Bitcoin, Texas Stock Exchange, States' Rights, IQ, and Nostr: Rob Long Returns

About this episode

Vance welcomes back longtime friend Rob Long for a wide-ranging conversation covering Bitcoin's political moment (Trump's pro-Bitcoin turn, the SEC's SAB 21 rule effectively barring banks from custodying Bitcoin, ETF adoption as a stepping stone to self-custody), the proposed Texas Stock Exchange as a decentralizing challenge to New York's financial dominance, and states asserting sovereignty against the federal government (National Guard deployments, coordinated AG lawsuits). They dig into Bitcoin mining's unique relationship to energy — it can locate anywhere, absorb curtailed/stranded power, and act as an "anchor customer" for developing-economy grids (Rob draws a comparison to Kenya) — contrasted with AI's inflexible, always-on power demand. A long middle section explores IQ stratification in modern society: the claim that most white-collar/bureaucratic workers rarely encounter people below IQ 100 (half the population), the overvaluing of "typing into a computer" abstract work versus real-world physical/mechanical competence, and a call to not lose touch with "real things in the real world." Personal threads include Rob's "100 books, read 10 times" philosophy (Obsidian-tracked ratings, tallest-to-shortest bookshelf ordering), reading to kids (Wizard of Oz, Black Beauty, Ada Twist Scientist), and Rob's fossil-collecting hobby explaining 300-400 million year old Missouri limestone and crinoids. The back half is a detailed primer on Nostr — a decentralized protocol (not platform) for cryptographically signed, relay-distributed messaging that Rob is adapting for podcast/RSS migration, aiming to let listeners see curated feeds/ratings from trusted people without a captive-platform lock-in (unlike Twitter/Spotify). They close on why Bitcoin, as a topic, provokes groans in casual conversation versus other niche interests, and on the "epoch" framing of Bitcoin adoption (inventors → enthusiasts → ETF-driven mainstream → eventual self-custody).

Key moments

• [00:00] Cold open on IQ stratification and social small talk.
• [04:00] Rob's reading philosophy: "100 books, read 10 times" vs. "1,000 books once."
• [15:00] Trump's pro-Bitcoin pivot; SAB 21 and the effective 200% reserve requirement discouraging bank custody of Bitcoin.
• [19:00] Bitcoin mining vs. AI data centers: curtailable vs. always-on power demand.
• [20:30] Energy/Bitcoin geographic decoupling — "exporting hash rate rather than energy itself."
• [22:30] Kenya example: Bitcoin mining solves the chicken-and-egg problem of building electricity ahead of demand.
• [25:00] Texas Stock Exchange as a competitor to NYSE; New York's regulatory "bit license" moat.
• [29:00] States' rights bloc — National Guard to the border, coordinated AG lawsuits.
• [41:00] IQ stratification: "50% of the population" below IQ 100; overspecialization risk.