1 00:00:00,017 --> 00:00:03,677 There was once a time, not that long ago, when the size of the national debt. 2 00:00:03,677 --> 00:00:05,697 Dominated political conversation. 3 00:00:05,917 --> 00:00:10,097 In 1992, when Ross Perot ran for president on that issue alone, 4 00:00:10,417 --> 00:00:11,977 the debt was about $4 trillion. 5 00:00:12,217 --> 00:00:14,477 It has now surpassed $35 trillion. 6 00:00:14,937 --> 00:00:20,797 It hit that number for the first time on Monday and equates to over $104,000 per person. 7 00:00:21,117 --> 00:00:24,857 The financial hole is mounting quicker than most economists had predicted. 8 00:00:24,857 --> 00:00:26,077 That's because the money spent 9 00:00:26,077 --> 00:00:30,137 on federal programs recently has gone over their initial projections. 10 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:46,800 Music. 11 00:00:41,837 --> 00:00:45,597 Welcome in to episode 21 of This Week in Bitcoin. 12 00:00:45,837 --> 00:00:50,277 My name is Chris. Glad you're here. It's been a really great week for Bitcoin. 13 00:00:50,277 --> 00:00:53,217 You know, quite a privilege to 14 00:00:53,217 --> 00:00:57,977 watch the Overton window shift on the wider conversation around Bitcoin. 15 00:00:58,357 --> 00:01:03,057 So let's actually start with the world that Bitcoin finds itself in this week. 16 00:01:03,497 --> 00:01:05,577 It was a bad one for tech stocks. 17 00:01:06,538 --> 00:01:11,338 The Magnificent Seven tech companies have now erased a combined $2.6 trillion 18 00:01:11,338 --> 00:01:14,618 of market cap in just the last 20 days. 19 00:01:14,798 --> 00:01:19,718 So that's around $125 billion of market cap per day for 20 days straight. 20 00:01:20,338 --> 00:01:25,278 Wrap your noodle around that one. NVIDIA alone has erased $1 trillion in market 21 00:01:25,278 --> 00:01:27,818 cap since its high seen just one month ago. 22 00:01:28,058 --> 00:01:31,618 So in other words, the Magnificent Seven, the big seven tech companies, 23 00:01:31,818 --> 00:01:36,118 have lost as much value as NVIDIA's entire market cap in 20 days. 24 00:01:36,538 --> 00:01:41,198 That's $200 billion more than every stock in Germany's entire stock market combined. 25 00:01:41,558 --> 00:01:47,458 And that means the Meg 7 have lost triple the value of Brazil's entire stock market in just 20 days. 26 00:01:47,998 --> 00:01:54,738 That's what's going on. And since the last episode, we saw the end of a 356 27 00:01:54,738 --> 00:01:58,818 trading day streak without a 2% decline. 28 00:01:59,538 --> 00:02:02,258 Charlie Bailillo comes in with a little more detail. tail. 29 00:02:02,638 --> 00:02:07,318 While small caps have rallied higher, the S&P 500 has pulled back a few percent. 30 00:02:07,438 --> 00:02:11,598 I think we got close to a 5% pullback this week, but we had that trading day 31 00:02:11,598 --> 00:02:14,118 where we had finally that 2% decline. 32 00:02:14,338 --> 00:02:22,198 It was the biggest decline we saw since December, 2022 during the 2022 difficulties in the market. 33 00:02:22,398 --> 00:02:26,978 And so what we actually ended was this, one of the longest periods we've seen 34 00:02:26,978 --> 00:02:31,458 without a 2% decline in market history, 356 straight trading days. 35 00:02:31,558 --> 00:02:36,398 That was the longest period without a 2% down day since 2007. 36 00:02:36,878 --> 00:02:38,158 The last longest period, which 37 00:02:38,158 --> 00:02:43,318 was a staggering 949 days, was right before the 2008 financial crisis. 38 00:02:43,598 --> 00:02:48,918 That's really great. And so while the AI bubble is clearly no longer bubbling, 39 00:02:49,078 --> 00:02:52,538 it's deflating, the money is transitioning to what they call small caps, 40 00:02:52,538 --> 00:02:57,158 We have hit a new milestone here in the United States of America. 41 00:02:57,438 --> 00:03:01,138 We are the greatest nation. We are number one. 42 00:03:02,082 --> 00:03:11,322 In debt 35 trillion guess when we hit it we should be very very excited and proud of ourselves, 43 00:03:11,922 --> 00:03:16,042 we did something that so many economists said we would never get to this quick 44 00:03:16,042 --> 00:03:23,982 my math says this coming friday 3 p.m the united states gross debt will cross 45 00:03:23,982 --> 00:03:30,782 over 35 trillion now understand that's It's not the way Europeans calculate our debt, 46 00:03:30,922 --> 00:03:35,682 which they calculate our debt dramatically higher because of our obligated unfunded liabilities. 47 00:03:35,902 --> 00:03:42,162 But you're going to watch the Treasury Friday about 3 p.m. post up a number. 48 00:03:42,322 --> 00:03:44,862 Thirty five trillion dollars. We did it. 49 00:03:45,582 --> 00:03:47,402 Congratulations. Yes, everybody. 50 00:03:48,422 --> 00:03:52,682 Arizona congressman there. So the total U.S. federal debt has officially hit 51 00:03:52,682 --> 00:03:56,342 thirty five trillion dollars for the first time in history this week. 52 00:03:56,342 --> 00:03:59,542 Since 2020 the u.s has added 12 53 00:03:59,542 --> 00:04:03,282 trillion in federal debt since 2020 54 00:04:03,282 --> 00:04:06,602 12 trillion so that means the u.s now 55 00:04:06,602 --> 00:04:09,242 has around 105 000 depending on how you do the 56 00:04:09,242 --> 00:04:13,442 math i actually think the math works out a little bit worse because i went and 57 00:04:13,442 --> 00:04:18,662 did a little research and according to my numbers we have somewhere around 164 58 00:04:18,662 --> 00:04:25,722 000 current 164 million i'm sorry current taxpayers the irs processed 164 million 59 00:04:25,722 --> 00:04:28,302 tax returns the last time they gave us a number. 60 00:04:28,422 --> 00:04:35,902 So that would actually mean every US taxpayer owns $212,125 by my count. 61 00:04:36,262 --> 00:04:40,462 This is all just staggering numbers. It's almost ludicrous to even talk about this. 62 00:04:40,562 --> 00:04:45,822 And while all this is happening, this deficit spending, its percentage of GDP 63 00:04:45,822 --> 00:04:49,842 has reached, well, World War II levels, as if we're fighting Hitler. 64 00:04:50,382 --> 00:04:56,542 It's really just the level of indulgence of just funding every little program, every little idea. 65 00:04:57,978 --> 00:05:02,418 It means that we're putting on about a trillion in debt every six months at this current rate. 66 00:05:02,538 --> 00:05:06,938 So to put that in perspective, a trillion seconds ago was 30,000 BC. 67 00:05:07,618 --> 00:05:11,758 It took us 215 years to get to $7 trillion in debt. 68 00:05:12,438 --> 00:05:15,758 And we added $7 trillion just between March 2020 and June 2022. 69 00:05:16,658 --> 00:05:20,578 We're adding debt faster. The rate is growing like an accelerated hockey stick chart. 70 00:05:21,258 --> 00:05:25,158 So you have to wonder, where does that leave us when it comes to actual dollars 71 00:05:25,158 --> 00:05:30,718 and cents? Well, the Arizona congressman had a thought or a commentary on that as well. 72 00:05:31,038 --> 00:05:34,798 So let's walk through another little factoid. All right. 73 00:05:35,238 --> 00:05:44,598 My math basically says this year, 45.68% of all the income tax collections, 74 00:05:44,958 --> 00:05:49,558 receipts, your government takes in just cover the cost of interest. 75 00:05:50,738 --> 00:05:54,378 I'd been coming behind the microphone and saying, a interest in 2024, 76 00:05:54,798 --> 00:05:59,558 this fiscal year, would be somewhere around a little less than $1.2 trillion. 77 00:05:59,698 --> 00:06:06,538 I apparently have that wrong. It's probably going to come in about $1,140,000,000 to $60,000,000,000. 78 00:06:06,998 --> 00:06:09,318 Either way, I'm off a fraction. 79 00:06:09,958 --> 00:06:19,918 But 45.68% of every dime we're collecting in your income tax now just pays interest. 80 00:06:20,458 --> 00:06:27,298 Yeah, so essentially half of every dollar collected on income tax is going to just pay interest now. 81 00:06:27,858 --> 00:06:31,098 And we're adding all this debt while the rates are high. 82 00:06:31,318 --> 00:06:35,058 This week, the U.S. Treasury announced it's increasing its liquidity buyback 83 00:06:35,058 --> 00:06:37,618 total to $30 billion from $15 billion of Treasury. 84 00:06:37,758 --> 00:06:41,978 So that means they're going to do more short-term borrowing at a higher interest rate. 85 00:06:42,398 --> 00:06:48,218 And when they borrow too much in short-term bills, they sometimes have to refinance more frequently. 86 00:06:48,438 --> 00:06:52,038 And if they do that, they have to refinance at higher and higher rates. 87 00:06:52,118 --> 00:06:54,018 It pushes prices up throughout the economy. 88 00:06:55,223 --> 00:06:58,043 The only thing that's really going to stop that train is a Fed rate cut in September. 89 00:06:58,383 --> 00:07:04,103 And it's leading to a serious problem because you have the Treasury that's essentially pumping. 90 00:07:04,563 --> 00:07:09,483 The supply of dollar bills has increased around $2.2 trillion since the start 91 00:07:09,483 --> 00:07:12,223 of last year, while the Fed's trying to cool. 92 00:07:12,643 --> 00:07:16,263 The Fed's trying to bring down inflation. So you have the left hand, 93 00:07:16,363 --> 00:07:22,843 the Fed, trying to cool and maybe even get people out of work and try to get inflation down. 94 00:07:22,843 --> 00:07:28,443 And then you've got the Treasury literally expanding the supply of dollars at the same time. 95 00:07:28,643 --> 00:07:33,643 The right hand is literally increasing the supply of dollars, 96 00:07:33,743 --> 00:07:36,283 while the left hand is trying to calm things down. 97 00:07:36,743 --> 00:07:41,103 This led to a very uncomfortable interaction for Treasury Secretary Yellen on 98 00:07:41,103 --> 00:07:46,323 June 4th, when she testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee and 99 00:07:46,323 --> 00:07:47,523 got asked a few hard questions. 