1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,920 Music. 2 00:00:11,768 --> 00:00:15,828 Welcome in to This Week in Bitcoin, episode 58. My name is Chris, 3 00:00:16,668 --> 00:00:20,008 chrislas.com, jupiterbroadcasting.com. 4 00:00:20,328 --> 00:00:23,908 It was hard being off last week while I was in Boston. 5 00:00:24,108 --> 00:00:28,748 There was major macro news breaking that I really wanted to chat with you about. 6 00:00:29,448 --> 00:00:34,788 But I knew also, just as I was getting back, the Bitcoin 2025 conference in 7 00:00:34,788 --> 00:00:39,388 Las Vegas would be kicking off, and there would be news out of that that we need to talk about. 8 00:00:39,728 --> 00:00:43,648 So what was I to do? Well, I was trying to put it all together in one episode, of course. 9 00:00:44,128 --> 00:00:48,908 We'll see how I did. You let me know. I do want to quickly start with some key 10 00:00:48,908 --> 00:00:53,188 macro news, most of which really comes out of a collection of statements by 11 00:00:53,188 --> 00:00:54,788 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. 12 00:00:55,248 --> 00:00:57,968 Nothing really in the headlines, but just things the man has said. 13 00:00:58,148 --> 00:01:01,148 But before we get to those, we need to set the scene. 14 00:01:01,768 --> 00:01:06,548 And I'd say the scene is, Doge seems to be coming across as a bit of a letdown. 15 00:01:07,708 --> 00:01:12,948 So, you know, I was like disappointed to see the massive spending bill, 16 00:01:13,188 --> 00:01:17,168 frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, 17 00:01:17,608 --> 00:01:19,568 and our minds the work that the Doge team is doing. 18 00:01:19,828 --> 00:01:23,408 So this is Elon Musk in an interview with CBS's Sunday Morning. 19 00:01:23,788 --> 00:01:27,928 He's talking about the new big, beautiful bill that is now trying to make its way through the Senate. 20 00:01:28,148 --> 00:01:33,428 Now, that's mandatory spending in there and just extending the Trump tax cuts 21 00:01:33,428 --> 00:01:38,648 adds to the deficit. But clearly, Elon is feeling a little disinfected. Is that the right word? 22 00:01:39,308 --> 00:01:42,388 Disenfranchised? He could probably use some disinfectant, too, after the time in D.C. 23 00:01:42,848 --> 00:01:46,168 And it seems like a lot of that hard work, at great personal cost to him, 24 00:01:46,688 --> 00:01:47,868 isn't really being all that fruitful. 25 00:01:48,408 --> 00:01:52,008 And that reminds the work that the Doge team is doing. I actually thought that 26 00:01:52,008 --> 00:01:53,528 when this big, beautiful bill came along. 27 00:01:53,688 --> 00:01:57,628 I mean, like, everything he's done on Doge gets wiped out in the first year. 28 00:01:58,168 --> 00:02:01,828 I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. 29 00:02:02,788 --> 00:02:06,028 But I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion. 30 00:02:07,412 --> 00:02:11,952 I mean, not that long ago, a couple of weeks ago, people were talking about 31 00:02:11,952 --> 00:02:16,092 the big part of the strategy was this three legged stool and cuts, 32 00:02:16,372 --> 00:02:22,112 big cuts were going to be part of what made the U.S. government fiscally viable. 33 00:02:22,372 --> 00:02:28,092 Now it seems we're pivoting from cuts to, well, well, well, what we really need 34 00:02:28,092 --> 00:02:30,712 to do is outgrow the debt. 35 00:02:30,852 --> 00:02:35,652 So this is we're going back to the Biden era, Janet Yellen line of don't worry 36 00:02:35,652 --> 00:02:40,452 about the debt. What we need to do is just increase revenue, get the GDP up. 37 00:02:40,572 --> 00:02:44,112 And then, you know, when you look at everything proportionally, the debt's not so bad. 38 00:02:44,792 --> 00:02:51,112 There are several components there. So if we unpack it, there is the growth, 39 00:02:51,432 --> 00:02:52,912 the potential growth of the debt. 40 00:02:53,092 --> 00:02:56,172 But what's more important is that we grow the economy faster. 41 00:02:56,172 --> 00:03:01,112 So what we've seen under the past four years and what we inherited, 42 00:03:01,372 --> 00:03:07,812 I inherited 6.7 percent deficit to GDP, which was the highest deficit when we 43 00:03:07,812 --> 00:03:09,832 were not at war, not in a recession. 44 00:03:09,832 --> 00:03:15,512 So we've been trying to bring down the spending and we are going to grow the revenue side. 45 00:03:15,752 --> 00:03:19,772 So we are going to grow the GDP faster than the debt grows. 46 00:03:19,892 --> 00:03:26,412 And that will stabilize the debt to GDP, which even Secretary Yellen and I agree 47 00:03:26,412 --> 00:03:27,912 is the most important number. 48 00:03:28,332 --> 00:03:32,292 Yeah, you see there, even him and Yellen agree. We just have to grow the GDP. 49 00:03:32,292 --> 00:03:36,292 Well, if you do the math, and of course, this is just rough off the Internet 50 00:03:36,292 --> 00:03:41,612 math, but to outgrow the debt, GDP would need to be somewhere around 6%. 51 00:03:42,746 --> 00:03:47,606 6% GDP is a pretty rare thing. You should go look it up. See what other times we've had 6% GDP. 52 00:03:47,846 --> 00:03:53,466 It's usually under unusual circumstances, like massive bubbles or huge bailouts. 53 00:03:53,666 --> 00:03:56,906 But that's not really the key thing that he got into. That's just, 54 00:03:56,906 --> 00:04:00,586 I need you to understand the background now of we've gone from we're going to 55 00:04:00,586 --> 00:04:05,186 do it with savings to we're going to just have a huge-ass GDP growth and that's 56 00:04:05,186 --> 00:04:06,086 going to save everything. 57 00:04:06,286 --> 00:04:08,686 So that's the new focus. 58 00:04:09,446 --> 00:04:13,866 Should we be concerned with that? Is there a question here about the long-term 59 00:04:13,866 --> 00:04:15,066 ability to repay the debt? 60 00:04:15,526 --> 00:04:24,986 Look, I think that, again, as growth accelerates, I'm not worried about the U.S. debt dynamics. 61 00:04:25,426 --> 00:04:29,106 Now, whenever the U.S. Treasury Secretary speaks, one of the filters I always 62 00:04:29,106 --> 00:04:33,286 use is this is the world's most important bond salesman. 63 00:04:33,826 --> 00:04:38,646 Everything he says, he's always trying to make sure people have confidence in U.S. debt. 64 00:04:39,186 --> 00:04:43,726 So, you know, with the growth plan, he has no concerns. So all of this presumes, 65 00:04:43,846 --> 00:04:46,686 he has no concerns presuming we have massive growth. 66 00:04:46,906 --> 00:04:53,486 Again, as growth accelerates, I'm not worried about the U.S. 67 00:04:53,626 --> 00:05:00,986 Debt dynamics because a change in the growth trajectory takes care of a lot of that. 68 00:05:01,666 --> 00:05:07,446 Should we be concerned when we see yields going up on U.S. Treasuries and the dollar weakening? 69 00:05:07,606 --> 00:05:10,926 Normally, that's not the way it works as I understand it. Is that something 70 00:05:10,926 --> 00:05:12,026 we should be concerned about? 71 00:05:12,746 --> 00:05:17,506 Well, I'm not concerned about it because I think part of it is we are seeing 72 00:05:17,506 --> 00:05:19,846 other countries step up. 73 00:05:20,186 --> 00:05:25,626 So I wouldn't, on many of them, I wouldn't necessarily categorize it as a weak 74 00:05:25,626 --> 00:05:32,286 dollar. It's for the first time in much of my career, Europe is actually going 75 00:05:32,286 --> 00:05:33,886 through a fiscal expansion. 