AI isn’t just another tech cycle. It’s colliding with geopolitics, labor markets, crypto, and creator economies all at once.

In this episode of the Block Runner Podcast, we break down why the global landscape is shifting faster than most people realize. From delayed tariffs and geopolitical power struggles, to AI-driven job displacement, no-code engineering, and the rise of vibe coding, this conversation explores what actually matters beneath the noise.

We connect the dots between AI infrastructure, resource bottlenecks, robotics, and why this moment feels eerily similar to early crypto. Except this time, execution is possible. We also dig into where crypto still fits, how AI agents interact with crypto rails, and why new business models like creator capital markets are emerging.

To close it out, we run a live Doom deathmatch on Track to demonstrate peer-to-peer infrastructure in action, then share updates on NAT, community conviction, and why long-term alignment still wins.

If you’re trying to understand where AI, crypto, and creators intersect next, this episode is for you.

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We unpack how DMT, NAT, and AI-powered creation are converging into a new creator economy that looks fundamentally different from previous cycles. The conversation starts with a simple but critical idea: signal matters more than vibes, especially in markets driven by narratives.

As AI tools collapse the distance between ideas and execution, the definition of “building” is changing in real time. What once required teams, capital, and long timelines can now be prototyped, iterated, and shipped by small groups or even individuals. That shift has major implications for creators, platforms, and monetization models across crypto and beyond.

We explore DMT not as a buzzword, but as a production engine that enables creators to move faster, experiment more freely, and participate meaningfully in emerging markets. Along the way, we discuss community-driven building, vibe coding, and why some level of saturation is not a failure, but a necessary phase of discovery.

The episode closes by examining creator monetization through the lens of platforms like OnlyFans, not as a destination, but as an early signal of where creator capital markets are heading. The real opportunity lies in aligning incentives, lowering production costs, and building systems that reward contribution over hype.

This conversation isn’t about predicting the next trend. It’s about understanding what works before the market catches on.

First episode of 2026 and we’re setting the frame for what matters this year: AI is hitting escape velocity, “creation” is getting commoditized, and that changes everything from business models to the metaverse thesis.

We talk through the cultural shift (the 2025 existential turn), why low-sentiment periods are when you should be paying the most attention, and how social media incentives reward overreaction. Then we zoom out to the macro: metals ripping, Bitcoin lag dynamics, and what a “real” 2026 setup could look like.

On the crypto side, we dig into the creator coin debate and why the fan-to-investor switch breaks expectations, using the Nick Shirley Zora post as a live case study. Finally, we share our north star: a world where CoinGecko has an “NAT” tab, non-arbitrary tokens become a real market category, and miners distributing NAT becomes the moment the market can’t ignore.

2025 wasn’t a failed bull market. It was the start of a structural bear.

In this episode, we break down why Bitcoin holding the “blue zone” may signal maturity rather than weakness, and why that shift breaks many of the assumptions crypto has relied on for the last decade. Slower upside, collapsing speculative volume, and pressure on miners aren’t anomalies — they’re consequences.

We revisit the biggest signals from this cycle: Trumpcoin, treasury-company leverage, crypto AI hype, and why on-chain activity quietly evaporated. Then we pivot into AI-generated content, dissecting a viral video that fooled millions and what it reveals about authenticity, persuasion, and trust in the AI era.

From there, we look ahead to 2026: – Miner revenue compression and Bitcoin’s security budget problem – Why “fees will fix it” isn’t enough – Neobanking + stablecoins as the real onboarding wave – Regulation turning crypto into structured internet capital markets

We close with the NAT thesis: Bitcoin’s long-term sustainability depends on a second subsidy. NAT is explored as a non-arbitrary, miner-aligned solution with a clear catalyst timeline (V1, V2, adoption, flywheel).

This isn’t about hype. It’s about whether crypto becomes infrastructure — or breaks under its own assumptions.

We break down the viral “crypto is dead” take and what it actually means: the industry can’t rely on hype, memes, and casino mechanics forever. We talk about why stablecoins may be crypto’s biggest real-world win, how speculation still funds infrastructure, and why this cycle feels different as AI pulls capital (and attention) into a new “imagination phase.”

We also cover why builders need to ship real products (not just tokens), how authenticity becomes the new premium in an AI world, and why every project may end up running a podcast as the best distribution engine.

Plus: updates on NAT and Bitcoin’s long-term miner security budget problem, including a recent Twitter Space conversation with Cinco and what miner adoption signals to watch next.

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