Monetarium is a series of gatherings for stability geeks interested in making better money.
Plan A: fix the fiat system
Plan B: build a better system
Plan A: fix the fiat system
Plan B: build a better system
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Romina Boccia from the Cato Institute breaks down America’s looming debt crisis and explains why we’re heading toward fiscal catastrophe within 15 years. She explores innovative solutions like BRAC-style commissions that could break through political gridlock before it’s too late.
42:37Mark Dinner, founder of ICW and former Ray Dalio research team co-lead, takes us through 500 years of reserve currency transitions from the Dutch Guilder to the British Pound to the U.S. Dollar. He explains the five factors that determine monetary dominance and why we may be witnessing a historic shift in the global financial order.
33:34Quinn Thompson, CIO of Leer Capital, warns that America’s economic imbalances have reached a “Wile E. Coyote moment” where we’re running off a cliff but haven’t looked down yet. He breaks down the macro indicators showing why the next 12-18 months could trigger a crisis as the Fed and foreign buyers abandon U.S. debt.
46:55Nevin Freeman, Billy Sanders, and Andrew Worth from the Digital Securities Initiative present their comprehensive vision for regulating tokenized securities in DeFi without destroying composability. They explain how identity keepers, transaction monitors, and zero-knowledge proofs can create “regulated zones” that satisfy both compliance needs and preserve permissionless innovation.
01:00:51Michael Selig, Chief Counsel to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force and senior advisor to Chairman Atkins, explains how the commission is rebuilding trust after years of “regulation by enforcement.” He discusses innovation exemptions, sandboxes, and the new SEC’s mission to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world through transparent rule-making.
31:59Economics Professor Larry White evaluates Reserve’s endgame plan by comparing gold, Bitcoin, and asset-backed currencies as post-dollar alternatives. He explains why Bitcoin’s fixed supply makes it unsuitable as money, how gold’s supply flexibility provides stability, and makes the case for TIPS-backed stablecoins as superior inflation hedges.
45:00University of Virginia finance professor Richard Evans brings TradFi wisdom to the DTF ecosystem, explaining ETF mechanics through his memorable “Twinkie arbitrage” example from elementary school. He reveals why secondary market liquidity (83% of trading) matters more than primary market creation/redemption (17%) and shares governance lessons from 20 years of ETF evolution.
34:07In his closing keynote, Reserve’s Nevin Freeman presents their “SpaceX-to-Mars” level mission of eradicating inflation through decentralized finance. He traces the evolution from their Venezuelan stablecoin experiment to today’s DTF platform, revealing how regulatory breakthroughs and tokenized securities could enable truly global financial infrastructure.
34:14Nevin Freeman welcomes you to Monetarium! He discusses the potential of Reserve's RTokens as a world reserve currency, addressing challenges like competition and government opposition.
46:20Thomas Mattimore reviews Reserve's 2024 progress and urges the audience to engage in the Reserve ecosystem by using RTokens, participating in governance, or involving others. Dive in to help shape the future of DeFi!
29:15In response to a vigorous discussion about the future of RSR emissions on the Reserve forums, Nevin Freeman-president of Confusion Capital-shed further light on the various expenses that may be necessary in the coming decades to achieve our envisioned goals for RTokens.
36:08Joseph Wang explores central banking and monetary policy in the context of a world using an asset-backed currency as its reserve.
59:55Taylor Pearson discusses building resilient portfolios for diverse economic conditions. He highlights the Permanent Portfolio concept, combining stocks, bonds, gold, and cash for risk-adjusted returns in the long term.
48:50Thomas Hogan examines how money has evolved from barter to gold to cryptocurrencies. He covers the Gold Standard’s trade-offs, its suspension during wars, and its effect on economic stability, aiming to explore what an ideal asset-backed currency might be.
01:41:45The Best Friend Finance team unveiled an exciting new 'Ugly Cash Earn' loyalty program that allows Ugly Cash users to earn yield on their in-app eUSD holdings, available in the US as well as in LATAM.
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