The Pomp Podcast

Jay Jacobs is the US Head of Equity ETFs at BlackRock. In this conversation, we break down the real impact of the bitcoin ETFs on adoption, why bitcoin's volatility has compressed, and how institutions and everyday investors are approaching digital assets today. We also dig into AI as a macro market force, the entire AI value chain from power to chips to data centers, and where the ETF industry goes from here.

Arch Public is an agentic trading platform that automates investment strategies across Stocks, Commodities, ETFs and Crypto. Whether you’re rotating into AI & Gold, allocating to the S&P 500, or accumulating Bitcoin, Arch Public executes your plan 24/7 without ever taking custody of your assets or funds. Sign up today at https://www.archpublic.com, and start your FREE automated trading strategy!
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Lava is a global platform for bitcoin financial services. Spend with Lava Card and earn up to 5% back in bitcoin with every purchase— all with no annual fee, no FX fees, and zero spread. Plus you can borrow against your bitcoin at the lowest rates, earn yield on cash, and move fiat or stablecoins globally. Get started at lava.xyz/POMP
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TOKEN2049 returns to Singapore on October 7–8 at Marina Bay Sands. The world's largest crypto event. 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, 1,000 side events and the whole industry in one place for two days, into the F1 weekend. Get 10% off your ticket with code POMP10 at https://token2049.com/singapore
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Simple Mining makes Bitcoin mining simple and accessible for everyone. We offer a premium white glove hosting service, helping you maximize the profitability of Bitcoin mining. For more information on Simple Mining or to get started mining Bitcoin, visit https://www.simplemining.io/pomp
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0:00 - Intro
1:11 - Bitcoin ETF's real impact on adoption
3:18 - Why bitcoin's volatility has compressed
6:57 - BlackRock's bitcoin & crypto product strategy
9:13 - In-kind redemptions & borrowing against bitcoin
11:18 - AI as a macro factor & the AI value chain
22:36 - Active vs. passive investing in AI & crypto
26:29 - The rise of independent investors
28:13 - ETFs vs. mutual funds
32:05 - Inside BlackRock's ETF playbook 
41:43 - Long-term investing & the generational shift in bitcoin and AI

Logan Kilpatrick is a member of the technical staff at Google DeepMind. In this conversation, we break down whether Google is actually behind in the AI race, the strategy behind Gemini 4's massive pre-training run, and how DeepMind decides between chasing general intelligence versus building specialized products. We also discuss China's open-source AI labs and why measuring real progress toward AGI might be harder than building the models themselves.
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Arch Public is an agentic trading platform that automates investment strategies across Stocks, Commodities, ETFs and Crypto. Whether you’re rotating into AI & Gold, allocating to the S&P 500, or accumulating Bitcoin, Arch Public executes your plan 24/7 without ever taking custody of your assets or funds. Sign up today at https://www.archpublic.com, and start your FREE automated trading strategy!
=====================
TOKEN2049 returns to Singapore on October 7–8 at Marina Bay Sands. The world's largest crypto event. 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, 1,000 side events and the whole industry in one place for two days, into the F1 weekend. Get 10% off your ticket with code POMP10 at https://token2049.com/singapore
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Simple Mining makes Bitcoin mining simple and accessible for everyone. We offer a premium white glove hosting service, helping you maximize the profitability of Bitcoin mining. For more information on Simple Mining or to get started mining Bitcoin, visit https://www.simplemining.io/pomp
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0:00 - Intro
0:51 - Is Google behind in the AI race?
2:47 - Frontier commitment & the Gemini 4 pre-training run
8:31 - Build vs. buy: Google's AI acquisition strategy
13:13 - Chinese AI labs, competitors & filtering the hype
19:03 - The ambition problem & where Google chooses to compete
21:39 - General intelligence vs. specialized AI products
35:01 - Inside DeepMind: Genome research & the innovation flywheel
41:52 - Kaggle & the race to actually measure AI progress
48:25 - The AI data economy: why data is the new bottleneck

Zac Prince is the Managing Director at Galaxy Digital and the co-founder and former CEO of BlockFi. In this conversation, we break down what really happened at BlockFi's collapse, the fraud behind FTX and Alameda that he witnessed firsthand, and the lessons he's applying to risk management today. We also discuss Galaxy One's banking, crypto, and yield products, and what the future of investing and AI-powered finance looks like.
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The views expressed by the speakers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Galaxy or its affiliates. Yield is variable and may change with 30 days’ notice. Galaxy Premium Yield is available only to U.S. accredited investors, is not a bank deposit, and is not FDIC insured. The note is unsecured and may result in loss of principal. Guaranteed by Galaxy Digital Holdings LP, a subsidiary of Galaxy Digital Inc. Staking involves risks, including validator downtime, slash, loss of rewards, and Galaxy cannot guarantee validator performance.
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Arch Public is an agentic trading platform that automates investment strategies across Stocks, Commodities, ETFs and Crypto. Whether you’re rotating into AI & Gold, allocating to the S&P 500, or accumulating Bitcoin, Arch Public executes your plan 24/7 without ever taking custody of your assets or funds. Sign up today at https://www.archpublic.com, and start your FREE automated trading strategy!
=======================
TOKEN2049 returns to Singapore on October 7–8 at Marina Bay Sands. The world's largest crypto event. 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, 1,000 side events and the whole industry in one place for two days, into the F1 weekend. Get 10% off your ticket with code POMP10 at https://token2049.com/singapore
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Uphold is the easiest way to buy and sell crypto unlike any other platform allowing you to trade in just one step between any supported asset. Check them out at https://www.uphold.com/pomp/ This video includes a paid sponsorship with Uphold. I’m compensated by Uphold for promoting its products and services and may receive commissions from referrals. Terms apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Digital assets are risky and may result in the total loss of your capital.
=======================
Simple Mining makes Bitcoin mining simple and accessible for everyone. We offer a premium white glove hosting service, helping you maximize the profitability of Bitcoin mining. For more information on Simple Mining or to get started mining Bitcoin, visit https://www.simplemining.io/pomp
=======================
0:00 - Intro
1:05 - What really happened at BlockFi?
8:09 - Celsius, Voyager collapse & the run on BlockFi
10:01 - The FTX acquisition, Sam Bankman-Fried & discovering the fraud
13:32 - Lessons applied to risk management at Galaxy
16:08 - Silvergate, SVB & the "war on crypto"
18:49 - Regulatory politics & the future of crypto policy
22:10 - Rebuilding: what Zac learned post crypto war
26:36 - What is Galaxy One? 
41:43 - AI agents & the future of banking

