"It’s a Rigged Game": Larry Lepard on the Moral Case for Bitcoin

In this episode, I sit down with investment manager and author Lawrence Lepard (The Big Print) to examine how America’s monetary system actually works—and why its failures increasingly feel moral, not just economic.Larry breaks down the Cantillon Effect: how Federal Reserve money creation and artificially low interest rates disproportionately benefit Wall Street, large financial institutions, and asset owners, while eroding the purchasing power of wages and savings on Main Street. What emerges is a system that rewards proximity to newly created money rather than productive contribution.We discuss what Larry calls the “Gradual Print” now underway—a slow but persistent expansion of the monetary base that avoids crisis headlines while steadily debasing the currency. To illustrate the scale of this debasement, he introduces the concept of a “shadow price” of gold: a theoretical calculation showing that gold would need to be priced near $90,000 per ounce to fully back today’s M2 money supply. This is not a near-term price forecast, but a framework for understanding how far the system has drifted from monetary discipline.The conversation also explores the historical origins of central banking, the moral hazards created by bailouts and credit expansion, and why Larry believes sound money is essential to restoring fairness, trust, and long-term stability. We conclude by discussing why he holds both gold and Bitcoin as protection against monetary debasement—and what a realistic transition to sound money could look like.Topics Discussed:- The "Rigged" Game: How low interest rates and bailouts favor the elite banks.- The Big Print vs. Gradual Print: Why the Fed is trapped and what comes next.- The $90,000 Gold Calculation: What the price of gold would be if it backed today's money supply.- Bitcoin vs. Gold: Why Larry holds both to protect purchasing power.- The Solution: How we transition to sound money and a fairer system.Thank you very much to our sponsors: Truflation: BUY Truflation products/services and save 10% using code BOBDEW10. Learn about what prices are actually doing by going to https://truflation.com/Foundation: Protect your Bitcoin using the latest off-line technology with easy-to-use Passport. Their next product, Passport Prime will protect all passwords off-line with even-better technology. https://foundation.xyz/River Financial: If not cold storage for your Bitcoin, I’d highly recommend River for buying and holding- River is engineered to protect your Bitcoin over the long run. Use this link for discounts: https://river.com/signup?r=T7GGAF7GTimestamps: 00:00 - Intro 03:38 - The "Moral Crusade": Why the System is Unfair 07:04 - The Cantillon Effect: How Banks Rigged the Game 13:13 - Larry’s "Radicalization" (The GFC Moment) 17:15 - The "Gradual Print" vs. The "Big Print" 26:49 - The End of the Dollar Reserve Currency? 34:15 - The Secret Meeting at Jekyll Island (Fed History) 46:16 - The Solution: How We Transition to Sound Money 52:01 - The Michael Saylor 2032 Prediction 56:51 - The Debt-to-Gold Ratio & The $90k "Shadow Price" 1:03:14 - Volatility & The "God Candle": Why Selling is Dangerous 1:08:22 - Bitcoin vs. Gold: Which to Buy Now? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertdewey3.substack.com/subscribe