100 00:07:47,523 --> 00:07:52,163 You announced last November, I can show you the press release, 101 00:07:52,403 --> 00:08:01,243 where you said that we have decided to start issuing an inordinately large amount 102 00:08:01,243 --> 00:08:03,903 of short-term debt, didn't you? 103 00:08:04,403 --> 00:08:08,623 We did make an announcement about that. And because of the inverted yield curve, 104 00:08:08,763 --> 00:08:15,003 that means that you're going to pay more in interest on short-term debt than, 105 00:08:15,003 --> 00:08:18,723 say, 10-year debt. Only for a short time. Now, that's a fact, okay? 106 00:08:18,843 --> 00:08:22,263 You can go check the numbers of treasuries yesterday. 107 00:08:23,427 --> 00:08:28,507 That is, first, that costs taxpayers a lot more money and interest. 108 00:08:28,747 --> 00:08:33,827 And number two, you're working at cross purposes with the Federal Reserve, 109 00:08:33,967 --> 00:08:39,647 because what you're doing is stimulating the market. You're pumping money into the economy. 110 00:08:40,087 --> 00:08:45,087 And Jay Powell is over here beavering away, trying to reduce inflation. 111 00:08:45,627 --> 00:08:49,407 And you're beavering away, trying to increase it. 112 00:08:49,587 --> 00:08:53,847 You wondered where this AI bubble came from? Well, you can thank the Biden administration 113 00:08:53,847 --> 00:08:55,507 and Treasury Secretary Yellen. 114 00:08:55,687 --> 00:09:02,047 By paying an interest rate that is 100 basis points higher than you would have to pay. 115 00:09:02,267 --> 00:09:06,427 And the only reason I can figure that y'all are doing that is. 116 00:09:07,067 --> 00:09:12,627 Is to try to give the economy a sugar high five months before an election. 117 00:09:12,827 --> 00:09:17,687 Why else would anybody want to borrow at 5% when you can borrow at 4%? 118 00:09:17,687 --> 00:09:25,027 Well, there is a good reason that investors are willing to accept just over 119 00:09:25,027 --> 00:09:33,487 4% on a 10-year treasury bond when they can earn 5.4% on a one-year treasury 120 00:09:33,487 --> 00:09:34,787 bill. I'm not worried about the investor. 121 00:09:34,967 --> 00:09:37,767 I'm not worried about the investor. I'm worried about the taxpayer. 122 00:09:37,787 --> 00:09:40,807 It's the same logic. And let me ask you again, because I'm going to run out of time. 123 00:09:40,987 --> 00:09:43,867 And look, you're smarter than me. I know that. 124 00:09:44,287 --> 00:09:54,627 But I can grasp this concept. You're borrowing at 5% when you could borrow at 4% to deficit spend. 125 00:09:54,947 --> 00:09:59,887 If I borrow it— And it makes absolutely no sense to me why you would do that. 126 00:09:59,967 --> 00:10:03,927 I'm sorry. If I borrow— Other than to try to artificially stimulate the economy 127 00:10:03,927 --> 00:10:05,487 and help Joe Biden get free of that. 128 00:10:05,587 --> 00:10:11,607 If I borrow at 4%, if I borrow at 4.5%, I'm locking in that cost over 10 years. 129 00:10:11,647 --> 00:10:13,787 But you just said you weren't trying to time the market. 130 00:10:15,407 --> 00:10:19,067 You are trying to time the market. It isn't trying to time the market because 131 00:10:19,067 --> 00:10:24,987 this is something that is a regular part of our policy. 132 00:10:25,347 --> 00:10:31,827 When short-term rates are high and long-term rates are lower, 133 00:10:32,007 --> 00:10:37,967 the reason for that is that market participants expect short rates to go down, 134 00:10:38,067 --> 00:10:44,747 and they expect them to decline over 10 years to substantially under 4.5 percent. 135 00:10:44,747 --> 00:10:53,587 So even if we pay more this year than it would cost to borrow at a 10-year rate of 4.5%, 136 00:10:53,587 --> 00:11:00,387 the expected cost over the 10-year life of that borrowing can be the same or 137 00:11:00,387 --> 00:11:04,367 less than it would be if we issued a 10-year note. 138 00:11:04,567 --> 00:11:11,247 Now, we're not trying to time the market. we have a policy that we want to hold 139 00:11:11,247 --> 00:11:18,267 the issuance of short-term bills in line with recommendations of the Treasury 140 00:11:18,267 --> 00:11:20,167 Borrowing Advisory Committee. 141 00:11:21,407 --> 00:11:24,927 Can I say something now? Madam Secretary, I'm going to say it again. 142 00:11:25,027 --> 00:11:26,067 You're a lot smarter than me. 143 00:11:27,007 --> 00:11:31,687 But my mama didn't raise a fool, and if she did, it was one of my brothers. 144 00:11:33,187 --> 00:11:38,207 And what you're doing, you know it and I know it, And all those people sitting behind you know it. 145 00:11:38,567 --> 00:11:44,027 You're paying 5% to borrow money when you could pay 4% to borrow money. 146 00:11:44,467 --> 00:11:47,907 You announced you were going to do that back in November 2023. 147 00:11:48,787 --> 00:11:53,107 You're working cross-purposes with Jay Powell. You're not working. 148 00:11:53,187 --> 00:11:57,767 And the reason you're doing this, the reason you're doing this is to try to 149 00:11:57,767 --> 00:12:01,387 give the economy a sugar high five months before an election. 150 00:12:01,687 --> 00:12:05,687 Now, you know that, and I know that. I think it's actually very likely that 151 00:12:05,687 --> 00:12:08,707 that is the case, or at least try to get a great economy. 152 00:12:09,007 --> 00:12:13,607 They're running a $2 trillion deficit per year, which means they're paying more 153 00:12:13,607 --> 00:12:17,467 than 1%. They're paying 1% more in interest than they need to be. 154 00:12:18,576 --> 00:12:22,876 And just that, because of the amount of the debt, and just that little bit of 155 00:12:22,876 --> 00:12:27,056 difference in timing the market, taxpayers are going to get stuck with an additional 156 00:12:27,056 --> 00:12:29,576 $20 billion per year in payments. 157 00:12:30,056 --> 00:12:34,116 Per year. $20 billion per year. So it's, you know, that's a bit of an anchor. 158 00:12:34,576 --> 00:12:39,256 And you're not getting anything. You're not getting any services for that additional $20 billion per year. 159 00:12:39,796 --> 00:12:44,356 So it's going to have to take another bit off of that per dollar for every tax dollar they bring in. 160 00:12:44,956 --> 00:12:48,096 And they're just getting started. These numbers are only going up. 161 00:12:48,096 --> 00:12:51,936 These expenses are only going up. The deficit spending only continues to increase. 162 00:12:52,656 --> 00:12:55,716 And Yellen is a great example of this. 163 00:12:55,756 --> 00:12:59,176 She's out there pretending like they have like reasonable fiscal policy, 164 00:12:59,356 --> 00:13:01,216 talking out one side of her mouth. 165 00:13:01,296 --> 00:13:05,856 But then an event just shortly before she was testifying, she's shilling a crazy 166 00:13:05,856 --> 00:13:07,256 low carbon spending package. 167 00:13:07,256 --> 00:13:14,876 Being so close to the magnificent Amazon is also a reminder that the transition 168 00:13:14,876 --> 00:13:24,856 to a lower carbon global economy is also the single greatest opportunity of the 21st century. 169 00:13:24,856 --> 00:13:32,556 The transition will require no less than $3 trillion in new capital from many 170 00:13:32,556 --> 00:13:37,016 sources each year between now and 2050. 171 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:53,040 Music. 172 00:13:52,883 --> 00:13:58,343 Don't we talk about the debt more? Because it does seem like it's a pretty big deal. 173 00:13:58,483 --> 00:14:01,623 And David Wessel was on CBS. 174 00:14:02,183 --> 00:14:07,683 He's from the Brookings Institute. And he took a shot at explaining why we don't 175 00:14:07,683 --> 00:14:08,843 seem to talk about it as much. 176 00:14:08,963 --> 00:14:13,083 It's kind of like everybody cried wolf for too long. And so people stopped believing it. 177 00:14:13,163 --> 00:14:16,823 Now, one reason that people aren't talking about this as much as they did in 178 00:14:16,823 --> 00:14:22,543 the 90s, John, you may remember in the 90s, the crisis was always said to be just around the corner. 179 00:14:22,743 --> 00:14:26,183 Bob Rubin, the Treasury Secretary for Bill Clinton, said that. 180 00:14:26,303 --> 00:14:30,483 The Simpson-Bowles Commission says just any day now we're going to have a crisis. 181 00:14:30,603 --> 00:14:33,543 People won't buy our bonds. Well, the crisis never arrived. 182 00:14:33,763 --> 00:14:38,603 And so that sort of defanged the notion that if we don't do something, 183 00:14:38,703 --> 00:14:39,603 it's going to be catastrophic. 184 00:14:40,203 --> 00:14:44,403 The bigger problem, it seems to me, is eventually two things will happen. 185 00:14:44,603 --> 00:14:48,243 One is more and more of our federal spending will be eaten up by interest, 186 00:14:48,523 --> 00:14:52,403 half of which goes to foreigners, which means less money for everything else. 187 00:14:52,763 --> 00:14:56,083 And eventually it will crowd out private borrowing. 188 00:14:56,263 --> 00:15:00,523 That will slow economic growth, productivity growth, and that'll mean lower 189 00:15:00,523 --> 00:15:03,943 living standards in the future. We might not ever have a crisis. 190 00:15:04,303 --> 00:15:09,183 This might be like just smoking one more cigarette. The next cigarette won't 191 00:15:09,183 --> 00:15:15,923 kill you, but eventually if you keep smoking, it will. This is my general hypothesis as well. 192 00:15:16,103 --> 00:15:18,863 The crash already begun. The crash begun in 2008. 