🎙 Bitcoin Fortress Podcast — Episode 238 The End of the Risk-Free Asset Date: October 25, 2026 Block Height: 973096 Moscow Time: 1242 Fees: 1 / 1 /1   ABOUT THIS EPISODE What happens when the asset we've spent generations calling risk-free is no longer so risk-free? In Episode 238, we explore the structural repricing of government bonds, the growing cost of sovereign debt, Bitcoin's battle to establish a durable floor, and the enormous capital demands of the AI revolution. We also examine institutional Bitcoin adoption, stablecoin regulation, emerging payment networks for AI agents, and the latest conversations across the Bitcoin podcast universe. Our featured Substack essay, The End of the Risk-Free Asset, connects these developments to a larger question: what does financial safety really mean in a world where the old assumptions about money, debt, and investment returns are breaking down?   Bitcoin Fortress YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEPGN1YCIQcMxkUig5GaNrQ   Bitcoin Fortress Substack Featured Post: The End of the Risk-Free Asset https://bitcoinfortress.substack.com/p/the-end-of-the-risk-free-asset   Bitcoin Fortress Books: Bitcoin Fortress: A Simple Guide to Bitcoin for Beginners Bitcoin Retirement and Estate Planning The Bitcoin Lifestyle The Architecture of Money The Sovereign Life Follow me on Nostr: npub122fpu8lwu2eu2zfmrymcfed9tfgeray5quj78jm6zavj78phnqdsu3v4h5   NEWS (October 18, 2026 – October 25, 2026) Episode 238 — News articles and sources Bitcoin and digital assets 1. Bitcoin briefly falls below $80,000, triggering $404 million in long liquidations — The Block, October 24. Read article 2. Bitcoin ETFs reverse course with $636 million in outflows — The Block, October 23. Read article 3. BlackRock files for Bitcoin ETF offering downside protection — The Block, October 19. Read article 4. JPMorgan issues first long-term Bitcoin forecast, projecting 10% annual returns — The Block, October 20. Read article 5. Michael Saylor's Strategy purchases another 267 Bitcoin for $22 million — The Block, October 19. Read article Stablecoins, regulation, and payments 6. OCC finalizes regulations implementing the GENIUS Act — OCC, October 21. Read official announcement 7. American Bankers Association challenges stablecoin interest provisions — ABA Banking Journal, October 21. Read article 8. Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand expand cross-border stablecoin initiative — The Block, October 23. Read article 9. HSBC launches Hong Kong dollar stablecoin RedCoin for retail users — The Block, October 23. Read article 10. Mastercard opens early access to AI-agent payments following Coinbase and Cloudflare pilots — The Block, October 20. Read article Macro, AI, and sovereign debt 11. Meta shares slide as enormous AI spending alarms investors — Reuters, October 22. Read article 12. Stocks drop as Meta fuels AI concerns and Treasury bonds rally — Reuters, October 22. Read article 13. Oil prices surge amid geopolitical tensions and supply concerns — Reuters, October 22. Read article — energy market coverage 14. Treasury financing plans spark anxiety on Wall Street — MarketWatch, October 19. Read article 15. French government bond yields rise amid mounting fiscal concerns — Reuters, October 22. Read article — French sovereign debt coverage Podcast Universe  Stephan Livera Podcast, Episode 782 — Debanking and Bitcoin Business Accounts in the EU Stephan Livera Podcast, Episode 783 — Plan Your Second Passport Before You Need It Stephan Livera Podcast, Episode 779 — Lightning in x402 and Agent Payments (earlier contextual episode). Lyn Alden — Recent Wealthion Interview