1 00:00:00,017 --> 00:00:05,757 I think that you will spend 40,000 hours of your life, maybe 60,000 hours of 2 00:00:05,757 --> 00:00:06,937 your life trying to make money. 3 00:00:07,457 --> 00:00:19,577 It is worthwhile to spend 100 hours of your life figuring out how to keep it. Thanks for watching. 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:23,760 Music. 5 00:00:23,477 --> 00:00:26,337 Welcome in to episode 28 of This Week in Bitcoin. 6 00:00:26,437 --> 00:00:30,637 My name is Chris, and I know I'm a little early this week. I was a little late 7 00:00:30,637 --> 00:00:33,517 last week. I'm all over the place, but don't blame me. 8 00:00:33,737 --> 00:00:37,517 You blame the news cycle. It's J-POW last week, and this week, 9 00:00:37,537 --> 00:00:39,897 it's major news for Bitcoin. 10 00:00:41,097 --> 00:00:45,417 But I want to set the stage first. To help you understand the context around 11 00:00:45,417 --> 00:00:48,277 why we saw some of the announcements we saw in just the last few days, 12 00:00:48,877 --> 00:00:52,417 I think we need to understand just how bad the situation is that's driving all 13 00:00:52,417 --> 00:00:53,637 of this behind the scenes. 14 00:00:53,637 --> 00:00:57,577 And it's so beautifully demonstrated in an interview that was just published 15 00:00:57,577 --> 00:01:01,277 by Jon Stewart in The Daily Show with Christine Lagarde. 16 00:01:01,397 --> 00:01:05,477 And she's one of these politicians that I don't ever think been voted for by 17 00:01:05,477 --> 00:01:09,377 the people, but she's moved in and out of government since, well, 18 00:01:09,417 --> 00:01:14,337 basically my entire life. But particularly, she's sort of the chief gaslighter 19 00:01:14,337 --> 00:01:15,617 for the European Central Bank. 20 00:01:15,757 --> 00:01:18,637 And she sat down to talk with Jon Stewart. 21 00:01:19,097 --> 00:01:24,517 And in the very introduction of her, you can kind of get a sense that she's 22 00:01:24,517 --> 00:01:25,937 just moved around all the time. 23 00:01:26,077 --> 00:01:30,017 She's just one of these government creatures that never leaves government. 24 00:01:30,377 --> 00:01:35,417 We were just talking. Last time that I saw you, you were the French minister of finance. 25 00:01:35,697 --> 00:01:39,097 Right. And then you moved on IMF. And I came back. 26 00:01:39,257 --> 00:01:42,077 And you came back. and then now you are 27 00:01:42,077 --> 00:01:45,317 the head of the ECB which is for context similar 28 00:01:45,317 --> 00:01:48,097 to like what the Fed would be I assume for the United 29 00:01:48,097 --> 00:01:51,637 States that's right and you lowered 30 00:01:51,637 --> 00:01:57,437 interest rates as well yes we started a little earlier okay I didn't know was 31 00:01:57,437 --> 00:02:01,937 gonna go there right away I didn't know we were gonna do this right away we 32 00:02:01,937 --> 00:02:08,677 we only did 25 he did 50 you only did 25 but then we did it again so So that's 50-50. 33 00:02:10,957 --> 00:02:14,117 So they're basically in sync. He asked if they coordinate. Of course, 34 00:02:14,137 --> 00:02:15,717 he says, no, we don't. We don't coordinate. 35 00:02:16,477 --> 00:02:20,197 After they get past that and they have a good laugh about how funny it is that 36 00:02:20,197 --> 00:02:21,037 they're now lowering rates. 37 00:02:21,477 --> 00:02:25,257 And, you know, this is both the most friendly interview and yet substantive 38 00:02:25,257 --> 00:02:27,177 interview you're going to hear with Christine Lagarde. It's ironic. 39 00:02:27,817 --> 00:02:33,537 So John asked her, how are we doing in general with inflation? 40 00:02:33,537 --> 00:02:38,257 Do these rate cuts indicate that perhaps inflation has been, 41 00:02:38,277 --> 00:02:39,297 I think he said, defeated? 42 00:02:40,157 --> 00:02:44,877 But is it now, is that the signal inflation has been defeated? 43 00:02:47,057 --> 00:02:47,697 It's... 44 00:02:48,390 --> 00:02:52,690 Not quite. We are getting there. We are we are almost at target. 45 00:02:52,830 --> 00:02:57,970 What are you pointing at? My target is two. 46 00:02:58,370 --> 00:03:02,850 Two percent. I want to get to two percent. What is it now? It's two point two. 47 00:03:03,290 --> 00:03:06,930 But I want to make sure that we are at two and that we stay at two percent, 48 00:03:07,010 --> 00:03:09,890 because that's regarded as sort of stable inflation. 49 00:03:10,130 --> 00:03:13,670 And we look at that in the medium term. So we don't want to have one month at 50 00:03:13,670 --> 00:03:16,210 two percent and then another month at two point six percent. 51 00:03:16,650 --> 00:03:20,530 You know, because 2% is this great target that they've come up with, 52 00:03:20,590 --> 00:03:22,570 which is, of course, I'm being facetious. 53 00:03:22,710 --> 00:03:25,410 John kind of does get into this. I want it to be steady, solid. 54 00:03:25,730 --> 00:03:28,130 At two? At two. And we're getting very close. Who chose two? 55 00:03:28,330 --> 00:03:30,310 Who was the two-chooser? 56 00:03:30,430 --> 00:03:34,250 You know, interestingly enough, that was way back, and I think New Zealand was 57 00:03:34,250 --> 00:03:37,650 one of those that started it. And we're all following New Zealand now. 58 00:03:38,630 --> 00:03:42,190 That's what this is. New Zealand one day went, you know what would be a good number? 59 00:03:43,670 --> 00:03:46,990 Two. Oh, they love 2%. 60 00:03:47,830 --> 00:03:52,870 Go look it up. It's compounding. So if you go look it up, it's a nice little 61 00:03:52,870 --> 00:03:56,050 grift. At 2%, they get a good grift. 62 00:03:56,090 --> 00:04:02,910 They can devalue your dollar or your currency and make their debt a little more worthless. 63 00:04:02,990 --> 00:04:06,770 It's a great little system. In fact, I would really like to sincerely invite 64 00:04:06,770 --> 00:04:08,310 someone to boost in with a great, 65 00:04:09,131 --> 00:04:13,751 I don't know, elevator explainer as to how 2% inflation is horrible, 66 00:04:13,871 --> 00:04:17,051 because I've tried to put the words together on this show, and I feel like I 67 00:04:17,051 --> 00:04:20,191 haven't properly conveyed it. I mean, it's a tricky thing to explain. 68 00:04:20,951 --> 00:04:25,171 Christine herself tries to explain where inflation comes from and kind of accidentally 69 00:04:25,171 --> 00:04:27,351 admits, well, in part, it was government printing. 70 00:04:27,571 --> 00:04:32,111 So what caused the inflation in the first place? Do we have a handle on that? 71 00:04:32,451 --> 00:04:36,811 Yes. Okay. Shall we take the last big, big inflation wave that we had? 72 00:04:37,371 --> 00:04:41,271 No. As an example, no, no, but, no, okay. 73 00:04:42,251 --> 00:04:45,271 Yes. But as an example, okay, so what caused it? 74 00:04:45,731 --> 00:04:53,231 You had three components. One is you had the worst pandemic ever since the 20s. 75 00:04:53,231 --> 00:04:54,491 Yes. The last 20s. That's right. 76 00:04:54,551 --> 00:04:58,351 Now, she would have just left it at the pandemic, but it's not the pandemic. 77 00:04:58,531 --> 00:05:02,071 It was the lockdown and the shutdowns, which, to his credit, 78 00:05:02,191 --> 00:05:04,951 John does bring up. Then you had. So a shutdown of. 79 00:05:05,171 --> 00:05:08,831 Shutdown of. Now, that would seem to be deflationary because it would seem like 80 00:05:08,831 --> 00:05:10,331 demand would disappear. 81 00:05:11,231 --> 00:05:15,691 Well, some demand disappeared and some demand stayed, particularly when people 82 00:05:15,691 --> 00:05:18,131 continued to receive, you know, checks in the mail. 83 00:05:18,631 --> 00:05:23,351 The mistake was keeping people alive. No, no, no, no, no. I get it now. 84 00:05:23,531 --> 00:05:24,991 I get what's happening here. 85 00:05:26,571 --> 00:05:30,731 You know, it is funny that the stimulus checks do get so much of the blame. 86 00:05:30,731 --> 00:05:35,291 I think it's, you know, it does make sense that we stimulated demand by giving 87 00:05:35,291 --> 00:05:39,911 people more money at a time when the supply chain was extremely screwed up. 88 00:05:39,971 --> 00:05:43,911 I was publicly saying that's a bad idea at the time. So it definitely had a 89 00:05:43,911 --> 00:05:46,351 factor, but it's clearly printing. 90 00:05:46,551 --> 00:05:50,651 It's the overall expenditures by the governments in general during the pandemic 91 00:05:50,651 --> 00:05:54,131 that added so much to the money supply. I was going to say M2. 92 00:05:54,731 --> 00:05:58,191 So they kind of get into that a little bit, but you never really get a satisfactory 93 00:05:58,191 --> 00:06:01,351 answer when it comes to what caused the inflation there. 94 00:06:01,411 --> 00:06:05,011 But remember, she said she had three other things. And so they get into energy. 