193 00:15:20,709 --> 00:15:24,489 Maybe it began in 1971, to tell you the truth. But in my lifetime, 194 00:15:24,569 --> 00:15:26,489 it seems like things accelerated in 2008. 195 00:15:26,969 --> 00:15:29,769 And it's a slow slide. It's like smoking. 196 00:15:30,389 --> 00:15:33,689 Not one particular cigarette kills you. That's such a great analogy. 197 00:15:34,589 --> 00:15:37,669 It's just we're taking on more and more cigarettes. We're smoking more. 198 00:15:37,729 --> 00:15:40,609 We're smoking more packs per day. The doctor's telling us our lung capacity 199 00:15:40,609 --> 00:15:41,969 is down. We're still smoking more. 200 00:15:42,589 --> 00:15:47,709 And so we'll just slowly run out of air. And the quality of life continues to 201 00:15:47,709 --> 00:15:50,209 slide downwards while that happens. 202 00:15:50,709 --> 00:15:55,689 And then things like the reserve currency status get challenged. More conflict happens. 203 00:15:56,769 --> 00:16:00,429 And the U.S. consumer keeps waiting for this supposed huge crash. 204 00:16:00,869 --> 00:16:07,329 This supposed moment where everything changes and now, now, now things are bad. No, no. 205 00:16:07,669 --> 00:16:12,409 No, no. It just is a continuing degrading slide, unfortunately. 206 00:16:12,409 --> 00:16:18,989 And maybe that's why maybe that's why some of these politicians are trying to 207 00:16:18,989 --> 00:16:22,389 address the Bitcoiner crowd like we saw at the Bitcoin conference last week. 208 00:16:22,789 --> 00:16:27,869 Maybe that's why some of these individuals in government seem to be trying to 209 00:16:27,869 --> 00:16:29,709 understand the concerns of Bitcoiners. 210 00:16:34,009 --> 00:16:38,049 Shortly after trump was on stage senator lummis 211 00:16:38,049 --> 00:16:41,309 comes out i sometimes don't get that right senator cynthia lummis 212 00:16:41,309 --> 00:16:46,409 comes out and announces a proposal to quote enhance the u.s dollar by creating 213 00:16:46,409 --> 00:16:54,229 a strategic bitcoin reserve you know before you all leave have we got a present 214 00:16:54,229 --> 00:16:58,809 for President Donald Trump. Here it is. 215 00:16:59,309 --> 00:17:04,849 This is the Bitcoin Reserve Bill. 216 00:17:13,429 --> 00:17:21,789 I'm reading from the text in the Senate of the United States to establish a 217 00:17:21,789 --> 00:17:24,249 Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, 218 00:17:24,829 --> 00:17:32,169 a network of secure storage vaults, purchase program, and other programs to 219 00:17:32,169 --> 00:17:38,949 ensure the transparent management of Bitcoin holdings of the federal government. 220 00:17:42,269 --> 00:17:47,569 I'd love to know what these secure distributed vaults look like. Is that a multi-sig? 221 00:17:47,809 --> 00:17:53,569 Are they Like a certain amount that are on a cold card that goes stored in different... 222 00:17:54,963 --> 00:17:59,023 Banks around the country. Like, what does what does she mean by that? 223 00:17:59,383 --> 00:18:02,963 But I have to admit, I do love how a U.S. 224 00:18:02,983 --> 00:18:08,423 Senator seems to be getting more and more into the way of Bitcoin thinking. 225 00:18:08,843 --> 00:18:12,563 And once they slip into the way of Bitcoin thinking, which I think happens to 226 00:18:12,563 --> 00:18:18,023 a lot of us, you start to really understand what's wrong with the dollar. 227 00:18:18,203 --> 00:18:22,863 My name is Cynthia Lamas and I'm the Bitcoin senator. 228 00:18:26,883 --> 00:18:30,123 I mean, that branding, right? I'm the Bitcoin senator. 229 00:18:30,383 --> 00:18:34,943 How about that? I mean, just that alone, it's just, it's, the Overton window 230 00:18:34,943 --> 00:18:36,603 has shifted so significantly. 231 00:18:36,943 --> 00:18:44,163 The importance of Bitcoin has never been stronger in the broader culture of the United States. 232 00:18:44,243 --> 00:18:48,363 And hopefully this influences the rest of the world. And for a U.S., sitting U.S. 233 00:18:48,383 --> 00:18:54,823 Senator to call herself the Bitcoin senator, I just don't think me of even three 234 00:18:54,823 --> 00:19:01,343 years ago, when we were all extremely excited about McKellie, could have seen a U.S. 235 00:19:01,363 --> 00:19:05,883 Senator trying to align themselves so strongly with the Bitcoin community. 236 00:19:06,163 --> 00:19:10,903 My name is Cynthia Lamas, and I'm the Bitcoin senator. Senator. 237 00:19:18,743 --> 00:19:26,503 When Satoshi Nakamoto, in January of 2009, mined the first Bitcoin, 238 00:19:27,966 --> 00:19:33,606 He brought about an asset that will change the world. 239 00:19:34,086 --> 00:19:39,386 And this is our Louisiana Purchase Moment. 240 00:19:43,626 --> 00:19:47,906 I wonder if she got that from Saylor. That's a good line, Louisiana Purchase Moment. 241 00:19:48,066 --> 00:19:52,786 And Lummis goes into some detail around how the initial asset acquisition would 242 00:19:52,786 --> 00:19:55,486 happen and a little bit more on how the storage would work. 243 00:19:56,866 --> 00:20:00,526 This Bitcoin reserve that we're 244 00:20:00,526 --> 00:20:09,726 going to create will start with the 210,000 Bitcoin that President Trump just 245 00:20:09,726 --> 00:20:17,906 mentioned and pull it into a reserve stored in geographically diverse vaults, 246 00:20:17,906 --> 00:20:19,786 and that's only the beginning. 247 00:20:19,786 --> 00:20:26,306 Over five years, the United States will assemble one million Bitcoin, 248 00:20:26,506 --> 00:20:30,266 five percent of the world's supply. 249 00:20:34,426 --> 00:20:38,366 That's not chump change. You know, five percent is a significant number. 250 00:20:38,686 --> 00:20:44,766 And she has details on how long that Bitcoin would be held and the limits of 251 00:20:44,766 --> 00:20:45,646 what it could be used for. 252 00:20:47,066 --> 00:20:55,086 And it will be held for a minimum of 20 years and can be used for one purpose. 253 00:20:57,066 --> 00:20:59,226 Reduce our debt. 254 00:21:06,106 --> 00:21:09,826 Okay, interesting. I'd like to hear more details on that. 255 00:21:11,326 --> 00:21:15,966 This Bitcoin is going to be transformative for this country. 256 00:21:16,126 --> 00:21:21,186 As President Trump just said, we are printing too much money. 257 00:21:21,246 --> 00:21:23,186 We are spending too much money. 258 00:21:23,346 --> 00:21:31,266 We printed in 22 months during COVID the same amount of money that had ever 259 00:21:31,266 --> 00:21:35,986 been printed in the history of the United States. Well, no more. 260 00:21:36,386 --> 00:21:45,506 With a strategic Bitcoin reserve, we will have an asset that in that period 261 00:21:45,506 --> 00:21:51,366 of time before 2045 can cut our debt in half. 262 00:21:51,706 --> 00:21:54,266 And as Michael Saylor said yesterday, 263 00:21:56,188 --> 00:22:07,828 If we put $3.3 million in a Bitcoin reserve, we will eliminate the United States debt. 264 00:22:08,068 --> 00:22:12,768 We will be debt free because of Bitcoin. 265 00:22:15,988 --> 00:22:18,928 Now, how would you pay for that? Where does that money come from? 266 00:22:18,988 --> 00:22:20,768 Well, she says you don't even have to raise taxes. 267 00:22:20,888 --> 00:22:27,828 Somehow the funds are already there. And you know what? We don't have to raise taxes to do it. 268 00:22:28,148 --> 00:22:35,048 We have the funds now. This bill provides that not only will the asset forfeiture 269 00:22:35,048 --> 00:22:38,168 money be transferred into this reserve, 270 00:22:38,528 --> 00:22:43,008 fulfilling President Trump's promise that he won't sell any Bitcoin, 271 00:22:43,328 --> 00:22:49,168 but we will We will convert excess reserves at our 12 federal reserve banks 272 00:22:49,168 --> 00:22:52,628 into Bitcoin over five years. 273 00:22:52,928 --> 00:22:55,068 We have the money now. 274 00:22:59,568 --> 00:23:05,808 OK, that's kind of a compelling argument, but I remain skeptical because I think 275 00:23:05,808 --> 00:23:12,108 you have to remember sometimes there is unintended consequences from government 276 00:23:12,108 --> 00:23:13,748 interaction with things like this. 277 00:23:14,548 --> 00:23:19,888 Senator Loomis also has a pretty, you know, strong motivation to support the dollar. 278 00:23:20,028 --> 00:23:24,588 She's a U.S. senator, so she's talking to Bitcoiners, but ultimately I suspect 279 00:23:24,588 --> 00:23:29,668 she's probably a U.S. dollar maxi, as she probably should be as an elected official. 280 00:23:29,748 --> 00:23:31,328 Here's part of her quote in the announcement. 281 00:23:31,828 --> 00:23:36,408 Quote, establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve would firmly secure the dollar's 282 00:23:36,408 --> 00:23:41,148 position as the world's reserve currency into the 21st century and ensure that 283 00:23:41,148 --> 00:23:43,888 we remain the world leader in financial innovation. Thank you. 284 00:23:44,557 --> 00:23:49,217 So, you know, she's very much saying Americans diversifying into Bitcoin is 285 00:23:49,217 --> 00:23:50,237 good for the U.S. dollar. 286 00:23:50,417 --> 00:23:53,677 And she has a stablecoin legislation, too, that suggests that stablecoins should 287 00:23:53,677 --> 00:23:57,797 be backed one-to-one to U.S. dollars, which would be great for the dollar. 288 00:23:57,877 --> 00:23:59,917 That'd create a lot of demand for U.S. dollars. 289 00:24:00,797 --> 00:24:04,717 So there's sometimes unintended consequences. There's sometimes secondary motives. 