Podcast Summary: Bitcoin Under MAJOR Pressure As Trump Tensions Peak!

Podcast: The Wolf Of All Streets
Host: Scott Melker
Date: April 13, 2026
Guests: Dave, James, and Mike

Overview

This episode of "The Wolf Of All Streets" dives deep into the turbulent state of Bitcoin and global markets amid surging geopolitical tensions influenced by the Trump administration, rising commodity prices, and the fallout from the World Liberty Financial (WLF) scandal. Scott Melker and a savvy roundtable of market experts tackle issues on inflation, currency de-dollarization, institutional Bitcoin adoption, and regulatory failings in crypto—all with a focus on what matters for investors navigating today’s macroeconomic landscape.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Macro Monday Market Rundown

[00:39–04:31]

• Inflation Still Hot: Anna Wong expects core PCE and CPI to stay strong through the summer, driven by consumer software and energy shocks, then potentially drop below 3% by 2027.
• Impact of War in Markets: War is fueling a divergence—natural gas prices are down, which benefits US manufacturing, while oil price surges risk "breaking things" before correcting.
• Energy Prices & Geopolitics: If crude oil closes above $103–$104, it’ll be the highest year-end close historically, reminiscent of market disruptions in 2011/2013 US shale era. U.S. cost of production has fallen substantially, increasing global competitiveness.
• Bond & FX Insight: US 30-year yields at 5% are attracting buyers; Europe’s political turbulence is giving the euro a bid. Gold & silver at enduring highs; commodities (corn/soy) may be heading for oversupply bear markets.

2. Are Markets Shrugging Off the War?

[04:31–07:44]

• War Fatigue: Equity and energy markets show “war fatigue”—despite blockades or peace negotiation breakdowns, significant market reactions are absent.

• Earnings & Oil Shock: Unique to this cycle, oil surges haven’t crashed the market as corporate earnings are still rising—a first compared to prior cycles when earnings slumped pre-recession.

  “This time is the first time when we've had an oil price surge like this where we've had consensus expected earnings rising.” — Scott [05:11]

• Tech vs. Consumer Exposure: Tech/software firms less exposed to oil spikes, whereas consumers bear the brunt through demand erosion.

• Too Soon for Geopolitical Calls: Panel advises caution in geopolitical predictions, warning that many hot takes will look foolish in hindsight.

3. Bitcoin: Supply, Demand, & Institutional Adoption

[07:44–18:47]

• Debate over Bitcoin Supply: Clarifies that Bitcoin’s supply is strictly limited—unlike most crypto tokens, whose supply can be manipulated by founders. The real issue is retail misunderstanding and the rise of fixed-income investors (like Saylor) buying more than is mined.

  "The supply of bitcoin is people selling what they already own. That is a major supply difference." — Dave [09:23]

• Institutional Use Cases: JP Morgan considering Bitcoin as collateral reinforces its "digital gold" narrative. Institutions understand and accumulate; retail largely still chases meme coins.

• Retail vs. Institutional Divide: Retail sellers frustrated by lack of “100x returns” are rotating out—often without understanding Bitcoin’s true use case as a settlement layer/long-term store of value.

  "JP Morgan is talking about accepting Bitcoin as collateral. You don't accept something as collateral unless you believe that has a, some sort of, of underlying value." — James [10:58]

• Geopolitical Demand: Iran demands Bitcoin for Hormuz tolls—prefers Bitcoin over US dollars or treasuries. Global gold/FX reserves held in USD have dropped to historic lows (46%), reflecting a slow trend in de-dollarization and a push for alternative stores of value like gold and Bitcoin.

  "Iran made a clear statement…while charging tolls in the Straits of Hormuz, they wanted to be paid in Bitcoin." — Scott [15:46]

4. Dollar Hegemony, Central Bank Behavior, & Macro Risks

[18:47–24:22]

• Why Move Away from USD? Key reasons: USD assets can be seized or inflated away. Central banks buy gold or look for alternatives to mitigate that risk; Bitcoin is now in the mix as a legitimate alternative.
• Markets Treating Geopolitics as Noise: Despite the Middle East drama and oil spikes, markets are “shrugging it off” with relatively low volatility. High levels of institutional cash positions (e.g., Buffett’s cash hoard) show widespread risk aversion.
• Retail Panic & Miseducation: Many retail investors buy high and panic-sell low out of misunderstanding fundamental value.
• Evolution of Market Dynamics: Rising oil/energy costs threaten demand destruction in the consumer sector and could force future policy interventions.

5. Trading, Volatility, & Investment Strategies

[24:22–36:33]

• Asset Correlations: Commodities, bonds, and stocks are intertwined—volatility can shift quickly. Short-term tactical trading and long-term investment require different approaches.

• How to Play Bitcoin: Shorting Bitcoin at resistance (“the 75 level”) makes sense for traders; for long-term investors, core asset holdings remain vital.

• On Gold, Treasuries, and “The Big Trade”: Gold’s price relative to Treasuries is at a 44-year extreme (overvalued); Treasuries seen as undervalued. The “next big move” in markets likely hinges on a significant stock market drawdown (-10% or more).

