The Bitcoin Layer
The Bitcoin Layer is a premium markets research provider, covering bitcoin through a global macro lens | Research, Analysis, & Education Featuring Nik Bhatia, author of the #1 Amazon bestseller Layered Money and USC Marshall School of Business professor. Subscribe to our research publication and YouTube channel to learn about global macroeconomics, bitcoin, Lightning Network, the monetary and financial system, the Federal Reserve, interest rates, and geopolitics. Most importantly, develop a framework for understanding global markets—connect the dots between economic and financial concepts to see the bigger picture. Look no further for your bitcoin and macro education!
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The REAL Reason Bitcoin Is Crashing - And What Comes Next
<p>In this episode, Nik and Matt Dines break down Bitcoin’s 52% drawdown, focusing on the global liquidity forces pressuring risk assets. They explain how reindustrialization, capital rotation out of software and speculative assets, yen and dollar liquidity stress, and rising volatility across gold, equities, and FX are colliding at once. The conversation reframes Bitcoin’s selloff as a macro-driven liquidity event, not a failure of the asset, and walks through what must stabilize before conditions improve.</p><p>📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm. </p><p>🔓 The Bitcoin Layer is proud to be sponsored by Unchain...
Bitcoin Enters Bear Market Behavior, What On-Chain Metrics Are Showing
<p>In this episode, Nik sits down with TBL on-chain analyst Johan Bergman to break down Bitcoin’s recent breakdown, sell-the-rip behavior, and the on-chain signals flashing bear market conditions. Johan walks through cost basis models, the AVIV Ratio Mean, short-term holder behavior, and why Bitcoin’s November trend break marked a major regime shift. They discuss ETF flows, forced selling, liquidation dynamics, and where real support may emerge next, while separating long-term conviction from short-term market reality.</p><p>📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm. </p><p>▶️ Subscribe and turn on notifications for TBL on YouTube...
Global Macro Update: Gold, Silver, Bitcoin, and the Breakdown of the WTO Era
<p>In this episode, Nik steps back to assess the massive shifts underway in global markets. With gold surging to record highs, silver collapsing after a historic spike, and Bitcoin struggling versus both gold and the dollar, Nik revisits long-held assumptions about money, Basel III, the Shanghai Gold Exchange, and the end of the WTO era. He explains why gold is reentering the monetary system, how Bitcoin still fits into the layered money framework, and what these changes mean for investors navigating a post-globalization world. </p><p>Link to podcast mentioned: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bias-the-sequel/id1802258017</p><...
JAPAN RATE CHECK Triggers a DOLLAR INDEX COLLAPSE
<p>In this episode, Nik breaks down the Japan “rate check” that sent the U.S. dollar sharply lower and triggered major moves across global markets. He explains how Japan’s bond stress, rising yields, and yen instability forced coordination with the U.S., why the dollar index breaking long-term support matters for liquidity, and how a weaker dollar is pushing stocks and gold higher. Nik closes by connecting the rate check to TBL Liquidity, why Bitcoin has lagged gold so far, and why a sustained dollar breakdown could be a powerful setup for Bitcoin heading into 2026.</p><p>📊 The Bitcoin L...
Gold at $5,000 Signals MASSIVE Changes to the World Order
<p>In this episode, Nik breaks down a massive global macro repricing as gold approaches $5,000, bond markets stabilize, and the world adjusts to a new economic order. He walks through key signals across Bitcoin, Treasuries, inflation expectations, labor markets, and global trade to explain why volatility is falling, liquidity conditions are improving, and why Bitcoin’s muted price action may be a feature, not a flaw, of this transition. Nik ties together Davos rhetoric, Supreme Court tariff dynamics, fiscal math, and capital flows to show how markets are responding to structural change heading into 2026.</p><p>Polymarket Link: </p>https://po...
Is China Sitting on the BIGGEST DEBT BOMB in Modern History?
<p>In this episode, Nik sits down with Brian McCarthy to break down China’s debt-driven growth model, rare earth leverage, and why central planning has created deep structural risks. They explore how China’s manufacturing dominance masks massive capital misallocation, why rare earths have become a geopolitical pressure point, and how a potential unwind could reshape global markets. The discussion ties China’s internal fragility to global liquidity, geopolitical escalation, and the long-term implications for Bitcoin as a non-sovereign store of value.</p><p>Follow Brian's work: </p>https://x.com/briangobosoxhttps://macrolens.substack.com/https://macrolens.com/<p>📊 The Bitco...
The Trump Doctrine Has ARRIVED, Here’s What It Means for 2026
<p>In this episode, Nik breaks down how the Supreme Court’s tariff decision, the administration’s healthcare proposal, and growing pressure on the Federal Reserve are all part of a single fiscal and national security framework. He explains why economic sovereignty, debt servicing costs, and healthcare spending are now central to U.S. policy decisions, and how these forces intersect with interest rates and Fed independence. Nik walks through the unsustainable math behind rising deficits, why lowering rates has become politically unavoidable, and how fiscal stabilization could ultimately support Bitcoin as a long-term store of value heading into 2026.</p><p>Po...
$95,000 Bitcoin & Fed Independence
<p>In this episode, Nik breaks down Bitcoin’s strong start to the year as price reclaims key technical levels following a deep but healthy drawdown. He walks through daily, weekly, and structural trend lines to explain why recent higher lows and higher closes matter for Bitcoin’s next move. Nik then zooms out to discuss resistance zones, bull market structure, and what a potential test of the $108,000 to $112,000 range could signal for momentum. He closes with a deeper look at the growing debate around the Federal Reserve, central bank independence, the legacy of Jekyll Island, and why political pressure, mark...
$1 QUADRILLION In Global Wealth: How Does It Impact Bitcoin?
<p>In this episode, Nik Bhatia and Demian Schatt step back from short-term liquidity signals to examine the global balance sheet and its implications for Bitcoin. They break down why global wealth has decoupled from GDP, how financialization and credit expansion reshaped the world economy, and why policymakers have become increasingly resistant to prolonged contraction. Nik explains how Bitcoin fits into a system with nearly $1 quadrillion in existing net worth, why adoption and credit expansion matter more than simple rotation narratives, and what this framework means for Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory.</p><p>Link to article: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/me...
US Treasuries MUST STABILIZE for Bitcoin to Move Higher
<p>In this episode, Nik explains why US Treasury stability is critical for sustained Bitcoin strength by walking through repo markets, bond volatility, and Fed balance sheet dynamics. He breaks down how year-end funding stress, Treasury issuance choices, and inflation trends shape liquidity conditions across the system. Nik shows why stable repo rates and calmer bond markets matter for leveraged Bitcoin buyers, how housing and energy costs feed into inflation expectations, and what improving Treasury stability could mean for Bitcoin as 2026 begins.</p><p>📚 Bitcoin Age is here, order yours today: https://a.co/d/5gau08H</p><p>📊 The Bitcoi...
