Summary
Project 2025’s stated aim to eliminate the Federal Reserve and make money private is, in Phil Anderson’s analysis, one of the most significant structural risks facing the US economy. When money goes private — as it did in the US between roughly 1860 and 1880 — the result is the biggest boom of all time followed by the biggest collapse, because credit creation gets entirely out of hand. Anderson identifies the Trump family’s positioning around “world liberty” financial coins and Coinbase-backed private money as the implementation mechanism. This thesis has direct implications for the next real estate cycle: if no significant downturn occurs in the current cycle, the next cycle’s speculative excess will be “uncontrolled” under a private money regime.
Mechanism / How It Works
The historical parallel is the US private banking era (roughly 1860-1880), when money creation was decentralized to private banks. The pattern:
- Boom phase — Private credit creation accelerates without central bank restraint, producing an unprecedented speculative boom.
- Collapse phase — Credit creation becomes unsustainable, leading to a systemic collapse larger than any central-bank-regulated cycle would produce.
Anderson’s concern is that if the current cycle does not produce a significant downturn — if the Trump Put prevents the real estate cycle from completing its normal 4-year down phase — then the next cycle will occur under a private money regime, and the boom-bust will be far more extreme.
Core Claims
- 2026-06-25-melbourne-qa-recordings-now-available (2026-05-30): “The stated aim of Project 2025 is to eliminate the Fed… Not only to abolish the Fed. Why would you want to abolish the Fed? Because then you can make money private, which is what happened in the United States between 1860 roughly up to about 1880.” — Phil Anderson — confidence: medium
- 2026-06-25-melbourne-qa-recordings-now-available (2026-05-30): “When money goes private, you will see the biggest boom of all time and then the biggest collapse because the credit creation just gets right out of hand.” — Phil Anderson — confidence: medium
- 2026-06-25-melbourne-qa-recordings-now-available (2026-05-30): “Trump and his family are attempting to take control of world liberty and the Coinbase-backed financial coins… the only thing that will stop this is if there’s a procession to depression.” — Phil Anderson — confidence: low
Key Evidence
- 1860-1880 US private money era — Historical precedent for private credit creation producing boom-then-collapse dynamics. Anderson cites this as the template for what Project 2025 would recreate.
- Trump family financial positioning — “World liberty” financial coins and Coinbase-backed private money infrastructure being developed alongside the political Project 2025 agenda. [Source: Melbourne Q&A 2026 transcript]
Contradictions & Open Questions
- Will Project 2025 actually be implemented? Trump publicly denied knowledge of Project 2025 during the campaign, but Anderson asserts “that’s what they’re implementing now.” The gap between denial and implementation creates uncertainty.
- Does the current cycle need to complete first? Anderson suggests the private money regime primarily affects the next cycle, not the current one. But if the current cycle doesn’t produce a significant downturn (due to the Trump Put), the private money system could launch into an already-overheated economy.