The Fed Can’t Escape Rate Hikes. They’re Hunting The $320M Bitcoin Hacker

Blockstream is refusing to pay a ransom to recover 600 Bitcoin — worth roughly $46 million — stolen from the Liquid Network, and the community is split on whether that stance is principled or just bad negotiating. Meanwhile, inflation came in hotter than expected, sending Fed rate hike odds surging past 90% on both CME futures and Polymarket, and Brent crude blew past $108 a barrel. In this episode: • August CPI rose 0.4% after only 0.1% in July, pushing traders to price in a near-certain 25 basis point Fed hike; the hosts debate whether core inflation data actually justifies it or whether energy prices are doing the real work. • Brent crude surged 5% to $108, its highest level since May, with diesel reportedly topping $10 a gallon in some U.S. markets — the crew argues rate hikes can't fix a supply-side oil shock. • Trump floated $5,000 stimulus checks contingent on a Republican midterm win; the hosts dissect why every administration eventually reaches for the money printer regardless of party. • Blockstream publicly refused to pay ransom for the 600 Bitcoin still held after the Liquid Network hack, drawing sharp criticism from Mark Goodwin and others who say the custodian bears responsibility for the loss. • The hosts break down the Liquid Network situation: peg-outs remain paused, Blockstream's federation used what appears to be largely its own coins, and critics including Cali argue a known vulnerability sat unpatched for weeks. • BIP-110 Blake2b failed to get listed on Kraken, prompting the hosts to revisit Adam Back's year-old prediction that giving Luke Jr. unchecked authority would backfire quickly. • Ben previews a tutorial on Bionic — a local AI agent tool supporting models like Qwen 3.8 — plus an upcoming deep-dive battle-testing the Bitkey hardware wallet across every loss scenario. Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/NHuEKZ5MXI0