290 00:24:04,897 --> 00:24:08,877 But to see this conversation happening, to see the senator hitting on these 291 00:24:08,877 --> 00:24:13,797 points about inflation, about money printing, that part I feel good about. 292 00:24:13,797 --> 00:24:14,977 But I have a question for you. 293 00:24:16,257 --> 00:24:19,997 Please boost in how you feel about the U.S. creating a Bitcoin reserve from 294 00:24:19,997 --> 00:24:26,157 seized coins, first of all, because I think that could maybe potentially possibly 295 00:24:26,157 --> 00:24:29,097 incentivize the U.S. government just to seize more coins. 296 00:24:29,597 --> 00:24:34,837 And how do you feel about the U.S. government owning at least 5% of the supply out there? 297 00:24:35,377 --> 00:24:38,957 Let me know how you feel about those things. Boost in. We'll have a conversation about it. 298 00:24:44,477 --> 00:24:48,577 Well, this was interesting to see. It seems like we've had a lot of on again, 299 00:24:48,677 --> 00:24:52,757 then off again headlines out of Russia when it comes to Bitcoin and mining. 300 00:24:53,277 --> 00:24:59,097 But this week, two laws were passed and they go into effect just later this year. 301 00:24:59,617 --> 00:25:03,257 Russia's lower house of the Federal Assembly, also known as the state Duma, 302 00:25:03,417 --> 00:25:05,937 has passed two crypto-related laws on Tuesday. 303 00:25:06,117 --> 00:25:08,697 That's according to a Russia-based policy expert. 304 00:25:09,037 --> 00:25:12,537 The first law fully legalizes cryptocurrency mining in Russia from November 305 00:25:12,537 --> 00:25:16,497 1st of this year, and oversight over mining activities will be spread between 306 00:25:16,497 --> 00:25:20,697 different institutions, with the Bank of Russia seemingly having overriding powers. 307 00:25:21,037 --> 00:25:24,497 The second law, which comes into effect on September 1st, is a special experimental 308 00:25:24,497 --> 00:25:28,857 regime that allows the central bank to authorize selected companies to conduct 309 00:25:28,857 --> 00:25:32,717 cross-border settlements and exchange trading in digital currency. Huh! 310 00:25:33,357 --> 00:25:35,377 How about that? I'll keep my eye on that. 311 00:25:36,257 --> 00:25:41,977 Interesting to see. All right. Coming up, your boosts, I have some hands-on 312 00:25:41,977 --> 00:25:44,297 experience with the new Albi Hub that I want to tell you about, 313 00:25:44,477 --> 00:25:49,717 and details on a nasty-looking digital assets bill that just passed the House, 314 00:25:49,837 --> 00:25:51,417 and some big project updates. 315 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:57,840 Music. 316 00:25:53,837 --> 00:25:58,197 But first, I want to tell you about my friends at The Bitcoin Company. 317 00:25:58,877 --> 00:26:03,757 TheBitcoinCompany.com, promo code JUPITER. It lets you convert sats into gift 318 00:26:03,757 --> 00:26:05,697 cards quick using the Lightning Network. 319 00:26:05,937 --> 00:26:10,857 You can zap your sats quick and cheap, get a gift card, get some sats back on those purchases. 320 00:26:11,497 --> 00:26:16,557 And we use the promo code JUPITER. You'll get $5 in-app once you've spent $21 321 00:26:16,557 --> 00:26:23,417 USD and a thousand sat bonus. Plus, it kicks a few percent sats back to me. 322 00:26:24,708 --> 00:26:27,628 Way to support the show while you're just buying what you might be buying anyways 323 00:26:27,628 --> 00:26:31,148 i've chatted with the folks at the bitcoin company they're good people been 324 00:26:31,148 --> 00:26:34,788 using them myself for the entire year all of 2024. 325 00:26:35,408 --> 00:26:38,368 I think they're great if you've got sats on lightning and you want to convert 326 00:26:38,368 --> 00:26:43,408 it into one of many gift cards which is quick and easy check out the bitcoincompany.com 327 00:26:43,408 --> 00:26:48,148 and use that promo code jupiter when you check out and also if you're gonna 328 00:26:48,148 --> 00:26:52,168 stack sats with a dca i have a river affiliate link in the show notes. 329 00:26:52,328 --> 00:26:54,768 You use that and we both get a little something something. 330 00:26:54,988 --> 00:26:57,468 So check it out. All of that is in the show notes. 331 00:26:57,848 --> 00:27:00,548 Thank you everybody who supports the show through one of those means. 332 00:27:00,848 --> 00:27:03,628 And thank you everyone who supports with a booze. 333 00:27:05,608 --> 00:27:10,128 Open source accountant comes in with 5,000 sats. Make it so. 334 00:27:10,488 --> 00:27:13,488 My bet is that Satoshi is Tim Berners-Lee. 335 00:27:14,048 --> 00:27:18,488 Oh, I don't know if you're joking or not open source, but I like throwing this out there. 336 00:27:19,168 --> 00:27:22,828 I'm going to say disagree. I think I'm going to say hard disagree, 337 00:27:23,188 --> 00:27:28,728 actually, but now I'm not sure who I would like to throw out there as a possible Satoshi. 338 00:27:29,228 --> 00:27:32,388 Because, like, Adam Bach seems really obvious. Like, all the ones I want to 339 00:27:32,388 --> 00:27:33,828 go with are pretty boring. 340 00:27:34,628 --> 00:27:37,268 If anybody else has any guesses, let me know in an open source account, 341 00:27:37,368 --> 00:27:38,288 and thank you for that boost. 342 00:27:39,028 --> 00:27:42,788 Anonymous comes in with 4,444 sats. 343 00:27:42,888 --> 00:27:46,908 Things are looking up for old McDuck. You know, on a light news week, 344 00:27:46,948 --> 00:27:50,388 you could try to bank some special coverage of software or wallets or how-tos. 345 00:27:51,128 --> 00:27:54,388 Ah, thank you. And Anonymous also sent a row of ducks for the music. 346 00:27:54,428 --> 00:27:57,528 Thank you. You know, I have some thoughts on that. I'll tell you after the boost segment. 347 00:27:58,871 --> 00:28:04,631 Jazz Paratza Ajani comes in with 6,666 ads. Fun will now commence. 348 00:28:04,971 --> 00:28:08,811 Your response about TCP IP is exactly why the other blockchains will win out. 349 00:28:08,951 --> 00:28:12,611 A protocol is only useful if it can be built upon. 350 00:28:12,831 --> 00:28:17,511 The only thing you can do with Bitcoin is hodl it, whereas ETH and Sol are focused 351 00:28:17,511 --> 00:28:19,051 on hosting innovative services. 352 00:28:20,011 --> 00:28:24,891 Okay. He goes on, for Bitcoiners, a hard fork is a dirty word, 353 00:28:24,991 --> 00:28:28,371 but ETH has hard forks routinely because the community is focused on development. 354 00:28:28,371 --> 00:28:29,871 Moment, you have got to be kidding me. 355 00:28:30,871 --> 00:28:34,951 That is some serious cope, my friend. Again, I love this boost because this 356 00:28:34,951 --> 00:28:41,871 gets me talking, but to spin routine hard forks as a good thing feels like some 357 00:28:41,871 --> 00:28:44,971 sort of statism or something. I don't know. 358 00:28:45,411 --> 00:28:48,531 He goes on to say, you do realize that Ethereum and Solana are also open source, 359 00:28:48,651 --> 00:28:51,531 and you can self-host nodes in those ecosystems as well. 360 00:28:51,811 --> 00:28:55,431 In Ethereum, there are various options for both execution and consensus clients 361 00:28:55,431 --> 00:28:57,871 developed in a a variety of languages by various open source teams, 362 00:28:57,991 --> 00:28:59,431 and they can be mixed and matched. 363 00:28:59,511 --> 00:29:04,331 The newest execution client is written in Rust, except ETH block time is 12 364 00:29:04,331 --> 00:29:06,251 seconds rather than 10 minutes. 365 00:29:07,031 --> 00:29:15,991 You know, here's where I think I agree with you, Jasper. I agree with you that 366 00:29:15,991 --> 00:29:22,831 there is going to be demand one day for a smart contracts blockchain, 367 00:29:23,251 --> 00:29:25,571 and there's going to be more of that as we get real world assets. 368 00:29:26,211 --> 00:29:32,151 I just saw a headline that over 40 million drivers records, I don't know, 369 00:29:32,171 --> 00:29:37,411 title, that's what it was, car titles from the DMV of California have been added 370 00:29:37,411 --> 00:29:40,171 to the Avalanche blockchain, right? They're not going to do that on Bitcoin. 371 00:29:40,631 --> 00:29:43,371 And I think we're always going to see some kind of experiment with that, 372 00:29:43,391 --> 00:29:47,111 at least for the next decade. I don't know if much of it will be successful, but. 373 00:29:48,492 --> 00:29:51,452 What California claims the benefit is, is that title transfers, 374 00:29:51,512 --> 00:29:55,012 when you sell a vehicle, go from a week to a couple of minutes. 375 00:29:55,532 --> 00:29:58,272 And that you can do it through the web now or whatever. I don't know why they 376 00:29:58,272 --> 00:30:00,072 couldn't do it with the SQL database, but that's what they say. 377 00:30:00,872 --> 00:30:04,052 But let's back up here a little bit. The only thing you can do with Bitcoin 378 00:30:04,052 --> 00:30:07,132 is hodl it. Well, first of all, that's a pretty great thing. 379 00:30:07,992 --> 00:30:11,812 Storing your energy for something in the future that gives you greater returns 380 00:30:11,812 --> 00:30:15,132 is pretty awesome. And having something that's been as democratized as Bitcoin, 381 00:30:15,272 --> 00:30:20,172 it's available in a fraction, is an incredible new utility, extremely useful 382 00:30:20,172 --> 00:30:22,512 to the entire world, rich and poor. 383 00:30:23,652 --> 00:30:29,752 And even if it only was good for that, that would be an incredible innovation for humanity. 