Eric Yakes runs Epoch Ventures and is the author of The 7th Property: Bitcoin and the Monetary Revolution.

› https://x.com/ericyakes

PARTNERS

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🟧 Buy Bitcoin in the EU 🇪🇺 via https://relai.me/bram - Sign up with code BRAM to get 10% off your fees

PRODUCTS I ENDORSE

› Get 10% off a Bitaxe open-source Bitcoin home miner using code BRAM at https://shop.powermining.io/?ref=BRAM

› Blockstream Jade Plus: The simplest and most secure hardware wallet on the planet - Get 10% off with code BRAM at https://store.blockstream.com

› Stamp Seed: The safest way to backup your hardware wallet - Get 15% off with code BRAM at https://stampseed.com

🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO GET NOTIFIED

› https://youtube.com/@bramk⁠⁠

› https://x.com/bramk

🕑 TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Immutability as a Core Property of Money

01:19 - The Evolution of Money: From Private to Centralized

03:20 - Coinage, Coin Clipping, and Roman Debasement

05:11 - Banking Origins: Receipts and Fractional Reserves

07:14 - Central Banks, Paper Money, and the Telegraph Era

09:38 - The Fiat Era: Debt Expansion and Moral Hazard

11:19 - How Bitcoin Removes Monetary Tradeoffs

13:14 - Trust, Human Fallibility, and Objective Verification

16:58 - A Distributed Future: Bitcoin Meets AI

20:37 - Agency, Incentives, and Escaping Fiat Life Scripts

23:42 - Why Monetary Technology Adopts Slowly

25:51 - Adoption S-Curves: Store of Value Comes First

31:44 - Volatility, Institutions, and Capital Depth

38:02 - Volatility vs. Risk: Narratives Drive Markets

43:46 - Why Bitcoin Is Hard to Understand

47:58 - Banks, Credit, and Fractional Reserve on Bitcoin

57:32 - Hot Takes: Nasdaq Correlations and Crashes

01:00:16 - Quantum Computing and Bitcoin as a Protocol

01:04:22 - Fears and Hopes: Freedom Money and Mining

ℹ️ EPISODE SUMMARY

Bram Kanstein and Eric Yakes discuss why Bitcoin adds immutability as a new property of money. They trace how trust slid from coinage to banks to fiat, and why moral hazard keeps showing up. Yakes frames Bitcoin self-custody as lowering the cost of sovereignty, like holding value on a USB instead of in a vault. They confront volatility, institutions, and why narrative moves markets before fundamentals. They close on credit, fractional reserve incentives, quantum computing, and Bitcoin’s long game.

RELAI DISCLAIMERRelai sponsors this show/podcast and is authorized to provide crypto-asset services in Switzerland and across the European Union under the MiCA regulatory framework with its license issued by the French regulator, AMF (License No: A2025-006). The company is actively expanding its services to EU member states following the completion of passporting notifications.

Niko Jilch is a renowned finance journalist, podcaster, and fierce advocate for Bitcoin and sound money principles.

› https://x.com/NikoJilch

› https://www.youtube.com/@WasBitcoinbringt

PARTNERS

🌳 Gain peace of mind with Onramp’s Multi-Institution Custody solution. Sign up with code BRAM to receive $150 in Bitcoin after your first deposit: https://onrampbitcoin.com/bram

🟧 Buy Bitcoin in the EU 🇪🇺 via https://relai.me/bram - Sign up with code BRAM to get 10% off your fees

PRODUCTS I ENDORSE

› Get 10% off a Bitaxe open-source Bitcoin home miner using code BRAM at https://shop.powermining.io/?ref=BRAM

› Blockstream Jade Plus: The simplest and most secure hardware wallet on the planet - Get 10% off with code BRAM at https://store.blockstream.com

› Stamp Seed: The safest way to backup your hardware wallet - Get 15% off with code BRAM at https://stampseed.com

🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO GET NOTIFIED

› https://youtube.com/@bramk⁠⁠

› https://x.com/bramk

🕑 TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Europe Under Pressure: Gold vs. Bitcoin

05:07 - The Euro Explained: Gold Backing and Structure

07:24 - 13,000 Tonnes of Gold on European Balance Sheets

09:44 - Euro Credibility: Draghi, Lagarde, and Central Banking

12:22 - Europe Reacts to Trump: De-Dollarization Dynamics

16:42 - Trump as a Gorbachev Moment

20:04 - How the Dollar Timeline Was Extended

23:22 - Why Gold Is Outperforming Bitcoin (For Now)

