353: Peter McCormack on Bitcoin, Podcasting, and The World
8/4/2020 · 87 min · transcript via mlx
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Key topics
— Peter McCormack's Bitcoin strategy shifted to accumulation-only, earning Bitcoin through sponsorships and poker rather than trading; he's grown his stack by 40% in the past year while avoiding shitcoins and leverage.
— The Roger Ver interview was conducted respectfully to allow both perspectives on Bitcoin's evolution to be articulated; despite past disagreements, Ver demonstrated intelligence and understanding of opposing arguments, though the market has decidedly favored Bitcoin over Bitcoin Cash.
— Podcasting evolution during the pandemic: McCormack saw initial download drops in February–March but recovered through focused content and guest quality; Pompliano pursues a volume strategy with less editing overhead to maximize learning opportunities and audience reach.
— The macro environment—including pandemic-triggered QE, inverted yield curves, and repo market stress—was already signaling an economic cycle end in 2019; the halving and money printing coinciding created structural conditions favorable for Bitcoin, gold, and hard assets.
— DeFi terminology is being conflated with Ethereum; Bitcoin itself is the most valuable decentralized finance application, though infrastructure investments (Coinbase, Kraken early equity) may outperform holding Bitcoin alone.
— Long-term Bitcoin thesis centers on fixed supply, decentralization, and market adoption—not current use cases—positioning it eventually as a global reserve currency potentially worth $80–90 trillion market cap over decades.
Market & price signals
— Bitcoin was trading around $9,300 in late May, rose quickly to $12,000 (appearing overbought), then dumped $1,500 in seconds before recovering $700 minutes later, demonstrating extreme volatility. Pompliano predicted a new all-time high before the US election (likely driven by continued stimulus printing) and specifically forecasts Bitcoin hitting $100,000 by end of 2021. McCormack expects new all-time highs this year and believes next year will be "fucking crazy." Both reject daily price speculation in favor of a Bitcoin-denominated accumulation mindset (percentage of 21M supply owned), treating Bitcoin as analogous to the $8 trillion gold market but with superior technology—potentially reaching $400,000–450,000 today if it captured the full gold market.
Actionable insights
— Stop obsessing over short-term price movements and US dollar valuations; instead track what percentage of the 21 million Bitcoin supply you own, recognizing that long-term structural adoption (not daily technicals) determines value.
— Understand that global QE, weakening fiat currency, and decentralized finance infrastructure represent the macro tailwinds for Bitcoin; educate yourself on the structural components (fixed supply, decentralization, adoption) rather than trying to time tops and bottoms.
— For those concerned about economic inequality in a high-inflation scenario, education on how money and asset markets work is the key differentiator—those who understand macro trends and hold scarce assets (Bitcoin, real estate, gold) will prosper relative to those holding only cash or debt-based instruments.
Episode sponsorships
Paid placements mentioned in this episode. BTC Pods is not sponsored by or affiliated with these advertisers. Links are included so you can find offers mentioned on the show.
— The Tech Meme Ride Home is a daily tech news podcast offering headlines, context, and conversation around the world of tech every weekday, plus weekend bonus interview episodes with newsmakers from that week's headlines. Past and future guests include figures like Howard Lindzen, Steve Case, Connie Chan, Angela Strange, Mark Gurman, Jay Yarrow, Eric Jackson, Matt Stoller, and Gary Marcus. Search your podcast app now and subscribe to the Tech Meme Ride Home podcast.
— The World Series of Trading (WSOT) by Bybit is a biannual crypto trading competition bringing the exhilaration of derivatives trading to the global stage, championing competition, fair play, and camaraderie among traders worldwide. This year's prize pool is 200 Bitcoin. Sign up at http://www.bybit.com/wsot_warmup to compete.
— Anthony Pompliano writes a daily letter to over 50,000 investors about business, technology, and finance. He breaks down complex topics into easy to understand language while sharing opinions on various aspects of each industry. Subscribe at pompletter.com.