Sam Lyman on the Digital Payments Race Between the US and China

Sam Lyman is the head of research at the Bitcoin Policy Institute and formerly was a senior advisor and speechwriter for Treasury Secretary Bessent. In Sam's first appearance on the show, he discusses Secretary Bessent's secret skill, the competition in the digital payments space between the US and China, why the strategic Bitcoin reserve is important, what the future of Bitcoin holds, where things stand with the CLARITY Act, the Q Day conundrum, whether Satoshi Yakamoto is alive or dead, where Sam thinks the anti-AI sentiment is coming from, and much more.

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Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on May 21st, 2026

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:49 - Sam's Career