Why Crypto Is Holding Up as the AI Trade Starts to Crack

The chip index fell 11.4% and the KOSPI had its worst week since 2008, yet Bitcoin finished flat. Coinbase's John D'Agostino and Agora's Nick van Eck join the Bits + Bips crew to explain why. Sponsor ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Put your crypto to work with Nexo: earn daily interest or borrow funds against your assets on one platform trusted by more than 10 million clients. Find out more at ⁠https://unchainedcrypto.com/go/nexo-podcast-sn⁠. Geo-restrictions, eligibility and terms apply. Quick favor: We're deciding what Unchained does next; new shows, stream times, what's worth paying for.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Our listener survey⁠⁠⁠⁠ takes five minutes, it's anonymous, and I read the write-in answers myself. Everyone who takes it can enter a drawing for a free year of Unchained Premium or Bits + Bips Premium. Open through Sunday, October 18. — Laura 👉 Heads up! If you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe to Bits + Bips on its dedicated channels. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, X, Unchained and wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 Apple Podcasts - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-bips/id1827931786⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🔥 YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKiSkbYrUOOEEiYQEVPniQ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🔥 Spotify - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/6aSBMrOyi33aVDCULJ9mjN?si=NTLk-jl5QGeytA6-2kxMVQ&nd=1&dlsi=42f0b13dd53c4ba0⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🔥 X - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/bitsandbips⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🔥 Unchained - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://unchainedcrypto.com/bitsandbips/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The chip index lost 11.4% in a week and South Korea's KOSPI had its worst week since 2008, yet Bitcoin finished roughly flat. Is crypto trading on its own drivers, or did it just take its losses earlier? John D'Agostino, Head of Institutional Strategy at Coinbase, and Nick van Eck, CEO and co-founder of Agora, join Austin Campbell and Chris Perkins to sort it out. D'Agostino points to low liquidity and treasury company buying, while van Eck says the next year could be significantly bullish. They also weigh whether frontier labs like Anthropic can build a moat, what CoreWeave's 25% drop and Anthropic's reported junk rating say about AI credit, and why 3.7% CPI and a 10-year that touched 5.33% leave the Fed boxed in. Van Eck calls the debt math "the generational pump and dump." The question underneath it all: can the US grow its way out? Hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Austin Campbell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Host of Bits + Bips, Founder of Zero Knowledge Group, and Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Perkins⁠⁠ - Co-host of Bits + Bips and Head of Franklin Crypto Guests ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠John D'Agostino - Head of Institutional Strategy at Coinbase Nick van Eck - CEO and Co-founder of Agora Timestamps: 🎬 00:00 Intro 📉 01:50 Chips crack, Bitcoin holds: did crypto trade on its own drivers? 💵 08:20 Nick on why GENIUS pulled enterprise stablecoin demand forward 3-5 years 📲 12:25 John's '1-hour thesis' and $20M a week in tokenized stocks in the UAE 🤖 15:15 Is the AI trade unwinding, and do frontier labs like Anthropic have a moat? 🟦 24:45 Nexo: Generate daily interest on your crypto or borrow funds against your assets at https://unchainedcrypto.com/go/nexo-podcast-yt ⛽ 25:23 Why 3.7% CPI, $110 Brent, and a 5% 10-year leave the Fed in a tough spot 🧓 31:37 Nick's 'generational pump and dump' and why voters are angry at both parties 🏗️ 41:38 Where will AI's debt come from after CoreWeave's 25% slide? 🔐 47:29 Why AI's math breakthroughs pull forward the post-quantum timeline