Podcast Summary: The Wolf Of All Streets

Episode: FIAT’s Revenge? Crypto, Gold & Silver Plunge. Next? #CryptoTownHall

Date: October 21, 2025
Host: Scott Melker

Overview

In this lively episode of #CryptoTownHall, Scott Melker and an ensemble of thought leaders dissect the recent, simultaneous plunges in Bitcoin, gold, and silver prices, and what this “Fiat’s Revenge” moment signals for markets ahead. The conversation dives into the nuanced interplay between fiat currencies, digital assets, and precious metals. Through incisive commentary, institutional trends, and macro analysis, panelists examine market psychology, institutional entry, emerging financial infrastructure, and where true disruption awaits.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Market Perceptions: “Fiat’s Revenge” and The Dollar’s Role

• Dave (A) opens with a challenge to the “fiat is dead” narrative, clarifying that depreciation of fiat is not a straight line:

  “Anyone who thinks that markets move in a straight line or [are] utterly predictable, well, they're the ones who end up getting liquidated.” (00:16)

• Scott (B) highlights gold and Bitcoin moving differently, with Bitcoin rebounding while gold sits at lows:

  “Bitcoin bounced pretty nicely and gold is still at the candle lows for the day... nothing’s in a straight line.” (01:20)

• Dave emphasizes that actual market behavior often “tends to do the opposite of what the herd expects,” pushing back on simplistic correlations between assets.

2. Gold, Bitcoin, and Capital Rotation

• Andre (C) explains Bitwise’s chart: just a 4% capital rotation from gold to Bitcoin could double BTC’s price:

  “You only need around 4% in capital rotation from gold to bitcoin for bitcoin to double to go above 200k from here.” (04:14)

• Panos (F) notes a historical shift:

  “First time since 1996 that foreign central banks are actually holding a greater share of gold than they are US Treasuries.” (06:13)

• Dave contextualizes that central banks are “accumulating slowly”; volatility in gold and silver reflects leveraged speculation, echoing crypto’s own dynamics. (07:00)

3. Short-Term Chaos vs. Long-Term Macro

• Yago (E) pushes back on “imminent collapse” narratives, pointing out that even in countries with hyperinflation, change is gradual:

  “It’s important to recognize that these are processes that occur over decades, not years... The US is not going to disappear tomorrow.” (08:41)

• Discussion unpacks the myth of overnight collapse, drawing historical parallels (e.g., Weimar Germany, Zimbabwe).

4. Digital Asset Integration & The Federal Reserve

• Amateo (D) brings attention to an important Federal Reserve conference on digital assets and payments—signaling the mainstream embrace of stablecoins:

  “We’re actually seeing an entrenchment of the digital asset ecosystem being fully embraced by the power structure that’s managing these assets, which is the Federal Reserve…” (12:52)

• Panelists agree: stablecoins may actually entrench dollar dominance globally, flipping the narrative of crypto as inherently anti-fiat.

5. Bitcoin vs. Gold: Sentiment, Ratio, and Institutionalization

• Ally (G) analyzes historical price action patterns between Bitcoin and gold, noting that BTC tends to outperform after parity in yearly returns:

  “As the returns come close again… [we] can definitely predict a rise in bitcoin performance if gold starts to slow down here.” (19:06)

• Andre emphasizes the potential of a “long bitcoin, short gold” trade due to sentiment divergences: “Bitcoin sentiment… is dead… Gold sentiment is probably at all time highs.” (21:13)
• Dave highlights the current dominance of institutional spot buyers in Bitcoin, compared to previous cycles where leveraged retail speculation set the price.

6. Institutional Trends, Leverage, and Market Structure

• Discussion over recent liquidations and the role of derivatives and spot flows.
• Andre:

  “This cycle has been dominated by institutional bias… ETPs, corporate treasuries have been buying up distributions from long-term holders.” (28:18)

• Yago provides data showing that, while a deleveraging event occurred, leveraged positions remain historically high—crypto is still “a casino,” but the buyer profile is shifting.

7. Coinbase and the Evolution of Crypto Market Infrastructure

• Lawyered (H), Adam, and Yago discuss Coinbase’s acquisition of Echo and what it means for on-chain capital raising and the eventual merging of crypto and legacy capital markets:

  “Coinbase buying an on chain, public, ICO, IDO platform… signals something much deeper… That shows just how dramatic the regulatory space has completely, radically transformed.” (31:43, D)

• Yago: “Coinbase is effectively creating moats… Once your funds are within the Coinbase environment, it doesn't make sense to move them out.” (35:34)

8. The On-Chain Future: Real World Assets & Tokenization

• Yago outlines a future where traditional assets, debt, and equity are tokenized, with crypto rails overtaking legacy settlement infrastructures:

  “The more that the crypto world perforates the TradFi world, the more the infrastructure… will start replacing TradFi infrastructure.” (43:12)

• Dave discusses regulatory change with the Fed considering “skinny master accounts,” opening up direct access for non-banks and further disrupting incumbent banks’ monopoly. (44:52)

9. Bitcoin OS and Programmability for Bitcoin

• Yago gives an “elevator pitch” for Bitcoin OS—a system to make Bitcoin programmable, support DeFi, and integrate other chains:

  “What we've seen over the last 18 months is a massive move of institutions into the space and they've moved almost entirely into Bitcoin… By bringing programmability to Bitcoin, we allow BTC to become something that you, I and institutions can utilize as collateral, can introduce into DeFi, can earn yield on…” (48:49)

• Need for institutional-grade infrastructure:

  “About 6 million BTC… is managed by professional money managers. And you're right that they would never trust Jimmy in IT to handle millions… Now there's a large number of parties who provide professional custodial solutions for BTC.” (53:19)

• Bitcoin OS is positioning to bridge DeFi and TradFi, supporting programmable contracts on Bitcoin, and to become the base layer for tokenized real world assets.

10. Gold vs. Bitcoin: Settlement, Utility, and the Next Phase

• Yago illustrates gold’s practical shortcomings as a global settlement asset versus programmable Bitcoin:

  “It’s basically impossible to settle any trade with gold today… they load up Boeing 747s with gold bars and they fly them across Asia. This is not good.” (59:36)

  • Bitcoin will initially act as a complement, then increasingly as a replacement as settlement needs evolve, especially for programmability and cross-border activity.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Dave:

  “Anyone who thinks that markets move in a straight line or [are] utterly predictable, well, they're the ones who end up getting liquidated.” (00:16)

• Andre:

  “You only need around 4% in capital rotation from gold to bitcoin for bitcoin to double to go above 200k from here.” (04:14)

• Yago:

  “These are processes that occur over decades, not years... The US is not going to disappear tomorrow.” (08:41)
  “The next 10 years are not going to be driven by the altcoin universe. They're going to be driven by things which aren't coins at all, which represent real world assets.” (45:52)

• Amateo:

  “We’re actually seeing an entrenchment of the digital asset ecosystem being fully embraced by the power structure that’s managing these assets, which is the Federal Reserve…” (12:52)

• Ally:

  “When the one-year percentage returns of bitcoin and gold… come close to each other… we actually see bitcoin… ripping up right afterwards…” (19:06)

• Yago (on long-term thinking):

  “Forget about what's happening in the next tick and think about what's happening over the next five years, because that's where the money gets made.” (63:04)

• Dave (on investing):

  “Zoom out when investing. Trading, different story. But if you're going to invest, zoom out and pick the right trend.” (63:45)

Important Timestamps

• 00:16: Dave on market unpredictability, “fiat’s revenge,” and herd behavior.
• 04:14: Andre explains gold-to-bitcoin rotation and price implications.
• 06:13: Panos on central banks shifting from Treasuries to gold.
• 08:41: Yago on the myth of sudden collapse and the long-term arc of reserve currencies.
• 12:52: Amateo flags the Federal Reserve’s Payments Innovation Conference—stablecoins and digital asset adoption.
• 19:06: Ally examines historical BTC/gold return parity signaling a BTC rally.
• 28:18: Andre and Dave on institutional bias in Bitcoin and the changing role of leverage.
• 31:43: Lawyered, Adam, and Yago analyze Coinbase's Echo acquisition and the merging of capital and token markets.
• 35:34: Yago elaborates on Coinbase’s platform strategy and market capture.
• 44:52: Dave on the potential end of banking oligopoly via Fed “skinny master accounts.”
• 48:49: Yago’s elevator pitch for Bitcoin OS: programmable Bitcoin, institutional custody, cross-chain integrations.
• 53:19: Detailed discussion on professional custody for institutional BTC holdings.
• 59:36: Yago on the impracticality of gold for modern settlement vs. Bitcoin programmability.
• 63:04: Yago’s concluding advice: think long term.
• 63:45: Dave’s closing words: “Zoom out when investing... pick the right trend.”

Final Takeaways

• Macro forces: Despite short-term volatility, shifts in monetary policy, digital payments infrastructure, and institutional flows are the real drivers.
• Institutionalization: Bitcoin and crypto are moving towards mainstream status, as custodians, payment rails, and even the Federal Reserve are embracing digital assets.
• Tokenization: The future is on-chain. Real-world assets, equities, and fixed income may soon be represented and traded just like tokens, blurring the TradFi–crypto divide.
• Strategic Patience: Ignore the noise; the money is made over years, not days.

For anyone who missed the live episode, this summary captures key ideas, memorable analysis, and where the conversation signals crypto and financial markets are heading next.