Episode Details

Bitcoin is the life raft for a K-shaped economy that keeps rewarding the people already at the top, says Peter St. Onge. Jackson sits down with the Heritage Foundation economist on why AI is a bubble that's only at 1997, why the jobs panic is wrong, and who actually gets rich.

Guest: Peter St. Onge, Senior Economist at The Heritage Foundation

X: https://x.com/profstonge

Newsletter / Website: https://peterstonge.com/

BOOK A CONSULTATION

Holding Bitcoin for decades raises two questions: who protects it, and how it reaches your family. Onramp answers both. Three institutions protect it, and no single one can lose it, move it, or use it. Inheritance built in. Insured through Lloyd's of London. Speak with our team to see if it fits.

👉 https://go.onrampbitcoin.com/consult-tlt-pod

GET ON THE LIST

Our research, event invites, and the week's Bitcoin news in one free email.

📩 https://go.onrampbitcoin.com/research-tlt-pod

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Peter St. Onge went all in on Yahoo in 1996, retired at 25, and lost most of it when the dot-com crash took MicroStrategy, one of his biggest holdings, down more than 90%. His read on AI comes from that seat. Yes, it is a bubble, but demand for tokens looks close to unlimited, so he places AI around 1997, not 2000. He argues the AI doom narrative is astroturfed and that the jobs panic is 10,000 years old: productivity raises demand, and work shifts to trades, makers and services that pay more. The catch is the K-shaped economy. Money printing and a bloated administrative state lift the top and chain the bottom, so technology has to outrun the state. He closes on Bitcoin as the insurance and the life raft for when the system eventually breaks.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Why the System Favors the Top

00:39 - Peter St. Onge Joins Jackson

02:31 - Going All In on Yahoo in 1996

04:56 - The Dot-Com Crash and MicroStrategy's 92% Drop

06:15 - Flashpacking and the Early Bitcoiner Parallel

08:35 - Why AI Will Be Bigger Than the Internet

11:30 - What Happens When We Outsource Thinking to AI

15:50 - Is AI a Dot-Com Style Bubble?

22:09 - Why AI Is at 1997, Not 2000

24:27 - Who Is Behind the AI Doom Narrative

28:47 - Why AI Risk Is a Reason to Go Faster

32:39 - Which Jobs AI Is Actually Replacing

34:58 - Why Productivity Creates More Jobs

44:04 - Blue Collar, Makers and Services

48:54 - Why Dog Walking Will Pay Six Figures

51:51 - The K-Shaped Economy and the Administrative State

54:11 - Can Technology Outrun the Parasite?

55:39 - Bitcoin Is the Life Raft

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Last Trade: a weekly, bitcoin-native podcast covering the intersection of bitcoin, tech, and finance on a macro scale. Hosted by Jackson Mikalic, Michael Tanguma, and Brian Cubellis. Join us for the biggest stories shaping bitcoin and digital asset adoption, and what they mean for investors protecting their wealth for the long term.

MORE FROM ONRAMP MEDIA

• Signal vs Noise, live twice a week: https://www.youtube.com/@SignalvsNoiseLIVE

• Final Settlement and First Principles: https://www.youtube.com/@OnrampMedia

• Audio, every show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1690709152 or search Onramp Bitcoin Media on Spotify

• News and data: https://onramp.media

Onramp does not provide financial, tax, or legal advice. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. This episode is for entertainment purposes only.