384 00:30:29,752 --> 00:30:34,352 And because Bitcoin is transparent, because you can account for every coin, 385 00:30:34,472 --> 00:30:39,732 unlike you can with ETH, and because it's been going for 15 years strong with 386 00:30:39,732 --> 00:30:44,092 an incredible network effect now, as evident by the ETFs and as evidenced by 387 00:30:44,092 --> 00:30:45,612 all the politicians pandering to Bitcoin, 388 00:30:45,852 --> 00:30:47,992 that's all of that. 389 00:30:48,112 --> 00:30:50,832 The network effect, all of that, is part of Bitcoin's value. 390 00:30:50,832 --> 00:30:55,192 And even if it was only that, what we have right now, I think that'd be worth it. 391 00:30:55,232 --> 00:30:58,452 And I still think it would make Bitcoin special above all the other cryptocurrencies 392 00:30:58,452 --> 00:30:59,772 because they are not that. 393 00:31:00,612 --> 00:31:04,972 But what you are shortchanging, and I think this happens a lot in the Bitcoin, 394 00:31:05,272 --> 00:31:10,192 anti-Bitcoin arguments, is you're skipping over the store of value part of an 395 00:31:10,192 --> 00:31:12,732 asset, which is a critical phase of an asset's development. 396 00:31:13,732 --> 00:31:17,912 Medium of exchange really needs store of value first because store of value 397 00:31:17,912 --> 00:31:22,132 is where you get price discovery. You cannot agree on how much we should sell 398 00:31:22,132 --> 00:31:26,092 a bag of apples for if we don't agree on what the Bitcoin's worth. 399 00:31:26,712 --> 00:31:30,032 We're getting there, but we need price discovery, and we have a long ways to go. 400 00:31:30,452 --> 00:31:34,772 You get price discovery through the store of value process of an asset. 401 00:31:35,492 --> 00:31:38,732 And you're trying to just bypass that with things like Solana. 402 00:31:39,332 --> 00:31:43,952 Now, Solana, sure, is it great to have decentralized applications and smart contracts? 403 00:31:44,972 --> 00:31:49,012 Probably. You know, I think it's weird. I got married in one state, 404 00:31:49,132 --> 00:31:52,972 and now I live in a different state, and I have to go back to that original 405 00:31:52,972 --> 00:31:54,252 state to get my marriage records. 406 00:31:54,432 --> 00:31:56,972 That's crazy. It seems like that should be fixed. 407 00:31:57,532 --> 00:31:59,832 And I don't think that's probably going to be fixed on top of Bitcoin. 408 00:32:00,392 --> 00:32:04,752 But I think you are fooling yourself if you think that Solana or Ethereum are 409 00:32:04,752 --> 00:32:08,412 equivalent to Bitcoin in terms of a store of value and is something that will 410 00:32:08,412 --> 00:32:10,212 eventually be a very trusted medium of exchange. 411 00:32:11,012 --> 00:32:15,372 Because Sol and ETH are, you know, they're really useful inside their own ecosystems. 412 00:32:15,772 --> 00:32:18,752 There's unlimited supply. And the insiders got a pre-mine. 413 00:32:19,792 --> 00:32:24,112 All of that diminishes its store of value. And you're not going to get to a 414 00:32:24,112 --> 00:32:25,852 successful medium exchange unless you have a store of value. 415 00:32:25,952 --> 00:32:29,532 What you're going to get is a bunch of stable coins running on top of those networks. 416 00:32:30,332 --> 00:32:32,472 You know, you'd be making fees indirectly. Well, congratulations. 417 00:32:34,665 --> 00:32:36,745 You know, and that'll become a battle of the technology platform. 418 00:32:37,125 --> 00:32:39,005 That's what that's going to be, right? 419 00:32:39,285 --> 00:32:43,685 Bitcoin is a monetary asset that's fighting things like gold and silver. 420 00:32:45,005 --> 00:32:48,865 Solana and Ethereum are going to fight amongst each other as the best smart 421 00:32:48,865 --> 00:32:52,065 contracts platform. And they're going to fight on price. 422 00:32:52,725 --> 00:32:54,525 They're going to fight on speed and features. 423 00:32:55,325 --> 00:32:57,105 And Bitcoin's just not even going to play that game. 424 00:32:58,265 --> 00:33:01,425 So it's silly to sit here and say the only thing Bitcoin's good for is HODLing. 425 00:33:01,425 --> 00:33:05,845 Good. Let's keep it that way for a while. And yeah, I know they're open source. I think that's great. 426 00:33:06,565 --> 00:33:08,725 I don't know what your point is about that, but I think that is great. 427 00:33:10,205 --> 00:33:15,005 No what's bit, no waste, okay, here we go. 428 00:33:15,105 --> 00:33:19,325 I got this. I got it this time. No waste, BTC signs. Ha! 429 00:33:19,885 --> 00:33:25,245 You supposed. 5,000 sats. And they wrote to say the great reset and the rise 430 00:33:25,245 --> 00:33:27,085 of Bitcoin is a great documentary. 431 00:33:27,285 --> 00:33:30,505 Okay, thank you. I'm looking for some documentaries. The great reset and the 432 00:33:30,505 --> 00:33:34,265 rise of Bitcoin, huh? All right. I'll take your word for that. 433 00:33:34,805 --> 00:33:41,685 Our next boost comes in from Ace Ackerman. And he comes in with 4,444 sats. 434 00:33:41,785 --> 00:33:45,945 No great Bitcoin documentaries come to mind, but I got hooked after reading 435 00:33:45,945 --> 00:33:48,425 The Internet of Money and The American Kingpin. 436 00:33:48,885 --> 00:33:52,945 And some value for value, 33 minutes of great analysis. USD stablecoin creation 437 00:33:52,945 --> 00:33:55,645 for Bitcoin as a reserve asset is a fair trade, I think. 438 00:33:56,085 --> 00:33:59,945 USD will eventually be digitized regardless. Probably does mean Bitcoin remains 439 00:33:59,945 --> 00:34:01,125 an asset and not a currency. 440 00:34:01,365 --> 00:34:06,205 Self-custody must be defended. I agree. B-O-O-S-T. 441 00:34:06,705 --> 00:34:07,305 Thank you. 442 00:34:07,925 --> 00:34:12,745 Halleck comes in with 10,000 sats. Yes, sir. Sir, sir, sir, sir. 443 00:34:13,245 --> 00:34:18,245 Welcome back, Chris. Feels like wild news is coming and I am here for it. I agree, Halleck. 444 00:34:18,745 --> 00:34:22,265 I have been hustling. The show has been on quite a bit of work the last couple 445 00:34:22,265 --> 00:34:25,405 of weeks, but I feel like we're capturing some really important times for Bitcoin. 446 00:34:25,565 --> 00:34:28,505 So I'm here for it. Thank you for the boost. 447 00:34:29,385 --> 00:34:35,325 Gene Bean comes in with 8,505 sats. Put some macaroni and cheese on there, too. 448 00:34:35,485 --> 00:34:39,825 Thank you, Gene Bean. He says, that banking association report you covered literally 449 00:34:39,825 --> 00:34:41,245 makes me sick to my stomach. 450 00:34:42,565 --> 00:34:46,265 I'm sorry, dude. I didn't mean for that. For newbie stuff, he says, 451 00:34:46,285 --> 00:34:48,685 maybe give an introduction to UTXOs and the like. 452 00:34:49,852 --> 00:34:53,292 And yes, I am on the electric car bandwagon. My wife and I both got ones from 453 00:34:53,292 --> 00:34:55,672 Kia, the EVE 6 and the EVE 9. 454 00:34:55,832 --> 00:34:58,692 We saw a ton of fuel. And yeah, I know we saw the price of fuel. 455 00:34:58,792 --> 00:35:01,012 You save a ton on the price. Yeah, I get you on that. 456 00:35:01,792 --> 00:35:04,572 He says, also appreciated the special targeted episode. Oh, good. I'm glad. 457 00:35:04,652 --> 00:35:07,012 I wasn't sure if people would like that or not, if I should have just included 458 00:35:07,012 --> 00:35:10,852 it this week, but it felt like we had enough to make it its own episode and 459 00:35:10,852 --> 00:35:11,892 kind of put it all in there. 460 00:35:12,452 --> 00:35:15,172 If people are interested in the Bitcoin conference, they can go listen to 20. 461 00:35:15,772 --> 00:35:18,992 And if they're not, I guess they could skip it, I suppose. 462 00:35:19,952 --> 00:35:22,852 Hopefully not though. Hopefully, hopefully you found it useful. 463 00:35:23,412 --> 00:35:27,212 Thank you for the boost, Gene Bean. I really appreciate it. The golden dragon 464 00:35:27,212 --> 00:35:31,152 comes in with 6,666 cents. 465 00:35:32,512 --> 00:35:35,392 I don't think the Trump, I don't think the Trump really gets Bitcoin. 466 00:35:35,552 --> 00:35:38,972 His campaign donation site shows he accepts a bunch of altcoins. Yeah. 467 00:35:39,552 --> 00:35:42,312 Which doesn't make a ton of sense to me if he's trying to get the Bitcoiners. 468 00:35:42,732 --> 00:35:47,352 But RFK does seem to get it. There will always be more bubbles in nonsense politically. 469 00:35:47,692 --> 00:35:49,452 Yeah, that looked to wreck our wallets. 470 00:35:50,712 --> 00:35:53,852 Yeah, they're just trying to, they want your donations, they want your coins. 471 00:35:53,952 --> 00:35:59,072 Yeah, I mean, more power to you if you want to donate your Bitcoin to a politician, 472 00:35:59,212 --> 00:36:00,652 but that is never going to be my thing. 473 00:36:00,932 --> 00:36:04,392 I suppose if I was really into it, I would, you know, and maybe I'd throw dirty 474 00:36:04,392 --> 00:36:06,492 fiat at them. What do they care, right? 475 00:36:07,132 --> 00:36:09,932 Next comes in with 5,000 sats, a Jar Jar Boost. You supposed! 476 00:36:10,392 --> 00:36:13,912 A beautifully straightforward breakdown of the RFK Trump and Saylor speech. 477 00:36:13,992 --> 00:36:17,292 Thank you. Thank you for the value back mix. I really appreciate that. 478 00:36:18,172 --> 00:36:22,092 Monty33 comes in with 2,222 sats. That's a row of ducks. 479 00:36:22,992 --> 00:36:25,992 I sent some noob questions your way on Matrix. I appreciate any knowledge you 480 00:36:25,992 --> 00:36:27,132 can pass along on the basics. 481 00:36:27,432 --> 00:36:31,372 Yes, you did, Monty. Stay tuned to After the Boost, which is right now, 482 00:36:31,392 --> 00:36:33,092 actually. Turns out that is the boost right there. 483 00:36:33,972 --> 00:36:39,172 So send in your noob questions. I have a great batch that did get sent in by Monty33. 