Bits + Bips: Who Wins If the GENIUS Act Passes, and Is Bitcoin’s Rally Over? - Ep. 869

Unchained

Laura Shin

News, Tech News, Business News

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2025

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Bitcoin broke its all-time high. Meanwhile, stablecoin legislation is about to pass. And the macro picture is a powder keg. In this episode of Bits + Bips, Steve Ehrlich, Ram Ahluwalia, and Noelle Acheson are joined by Austin Campbell to break down what’s really driving markets, and what could break them. From the GENIUS Act reshaping stablecoins to tariffs putting pressure on the Fed, to the Pump.fun ICO and memecoin mania, nothing is off limits. And with crypto ripping, is it time to ride the rally, or take some risk off the table? Thank you to our sponsor! Bitwise Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained Ram Ahluwalia, CFA, CEO and Founder of Lumida Noelle Acheson, Author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” Newsletter Guest: Austin Campbell, founder and managing partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting Unchained: Bitcoin Sets New All-Time High, But Eyes Even Bigger Gains PUMP Traders Make Big Options Bets on the Token Surging Past Its ICO Price Grayscale Files Confidential IPO Paperwork Timestamps: 🎬 0:00 Intro 🚀 2:22 Why bitcoin is hitting new highs and what’s really driving it 🧘‍♀️ 5:29 Why Noelle says market complacency can’t last forever 🌍 9:06 The surprising way bitcoin looks when you stop measuring it in USD ⚖️ 11:49 Whether this is the moment to de-risk your crypto exposure ⛏️ 16:50 How bitcoin mining stocks are made to be traded, not held, according to Ram 📜 18:57 Austin’s thoughts on the odds of crypto legislation passing this summer 🏆 20:48 Who the winners and losers will be if the GENIUS Act becomes law 💳 24:51 Whether payment giants like Visa are under threat from stablecoins 🚧 29:15 What kinds of firms could actually disrupt the U.S. financial system 💰 34:00 The pros and cons of deposit tokens compared to stablecoins 🌐 37:06 How stablecoin legislation could reshape global macro and finance 🧪 44:32Whether Pump.fun’s ICO was extractive or necessary 🏛️ 56:55 Why Grayscale wants to go public and what that move could unlock 🏦 1:04:15 Whether traditional banks have the talent to win the stablecoin race 🌠 1:08:15 Why Stellar might be the blockchain dark horse in this cycle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Unchained wants to hear from you.
0:02.0	Help us continue being your no-hype resource for all things crypto by filling out our quick survey.
0:08.0	You could win a free one-year subscription to Bits & Bips Premium coming soon.
0:13.0	Visit UnchainedCripto.com slash survey.
0:16.0	That is, UnchainedCripto.com slash survey.
0:19.0	Or check at the show notes for this episode. The Bitcoin rally is being driven
0:24.4	by what, probably some reserve allocation, but I do think it is largely speculative. You've got to
0:30.6	think not so much what Bitcoin's going to do, but what does everyone else think Bitcoin is going to do?
0:35.5	And Bitcoin is one of the very few assets that fulfills two key criteria here.
0:40.8	One, it is both a risk asset and a safe haven.
0:44.6	There are very few assets I can say that.
0:46.2	And two, it is one of the very few liquid assets trade to say that is global.
0:52.7	Hi, everyone.
0:53.6	Welcome to Bits and Bips, exploring how crypto and macro collide one basis point at a time.
0:58.9	I'm your host, Steve Erlich, high scribe of the Nchian Kingdom, and I'm here with Ram Al-Alau'llia,
1:04.7	maister of wealth, leader of Lumida, Gail Acheson, and today we are joined by Austin Campbell, High Scholar of Zero Knowledge Consulting.
1:14.7	Austin, good to have you here.
1:16.5	Why don't you just introduce herself for a second?
1:19.0	Oh, boy, do you really want me to do that?
1:21.4	So I was going to say, I think the best description that's been given of me was by my friend Alex over at Galaxy
1:28.0	who called me a quote, grouchy fixed income person at one point on his podcast. And this is factually
1:34.3	true. So I've been dealing with stable coins in crypto for longer than I want to admit. And this
	...

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