76 00:05:34,086 --> 00:05:40,186 You know, back to this new German government that they are opening the German 77 00:05:40,186 --> 00:05:44,326 purse for the first time, maybe even since the advent of the euro, 78 00:05:44,386 --> 00:05:46,046 they're taking off the debt break. 79 00:05:46,326 --> 00:05:49,366 So, you know, the fundamentals are driving the euro. 80 00:05:49,886 --> 00:05:56,926 Japan is seeing a large increase in interest rates. that are driven by the Bank of Japan. 81 00:05:57,126 --> 00:06:02,586 So, you know, I think a lot of this is other countries strengthening or other 82 00:06:02,586 --> 00:06:06,726 country currencies strengthening as opposed to the dollar weakening. 83 00:06:07,046 --> 00:06:10,766 I maintain that the White House just doesn't seem that concerned about the yields 84 00:06:10,766 --> 00:06:15,826 for the 10-year, and they don't seem that concerned about the strength of the dollar at the moment. 85 00:06:16,657 --> 00:06:19,917 They view it as other currencies are just doing really well. 86 00:06:20,117 --> 00:06:23,797 The dollar is not doing great, but fundamentals are fine, Scott says. 87 00:06:24,057 --> 00:06:28,797 It's the other dollars, or the other currencies, I should say, that are doing so well. 88 00:06:28,957 --> 00:06:32,457 And, you know, like you mentioned, Europe going through monetary expansion because 89 00:06:32,457 --> 00:06:35,197 money printer is turning on so they can fund their war machine. 90 00:06:35,577 --> 00:06:41,297 Now, a bit later in the interview, Scott is asked about not the failure of Doge, 91 00:06:41,377 --> 00:06:45,637 but the relative falling short of the big promises of the Doge cuts. 92 00:06:45,637 --> 00:06:48,757 Yeah, I think most of us who have dealt with Washington would not disagree with 93 00:06:48,757 --> 00:06:51,277 that at all. The question is, where do you trim and how do you go about it? 94 00:06:51,657 --> 00:06:55,897 There was a $2 trillion number thrown out at a rally here in New York City, 95 00:06:55,897 --> 00:06:58,237 as I recall, by Elon Musk and Howard Lutnick. 96 00:06:58,417 --> 00:07:02,757 Was that a wrong number? Are you going to come close to $2 trillion out of costs? 97 00:07:02,997 --> 00:07:07,117 Well, we'll see over what the scoring window is. 98 00:07:07,657 --> 00:07:14,617 Could we end up with $150 billion a year in savings? You know over the CBO window 99 00:07:14,617 --> 00:07:16,477 that that'd be a trillion and a half. 100 00:07:17,017 --> 00:07:21,517 So Sorry, but you're on track you think and the on the cost-cutting side. 101 00:07:21,657 --> 00:07:25,877 Well again, there's a lot of resistance that the. 102 00:07:26,617 --> 00:07:32,817 Doge and Elon were criticized for the the pace they did But I I tell you just 103 00:07:32,817 --> 00:07:37,737 in my three and a half months in Washington If you don't move fast then the 104 00:07:37,737 --> 00:07:42,597 swamp kind of grabs you you start sinking and the vested interest, 105 00:07:43,297 --> 00:07:47,837 What other tools do you have in your toolbox to apply to the deficit if the 106 00:07:47,837 --> 00:07:50,417 present plan doesn't deliver all that you hope? 107 00:07:51,197 --> 00:07:58,597 Look, I think it's why don't we wait and see how this works out because I think 108 00:07:58,597 --> 00:08:02,917 we can see, as I mentioned, it's a three-legged stool. 109 00:08:03,117 --> 00:08:08,837 So I think it would be the third part, trade, tax and deregulation. 110 00:08:09,917 --> 00:08:14,957 So deregulation is the slowest moving part. Let's come back to deregulation 111 00:08:14,957 --> 00:08:20,197 in a moment, because when Scott says deregulation, I don't think he means what you think he means. 112 00:08:20,337 --> 00:08:25,997 I would expect that to substantially kick in to the economic growth in the third, 113 00:08:26,257 --> 00:08:30,277 fourth quarters and really accelerate next year. Also, I think. 114 00:08:30,926 --> 00:08:36,966 One of the most powerful economic parts of the tax bill is the immediate expensing 115 00:08:36,966 --> 00:08:41,066 of capital goods, 100 percent for capital goods. 116 00:08:41,366 --> 00:08:45,446 When Scott talks about deregulation, he's talking about changing the supplementary 117 00:08:45,446 --> 00:08:50,546 leverage ratio, which was introduced as part of the Basel III reforms after 118 00:08:50,546 --> 00:08:53,566 the 2008 financial crisis. 119 00:08:53,566 --> 00:08:57,526 The goal was essentially to make sure large banks maintained a minimum level 120 00:08:57,526 --> 00:09:01,526 of high quality capital relative to their total leverage exposure. 121 00:09:01,926 --> 00:09:08,266 And that means they can only buy so much without having the capital on hand to cover it. 122 00:09:08,446 --> 00:09:13,146 And Scott wants to change that to change the banks into bigger, 123 00:09:13,546 --> 00:09:18,106 larger, more aggressive buyers of U.S. treasuries, i.e. U.S. 124 00:09:18,226 --> 00:09:22,206 Debt. And so when he's talking about deregulation, he's talking about walking 125 00:09:22,206 --> 00:09:24,266 back the supplementary leverage ratio. 126 00:09:24,626 --> 00:09:27,986 Let's talk about the supplemental leverage ratio, which seems like an obscure 127 00:09:27,986 --> 00:09:31,146 thing off to the side, but it has been the subject of much discussion. 128 00:09:31,306 --> 00:09:35,666 And it does, as I understand it, relate to U.S. treasuries and yields on U.S. 129 00:09:35,746 --> 00:09:38,466 Treasuries so that if major banks held more U.S. treasuries, 130 00:09:38,726 --> 00:09:40,666 it would bring yields down. 131 00:09:40,946 --> 00:09:43,926 You've said you're going to take more of an active role, as I understand it, 132 00:09:43,986 --> 00:09:45,486 with respect to some of that banking regulation. 133 00:09:45,686 --> 00:09:52,586 Where are we with that? I think we are very close to moving the Supplementary Leverage Ratio, SLR. 134 00:09:54,106 --> 00:09:59,566 That is moving along very quickly between the three banking regulators, 135 00:09:59,766 --> 00:10:02,126 the Fed, the OCC, and the FDIC. 136 00:10:02,366 --> 00:10:07,066 So I would think we could see something on that over the summer. 137 00:10:07,366 --> 00:10:11,386 Over the summer. And knowing the markets as you do, would you anticipate that 138 00:10:11,386 --> 00:10:15,266 might have a significant material effect on Treasury yields? 139 00:10:15,266 --> 00:10:22,146 Well, I think it could because banks are being penalized for holding treasuries. 140 00:10:22,326 --> 00:10:26,246 There's a large supplementary leverage charge. 141 00:10:26,606 --> 00:10:30,606 So I think for holding the risk-free asset, we can reduce that. 142 00:10:30,806 --> 00:10:38,026 And I've seen estimates that it could bring yields down by tens of basis points, 143 00:10:38,266 --> 00:10:40,766 certainly during the COVID crisis. 144 00:10:41,246 --> 00:10:43,926 So there's a big assumption being made here. I want to back up here. 145 00:10:43,926 --> 00:10:48,086 The big assumption being made is that if they change this risk ratio, 146 00:10:48,306 --> 00:10:51,426 that the banks will just, without question, buy more treasuries. 147 00:10:52,306 --> 00:10:56,926 I don't know. I'm just a humble podcaster. I think that's probably true to a degree. 148 00:10:57,206 --> 00:11:01,246 I don't know if it's going to be the buying bonanza that Scott here hopes it 149 00:11:01,246 --> 00:11:03,646 is because look what happened to Silicon Valley Bank. 150 00:11:04,226 --> 00:11:07,686 Silicon Valley Bank got screwed because they went long on treasuries. 