95 00:06:05,251 --> 00:06:08,571 So supply chain completely disrupted. Yes. 96 00:06:09,051 --> 00:06:10,851 First. Second, we had. 97 00:06:11,715 --> 00:06:16,675 At least in Europe, the worst war since the 40s. Still going on in Ukraine. 98 00:06:16,815 --> 00:06:18,375 Still going on in Ukraine. So energy, wheat. 99 00:06:18,755 --> 00:06:24,175 Energy, wheat, all sorts of commodity prices went down, especially given that dear Mr. 100 00:06:24,335 --> 00:06:29,995 Putin anticipated that and weighed on energy prices. So they weighed on energy supply. 101 00:06:30,195 --> 00:06:33,895 So that prices started going up even before the war started. 102 00:06:34,215 --> 00:06:40,555 I mean, was it Putin that convinced Germany to buy a bunch of natural gas from Russia? 103 00:06:40,555 --> 00:06:45,335 You know, these decisions were made by the leadership in the European Union, 104 00:06:45,455 --> 00:06:48,575 and they went for less dense energy that they could generate, 105 00:06:48,715 --> 00:06:53,435 and they just did all of the dirty lifting by Russia and got great deals from Russia. 106 00:06:53,575 --> 00:06:57,195 And when Russia saw that they were trying to get Ukraine into NATO, 107 00:06:57,395 --> 00:06:59,815 they strategically started to prepare for that. 108 00:07:00,555 --> 00:07:04,255 So did they not? Did the European Union not prepare for that? 109 00:07:04,615 --> 00:07:11,155 I mean, we knew what was happening since 2014 when they seized Crimea and the 110 00:07:11,155 --> 00:07:12,375 government was overthrown. 111 00:07:12,715 --> 00:07:15,955 And then when we started talking about adding them to NATO and putting weapons 112 00:07:15,955 --> 00:07:19,535 on the border of Ukraine, it seemed like it was very possible that could lead 113 00:07:19,535 --> 00:07:20,535 to some kind of conflict. 114 00:07:20,815 --> 00:07:24,955 Are you telling me, Christine, that the European Union didn't prepare for that 115 00:07:24,955 --> 00:07:27,315 and you were caught flat-footed by all of this? 116 00:07:27,475 --> 00:07:31,795 He had planned that all along. So energy prices were a big component in the 117 00:07:31,795 --> 00:07:33,395 supply chain disruption. Yeah. 118 00:07:34,015 --> 00:07:38,755 Energy. Now that's in Europe. We did not have that to the same extent, I would assume. 119 00:07:38,875 --> 00:07:42,375 So you see, they're not responsible for the supply chain issues caused by the 120 00:07:42,375 --> 00:07:44,135 lockdowns. That's just supply chain disruption. 121 00:07:44,415 --> 00:07:47,255 They're not responsible for the energy price planning because, 122 00:07:47,315 --> 00:07:50,215 well, everything was going great until Putin wanted to have his war. 123 00:07:50,595 --> 00:07:54,815 So they're not responsible for any of that policy that led to these kinds of 124 00:07:54,815 --> 00:07:56,495 dependencies, they're just victims. 125 00:07:56,715 --> 00:08:01,095 A little bit, but not, yeah, you're right. Because you have energy on site in 126 00:08:01,095 --> 00:08:03,315 the country. We don't have any energy sources. Oh sure, you know why? 127 00:08:03,935 --> 00:08:08,315 Drill, baby, drill. That's, that's, did you know that's our national anthem? 128 00:08:09,375 --> 00:08:12,235 That's what we, we sing it before every ball game. 129 00:08:12,635 --> 00:08:18,375 It's something we do. I mean, they laugh, they laugh, but I would rather have energy independence, 130 00:08:19,375 --> 00:08:24,515 than to be at the will of Putin and to be crushed, have my economy crushed because 131 00:08:24,515 --> 00:08:28,155 we didn't plan for Putin to raise prices or actually, let's be honest, 132 00:08:28,235 --> 00:08:29,195 Putin didn't raise prices. 133 00:08:30,224 --> 00:08:34,684 They put embargoes in, right? They made it illegal to do business with Russia. 134 00:08:35,304 --> 00:08:37,924 Putin didn't make it illegal to do business with Russia. Now, 135 00:08:37,944 --> 00:08:40,544 should they have? I'm not trying to make a moral decision. 136 00:08:41,064 --> 00:08:45,844 I'm just making an economic call here. So she talks about it like there's nothing 137 00:08:45,844 --> 00:08:49,804 we could have done when they are the ones that are responsible for the lockdowns 138 00:08:49,804 --> 00:08:52,424 and shutting down the economy and disrupting the supply chain. 139 00:08:53,044 --> 00:08:57,024 They're the ones that knew a war was coming because they were involved in trying 140 00:08:57,024 --> 00:08:59,924 to bring Ukraine into NATO, which was stoking the war to begin with. 141 00:09:00,564 --> 00:09:05,484 And they're the ones that have invested in lesser dense forms of energy like 142 00:09:05,484 --> 00:09:07,384 solar and wind instead of nuclear. 143 00:09:08,024 --> 00:09:11,924 Those are all policy decisions that they made. You know it, and I know it, 144 00:09:11,984 --> 00:09:15,004 and the investment world knows it. 145 00:09:15,284 --> 00:09:18,284 They can come on here and they can gaslight the general public, 146 00:09:18,904 --> 00:09:21,524 but the rest of the world really does know what's going on. 147 00:09:21,544 --> 00:09:24,704 Well, not the rest of the world, but those that are watching the markets, 148 00:09:24,864 --> 00:09:27,824 those that are trying to make money, they know what's going on, 149 00:09:27,824 --> 00:09:30,704 And they can't hide it from, say, Wall Street. 150 00:09:31,104 --> 00:09:35,104 And that's the context that I want you to have when we talk about this week's news. 151 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:45,680 Music. 152 00:09:45,064 --> 00:09:49,384 Well, the Bitcoin ETF skeptics look pretty foolish this week. 153 00:09:50,504 --> 00:09:54,584 Collectively, the Bitcoin ETFs now have over $20 billion under management. 154 00:09:54,584 --> 00:09:59,504 BlackRock's ETF, which is iBIT, I-B-I-T, it's the heavyweight champion. 155 00:09:59,644 --> 00:10:02,624 It's twice as big as the next Bitcoin ETF. 156 00:10:03,004 --> 00:10:06,024 And there has been some big news in this last week. 157 00:10:06,324 --> 00:10:11,804 The SEC has greenlighted option trading for BlackRock's iBIT spot Bitcoin ETF. 158 00:10:12,504 --> 00:10:14,924 This is an accelerated approval at that as well. 159 00:10:15,644 --> 00:10:18,504 And there are some requirements in here. The options are going to be physically 160 00:10:18,504 --> 00:10:21,864 settled, meaning Bitcoin is going to be delivered when the option is exercised. 161 00:10:21,864 --> 00:10:27,324 And this approval at a high level allows investors to hedge their Bitcoin positions 162 00:10:27,324 --> 00:10:30,524 up or down to manage volatility through this options market. 163 00:10:30,904 --> 00:10:35,264 And this options market is estimated to be about a quadrillion in size. 164 00:10:35,724 --> 00:10:42,764 So what this means for Bitcoin is really big money and institutions that never, 165 00:10:42,804 --> 00:10:46,764 ever would have come into Bitcoin without these options to hedge both directions 166 00:10:46,764 --> 00:10:50,984 of the volatility are now entering the Bitcoin space or will be entering the Bitcoin space. 167 00:10:51,664 --> 00:10:55,924 This also sets the Bitcoin ETF far and above any other cryptocurrency. 168 00:10:57,184 --> 00:11:01,204 Because these options, it's like, you know, you see a lot of DeFi degeneracy 169 00:11:01,204 --> 00:11:03,984 where people are, you know, they're betting up and down on things and they're 170 00:11:03,984 --> 00:11:05,784 earning yield on their DeFi assets. 171 00:11:06,424 --> 00:11:09,164 And it just, it's so complicated and degenerate. 172 00:11:09,944 --> 00:11:11,624 It's hard to even wrap your head around it. 173 00:11:13,183 --> 00:11:17,063 Wall Street does this for a living every single day through these options, 174 00:11:17,263 --> 00:11:21,223 only it's through the regulated processes and exchanges, for better or for worse. 175 00:11:21,883 --> 00:11:27,243 And I think you could argue that this big money coming into Bitcoin is going 176 00:11:27,243 --> 00:11:29,663 to be a great thing for existing Bitcoin bag holders. 177 00:11:30,163 --> 00:11:33,503 I think you see people out there saying it's awful because you're going to have 178 00:11:33,503 --> 00:11:37,923 more people buying the ETF, so they're going to have just the ETF price exposure. 179 00:11:37,983 --> 00:11:39,423 They're not going to have the protection of Bitcoin. 180 00:11:40,023 --> 00:11:43,563 They're not going to have an asset they can take with them. this isn't good for Bitcoin adoption. 181 00:11:44,223 --> 00:11:47,663 I hear them say that it's going to give the Bitcoin ETFs more control over Bitcoin. 182 00:11:48,463 --> 00:11:49,863 I disagree on all those points. 