  “Good inning always starts with a walk. …Nothing matters yet until that stock market makes its move.” — Mike [35:10]

• Printing and Market Support: Despite talk of tightening, all major economies are still expanding their money supply; the panel expects further printing if there’s any major market or credit dysfunction.

  “It's going to continue. It's just a question of how wide open that fire hose is going to be.” — James [41:52]

6. Crash Course: World Liberty Financial Scandal

[49:05–58:47]

• Summary of the Scandal:

  • Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial positioned itself as a compliant, pro-retail crypto project. Executives withdrew, despite raising billions.
  • 80% of tokens remain locked; WLF used as collateral for large loans through Dolomite (an advisor-linked platform), putting retail at risk.
  • Only a small fraction of positions are liquid, and nearly all investors’ money is effectively locked or used as “exit liquidity.”
  • Channeling back to the FTX collapse: An "infinite supply" token, insider abuse, and failure of form-over-substance compliance.

  “Printed a whole bunch of money. Investors are still locked up 80% of their money…being lent at a level that brings the collateral…over to 93% loan to value, which means that if anyone wants to take any money out, they'll never be able to.” — Scott [49:05]

• Regulatory Implications:

  • The scandal illustrates why governance tokens and “infinite supply” non-Bitcoin cryptos mostly exist to enrich founders, not users.
  • Fails to protect retail, undermines political goodwill, and strengthens the argument for enhanced regulatory clarity and modernization of SEC/CFTC rules.

  “Crypto has infinite supply. …most of non bitcoin crypto most tokens numerically…have no reason to exist other than as a method for founders to raise money.” — Dave [57:23]

  “The vast majority of crypto is just a big white elephant now.” — James [63:30]

7. Broader Crypto Industry Consequences

[58:47–64:54]

• Market Sentiment: WLF scandal is mainstream (even in Bloomberg), sowing further retail confusion and mistrust—potentially suppressing Bitcoin alongside negative quantum computing narratives.

• Speculation vs. Investment: Most crypto tokens now likened to penny stocks—vehicles for speculative trading, not long-term value creation. Institutional rails and the underlying tech will outlive most existing coins.

• Legacy Impact: "DeFi" and altcoin investors will mostly “not benefit” as the new financial system is built on blockchain rails—only a handful of tokens will survive or matter.

  “The disconnect is all the people who believed in crypto for the last 10 years that were not just bitcoiners, probably will not benefit from that…all their tokens…going to zero. While the financial system is built on our rails.” — Scott [63:35]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Energy:
  “The key thing to remember about energy prices: when they go up at high velocity, they don't stay up, they break things and go back down.” — Mike [03:30]

• On Bitcoin as Collateral:
  “You don't accept something as collateral unless you believe that has ... underlying value.” — James [10:58]

• On Iran & Bitcoin:
  “They wanted to be paid in Bitcoin. …That is something that bitcoiners have been talking about for, well, all 15 years." — Dave [18:49]

• On Shorting Narratives: “Never short narratives. That's one of the things you learn in trading.” — Dave [21:42]

• On the WLF Scandal:
  “Printed money, used it to get a loan on real money. They got Retail to participate... now everybody can't get their money out.” — Scott [49:05]

• On Crypto Token Supply:
  “Crypto has infinite supply. ...most tokens ... have no reason to exist other than as a method for founders to raise money.” — Dave [57:23]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Market Rundown and Macro Outlook: [00:39–04:31]
• Energy, War Fatigue, and Earnings: [04:31–07:44]
• Bitcoin Supply, Institutional Shift: [07:44–18:47]
• Dollar Reserve, Gold, and Geopolitical Currency Moves: [15:46–24:22]
• Trading, Gold, Risk Asset Rotation: [24:22–36:33]
• Money Printing & Asset Holdings: [39:17–43:08]
• WLF Scandal & Regulatory Consequences: [49:05–58:47]
• Crypto Landscape “Penny Stock” Analogy: [62:00–64:54]

Tone and Language

The conversation is brisk, technical but accessible, and candid—panelists challenge each other directly but respectfully. There’s a healthy mix of skepticism, strategic insight, and dry humor, especially when comparing Bitcoin’s resilience to “shorting narratives,” or calling out the meme coin scandals as modern penny stocks.

Final Takeaways

• Bitcoin faces macro headwinds (geopolitical risk, energy prices, confused retail) but is being stealthily accumulated by institutions and (even) adversarial governments.
• Legacy crypto tokens (aside from Bitcoin and perhaps a few others) are increasingly exposed as vehicles for founder enrichment or outright grift—exemplified by the World Liberty Financial debacle.
• The panel urges investors to hold core assets through money-printing cycles, but to be wary of hype-driven “penny stock” tokens.
• Regulatory clarity is crucial to protect investors and clean up the industry.
• The market’s next big move hinges on broader risk asset volatility—if equities drop sharply, everything else may follow, but position sizing and long-term perspectives remain key.

“Own assets or be left behind. …You have to own them because it’s going to get worse, period.” — James [41:52]

For a full, rich, and realistic view of where Bitcoin and crypto markets stand today—and where the risks and opportunities lie—this episode is a must.