Inflection Point

Latest Episodes:

Growth vs Inflation, Firefighters Pension Buys Bitcoin, FTX Raises $420 Million | Round Up Oct 23, 2021

Show notes

In this week's round up, Mark and I cover two concepts very deeply: 1) why structural growth is falling and 2) how that impacts inflation.

We spend a lot of time covering Mark's "Killer D's" Framework: Demographics, Debt, and Deflation. We also took a deep look at falling estimates for GDP growth, and the limits on how much we can trust central bankers predictions (hint: we can't).

We also picked apart some charts that came to us courtesy of Jurrien Timmer of Fidelity on how inflation, commodities and the S&P have performed during periods of economic expansion. As always, Jurrien's attention to detail and historic perspective made for some fascinating conversation.

We ended the charts portion of our talk with a conversation about US military spending, and covered the idea that a dominant empire tends to lead to peaceful periods. This pattern is reflected in nature as well.

Finally, in the stories portion of our round up we covered three big headlines: 1) the houston firefighters pension buying Bitcoin and Ether 2) the launch of the Bitcoin ETF and 3) FTX raising $420,690,000 from 69 investor.

For our thoughts on those, you'll have to listen to the episode :)

Ledger:

This episode is brought to you by Ledger, your secure gateway to buy, exchange and grow your crypto.

Combine a Ledger hardware wallet with the Ledger Live app to access all your favorite crypto services & DApps from one place. All that with the best security.

Visit https://onthemargin.link/ledger and make your crypto journey easier and safer.

Coinbase Prime:

On The Margin is supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions.

For more information go to https://onthemargin.link/coinbase

Meet with investors and financial industry leaders at the Digital Asset Summit in London, November 15 & 16. For a limited time, use code YOUTUBE for £75 off your tickets. https://blockworks.co/events/das-london/

Everything You Need to Know: Bitcoin ETF, Lightning Network, & Altcoins || Jeff Booth & Greg Foss Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

In this episode on On The Margin, Mike is joined by returning guests Jeff Booth & Greg Foss. Jeff & Greg discuss breaking news as the first ever U.S Bitcoin ETF was approved and what this could mean for institutional exposure to Bitcoin. Mike, Jeff & Greg also discuss the recent developments in El Salvador as Bitcoin was made legal tender, The Lightning Network, the deflationary forces & network effects of technology, Bitcoin mining, the difference between Altcoins vs Bitcoin, the outlook for 2021 & the future of Bitcoin.

Ledger:

This episode is brought to you by Ledger, your secure gateway to buy, exchange and grow your crypto.

Combine a Ledger hardware wallet with the Ledger Live app to access all your favorite crypto services & DApps from one place. All that with the best security.

Visit https://onthemargin.link/ledger and make your crypto journey easier and safer.

Coinbase Prime:

On The Margin is supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions.

For more information go to https://onthemargin.link/coinbase

Enron vs Tesla, Bitcoin Futures ETF, and Coinbase NFT Market Place | Weekly Round Up Oct 16, 2021

Show notes

In this week's episode, Mark and I kick things off with a cool bit of financial history: Goldman's buy rating of Enron three weeks before it collapsed.

I love this piece because it opened the door to chatting about one of my favorite documentaries of all time, "The Smartest Guys in the Room." Mark of course was around at the time and knew folks involved on the short side, so it was particularly interesting to get his take here.

That conversation segwayed into a discussion of Tesla, and the thin line between visionary and fraud (shout out Bethany McLean). Mark and I somewhat disagreed on this, but I respect his opinion and I think we aligned by the end.

Next we covered one of the more interesting trends happening in America today: everyone is quitting their jobs! We got into why that might be happening, which led to a discussion of the hustle and grit of China compared to the contemporary US.

Finally we kicked things off with our two stories of the week:

1. The launch of the bitcoin futures ETF

2. Coinbase's NFT marketplace

For the full discussion on these last two items, you're gonna have to watch the video yourself :)

Ledger:

This episode is brought to you by Ledger, your secure gateway to buy, exchange and grow your crypto.

Combine a Ledger hardware wallet with the Ledger Live app to access all your favorite crypto services & DApps from one place. All that with the best security.

Visit https://onthemargin.link/ledger and make your crypto journey easier and safer.

Coinbase Prime:

On The Margin is supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions.

For more information go to https://onthemargin.link/coinbase

Deciphering the Metaverse with David Hoffman Oct 13, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of On The Margin Mike is joined by David Hoffman. David is Co-Founder of Bankless, a podcast exploring the frontier of crypto & finance by interviewing some of the greatest thought leaders in the industry. Mike & David discuss the evolution of crypto, how DeFi will disrupt gaming, DAOs, redefining the role of nation states in the metaverse & what the future holds for the cryptocurrency industry.

Ledger:

This episode is brought to you by Ledger, your secure gateway to buy, exchange and grow your crypto.

Combine a Ledger hardware wallet with the Ledger Live app to access all your favorite crypto services & DApps from one place. All that with the best security.

Visit https://onthemargin.link/ledger and make your crypto journey easier and safer.