151 00:11:08,026 --> 00:11:11,286 And then the Fed jacked the rates up faster than they ever had in history, 152 00:11:11,406 --> 00:11:12,166 at least recent history. 153 00:11:12,686 --> 00:11:18,566 And they were screwed. So going long on treasuries wiped out Silicon Valley Bank. 154 00:11:19,764 --> 00:11:26,344 Turning the SLR down, reducing the capital requirements, like Scott is talking about, or a.k.a. 155 00:11:26,724 --> 00:11:30,284 Deregulating, doesn't change the risk profile of the treasuries. 156 00:11:30,804 --> 00:11:34,464 Now, they're still considered, you know, risk-free in financial terms, 157 00:11:34,504 --> 00:11:36,784 but Silicon Valley wouldn't say that. 158 00:11:36,904 --> 00:11:42,944 Being penalized for holding treasuries, you know, there's a large supplementary leverage charge. 159 00:11:43,284 --> 00:11:47,284 So I think for holding the risk-free asset, we can reduce that. 160 00:11:47,284 --> 00:11:54,764 And, you know, I've seen estimates that it could bring yields down by tens of basis points. 161 00:11:55,044 --> 00:11:57,444 Yields would be coming down because the banks would be buying, 162 00:11:57,764 --> 00:11:59,344 right? When they buy, the yields come down. 163 00:11:59,924 --> 00:12:03,064 When people are selling, the yields go up. So they're thinking, 164 00:12:03,064 --> 00:12:05,284 we don't really care what happens right now. 165 00:12:05,404 --> 00:12:08,144 They're not too worried about the bond yields. 166 00:12:08,304 --> 00:12:11,144 They're not too worried about the dollar because after summer, 167 00:12:11,344 --> 00:12:13,944 they think they're going to have the banks coming and buying like crazy. 168 00:12:13,984 --> 00:12:17,484 And they probably will to a degree. But this isn't a sign that things are well. 169 00:12:17,944 --> 00:12:22,244 This is throwing their hands up. They've realized they can't fix the system. 170 00:12:22,624 --> 00:12:26,604 They can't do it via cuts. They're not going to be able to do it via revenue alone. 171 00:12:26,744 --> 00:12:32,124 They're going to have to raise debt. What they campaigned on is out the window. 172 00:12:32,544 --> 00:12:39,484 Now it's about preserving the system. Now it's about accessing liquidity, not just from the Fed. 173 00:12:39,864 --> 00:12:43,704 The money printers will be the banks now, because the money printers will be 174 00:12:43,704 --> 00:12:45,604 coming as the banks buy these treasuries. 175 00:12:45,704 --> 00:12:49,504 That'll be creating the currency. That'll be creating liquidity. 176 00:12:50,144 --> 00:12:52,444 This is going to be great for Bitcoin. This is going to be great. 177 00:12:52,604 --> 00:12:54,124 This is going to be fantastic. 178 00:12:54,524 --> 00:12:58,124 Not going to be good for inflation, but it might take a little while for that 179 00:12:58,124 --> 00:12:59,804 to trickle down like it did last time. 180 00:13:00,264 --> 00:13:02,084 But it's going to be great for Bitcoin. 181 00:13:02,704 --> 00:13:06,144 It's not going to be great for mom and pop shops. It's not going to be great 182 00:13:06,144 --> 00:13:10,284 for people that don't hold hard assets, but it's going to be great for keeping 183 00:13:10,284 --> 00:13:12,784 things going for a while and really stoking the system. 184 00:13:13,324 --> 00:13:15,544 But I think it's a sign that... 185 00:13:16,721 --> 00:13:22,641 Things are not good under the hood. This isn't a move you make when things are 186 00:13:22,641 --> 00:13:26,181 about to get turned around and you're not so worried about people buying your debt. 187 00:13:26,421 --> 00:13:30,701 This is the kind of move you make when you've got third world economics going 188 00:13:30,701 --> 00:13:34,481 on and you can't find outside buyers for your debt. 189 00:13:34,721 --> 00:13:37,301 So you have to generate new internal buyers. 190 00:13:37,721 --> 00:13:44,341 So it's going to be dialing back the supplementary leverage ratio, the SLR. 191 00:13:44,921 --> 00:13:49,661 It's going to be launching stablecoins. It's going to be a whole series of things. 192 00:13:50,101 --> 00:13:53,661 Scott gets into some of it. Certainly during the COVID crisis, 193 00:13:53,921 --> 00:13:58,421 it was temporarily taken off and it had a big effect. 194 00:13:58,941 --> 00:14:02,901 Let me ask something different, but I think might be related, which is stablecoin. 195 00:14:03,441 --> 00:14:07,321 If really we went big into stablecoin in this country, what effect could that 196 00:14:07,321 --> 00:14:09,121 have on the strength of the dollar? 197 00:14:09,421 --> 00:14:12,141 Because people might have to hold dollars in order to match against it, 198 00:14:12,261 --> 00:14:17,081 or even for treasuries. Well, we are going big on digital assets. 199 00:14:17,401 --> 00:14:22,381 So Trump administration has made digital assets a priority. 200 00:14:22,841 --> 00:14:27,741 Past administration starred and all has made extinct a lot of these companies 201 00:14:27,741 --> 00:14:33,621 and pushed it offshore. So what we want to do is apply the highest U.S. 202 00:14:33,901 --> 00:14:40,361 Regulatory and AML standards to digital assets. That's right. 203 00:14:40,461 --> 00:14:46,401 Come buy Uncle Sam's completely vetted, fully regulated, high quality stablecoin, boys and girls. 204 00:14:46,601 --> 00:14:52,001 And push that offshore. So what we want to do is apply the highest U.S. 205 00:14:52,281 --> 00:14:53,981 Regulatory and. 206 00:14:54,783 --> 00:14:59,783 AML standards to digital assets, especially stablecoins. 207 00:15:00,063 --> 00:15:06,423 And I've seen estimates that just over the short term, stablecoins could create 208 00:15:06,423 --> 00:15:10,963 $2 trillion of demand for U.S. treasuries and treasury bills. 209 00:15:11,143 --> 00:15:16,163 To put that in context, the number is probably about $300 billion right now. 210 00:15:16,583 --> 00:15:22,343 So they're going to go from $300 billion to $2 trillion relatively quickly. 211 00:15:22,343 --> 00:15:24,803 So you see the money is right there. 212 00:15:24,963 --> 00:15:29,923 They just need that nice deregulation and they just need that stablecoin legislation. 213 00:15:30,283 --> 00:15:35,203 And that we are probably going to get. Cryptozar David Sachs says the stablecoin 214 00:15:35,203 --> 00:15:38,123 legislation will pass and it will pass soon now. 215 00:15:38,403 --> 00:15:43,443 Let's talk stablecoins. There's this bill trying to make its way through the Senate. 216 00:15:43,683 --> 00:15:48,283 What's your take on the concerns, certainly on the Democrat side of the aisle, 217 00:15:48,343 --> 00:15:53,703 that there aren't enough safeguards here to keep maybe the president himself 218 00:15:53,703 --> 00:15:56,603 and his family from benefiting from this kind of legislation? 219 00:15:57,223 --> 00:16:00,703 Well, so first of all, we have significant bipartisan support for this. 220 00:16:00,863 --> 00:16:05,063 I think 15 Democrats voted for the bill to pass this key procedural threshold 221 00:16:05,063 --> 00:16:08,283 of cloture, which means there'll be no filibuster against the bill. 222 00:16:08,383 --> 00:16:10,243 We have every expectation now that it's going to pass. 223 00:16:10,583 --> 00:16:14,503 And I think the reason it's going to pass is because stable coins offer a new, 224 00:16:14,723 --> 00:16:19,883 more efficient, cheaper, smoother payment system, new payment rails for the U.S. 225 00:16:20,003 --> 00:16:23,183 Economy. It also extends the dominance of the dollar online, 226 00:16:23,183 --> 00:16:27,623 and it also creates billions of dollars or trillions of dollars of demand for our treasury. 