Clarity Act, 5 Currency Wars & Bitcoin’s Role

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Hey hey sovereign wealth builders.

If you’re following the mainstream media, you're being whipped into a frenzy right now, thinking World War III is just around the corner without understanding the who, what, or why. The current global environment is designed to create confusion. My core philosophy has always been simple: don't listen to the politicians or the media; they are lying. To understand the real story, you must follow the money.

This blog post is a summary of Part 1 from my recent livestream, which went live on the 16th of January 2026 across the Simon Dixon YouTube, X, and Rumble channels. The full broadcast was titled "Currency Wars, Power Struggles & Regime Change: The Real Global Wars Explained | SimonDixonHardTalk" and ran for a total of 3 hours and 39 minutes. The segment covered in this article, Part 1, had a duration of 1 hour and 22 minutes.

Here, we'll break down the Clarity Act and the five most important currency wars happening right now—in Iran, Venezuela, Ukraine, China, and a civil war within the US. More importantly, we'll explain Bitcoin's critical role in this emerging new world order.

1. Currency War 1: Iran - Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction

First, you must understand the primary weapon in modern conflict: sanctions. Sanctions are financial weapons of mass destruction. They work by restricting international demand for a nation's currency. With no one buying the currency, the government is forced to print more money to function, which creates a hyperinflationary cycle that systematically wipes out the savings of ordinary people. It's an attack designed to inflict maximum pain on the average person so that the FIC can create the civil unrest needed for their objectives.

The recent events in Iran are a textbook example. It began with the Financial Times—a mouthpiece for what I call the Financial Industrial Complex (FIC)—reporting that Iran was using cryptocurrency for weapons sales. This was done to precursor the actions they wanted to take next. Shortly after this narrative was established, the Iranian currency suddenly crashed by approximately 40%, driven by FIC-activated hedge funds. The media then reported that inflation had surged to 70%. Take that with a grain of salt. How could they possibly know that in real time?

They can't. These numbers are weaponized. The media whips up a frenzy, social media algorithms are activated—Elon starts using his covert regime change Technical Industrial Complex (TIC) operations—and you get a self-fulfilling prophecy. They push out "atrocity propaganda" assets, just like the "40 beheaded babies" lie, to weaponize people's emotions and turn them into useful idiots perpetuating the narrative. The net result is that real people's savings are completely destroyed.

These aren't just abstract numbers; they have a devastating human impact. In the last few days, I've been blown away by direct messages from Iranians who were prepared because they held Bitcoin in self-custody. Their savings, their lives, were protected from the currency collapse.

"Bitcoin and self-custody was literally life or death for some people."

This is not an exaggeration. During the last 12-day war, the Iranian Bitcoin exchange was hacked in order to cut people off from their funds at the most critical moment. Only those who held their own private keys were protected. And it was only those running their own nodes that could continue to transact when the internet was shut down. This is the difference between being a victim of the system and being sovereign.

2. Currency War 2: Venezuela - The Trojan Horse of Stablecoins

Let's look back at what happened in Venezuela in early 2025 for an even more insidious form of financial warfare. On January 5th, the leader of Venezuela, Maduro, was kidnapped. Just six days later, Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, froze $182 million in USDT held in Venezuelan wallets. This was executed with no court order, no due process, and no international coordination. It required only a single request to a single company.

Here is the counter-intuitive truth: sanctions were not designed to push Venezuela off the US dollar. Instead, they drove the nation directly onto a more controllable form of dollar infrastructure: USDT. Analysis shows that around 80% of Venezuela's oil settlements were being conducted in this stablecoin.

This created a perfect control mechanism. Every USDT is backed primarily by US government debt. The harder America sanctioned Venezuela, the more Venezuela was forced to finance American deficits just to conduct trade. Critically, every compliant stablecoin issuer must now build in a "kill switch" to freeze funds on command, a feature mandated by the GENIUS Act. So while USDT could be frozen with a single phone call, Bitcoin could not be touched without invasion and access to keys. Bitcoin in self-custody acquired legally in your own country is the peaceful resistance against proof of weapons with proof of work.

The geopolitical impact is massive. This event teaches other nations why they need sovereign Bitcoin wealth reserves. It also scares those same nations away from using USDT, which could accelerate global de-dollarization while simultaneously forcing deeper dollar-dependency on nations within Central and South America as the US empire shrinks to a regional power.

3. Currency War 3: Ukraine - Bitcoin as a Geopolitical Bargaining Chip

News emerging from the Russian media outlet Kommersant alleged that the US and Russia are discussing using the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant for Bitcoin mining. This is Europe's largest nuclear plant, seized by Russia on Ukrainian territory, and is a significant strategic asset.

If this is true, its significance cannot be overstated. It demonstrates that Bitcoin is now being used as a negotiation tool at the highest strategic levels between global superpowers. We are witnessing the real-world convergence of nuclear energy, geopolitics, and Bitcoin mining.

This has a fascinating historical parallel. During World War II, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) would simply re-assign ownership of gold between warring nations. Hitler would invade a country, and the BIS would change the label on gold bars stored in London or New York to say they now belonged to Germany. The revolutionary difference today is that with Bitcoin, these massive transfers of assets are verified on a public blockchain. This solves the custody issue that allowed for the backroom deals that plagued the gold standard. It brings a level of transparency that bankers have never had to deal with before.

