Sep 23, 2026 · 52 min
Bitcoin, sports teams and AI compete as inflation hedges
Bitcoin & Sports Teams Are The Best Hedge Against Inflation | Chris Kelly
The conversation tests whether scarce assets, technology infrastructure and broader ownership models can preserve value as markets and compute economics change.
- 1Bitcoin offers global liquidity, while sports teams offer scarce ownership and patient value creation through illiquidity.
- 2Falling compute costs and open-source models could reshape AI investment, even as demand, regulation and monetization remain uncertain.
- 3Sports One aims to widen access to minority team ownership through public equity and a related token structure.
Don't miss
Kelly explains how Sports One could combine public-company equity with a more accessible token to broaden participation in sports ownership.
The brief
Chris Kelly frames Bitcoin as a globally accessible store of value, then contrasts its liquidity with the scarcity and illiquidity of professional sports ownership.
The Sacramento Kings become a case study in technology-led sports ownership, from arena sustainability and data infrastructure to early Ethereum mining efforts.
Kelly and Anthony Pompliano debate whether falling compute costs, open-source models and AI assistants will expand demand or eventually pressure revenues and valuations.
Blockchain infrastructure enters the AI discussion as a possible source of validation and trusted audit trails, alongside concerns about regulation, manipulation and human attention.
Kelly introduces Sports One, which aims to acquire minority stakes in professional teams and broaden access through public equity and a related token.
The closing argument is financial as much as sporting: fandom, data and AI could turn team ownership into a more participatory market beyond wealthy investors.
What was said on this episode
25 statements · 18 positive · 3 negative · 1 mixed · 3 neutral
Bitcoin hedges against inflation.
“It is a hedge against inflation.”
Listen at 0:55
Bitcoin became the standard store of value after network acceptance.
“it became the standard store of value.”
Listen at 1:22
Bitcoin and Ethereum are globally well-established.
“But Bitcoin and Ethereum are kind of well-established throughout the world at this point.”
Listen at 3:02
The Sacramento Kings arena was the first LEED Platinum arena.
“We were the first lead Platinum arena.”
Listen at 7:33
The Sacramento Kings arena data center began mining Ethereum early.
“we started mining Ethereum in the data center on the early side of that.”
Listen at 7:50
Sports-team real estate provides a useful hedge.
“The real estate was always a useful hedge.”
Listen at 11:00
The human brain operates using about 20 watts of power.
“the human brain runs on 20 watts of power.”
Listen at 13:21
AI infrastructure will generate returns because compute demand is currently near-infinite.
“So there will be ROI on all of these things because the demand for compute, it's not infinite, but it's kind of close to infinite right now.”
Listen at 13:34
AI token costs will continue falling.
“And token costs continue to fall.”
Listen at 14:29
AI companies’ revenue will not decline as usage rises substantially.
“I don't think that anyone's revenue is going to go down because the usage is going to go up so much.”
Listen at 14:37
AI revenue will eventually reach a peak.
“But there will be a... Point at which revenue peaks.”
Listen at 14:43
AI development is moving toward verticalized applications.
“So the verticalization of AI is exactly the way that things are going.”
Listen at 16:55
Large language model businesses still have substantial growth runway.
“I think they've got a fair amount of runway to go still.”
Listen at 17:22
AI businesses have not yet reached their revenue limit.
“But I don't think we've hit there yet.”
Listen at 17:43
A radical inflation fight causing a major rate spike is unlikely from here.
“I don't think that we're going to have a radical war. on inflation that causes a real spike in interest rates from here.”
Listen at 18:58
Interest rates may rise once more before stabilizing.
“I think that there might be another hike, and then it sort of settles in.”
Listen at 19:07
Open source is critical to internet success.
“open source is a critical part of internet success”
Listen at 20:25
Companies can remain highly profitable while supporting open-source software communities.
“you can still find ways to be immensely profitable in those contexts while supporting a community around the software that you're running.”
Listen at 20:58
Mobile became a massive monetization opportunity for Facebook.
“mobile turned into this massive monetization”
Listen at 21:36
Humans should regulate technology and retain control over it.
“It is all a talk about humans regulating the technology and ultimately having control of the technology rather than letting the technology take over the conversation.”
Listen at 32:19
Sports One is likely to acquire team stakes and obtain league approval.
“we think we have a likelihood of success in getting pieces of these teams and getting approved by the leagues.”
Listen at 41:29
Sports One plans to merge into a public shell company.
“There's a public shell that we are planning to merge into.”
Listen at 42:03
Sports One equity will trade publicly and target larger holders.
“The equity will be a classic, publicly traded, you know, on public exchanges and available largely for, we think, larger holders.”
Listen at 42:28
Sports One’s token will let average consumers participate in its ecosystem.
“the token will be a way to buy in for average consumers and a way to participate in the system.”
Listen at 42:37
The Sports One token may provide team benefits unavailable to equity holders.
“The token may have, you know, some formal associations with it in terms of access to the underlying. team benefits that the equity might not.”
Listen at 43:01
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.