227 00:16:27,863 --> 00:16:30,723 So I think for all these reasons, the stablecoin bill is going to pass, 228 00:16:30,783 --> 00:16:32,583 and it's going to pass with significant bipartisan support. 229 00:16:32,843 --> 00:16:36,963 How long do you think before stablecoin would start to really have that dollar 230 00:16:36,963 --> 00:16:38,103 support effect you're talking about? 231 00:16:39,155 --> 00:16:44,455 I mean, I think it'll be immediate. So we already have over $200 billion in stablecoins. 232 00:16:44,635 --> 00:16:49,055 It's just unregulated. And I think that if we provide the legal clarity and 233 00:16:49,055 --> 00:16:52,195 legal framework for this, I think we could create trillions of dollars of demand 234 00:16:52,195 --> 00:16:55,055 for our treasuries practically overnight, very quickly. 235 00:16:55,375 --> 00:16:59,455 Well, here we are. Early in this show, deep in the Biden administration, 236 00:16:59,455 --> 00:17:03,275 I told you stablecoins were not going to go away. 237 00:17:04,095 --> 00:17:09,595 And I'm of a mixed opinion of it. It is definitely going to extend U.S. dollar dominance. 238 00:17:11,695 --> 00:17:15,755 And I think the U.S. is smart for being one of the large Western nations to 239 00:17:15,755 --> 00:17:16,875 first really embrace this. 240 00:17:17,235 --> 00:17:22,775 And the dollar is a very much in-demand currency in lots of the world. 241 00:17:23,015 --> 00:17:27,395 If they could easily swap their local currency and save in the dollar, 242 00:17:27,795 --> 00:17:31,315 do their transactions in the dollar, and then from there swap into Bitcoin, 243 00:17:31,315 --> 00:17:33,295 that's even a better thing. 244 00:17:33,495 --> 00:17:40,195 So there's that. But a stablecoin is just about three inches away from being a CBDC. 245 00:17:40,455 --> 00:17:42,835 It's a private CBDC, and I don't like that. 246 00:17:43,235 --> 00:17:46,295 However, I do think that if the U.S. 247 00:17:46,715 --> 00:17:52,155 Embraces stablecoins, private stablecoins, it is the nail in the coffin for 248 00:17:52,155 --> 00:17:54,595 an actual U.S. government CBDC. 249 00:17:55,155 --> 00:18:00,555 And I would rather have private stablecoins by multiple issuers than a giant 250 00:18:00,555 --> 00:18:04,595 octopus by the U.S. government called a CBDC. 251 00:18:05,195 --> 00:18:08,555 So if it takes this wild west of stablecoins we're about to get into, 252 00:18:08,595 --> 00:18:11,695 and you know there's going to be all kinds of staking programs and saving programs, 253 00:18:11,815 --> 00:18:13,475 I mean, it's going to get wild, kids. 254 00:18:14,235 --> 00:18:16,335 We're going to have to go through this the hard way. 255 00:18:17,595 --> 00:18:21,795 But at least you're not getting a CBDC, right? How do you feel about that? 256 00:18:21,855 --> 00:18:23,015 Is that a trade you're willing to make? 257 00:18:23,475 --> 00:18:27,055 It is. I am. It's a trade I'm willing to make. Boost it and let me know. 258 00:18:28,355 --> 00:18:34,195 And if these things are fully regulated, would you consider using a stable coin 259 00:18:34,195 --> 00:18:37,055 that generates some kind of weird yield? I don't know how they're doing it. 260 00:18:37,415 --> 00:18:40,475 I'm sure they'll tell you on their fancy website with lots of motion graphics 261 00:18:40,475 --> 00:18:41,815 as you scroll down and down and down. 262 00:18:42,936 --> 00:18:48,556 But say they had a 6% to 7% interest savings account in quote-unquote stablecoins, 263 00:18:48,556 --> 00:18:50,916 like we've seen the scammers like Celsius do. 264 00:18:51,596 --> 00:18:54,876 But this one would be by a bank. I don't know. It's regulated, 265 00:18:54,876 --> 00:18:57,876 so somehow you feel better about it. Maybe it's got FDIC insurance. 266 00:18:58,556 --> 00:19:02,376 Would you consider, if it's a fully vetted bank and all of that, 267 00:19:02,456 --> 00:19:05,996 would you consider storing your cash savings in stablecoins? 268 00:19:06,916 --> 00:19:10,096 I mean, some people are going to do it, and they're going to be posting on social 269 00:19:10,096 --> 00:19:14,596 media about all the yields and the money they're making by just keeping their money in this account. 270 00:19:15,136 --> 00:19:19,276 I think it's going to be a real thing. And stable coins were a big topic at 271 00:19:19,276 --> 00:19:20,056 the Bitcoin conference. 272 00:19:20,196 --> 00:19:24,056 So let's transition to Bitcoin 2025 happening in Las Vegas right now. 273 00:19:34,696 --> 00:19:39,956 Day one was decent, not quite as rowdy as day two has been so far. 274 00:19:40,336 --> 00:19:44,516 Trump media announced a $2.5 billion deal to create a Bitcoin treasury. 275 00:19:45,476 --> 00:19:49,376 White House executive director Bo Hines declared the U.S. future global power 276 00:19:49,376 --> 00:19:51,696 and crypto superpowers in the United States. They're going to buy more Bitcoin. 277 00:19:52,236 --> 00:19:53,356 Oh, it was very exciting. 278 00:19:54,096 --> 00:19:57,216 It's very exciting. Steak and Shake revealed Bitcoin payment success at the 279 00:19:57,216 --> 00:19:58,576 conference. Very exciting. 280 00:19:59,156 --> 00:20:02,536 It's been a mixed bag. I'm going to be honest with you, but I've watched it 281 00:20:02,536 --> 00:20:05,236 so you don't have to because you really shouldn't. 282 00:20:05,656 --> 00:20:09,876 And I feel bad for those that spent $2,000 to go there and basically see keynotes 283 00:20:09,876 --> 00:20:12,796 from stablecoin and ordinals people. 284 00:20:12,956 --> 00:20:15,916 But it is what it is. And I found the signal in the noise. 285 00:20:16,076 --> 00:20:19,896 And on day one, Senator Lummis gives us a rough timeline for when we're going 286 00:20:19,896 --> 00:20:22,036 to see the creation of the Bitcoin strategic reserve. 287 00:20:22,456 --> 00:20:25,016 There's a couple of other things in the pipeline. I kind of warned you about 288 00:20:25,016 --> 00:20:28,096 this earlier because I had a sense this was the case. But now we're actually hearing it. 289 00:20:29,262 --> 00:20:33,022 From the senator's mouth. President Trump supports the bill, 290 00:20:33,222 --> 00:20:38,902 and he has a team in the White House working on digital asset issues, 291 00:20:39,142 --> 00:20:43,862 everything from stablecoin to market structure to the Bitcoin strategic reserve. 292 00:20:44,062 --> 00:20:48,142 And they will probably roll out in that order. 293 00:20:48,582 --> 00:20:53,722 The Senate Banking Committee has passed the stablecoin bill out of committee. 294 00:20:53,842 --> 00:20:57,702 We're getting close to being ready to have it on the floor. 295 00:20:57,942 --> 00:21:04,122 We've worked for untold hours with the minority party to satisfy them, 296 00:21:04,162 --> 00:21:08,402 and we should be voting on it the week we get back from this break. 297 00:21:08,662 --> 00:21:14,282 Then we'll do market structure, and then we'll do the Bitcoin strategic reserve. 298 00:21:14,542 --> 00:21:19,822 And at that time, we'll be calling on you to help members of Congress in your 299 00:21:19,822 --> 00:21:22,342 states understand the importance. 300 00:21:22,762 --> 00:21:26,762 It's so important strategically to our country. 301 00:21:27,142 --> 00:21:32,922 Other countries are moving in the direction of establishing strategic Bitcoin reserves. 