The Bitcoin Layer

In this episode, Nik breaks down why Anthropic's Claude has displaced Donald Trump as the single most important force driving global macro and financial markets, walking through the system-level evidence including IBM dropping 12% on a single AI headline, Block cutting 40% of its workforce, trucking capacity sold out from data center buildout, and Treasury yields falling in direct response to new model releases. He connects the AI arms race to US economic statecraft, the fight to outpace China, and what a disinflationary labor market shock means for Fed policy, credit spreads, and Bitcoin.

📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm.

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🧢 Use code TBLYT10 for 10% off all The Bitcoin Layer Merch at http://TheBitcoinLayer.com/merch

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⚡ Contribute to The Bitcoin Layer via Lightning Network: [email protected]

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

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

Lead Statistician Augustine Carrasco Twitter: https://x.com/AugustineCarrB

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

In this episode, Nik sits down with Sam Baker, Research at River, to break down River's second annual Bitcoin adoption report, covering how institutional ownership, registered investment advisors, sovereign holdings, and small business adoption all accelerated in 2025 despite price weakness. Sam explains why individual ownership likely peaked in 2024, why RIAs managing $146 trillion hold less than one basis point in Bitcoin, and what the ownership distribution trend implies for the decade ahead. Nik connects the data to his framework of Bitcoin as a tool of American economic statecraft in the US-China competition for global capital dominance.
Episode links:
https://river.com/learn/files/river-bitcoin-adoption-report-2026.pdf
https://x.com/River/status/2026322299595432323?s=20
https://btcmap.org/
https://x.com/macromule
📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm.
▶️ Subscribe and turn on notifications for TBL on YouTube.
📚 Subscribe to TBL’s research letter: https://thebitcoinlayer.com/subscribe
🎧 Subscribe to The Bitcoin Layer on your favorite podcast platform.
📱 Follow TBL on X: https://twitter.com/TheBitcoinLayer
📩 Join the official TBL channel on Telegram: https://t.me/thebitcoinlayerofficial
🧢 Use code TBLYT10 for 10% off all The Bitcoin Layer Merch at http://TheBitcoinLayer.com/merch
⛓️ ₿lock Height 938184
⚡ Contribute to The Bitcoin Layer via Lightning Network: [email protected]
Nik Bhatia's Twitter: https://twitter.com/timevalueofbtc
Researcher Demian Schatt's Twitter: https://x.com/demianschatt
Lead Statistician Augustine Carrasco Twitter: https://x.com/AugustineCarrB

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

In this episode, Nik walks through our TBL proprietary liquidity index, explaining why the red signal flagged in late December and confirmed in January preceded Bitcoin's sharp decline below $70,000. He breaks down the four inputs driving the current liquidity contraction, with focus on dollar volatility and bond stress, the US-Japan currency relationship, and why early-cycle US credit growth remains the structural argument for improving conditions ahead.
📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm.
▶️ Subscribe and turn on notifications for TBL on YouTube.
📚 Subscribe to TBL’s research letter: https://thebitcoinlayer.com/subscribe
🎧 Subscribe to The Bitcoin Layer on your favorite podcast platform.
📱 Follow TBL on X: https://twitter.com/TheBitcoinLayer
📩 Join the official TBL channel on Telegram: https://t.me/thebitcoinlayerofficial
🧢 Use code TBLYT10 for 10% off all The Bitcoin Layer Merch at http://TheBitcoinLayer.com/merch
⛓️ ₿lock Height 937304
⚡ Contribute to The Bitcoin Layer via Lightning Network: [email protected]
Nik Bhatia's Twitter: https://twitter.com/timevalueofbtc
Researcher Demian Schatt's Twitter: https://x.com/demianschatt
Lead Statistician Augustine Carrasco Twitter: https://x.com/AugustineCarrB

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

In this episode, Nik breaks down Bitcoin’s bounce following a softer-than-expected CPI print and falling Treasury yields, analyzing the rollover in the 200-day moving average, the latest negative mining difficulty adjustment, and what shifting liquidity conditions mean for risk assets. He explains why bond markets, dollar strength, and fixed income demand, including Google’s rare 100-year bond issuance, matter more for Bitcoin in the short term than fundamentals, while also revisiting the long-term case tied to global wealth distribution, fiscal deficits, and the evolving role of Bitcoin in U.S. economic statecraft.
📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm.
▶️ Subscribe and turn on notifications for TBL on YouTube.
📚 Subscribe to TBL’s research letter: https://thebitcoinlayer.com/subscribe
🎧 Subscribe to The Bitcoin Layer on your favorite podcast platform.
📱 Follow TBL on X: https://twitter.com/TheBitcoinLayer
📩 Join the official TBL channel on Telegram: https://t.me/thebitcoinlayerofficial
🧢 Use code TBLYT10 for 10% off all The Bitcoin Layer Merch at http://TheBitcoinLayer.com/merch
⛓️ ₿lock Height 936413
⚡ Contribute to The Bitcoin Layer via Lightning Network: [email protected]
Nik Bhatia's Twitter: https://twitter.com/timevalueofbtc
Researcher Demian Schatt's Twitter: https://x.com/demianschatt
Lead Statistician Augustine Carrasco Twitter: https://x.com/AugustineCarrB

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

In this episode, Nik breaks down dramatic political developments in Japan, including a snap election, currency intervention, and the U.S.-Japan effort to defend the yen, and explains why these moves matter for global liquidity and Bitcoin. He walks through Bitcoin’s drawdown using on-chain metrics like realized price and MVRV, shows why rising volatility and elevated stock correlations point to a macro driven move, and ties Japan’s bond market stress, dollar weakness, and FX intervention directly into TBL Liquidity, framing Bitcoin’s price action as part of a broader system level liquidity shift rather than an isolated market failure.
📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm.
▶️ Subscribe and turn on notifications for TBL on YouTube.
📚 Subscribe to TBL’s research letter: https://thebitcoinlayer.com/subscribe
🎧 Subscribe to The Bitcoin Layer on your favorite podcast platform.
📱 Follow TBL on X: https://twitter.com/TheBitcoinLayer
📩 Join the official TBL channel on Telegram: https://t.me/thebitcoinlayerofficial
🧢 Use code TBLYT10 for 10% off all The Bitcoin Layer Merch at http://TheBitcoinLayer.com/merch
⛓️ ₿lock Height 935803
⚡ Contribute to The Bitcoin Layer via Lightning Network: [email protected]
Nik Bhatia's Twitter: https://twitter.com/timevalueofbtc
Researcher Demian Schatt's Twitter: https://x.com/demianschatt
Lead Statistician Augustine Carrasco Twitter: https://x.com/AugustineCarrB

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