183 00:11:51,443 --> 00:11:54,283 Institutionally, I don't think there's a lot of investors out there that were 184 00:11:54,283 --> 00:11:56,363 going to want to try to put Bitcoin on a cold card. 185 00:11:56,963 --> 00:11:59,643 They were always going to want to go through some sort of route like this. 186 00:12:00,483 --> 00:12:03,543 Additionally, if Bitcoin was ever going to be successful, Wall Street was going 187 00:12:03,543 --> 00:12:04,843 to arrive, and it is here now. 188 00:12:05,423 --> 00:12:09,123 But it doesn't make it less useful for us. There's still the peer-to-peer market. 189 00:12:09,903 --> 00:12:12,823 Traditional finance on top of Bitcoin doesn't change the code. 190 00:12:12,883 --> 00:12:13,703 It doesn't change the rules. 191 00:12:14,963 --> 00:12:17,943 Just because Michael Saylor has a big bag doesn't mean he gets to determine 192 00:12:17,943 --> 00:12:22,023 what the Bitcoin node operators do or miners or developers. 193 00:12:23,123 --> 00:12:27,463 We're always going to see this because we are the generation that's going to 194 00:12:27,463 --> 00:12:28,683 watch this adoption occur. 195 00:12:28,823 --> 00:12:31,123 So we are going to be here as we see. The same thing happened in Linux. 196 00:12:32,183 --> 00:12:35,963 It was just the nerds, right? It was just the extreme nerds. 197 00:12:38,243 --> 00:12:42,003 And And we still see shocks to this day 20 years later, almost 30, 198 00:12:42,143 --> 00:12:44,803 like things like IBM coming along and buying Red Hat. 199 00:12:45,303 --> 00:12:49,403 And it goes from this idea of this absolutely hippie free software Richard Stallman 200 00:12:49,403 --> 00:12:53,463 kind of ideal to something that still massively benefits the market, 201 00:12:53,543 --> 00:12:55,743 but isn't quite what all the idealists thought it would be. 202 00:12:56,203 --> 00:13:00,483 But Bitcoin, Bitcoin is it's different because that that layer, 203 00:13:00,563 --> 00:13:03,443 it's almost like its own layer two on top of Bitcoin. 204 00:13:04,023 --> 00:13:07,023 And some of the folks that will take advantage of these options where they can 205 00:13:07,023 --> 00:13:12,623 have puts or calls and hedge against volatility and make some profits is going to be the miners. 206 00:13:12,923 --> 00:13:18,063 Right now, the miners really have no option but to sell their Bitcoin when things get tough. 207 00:13:18,603 --> 00:13:20,603 But now they're going to be able to take advantage of these options. 208 00:13:21,263 --> 00:13:25,043 So it's not going to be just Wall Street. It's going to be the miners as well. 209 00:13:25,063 --> 00:13:26,743 And will it impact the price? Yes. Yes. 210 00:13:27,524 --> 00:13:32,184 This is going to be massive for the price. Jeff Park, he's the head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise. 211 00:13:32,724 --> 00:13:36,384 He had a hell of a tweet. This guy really knows his stuff. 212 00:13:36,504 --> 00:13:41,324 It's above my pay grade, but I read it and I wanted to just TLDR a bit of it for you. 213 00:13:41,564 --> 00:13:46,324 And I'll link to the full quote that he has. But here is the bits that I wanted to just relay. 214 00:13:46,684 --> 00:13:52,084 It starts with, quote, with today's approval by the SEC to list trade options 215 00:13:52,084 --> 00:13:57,384 for the Bitcoin ETF, I shared that we are on the verge of witnessing the most 216 00:13:57,384 --> 00:14:00,904 extraordinary upside vol of vol in financial history. 217 00:14:01,004 --> 00:14:04,104 Again, he writes, the most extraordinary upside of the volatility. 218 00:14:04,484 --> 00:14:09,144 He goes on to say, in summary, the Bitcoin ETF options market is the first time 219 00:14:09,144 --> 00:14:13,924 the financial world will see regulated leverage on a perpetual commodity that 220 00:14:13,924 --> 00:14:15,404 is truly supply constrained. 221 00:14:15,984 --> 00:14:21,584 Things will likely get wild in such scenarios, regulated markets may shut down. 222 00:14:21,704 --> 00:14:25,204 But the The remarkable thing about Bitcoin is that there will always be a parallel 223 00:14:25,204 --> 00:14:28,124 decentralized market that can't be shut down. 224 00:14:28,624 --> 00:14:34,324 Unlike the game stock, stock GME, which, as you can imagine, was shut down. 225 00:14:34,604 --> 00:14:38,044 This is going to add even more fuel to the fire because you can't shut down Bitcoin. 226 00:14:38,464 --> 00:14:41,504 And I don't know how it's going to work when some of these price fluctuations 227 00:14:41,504 --> 00:14:45,044 are ripping on the weekend and these guys can't sell their options because Wall Street's closed. 228 00:14:45,924 --> 00:14:50,384 I'm not going to be playing that game. But, you know, they have ways of protecting 229 00:14:50,384 --> 00:14:52,564 themselves. These guys know what they're doing, N-Gals. 230 00:14:53,024 --> 00:14:55,604 But what Jeff Park is saying here from Bitwise. 231 00:14:56,628 --> 00:15:00,468 Is that this is going to be a ripper of a price mover for Bitcoin, 232 00:15:00,708 --> 00:15:05,508 because these institutions don't even get involved with assets unless they have 233 00:15:05,508 --> 00:15:11,588 these options to protect themselves on both the upside and the downside of the asset. 234 00:15:12,068 --> 00:15:18,668 So this is, from what I can tell, the traditional finance people are just over 235 00:15:18,668 --> 00:15:22,168 the moon excited about this. It's huge, huge news. 236 00:15:23,388 --> 00:15:26,728 And everyday bitcoiners plebs don't really 237 00:15:26,728 --> 00:15:31,848 seem to care and i think we will see this bifurcation a bit until the plebs 238 00:15:31,848 --> 00:15:35,628 are are starting to still the plebs start to see the price rip and when they 239 00:15:35,628 --> 00:15:38,868 start to see the price rip they're going to ask what's causing it and then they're 240 00:15:38,868 --> 00:15:42,208 going to have to try to get all up to speed on everything i just told you about 241 00:15:42,208 --> 00:15:44,368 so it's we're not there yet, 242 00:15:44,928 --> 00:15:48,308 you know these things you know this these options just got approved like on 243 00:15:48,308 --> 00:15:49,888 friday i think or something like that. 244 00:15:50,048 --> 00:15:52,308 So it takes a little while for this stuff to get moving. 245 00:15:52,548 --> 00:15:58,068 But you combine that with rate cuts and maybe after the election, we've had some time. 246 00:15:58,508 --> 00:16:01,908 This is going to be one more thing that helps grease that wheel. 247 00:16:02,868 --> 00:16:05,608 And then BlackRock also got a 248 00:16:05,608 --> 00:16:10,508 little tough and rough with Coinbase when it comes to their ETF holdings. 249 00:16:11,068 --> 00:16:15,088 On September 16th, BlackRock asked the SEC to change the Bitcoin withdrawal 250 00:16:15,088 --> 00:16:20,308 procedures for its Bitcoin spot ETF due to concerns over Coinbase custody practices. 251 00:16:21,068 --> 00:16:26,128 The request now mandates Bitcoin withdrawals be completed within 12 hours of 252 00:16:26,128 --> 00:16:27,308 receiving client instructions. 253 00:16:28,208 --> 00:16:34,328 Now, based on reporting from Atlas 21, I kind of get a strong sense that a couple 254 00:16:34,328 --> 00:16:40,088 of big customers of BlackRock's ETF got spooked by rumors that maybe Maybe Coinbase 255 00:16:40,088 --> 00:16:43,868 didn't have all of the Bitcoin they claim to have. 256 00:16:44,388 --> 00:16:46,148 People start to suspect foul play. 257 00:16:47,167 --> 00:16:51,127 I don't know about that. I think people get a little antsy when the price goes 258 00:16:51,127 --> 00:16:53,167 sideways for a while and they start looking for reasons. 259 00:16:53,567 --> 00:16:56,187 ETF expert that I've mentioned before on the show from Bloomberg, 260 00:16:56,347 --> 00:17:01,747 Eric B., noted that BlackRock also let it slip that they are running their own 261 00:17:01,747 --> 00:17:06,327 Bitcoin node and that they verify the Bitcoin balances of their addresses on 262 00:17:06,327 --> 00:17:08,127 Coinbase Prime every night, 263 00:17:08,307 --> 00:17:11,927 ensuring that the Bitcoins held in the iBit fund are properly validated. 264 00:17:11,927 --> 00:17:16,347 Now, I'm not sure why they say they need a node for that, but they say they're running a node. 265 00:17:16,647 --> 00:17:20,967 And Eric also added that that information, that verification information is 266 00:17:20,967 --> 00:17:26,727 available to institutional clients upon request, but they do not publish it to avoid spam. 267 00:17:27,007 --> 00:17:30,307 I guess they don't want people screwing around and spamming their addresses. 268 00:17:31,347 --> 00:17:35,787 Eric really does seem to know his stuff. So I'm going to take his reporting at face value here. 269 00:17:36,307 --> 00:17:39,707 He's been calling this the entire time very well. 270 00:17:39,807 --> 00:17:44,247 And he is an expert in this field. And he stresses over and over again that 271 00:17:44,247 --> 00:17:47,427 they're very serious about their holdings, that this is a big part of their brand. 