Oil 101: How Easy Money Enabled the Shale Revolution, Feat. Tracy Shuchart
An oil and commodities expert breaks down how the shale revolution reshaped global energy power and why oil went below $0 earlier this year.

An oil and commodities expert breaks down how the shale revolution reshaped global energy power and why oil went below $0 earlier this year.
For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.
This episode is sponsored by Bitstamp and Ciphertrace.
Today on the Brief:
- PayPal and Venmo reportedly adding crypto buying and selling
- Trump executive order temporarily suspends H1-B visa program
- Continued growth in bitcoin derivatives
Our main conversation:
Tracy Shuchart is an oil- and commodities-focused trader in the private equity space known for her wide-ranging insights on financial Twitter (FinTwit).
See also: Macro Investors Sound Off! Featuring Ari Paul, Spencer Bogart and David Nage
In this conversation, she and NLW discuss:
- Why the shale revolution of the last 10 years shifted the power balance in global energy among the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia
- How easy money in the wake of the Great Financial Crisis enabled the shale revolution as much as new technology
- Why after the 2014-2016 oil crash it was inexperienced private equity firms that picked up where banks left off with shale
- How a growing focus on dividends and cutting costs was creating structural problems for shale even before the COVID-19 crisis
- How COVID-19 coincided with a contentious negotiation between Saudi Arabia and Russia that ultimately sent prices to less than $0
Find our guest online:
Twitter: @chigrl
On the web: chigrl.com
For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.
More For You
Protocol Research: GoPlus Security

What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Strategy’s STRD credit spread has tightened over past month even as bitcoin struggles

The narrowing spread between yields on STRD and the 10-year U.S. Treasury could signal boosted demand for the preferred stock.
What to know:
- STRD’s credit spread versus the U.S. 10-year Treasury narrowed to a new low on Friday.
- Strategy sold $82.2 million of STRD through its ATM program in the week ended Dec. 14, the largest weekly issuance since launch.
- Historical ATM data shows STRD has recently dominated preferred issuance among Strategy’s offerings.











