In this episode, Nik is joined by Matt Pines, executive director of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, to unpack what could be the biggest shift in U.S. geoeconomic strategy in decades. Together, they explore the vision behind a potential “Bretton Woods 2.0”—a new system emerging from reciprocal tariffs, capital wars, and a shrinking global dollar zone. They dive deep into how the U.S. is building a trade and monetary alliance to isolate China, restructure global capital flows, and re-anchor demand for U.S. Treasuries. With gold, stablecoins, and possibly bitcoin playing growing roles in global settlements, this conversation lays out what a new financial order might look like—and where U.S. policy could be heading next.

Links to articles:

- https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/04/cea-chairman-steve-miran-hudson-institute-event-remarks/

- https://www.btcpolicy.org/articles/a-global-economic-reordering-us-china-competition-and-bitcoin-as-tool-of-us-statecraft

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Nik Bhatia's Twitter: https://twitter.com/timevalueofbtc

Creative Director Matthew Ball's Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthewrball

Researcher Demian Schatt's Twitter: https://x.com/demianschatt

Chapters:

00:00:00 Understanding the Breton Woods Reimagined

00:06:20 Global Economic and Security Challenges  

00:12:21 Understanding the Dual Public Good: Defense and Reserve Currency  

00:19:19 Challenges in Global Defense Manufacturing

00:25:46 Transition from LIBOR to SOFR: Understanding the Global Benchmark  

00:31:02 Understanding Government Dollar Policies

00:37:03 International Negotiations: Gold, Bitcoin, and Stablecoins in Currency Talks

00:42:53 China's Strategic Devaluation of Yuan and Gold's Role

00:48:39 Strategies to Isolate China: Global Economic Alliances

00:54:40 Matt Pines and Bitcoin Policy Insights

The Bitcoin Layer and its guests do not provide investment advice.