The Last Trade E032: New Year Narratives: AI & ETFs with Matt Dines

Full Episode Below

Overview

In this episode of the podcast, we delve into the latest developments in Bitcoin and the broader financial markets, as well as the impact of AI on the economy. We’re joined by Matt Dines from Build Asset Management, who shares his insights on these topics. The episode also features a discussion on the potential approval or delay of a Bitcoin ETF, which has the investment community on edge.

Key Themes

• The impact of AI on the job market and the broader economy, with a focus on its proliferation in 2023 and the potential effects on productivity.
• The state of the financial markets, including interest rates, liquidity, and the potential for a Bitcoin ETF approval.
• The sentiment around Bitcoin and how it has shifted from the last time it was at the $40k level, with lower general public sentiment despite high conviction within the Bitcoin community.
• The importance of Bitcoin UTXOs being domiciled within the United States and the geopolitical implications of capital flow in relation to Bitcoin.

Best Quotes

• “AI is so immediately useful to anybody doing a job that it has impacted productivity already to a degree that I didn’t think would be possible within a year.” – Jesse Myers
• “The underlying sentiment of how people are going to behave, I have no idea what they drive price to this next cycle, but the actual waves underneath this thing, there is a lot of energy behind this thing.” – Matt Dines
• “If you build it (and this is like a terrible product, in my opinion), people, they’re going to allocate in.” – Matt Dines 
• “There’s only going to be 21 million [bitcoins]. If you’re listening out there, it’s going to be a lot of people trying to get their slice of the 21 million after next week.” – Marty Bent

Conclusion

The episode highlights the transformative power of AI and its rapid integration into various sectors of the economy. With the potential approval of a Bitcoin ETF on the horizon, we also discuss the implications for the financial markets and the strategic positioning of institutions and nation-states in relation to Bitcoin. The conversation underscores the importance of understanding the underlying dynamics of market sentiment and the bull market that Bitcoin appears to be in. As we look forward to the rest of 2024, it’s clear that these themes will continue to shape the landscape of investment and technology.