272 00:17:47,547 --> 00:17:51,207 And they're very serious about not messing it up. But the reality is, 273 00:17:51,407 --> 00:17:54,487 and a lot of us Bitcoiners have been calling it from the start, 274 00:17:54,647 --> 00:18:00,647 no matter how you slice this thing, Coinbase is a critical point of failure for most of these ETFs. 275 00:18:00,647 --> 00:18:04,207 Not all of them, but that's just going to make some investors uneasy. 276 00:18:05,087 --> 00:18:08,147 So you're going to see, I think, more diversification here. 277 00:18:08,427 --> 00:18:13,947 We're going to see announcements about big mainstream banks being allowed to custody Bitcoin. 278 00:18:14,327 --> 00:18:18,967 And then you'll probably see one or two of these ETFs move over to this mainstream bank. 279 00:18:19,447 --> 00:18:23,247 Because these are the types of things that really make investors feel better about the product. 280 00:18:24,176 --> 00:18:28,256 And so I have to imagine Coinbase, in the meantime, has to do everything possible 281 00:18:28,256 --> 00:18:29,916 to try to keep the market's confidence up. 282 00:18:30,296 --> 00:18:34,956 And things like outages and, well, just all the other kind of crap coinery that 283 00:18:34,956 --> 00:18:38,396 they do and whatnot just doesn't instill that confidence in the market. 284 00:18:38,616 --> 00:18:40,676 So I think they're going to be looking for another custodian. 285 00:18:46,536 --> 00:18:51,016 OK, this is a pretty neat story. story there's a country out there with around 286 00:18:51,016 --> 00:18:56,256 not even a million in population I believe and they have just been discovered 287 00:18:56,256 --> 00:18:59,816 as the fourth largest nation-state holding Bitcoin. 288 00:19:00,096 --> 00:19:05,436 And now moving to Asia Bhutan the Himalayan kingdom known for prioritizing happiness 289 00:19:05,436 --> 00:19:10,896 over wealth has quietly emerged as a major player in the cryptocurrency world 290 00:19:10,896 --> 00:19:14,356 with 780 million dollars worth of Bitcoin Bitcoin, 291 00:19:14,436 --> 00:19:17,316 which is nearly a third of its GDP, 292 00:19:17,776 --> 00:19:21,776 Bhutan has become the fourth largest government holder of Bitcoin. 293 00:19:22,156 --> 00:19:27,596 Now what's fueling the country's ambitions to become a leader in green crypto mining? 294 00:19:28,576 --> 00:19:32,776 Here's our report with answers. I saw some good natured, competitive responses 295 00:19:32,776 --> 00:19:36,796 from Max Keiser and El Salvador folks because I believe this puts them ahead 296 00:19:36,796 --> 00:19:39,296 of El Salvador just by a bit. 297 00:19:40,176 --> 00:19:45,916 Nestled in the Himalayas, Bhutan, a tiny Buddhist kingdom with fewer than 900,000 298 00:19:45,916 --> 00:19:50,776 people, has emerged as an unexpected yet powerful player in the world of cryptocurrency. 299 00:19:54,196 --> 00:19:57,676 Known for its serene landscapes, happiness-centric philosophy, 300 00:19:58,016 --> 00:20:03,236 and commitment to sustainability, Bhutan has quietly amassed a significant treasure. 301 00:20:03,596 --> 00:20:07,196 How do I get in on this? This sounds like a great place to do a podcast. 302 00:20:07,196 --> 00:20:12,936 Over 13,000 Bitcoin worth approximately $780 million. 303 00:20:14,750 --> 00:20:19,930 For a country with a GDP of just under $3 billion, this is a staggering sum, 304 00:20:20,730 --> 00:20:24,450 making Bhutan the fourth largest government holder of Bitcoin globally. 305 00:20:25,030 --> 00:20:29,710 The Himalayan kingdom is only behind the United States, China and the United 306 00:20:29,710 --> 00:20:33,570 Kingdom as it overtook El Salvador, Ukraine and Germany. 307 00:20:34,390 --> 00:20:38,570 Unlike the United States and China, which gained their cryptocurrency through 308 00:20:38,570 --> 00:20:43,250 seizures and legal battles, Bhutan took a more proactive approach by investing 309 00:20:43,250 --> 00:20:45,090 directly in Bitcoin mining. 310 00:20:45,310 --> 00:20:47,170 Oh, I had to leave that part in there. 311 00:20:47,450 --> 00:20:52,290 Yeah, so they have hydro and they set up mining and they started hydro mining. 312 00:20:54,130 --> 00:20:59,330 And I don't know if they mine all 13,000 Bitcoin, but that's pretty great. So they're number four. 313 00:20:59,470 --> 00:21:04,210 So UK, US and China are above them. But like the report pointed out, 314 00:21:04,290 --> 00:21:06,110 they had to seize their Bitcoin. 315 00:21:06,370 --> 00:21:09,410 So I have to ask, let's have some fun. And, you know, we don't talk price a 316 00:21:09,410 --> 00:21:13,510 lot on the show, but after all, I think people could use a little relief. 317 00:21:13,710 --> 00:21:16,550 The price action has been sideways, which I'm always fine with, 318 00:21:16,570 --> 00:21:18,850 actually kind of sets a floor, reduces volatility for a bit. 319 00:21:19,770 --> 00:21:23,170 But you've probably been feeling that it's coiling up, that a lot of these things 320 00:21:23,170 --> 00:21:26,770 like the rate cuts and institutional adoption, nation state adoption, 321 00:21:26,950 --> 00:21:28,050 they're all kind of building. 322 00:21:28,370 --> 00:21:32,250 So what is your price prediction for Bitcoin on Christmas Day? 323 00:21:32,950 --> 00:21:38,190 Boost in your price prediction with all of this coming up. it could go down. 324 00:21:38,210 --> 00:21:39,210 We could have a major recession. 325 00:21:39,470 --> 00:21:42,670 So if you want to put an argument as to why you think the price will be what 326 00:21:42,670 --> 00:21:44,190 it is, I'd love to see that too. 327 00:21:44,550 --> 00:21:48,410 So boost it and let me know, what is your price prediction for Bitcoin on Christmas 328 00:21:48,410 --> 00:21:50,090 day? But it's time to move on. 329 00:21:50,320 --> 00:22:05,040 Music. 330 00:22:04,893 --> 00:22:08,893 If you want to stack Zats, I suggest you use River if you're in the U.S. 331 00:22:08,893 --> 00:22:12,453 I have a link in the show notes, and I've really put it over the top because 332 00:22:12,453 --> 00:22:14,253 now they have their reserves public. 333 00:22:14,793 --> 00:22:18,433 Anyone can verify that they hold the Bitcoin they say they hold. 334 00:22:18,793 --> 00:22:22,433 Additionally, their DCA options just for automatic purchase at whatever dollar 335 00:22:22,433 --> 00:22:25,173 amount you want is really clean and easy to use. 336 00:22:25,313 --> 00:22:28,193 And then when it's time to withdraw, you can withdraw over Lightning, 337 00:22:28,513 --> 00:22:31,533 which is not only going to reduce your fees and means you get to keep more of 338 00:22:31,533 --> 00:22:35,393 your stack, but it also increases your privacy. I have a link in the show notes. 339 00:22:35,453 --> 00:22:37,673 If you want to use my affiliate link, it just helps me out. I have no official 340 00:22:37,673 --> 00:22:40,413 relationship with them. I just think River is a great company. 341 00:22:41,133 --> 00:22:44,273 Also a plug to the Bitcoin well, if you're in Canada and you want to stack sats, 342 00:22:44,353 --> 00:22:48,033 no affiliation link there, but I think that's a great company as well. 343 00:22:48,033 --> 00:22:51,053 And the last but not least, if you want to get yourself something with your 344 00:22:51,053 --> 00:22:53,013 sats, I recommend the Bitcoin Company. 345 00:22:53,253 --> 00:22:57,693 Keep it all on Lightning, maintain your privacy and convert it into a gift card 346 00:22:57,693 --> 00:23:00,513 for hundreds and hundreds of brands instantly. 347 00:23:00,733 --> 00:23:03,913 You can even log in with the Lightning Network so you don't have to create like 348 00:23:03,913 --> 00:23:05,373 a user ID or anything like that. 349 00:23:05,693 --> 00:23:10,313 It's a great, great system. The Bitcoin Company dot com. Use my promo code Jupiter. 350 00:23:10,993 --> 00:23:13,853 You get some extra sats and I get some extra sats. 351 00:23:13,953 --> 00:23:17,233 Helps me out to appreciate that when you support the show. And of course, 352 00:23:17,233 --> 00:23:19,113 I appreciate it when you boost in. 353 00:23:20,251 --> 00:23:24,311 Because this is a Value for Value podcast. Let's get to those boosts. 354 00:23:24,311 --> 00:23:28,471 It's a shorter boost segment this week because I was out late last week, 355 00:23:28,551 --> 00:23:32,651 the episode was, and then I'm recording two days early this week. 356 00:23:32,751 --> 00:23:36,591 So we're going to have reduced boosts, but there's still some great ones to 357 00:23:36,591 --> 00:23:39,931 get to, like the Podfather, who's our baller booster this week. 358 00:23:43,031 --> 00:23:46,231 Adam Curry comes in with 25,000 sats. 359 00:23:46,471 --> 00:23:51,051 Boosting is loving. Alvin, you are right about that, Podfather. 