484 00:36:39,812 --> 00:36:42,412 And so I've saved them up. I was going to cover them, but I think we just have 485 00:36:42,412 --> 00:36:43,552 plenty of news this week. 486 00:36:43,712 --> 00:36:46,452 But I'm going to try to work them into next week's episode, maybe the episode 487 00:36:46,452 --> 00:36:48,512 after, if you boost in and we get enough. 488 00:36:49,052 --> 00:36:52,472 So if you'd like to get your questions, your newbie Bitcoin questions answered, 489 00:36:52,592 --> 00:36:56,092 I'm going to do a batch of them for next week's episode and the week after. 490 00:36:56,592 --> 00:37:00,452 Now this week, this week we had a pretty good amount of boosters. 491 00:37:00,512 --> 00:37:03,752 We had 15 boosters across 24 boost total. It's a good number. 492 00:37:04,372 --> 00:37:09,452 Sat-wise, though, we only stacked 62,264 sats. 493 00:37:11,552 --> 00:37:17,332 I figure, you know, that's probably about $3.45 an hour for the around 12 hours 494 00:37:17,332 --> 00:37:18,372 I worked on this episode. 495 00:37:18,912 --> 00:37:22,292 Might not be your fault, though, actually, so don't feel too bad. 496 00:37:22,552 --> 00:37:26,772 I think that might have been on me, possibly. I admit it. 497 00:37:30,872 --> 00:37:35,532 I was having some note issues. Yeah, yep, I was having some node issues, 498 00:37:35,692 --> 00:37:39,892 and I got a brand new node this week. I got a brand new fancy node. 499 00:37:40,512 --> 00:37:43,312 Very excited about it. I want to tell you all about it. 500 00:37:43,872 --> 00:37:48,372 So if you boost in, you'll be helping me test my new lightning node this week, 501 00:37:48,452 --> 00:37:50,032 and hopefully I won't miss those stats. 502 00:37:50,252 --> 00:37:53,152 And I'd love it if we could rally it up. Last few episodes have been quite a 503 00:37:53,152 --> 00:37:57,332 bit of work, and I'm for it. I'm all here for it, but it's got to make sense financially, too. 504 00:37:57,472 --> 00:38:01,372 Thank you, everybody who does boost in it really means a lot especially this 505 00:38:01,372 --> 00:38:04,832 week you can boost with a new podcast app fountain is fantastic 506 00:38:05,252 --> 00:38:08,652 integrates with strike which is available now in 100 countries including the 507 00:38:08,652 --> 00:38:13,112 EU and the UK I think also customatic is such a winner integrates with Albie 508 00:38:13,112 --> 00:38:18,012 and podverse does as well there's so many great options at podcastapps.com go check all of those out, 509 00:38:18,532 --> 00:38:22,792 or you can boost from the web go to fountain.fm and just search for this week 510 00:38:22,792 --> 00:38:25,992 in bitcoin and you can actually just boost from their website too you don't 511 00:38:25,992 --> 00:38:27,372 even have to be signed in music. 512 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:59,600 Music. 513 00:38:59,449 --> 00:39:02,249 Been introduced and I had a chance 514 00:39:02,249 --> 00:39:05,429 to try it out this week in fact I got on a call with co-founder 515 00:39:05,429 --> 00:39:08,209 lead support and lead developer and 516 00:39:08,209 --> 00:39:10,889 asked all kinds of questions and if you are not 517 00:39:10,889 --> 00:39:13,869 familiar with Albi it's a browser extension and 518 00:39:13,869 --> 00:39:19,489 a service that is both a lightning wallet on-chain and also a key signer for 519 00:39:19,489 --> 00:39:24,049 Nostra apps and anything that use Nostra wallet connect very very handy application 520 00:39:24,049 --> 00:39:28,169 and some podcasting 2.0 apps use it as their back-end and they've We've recently 521 00:39:28,169 --> 00:39:31,709 been working on a system that is full self-custody, 522 00:39:31,729 --> 00:39:34,229 and this is Albi Hub. 523 00:39:34,449 --> 00:39:37,829 It features on-chain and lightning deposits and withdrawals. 524 00:39:37,849 --> 00:39:41,889 It has an app marketplace, which is essentially the different Nostra and Bitcoin 525 00:39:41,889 --> 00:39:43,929 apps that you can do key management for. 526 00:39:44,289 --> 00:39:47,789 You can buy Bitcoin inside of Albi as well. 527 00:39:48,149 --> 00:39:52,129 The browser extension continues to work with your Albi Hub. 528 00:39:52,269 --> 00:39:57,509 The developer APIs continue to work, which is incredible because we use that tooling. 529 00:39:57,769 --> 00:40:00,309 Here to pull all the boosts and generate our show docs. 530 00:40:00,949 --> 00:40:04,929 You can host it with their cloud version. You can run it on desktop if you want, 531 00:40:05,009 --> 00:40:09,789 or you can connect it to six different lightning backends, which is incredible. 532 00:40:10,069 --> 00:40:15,609 LDK, LND, Greenlight, PhoenixD, Breeze SDK, and Cashew Mints. 533 00:40:16,069 --> 00:40:19,249 I think the Cashew Mints one is probably for the braver ones of you. 534 00:40:20,343 --> 00:40:25,483 And so I did a migration from the traditional hosted original Albi wallet service, 535 00:40:25,723 --> 00:40:28,263 whatever you want to call that, I guess for the purposes of this, 536 00:40:28,283 --> 00:40:33,603 I'll just say the original custodial service. It was a seamless migration. 537 00:40:34,763 --> 00:40:38,023 They migrate your funds into the hub as well. 538 00:40:38,623 --> 00:40:42,083 You can transfer your balance, which means, so yeah, and the reason why you 539 00:40:42,083 --> 00:40:44,743 might want to do that is because it's kind of nice to start with a little bit 540 00:40:44,743 --> 00:40:45,903 of a balance in there to open up channels. 541 00:40:46,523 --> 00:40:49,743 They have a selection of liquidity providers, so they make that really easy. 542 00:40:50,343 --> 00:40:54,483 To open some inbound and outbound. And if you need to, you can move funds via 543 00:40:54,483 --> 00:40:57,963 on-chain as well, and we'll generate like a QR code or give you an address. 544 00:40:58,343 --> 00:40:59,663 You get a new node address. 545 00:41:01,503 --> 00:41:07,363 You're using a new node. You're no longer on Albi anymore. And it works with the same Nostra apps. 546 00:41:07,883 --> 00:41:13,183 And so you could also go get the Albi Hub software, the actual back-end software, 547 00:41:13,243 --> 00:41:16,723 which is available as a Docker Compose, or you can run it manually. 548 00:41:17,063 --> 00:41:18,543 You could run that on Linux as well. 549 00:41:19,083 --> 00:41:22,223 Or you could point this Albi Hub to your own existing node. 550 00:41:22,363 --> 00:41:26,323 So like something that we'll probably do is use our next Bitcoin node, 551 00:41:26,483 --> 00:41:29,603 and then we'll use Albi Hub in front of that to manage it. 552 00:41:29,783 --> 00:41:33,123 So we can manage the liquidity in the channels potentially, or at least get 553 00:41:33,123 --> 00:41:34,623 a UI. We'll see. I don't know how that's going to work. 554 00:41:35,003 --> 00:41:37,303 I haven't done that yet, but that would be nice. 555 00:41:38,023 --> 00:41:42,383 However, if you're looking for something that is a little more turnkey, 556 00:41:42,583 --> 00:41:44,683 they're also offering the Albi Cloud. 557 00:41:45,223 --> 00:41:49,023 And I decided to look into this because this is where I had the most questions 558 00:41:49,023 --> 00:41:51,003 is how does the Albi cloud work? And why do you want? 559 00:41:51,663 --> 00:41:54,763 Albi hub cloud versus Albi hub and what's the distinction? 560 00:41:54,883 --> 00:42:00,363 Well, I'll be hub cloud They're actually spinning up a node in a VM for you 561 00:42:00,363 --> 00:42:02,423 a dedicated node for yourself. 562 00:42:04,067 --> 00:42:08,707 But all of the contents are encrypted, and you decrypt the contents of that 563 00:42:08,707 --> 00:42:10,747 VM with your Albi Hub password. 564 00:42:11,367 --> 00:42:15,587 So when you log into Albi Hub, it decrypts the VM, and then it's accessible. 565 00:42:16,007 --> 00:42:19,607 The Albi folks themselves cannot even access your Lightning node. 566 00:42:20,067 --> 00:42:22,247 The reason why you might want a cloud 567 00:42:22,247 --> 00:42:26,287 node is because to receive Lightning payments, you need to be online. 568 00:42:26,547 --> 00:42:29,707 So you need to be online 24-7, especially if you're doing, like, 569 00:42:29,707 --> 00:42:33,187 podcasting and you're receiving boosts. You need to be on 24-7. 570 00:42:33,187 --> 00:42:36,067 So if you're hosting at home, you need to have a really good internet, 571 00:42:36,167 --> 00:42:37,027 you need to have a really good power. 572 00:42:37,987 --> 00:42:41,827 And so my option was either I host another node here at the studio, 573 00:42:41,927 --> 00:42:46,387 and then when the studio goes out, multiple nodes are down. Or I look at something like Albi Cloud. 574 00:42:47,107 --> 00:42:54,267 And they give you essentially a hosted lightning service for 21,000 sats per month. 575 00:42:55,087 --> 00:42:57,867 Now, depending on when you sign up, if you help them beta test, 576 00:42:57,947 --> 00:43:00,607 you might be able to get that for 10,000 sats or so for the first three months. 577 00:43:01,367 --> 00:43:04,587 But ultimately, the price of the program is 21,000 sats per month. 578 00:43:04,727 --> 00:43:07,987 Now, right now, that's a pretty fair price because this is a full-fledged lightning 579 00:43:07,987 --> 00:43:13,207 node with a nice UI to manage your channels and liquidity and your on-chain wallet. 580 00:43:13,527 --> 00:43:15,587 It's all encrypted to your password. 