Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
🚨 CHECK OUT TBL PULSE: thebitcoinlayer.com
In this episode, Nik welcomes Ben Justman, founder of Peony Lane Wine in Paonia, Colorado, the highest wine region in North America. Ben explains how he learned winemaking on his father's farm, why high elevation and dry farming shape his Pinot Noir, and why the 73 ingredients American winemakers can add without putting them on a label led Nik to call it fiat wine. Ben shares that 30 to 50% of his customers pay in bitcoin. Nik covers why the Treasury buybacks are not material, why Bessent has said the United States needs to move away from reserve currency status, and why he now calls him the Secretary of Financial War.
The Bitcoin Layer is proud to be sponsored by SOUND HSA. A Health Savings Account is the most tax-advantaged account in the US tax code: contributions are tax-deductible, growth is tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified healthcare expenses are tax-free too. But most people leave their HSA sitting in cash, losing purchasing power year after year. SOUND HSA lets you hold real bitcoin inside your HSA instead. Not an ETF, not a paper claim, but real bitcoin secured in multi-institutional, multi-signature cold storage. Use code TBL to waive the fifty-dollar setup fee. Transfer an existing HSA or open a new one today: soundhsa.com
Timestamps:
00:00 A winery partnership and the TBL liquidity box
01:42 Growing up on his father's farm
05:28 High elevation wine at 5,700 feet
09:28 Dry farming and why struggling grapes make better wine
19:05 The 2023 vintage and years of frozen vines
22:24 The 73 ingredients allowed in American wine
24:16 Drinking fiat wine, and why 1973 changed California
30:07 The TBL liquidity box and TBL Pro
34:46 Why 30 to 50% of his customers pay in bitcoin
39:19 bitcoin as both a store of value and money
43:48 What this bear market taught Ben
48:12 Why the Treasury buybacks are not material
50:20 Bessent on moving away from reserve currency status
54:53 The 1951 Fed Treasury Accord and capping yields
57:03 Why Bessent is now the Secretary of Financial War
58:24 Real bears in the vineyard
01:00:47 Where to buy the wine
📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm.
▶️ Subscribe and turn on notifications for TBL on YouTube.
🎙 Subscribe to The Bitcoin Layer on your favorite podcast platform.
🐦 Follow TBL on X: /thebitcoinlayer
Nik Bhatia's Twitter: /timevalueofbtc
Researcher Demian Schatt's Twitter: https://x.com/demianschatt
Lead Statistician Augustine Carrasco Twitter: https://x.com/AugustineCarrB
🚨 CHECK OUT TBL PULSE: thebitcoinlayer.com
In this episode, Nik welcomes Ben Justman, founder of Peony Lane Wine in Paonia, Colorado, the highest wine region in North America. Ben explains how he learned winemaking on his father's farm, why high elevation and dry farming shape his Pinot Noir, and why the 73 ingredients American winemakers can add without putting them on a label led Nik to call it fiat wine. Ben shares that 30 to 50% of his customers pay in bitcoin. Nik covers why the Treasury buybacks are not material, why Bessent has said the United States needs to move away from reserve currency status, and why he now calls him the Secretary of Financial War.
The Bitcoin Layer is proud to be sponsored by SOUND HSA. A Health Savings Account is the most tax-advantaged account in the US tax code: contributions are tax-deductible, growth is tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified healthcare expenses are tax-free too. But most people leave their HSA sitting in cash, losing purchasing power year after year. SOUND HSA lets you hold real bitcoin inside your HSA instead. Not an ETF, not a paper claim, but real bitcoin secured in multi-institutional, multi-signature cold storage. Use code TBL to waive the fifty-dollar setup fee. Transfer an existing HSA or open a new one today: soundhsa.com
Timestamps:
00:00 A winery partnership and the TBL liquidity box
01:42 Growing up on his father's farm
05:28 High elevation wine at 5,700 feet
09:28 Dry farming and why struggling grapes make better wine
19:05 The 2023 vintage and years of frozen vines
22:24 The 73 ingredients allowed in American wine
24:16 Drinking fiat wine, and why 1973 changed California
30:07 The TBL liquidity box and TBL Pro
34:46 Why 30 to 50% of his customers pay in bitcoin
39:19 bitcoin as both a store of value and money
43:48 What this bear market taught Ben
48:12 Why the Treasury buybacks are not material
50:20 Bessent on moving away from reserve currency status
54:53 The 1951 Fed Treasury Accord and capping yields
57:03 Why Bessent is now the Secretary of Financial War
58:24 Real bears in the vineyard
01:00:47 Where to buy the wine
📊 The Bitcoin Layer is a bitcoin and global macroeconomic research firm.
▶️ Subscribe and turn on notifications for TBL on YouTube.
🎙 Subscribe to The Bitcoin Layer on your favorite podcast platform.
🐦 Follow TBL on X: /thebitcoinlayer
Nik Bhatia's Twitter: /timevalueofbtc
Researcher Demian Schatt's Twitter: https://x.com/demianschatt
Lead Statistician Augustine Carrasco Twitter: https://x.com/AugustineCarrB