360 00:23:51,931 --> 00:23:54,831 Loving the work over there at the Podcasting 2.0 show. If you're a listener 361 00:23:54,831 --> 00:23:58,891 and wondering what the heck is Podcasting 2.0 and what's going on and what are 362 00:23:58,891 --> 00:24:03,531 the new developments, go over to the Podcast Index and search for the Podcasting 2.0 show. 363 00:24:04,191 --> 00:24:07,531 Adam and Dave get into it every week, and you get to attend the meetings as 364 00:24:07,531 --> 00:24:09,971 they discuss it all out in the open. Thank you, Podfather. 365 00:24:10,691 --> 00:24:15,311 Podhome comes in with 15,000 sats. I hoard that which you're kind covet. 366 00:24:16,391 --> 00:24:20,251 Podhome is our hosting platform, a great podcasting 2.0 hosting platform. 367 00:24:20,911 --> 00:24:24,511 They write, another great episode, Chris. I love the high signal and high production value. 368 00:24:24,791 --> 00:24:28,111 So I'm sending your show to normies to learn about Bitcoin. Keep it going, 369 00:24:28,251 --> 00:24:29,691 please. Oh, that's great. 370 00:24:30,231 --> 00:24:33,371 I know we can go a little deep for normies, but I am going to try to keep the 371 00:24:33,371 --> 00:24:35,551 newbie section going if people boost in newbie questions. 372 00:24:36,071 --> 00:24:40,851 And I'm happy to always help people on board. I hope we do it through the value for value system, too. 373 00:24:40,911 --> 00:24:44,511 I dream that some of you are stacking sats because you got into boosting. 374 00:24:45,311 --> 00:24:48,131 And maybe you'll have a little generational wealth just by saving some of those 375 00:24:48,131 --> 00:24:50,091 sats over time. I don't know if that's true. 376 00:24:50,751 --> 00:24:54,031 Every now and then I hear from folks, but I don't hear a lot from the boosters. 377 00:24:54,111 --> 00:24:59,871 But I hope some of you, I hope you do what I do, is I have my saving sats and I have my spending sats. 378 00:25:00,571 --> 00:25:04,651 And I just charge up my Lightning Wallet with a couple of hundred thousand sats. 379 00:25:04,751 --> 00:25:06,111 Yeah, I guess I'm a big baller. 380 00:25:06,251 --> 00:25:09,031 But I spend that over months, you know. I spend it over months. 381 00:25:09,091 --> 00:25:11,291 And meanwhile, I'm still DCA and I'm still stacking. 382 00:25:11,731 --> 00:25:14,651 I'm still trying to do what I can to maintain my actual savings account. 383 00:25:14,651 --> 00:25:16,851 So I have like a savings and a checking account, only in this case, 384 00:25:16,871 --> 00:25:18,611 it's a lightning account and a cold wallet. 385 00:25:19,991 --> 00:25:23,011 And I hope some of you are doing that too. If you are, let me know. 386 00:25:23,171 --> 00:25:23,991 I want to know your strategy. 387 00:25:24,933 --> 00:25:29,613 Marcel comes in with 9,000 sats. Hey, I was going to say it's over 9,000, 388 00:25:29,613 --> 00:25:33,053 but instead I'll put some mac and cheese on it. Put some macaroni and cheese on there, too. 389 00:25:33,593 --> 00:25:37,233 Marcel writes, long time no boost. Is liquid really as good as coin join? 390 00:25:37,633 --> 00:25:41,273 Is coin join still really a thing? It seems like it was taken out of Sparrow. 391 00:25:41,353 --> 00:25:44,133 Always interested to hear more about the privacy side. Great show. Keep it up. 392 00:25:45,713 --> 00:25:51,193 I bet you I could do a segment on this. You know, do the topic some proper loving 393 00:25:51,193 --> 00:25:54,153 and really kind of dig into this a bit. 394 00:25:54,933 --> 00:25:57,893 And I would say if you're looking for a replacement to Coinjoins, 395 00:25:58,013 --> 00:25:58,973 you could look into Coinjam. 396 00:25:59,293 --> 00:26:03,873 But what I do with Liquid, I don't know if I would consider it an equivalent. 397 00:26:04,393 --> 00:26:09,293 What Liquid is doing is you're pegging into another chain. And when you peg 398 00:26:09,293 --> 00:26:10,933 in, you peg in with your Bitcoin. 399 00:26:11,753 --> 00:26:15,693 That UTXO, those Bitcoin, when you peg out, they're totally different. 400 00:26:16,233 --> 00:26:20,213 So you break the tracking. And everything you do inside Liquid, 401 00:26:20,353 --> 00:26:23,493 inside the Liquid network, is totally private. So if you're spending between 402 00:26:23,493 --> 00:26:28,433 liquid wallets and, you know, doing like moving into bolts, all of that's completely 403 00:26:28,433 --> 00:26:29,833 private inside the liquid network. 404 00:26:30,153 --> 00:26:32,233 And then when you peg out, it's a new address. 405 00:26:32,913 --> 00:26:35,933 So there's no link there. I mean, you could peg out with different amounts, right? 406 00:26:35,993 --> 00:26:41,713 So you could peg in, say, 500,000 sats into liquid, and maybe you spend 200,000 407 00:26:41,713 --> 00:26:44,413 sats inside liquid, and then you peg the rest out. So it's a different amount, 408 00:26:44,453 --> 00:26:45,713 too. So it makes the tracking very hard. 409 00:26:46,253 --> 00:26:49,813 That's a high level answer to liquid versus coin join. But if there's interest, 410 00:26:49,933 --> 00:26:54,293 let me know, and I'll actually sit down, put my words on the screen, 411 00:26:54,353 --> 00:26:56,353 and think it through and give you a description. 412 00:26:56,773 --> 00:26:59,753 I have played around a bit with, I think it's called Jam Market. 413 00:27:00,513 --> 00:27:04,173 Oh, I'm blanking on the name, but you'll see it on the Start9 nodes and on Umbral 414 00:27:04,173 --> 00:27:08,693 that will let you host your own coin jam session. That's some good software. 415 00:27:09,153 --> 00:27:13,893 Very much recommended. So if you would like, I will do a follow-up on that in the future. 416 00:27:15,153 --> 00:27:21,593 Oppie1984 comes in with 4,000 sats. That matrix is worth a thousand dilithium crystals. 417 00:27:22,093 --> 00:27:26,513 World Liberty coin makes me think of Liberty dollar from the early 2000s. 418 00:27:26,513 --> 00:27:28,313 Totally not a scam. No, sir. 419 00:27:29,073 --> 00:27:35,873 Yeah. Oh, God. I mean, the Liberty world, World Liberty, whatever it is, stuff is really cringe. 420 00:27:36,833 --> 00:27:40,693 And it feels like a weird play. Like, why do it right before the election? 421 00:27:40,873 --> 00:27:43,853 That's the bet I just can't wrap my head around. Are you expecting not to win? 422 00:27:43,993 --> 00:27:48,053 And so this is like a plan B? or because like if you get an office and then 423 00:27:48,053 --> 00:27:50,673 your family's making all this money off this defi token that doesn't seem good 424 00:27:50,673 --> 00:27:53,953 either like it's just not really like a win scenario here, 425 00:27:54,753 --> 00:27:59,493 i i have to believe it's the youngins like baron and and and the trump kids 426 00:27:59,493 --> 00:28:03,913 that you know they've dad's now been convinced that crypto is the is like a 427 00:28:03,913 --> 00:28:07,293 new industry that should be embraced and so hey we're going to be part of that 428 00:28:07,293 --> 00:28:12,113 new industry i i couldn't i don't know i'd love to to hear your theories. 429 00:28:12,433 --> 00:28:16,353 Gene Bean comes in with 2,400. Four to four, so... The traders love the Vol. 430 00:28:16,873 --> 00:28:19,193 Thought I'd give playback and boosting with True Fans a try, 431 00:28:19,293 --> 00:28:22,353 since its activity pub features are coming along nicely. 432 00:28:23,709 --> 00:28:27,249 Yeah, I would love to hear some feedback on True Fans and the ActivityPub stuff. 433 00:28:27,489 --> 00:28:29,989 I also hear they're working on apps for mobile. 434 00:28:30,569 --> 00:28:35,469 I like that it's a progressive web app, but I understand that some people want a native app. 435 00:28:35,669 --> 00:28:38,649 Keep us posted, Gene Bean. You could be our True Fans, you know, 436 00:28:38,669 --> 00:28:39,489 what do they say, correspondent. 437 00:28:40,229 --> 00:28:43,589 You know, tell us what you're learning on the scene, Gene Bean. Thanks for the boost. 438 00:28:44,649 --> 00:28:49,889 Ace Ackerman comes in with a row of ducks, 2,222 sats. I have the same concerns 439 00:28:49,889 --> 00:28:54,909 as Arthur Hayes on the possible roles of ETF hoarding and devaluation of the network. 440 00:28:55,449 --> 00:28:58,429 Last week, just a side note, this is me, not the boost. 441 00:28:58,629 --> 00:29:01,629 I played a clip of Arthur Hayes saying that he thinks one of the reasons why 442 00:29:01,629 --> 00:29:05,169 BlackRock is getting all the love is because if they can suck up a good portion 443 00:29:05,169 --> 00:29:08,749 of the value, essentially the network of Bitcoin, then, well, 444 00:29:08,769 --> 00:29:10,429 the government doesn't need to seize everyone's Bitcoin. 445 00:29:10,609 --> 00:29:13,369 They just need to seize or tax the ETFs. They can, you know, 446 00:29:13,389 --> 00:29:16,209 who knows, right? But that's the theory. 