302 00:21:33,202 --> 00:21:35,582 The United States needs to lead. 303 00:21:36,342 --> 00:21:40,922 So market structure bill, they're aiming for August, which means I would expect 304 00:21:40,922 --> 00:21:44,242 Bitcoin reserve bill to be fall end of the year. 305 00:21:44,422 --> 00:21:48,282 Maybe some of it, the campaigning begins to ramp up in the summer. 306 00:21:48,862 --> 00:21:51,822 That is just for our general edification. 307 00:21:52,642 --> 00:21:54,562 They're doing stable coins because, as well. 308 00:21:56,567 --> 00:21:59,787 Uncle Sam's got some debt to sell. And then they're going to do market structure 309 00:21:59,787 --> 00:22:03,547 because, well, all their banker buddies got money to make. And then they're 310 00:22:03,547 --> 00:22:04,747 going to do the Bitcoin Reserve. 311 00:22:05,607 --> 00:22:10,447 And I kind of look at that as our opportunity to stack. You still have time 312 00:22:10,447 --> 00:22:12,367 to front run the federal government. 313 00:22:13,227 --> 00:22:15,407 They're putting it out there. They're going to be buying and they're going to 314 00:22:15,407 --> 00:22:20,347 be doing, they're going to be formalizing this after the market structure stuff is done. 315 00:22:20,867 --> 00:22:26,027 So you have a nine-month, 10-month window to front run the federal government I suppose. 316 00:22:26,287 --> 00:22:30,107 But day two is really what's getting all of the attention. 317 00:22:30,567 --> 00:22:34,287 You might even say it has some historic vibes. 318 00:22:34,467 --> 00:22:39,807 Crypto enthusiasts are gathering in Vegas for Bitcoin 2025. Our Mackenzie Sagalos is there. 319 00:22:40,167 --> 00:22:43,547 In fact, it's kind of unusual for CNBC to even be covering it. 320 00:22:43,627 --> 00:22:47,987 But I suppose when you have the vice president taking the stage, they take notice. 321 00:22:49,747 --> 00:22:53,787 And today we're going to make a little bit of history this morning by having 322 00:22:53,787 --> 00:22:58,867 the first ever sitting vice president of the United States of America address 323 00:22:58,867 --> 00:23:00,447 the global Bitcoin community. 324 00:23:06,047 --> 00:23:07,387 Are you ready? 325 00:23:11,287 --> 00:23:18,767 With that, join me in welcoming the vice president of the United States of America, J.D. Vance. 326 00:23:23,647 --> 00:23:30,707 Now jd comes out on stage his presentation wasn't horrible it wasn't great i'll 327 00:23:30,707 --> 00:23:33,667 play just the introduction and i'll tell you some of the highlights here in a moment. 328 00:23:50,307 --> 00:23:56,207 Thank you thank you all well first of all i want to thank please please please 329 00:23:56,207 --> 00:24:01,347 thank you guys take take your seats and you know the secret service is a little 330 00:24:01,347 --> 00:24:04,407 bit nervous because i told them these Bitcoin guys really like guns, 331 00:24:04,407 --> 00:24:08,607 but they really like the president, 332 00:24:08,767 --> 00:24:11,227 vice president of the United States, too. So I think we're doing OK. 333 00:24:15,707 --> 00:24:18,147 I would agree with that. The crowd did seem to really like them. 334 00:24:18,787 --> 00:24:20,207 J.D. didn't have any news to make. 335 00:24:21,152 --> 00:24:25,172 He did point out a couple of things. He said that crypto now has an advocate 336 00:24:25,172 --> 00:24:29,072 in the White House. He reminded the crowd that he owns a fair amount of Bitcoin. 337 00:24:29,532 --> 00:24:34,332 And he said that he expects in the short future, short term, 338 00:24:34,472 --> 00:24:39,572 I'm not quite sure the terminology he used, but that he expects in the not too 339 00:24:39,572 --> 00:24:42,892 distant future, 100 million Americans will own crypto. 340 00:24:43,372 --> 00:24:46,332 He quoted a number of around 50 million right now. 341 00:24:46,992 --> 00:24:50,432 Overall, a lot of this felt like political speeches. 342 00:24:51,152 --> 00:24:55,412 Mayor Adams came up on stage today, and it seemed like he was giving a political 343 00:24:55,412 --> 00:24:58,292 speech where he just tweaked a few words of the speech. 344 00:24:59,092 --> 00:25:02,592 Vivek Ramaswamy, who's running for governor of Ohio, did the same thing. 345 00:25:02,692 --> 00:25:06,792 In fact, sometimes he even accidentally referred to Ohio when he meant to refer 346 00:25:06,792 --> 00:25:09,052 to Las Vegas or something like that. 347 00:25:09,192 --> 00:25:14,492 It literally just seemed like a campaign speech repurposed a bit for the Bitcoin conference. 348 00:25:15,072 --> 00:25:20,592 And there's a lot of mixed things up on stage. I will say it's not just a pure 349 00:25:20,592 --> 00:25:22,012 Bitcoin conference at all. 350 00:25:22,252 --> 00:25:26,592 There's a lot of different viewpoints from some folks that don't necessarily 351 00:25:26,592 --> 00:25:28,452 represent would be the majority of opinions. 352 00:25:29,192 --> 00:25:35,732 You know, a thing in the past for Bitcoin used to be not your keys, not your coin. 353 00:25:35,912 --> 00:25:38,912 And you've got a platform that I think really addresses that. 354 00:25:38,912 --> 00:25:42,792 And it's kind of squashed that notion that if it's, you know, 355 00:25:42,972 --> 00:25:48,832 not your keys, not your coin, you know, there's safe and secure ways to actually 356 00:25:48,832 --> 00:25:50,892 create product to hold Bitcoin. 357 00:25:51,272 --> 00:25:55,292 So can you can you talk about how we've transitioned from this not your keys, 358 00:25:55,412 --> 00:25:58,652 not your coin to actually the democratization of access? 359 00:25:58,912 --> 00:26:01,092 That's pretty silver tongue language. 360 00:26:01,612 --> 00:26:05,492 Transitioning from not your keys, not your coins to the democratization of access. 361 00:26:06,694 --> 00:26:09,794 So there's these extreme views in both directions. Now, this next clip, 362 00:26:09,934 --> 00:26:13,234 I'm going to warn you, has some F-bombs for the next minute or two, 363 00:26:13,474 --> 00:26:15,434 pretty much right towards the beginning of the clip. 364 00:26:15,694 --> 00:26:20,134 But it's a great example of the diversification of views. 365 00:26:20,314 --> 00:26:23,334 So you go from very much a statist view. 366 00:26:23,494 --> 00:26:26,834 There's a lot of people there talking about the state buying Bitcoin to, 367 00:26:27,514 --> 00:26:29,114 well, the opposite of a state view. 368 00:26:29,454 --> 00:26:33,114 Over to you. You wrote an amazing book about how Bitcoin empowers the individual. 369 00:26:33,234 --> 00:26:35,594 What does it make you feel like to hear all this talk of governments adopting 370 00:26:35,594 --> 00:26:37,454 Bitcoin, corporate treasuries, all this kind of stuff. 371 00:26:37,734 --> 00:26:41,174 Yeah. I just want to start with saying, fuck the state, the hateful apparatus 372 00:26:41,174 --> 00:26:43,214 that wants to kill you and steal your money. 373 00:26:43,454 --> 00:26:48,234 And the fact that both the red party and the blue party, they both want to steal 374 00:26:48,234 --> 00:26:50,454 a certain amount of your wealth and redistribute to other people. 375 00:26:50,674 --> 00:26:54,134 And inviting them into Bitcoin, I think is actually kind of a dangerous idea 376 00:26:54,134 --> 00:26:57,594 considering how reckless and idiotic that they've been with the current financial system. 377 00:26:57,814 --> 00:27:01,274 So tell you what, if they can balance the budget and pay off the debt, 378 00:27:01,634 --> 00:27:04,214 I'd be open to having them trying to manage a Bitcoin treasury. 