28:31 - The Welfare State Is Bankrupt: Printing as Policy

31:00 - Gold as the Alarm, Bitcoin as the Confirmation

32:12 - Self-Custody as an Individual Survival Strategy

36:12 - The 2010 Crisis: Panic, Gold, and Hard Lessons

38:13 - Accepting Fiat Failure and Protecting Yourself

46:19 - Stablecoins, Eurodollars, and Treasury Demand

56:04 - CBDCs vs. Neutral Money: Why Bitcoin Matters

01:00:00 - If the US Embraces Bitcoin, Can Others Ignore It?

ℹ️ EPISODE SUMMARY

Bram Kanstein and Niko Jilch discuss why gold is ripping while Bitcoin looks stuck. Europe’s euro project, CBDCs, and political centralization get put under a harsh light. Niko reveals the euro’s hidden gold backing, 13,000 tonnes, and why that matters for monetary geopolitics. They confront stablecoins as a stealth extension of dollar power, and Europe’s fear of them. The thread that holds it together is sovereignty, self-custody, and conviction in a fiat system that keeps printing.

RELAI DISCLAIMERRelai sponsors this show/podcast and is authorized to provide crypto-asset services in Switzerland and across the European Union under the MiCA regulatory framework with its license issued by the French regulator, AMF (License No: A2025-006). The company is actively expanding its services to EU member states following the completion of passporting notifications.

Jeroen Blokland is a seasoned professional investor with over 20 years of experience, and the author of ‘The Great Rebalancing’.

› https://x.com/jsblokland

› https://greatrebalancing.com

PARTNERS

🌳 Gain peace of mind with Onramp’s Multi-Institution Custody solution. Sign up with code BRAM to receive $150 in Bitcoin after your first deposit: https://onrampbitcoin.com/bram

🟧 Buy Bitcoin in the EU 🇪🇺 via https://relai.me/bram - Sign up with code BRAM to get 10% off your fees

PRODUCTS I ENDORSE

› Get 10% off a Bitaxe open-source Bitcoin home miner using code BRAM at https://shop.powermining.io/?ref=BRAM› Heat your home and Earn Bitcoin with Heatbit - Get 5% off with code BRAM at ****https://heatbit.com/?ref=BRAM

› Blockstream Jade Plus: The simplest and most secure hardware wallet on the planet - Get 10% off with code BRAM at https://store.blockstream.com

› Stamp Seed: The safest way to backup your hardware wallet - Get 15% off with code BRAM at https://stampseed.com

🔔 SUBSCRIBE TO GET NOTIFIED

› https://youtube.com/@bramk⁠⁠

› https://x.com/bramk

🕑 TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – The Debt System Is Breaking01:21 – The UK Crisis Was the Warning05:36 – Japan Proves This Isn’t a One-Off10:00 – Why Fiat Lies About Returns16:00 – Yield Curve Control & the Death of Markets18:13 – The End of the 60/40 Portfolio28:00 – Inflation, Repression, and Locked-In Spending38:00 – Fiscal Dominance Takes Over48:00 – Why Scarce Assets Win (Gold & Bitcoin)58:00 – The Great Rebalancing Has Begun01:13:00 – How the State Will Try to Trap Capital01:27:00 – What Insiders Actually Own

ℹ️ EPISODE SUMMARY

Bram Kanstein and Jeroen Blokland discuss why the UK bond blowup during Liz Truss’ short moment in power was a canary in the coal mine for the debt trapped world. They explain how negative real yields break the 60/40 portfolio, bonds stop protecting, they quietly drain purchasing power. They confront fiscal dominance, yield curve control, and financial repression that locks savers into refinancing the system. They make the case for scarce assets like gold and Bitcoin, plus Bitcoin’s trustless settlement as an exit valve. They close on The Great Rebalancing, why scarcity may rise exponentially, and why your investing mindset needs a reset.

RELAI DISCLAIMERRelai sponsors this show/podcast and is authorized to provide crypto-asset services in Switzerland and across the European Union under the MiCA regulatory framework with its license issued by the French regulator, AMF (License No: A2025-006). The company is actively expanding its services to EU member states following the completion of passporting notifications.