4. Currency War 4: China - Not Your Keys, Not Your Country's Coins

The story of the scammer Chen Zhi provides a sobering lesson. He stole 127,000 Bitcoin from his victims. After his arrest, the US Department of Justice seized the Bitcoin.

This is the crucial point: instead of working to return the assets to the victims of the scam, the US government simply added the 127,000 BTC to its own strategic reserves. It was a nation-state rug pull.

This is a stark reminder of the ultimate truth in this space: if you do not hold your Bitcoin in self-custody, you are effectively donating it to a centralized party. In this case, thousands of victims unwillingly donated their life savings to the US government's balance sheet.

5. Currency War 5: The US Civil War - Inside the Clarity Act

The final currency war isn't between nations. It's a "civil war" between powerful lobbies within the United States, playing out through the proposed Clarity Act.

First, the good news. The Clarity Act, if passed as currently drafted, explicitly protects the right to self-custody. This includes:

• The right to hold your own private keys.
• The right to use self-custody wallets.
• The right to transact peer-to-peer without intermediaries.

Now for the bad news. The Act dramatically expands the surveillance state. It brings all crypto "on-ramps" and "off-ramps"—like exchanges—fully in line with the Bank Secrecy Act, requiring total surveillance and control.

This legislation is the battlefield for two opposing sides. On one side is the Bank Lobby, represented by giants like JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo. Their primary goal is to kill any yield paid on stablecoins, as they correctly fear this would cause a massive drain on traditional bank deposits. On the other side is a powerful alliance of the Crypto Lobby and the Asset Manager Lobby, personified by Coinbase's Brian Armstrong and BlackRock's Larry Fink. Their goal is to "tokenize everything," offer yield, and have these assets regulated by the CFTC. 

Why the CFTC? 

Because it lacks the "accredited investor" rules that the SEC has, meaning they can custody and sell these tokenized assets to everyone. Their vision is the one where "you will own nothing and be happy," renting access to your own life from them.

Regardless of which lobby wins this battle, the ultimate goal of the Financial Industrial Complex remains the same: to convince you to collateralize your assets, borrow against them, and centralize them into their custody so they can leverage them for more power and control.

The Ultimate Takeaway: Your Path to Sovereignty

The overarching lesson from these five currency wars is clear: centralized financial systems, whether they are traditional banks or corporate stablecoins, are instruments of control and confiscation.

For a final, stark warning, look no further than former NYC Mayor Eric Adams. Eric Adams, you shitcoin scamming piece of crap, launched a crypto token claiming it would fight antisemitism. It was a classic scam that immediately rug-pulled and crashed 81% on its first day. This is the degenerate gambling that defines the "crypto" space.

The solution is remarkably simple. Boycott the entire corrupt system.

"Boycott the system by owning Bitcoin in self-custody. Avoid leverage, avoid loans, avoid shitcoins, avoid trading, and avoid degenerate gambling. Just own more Bitcoin this month than last month, and learn how to self-custody it and run a node. You'll be fine."

In a world of escalating financial warfare, have you secured your own sovereign wealth?

A Note from Simon Dixon

You may have noticed a rebrand from BitcoinHardTalk to SimonDixonHardTalk. I made this change after realizing that my content is about 5% Bitcoin and 95% macroeconomics, geopolitics, and real-world events. Bitcoin is the essential tool for protection, but the mission is now bigger: to help as many people as possible build their sovereign wealth and navigate the turbulent transition to a new world order. Frankly, I am no longer ideologically aligned with the multi-billion dollar crypto lobby companies I once helped fund. My mission is to get back to helping the individual with Bitcoin in self-custody.

I'd love to hear your feedback on the new name. Please let me know what you think in the comments below.

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Disclaimer

For Informational Purposes Only The content provided in this blog, including the Simon Dixon Hard Talk episodes and show notes, is strictly for informational and educational purposes only. It represents the personal commentary and opinions of Simon Dixon and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.

Strict Adherence to Sanctions & Laws This content is NOT advice on how to avoid or circumvent sanctions. Simon Dixon and the publishers make it crystal clear that all Bitcoin and digital assets must be acquired and used legally and in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Any discussion regarding the use of Bitcoin, stablecoins, or self-custody in relation to specific geopolitical events or sanctioned jurisdictions (such as Iran or Venezuela) is provided solely as analysis of global macro trends and historical events. It must not be interpreted as a guide, recommendation, or tool for evading international sanctions or legal consequences.

Legal Warning Circumventing sanctions or violating financial laws carries severe criminal and civil consequences. You are solely responsible for ensuring that your actions—including the acquisition, holding, and transfer of any digital assets—comply fully with the laws of your jurisdiction.

Independent Due Diligence Users should conduct their own independent verification of any information provided and consult with qualified legal and financial professionals before making any decisions. The views expressed regarding the "Financial Industrial Complex," legislative acts (such as the Clarity Act), and market trends are subjective interpretations of data and should be treated as such.