Best of the best: Top 2024 lessons from Forward Guidance

One big learning was how high interest rates were actually making inflation worse, rather than deterring it

article-image

Forward Guidance host Felix Jauvin | Permissionless III by Mike Lawrence for Blockworks

share

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


Before we get into the groove and craziness of 2025, I want to reflect on my favorite interviews and biggest takeaways of 2024.

Warren Mosler is the father and pioneer of the modern monetary theory (MMT) movement, and has very unique views compared to traditional macroeconomic thinking. I had him on the show as I wanted to understand his views of the current economic environment. 

One big learning was how high interest rates were actually making inflation worse, rather than deterring it. When debt levels become as elevated as they are, interest payments made to Treasury holders act as income. 

Therefore, to Warren, for inflation to come down the Fed needs to actually cut rates.

Jeff Park is the head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise and an absolute powerhouse on all things options and derivatives. We sat down right as options on the US spot bitcoin ETFs started trading and had a fascinating 201-level discussion.

One of the biggest takeaways: Because crypto options marketplaces like Deribit operate 24/7 and ETF options hew to standard market hours, prices on each marketplace should actually be different. When there is more time for the option to trade (Theta), the probability of it expiring in the money is higher — which comes with a higher price for the option.

Dr. Stephen Miran is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and worked at the US Treasury during the last Trump Administration. He’s a leading academic on the potential economic impact of Trump’s incoming trade policies, namely around tariffs

I had Stephen on the show for an exclusive launch interview for his latest paper, in which he unpacked the mechanical impacts of what tariffs could do to the US economy. He highlighted them as a necessary tool to help the US alleviate symptoms of what he calls the Triffin’s Dilemma — the associated residual effects of what happens when a country’s money is the global reserve currency.

George Robertson is a veteran macro trader and a true maven.  He has a unique view on what drives the economy and markets. The core of his revolutionary view: The Fed has no actual impact on the economy in terms of its mechanical policy implementations; it’s almost entirely psychological. 

These episodes were my favorite because each guest held unorthodox views that they developed independently to become leading thinkers within their domains. 

As we head into another year of wicked episodes on Forward Guidance, I encourage you to revisit some of these truly excellent podcasts!


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

The convergence of DePIN and energy generation aims to address modern grid challenges by incentivizing distributed generation.

article-image

Togo activist Farida Nabourema is fighting back with Bitcoin

article-image

Roshan Robert told Blockworks that OKX brought him on back in September to plan out its US expansion

article-image

Could we stop using BTC to amplify our short-term risks — and start using it to hedge our long-term ones?

article-image

Sol Strategies will be the tokenized stock platform’s first listing

article-image

Craig Fuller, CEO and founder of FreightWaves, breaks down how tariffs are and will impact shipping and inventories

article-image

This limited-edition run of sparkling water is more for existing traders than crypto newcomers, but mainstream distribution is part of the plan.