Bitcoin Bay Foundation Meetup Recap: Tho Bishop on Politics, Financialization, and Bitcoin’s Potential

Our latest Thursday meetup brought a heavy hitter to the stage: Tho Bishop from the Mises Institute, unpacking national and state politics, financialization, and Bitcoin’s game-changing role. With a decade at Mises and a stint as an “Austrian mole” in D.C., Tho wove a sharp narrative that’s got us buzzing about liberty, power, and sound money. Here’s the rundown!

Key Ideas from the Meetup

• Anti-Politics Rules: Today’s politics isn’t about vision—it’s about what you’re against, with Trump as the anti-elite rebel and Kamala as the anti-Trump vibe machine.
• Financialization’s Mess: Easy money and debt distort markets, fueling corporate consolidation—like BlackRock’s housing grab—far from free-market outcomes.
• Florida’s Fight: DeSantis’ weakened grip post-Trump run signals a return to status-quo politics—Florida needs bold leaders to resist D.C.’s overreach.
• Bitcoin as Power: Tho pitched eliminating capital gains tax on BTC to make it a parallel currency—a radical win for savers and a blow to the dollar’s dominance.

Diving Into the Meetup: Tho Bishop’s Take

Tho Bishop, a Florida Panhandle native with a decade at the Mises Institute, kicked off with creds: he cut his teeth in D.C. on the House Financial Services Committee, working with Ron Paul’s office. “I was the Austrian mole,” he grinned, setting the stage for a talk blending national clownery, state dynamics, and Mises’ vision—plus a hefty dose of Bitcoin.

He dubbed this “the dumbest election of our lifetimes,” a symptom of mass democracy’s race to the bottom. “Ideas like organizing society or building wealth get dumbed down,” he said. Politics isn’t about ideology anymore—it’s anti-politics. Trump? “The anti-elite, anti-immigration guy who sparked a personality cult,” Tho noted, driven by fear of the left. Kamala? “An empty vessel propped up by media vibes—anti-Trump, not pro-anything.” Her record’s rewritten in real-time—“border czar? Never happened!”—proving it’s all about punishing enemies, not shaping the future.

Libertarians, Tho argued, often retreat from this mess, and that’s fine—focus on family or agorism to dodge political nonsense. But ignoring it entirely? Risky. “We’re still impacted by this system,” he warned, pivoting to financialization—a beast beyond socialism vs. capitalism. Citing Ruchir Sharma’s What Went Wrong with Capitalism, he explained how loose Fed policy and debt bloat distort markets. “Big tech consolidation—like Facebook gobbling competitors—thrives on cheap debt, not efficiency,” he said. BlackRock snapping up houses? Same deal. These aren’t market wins—they’re policy failures Bitcoin Bay’s censorship-resistant ethos aims to counter.

Florida’s scene got real. Tho praised DeSantis’ COVID-era iron fist—banning private vaccine mandates against Chamber of Commerce pushback. But running against Trump tanked his clout. “The legislature’s back to pre-COVID status quo,” he sighed. The Senate president killed DeSantis-backed bills, like undoing Rick Scott’s gun laws. Looking to 2026, Tho sees hope in bold figures like Byron Donalds or Matt Gaetz, but fears a slide into anti-politics: “A million more Republicans than Democrats isn’t enough—wins matter, not just not losing.” His fix? Florida should own Bitcoin, not foreign bonds, and nullify D.C.’s grip.

The Mises Institute, Tho’s home base, offers the antidote to this nihilism. “We’re non-political by nature—501(c)(3), anarchy books, all that,” he said. Yet, they’ve got a vision: a free society grounded in Austrian ideas. Saifedean Ammous’ The Bitcoin Standard—inspired by Mises PDFs—shows how BTC can reshape finance. Ed Stringham’s Private Governance proves markets can rule without the state. Rothbard’s “what to do until privatization comes” tackles practical steps—like managing public libraries for families, not chaos.

Bitcoin’s political rise thrilled Tho. “Trump’s Nashville speech was pandering, sure—he’s not reading Satoshi,” he laughed. “But he doesn’t need to. He needs donors.” Blowback from Gensler’s SEC war and Fed debanking (think Custodia Bank) flipped the script. Tho’s big play? A Ron Paul dream: make Bitcoin a parallel currency by axing capital gains tax on BTC, gold, and silver. “Staple it to a GOP tax cut—53 senators, four holdouts, done,” he pitched. “Americans save outside the dollar, Bitcoiners get richer, and the movement grows.” It’s elite theory in action—new players like Musk, Thiel, and Ramaswamy could replace old guard, breaking regulatory chains.

Join the Bitcoin Bay Movement!

Tho’s talk lit a fire: Bitcoin’s not just cash—it’s a weapon against financialization and political rot, aligning with our peer-to-peer mission. Catch that energy at our Thursday meetups—next up, the Mises event (Feb 22nd) and St. Pete Social (March 1st). Don’t miss Bitcoin Day Tampa and our June 14th Soiree! Join us every Thursday—grab some BTC, plot a freer future, and let’s make Tampa Bay a liberty hub!