Who Really Controls the Dollar? | Jeff Snider

What if everything you thought about the dollar was wrong? Monetary historian Jeff Snider joins Bankless to deliver a radical thesis: the Federal Reserve doesn't control the U.S. dollar; a sprawling offshore system of interbank ledger money does. This hidden network, known as the Eurodollar system, is the real engine of global finance, and it’s been breaking down for over 15 years. In this episode, we unpack how Eurodollars work, why the Fed lost control, the eerie similarities between stablecoins and shadow banking, and why Jeff sees a “Silent Depression,” masked by asset booms but driven by deflationary forces. If you’ve been bullish on crypto because of debasement fears, Jeff’s counter-narrative might challenge everything you believe. --- 📣SPOTIFY PREMIUM RSS FEED | USE CODE: SPOTIFY24 https://bankless.cc/spotify-premium --- BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle --- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 5:30 Who’s Actually in Charge of the Dollar? 12:55 Stablecoins vs. Eurodollars 21:19 Did the Fed Ever Have Control? 30:02 Eurodollar Demand & Market Forces 38:24 What Backs a Eurodollar? 46:38 The Silent Depression Since 2008 52:58 From Fed Power to $6 Trillion Lost 58:45 Jeff’s Portfolio Thesis 1:05:24 “There’s No Debasement” 1:14:19 The Jeff Snider Portfolio ------ RESOURCES Jeff Snider https://x.com/JeffSnider_EDU Eurodollar University https://www.eurodollar.university/ --- Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures