• The panel opened with reflections on the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk and other recent violent events, framing them through the lens of The Fourth Turning by Strauss & Howe.
• Discussion on how history moves in ~80–100 year cycles of crisis and renewal, with Bitcoin and decentralized protocols potentially forming the backbone of the next institutional order.
• John emphasized perspective, comparing today’s turmoil with past upheavals (1960s, 1970s, World Wars), and highlighted the role of media saturation in shaping perceptions.
• Panelists praised Kirk’s willingness to debate respectfully, lamenting the erosion of open dialogue in society.
• Shifted to macro: China’s gold accumulation as a hedge against dollar hegemony, interpreted as part of a global move toward neutral reserve assets—gold today, Bitcoin tomorrow.
• Deep dive into U.S. financial surveillance: the inefficiencies of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and threats of extending the Patriot Act to digital assets. Panelists argued KYC/AML laws are largely ineffective at stopping crime but very effective at surveilling citizens.
• Highlighted the DOJ’s case against Samourai Wallet as an example of U.S. hostility toward Bitcoin privacy tools.
• Covered this week’s major supply-chain attack on NPM packages, noting minimal impact but using it as a PSA: always verify addresses on hardware wallets and beware phishing scams.
• Tether launched a U.S.-regulated stablecoin (USAT). The panel explored how this intersects with the Genius Act, which would require stablecoin reserves to be in U.S. Treasuries, effectively creating a new forced buyer of U.S. debt.
• Quick hits: MicroStrategy denied S&P 500 inclusion (for now), BLS quietly revised U.S. job numbers down by 900k, Gemini goes public, and Michael Saylor positions MicroStrategy as a “Bitcoin capital markets” play.

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