This week, Jason and Matt sit down with Mark Goodwin, the former Editor-in-Chief of *Bitcoin Magazine* and one of the sharpest minds in the crypto space. Mark is the author of "The Bitcoin-Dollar" thesis and a leading voice on the intersection of state power, financial control, and the future of money.

We dive deep into one of the most dangerous psyops in modern finance: the stablecoin trap. Mark explains why "compliant," centralized stablecoins like USDC are not the free-market alternative to a CBDC, but are, in fact, *more dangerous*. They are the Trojan horse for the exact same surveillance grid—a CBDC in sheep's clothing, built by corporate partners and designed to be fully permissioned, frozen, and censored at the state's command.

Mark breaks down the macro-picture, revealing how stablecoins backed by U.S. Treasuries are the empire's new, high-tech scheme to kick the can down the road. As the national debt hits escape velocity, the state is now "tokenizing its debt," creating a new digital wrapper to prop up the dollar ponzi. We explore the perfect bipartisan consensus that's building this digital prison: the MAGA right rails against CBDCs while embracing "federally approved" stablecoins, while the left demands the very regulations that make them instruments of surveillance. Both roads lead to the technocratic end-goal voiced by BlackRock's Larry Fink: the tokenization of *all* assets.

We also explore the dark theory of whether Bitcoin itself was an intelligence agency "limited hangout" designed to herd us into a traceable system. Finally, we end on a powerful white pill. If centralized stablecoins are the trap, the only way out is through *permissionless* technology. We discuss the critical need for true privacy tools—like Monero, Zcash, and Zano's fUSD—that are *technologically incapable* of being co-opted, and how the market is finally waking up to the demand for real financial freedom. (Length: 1:18:47)
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Mark on Twitter: https://x.com/markgoodw_in
Mark's writing on Unlimited Hangout: https://unlimitedhangout.com/author/mark-goodwin/
The Bitcoin Dollar: https://store.bitcoinmagazine.com/collections/books/products/the-bitcoin-dollar-book