Jordi Visser is a veteran macro investor with 30+ years of experience and the author of the VisserLabs Substack. In this conversation, we break down the timing for the next bitcoin bull market, why the Clarity Act could send bitcoin to $100K, and how AI's exponential progress is leaving the market mispriced. We also discuss the Fed's rate decision, the Trump-Bessent-Warsh alignment on AI and crypto, and why the AI bubble skeptics have it backwards.
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Arch Public is an agentic trading platform that automates investment strategies across Stocks, Commodities, ETFs and Crypto. Whether you’re rotating into AI & Gold, allocating to the S&P 500, or accumulating Bitcoin, Arch Public executes your plan 24/7 without ever taking custody of your assets or funds. Sign up today at https://www.archpublic.com, and start your FREE automated trading strategy!
=====================
Lava is a global platform for bitcoin financial services. Spend with Lava Card and earn up to 5% back in bitcoin with every purchase— all with no annual fee, no FX fees, and zero spread. Plus you can borrow against your bitcoin at the lowest rates, earn yield on cash, and move fiat or stablecoins globally. Get started at lava.xyz/POMP
=====================
TOKEN2049 returns to Singapore on October 7–8 at Marina Bay Sands. The world's largest crypto event. 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, 1,000 side events and the whole industry in one place for two days, into the F1 weekend. Get 10% off your ticket with code POMP10 at https://token2049.com/singapore
=====================
Simple Mining makes Bitcoin mining simple and accessible for everyone. We offer a premium white glove hosting service, helping you maximize the profitability of Bitcoin mining. For more information on Simple Mining or to get started mining Bitcoin, visit https://www.simplemining.io/pomp
=====================
0:00 - Intro
0:57 - Do interest rates even matter anymore? 
4:44 - Static vs Dynamic investors
9:30 - AI agents vs hedge funds vs retail: the new market structure
12:01 - How do you actually value crypto? (Robinhood chain & tokenization)
23:09 - Timing the next bitcoin bull market
27:05 - AI news dump: Astra, hacking scares & the AGI debate
35:27 - The Fed's rate decision: three scenarios
42:20 - Bessent, Warsh & Trump's Fed alignment
50:54 - Bitcoin, AI & Space as $2 trillion assets

Zac Prince is the Managing Director at Galaxy Digital and the co-founder and former CEO of BlockFi. In this conversation, we break down what really happened at BlockFi's collapse, the fraud behind FTX and Alameda that he witnessed firsthand, and the lessons he's applying to risk management today. We also discuss Galaxy One's banking, crypto, and yield products, and what the future of investing and AI-powered finance looks like.
=======================
Arch Public is an agentic trading platform that automates investment strategies across Stocks, Commodities, ETFs and Crypto. Whether you’re rotating into AI & Gold, allocating to the S&P 500, or accumulating Bitcoin, Arch Public executes your plan 24/7 without ever taking custody of your assets or funds. Sign up today at https://www.archpublic.com, and start your FREE automated trading strategy!
=======================
TOKEN2049 returns to Singapore on October 7–8 at Marina Bay Sands. The world's largest crypto event. 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, 1,000 side events and the whole industry in one place for two days, into the F1 weekend. Get 10% off your ticket with code POMP10 at https://token2049.com/singapore
=======================
Uphold is the easiest way to buy and sell crypto unlike any other platform allowing you to trade in just one step between any supported asset. Check them out at https://www.uphold.com/pomp/ This video includes a paid sponsorship with Uphold. I’m compensated by Uphold for promoting its products and services and may receive commissions from referrals. Terms apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Digital assets are risky and may result in the total loss of your capital.
=======================
Simple Mining makes Bitcoin mining simple and accessible for everyone. We offer a premium white glove hosting service, helping you maximize the profitability of Bitcoin mining. For more information on Simple Mining or to get started mining Bitcoin, visit https://www.simplemining.io/pomp
=======================
0:00 - Intro
1:05 - What really happened at BlockFi?
8:09 - Celsius, Voyager collapse & the run on BlockFi
10:01 - The FTX acquisition, Sam Bankman-Fried & discovering the fraud
13:32 - Lessons applied to risk management at Galaxy
16:08 - Silvergate, SVB & the "war on crypto"
18:49 - Regulatory politics & the future of crypto policy
22:10 - Rebuilding: what Zac learned post crypto war
26:36 - What is Galaxy One? 
41:43 - AI agents & the future of banking