Podcast Summary: Bitcoin Audible — Chat_144
Accelerating into the Dollar Endgame with Peruvian Bull
Released: September 17, 2025
Host: Guy Swann | Guest: Peruvian Bull (Roberto Rios)
Episode Overview
In this wide-ranging episode, Guy Swann is joined by macroeconomic commentator and author Peruvian Bull to dissect the structural weaknesses in the current fiat system, the progression of the "Dollar Endgame," and how Bitcoin offers an exit route. Centered on the US dollar’s trajectory as the world reserve currency, the conversation spans historical context, global parallels (notably Japan), the mechanics of debt and fiat collapse, the dangers lurking in the stock market, and practical strategies for self-preservation in an accelerating financial crisis.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Dollar Endgame: Where Are We Now?
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We are already in the third inning of the dollar endgame:
- “I would say we're already the third inning. And most people are shocked when I say that because you look around and yes, inflation's bad ... but things aren't like falling completely apart.” — Peruvian Bull [15:02]
- The process of reserve currency collapse is slow and marked by key signposts, including foreign central banks moving out of US Treasuries and into gold since 2015.
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Striffen's Dilemma & Debt Spiral:
- US dollar's role as reserve currency creates global demand, but with each crisis, the US must inflate the supply further.
- Interest expense for US debt has surpassed defense spending, with dangerous implications if rates rise:
- “If that gets revaluated to like let's say 5%, that means interest expense goes to 1.6 trillion a year ... within 10 years you'll see interest expense overcome net tax receipts ... that's a sign of late game.” — PB [15:02]
- The debt is on a doubling trajectory every ten years with no end in sight.
2. Gold, Bonds, and Bitcoin: Shifting Reserve Assets
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Central Banks Abandoning US Treasuries for Gold:
- “Foreign central banks have essentially stopped buying treasuries since 2015.” — PB [18:53]
- Gold, despite lacking a yield, is being hoarded at record levels as trust in treasuries evaporates.
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Bitcoin as Inevitable Collateral & Perfect Asset:
- The “problem is debt,” and the world is in search of perfect collateral. Bitcoin’s verifiability and digital nature make it superior even to gold.
- Collateralized loans backed by Bitcoin could become a hundred-trillion-dollar market:
- “What people want is a secure way to lend and get yield ... and that means you need perfect collateral.” — Guy [21:15]
3. The Mechanics and Malice of Fiat:
- The Fiendish Design of Fiat Money:
- Debt-based money creation ensures systemic instability:
- “Inflation is actually necessary under a fiat debt enslavement system ... you have to issue new money just to pay off the old money plus interest.” — PB [30:03]
- The system depends on “stealth QE,” regulatory tricks, and ever more creative mechanisms to keep the debt train moving without visible quantitative easing.
- Debt-based money creation ensures systemic instability:
4. Case Study: Japan’s Economic Zombification
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How Japan Became the Canary in the Coal Mine:
- Japan’s asset bubble burst in the 1990s led to decades of stagnation, demographic collapse, “zombification” of their economy, and 0% interest rates for decades:
- “There has been no innovation. There's no growth ... the economy is still stuck with all these bad debts.” — PB [40:33]
- 29% of Japanese public companies are “functionally dead.” [42:56]
- The demographic and economic death spiral is tightly linked.
- Japan’s asset bubble burst in the 1990s led to decades of stagnation, demographic collapse, “zombification” of their economy, and 0% interest rates for decades:
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Yield Curve Control as the Culmination of Monetary Experimentation:
- Every Western policy, from QE to yield curve control, was pioneered in Japan.
- “Japan is the monetary experiment lab … all forms of monetary experimentalism start there.” — PB [82:15]
5. The Great Taking & Stock Market Dangers
- Why You Don’t Really Own Your Stocks:
- The Gamestop saga revealed the fragility of share ownership. Nearly all US equities are held by the DTCC in “street name,” not by individuals:
- “If you're not, if you don't hold the title ... you don't own your stocks.” — PB [68:00]
- Beneficial owners have none of the real protections of true property, especially in crisis.
- The Gamestop saga revealed the fragility of share ownership. Nearly all US equities are held by the DTCC in “street name,” not by individuals:
6. Bitcoin Treasuries, Collateralization, and Corporate Bitcoin Strategy
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Bitcoin Treasuries: Opportunity or Risk?
- Guest offers a “middle road” view, calling it “transitional arbitrage” — a way for companies and institutions barred from holding BTC directly to gain exposure through convertible bonds.
- The strategy’s appeal will erode as more companies copy it and competition compresses premiums, but the outcome is still “loads of Bitcoin.”
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Warning: “Just know that you're not buying bitcoin [when you buy shares in a company with bitcoin]. They are two different plays.” — PB [89:19]
7. Practical Safety and Preparation
- How to Protect Yourself as the Endgame Accelerates:
- “Be very bearish on fiat, be very bullish on Bitcoin. … The only financial asset that you can truly own is bitcoin.” — PB [105:35]
- Move to lower cost-of-living areas, increase real (not just nominal) income, minimize inflation exposure.
- Don’t leave Bitcoin on exchanges. Learn self-custody.
- “The window of opportunity is small … once the Fed starts easing, Bitcoin is going to go to $200,000, $250,000 in very short order.” — PB [92:15]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On the impossibility of escaping exponential debt:
- “2008 didn't kick the can down the road, it kicked it up the stairs.” — PB [53:31]
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On the spread of Bitcoin adoption:
- “Bitcoin presents a solution to the Triffin's Dilemma … anyone in the world can enter the game … some countries are going to be laggards, some will be first movers. But there will be a scramble, and that’s very beneficial for the Bitcoin hyperbitcoinization argument.” — PB [74:22]
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On owning your assets:
- “Your shares that you own, your brokerage aren't really yours ... and really the only financial asset that you can truly own is bitcoin.” — PB [105:35] (Episode’s opening & closing words)
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On Japan's lost dynamism:
- “Anyone with any creativity in Japan has to leave because there’s no capital investment, there’s no startup culture, there’s no entrepreneurship because there’s no growth.” — PB quoting Western Nakamura [40:33]
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Guy and PB on the air of urgency:
- “However bad you think it is, it's going to get worse, right? But at the same time it's also going to get better. So be very bearish on fiat, be very bullish on Bitcoin.” — PB [105:35]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- Setting the Stage: The Third Inning: [15:02–19:09]
- Shifting to Gold/Bitcoin, Failing Bonds: [19:19–24:36]
- Debt Mechanics & Fiat Malice: [27:35–33:32]
- Japan, Stagnation, and Demographics: [34:55–43:00]
- US Implications, Parallels to Japan: [43:04–45:21]
- Stealth QE, Regulatory Games, “Great Taking”: [55:55–61:15]
- Stock Ownership Fraudulent Structure: [64:48–71:09]
- Bitcoin Treasuries & Corporate Adoption: [86:23–91:37]
- Actionable Advice for Listeners: [92:15–97:34]
Final Recommendations & Where to Follow
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Peruvian Bull:
- Twitter/X: @PeruvianBull or Roberto Rios
- Substack: dollarendgame.substack.com
- YouTube, Nostr (links in his Twitter linktree)
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Action Steps:
- Buy and self-custody Bitcoin
- Don’t depend on “paper assets” in institutions
- Move strategically to lower inflation/cost-of-living environments
- Stack Sats, stay humble, and think in long timeframes
This episode serves as an urgent warning and a practical guide for navigating the accelerating collapse of the legacy fiat system—while laying out why Bitcoin both can and must be the exit.
