E14: Balaji Srinivasan on the Fiat Crisis, Russia, and China.
01:19:39 Share

In this episode, Erik sits down with Balaji Srinivasan to discuss the Fiat Crisis, geopolitics, conspiracies, and the signs of decline for a hyperpower. Balaji is an angel investor, tech founder, philosopher, and author of The Network State. He was formerly the CTO of Coinbase. This riveting conversation is, in many aspects, a follow-up to his appearance on Moment of Zen (see links below). If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/UPSTREAM)

Upstream is part of the Turpentine podcast network. To learn about sponsorships, email [email protected] or head to www.turpentine.co)

--

We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com).

ICYMI: Moment of Zen w/ Balaji Srinivasan: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6tk6DbkVhBlDp1hh8wzIEM?si=NA-oZU6NT7iNTKhX1ixoCQ)

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:40) What is happening with the Fiat Crisis?

(08:52) Balaji’s equivalent premises

(11:07) God, State, Network

(12:45) Irrational adherence to principles

(15:12) Sponsors: Secureframe

(16:16) Hyperpower wars 1991-2021

(20:05) Economic conclusions

(23:12) Blue America is at war with the world

(28:30) Cancellation is a weak form of warfare

(32:35) Red vs Blue vs Grey America 

(38:00) Make America states again

(39:47) America and India parallels in reverse

(43:10) Can America turn around after the next election?

(44:25) America and China and Russia | Microsoft and Facebook and Google

(46:55) How people react to Balaji’s China stance

(52:00) History between Russia and Japan

(57:25) Conspiracies

(01:04:35) Balaji’s predictions for 2024 & the Fed

(01:11:41) Replacing the Dollar network

TWITTER:

Balaji’s Twitter: @balajis

Erik’s Twitter: @eriktorenberg

Upstream : @upstream__pod

SPONSOR:

Please support our sponsors: Beehiiv | Shopify | **Secureframe **

Head to Beehiiv, the newsletter platform built for growth, to power your own. Connect with premium brands, scale your audience, and deliver a beautiful UX that stands out in an inbox. 🐝to https://Beehiiv.com) and use code "UPSTREAM" for 20% off your first three months.

Shopify: https://shopify.com/torenberg) for a $1/month trial period

Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all ecommerce in the US. And Shopify's the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one ecommerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/torenberg).

Secureframe https://secureframe.com/)

Secureframe is the leading all-in-one platform for security and privacy compliance. Get SOC-2 audit ready in weeks, not months. I believe in Secureframe so much that I invested in it, and I recommend it to all my portfolio companies. Sign up for a free demo and mention UPSTREAM during your demo to get 20% off your first year. Secureframe has just released Secureframe Trust, a new product that lets you showcase your organization's security posture to build customer trust.