Bits + Bips: Vanguard's Crypto U-Turn, Tether/MSTR FUD & Picking Future Winners - Ep. 967

Unchained

Laura Shin

Tech News, Business News, News

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Monday’s selloff rattled the entire market—Bitcoin, equities, commodities, you name it. But beneath the volatility, something more structural may be happening. In this week’s Bits + Bips, Austin Campbell, Ram Ahluwalia, Chris Perkins, and B+B OG previous host Alex Kruger break down one of the most confusing macro weeks of the year. They debate why high-beta assets snapped, whether a rotation into quality is underway, why institutions seem unfazed even as retail stays skittish, and share initial thoughts on Vanguard finally allowing clients to buy crypto. The crew also unpacks Strategy’s chaotic comments about selling BTC, the Clarity Act’s political hurdles, the CME outage that exposed systemic fragility, and the never-ending debate over Tether—profitability, reserves, and what institutions actually want from a stablecoin issuer. Sponsors: Uniswap Mantle Hosts: Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Austin Campbell, NYU Stern professor and founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting Christopher Perkins, Managing Partner and President of CoinFund Guest: Alex Kruger, founder of Asgard Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 💥 2:13 What triggered Monday’s selloff—and why Chris is still long-term bullish 🤔 6:57 Why Alex was a bit surprised about this week’s volatility 🔄 12:37 Is there a rotation out of risk and into higher-quality assets? 🗯️ 15:11 The chaos after Strategy CEO floated selling BTC to fund dividends 🏢 18:33 Which types of companies Ram thinks are positioned to win in the near term 📺 22:39 Why Polymarket appearing on 60 Minutes is a positive signal for the industry 🏛️ 25:37 Why passing the Clarity Act will require far more political work 🧠 31:30 Why markets feel like a “Rorschach test”—and whether Fed cuts are actually coming 📉 36:06 Why Alex says we’re entering a new era for the Federal Reserve 💵 42:40 Tether’s balance-sheet drama—and what kind of stablecoin institutions will really choose ⚠️ 52:36 How the CME outage exposed dangerous single points of failure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	We still feel long-term bullish.
0:02.0	We're going to talk about all the good things happening across the board.
0:05.0	I mean, even Vanguard just came out as we were launching.
0:07.0	They're going to start offering crypto-ethefs.
0:10.0	So it's all slowly happening.
0:12.0	I think this is part of my greater thesis around.
0:15.0	Retail is ebbing and flowing.
0:17.0	They're still recovering from 10-10.
0:19.0	There's still market makers are still recovering.
0:21.5	And institutions are still marching forward.
0:24.4	Evidence today is Vanguard coming into the space.
0:27.3	This high beta sprint that we've had since April
0:30.5	is just giving way to a rotation to value.
0:37.0	All right, hello everybody. And welcome to another episode of bits and dips, where we explore
0:44.2	how crypto and macro collide one basis point at a time. I am still your host, Austin Campbell,
0:50.1	high scholar of Zero Knowledge Group. I'm here today with friends Chris Perkins, the Golden Hand of Coin Fund,
0:56.0	Rahm Al-Awalia, maister of wealth, leader of Lumida,
0:59.0	and coming to us from an undisclosed and secret location,
1:03.0	one of the original hosts of Bits and Bips, Alex Kruger of Kruger Macro,
1:08.0	Protector of the Realm and apparently enemy of the regime, we'll find out more,
1:12.8	depending on what he wants to disclose. But we're here today to discuss the latest stories in the
1:18.3	worlds of crypto and macro. Please remember that nothing we say here is investment advice. Check
	...

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