379 00:27:04,374 --> 00:27:07,874 But I feel like they should be mature enough with their own finances to actually 380 00:27:07,874 --> 00:27:11,514 sort of pay off all of the debt that they've accrued before they start fucking 381 00:27:11,514 --> 00:27:12,354 around with the Bitcoin treasury. 382 00:27:12,594 --> 00:27:15,554 But you know what I think would be incredible is everybody should be on their 383 00:27:15,554 --> 00:27:17,514 own Bitcoin treasury and their own Bitcoin standard. 384 00:27:17,614 --> 00:27:20,954 You like don't need the nation state to tell you to do it. You can just own 385 00:27:20,954 --> 00:27:23,974 Bitcoin on your own self-sovereignly and they can't steal it from you. 386 00:27:24,114 --> 00:27:26,394 Incredible perspective from Eric. Very, very important. Marty, 387 00:27:26,474 --> 00:27:27,234 you touched on this earlier. 388 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:37,200 Music. 389 00:27:38,166 --> 00:27:43,466 30,000 to 35,000 attendees, and there is definitely news breaking. 390 00:27:43,626 --> 00:27:48,726 GameStop announced the purchase of Bitcoin. They've purchased 44,710 Bitcoin, 391 00:27:48,986 --> 00:27:51,426 worth nearly $513 million. 392 00:27:52,106 --> 00:27:55,586 GameStop revealed its plans recently to pursue a Bitcoin treasury. 393 00:27:55,986 --> 00:28:00,246 They're offering $1.3 billion in debt, and they're going to use that to buy 394 00:28:00,246 --> 00:28:01,286 Bitcoin. They haven't spent at all. 395 00:28:01,686 --> 00:28:04,726 They waited to buy a little bit, though, I think, so they didn't quite get it 396 00:28:04,726 --> 00:28:08,686 at a great price. Another big story coming out of the Bitcoin conference is 397 00:28:08,686 --> 00:28:15,246 Square enabling merchants to use Bitcoin by default at point-of-sales devices. 398 00:28:15,646 --> 00:28:18,846 Now, this is pretty interesting. Block expects to begin offering Bitcoin payments 399 00:28:18,846 --> 00:28:22,086 to eligible Square sellers later this year, and then there's going to be full 400 00:28:22,086 --> 00:28:27,726 availability in 2026, pending regulatory approval in some areas. So we'll see. 401 00:28:28,246 --> 00:28:33,326 Now, by default, when you use the Bitcoin mode, it's going to auto-convert to 402 00:28:33,326 --> 00:28:37,926 fiat for the merchant. And then the merchant can switch to holding the Bitcoin if they like instead. 403 00:28:38,226 --> 00:28:43,866 Probably a decent default for new users. The thing that just tweaks me a little 404 00:28:43,866 --> 00:28:50,946 bit about this is Jack's on this mission to get rid of the word sats and call them bits or bitcoins. 405 00:28:51,246 --> 00:28:56,126 And so in the UI, they have the Bitcoin symbol representing sats. 406 00:28:56,546 --> 00:29:02,106 It's just adding confusion to the situation. and it just kind of really rubs 407 00:29:02,106 --> 00:29:05,246 me the wrong way to try to get rid of the term sats. I don't think it's that 408 00:29:05,246 --> 00:29:06,286 hard for people to understand. 409 00:29:06,546 --> 00:29:09,486 There's a lot more complicated things to wrap your head around. 410 00:29:10,646 --> 00:29:14,106 Like, I just, I don't know. How many years are we going to have to sort this stuff out? 411 00:29:14,186 --> 00:29:16,926 Now this is going to be a popular, we finally get something like the Square 412 00:29:16,926 --> 00:29:22,806 Terminal with Bitcoin and Lightning support and the creator has to have this 413 00:29:22,806 --> 00:29:27,426 mission to try to change the language around Bitcoin and that comes through in the UI. 414 00:29:27,606 --> 00:29:30,566 Just a little disappointed in that, But overall, I think it's a pretty exciting announcement. 415 00:29:35,006 --> 00:29:38,646 One clip that came out, I don't know if it was at the Bitcoin conference itself 416 00:29:38,646 --> 00:29:42,406 or maybe an event around the Bitcoin 2025 conference. 417 00:29:42,926 --> 00:29:48,686 It was a screed by Saylor on why he's not ever going to publish proof of reserves 418 00:29:48,686 --> 00:29:51,206 and doesn't think anybody should be publishing proof of reserves. 419 00:29:51,406 --> 00:29:55,486 Before I play this clip, I want to make it clear. I want you to listen to this, 420 00:29:55,546 --> 00:30:00,386 and I want you to give me your opinion, because he does make a couple of maybe—. 421 00:30:01,473 --> 00:30:08,213 Maybe notable points, but this is a statement to me that raises red flags. 422 00:30:08,353 --> 00:30:14,373 To me, it makes me question the micro strategy play. It makes me question the 423 00:30:14,373 --> 00:30:17,793 MSTR stock. It makes me question Saylor's commitment to Bitcoin. 424 00:30:17,953 --> 00:30:23,153 It, to me, is fundamental red flags, and I want to know if it raises the same 425 00:30:23,153 --> 00:30:25,653 for you. Let me make the following point. 426 00:30:25,993 --> 00:30:30,153 A lot of people learn stuff from FTX and mouth gawks, but I'm not sure they 427 00:30:30,153 --> 00:30:34,933 learned the things that the institutional community needs to learn going forward. 428 00:30:35,373 --> 00:30:42,153 The current conventional way to publish proof of reserves is an insecure proof of reserves. 429 00:30:43,113 --> 00:30:48,213 It actually dilutes the security of the issuer, the custodians, 430 00:30:48,973 --> 00:30:51,013 the exchanges, and the investors. 431 00:30:51,233 --> 00:30:56,993 It's not a good idea. It's a bad idea. It's like publishing the address and 432 00:30:56,993 --> 00:31:01,713 the bank accounts of all your kids and your phone numbers of all your kids and 433 00:31:01,713 --> 00:31:05,673 then thinking somehow that makes your family better. It doesn't make your family better. 434 00:31:05,853 --> 00:31:11,993 So no institutional grade or enterprise security analyst would think it's a 435 00:31:11,993 --> 00:31:16,993 good idea to publish all of the wallet addresses such that you can be traced 436 00:31:16,993 --> 00:31:20,593 back and forth and every future transaction you'll be traced. 437 00:31:20,833 --> 00:31:25,233 I was like, go to AI, put it in deep think mode, and then ask it, 438 00:31:25,333 --> 00:31:29,273 what are the security problems of publishing your wallet addresses, 439 00:31:29,413 --> 00:31:34,133 and how might they undermine the security of the company over time? It'll write you a book. 440 00:31:34,353 --> 00:31:37,553 It'll be 50 pages of security problems. 441 00:31:37,933 --> 00:31:42,513 So the problem with proof of reserves, the way that people do it right now, is it's, 442 00:31:42,773 --> 00:31:49,753 first of all, it's a proof of assets that is insecure and it is not a proof 443 00:31:49,753 --> 00:31:54,633 of liabilities and so if you really want crypto security. 444 00:31:55,721 --> 00:32:00,241 And you're maxi about this, my suggestion is buy Bitcoin, self-custody your Bitcoin. 445 00:32:00,441 --> 00:32:05,901 It's pretty freaking obvious, right? You should own the Bitcoin yourself, if that's what you want. 446 00:32:06,261 --> 00:32:12,841 If you're going to be a securities investor, okay, if you invest in securities, 447 00:32:13,061 --> 00:32:20,561 what you want is an institutional grade proof of assets and proof of liabilities with them netted out, 448 00:32:20,561 --> 00:32:23,301 okay and the best practice of that 449 00:32:23,301 --> 00:32:26,381 is not to publish the wallet the best practice of 450 00:32:26,381 --> 00:32:32,261 that would be have a big four auditor that does an audit that checks to make. 451 00:32:32,261 --> 00:32:37,541 Sure that you actually have the bitcoin and then you also have to check to make 452 00:32:37,541 --> 00:32:43,881 sure the company hasn't re-hypothecated or pledged the bitcoin or entered into 453 00:32:43,881 --> 00:32:46,061 any debt or credit obligations, 454 00:32:46,701 --> 00:32:48,501 where the Bitcoin is pledged. 