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&#x27;s first appearance on the show, he discusses Secretary Bessent&#x27;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. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week&#x27;s episode, now with links. Recorded on May 21st, 2026 Subscribe to David&#x27;s Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Sam on X: @SamLyman33 Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:49 - Sam&#x27;s Career 00:05:37 - Nation-States and Digital Payments 00:14:40 - Strategic Bitcoin Reserve 00:18:29 - Future of Bitcoin 00:24:27 - Bitcoin vs. Dollar-Based Stablecoins 00:38:32 - Update on the CLARITY Act 00:44:48 - Quantum Computing 00:49:34 - Satoshi Yakamoto 00:52:20 - Foreign Campaign Against AI 00:57:44 - Outro

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

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

[SPEAKER_A] Welcome to Macro Musings, where each week we pull back the curtain and take a closer look at the most important macroeconomic issues of the past, present, and future. I am your host, David Beckworth, a senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. And I'm glad you've decided to join us. Our guest today is Sam Lyman. Sam is the head of research at the Bitcoin Policy Institute. Formerly, he was a senior advisor and a speechwriter for Treasury Secretary Bessent. He joins us today to give us the lay of the land on the different visions for the digital payments space for the US versus China, as well as some of the issues surrounding it. Sam, welcome to the show.

[SPEAKER_B] Thanks, David. It's great to be here.

[SPEAKER_A] It's great to have you on, and I love having someone who kind of paint the broad picture for us, what's going on from a national security, a state perspective, as well as some of the more granular issues we'll get into as well. Let's begin though with your work at Treasury. Tell us what it was like to work there and what did you do?

[SPEAKER_B] Working at Treasury was a thrill. There was never a dull day as you could imagine between Liberation Day and the one big beautiful bill to implementation of new trade policies. It was one of the most rewarding professional experiences of my life. Secretary Bessent is an extremely talented operator. He runs the building sort of like a hedge fund given his career. And so there's a very high expectation of performance there. And what was interesting working with him just a side note, is that other than being a financial genius, he's an incredibly good writer.

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

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

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

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.