One question has haunted my investment strategy for years: What is cryptocurrency actually for? It feels as though the vibes are constantly shifting — one day it’s the dollar’s successor, and the next it’s little more than a meme. My guest this week is bitcoin evangelist Anthony Pompliano, the chief executive of ProCap Financial. We get into whether crypto is a bet against the American empire and whether its volatility is actually a strength.

0:00 - Intro
01:27 - Physical to digital: The evolution of financial assets
05:00 - The wealth inequality gap
09:58 - The global adoption of crypto
14:51 - Bitcoin vs. Ethereum
20:26 - Why "stability" is a financial lie
29:30 - A “digital savings account”
41:57 - The role of Bitcoin in political dynamics
56:05 - “A bet against America”

(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)

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A Bitcoin Evangelist Tries to Convert Me

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat