The Empire Goes Crypto

It’s undoubtedly because Bitcoin 2025 is underway in Vegas, but we’ve got crypto and AI on the brain today.

You’ve seen cycles before — some a slow burn, others a flash fire.

But every once in a while, something deeper stirs. Not just another shift in the gears… a swap of the gearbox itself. Institutions are faltering. And something untested, fast, and unconcerned with precedent is rising in their place.

That’s where we are now.

This morning, as policy meets protocol and fiat gets the side-eye, the message is loud: authority is migrating — out of banks and agencies, and into wallets, ledgers, and algorithms.

Let’s get to it…

The Bitcoin Effect: In A Corporate Treasury Near You

The number of publicly traded companies holding BTC has climbed from 89 to 114 just this month. Price? Up 50% to nearly $112,000.

GameStop (yes, that one) just snapped up $500 million worth. Trump Media is raising $2.5 billion to start its own bitcoin treasury. They’re following the lead of Strategy — formerly MicroStrategy — which now holds over 580,000 coins, valued at $62 billion.

Strategy stock is up 500% over the past year.

These aren’t speculative bets. They’re insurance policies. Against fiat erosion. Against political meddling. Against pretending that money printing doesn’t matter.

Crypto Has Entered the Chat—From the White House

 VP JD Vance took the stage at Bitcoin 2025 and pledged federal deregulation of crypto — particularly stablecoins. It wasn’t just a friendly wink to the crowd. The Trump family controls USD1, a major stablecoin.

Catch the inside scoop during Grey Swan Live!today at 11 am EST — Andrew Packer is joining us from the Vegas frontlines.

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America’s About to Burn — For Real This Time

Addison Wiggin, one of Time’s “Armageddon” gang, says he’s uncovered a $7 trillion plot to financially RESET America from the inside out.

He calls it The GREAT RESET. And according to Addison, phase 1 is well underway.

But what comes next in phase 2 is going to blindside millions of everyday Americans and shake this country to its core.

Those who aren’t prepared, could be financially devastated. But those who see it coming will have the chance to completely transform their financial future.

Go here now to make sure you’re on the right side of THE GREAT RESET.

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Trump Tariffs Smacked by the Courts

Yesterday, a federal trade court told Trump he went too far. His invocation of the 1977 IEEPA law to enforce sweeping tariffs didn’t meet the “extraordinary threat” threshold. Translation: trade deficits don’t give presidents unlimited powers.

Amid cries of deep state of lawfare, most of Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” are now frozen pending appeal.

If you’re watching the media, too, you’ll see this: the “TACO” trade.

It’s an increasingly popular Wall Street strategy to buy stocks after Trump tariff headlines, assuming Trump Always Chickens Out (TACO) and stocks rally big afterward.

Musk Fought the Swamp… guess who won.

Elon Musk confirmed he’s winding down his role as President Trump’s formal adviser, effectively stepping back from his headline-making post at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The timing follows Musk’s criticism of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” for ignoring the ballooning deficit and with it, nearly all of DOGE’s findings — an awkward rift for two men once in policy lockstep.

Tesla investors welcomed the retreat, sending shares higher this week as the company angles for a new growth narrative.

Meanwhile, the future of DOGE looks uncertain.

The department — slated to sunset by July 4, 2026 — has yet to name a successor, and its legacy is already under scrutiny. While it claims $175 billion in budget savings, its publicly posted “Wall of Receipts” only documents 42% of that figure.

And the deficit balloons on.

The Bond Market Is Registering Its Dismay

The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield is brushing up against 5%. JPMorgan says investors are shorting long-dated U.S. debt at the highest rate since 2008. In Japan, super-long bonds took a nosedive last week.

This isn’t some jitter. It’s a broad message from global capital: if you keep piling on deficits and selling debt like it’s candy, don’t expect bondholders to eat it up forever.

(We covered the red flags the bond market is waving in last week’s Grey Swan Live! paid members will want to review here.)

Nvidia Didn’t Miss—Even Without China

 Nvidia reported $44.1 billion in revenue and $18.8 billion in profit yesterday — a 69% year-over-year surge. And that’s with China mostly off the table.

CEO Jensen Huang warned that banning U.S. chips from China could backfire. But investors didn’t flinch. Nvidia is minting money, leading the AI charge, and stacking margins like pancakes at a truck stop.

Still, this rally has teeth — but it also has froth. All our caveats regarding the AI bubble apply. Keep both eyes open.

The Machines Are Working Overtime

 Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stirred up the suits this week with an Axios interview forecasting that generative AI could kill off half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within five years.

Not someday — but soon. It’s not a dystopian bedtime story. It’s already baked into hiring data and product roadmaps.

Sam Altman, Amodei’s old boss at OpenAI, went further. He now says one person — using AI — can build and run a billion-dollar company on their own. The “Intelligence Age” is here, and it’s quietly eating the lunch of institutions that still send memos by fax.

If you’re still evaluating AI as a novelty, you’re missing the point. It’s not a trend. It’s leverage.

McKinsey Joins the Great White-Collar Purge

 As if on cue, the corporate consulting firm McKinsey announced it’s trimming more than 10% of its staff. Deloitte and Booz Allen are also downsizing.

Between AI automating junior roles and government contracts drying up — thanks in part to Musk’s DOGE project — consulting is getting a reality check. McKinsey says it’s “still hiring.” Sure. And Blockbuster was still “restructuring” in 2010.

Consulting isn’t dead. But the billable headcount model is limping.

Texas Rolls Out the Red Carpet—With Fine Print

 The Lone Star State wants Hollywood’s attention — offering $1.5 billion in incentives to bring film, TV, and game studios to Texas. But here’s the catch: if you take the money, you can’t badmouth the state.

The bill is backed by native Texans Matthew McConaughey, Taylor Sheridan, and Woody Harrelson. Critics call it a First Amendment muzzle. Investors? They’re watching how this model — tax credits with messaging strings — might become the new standard in regional film finance.

There’s no doubt. The empire is in transition. Not decline. Not yet, anyway. Definitely upheaval. Under the strain of Trump’s aggressive agenda, institutions are cracking, money is morphing, and the rules of engagement are being rewritten. Intentionally, so.

This is why we call the chaos window.

If you’re a thinking man managing his nest egg through this storm, here’s the honest truth: right now, survival isn’t about certainty. It’s about clarity. For now, you don’t need to know how it all ends. You just need to see what’s unfolding.

The AI transformation isn’t optional. Use it.

Bitcoin isn’t a meme — it’s a statement of monetary dissent. Understand it. Bonds aren’t risk-free anymore. Reposition. And politics? That’s just another asset class now — volatile, opaque, and increasingly tokenized.

The good news: chaos windows don’t last forever. But those who navigate them well shape what comes next. Enjoy.

~ Addison