it live. If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to Bits + Bips, since the show will migrate there in a few weeks. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, X, Unchained and wherever you get your podcasts.  🔥 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786]   🔥 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ]   🔥 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0 [https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0]   🔥X - https://x.com/bitsandbips [https://x.com/bitsandbips] 🔥 Unchained - https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/ [https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/]

Kevin Warsh Takes Over the Fed. Here's What He Actually Can Do

Kevin Warsh is confirmed as Fed chair today. He says he wants a smaller balance sheet, fewer dot plots, less forward guidance, and new ways to measure inflation. In this clip, Noelle Acheson tells Steve Ehrlich why the bond market will veto the balance sheet goal, why fewer FOMC press conferences may increase volatility rather than reduce noise, and why the most likely outcome for the next few Fed meetings is no hike and no cut — giving Warsh room to build trust within the FOMC before he can move on anything structural. Host: Steve Ehrlich | Head of Research, Sharplink Guest: Noelle Acheson | Author, Crypto Is Macro Now This clip is from a longer conversation on bond yields, Kevin Warsh's Fed, and the macro outlook for Bitcoin. Full episode here: https://youtu.be/2Zi-3QmapM4 [https://youtu.be/2Zi-3QmapM4]  Bits + Bips: The Interview streams twice weekly — subscribe so you don't miss it. If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to Bits + Bips, since the show will migrate there in a few weeks. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, X, Unchained and wherever you get your podcasts.  🔥 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786] 🔥 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ]   🔥 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0 [https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0]   🔥X - https://x.com/bitsandbips 🔥 Unchained - https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/ [https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/]

Structural Stimulus Has Replaced the TACO Trade

The TACO trade — the assumption that Trump will always walk back market damage — is temporary. The BLISS trade is not. In this clip, Noelle Acheson explains Gita Gopinath's thesis from the Financial Times: no government, regardless of political party or political system, will be voted out for spending to protect citizens from hardship. The put under markets is now structural. Noelle and Steve Ehrlich work through what that means for currency debasement, moral hazard, and why risk-on appetite is so strong in such an uncertain environment. Host: Steve Ehrlich | Head of Research, Sharplink Guest: Noelle Acheson | Author, Crypto Is Macro Now This clip is from a longer conversation on bond yields, Kevin Warsh's Fed, and the macro outlook for Bitcoin. Full episode here: https://youtu.be/2Zi-3QmapM4 [https://youtu.be/2Zi-3QmapM4]  Bits + Bips: The Interview streams twice weekly — subscribe so you don't miss it. If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to Bits + Bips, since the show will migrate there in a few weeks. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, X, Unchained and wherever you get your podcasts.  🔥 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786] 🔥 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ]   🔥 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0 [https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0]   🔥X - https://x.com/bitsandbips 🔥 Unchained - https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/ [https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/]