581 00:43:16,047 --> 00:43:21,987 It's non-KYC, which is incredibly amazing that they managed to pull this off without KYC. 582 00:43:22,367 --> 00:43:27,247 But the cost is 21,000 sats per month. That seems fair for what you're getting 583 00:43:27,247 --> 00:43:29,867 because if you go look at something like Voltage and their pricing. 584 00:43:29,987 --> 00:43:32,427 I believe it's much less than that. 585 00:43:32,807 --> 00:43:36,787 And then it's integrated in with the Albi extension and the overall Albi ecosystem. 586 00:43:37,107 --> 00:43:40,987 So now you can still use it for your Nostra payments, your podcasting 2.0 payments 587 00:43:40,987 --> 00:43:45,467 or receiving money, but it goes into your own custodial wallet, 588 00:43:45,547 --> 00:43:49,187 your own custodial Lightning node, either using Albi Hub with your own node 589 00:43:49,187 --> 00:43:50,967 that you bring or using Albi Hub Cloud. 590 00:43:52,220 --> 00:43:54,640 I know that's a lot, and some of you might not even know what I'm talking about, 591 00:43:54,820 --> 00:43:59,160 but Albi is a very important piece of the Lightning and Nostra ecosystem and 592 00:43:59,160 --> 00:44:00,080 the podcasting ecosystem. 593 00:44:01,180 --> 00:44:04,140 So I wanted to dig in there and ask them some of these questions about the no 594 00:44:04,140 --> 00:44:08,600 KYC and how the VMs are encrypted, and I was pretty satisfied with the answers that I got. 595 00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:12,000 So I went ahead and signed up, and now I'm using the Albi Hub Cloud. 596 00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:17,080 I'll be trying it for a while. I've got my basic inbound liquidity solved, 597 00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:20,920 I believe. So if you boost this week, you help me test the new node, 598 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:23,700 and I'll give a report back on how it went. 599 00:44:25,520 --> 00:44:37,040 Music. 600 00:44:36,020 --> 00:44:40,700 Thank you for watching. I mentioned a new bill that just passed the House that seems kind of nasty. 601 00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:48,900 It's actually been brewing since April of 2023. And I don't know why I just went through now. 602 00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:55,360 It's the bill to establish an independent fintech working group that features the CIA, 603 00:44:55,660 --> 00:45:00,900 the DHS, the NSA to bring them all in and wrap their head around digital asset 604 00:45:00,900 --> 00:45:07,920 technology and how it could be used to avoid sanctions or money launder or crime. right? 605 00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:13,800 And there's not a lot of news coverage about this, I think because it's kind of been a sleepy bill. 606 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:17,400 But it did pass the House this week, as The Rage is reporting. 607 00:45:17,840 --> 00:45:22,120 They write that the bill is meant to establish this independent financial technology 608 00:45:22,120 --> 00:45:25,340 working group to combat terrorism and illicit financing. 609 00:45:25,820 --> 00:45:29,680 So it's known as the Financial Technology Protection Act of 2023. 610 00:45:30,700 --> 00:45:38,340 Well, guess what? I have a clip from early 2023 when this bill was first introduced. 611 00:45:38,900 --> 00:45:42,620 Thank you. And I move to strike the last word. Thank you to both the members 612 00:45:42,620 --> 00:45:45,880 on the majority and the minority for your incredible help in both leading this 613 00:45:45,880 --> 00:45:50,900 effort, as well as that of addressing the Financial Technology Protection Act of 2023. 614 00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:55,980 Blockchain technology and the digital assets are here to stay and need an environment 615 00:45:55,980 --> 00:46:00,600 where they can grow in the United States, but not be taken advantage of by our adversaries. 616 00:46:01,220 --> 00:46:04,480 Through the transparency of, though the transparency of cryptocurrency, 617 00:46:04,940 --> 00:46:09,140 law enforcement now has a unique insight into the movement of illicit funds 618 00:46:09,140 --> 00:46:14,580 that help them track down and ultimately reclaim illegal profits and stop those 619 00:46:14,580 --> 00:46:17,700 from going to those who pose a direct threat to the United States. 620 00:46:18,180 --> 00:46:21,720 For instance, the Department of Justice seized a million dollars of Bitcoin 621 00:46:21,720 --> 00:46:24,040 that was funding Al-Qaeda. Bitcoin. 622 00:46:24,560 --> 00:46:29,820 This guy, and you know, Now, this guy's coming in with clear 2023 energy, too, right? 623 00:46:29,900 --> 00:46:35,640 So this, it just was just a couple of weeks ago where most of the federal government 624 00:46:35,640 --> 00:46:37,840 was anti-crypto and anti-Bitcoin. 625 00:46:37,900 --> 00:46:40,200 And you can feel this energy back in April of 2023. 626 00:46:40,820 --> 00:46:45,700 Al Qaeda getting funded by Bitcoin. To those who pose a direct threat to the United States. 627 00:46:46,783 --> 00:46:49,723 For instance, the Department of Justice seized a million dollars of Bitcoin 628 00:46:49,723 --> 00:46:51,203 that was funding Al-Qaeda. 629 00:46:51,643 --> 00:46:54,343 As a nearly 20-year veteran of the United States Air Force myself, 630 00:46:54,523 --> 00:46:58,503 I've flown intelligence operations over both Russia and China and deployed three 631 00:46:58,503 --> 00:47:02,423 times in the Middle East, with combat hours serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. 632 00:47:02,903 --> 00:47:07,283 In other words, he was a spook. There we have seen firsthand the threat stem to the United States. 633 00:47:07,683 --> 00:47:11,043 Later, I served as the director of cybersecurity at the White House National Security Council. 634 00:47:11,383 --> 00:47:15,543 Totally a spook. And I've seen the direct need to further explore and leverage 635 00:47:15,543 --> 00:47:20,283 blockchain technology as a countermeasure to combat illicit financing by terrorist 636 00:47:20,283 --> 00:47:24,383 groups, while also maintaining America's freedom to utilize this new technology. 637 00:47:24,783 --> 00:47:29,643 Utilize blockchain technology to stop terrorism. I think that just means surveillance. 638 00:47:30,463 --> 00:47:35,423 I think that's what that means. I mean, my primary concerns here really are 639 00:47:35,423 --> 00:47:39,623 not so much about money laundering or tax evasion, but it's just integrating 640 00:47:39,623 --> 00:47:42,003 intel agencies more into the process. 641 00:47:42,543 --> 00:47:45,283 You know, this is chaired by the undersecretary for terrorism, 642 00:47:45,323 --> 00:47:46,303 financial intelligence. 643 00:47:46,843 --> 00:47:51,923 Guy seems to be really in on it. He's implicitly trying to get the IRS, 644 00:47:52,143 --> 00:47:55,343 OFAC, FBI, DEA and the Department of Homeland Security, 645 00:47:55,703 --> 00:48:01,163 Secret Service, the state department and the CIA all working on this council. 646 00:48:01,163 --> 00:48:03,323 So, you know, blockchain experts, right? 647 00:48:03,403 --> 00:48:07,623 Everybody knows how the State Department and the Secret Service are all blockchain experts. 648 00:48:08,363 --> 00:48:11,223 According to the bill, the group would report on the, quote, 649 00:48:11,243 --> 00:48:15,663 potential use cases of digital assets and other related emerging technologies by states, 650 00:48:15,863 --> 00:48:21,703 non-state actors, and foreign terrorist organizations and other terrorist groups, 651 00:48:21,843 --> 00:48:24,703 which could be US citizens, to evade sanctions, 652 00:48:25,543 --> 00:48:28,663 finance terrorism, or launder money. 653 00:48:30,508 --> 00:48:33,708 Of course, anything that threatens the, quote, national security of the United States. 654 00:48:34,568 --> 00:48:39,548 So the group is going to make some legislative proposals to prevent the evasion of sanctions. 655 00:48:39,588 --> 00:48:42,668 So they're going to come out with a bunch of different proposals, essentially. 656 00:48:43,188 --> 00:48:47,308 But this really is some nasty people working together with a lot of 2023 energy. 657 00:48:47,828 --> 00:48:51,468 I just don't like it. So I'm going to keep my eye on this and I'll report more, 658 00:48:51,588 --> 00:48:54,108 see if something like this starts brewing up in the Senate. 659 00:48:56,048 --> 00:48:58,868 All right, how about some project updates? Would you like that? 660 00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:06,160 Music. 661 00:49:04,408 --> 00:49:09,588 One of the neat things that was going on at the Bitcoin conference was Strike 662 00:49:09,588 --> 00:49:15,048 was piloting a new payment backend via a plug-in to the BTC Pay server. 663 00:49:16,068 --> 00:49:19,408 Maybe I think I'm just looking for an excuse to talk about BTC Pay server, 664 00:49:19,568 --> 00:49:24,228 which is just absolutely a cool project for anybody that's looking to do like 665 00:49:24,228 --> 00:49:25,608 a self-hosted point of sale system. 666 00:49:26,228 --> 00:49:30,128 But the neat thing that's happened is the community, I think. 667 00:49:30,128 --> 00:49:33,968 I think it's from the BTC pay side, wrote a Strike plugin using their new API, 668 00:49:34,328 --> 00:49:36,568 and it worked incredible. 669 00:49:37,148 --> 00:49:44,428 767 Lightning payments were processed, over 50 million sats, a 100% success rate. 670 00:49:46,008 --> 00:49:50,588 And I think this is probably Jack, whoever runs the Strike account, adds a fun fact. 671 00:49:50,668 --> 00:49:55,748 A little over 75% of the payments came from wallets on the open network, 672 00:49:55,908 --> 00:49:57,688 and then Strike was used for the rest. 673 00:49:58,308 --> 00:50:02,808 That is really, really cool. It's really cool to see that just strike. 