447 00:29:16,829 --> 00:29:20,789 So that's what Ace Ackerman is responding to. He goes on to say it's likely 448 00:29:20,789 --> 00:29:23,709 that there will be a cycle sell-off releasing many of the coins back into the 449 00:29:23,709 --> 00:29:25,909 market. Bitcoin is only valuable as a use case. 450 00:29:26,029 --> 00:29:30,189 We must continue to promote self-custody, financial sovereignty only possible through Bitcoin. 451 00:29:33,029 --> 00:29:38,329 I also – I long-term subscribe to the maximum pain Bitcoin theory and that is 452 00:29:38,329 --> 00:29:40,909 eventually it wrecks you at some point. 453 00:29:41,469 --> 00:29:45,469 I've definitely gone through a couple of those and you know I have to imagine 454 00:29:45,469 --> 00:29:46,789 these ETF holders are as well, 455 00:29:48,141 --> 00:29:51,961 But then again, you know, if this thing pumps to, like, say, 456 00:29:52,041 --> 00:29:58,921 100,000 and then it dumps to 75,000, oh, it's so hard. 457 00:29:59,521 --> 00:30:02,641 You know, we'll see. We'll see if they panic. It's going to be interesting. 458 00:30:03,781 --> 00:30:05,561 Joe Ronan comes in with a row of ducks. 459 00:30:07,481 --> 00:30:10,801 New listener to your content, Chris, can you plug your other shows you've created? 460 00:30:11,021 --> 00:30:13,501 Yeah, I don't do very good job of plugging, do I? I've listened to the past 461 00:30:13,501 --> 00:30:14,921 four episodes. This is high signal content. 462 00:30:15,481 --> 00:30:18,381 Thanks for your time and keep it coming. examining no one 463 00:30:18,381 --> 00:30:21,621 is bullish enough let's effing go yeah you 464 00:30:21,621 --> 00:30:24,381 might be right about that so i have a 465 00:30:24,381 --> 00:30:27,321 whole bunch of shows over jupiterbroadcasting.com which includes 466 00:30:27,321 --> 00:30:30,181 linux unplugged the self-hosted podcast 467 00:30:30,181 --> 00:30:35,621 and coda radio as well as this show i'm just the worst self-plugger and you 468 00:30:35,621 --> 00:30:39,801 know i already feel like i asked for so much so i uh you know i don't want to 469 00:30:39,801 --> 00:30:43,621 plug too much but i really do appreciate the support this is you know this is 470 00:30:43,621 --> 00:30:48,401 a podcast that i don't i don't have an immediate plan to get any sponsorships. 471 00:30:48,441 --> 00:30:51,941 I'm supposed I'm not opposed to like a company like River or somebody I really 472 00:30:51,941 --> 00:30:55,981 like working with, but it's really been a fascinating experiment too. 473 00:30:56,041 --> 00:30:58,721 And just seeing how far we can get with the boost support. Now this isn't our biggest week. 474 00:30:59,421 --> 00:31:03,041 You know, I, I'm a little early. We only had 10 boosters have a chance to get 475 00:31:03,041 --> 00:31:06,061 in, but we did get kind of a nice little bump from the sat streamers. 476 00:31:06,101 --> 00:31:09,501 We had 26 folks out there that just turned on the sat streaming and their their 477 00:31:09,501 --> 00:31:14,541 podcasting 2.0 app, and streamed in 28,719 sats. 478 00:31:14,741 --> 00:31:20,881 So when you combine that with the boosters, we almost cracked 100,000, but not quite. 479 00:31:20,981 --> 00:31:24,501 We stacked 90,317 sats. 480 00:31:26,101 --> 00:31:29,481 90,000 is not a, I probably would hate to break that down into an hourly wage 481 00:31:29,481 --> 00:31:32,001 for the show. I have to be honest with you, but I'm going to take the blame 482 00:31:32,001 --> 00:31:33,801 on being late and early for that one. 483 00:31:34,101 --> 00:31:37,641 And maybe just gives us a chance to have a banger in episode 29. 484 00:31:38,001 --> 00:31:40,501 If you'd like to boost, there's a couple of ways you can do it now. 485 00:31:41,041 --> 00:31:44,321 I really think that if you're listening to this show, you ought to consider going all the way. 486 00:31:45,486 --> 00:31:48,486 Setting up a node, using something like Albie Hub. 487 00:31:49,146 --> 00:31:53,366 But you don't have to start there. You can start with something like a podcasting 488 00:31:53,366 --> 00:31:56,206 2.0 app like Fountain and just get a sense of what it's like. 489 00:31:56,306 --> 00:31:59,286 Or if you're not ready to leave your precious podcast app yet, 490 00:31:59,366 --> 00:32:01,846 go grab Breeze, the Breeze app. 491 00:32:01,966 --> 00:32:05,286 If you just Google search like Breeze Wallet or go to podcastapps.com, 492 00:32:05,706 --> 00:32:08,426 that's a little handy lightning wallet that works for the Lightning Network 493 00:32:08,426 --> 00:32:11,226 for all kinds of things, including lots of apps in the ecosystem, 494 00:32:11,226 --> 00:32:15,506 system, as well as you can pull in podcasts and you can boost podcasts from Breeze. 495 00:32:16,066 --> 00:32:19,546 And you can keep your dang podcast app if you want. But I really encourage you 496 00:32:19,546 --> 00:32:22,526 to give Fountain or Podverse or Castomatic a try or TrueFans. 497 00:32:22,806 --> 00:32:26,886 They're really doing something special. Podcasting apps have been stagnant for about a decade. 498 00:32:27,226 --> 00:32:30,486 And all of these apps are really trying to bring something new and innovative to the marketplace. 499 00:32:30,986 --> 00:32:36,346 And if high signal users like ourselves aren't willing to do it, then who would, right? 500 00:32:36,606 --> 00:32:40,326 Somebody has to be willing to adopt it. Thank you, everybody who boosted in. 501 00:32:40,386 --> 00:32:41,646 I really appreciate it. Let's-a-go! 502 00:32:42,466 --> 00:32:44,806 And I would love to hear from you next episode. And don't forget, 503 00:32:44,966 --> 00:32:49,366 I'm also asking for your price predictions for Christmas time. Christmas Day. 504 00:32:49,906 --> 00:32:53,686 You know, sometimes they call it the Santa Rally, but, you know, 505 00:32:53,686 --> 00:32:56,286 it doesn't really matter if the whole economy's in the tank. 506 00:32:56,526 --> 00:32:59,146 We're not going to have it. So I'd love to hear your price predictions, 507 00:32:59,246 --> 00:33:04,626 and if you're willing, your rationale as well. Send it in! 508 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:15,760 Music. 509 00:33:06,866 --> 00:33:08,366 Okay, how about a little newbie corner? corner. 510 00:33:10,586 --> 00:33:12,646 So one of my last questions I have in my batch. 511 00:33:15,966 --> 00:33:19,226 And the question is, can you explain the different types of Bitcoin? 512 00:33:19,526 --> 00:33:24,146 What's the difference between Lightning, regular Bitcoin and Liquid? 513 00:33:24,906 --> 00:33:29,786 Okay, so this is a pretty common question. In fact, I would say one of the most 514 00:33:29,786 --> 00:33:35,106 common questions I get is, what's the difference between sats on Bitcoin and sats on Lightning? 515 00:33:35,546 --> 00:33:39,246 And the answer is, you're thinking about it wrong. You're Bitcoin-ing wrong. 516 00:33:39,406 --> 00:33:42,186 There is no difference. It is the same asset. 517 00:33:42,506 --> 00:33:47,266 The way it works is Lightning is a series of channels between nodes, 518 00:33:47,406 --> 00:33:50,526 and you pre-allocate Bitcoin into those channels. 519 00:33:50,706 --> 00:33:55,326 So maybe you have a million sats, and that means you can send a million sats 520 00:33:55,326 --> 00:33:59,126 instantaneously from one wallet to another using the sats in those channels. 521 00:33:59,646 --> 00:34:05,206 So it's just Bitcoin, but it's essentially locked up into these channels, 522 00:34:05,266 --> 00:34:07,246 which you can close the channels when you like. 523 00:34:07,906 --> 00:34:12,106 Liquid is a fork of Bitcoin. It is not Bitcoin. 524 00:34:12,326 --> 00:34:16,966 It is a modified version of Bitcoin that has block times of two minutes, 525 00:34:17,046 --> 00:34:24,186 I believe, and is primarily managed by a group of exchanges, businesses, 526 00:34:24,946 --> 00:34:31,446 high net worth individuals that have all kind of worked together to manage this network. 527 00:34:31,606 --> 00:34:36,866 And I think there's something like 17 or something like that key holders to the liquid network. 528 00:34:37,286 --> 00:34:42,166 So technically it's a permissioned network. When you move your Bitcoin into liquid or out. 529 00:34:43,190 --> 00:34:48,610 Somebody or a system has to allow that to happen. And there has to be liquidity to make that possible. 530 00:34:48,750 --> 00:34:51,650 So it's not risk-free. However, it's been running for many, many years. 531 00:34:51,890 --> 00:34:55,170 And there are dashboards like Mempool-type dashboards that show you the liquidity 532 00:34:55,170 --> 00:34:56,390 and how everything's moving. 533 00:34:56,590 --> 00:35:02,130 So it's not an opaque system at all. It has a lot of the same features you come 534 00:35:02,130 --> 00:35:05,390 to expect with Bitcoin, like the addresses look very similar. 