China is DOMINATING the US in EVERY statistic. Here's why. | Market Updates & News (LIVE)
Watch on YouTube ↗  |  February 17, 2026 at 23:07 UTC  |  2:20:26  |  Thread Guy
Speakers
Thread Guy — Host

Summary

  • The US and China are locked in a "Cold War" race for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). The host argues the US is losing on manufacturing ("Atoms") and is neck-and-neck on AI ("Bits"), forcing the US government to "backstop" and subsidize the AI sector as a matter of national security.
  • A "Bits to Atoms" thesis is presented: As AI commoditizes software ("Bits become free"), value will shift violently toward physical infrastructure, energy, and scarce resources ("Atoms") where China currently holds a monopoly.
  • The host highlights a cultural shift where "China Maxing" is becoming a trend, noting Chinese dominance in EVs (BYD/Xiaomi) and consumer goods, while the US relies on financialization.
  • Despite criticism from developers like Peter Steinberger, the host maintains that Crypto is inevitable due to superior technology and will thrive as an open capital market, drawing parallels to the early internet's reliance on "porn and drugs" to bootstrap adoption.
Trade Ideas
Ticker Direction Speaker Thesis Time
AVOID Thread Guy
Crypto influencer, independent
"Buying Chinese stocks... they're almost impossible to invest in because China does these like state-owned... companies... you get destroyed as an investor." Despite the host's bullishness on China's economic performance (EVs, AI models, consumer tech), the structure of the Chinese market and CCP intervention makes the equities "uninvestable" for Western speculators. Avoid direct exposure despite the "China Maxing" macro thesis. Missing out if China opens markets or sentiment shifts drastically. 28:48
LONG Thread Guy
Crypto influencer, independent
"I really like the Palantir trade... US defense that also is an AI proxy... the government is spending more money in the military and they're spending more money on AI." The host argues the AI race is a "national security risk." Consequently, the US government has "no choice" but to provide infinite funding and backstops to AI development. Palantir sits at the exact intersection of AI software and government/defense contracts, making it the primary beneficiary of this forced spending. Long as a proxy for the "AI Arms Race" and government subsidization. Valuation concerns (mentioned as trading at "200 PE").
LONG Thread Guy
Crypto influencer, independent
"Long rare earth metals is a really good one... China's critical mineral control, sheer dominance... The US can't produce any." China controls the supply chain for the physical materials needed to build chips and defense tech. If geopolitical tensions rise, China could restrict exports (as they have threatened), causing a supply squeeze. The US must desperately invest in securing these "Atoms" to compete. Long as a hedge against Chinese supply dominance and a play on the "Bits to Atoms" thesis. Geopolitical de-escalation or new supply chains coming online slowly.
LONG Thread Guy
Crypto influencer, independent
"Long gold as a proxy for atoms, as a proxy for physical goods... I still stand by long Bitcoin as a mega trend." As AI models become open-source and cheap ("Bits are free"), the economic moat of pure software erodes. Value transfers to scarce, hard assets (Gold) and digital scarcity (Bitcoin) that cannot be commoditized by AI. Long as the ultimate "Mega Trend" hedge against software commoditization and fiat debasement. Regulatory crackdowns or shifts in macro liquidity. 35:18
LONG Thread Guy
Crypto influencer, independent
"Anything energy compute bottleneck I think goes up only forever." The US government's commitment to winning the AI race requires massive physical infrastructure build-outs. The bottleneck is no longer code, but the electricity and processing power required to run the models. Long the infrastructure layer supporting AI. Regulatory hurdles for new energy projects or hardware supply chain disruptions. 99:54
WLD
LONG Thread Guy
Crypto influencer, independent
"Meta has patented an AI that can keep a deceased person's account active... You don't know if the person you're talking to is alive... Maybe it's Worldcoin. Proof of humanity." As AI creates perfect deepfakes and "dead internet" scenarios, the ability to verify human identity becomes the most valuable commodity. Despite the host calling the project a "piece of [__]," he acknowledges it is the "trade" for this specific dystopian problem. Long as a speculative play on "Proof of Humanity" amidst AI proliferation. Privacy concerns and regulatory pushback against biometric scanning.
LONG Thread Guy
Crypto influencer, independent
"The other one we've been playing with a lot is Apple. Apple is a really fun one." While not fully expanded upon in this specific transcript, it is flagged as a key component of the "Mega Trend" portfolio alongside Bitcoin and Defense, likely due to its hardware/consumer distribution dominance in an AI world. Long (details to be expanded in future streams). China exposure (supply chain and consumer market). 100:40