QE Infinity with James Lavish & Greg Foss - WBD582

James Lavish is a Bitcoin advocate and writer, & Greg Foss is
a Bitcoin strategist, and they’re both co-founders of Looking
Glass education. In this interview, we discuss FTXs lack of
checks and balances, how fiat is struggling to find yield, zombie
countries and the the debt spiral, and how Bitcoin is the best
asymmetric bet of our lifetime.


- - - -


We live in strange times. Central bankers tell us up is down.
Politicians peddle myths. And the seeming robustness of capital,
institutions and the state is turning out to be a facade. And
yet, the economic machine needs to keep running. Finance needs to
generate a return. In this environment, where the economy has
turned from being an engine of sound principles into a casino,
it’s no wonder charlatans like SBF can turn into powerful
entities in the blink of an eye.


Checks and balances are empty words spoken by people in suits in
meetings. A lack of resources, a revolving door, well-financed
lobbying, and sheer complexity have all but neutered any
meaningful oversight of crypto. On the ground, the reality is
bluff and bluster are as effective as following the law. Perhaps
such tactics are more effective: after all, FTX nearly achieved
regulatory capture.


What is the fundamental issue? Arguably it is that the whole
framework of state-organised economic control is falling apart.
The impacts are manifold. Price and value have no real meaning.
Reasonable returns on investment are evaporating. Financial
opportunities are being drowned by risk. The real concern is that
confidence is rapidly ebbing away.


The fiat economy is fundamentally a confidence engine. Trust has
replaced hard assets. When trust goes nothing is left. We now
live in a world where disillusioned experts are telling us the
game is up. State debt is unmanageable, and governments have no
obvious solutions. This is why many such people are turning their
attention to Bitcoin. When we’re facing QE infinity by zombie
countries it is wise to go back to first principals: sound money.