"Either you don't have a fiat currency or you don't have a democracy. But the two things together, and this has been proven, cannot coexist happily without the complete erosion of purchasing power of a civilization and the complete erosion of an empire - which is exactly what has occurred and what has occurred throughout history.
The natural bedfellow for a fiat economy is a dictatorship.
The natural bedfellow for bitcoin is democracy."
~ Daniel Batten

In this episode I sat down with Daniel Batten, who discovered Bitcoin's environmental benefits before grasping its economic power, and his journey reveals something profound about the nature of fiat money itself.

How did we become trapped in a desire-based economy that rewards consumption over saving? Daniel traces this back to the 1920s propaganda campaigns that transformed capitalism from meeting needs to manufacturing wants—and explains why Bitcoin might be the antidote to a century of psychological manipulation. But here's what really caught my attention: if the natural state of fiat is dictatorship, what does that mean for small nations trying to maintain sovereignty?

From Bhutan's quiet accumulation of Bitcoin worth nearly half their GDP to Pakistan's strategic pivot away from IMF dependency, we're witnessing a fundamental shift in global power structures. Are we watching the end of financial colonialism? And could Bitcoin mining on landfills actually turn the waste of Western civilization into the foundation for sound money? This conversation will change how you think about money, consumption, and what it really means to fix the incentives.

Check out our awesome sponsors!

• Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://ledn.io)

• HRF: Subscribe for free to HRF's Financial Freedom Report to stay updated on our latest work advancing freedom tech and defending human rights around the world. (Link: https://hrf.org/financial-freedom-reports/)

• OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)

• Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don't forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org/)

Human innovation knows no limits, and our first assumptions regarding what is possible with the tools at our disposal, are almost invariably found to be wrong. Today we dive into Kiara Bickers’ piece on DahLIAS, a groundbreaking new signature scheme that could make massive gains in efficiency and privacy possible without changing Bitcoin’s core cryptographic curve. Is this the missing piece that finally aligns privacy with economic incentive? And if it is, what will it take to get it into Bitcoin?

Check out the original article Not ECDSA. Not Schnorr. Meet DahLIAS. (Link: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/not-ecdsa-not-schnorr-meet-dahlias)

Mentioned Links and Resources:

• Read_887 - A Half Baked Thesis on Stablecoins by Alan Farrington - Highly recommended for further insight into Lightning and stablecoin intersection (Link: https://fountain.fm/episode/DsJfhL0gIuqJMeg4HSFc)

Check out our awesome sponsors!

• HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF's Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
• OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) is an international human rights conference series hosted and produced by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). Bringing together the world’s most engaging human rights advocates, journalists, artists, tech entrepreneurs, and world leaders, we aim to share their stories and brainstorm ways to expand freedom and unleash human potential across the globe. Don't miss this year’s Oslo Freedom Forum in May. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/event/oslo-freedom-forum-2025/)
• Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don't forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
• Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with the code BITCOINAUDIBLE. (Link: https://getchroma.co/?ref=BitcoinAudible)

Host Links

• ⁠Guy on Nostr ⁠(Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney)
• ⁠Guy on X ⁠(Link: https://twitter.com/theguyswann)
• Guy on Instagram (Link: https://www.instagram.com/theguyswann)
• Guy on TikTok (Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@theguyswann)
• Guy on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@theguyswann)
• ⁠Bitcoin Audible on X⁠ (Link: https://twitter.com/BitcoinAudible)
• The Guy Swann Network Broadcast Room on Keet (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3na6v839)

"In order for something to be used as ubiquitous money, the spender has to already have it, and the recipient has to want to hold it. Notably, people usually want to receive more of what they already have. After all, if a potential recipient wanted to hold it, they likely would have already bought some. So, if a new type of ubiquitous money were to arise, the majority of people would likely first encounter it as an investment."
~ Lyn Alden

If Bitcoin is freedom money, what happens when corporations and governments start buying it? Is it captured—or is that exactly what success looks like?

Lyn Alden’s new piece lays out the full arc of Bitcoin's monetization path, and I dig into her framing of situational vs. ubiquitous money. We talk leverage, ETFs, treasury strategies, and how Bitcoin is infiltrating the legacy financial system not despite its cypherpunk roots—but because of them.

Check out the original article The Rise of Bitcoin Stocks and Bonds (Link: https://www.lynalden.com/bitcoin-stocks-and-bonds/)

Mentioned Links and Resources:

• Read_471 - The Speculative Attack [Pierre Rochard] (Link: https://tinyurl.com/479skb4c)

• Reboot - Wittgenstein's Money [Allen Farrington] (Link: https://tinyurl.com/34h7d7x9)

• Read_626 - Digital Alchemy, A Post-Mortem of the Crypto Crash [Lyn Alden] (Link: https://tinyurl.com/463z4j3r)

Check out our awesome sponsors!

• HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF's Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
• OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) is an international human rights conference series hosted and produced by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). Bringing together the world’s most engaging human rights advocates, journalists, artists, tech entrepreneurs, and world leaders, we aim to share their stories and brainstorm ways to expand freedom and unleash human potential across the globe. Don't miss this year’s Oslo Freedom Forum in May. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/event/oslo-freedom-forum-2025/)
• Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don't forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
• Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with the code BITCOINAUDIBLE. (Link: https://getchroma.co/?ref=BitcoinAudible)

Host Links

• ⁠