535 00:35:05,610 --> 00:35:08,690 You know, it has a block time that you're used to. It's just a faster block 536 00:35:08,690 --> 00:35:13,250 time. So it has some advantages in that the UI and using it is almost identical 537 00:35:13,250 --> 00:35:18,570 to using Bitcoin, where Lightning, you know, it requires its own node. It requires channels. 538 00:35:18,790 --> 00:35:22,430 It requires that the software like your wallet supports Lightning. 539 00:35:22,790 --> 00:35:26,770 It's a whole other layer on top of Bitcoin. That's what Lightning is. 540 00:35:26,810 --> 00:35:28,170 It's a layer on top of Bitcoin. 541 00:35:28,490 --> 00:35:32,950 Liquid, some people call it a sidechain because it's semi-compatible, 542 00:35:32,970 --> 00:35:34,830 but it runs to the side of Bitcoin. 543 00:35:35,510 --> 00:35:39,610 Does that make sense? I hope that does make sense. And then there's everything else. 544 00:35:39,630 --> 00:35:41,950 You'll see everything else that might have the name Bitcoin, 545 00:35:42,010 --> 00:35:46,830 like Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Satoshi Vision. Those are all forks. They're phonies. 546 00:35:47,150 --> 00:35:51,150 Now, the next obvious question might be, why would somebody use Lightning over, 547 00:35:51,270 --> 00:35:52,750 say, the traditional Bitcoin network? 548 00:35:53,510 --> 00:35:57,090 Speed and it's cheap. Because those sats are already in those channels, 549 00:35:57,210 --> 00:36:00,370 that channel has been negotiated and it's finalized on-chain. 550 00:36:00,670 --> 00:36:02,590 Anything that goes through the channels happens immediately. 551 00:36:03,230 --> 00:36:06,570 And it's very cheap. Really kind of similar reasons why you might use Liquid. 552 00:36:07,070 --> 00:36:10,190 And you could see it as small transactions, day-to-day transactions. 553 00:36:10,430 --> 00:36:12,270 They go over these different layers or these side chains. 554 00:36:12,770 --> 00:36:17,630 And then, you know, you're moving funds to buy a house, you know, or something big. 555 00:36:17,710 --> 00:36:20,850 You do that on-chain and you're happy to pay the on-chain fee for that. 556 00:36:21,290 --> 00:36:24,810 And this just gives people optionality. It makes things like boosting podcasts 557 00:36:24,810 --> 00:36:28,930 possible. So, you know, when you send in a boost, you don't really have to worry 558 00:36:28,930 --> 00:36:31,570 about the fees on the blockchain. 559 00:36:31,750 --> 00:36:35,330 You can just send that boost over Lightning and it's so ridiculously cheap. 560 00:36:35,410 --> 00:36:38,290 You don't even really think about the fact that there typically would be a transaction fee. 561 00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:50,160 Music. 562 00:36:48,790 --> 00:36:56,530 I just wanted to make you aware of a DDoS vulnerability in Bitcoin Core 24.0.0 and older. 563 00:36:58,305 --> 00:37:03,845 Attackers could spam the nodes with low-difficulty headers and essentially use 564 00:37:03,845 --> 00:37:06,045 up the resources of your node and knock it offline. 565 00:37:06,585 --> 00:37:11,385 It's considered high severity because of how fairly straightforward it is to execute. 566 00:37:11,905 --> 00:37:17,645 And so if you're on version 24.0.0, you want to upgrade to at least 24.0.1, 567 00:37:17,765 --> 00:37:19,145 depending on when you're listening to this. 568 00:37:19,645 --> 00:37:22,305 Also, since I know Telegram is really popular with Bitcoiners, 569 00:37:22,425 --> 00:37:25,505 you probably are aware of this, but I have links in the show notes, 570 00:37:25,545 --> 00:37:27,585 details about policy changes for Telegram. 571 00:37:28,305 --> 00:37:34,245 They are collecting more information and will make it available upon valid lawful request. 572 00:37:34,625 --> 00:37:37,805 They used to only make it available when it was a terrorism charge. 573 00:37:37,985 --> 00:37:41,985 But now if the authorities confirm you're a suspect in a case involving criminal 574 00:37:41,985 --> 00:37:45,825 activities that violate Telegram's terms of service, they will perform the legal 575 00:37:45,825 --> 00:37:49,365 analysis of the request and disclose your IP address, phone number and other 576 00:37:49,365 --> 00:37:50,725 relevant information to the authorities. 577 00:37:51,245 --> 00:37:55,545 So there has been an upgrade. I mean, an upgrade. So there has been a downgrade 578 00:37:55,545 --> 00:37:59,565 to their privacy policy there. And I would imagine criminal activities that 579 00:37:59,565 --> 00:38:02,885 violate Telegram's terms of service could be pretty broad, including financial 580 00:38:02,885 --> 00:38:04,665 activity, so Bitcoin stuff. 581 00:38:05,005 --> 00:38:08,665 You know, you just want to be thoughtful about that. The show seems to have 582 00:38:08,665 --> 00:38:13,105 a monthly recommendation for Simplex, simplex.chat. 583 00:38:13,845 --> 00:38:16,965 And I just seem to have more and more opportunities to plug it, 584 00:38:17,005 --> 00:38:18,765 and they just keep getting better. 585 00:38:19,305 --> 00:38:23,305 I do recommend them. Simplex for private conversations, and they don't require 586 00:38:23,305 --> 00:38:25,465 a phone number, so it's great for with the family too and kids. 587 00:38:25,745 --> 00:38:27,905 They'd all have to have a phone number to have a group chat. 588 00:38:29,125 --> 00:38:34,225 Okay, I've got a final clip of the week. Let's round things out with a chewing 589 00:38:34,225 --> 00:38:36,265 out that Gary Gensler got this week. 590 00:38:36,345 --> 00:38:40,785 U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer just grilled him over different crypto regulations. 591 00:38:41,425 --> 00:38:46,105 I don't know if it's fair, but it was brutal. The SEC broke the law. 592 00:38:46,265 --> 00:38:50,545 Your attorneys lied to the court and no one in your leadership here in D.C. 593 00:38:50,565 --> 00:38:52,225 Has been held accountable. That tracks. 594 00:38:52,485 --> 00:38:54,665 Seems like business as usual here in Washington. 595 00:38:56,127 --> 00:39:00,587 Switching gears very quickly, it's been recently reported that Vice President 596 00:39:00,587 --> 00:39:04,887 Harris has finally said she'd craft clear rules of the road for the digital 597 00:39:04,887 --> 00:39:07,187 asset space if she becomes president. 598 00:39:07,327 --> 00:39:12,127 Is this your approach too, sir? Or do you think she's rebuking you because she 599 00:39:12,127 --> 00:39:16,447 doesn't think you've done a good enough job establishing these clear rules over 600 00:39:16,447 --> 00:39:18,647 the last three years of her administration? 601 00:39:19,127 --> 00:39:22,987 This is actually kind of a fascinating question because Gary Gensler very much 602 00:39:22,987 --> 00:39:26,647 seems to be going against what both presidential candidates have as part of 603 00:39:26,647 --> 00:39:31,747 their platform, which is at least some increased level of friendliness to digital 604 00:39:31,747 --> 00:39:33,267 assets or crypto or whatever, 605 00:39:33,447 --> 00:39:39,007 where Gensler has been going pretty hard against the crypto industry on a whole. 606 00:39:39,287 --> 00:39:43,847 I think that there's laws in place. If Congress wishes to change them, they'll change them. 607 00:39:43,907 --> 00:39:48,107 But we are enforcing the laws, and there are many people in this field that 608 00:39:48,107 --> 00:39:49,887 are not following the laws. 609 00:39:50,487 --> 00:39:54,047 Reclaiming my time. Well, it's very interesting. See, Gary's position there 610 00:39:54,047 --> 00:39:57,307 is, look, the security laws are pretty clear. 611 00:39:57,467 --> 00:40:01,627 They've been on the books for a long time. I'm just following the securities law. 612 00:40:01,807 --> 00:40:07,647 That you view your performance that way because we have a litany of court cases, 613 00:40:07,867 --> 00:40:14,127 extraordinary confusion in the marketplace, and millions of Americans pining for clarity from you. 614 00:40:14,767 --> 00:40:18,847 You've abused the agency's enforcement tools, and you've even baited companies 615 00:40:18,847 --> 00:40:22,927 eager to comply with you, only to hit them with enforcement actions. 616 00:40:23,167 --> 00:40:26,747 You've retaliated against businesses and people who have come before this committee 617 00:40:26,747 --> 00:40:29,987 to talk about the next generation of American finance. 618 00:40:30,167 --> 00:40:35,527 And perhaps somehow, worst of all, you've made up the term cryptoasset security. 619 00:40:35,867 --> 00:40:39,707 This term is nowhere to be found in statute. You made it up. 620 00:40:39,707 --> 00:40:45,287 You never provided any interpretive guidance on how crypto asset security might 621 00:40:45,287 --> 00:40:47,587 be defined within the walls of your SEC. 622 00:40:47,927 --> 00:40:52,387 The irony here, I think, is that Gary Gensler probably knows more about what 623 00:40:52,387 --> 00:40:56,467 makes something a security than this guy does. And Gary's right. 