455 00:32:48,601 --> 00:32:51,901 And you have to net those out and you have to publish those and you have to 456 00:32:51,901 --> 00:32:53,621 sign them as the big four firm. 457 00:32:54,101 --> 00:32:58,061 Then you have to wash it through a public company where the CFO signs, 458 00:32:58,221 --> 00:33:02,401 then the CEO signs, then the chairman and all the outside directors are civilly 459 00:33:02,401 --> 00:33:03,941 and criminally liable for it. 460 00:33:04,301 --> 00:33:09,521 And so if you really want the best practice for securities attestation, 461 00:33:09,801 --> 00:33:15,021 it would be a public company with a big four auditor with an audit subject to 462 00:33:15,021 --> 00:33:17,581 Sarbanes-Oxley in the United States, 463 00:33:17,881 --> 00:33:19,941 that's what my company is. 464 00:33:20,141 --> 00:33:25,981 It's much better than simply a proof of reserves wallet. 465 00:33:26,861 --> 00:33:30,561 I don't know. I thought Saylor was always the one saying one of the great things 466 00:33:30,561 --> 00:33:32,421 about Bitcoin is it made it simple to audit. 467 00:33:33,581 --> 00:33:38,521 Jack and Saylor, both red flagging me this week. Boost in and tell me what you think. 468 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:50,800 Music. 469 00:33:51,764 --> 00:33:56,584 Coming up on the show, it's your boost. Some big updates, really exciting updates. 470 00:33:57,264 --> 00:34:01,484 Not one, but two final clips of the week and more. But first, 471 00:34:01,584 --> 00:34:05,204 I just want to take a moment and thank everybody who supports the show by doing what you do. 472 00:34:05,524 --> 00:34:09,004 If you want to stack sats on River, one of the best places to stack sats in 473 00:34:09,004 --> 00:34:11,244 the U.S., you can use our link in the show notes. 474 00:34:11,404 --> 00:34:13,524 You just support the show while you're stacking sats. 475 00:34:14,164 --> 00:34:18,724 If you are all about that self-custody, or you're a proud Canadian, 476 00:34:19,344 --> 00:34:21,044 well, the Bitcoin well serves the U.S. 477 00:34:21,064 --> 00:34:23,504 And Canada and right to your self-custody wallet. 478 00:34:23,824 --> 00:34:27,264 If you want to spend some sats on the Lightning Network, go from sats to gift 479 00:34:27,264 --> 00:34:30,744 card in just moments with no login required, the Bitcoin company, 480 00:34:30,904 --> 00:34:34,064 I sign with my Lightning address, and I just go right to a gift card. 481 00:34:34,424 --> 00:34:37,584 The Fold Card's how I stack sats, where I pay bills, get gas, 482 00:34:37,664 --> 00:34:40,164 grocery shop, do the kind of debit card stuff. 483 00:34:40,604 --> 00:34:45,064 Super popular in our community, the Fold Card. Link to that and salt lending in the show notes. 484 00:34:45,344 --> 00:34:49,904 Get access to your Bitcoin value without having to sell it. That's right. It is possible. 485 00:34:50,104 --> 00:34:53,824 You can support the show by just doing those things with the links in the show 486 00:34:53,824 --> 00:34:55,384 notes. Thank you, everybody who does it. 487 00:35:09,404 --> 00:35:12,764 And we have some boosts, which is a great way to support the show. 488 00:35:12,924 --> 00:35:15,284 And our first boost comes from Drekkar. 489 00:35:17,004 --> 00:35:20,124 And now it is time for the boost. 490 00:35:20,344 --> 00:35:25,864 And he writes with 25,000 sats. I hoard that which your kind covet. 491 00:35:26,024 --> 00:35:27,884 If I could only keep one Bitcoin podcast. 492 00:35:28,424 --> 00:35:32,344 Dot, dot, dot. Oh, and have a nice week at Red Hat. Well, thank you. 493 00:35:32,604 --> 00:35:35,324 That's a sign of high signal right there. I really appreciate it. 494 00:35:35,424 --> 00:35:37,524 And you're a top booster this week. Thank you, sir. 495 00:35:37,644 --> 00:35:41,424 Really appreciate that. You get it at a nice 25,000 sat discount. Boom. 496 00:35:41,644 --> 00:35:44,484 Not a bad price for the big boss. Make it so. 497 00:35:45,484 --> 00:35:48,884 J-Cube 3 comes in with 20,000 sats. Yep. 498 00:35:49,484 --> 00:35:52,224 Yep. Mm. j-cube says plus one for 499 00:35:52,224 --> 00:35:55,464 the macro coverage honestly i haven't heard an episode that wasn't valuable 500 00:35:55,464 --> 00:36:01,964 keep it up yep that stands up to scrutiny thanks j-cube appreciate it a train's 501 00:36:01,964 --> 00:36:05,764 here with 20 000 sats put some macaroni and cheese on there too thanks for the 502 00:36:05,764 --> 00:36:08,784 value cheers well thank you a train appreciate the value coming right back to 503 00:36:08,784 --> 00:36:15,104 the show the heck ah producer jeff is here with 20,000 sats. 504 00:36:15,204 --> 00:36:17,984 I don't understand what the heck is going on here. 505 00:36:18,164 --> 00:36:21,124 Finally, I get to do a sun-powered boost. 506 00:36:21,324 --> 00:36:27,484 Oh, here it is! These sats come from my old inefficient miner that is automated 507 00:36:27,484 --> 00:36:29,724 to only run when I have solar generation. 508 00:36:29,964 --> 00:36:37,884 It's not efficient, but it works. It took about 20 days and 440 kilowatt hours to get 20,000 sats. 509 00:36:38,644 --> 00:36:44,104 Per day, that's about 22 kilowatt hours, earning me around 1,000 sats a day. 510 00:36:44,901 --> 00:36:48,761 For testing, I've been running at a lower power rate constantly for a few weeks, 511 00:36:48,781 --> 00:36:51,441 and I can earn a little over 3,000 sats per day. 512 00:36:51,641 --> 00:36:55,501 But this will not be worth the cost of energy when my utility changes to summer 513 00:36:55,501 --> 00:36:57,421 rates next month. Dun, dun, dun! 514 00:36:58,121 --> 00:37:02,421 So you got 20,000 sats before the summer rates. That's not too bad, 515 00:37:02,501 --> 00:37:03,981 Jeff. That's not too bad, I suppose. 516 00:37:04,621 --> 00:37:09,881 Still fun, and I still get to mine. I still may mine during the solar hours. We will see. 517 00:37:10,141 --> 00:37:13,581 I need more energy than my solar can provide to keep the house cool in the summer. 518 00:37:13,581 --> 00:37:16,841 Thanks for everything you do, and for this community, I would not be mining 519 00:37:16,841 --> 00:37:18,821 otherwise. Oh, God, that's cool. 520 00:37:20,801 --> 00:37:25,981 Sun-powered sat supporting the show. How awesome is that? Thank you, 521 00:37:26,061 --> 00:37:27,901 Jeff. You're doing it the right way. 522 00:37:32,201 --> 00:37:36,021 And as Picard would say, you're also doing a good job. Make it so. 523 00:37:36,401 --> 00:37:41,281 So, the Muso comes in with 6,000 sats. Hello, Muso. I like you. 524 00:37:41,461 --> 00:37:44,741 You're a hot ticket. Here's an update. I'm running Bitcoin Nots. 525 00:37:44,861 --> 00:37:47,821 There is a pinned issue with the next Bitcoin GitHub repo with instructions 526 00:37:47,821 --> 00:37:50,501 on how one can switch to using it. And he sends me a link to that. 527 00:37:51,021 --> 00:37:57,081 As for node hardware, I'm using the Raspberry Pi 5 with 16 gigs of RAM and a 2 terabyte NVMe SSD. 528 00:37:57,861 --> 00:38:01,001 I even use ZFS on there, which uses a bit of RAM on its own. 529 00:38:01,181 --> 00:38:05,561 I did reduce the arc size and with Bitcoin Nots configured to disallow undesired 530 00:38:05,561 --> 00:38:10,481 data from the mempool, I have never seen less than 4 gig of RAM free. Oh, that's pretty good. 531 00:38:11,141 --> 00:38:15,821 Actually, even when running Bitcoin Core, I still saw similar RAM figures. 