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Seth Hertlein is the Global Head of Policy at Ledger and one of the earliest, most persistent advocates for bitcoin self-custody in Washington. Known for his “lone ranger” years as the only lobbyist focused on protecting non-custodial rights, he brings a rare combination of securities law expertise, political insight, and deep conviction about individual property rights. In this episode, Seth joins The Last Free Americans to share how he fell down the bitcoin rabbit hole, why self-custody is a return to humanity’s oldest property norms, and how today’s policy battles will define digital freedom for generations. We dig into the evolution of financial intermediaries, the history of natural rights from Aristotle to the framers, and the real political forces lining up for and against self-custody.
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Intro to The Last Free Americans & Seth’s unique role in policy
2:20 – How a securities regulator became an “accidental crypto lobbyist”
5:03 – Early bitcoin reading, monetary policy, and recognizing its political nature
7:43 – The aha moment of self-custody: from Ledger device to first withdrawal
12:58 – Ownership vs. possession: how financial markets drifted into full intermediation
16:40 – Why self-custody is not new: property as a natural human right
22:45 – How centralization overtook markets: certificates, DTCC, and efficiency tradeoffs
27:58 – 2021: the year Washington and the industry “woke up” to each other
33:10 – Keep Your Coins Act, Canadian truckers, and why lawful peer-to-peer matters
38:40 – Property rights, natural law, and the framers’ blind spots on privacy
45:55 – Executive Order 6102, takings law, and lessons for bitcoin
52:03 – How the Bank Secrecy Act and third-party doctrine became digital surveillance
59:42 – The three camps opposing self-custody: nats-ec hawks, socialists, and bureaucracies
1:05:40 – The IRS broker rule, CRA repeal, and precedents for stopping overreach
1:11:22 – House vs. Senate language: what “retain the right” really means
1:17:14 – Odds of passage in 2024 and why Senate floor time is everything
1:22:44 – The global landscape: why America is still the last best hope
1:27:50 – What comes next: privacy as the next digital freedom frontier
1:32:10 – Closing thoughts on restoring founding principles through Bitcoin
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