Coinbase Prime:

On The Margin is supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions.

For more information go to https://onthemargin.link/coinbase

Institutional Money Drives Bitcoin Higher, China Grapples with Energy Crisis | Round Up Oct 09, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of the weekly round up, Mike and Mark spend a lot of time on Bitcoin's recent run above $55,000. They take a look at open interest and the rolling 1 month basis on Bitcoin futures on CME compared to other offshore exchanges like Deribit and Huobi, and what that says about institutional flows. They also take a look at Bitcoin's price action compared to previous cycles in 2013 and 2017, and the recent resumption of the seasonality trend and divergence from equities.

In the latter portion of the conversation they dive deep into food prices, rising energy prices and depleted coal reserves in China and India, and what that says about the current state of geopolitics. Finally they cover George Soros' family office getting further into crypto and the FDIC reportedly taking a look at insuring stablecoin deposits.

Ledger:

This episode is brought to you by Ledger, your secure gateway to buy, exchange and grow your crypto.

Combine a Ledger hardware wallet with the Ledger Live app to access all your favorite crypto services & DApps from one place. All that with the best security.

Visit https://onthemargin.link/ledger and make your crypto journey easier and safer.

Coinbase Prime:

On The Margin is supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions.

For more information go to https://onthemargin.link/coinbase

The end game for the Dollar: China vs the U.S. | Grant Williams and Luke Gromen Oct 06, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of On The Margin Mike is joined by returning guests Grant Williams & Luke Gromen. We welcome back two financial market veterans for a special episode exploring the fracturing geopolitical landscape between the east and the west. Grant and Luke share their insight surrounding China's declaration of war on the U.S, how the current monetary system could collapse China's economy, the consequences of globalization, what the end game is for the dollar & how to prepare for the changing world order as two global superpowers collide.

Ledger:

This episode is brought to you by Ledger, your secure gateway to buy, exchange and grow your crypto.

Combine a Ledger hardware wallet with the Ledger Live app to access all your favorite crypto services & DApps from one place. All that with the best security.

Visit https://onthemargin.link/ledger and make your crypto journey easier and safer.

Coinbase Prime:

On The Margin is supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions.

For more information go to https://onthemargin.link/coinbase

Breaking-down China’s energy crisis | Weekly Round Up Oct 02, 2021

Show notes

In this episode it's a "charts, charts, charts!" special. Mike and Mark go deep on the budding energy crisis, crypto's 10% rally on Friday, a potential return to 1970s like inflation, housing prices, and finally what the role of government should be.

On the Margin is brought to you by Matrixport, Asia’s fastest growing digital asset platform.

With $10 billion in assets under management and custody, it provides one-stop crypto financial services with over $5 billion in average monthly trading volumes. The offerings include Cactus Custody™, spot OTC, fixed income, structured products, lending as well as asset management. Download the Matrixport App now to earn 30% APY on USDC.

Learn more at https://onthemargin.link/matrixport

On The Margin is supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions.

For more information go to https://onthemargin.link/coinbase

---

On the Margin is brought to you by Blockworks, a financial media brand delivering breaking news and premium insights about digital assets to millions of investors. For more content like this, subscribe to Blockworks' free daily newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/

The Return to a Deflationary World post COVID: Eric Basmajian Sep 29, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of On The Margin, Mike is joined by Eric Basmajian. Eric is the founder of EPB Macro Research, a service that provides premium fundamental macro economic research, with a focus on long-term & short-term economic cycle risk management. In this episode, Mike & Eric discuss the long term structural deflationary economic trends, cyclical inflation, technologies effect of reducing labour, MMT & how a CBDC could be used to generate high inflation, but a reduction in real growth.

On the Margin is brought to you by Matrixport, Asia’s fastest growing digital asset platform.

Learn more at https://onthemargin.link/matrixport

On The Margin is supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions.

For more information go to https://onthemargin.link/coinbase

---

China Bans Crypto while Softbank and Tiger Global Move In Sep 25, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of the weekly round up, Mike and Mark cover stimulus payments, commercial bank lending, commodities, bankruptcies and liquidations, China's crypto ban and Softbank and Tiger Global's big move into digital assets.

On the Margin is brought to you by Matrixport, Asia’s fastest growing digital asset platform.

Learn more at https://onthemargin.link/matrixport

On The Margin is supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions.

For more information go to https://onthemargin.link/coinbase

---

Jim Bianco on Inflation, MMT, and DeFi's Disruption of Banking Sep 22, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of On The Margin, Mike is joined by Jim Bianco. Jim founded Bianco Research, L.L.C in 1990 and has served as President and Macro Strategist for nearly 20 years. In this episode Jim and Mike discuss inflation, MMT, the digital currency revolution and how DeFi can fix inefficiencies in the legacy banking system.

On the Margin is brought to you by Matrixport, Asia’s fastest growing digital asset platform.

Learn more at https://onthemargin.link/matrixport

On The Margin is supported by Coinbase Prime, an integrated solution that provides advanced multi-venue trading, custody, and prime services for institutions.

For more information go to https://onthemargin.link/coinbase

---

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected