Jerry Dwyer on the History of Free Banking and the Future of Bitcoin

Jerry Dwyer is a professor emeritus of economics at Clemson, a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and is currently a senior fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute. In Jerry’s first appearance on the show, he discusses what it was like having Milton Friedman as a mentor, the history of free banking, the status of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on July 22nd, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Jerry on X: @GPDwyer Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:24 - Jerry’s Career 00:12:01 - Free Banking Period 00:28:37 - Bitcoin and Stablecoins 00:55:44 - Outro

Hester Peirce is a current commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission and serves on its crypto task force. Hester returns to the show to discuss her time and role at the SEC, the SEC evolving role in the regulation landscape, the problems with our current state of the financial surveillance, the state of crypto for a regulator’s perspective, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on August 11th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Hester on X: @HesterPeirce Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:56 - Hester’s Career 00:07:57 - Peanut Butter and Watermelon 00:17:37 - Crypto Mom 00:20:49 - GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act 00:22:47 - Crypto Task Force 00:24:04 - Feedback 00:26:53 - Being an SEC Commissioner 00:31:24 - Lane Drifting 00:37:31 - Dissent 00:40:20 - SEC Moving Forward 00:47:03 - Outro

Robin Brooks is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Robin returns to the show to discuss his previous appearance in March of 2020, life at a think tank, the changing or not-so-much status of the dollar, Trump’s trade war, the current landscape of geoeconomics and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on August 7th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Robin on X: @Robin_J_Brooks Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:50 - Looking Back at the Pandemic War and Fiscal Dominance 00:07:07 - Robin’s Career: From Wall Street to Think Tank 00:18:53 - The Status of the US Dollar 00:27:28 - The Trade War 00:32:40 - Deglobalization 00:39:29 - Geoeconomics 00:47:28 - Secondary Sanctions 00:55:23 - Outro

Aditi Sahasrabuddhe is a political scientist at Brown University and the author of the new book, Banker’s Trust: How Social Relations Avert Global Financial Collapse. In Aditi’s first appearance on the show, she discusses how central bankers’ relationships in the 1920’s impacted the global economy, how the ending of those relationships played a part in the Great Depression, how we can apply those principles to the Great Recession and the present, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on July 30th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:50 - Aditi’s Intellectual Journey 00:03:57 - Louis Franck at the National Bank of Belgium 00:05:46 - Relationships and Crisis 00:11:07 - Central Bank Club 00:17:06 - Central Bankers and the Butterfly Effect 00:22:33 - Montagu Norman and Benjamin Strong 00:32:06 - Émile Moreau 00:34:48 - Japan 00:38:11 - Benjamin Strong and the Great Depression 00:48:55 - Great Financial Crisis 00:51:18 - India 00:55:25 - Jerome Powell the Central Banker 00:58:23 - Outro

Will Luther is an associate professor of economics at Florida Atlantic University and a fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute. Josh Hendrickson is a professor of economics and the chair of the economics department at the University of Mississippi. Josh is also a fellow at BPI. Will and Josh return to the show to defend the idea of a strategic Bitcoin reserve, discuss the future of Bitcoin, and contend with the problem of Bitcoiners, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 25th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Will Luther on X: @WilliamJLuther Follow Josh Hendrickson on X: @RebelEconProf Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:39 - Strategic Bitcoin Reserve 00:23:33 - Future of Bitcoin 00:45:07 - Scaling Bitcoin 00:50:46 - Outro

Rashad Ahmed is a former Treasury and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency financial economist and is currently an economist at the upstart Andresen Institute for Finance and Economics. In Rashad’s first appearance on the show, he discusses the real-world impacts of the GENIUS Act, what US stablecoin regulation means for the rest of the world, the state of crypto adoption, and much more.   Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 27th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Rashad Ahmed on X: @VARshad_ Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Bumper 00:00:31 - Intro 00:01:44 - Rashad’s Career 00:07:33 - Global State of Crypto 00:23:48 - Stablecoins and Safe Asset Prices 00:40:00 - Sovereign Default Risk and Cryptocurrency Adoption 00:56:51 - Outro

Paul Kupiec is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. In Paul’s first appearance on the show, he discusses life at a think tank, the insolvency of the Fed, theories on how to fix the Fed’s balance sheet, Ted Cruz’s call to end interest on reserves, and much more.  Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 24th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:14 - Paul’s Career 00:08:12 - Think Tanks 00:10:42 - Current State of the Fed’s Balance Sheet 00:20:22 - The Federal Reserve and Gold 00:23:04 - The Fed’s Unique Accounting 00:39:28 - Ending Interest on Reserve Payments to Banks 00:50:08 - Outro

Check out David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus for a special 500th episode post! George Hall is a professor of economics at Brandeis University and formerly worked as an economist at the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. George returns to the show to discuss the current fiscal status of the US, how the Big Beautiful Bill will impact the fiscal outlook going forward, the history of running deficits in the US, and much more.  Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 24th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow George on X: @George_J_Hall Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Bumper 00:00:29 - Intro 00:01:55 - Current US Fiscal Status 00:05:45 - What Is Inflation? 00:10:18 - Fiscal Consequences of the US War with COVID 00:23:21 - World War COVID 00:25:05 - Before and After War 00:34:02 - Financing with Inflation 00:38:47 - World War II Period vs. Today 00:38:47 - World War II Period vs. Today 00:44:19 - Who Bears the Fed’s Losses? 00:47:14 - How to Foot the Big, Beautiful Bill 00:52:10 - Outro

Ben Harris served in numerous high-ranking roles as a public sector economist and is now the vice president and director of economic studies at the Brooking Institution. In Ben’s first appearance on the show, he discusses the fiscal health of the US government, including the rising primary deficient, the impact of the Big Beautiful Bill, the proposition of stablecoins and AI as a solution to our debt, his love of basketball and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 18th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Ben on X: @econ_harris Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:01 - Ben’s Career 00:05:18 - Fiscal Health of the United States 00:07:57 - Big Beautiful Bill 00:12:15 - Debts and Deficits 00:14:47 - Costs and Risks of the Rising US Debt 00:37:05 - Stablecoins as a Potential Solution to US Debt 00:41:49 - Debt Ceiling 00:50:02 - AI and the Economy 00:54:58 - Outro

Luis Garicano is a former member of the European Parliament and a professor at the London School of Economics. In Luis’s first appearance on the show he discusses his new book, Crisis Cycle: Challenges, Evolution, and the future of the Euro, the ever-changing landscape of digital money, his suggested reforms to the Euro, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 18th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Luis on X: @lugaricano Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:55 - Future of Money 00:08:46 - Bank Regulation 00:12:51 - Stablecoins 00:23:35 - Crisis Cycle 00:56:05 - Outro