Field Notes · 6 Aug 2026
Best explained
Bitcoin underperformed a software-sector rebound because the market now prices it as a software asset: it was punished like a software stock during the drawdown but did not recover with software when software bounced.
By the numbers
Situational Awareness AUM surged from $9.3B in March 2026 to $20B+ in June 2026 to $45B in July 2026 before blowing up, yet the fund remained up at least 80%.
New today — Evidence added
Since Bitcoin peaked last October, cumulative Bitcoin ETF outflows reached $10.4 billion at their maximum, with $9.3 billion (nearly 90%) occurring in the final two-month stretch alone.
Michael BatnickNew today — Sharp calls
Tokenized equities structured as SPV debt instruments (the current dominant model) will never attract trillion-dollar institutional flows because large holders will demand direct share ownership.
BanklessElm is currently net underweight equities and overweight fixed income by approximately 10%.
Victor HaghaniUS corporate earnings cannot grow 25% annually for several years because earnings would then represent approximately 50% of GDP, versus the historical share of 6-8%.
Victor HaghaniStarCloud's deployable radiator achieves 500x lower cost per watt of dissipation than the ISS radiator.
Philip JohnstonNew today — Useful context
Pete Buttigieg on the US tax code structurally subsidizing job automation over human labor.
Pete ButtigiegTool watch
StarCloud. Building space-based data centers using deployable radiators, with a 88,000-satellite FCC filing, proprietary GPU radiation-failure data, and a target to compete with terrestrial data centers by end of 2028.
Worth quoting
“I've reduced my exposure to the technology sector. The index weight is 37%. I'm at 25.”Barry Knapp
“Open Weights eliminates software licensing costs. They do not eliminate physics.”Nathaniel Whittemore
“Look for something where the model succeeds 0% or 1% of the time not 20%.”Jeff Dean
“It was more energy than every star in every galaxy in the observable universe.”Michelle Thaller
“This interest rate model thing is the most stupid thing we've ever seen.”Paul Frambot
“It's never taken us more than a few hours to jailbreak a openweight model.”Adam Gleave