The Debasement Trade Returns, AI Rotation Takes Shape, and CFB Launches the GPU Rental Index

In this CF Benchmarks live X Space, recorded August 27, 2026, Head of Research Gabe Selby, CFA is joined by Kraken Chief Economist Thomas Perfumo, CFA, Senior Product Manager Cristian Isac and Research Analyst Mark Pilipczuk, along with two guests: David Lawant, Head of Research at Anchorage Digital, and Pascal Hügli, Crypto Investment Manager at Maerki Baumann and author of the Less Noise, More Signal Substack. The debasement trade is back. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doubled the size of the long end buyback program on August 19, Bitcoin led the response and gold barely moved. The panel works through what that repricing means for positioning: whether debasement is a trade or a secular regime, what the CME basis, options skew and breadth data say about where we sit in the cycle, why fund flows point to capital rotating out of AI and back into crypto, and what to expect as Jackson Hole convenes on financial innovation and payments. Chapters: 00:00 – Intro & Panel Welcome 04:29 – Defining the Debasement Trade: Henry VIII, Nero & a $40 Trillion Debt Load 06:13 – Buybacks, the TGA & Bessent's "Whatever It Takes" Signal 10:21 – Bitcoin Leads, Gold Lags: Trade or Secular Regime? 11:11 – Anatomy of an Oversold Market: Apathy, Bad News & a $1 Billion Volume Day 17:25 – Fund Flows: The DRAM ETF as an AI Rotation Proxy 20:21 – IBIT Volume, $2.5 Billion of Flows & Why This Tape Looks Different 22:22 – CME Basis Off Multi-Year Lows: Fast Money Moves First 24:50 – The Coinbase Premium & Waiting on the Broader Market 26:42 – Basis Trade Mechanics: Who Takes the Other Side? 30:40 – Forward Call Skew: Buying Upside Instead of Protection 33:39 – Inside the Market Cycle Engine: Breadth & Momentum 38:30 – Is It Durable? August's Rally Compared to May's 40:15 – Beyond Bitcoin: Hyperliquid Onshoring & the DeFi Revenue Complex 44:24 – Altcoin Catch-Up, CLARITY Act Odds & "Buyback as a Business Model" 48:11 – Week Ahead: Jackson Hole Turns to Payments & Financial Innovation 57:00 – Launching the CF Benchmarks GPU Rental Index 1:01:04 – Closing Remarks