
We need to do better.
These two tweets from our friend Matthew Pines popped on my feed the other day and hit me like a ton of bricks. The topic of the pervasive nihilism that exists among Gen Z has been touched on in this newsletter and on the TFTC podcast many times over the years. When we've touched on it, it's typically been speaking to vibes based off of cultural trends I've observed over the years. The production and consumption of high velocity trash short-form content, streaming culture, dating culture and gambling culture. But I think Matthew's tweets hit hard due to the fact that they cite hard data and he makes a point that should be incredibly obvious to all of us (especially those of us with children), but isn't talked about nearly enough.
A true measure of any society is how it treats its children, its living future.
If we're being objective when analyzing the state of our youth it is pretty clear that we're failing them on many levels. They're laden with debt. On average, they are getting dumber due to complacency in terms of providing them with quality education, which has been corrupted by fiat incentives. They are running into the steam train that is AI automating entry level jobs. They've been thrust into the Age of Social Media, which has completely corrupted norms around how relationships and genuine connections develop. And all of that is compounded by the fact that they live under a late-stage fiat monetary regime that is continuously debasing the currencies they use at an accelerating pace. Gen Z is losing hope.
And I have a strong belief that the overarching nihilism that exists among Gen Z is a knock on effect of the nihilism that began to increase among Millennials. This is beginning to show in birthrate data. Birthrates in most parts of the developed world are cratering. What message does that send to younger generations? If we've decided not to have children, why should they strive to have a life that enables them to build a family? They shouldn't.
Nothing makes this clearer than the OnlyFans data, which highlights that 10% of women between the ages of 18 and 24 are engaging in digital prostitution. Anyone who cares about the future of humanity and the health of our children should look at this data and be absolutely disgusted. The youth are completely dejected, nihilistic and engaging in generational self-harm that will result in serious negative consequences if the trend doesn't reverse within another generation or two.
I hate to come off as self-serving, but this is why I've dedicated my professional life to bitcoin. Bitcoin is hope and I truly believe that most of the negative trends we see throughout our society today are negative externalities produced by a broken monetary system. If central authorities can hit a button, produce new money out of thin air, let connected institutions get access to it first, those institutions allocate it without proper opportunity costs but reap insane asymmetric benefits, and those who do not have that access are subjected to the consequences of this process via the increasing wealth gap, the youth are going to turn to nihilism, degeneracy and escapism to cope.
As it stands today, a lot of the kids aren't alright. Obviously there are plenty who are, but this is a material trend that shouldn't be taken lightly. We need to inject hope into Gen Z and bitcoin is the great hope of our time. Despite all of the madness enabled by unfettered money printing that rules the world today, there is a lifeboat that can lead them to greener, more optimistic pastures. It is imperative that we help Gen Z realize this before it's too late.
Becca Rubenfeld from AnchorWatch and I explored how Bitcoin's evolving price dynamics could accelerate institutional adoption. She argued that if Bitcoin transitions from volatile four-year cycles to a "slow grind up," traditional finance institutions can more easily model and integrate it into their products. This predictable appreciation pattern, rather than 80% drawdowns, allows banks and lenders to trust that Bitcoin holdings will maintain or increase in value over time.
"If TradFi can actually say, look, you have this much Bitcoin and sure there's some volatility, but we can trust that if you have this amount of Bitcoin a year from now, you'll still have this amount of Bitcoin or maybe it's going to be worth more." - Becca Rubenfeld
Becca noted that stable price action makes loan-to-value ratios and collateral calculations far more reliable for traditional lenders. Products like Battery Finance's Bitcoin-backed loans can work in either scenario, but institutional comfort increases dramatically with reduced volatility. This shift from speculation to steady appreciation could be the key to unlocking the next wave of financial products built on Bitcoin.
Check out the full podcast here for more on wrench attack insurance, inheritance protocols and qualified custody requirements.
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Final thought...
Train vibing.
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