Bear Market Analysis with Dylan LeClair
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SHOW DESCRIPTION
Dylan LeClair is a Bitcoin and macro analyst working for Bitcoin Magazine. In this interview, we discuss the carnage in crypto in 2022 that’s bleeding into 2023. We talk about the clear signs of Ponzi schemes, the lost fortunes of crypto billionaires, and how Bitcoin regains its footing in the market.
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It has been 14 years since Bernie Madoff pleaded guilty to running the biggest Ponzi scheme in history. It should have been a defining moment, and yet, we’re now witnessing a tsunami of similar tragedies unfolding in crypto; a period Dylan LeClair is calling “a golden age of fraud”. The cruel irony is that the industry was inspired by Bitcoin, formulated in part as a technical correction to such scams. How did this happen?
Just 2 months after Bitcoin’s release in January 2009, Bernie Madoff stated at his plea hearing: “When I began my Ponzi scheme I believed it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients from the scheme.” This may be the fundamental psychology of those involved in Ponzi schemes: it is a short-term workaround that can be resolved, and investors will be made good.
We may never know the true intentions of anyone involved in 3AC, Luna, Celsius, FTX and other companies currently in the spotlight, but it’s hard to believe that anyone sane could think they could run a perpetual Ponzi. They must all have had an exit strategy in mind. A strategy where they and investors made good. But, time and time again, Ponzi schemes, bound by the realities of the market, fail.
So, what did we miss? In an industry that was built on the mantra of “don’t trust, verify”, how were so many people fooled? We can all in hindsight question FTX’s pitch of 15% returns with no risk. But, how many of us assumed the huge customer bases and political endorsements and A-list celebrity advertising had merit because we were not the smartest guys in the room?
Maybe it takes the cold logic of a fresh analyst, unencumbered by industry groupthink, to see the warning signs. Dylan LeClair has made a number of successful calls and trades on both sides of the market. He can sense BS, has the strength to call it out, and, as a result, he has witnessed a well-deserved meteoric rise. What’s his trick? Simple: don’t trust, verify.
TIMESTAMPS
00:01:31: Introductions
00:03:40: Enjoying the bear market
00:08:19: Leverage contagion of 2022, and FTX
00:21:47: Altcoin hype cycles
00:27:36: Bitcoin never dies
00:37:31: Writing and researching
00:38:55: GBTC and DCG, and redeemgbtc.com
00:51:35: Crypto billionaires risking it all
01:00:04: Bitcoin's correlation to global assets
01:09:18: Silvergate
01:13:14: A look to the year ahead
01:18:41: Bitcoin: a reason to be optimistic
01:20:37: Final comments
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SHOW NOTES
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Mentioned in the interview:
Terra's Do Kwon Has a $10 Billion Bitcoin Plan. Will it Work? - Bloomberg, Apr 2022
Voyager Digital reportedly had deep ties with SBF-owned Alameda Research - Cointelegraph, Aug 2022
Is Ethereum’s Censorship Problem Taking a Turn? - CoinDesk, Dec 21st 2022
Multicoin LPs are frustrated over its Solana bet - Axois, Nov 21st 2022
Bitcoin futures ETFs retain allure despite crypto winter - FT, Jan 11th 2023
Crypto lender Genesis offered unsecured loans before halting operations - Quartz, Nov 21st 2022
Crypto Empire DCG Faces US Investigation Over Internal Transfers - Bloomberg, Jan 7th 2023
Barbarians Are at Grayscale’s Gates. Can They Take Over GBTC? - Blockworks, Jan 9th 2023
These Crypto Founders And Bitcoin Moguls Lost $116 Billion In 2022 | Forbes
Silvergate Bank Faces Run On Deposits As Stock Price Tumbles - Bitcoin Magazine Pro, Jan 6th 2023
UK’s Small Firms Say They’ll Get Less Than £50 in Energy Aid - Bloomberg, Jan 10th 2023
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