Market speculation into commodities like Bitcoin and Crude oil pose dangerous risks during the best of times. Heading into a recession, the stakes are even higher. The temptation to participate during volatile periods is a psychological phenomenon that takes hold among casual investors who rarely realize when they’re part of an institutional con. When leveraged institutions are in desperate need of liquidity they’ll stop at nothing to game the system. In this episode, Max offers a cautionary tale of speculative behavior in the crude oil markets during the financial crisis that very few people even know about. He then connects it to the dangers posed to investors who dabble in digital currencies like Bitcoin, especially under a pro-crypto Trump administration.

Access the episode resources.

Resources

Forbes: ‘Worse Than 2008’—Bitcoin Price Braced As Billionaire Ray Dalio Warns Of ‘Monetary Order Breakdown’

Forbes: ‘Big Catalyst’—Serious Fed Warning Spurs Huge BlackRock Bitcoin Price Prediction

NPR: What to know about Trump's 'crypto strategic reserve' plan

Yahoo Finance: Donald Trump’s 29-year-old crypto guru lays out the president’s plans for regulating crypto and rolling back a Biden-era crackdown

Pillsbury Law: Trump 2.0: A New Era for the Regulation of Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets

SDLC Corp: Stablecoins: Characteristics, How They Work, Functionality, and Use Cases

Bitpanda Academy: Meme Coins: Definition & Characteristics

St. Edward’s University: What Are the Exchange Coins

The Digital Chamber: Why is Bitcoin a Commodity?

Investopedia: Is Crypto a Commodity? What It Means, Examples

Book Love

Dan Dicker: Oil's Endless Bid: Taming the Unreliable Price of Oil to Secure Our Economy

Emily Lambert: The Futures: The Rise of the Speculator and the Origins of the World's Biggest Markets

Peter Maass: Crude World

Leah McGrath Goodman: The Asylum: Inside the Rise and Ruin of the Global Oil Market

UNFTR Episode Resources

Peak Oil: It’s a Crude, Crude World.

The U.S. Dollar and 10 Year Treasury: Why Economists Are Freaking the F*ck Out.

--

If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, TikTok and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join our Discord at unftr.com/discord.

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Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.

Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.

Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

Market speculation into commodities like Bitcoin and Crude oil pose dangerous risks during the best of times. Heading into a recession, the stakes are even higher. The temptation to participate during volatile periods is a psychological phenomenon that takes hold among casual investors who rarely realize when they&rsquo;re part of an institutional con. When leveraged institutions are in desperate need of liquidity they&rsquo;ll stop at nothing to game the system. In this episode, Max offers a cautionary tale of speculative behavior in the crude oil markets during the financial crisis that very few people even know about. He then connects it to the dangers posed to investors who dabble in digital currencies like Bitcoin, especially under a pro-crypto Trump administration.
<a href="//www.unftr.com/episodes/topical21">Access the episode resources</a>.
Resources
Forbes: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/04/15/worse-than-2008-bitcoin-price-braced-as-billionaire-ray-dalio-warns-of-monetary-order-breakdown/">&lsquo;Worse Than 2008&rsquo;&mdash;Bitcoin Price Braced As Billionaire Ray Dalio Warns Of &lsquo;Monetary Order Breakdown&rsquo;</a>
Forbes: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/03/23/big-catalyst-serious-fed-warning-spurs-huge-blackrock-bitcoin-price-prediction/">&lsquo;Big Catalyst&rsquo;&mdash;Serious Fed Warning Spurs Huge BlackRock Bitcoin Price Prediction</a>
NPR: <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/03/04/g-s1-51748/trump-crypto-reserve-bitcoin-stockpile-ether">What to know about Trump's 'crypto strategic reserve' plan</a>
Yahoo Finance: <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-29-old-crypto-110000826.html">Donald Trump&rsquo;s 29-year-old crypto guru lays out the president&rsquo;s plans for regulating crypto and rolling back a Biden-era crackdown</a>
Pillsbury Law: <a href="https://www.pillsburylaw.com/en/news-and-insights/cryptocurrency-digital-assets-trump.html">Trump 2.0: A New Era for the Regulation of Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets</a>
SDLC Corp: <a href="https://sdlccorp.com/post/stablecoins-characteristics-how-they-work-functionality-and-use-cases/">Stablecoins: Characteristics, How They Work, Functionality, and Use Cases</a>
Bitpanda Academy: <a href="https://www.bitpanda.com/academy/en/lessons/meme-coins-definition-and-characteristics">Meme Coins: Definition &amp; Characteristics</a>
St. Edward&rsquo;s University: <a href="https://sites.stedwards.edu/articles/2022/11/24/what-are-the-exchange-coins/">What Are the Exchange Coins</a>
The Digital Chamber: <a href="https://digitalchamber.org/bitcoin-commodity/">Why is Bitcoin a Commodity?</a>
Investopedia: <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/crypto-commodity.asp">Is Crypto a Commodity? What It Means, Examples</a>
Book Love
Dan Dicker: <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Oil's+Endless+Bid%3A+Taming+the+Unreliable+Price+of+Oil+to+Secure+Our+Economy-p-9781119200727">Oil's Endless Bid: Taming the Unreliable Price of Oil to Secure Our Economy</a>
Emily Lambert: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780465028412">The Futures: The Rise of the Speculator and the Origins of the World's Biggest Markets</a>
Peter Maass: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780307273192">Crude World</a>
Leah McGrath Goodman: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780061766282">The Asylum: Inside the Rise and Ruin of the Global Oil Market</a>
UNFTR Episode Resources
<a href="https://www.unftr.com/episodes/unftr49">Peak Oil: It&rsquo;s a Crude, Crude World</a>.
<a href="https://www.unftr.com/episodes/topical20">The U.S. Dollar and 10 Year Treasury: Why Economists Are Freaking the F*ck Out</a>.
--
If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: <a href="https://unftr.com/rate">unftr.com/rate</a> and follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Unfucking-The-Republic-102319714930389">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/unftr.com">Bluesky</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@unftrpod">TikTok</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/unftrpod/">Instagram</a> at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/">unftr.com</a>. Join our Discord at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/discord">unftr.com/discord</a>.
Become a member at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/memberships">unftr.com/memberships</a>.
Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at <a href="https://shop.unftr.com/">shop.unftr.com</a>.
Visit our bookshop.org page at <a href="https://bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod">bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod</a> to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at<a href="https://bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations"> bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations</a>.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/accessibility">unftr.com/accessibility</a>.
Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (<a href="https://www.mannyfacesmedia.com">mannyfacesmedia.com</a>). Original music is by Tom McGovern (<a href="http://www.tommcgovern.com/">tommcgovern.com</a>). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is dedicated to progressive politics, leftist economic theories, and social justice in the United States. Join us for deep dives into socialism, labor rights, climate justice, and the fight against inequality. Whether you're curious about Marxist ideas, modern social movements, or progressive policies, UNFTR delivers thoroughly sourced critiques, analyses, and interviews with the historical context mainstream media won't provide. Subscribe for informative and unabashedly progressive coverage of the leftist political and economic landscape.

Unf*cking The Republic&reg; (UNFTR) is dedicated to progressive politics, leftist economic theories, and social justice in the United States. Join us for deep dives into socialism, labor rights, climate justice, and the fight against inequality. Whether you're curious about Marxist ideas, modern social movements, or progressive policies, UNFTR delivers thoroughly sourced critiques, analyses, and interviews with the historical context mainstream media won't provide. Subscribe for informative and unabashedly progressive coverage of the leftist political and economic landscape.

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