674 00:50:02,928 --> 00:50:08,508 I think has a lot of potential They've navigated the last few years and remained a Bitcoin company. 675 00:50:08,668 --> 00:50:15,308 You know when others have been tempted by the sweet song of tether and got a 676 00:50:15,308 --> 00:50:18,668 lot of tether money or others got involved with crap coins, 677 00:50:19,408 --> 00:50:23,628 Jack remain focus on Bitcoin and he's built a solid little company over there 678 00:50:23,628 --> 00:50:26,328 with good services so it's good to see strike kind of, 679 00:50:27,447 --> 00:50:30,947 don't know, reaching sort of this utility level, I suppose, for payments. 680 00:50:31,547 --> 00:50:34,667 I like what I see and I hope they keep going. I'm a big fan. 681 00:50:35,947 --> 00:50:39,847 I want to do a little follow up on God Bless Bitcoin, the documentary I played 682 00:50:39,847 --> 00:50:41,207 a trailer for not too long ago. 683 00:50:41,307 --> 00:50:44,187 I watched it and I think it was better than I expected. 684 00:50:44,327 --> 00:50:47,467 It is very stylized. So I know that'll bother some of you. 685 00:50:47,887 --> 00:50:50,887 And I personally think it could have done with some fresh faces. 686 00:50:50,967 --> 00:50:54,767 It's a lot of the same people you always see in kind of the Bitcoin media class 687 00:50:54,767 --> 00:50:59,727 out there, but I also grok that this is really meant for a new segment. 688 00:51:00,007 --> 00:51:03,587 But it touched on a lot of economic principles and ideas that I think people 689 00:51:03,587 --> 00:51:06,007 need to grok to appreciate Bitcoin. They did that well. 690 00:51:06,467 --> 00:51:11,187 And they also appealed to multiple religions, not just one. I think I was expecting 691 00:51:11,187 --> 00:51:13,167 them to focus on Christianity. 692 00:51:13,787 --> 00:51:18,627 And they kind of made the appeal for how Bitcoin kind of fits in with various popular religions. 693 00:51:18,927 --> 00:51:21,907 So it was multi-religious. And they kind of did that all at the end. 694 00:51:22,507 --> 00:51:25,167 And there was little hints of it here and there throughout the documentary, 695 00:51:25,287 --> 00:51:27,327 but leading up to it, it was mostly fundamentals. 696 00:51:27,647 --> 00:51:30,707 And then they kind of did at the end kind of that, well, if you're Hindu, 697 00:51:30,847 --> 00:51:34,747 if you're Christian, you know, if you're Jewish, they just kind of did all the 698 00:51:34,747 --> 00:51:38,127 different pitches for the different popular religions. I thought that was interesting. 699 00:51:38,787 --> 00:51:42,487 I will put a link to the full documentary in the show notes. It is up on YouTube. 700 00:51:42,847 --> 00:51:46,267 And then this week they posted like a little excerpt or something that didn't 701 00:51:46,267 --> 00:51:47,547 get included in the documentary. 702 00:51:48,247 --> 00:51:52,747 And it's called Busting FUD. And I'll put a link to busting. 703 00:51:52,787 --> 00:51:56,787 No, it's not called busting FUD. It's called the biggest Bitcoin myth debunked. 704 00:51:57,087 --> 00:52:01,267 And I will also put a link to that in the show notes. But they did have a good 705 00:52:01,267 --> 00:52:03,747 FUD busting segment that I wanted to pull for you. 706 00:52:03,787 --> 00:52:07,947 They cover like the biggest FUD that Bitcoin's under from like, 707 00:52:08,027 --> 00:52:13,467 you know, questions about Satoshi to questions about what if Bitcoin disappears? 708 00:52:13,827 --> 00:52:15,947 It's just a mirage. It's a digital thing. 709 00:52:16,527 --> 00:52:21,827 But of course, they did a great one on energy. And I just I love the future 710 00:52:21,827 --> 00:52:27,727 of Bitcoin and energy the two things together I think is so promising and this clip really nails it, 711 00:52:28,870 --> 00:52:33,370 Okay, but a lot of people think Bitcoin is ruining the environment because it 712 00:52:33,370 --> 00:52:36,190 uses way too much energy. So let's explore that. 713 00:52:37,970 --> 00:52:42,450 The percentage of renewables operating in the Bitcoin network for mining is 714 00:52:42,450 --> 00:52:43,690 actually shockingly high. 715 00:52:43,910 --> 00:52:47,470 Most power that's used for Bitcoin mining is green energy. It's renewable energy, 716 00:52:47,670 --> 00:52:51,370 it's waste energy, and so it's actually not adding to the carbon footprint of the planet. 717 00:52:51,590 --> 00:52:55,530 According to the Bitcoin Mining Council, which makes up over half of the global 718 00:52:55,530 --> 00:53:01,670 Bitcoin mining network, approximately 58% of Bitcoin mining operations utilize 719 00:53:01,670 --> 00:53:03,570 green and renewable energy. 720 00:53:04,350 --> 00:53:09,470 This means that Bitcoin mining has the highest renewable fuel mix makeup of 721 00:53:09,470 --> 00:53:11,010 any other industry in the world. 722 00:53:11,210 --> 00:53:15,330 And the great thing about Bitcoin is that Bitcoin mining is instantaneous and 723 00:53:15,330 --> 00:53:17,810 it's mobile. So you can chase cheap energy. 724 00:53:18,010 --> 00:53:22,170 The most successful Bitcoin miners are those who find the cheapest energy and 725 00:53:22,170 --> 00:53:25,590 the cheapest energy is the energy that does the least damage to the environment. 726 00:53:25,590 --> 00:53:31,150 Bitcoin mining, proof-of-work mining is leading the transition to renewables. 727 00:53:31,350 --> 00:53:36,130 So for those who care about a transition to clean and green energy sources, 728 00:53:36,590 --> 00:53:41,730 they really should be embracing Bitcoin mining because this is how we are going to get there. 729 00:53:41,950 --> 00:53:44,430 It uses so much, it uses as much energy as these small countries. 730 00:53:45,370 --> 00:53:50,570 Okay, you mean different than the banking industry? I mean, branches, 731 00:53:50,710 --> 00:53:52,330 do you drive by on your way home to work? 732 00:53:53,110 --> 00:53:56,210 Have you ever been in a bank? Why do we have these big buildings being heated 733 00:53:56,210 --> 00:53:58,490 and cooled and people sitting around doing nothing? 734 00:53:59,230 --> 00:54:02,810 We all use our ATM cards. We wire money to each other. 735 00:54:03,150 --> 00:54:07,270 So there's a lot of electricity that's used in a lot of things. 736 00:54:07,330 --> 00:54:11,390 Gold mining uses six times the amount of electricity as Bitcoin. 737 00:54:11,710 --> 00:54:17,150 Everything we do, all of us, every day, is take energy and convert it to value. 738 00:54:17,830 --> 00:54:21,990 Bitcoin actually is the perfect conversion of energy to value. 739 00:54:22,330 --> 00:54:25,370 You ever seen the picture of the United States at night? It's totally black 740 00:54:25,370 --> 00:54:27,590 except for North Dakota and West Texas. 741 00:54:29,140 --> 00:54:33,860 Because they're flaring gas, right? They produce oil and there's some gas that comes out. 742 00:54:33,960 --> 00:54:37,720 They don't have any pipelines, so they literally put it up in the air and they light it on fire. 743 00:54:37,940 --> 00:54:43,640 Really bad for the environment, you know, cool light show, but that's a negative. 744 00:54:43,840 --> 00:54:48,240 So what could we do? We could take that gas, we could attach a micro turbine 745 00:54:48,240 --> 00:54:53,140 to it, and we could turn electricity into Bitcoin. 746 00:54:53,500 --> 00:54:59,380 Could attach a miner to it. Now, we don't need a pipeline to send that value. 747 00:54:59,480 --> 00:55:00,760 All we need is an internet connection. 748 00:55:01,200 --> 00:55:05,940 We don't need to get right-of-ways. We don't need to kill any birds with windmills and wind farms. 749 00:55:06,180 --> 00:55:09,720 And that is a perfect conversion of energy to value. 750 00:55:09,800 --> 00:55:13,480 It's actually a net positive for the environment. If you're taking the carbon out from the flared gas, 751 00:55:13,760 --> 00:55:19,640 that's a huge positive, but no one talks about that because the incumbents don't 752 00:55:19,640 --> 00:55:25,040 want, the banks don't want this migration to a better form of money. 753 00:55:25,140 --> 00:55:29,200 The entire debunk video is about 17 minutes long. I think it's worth watching. 754 00:55:29,720 --> 00:55:32,940 That's one of my favorite things about where Bitcoin is going to be in the future 755 00:55:32,940 --> 00:55:37,540 is to help capture those methane off gas where they just burn them right now. 756 00:55:37,880 --> 00:55:42,000 Every time I see a flare going off, I think, you fools, you fools could be earning 757 00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:43,420 Bitcoin right now. You fools. 758 00:55:44,940 --> 00:55:48,200 Hey, if you made it this far, please do consider boosting into the show. 759 00:55:48,560 --> 00:55:53,080 I really do appreciate the support. and you can also go to thisweekinbitcoin.show 760 00:55:53,080 --> 00:55:56,200 and get all the links to the stuff we talked about today. 761 00:55:56,480 --> 00:56:00,260 Lots of extra stuff in the show notes this week. I'd also love to boost in with 762 00:56:00,260 --> 00:56:04,280 what you'd like to hear. If there's a story I missed, let me know and tell me about it. 763 00:56:04,400 --> 00:56:06,860 Now, I am gonna leave you with a value for value track. 764 00:56:07,200 --> 00:56:09,160 It's one of my absolute favorites. 765 00:56:09,980 --> 00:56:12,920 It's 4AM Forever by Curtis Drums. 766 00:56:14,800 --> 00:58:16,383 Music.