624 00:40:57,441 --> 00:41:01,721 I mean, go look at the Howey test and tell me that basically all of these projects, 625 00:41:01,901 --> 00:41:08,721 Ethereum, Cordana, Solana, all of the meme coins, they all seem to be, 626 00:41:08,721 --> 00:41:10,801 at least according to the Howey test, securities. 627 00:41:11,281 --> 00:41:12,801 They're managed by a team. 628 00:41:13,401 --> 00:41:18,081 You expect that team to manage it in a way that will increase your return over time. 629 00:41:18,561 --> 00:41:20,761 Part of the reason you're probably buying into it is because, 630 00:41:20,861 --> 00:41:25,021 you know, you know, the Cordana Foundation has plans to make Cordana do X, 631 00:41:25,061 --> 00:41:27,461 Y, Z and have a stable coin and all these fancy features. 632 00:41:27,841 --> 00:41:30,961 So you're buying today, hoping there'll be a price increase tomorrow from the 633 00:41:30,961 --> 00:41:32,341 results of this team's actions. 634 00:41:33,361 --> 00:41:39,241 And there's there are CEOs and there are marketing people like seems like a 635 00:41:39,241 --> 00:41:40,681 lot of these are actually securities. 636 00:41:40,901 --> 00:41:44,661 And just because there's been a lot of lobbying money come in doesn't change 637 00:41:44,661 --> 00:41:47,741 the fundamental fact that these things, as the law stands today, 638 00:41:48,001 --> 00:41:49,661 are technically securities. 639 00:41:50,081 --> 00:41:54,121 And I realize that we don't want to admit that anymore. All of a sudden it's 640 00:41:54,121 --> 00:41:57,481 changed since the ETFs. It's like all of a sudden anything could be an ETF. 641 00:41:57,681 --> 00:42:02,701 On how crypto asset security might be defined within the walls of your SEC. 642 00:42:02,941 --> 00:42:08,161 Yet you made the broad proclamation that you believe a majority of tokens are 643 00:42:08,161 --> 00:42:09,701 crypto asset securities. 644 00:42:10,341 --> 00:42:15,161 You did this and you would deliberately use this made up term as the basis for 645 00:42:15,161 --> 00:42:19,941 your entire enforcement crusade over the past three years, only for your lawyers 646 00:42:19,941 --> 00:42:23,501 to retract it in a footnote to a court just last week. 647 00:42:23,801 --> 00:42:27,841 Your inconsistencies on this issue, sir, have set this country back. 648 00:42:28,081 --> 00:42:33,661 We could not have had a more historically destructive or lawless chairman of the SEC. 649 00:42:34,081 --> 00:42:40,601 And I yield back. Wow. I mean, that is a pretty, pretty major chewing out as 650 00:42:40,601 --> 00:42:43,401 far as Congress goes. That's about as hostile as it gets. 651 00:42:44,161 --> 00:42:46,861 And I don't know. I feel like Gary's kind of gotten a bad rap. 652 00:42:47,261 --> 00:42:48,801 He was pretty clear all along. 653 00:42:48,861 --> 00:42:54,041 Most of these things are securities, especially after Ethereum went to proof of stake. 654 00:42:54,741 --> 00:42:57,981 He's clear that they weren't so sure before that, but after proof of stake, 655 00:42:58,101 --> 00:43:01,381 he thought it was. He's pretty clear that he didn't think Bitcoin was a security, 656 00:43:01,461 --> 00:43:02,341 agreed it was a commodity. 657 00:43:02,961 --> 00:43:06,241 He was one of the deciding votes in approving the Bitcoin ETF. 658 00:43:07,141 --> 00:43:09,781 I think he's had a pretty sober take and a pretty consistent take. 659 00:43:10,201 --> 00:43:15,121 They have had to weasel back from their language as of the last few weeks because 660 00:43:15,121 --> 00:43:19,461 both presidential candidates are campaigning towards trying to get crypto voters. 661 00:43:20,521 --> 00:43:24,001 So he's got to tone it down a little bit. But I think he's been right. 662 00:43:24,361 --> 00:43:29,021 And I mean, I don't necessarily like the guy. And the areas where I think he's 663 00:43:29,021 --> 00:43:33,701 been wrong is the shenanigans around not responding to people that were trying to get it right. 664 00:43:33,801 --> 00:43:37,161 You know, some of these projects do sound like they legitimately tried to approach 665 00:43:37,161 --> 00:43:41,361 the SEC, tried to get it right, Coinbase being the loudest, most vocal of that group. 666 00:43:41,701 --> 00:43:45,041 And they were rebuked. They were turned away and then they were sued. 667 00:43:45,910 --> 00:43:48,070 They never had the chance to get in, quote unquote, compliance. 668 00:43:48,510 --> 00:43:51,230 Of course, the reality is the product is probably fundamentally security. 669 00:43:51,470 --> 00:43:55,870 So none of that really mattered. But their argument is that they tried and that 670 00:43:55,870 --> 00:44:00,450 Gary didn't actually speak to them, didn't actually work with them, 671 00:44:00,510 --> 00:44:02,830 didn't actually do all the things he said. 672 00:44:02,950 --> 00:44:05,230 When in every single hearing, he'd always say, my door is open. 673 00:44:05,470 --> 00:44:08,730 You know, come meet with us. He'd say that in every single hearing setting. 674 00:44:08,850 --> 00:44:10,210 But then he didn't actually ever follow through. 675 00:44:10,850 --> 00:44:14,790 That I criticize him for. But I think he's been very sober in his analysis of 676 00:44:14,790 --> 00:44:17,550 what is a security and what is not in the crypto market. 677 00:44:18,430 --> 00:44:22,570 And, you know, he's also not said all of the other cryptos are securities. 678 00:44:22,630 --> 00:44:25,690 He said likely most of them. But there may be others that are not. 679 00:44:26,270 --> 00:44:30,410 But now that the money has changed and that both presidential candidates have 680 00:44:30,410 --> 00:44:35,130 changed their tune, I mean, Kamala is still kind of very tepidly endorsing it. 681 00:44:35,510 --> 00:44:39,310 She lumped it in with AI and just quote unquote digital assets. 682 00:44:39,570 --> 00:44:42,410 And she's really speaking about the industry and that she still said having 683 00:44:42,410 --> 00:44:46,050 guardrails and regulations. So it was a pretty tepid endorsement. 684 00:44:46,350 --> 00:44:51,990 But technically, both presidential candidates seem to be pro Bitcoin and crypto on a technical level. 685 00:44:52,530 --> 00:44:56,730 And that just can't be good for Gary. So he's in a hard spot because the lands 686 00:44:56,730 --> 00:44:57,810 have shifted from underneath him. 687 00:44:57,950 --> 00:45:01,730 The Biden administration and Elizabeth Warren were all in an Operation Chokepoint 688 00:45:01,730 --> 00:45:03,810 2.0. He was part of that spear. 689 00:45:04,130 --> 00:45:08,230 They were going hard. They were cracking heads. And then the land just shifted 690 00:45:08,230 --> 00:45:13,150 out from underneath them. And I think in part, it's because these ETFs came, 691 00:45:13,250 --> 00:45:16,330 the banks got serious about Bitcoin because they saw the direction monetary 692 00:45:16,330 --> 00:45:18,490 policy was going. They saw the debt. 693 00:45:19,030 --> 00:45:23,350 They knew that debasement was inevitable. And they want to have these products 694 00:45:23,350 --> 00:45:25,130 with options and all of that in place 695 00:45:25,130 --> 00:45:29,230 so they can make money as the empire continues to debase its currency. 696 00:45:29,830 --> 00:45:34,230 And so the regime had to change its mind on its approach to Bitcoin and Gary 697 00:45:34,230 --> 00:45:38,490 is caught in the middle right there and now he has to go take his lickings from 698 00:45:38,490 --> 00:45:41,790 Tom Emmer and others there's other I'm sure you'll probably see other clips float around 699 00:45:42,190 --> 00:45:46,830 it was multiple hours and I managed to only capture a little bit before the 700 00:45:46,830 --> 00:45:50,330 show it was still going and they were still chewing them out when I sat down 701 00:45:50,330 --> 00:45:55,230 to record so should be interesting to see if any more clips surface, 702 00:45:55,790 --> 00:45:58,670 okay that's it for me I'm off to the woods links to what we talked about this 703 00:45:58,670 --> 00:46:01,310 week at thisweekinbitcoin.show. 704 00:46:01,670 --> 00:46:04,490 Please do boost in, support the show, and let me know what you'd like to hear. 705 00:46:04,530 --> 00:46:05,550 Maybe share it with a friend. 706 00:46:05,730 --> 00:46:08,830 And I leave you with one of the value for value music verse champions. 707 00:46:08,910 --> 00:46:12,170 It's the Dorfels, and it's their new song, Disco Swag. 708 00:46:13,040 --> 00:47:35,920 Music. 709 00:47:36,985 --> 00:47:38,185 Show me what you got, 710 00:47:40,665 --> 00:47:42,585 Show me what you got, girl, 711 00:47:44,945 --> 00:47:46,305 Show me what you got, 712 00:47:48,685 --> 00:47:50,725 Show me what you got, girl. 713 00:47:53,040 --> 00:48:42,267 Music.