532 00:38:16,141 --> 00:38:20,041 I do have swap setup, of course, just in case. I think the Bitcoin node hardware 533 00:38:20,041 --> 00:38:23,341 requirements is not so much about CPU power as it is RAM and storage. 534 00:38:23,561 --> 00:38:26,981 Yeah, I agree there. I think that's a big part of it. And storage speed too, right? 535 00:38:27,441 --> 00:38:32,781 He says, I'm syncing a secondary node on an old Sandy Bridge era i3 PC to see 536 00:38:32,781 --> 00:38:34,701 how the old hardware and how it will do. 537 00:38:34,921 --> 00:38:39,041 This initial blockchain sync and verify is taking longer, even with 16 gigs 538 00:38:39,041 --> 00:38:42,461 of RAM. I don't intend to try running mempool or lighting on it just yet, 539 00:38:42,641 --> 00:38:45,021 but I'll keep you posted on how it performs. Yes. 540 00:38:45,661 --> 00:38:48,841 Yes. Fun will now commence. Thank you. 541 00:38:49,341 --> 00:38:54,061 I like that. I like this a lot. I appreciate that. Looking forward to hearing 542 00:38:54,061 --> 00:38:56,001 your follow-up, Muso. Thanks for the boost. 543 00:38:56,741 --> 00:38:58,821 Gene Bean's here with a row of ducks. 544 00:39:00,121 --> 00:39:03,121 Nice to hear from you, Gene. He says, you mentioned something about not being 545 00:39:03,121 --> 00:39:07,501 able to run a node on a pie, and I'm curious what you mean, because I'm currently doing exactly that. 546 00:39:07,501 --> 00:39:11,201 I have Umbral with Albihub, Bitcoin Core, Electrus, Helipad, 547 00:39:11,361 --> 00:39:15,181 LND, LNDG, and Tailscale on a Pi 4 with 2 gigs of RAM. 548 00:39:15,661 --> 00:39:20,041 And there's plenty of CPU headroom and 25% free memory. Gene. 549 00:39:20,521 --> 00:39:23,521 Gene. 2 gigs of RAM? No way. Really? 550 00:39:24,861 --> 00:39:31,261 Man. Man. My old node, which is probably just around that spec, but x86-wise, drugs. 551 00:39:31,981 --> 00:39:36,401 Wow. I mean, to the point where when I reboot LND... 552 00:39:37,303 --> 00:39:41,463 It takes almost 35 minutes for the database to get online. I just sit there 553 00:39:41,463 --> 00:39:43,843 with my Lightning node down. 554 00:39:44,483 --> 00:39:47,483 I did an update, and it's like, wait a minute. And I thought something broke. 555 00:39:48,103 --> 00:39:51,163 I thought something broke. You don't have this? Now, I've been running this 556 00:39:51,163 --> 00:39:54,143 system for just over two years now, two and a half years. 557 00:39:54,763 --> 00:39:58,223 So I think it's my longest-running node at this point, my longest-running Lightning node. 558 00:39:58,803 --> 00:40:02,063 So it's seen some things, Gene. So I don't know if that's why. 559 00:40:02,143 --> 00:40:06,703 But if anybody has any tips for an older L&D node to help clean up that database 560 00:40:06,703 --> 00:40:08,463 or something, Please do boost in. 561 00:40:08,643 --> 00:40:11,623 And I would love more information on what people are using for hardware. 562 00:40:11,843 --> 00:40:16,663 The concerns I've seen is slow disk and low RAM make you overall a slower node 563 00:40:16,663 --> 00:40:17,983 and not really that useful. 564 00:40:18,383 --> 00:40:21,903 At least, you know, I mean, that's not the right way to put it. 565 00:40:22,503 --> 00:40:25,243 But you're not helping the network as much as maybe a more powerful system. 566 00:40:26,203 --> 00:40:30,643 Is the argument I've heard raised? I would love to be dissuaded of that argument. 567 00:40:30,843 --> 00:40:32,083 I don't hold that with conviction. 568 00:40:32,403 --> 00:40:36,863 I think it'd be great to have somebody tell me otherwise. Vitar's back. What? 569 00:40:37,663 --> 00:40:44,823 What? Good news, everyone. 6,666 sats. How about that? Make it show. That's so great. 570 00:40:45,163 --> 00:40:47,823 He says survival guide rules. All right. 571 00:40:48,683 --> 00:40:55,463 Boost. Nice to hear from you. Thanks for boosting in. Oppie 1984 is here with 4,000 sats. 572 00:40:56,563 --> 00:41:00,763 Wicked good show. Have a good trip. No spam on the chain. I did have a good 573 00:41:00,763 --> 00:41:01,903 trip. I'm still a little wiped out. 574 00:41:02,543 --> 00:41:06,563 I'm a little wiped out. I'm still very wiped out, but I enjoyed it a lot. 575 00:41:06,563 --> 00:41:09,263 We were able to take my 14-year-old daughter with me, too. 576 00:41:09,543 --> 00:41:14,823 So that was a great trip for her and really got a lot out of it. But really tired. 577 00:41:15,223 --> 00:41:18,503 Appreciate that boost. Pab's here with 2,100 sats. 578 00:41:19,183 --> 00:41:23,423 Quick question. I'm currently stacking on Strike, but I also have access to 579 00:41:23,423 --> 00:41:25,303 self-custodial Proton wallet. 580 00:41:25,783 --> 00:41:29,243 Should I move my sats over? What would the pros and cons be? 581 00:41:29,383 --> 00:41:30,163 Love the show. Keep it up. 582 00:41:32,710 --> 00:41:38,050 Oh pav this is a big question this is this is more than a 2100 sats question i'll tell you that. 583 00:41:39,570 --> 00:41:45,870 It really depends on how good your setup is and if you feel like you could custody 584 00:41:45,870 --> 00:41:50,810 those bitcoin better than strike can and a lot of people listening can but not 585 00:41:50,810 --> 00:41:51,730 everybody listening can, 586 00:41:52,550 --> 00:41:56,690 and so you need to take you need to just sort of look at your overall capabilities 587 00:41:56,690 --> 00:41:58,250 and situation and see what you need to learn. 588 00:41:58,730 --> 00:42:02,890 And probably the best thing to do would be to start with a handful of sats. 589 00:42:03,470 --> 00:42:06,850 You know, if you've got a little stash going on strike, you know, 590 00:42:06,890 --> 00:42:10,030 maybe you play around with, you know, 2,000 sats or something. 591 00:42:10,190 --> 00:42:11,830 You know, you don't use a lot. 592 00:42:12,370 --> 00:42:17,590 And just learn and experiment. I don't know if I would recommend the ProtonWallet for long-term custody. 593 00:42:18,590 --> 00:42:21,910 So the fact that you're asking about that makes me think maybe you're not ready. 594 00:42:22,450 --> 00:42:26,010 Though I've not used the ProtonWallet, I like what they're doing over there. 595 00:42:26,010 --> 00:42:29,110 And if you are really deep into the Proton ecosystem, perhaps it's worth it. 596 00:42:29,270 --> 00:42:31,770 Good question. I'd like to know where your progress goes on this. 597 00:42:31,890 --> 00:42:33,950 But the key thing is you are stacking sats. 598 00:42:34,150 --> 00:42:36,670 And I think Strike is a reputable place to stack those sats. 599 00:42:36,830 --> 00:42:38,610 So you're doing those two things right. 600 00:42:38,830 --> 00:42:43,750 And if you were going to hold sats somewhere, there's worse places to hold them than Strike. 601 00:42:44,530 --> 00:42:48,290 I don't think anybody should keep their life savings on Strike, though. 602 00:42:48,490 --> 00:42:53,630 So once you get to that point, or you start getting into the range of money 603 00:42:53,630 --> 00:42:57,910 that would make you sick to lose, That's when you need to start looking at more 604 00:42:57,910 --> 00:42:58,870 sophisticated options. 605 00:42:59,570 --> 00:43:02,210 And I think if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them. 606 00:43:02,870 --> 00:43:04,010 Do keep us posted, though. 607 00:43:04,530 --> 00:43:06,850 I think it's a good journey you're on. And thank you for the boost. 608 00:43:06,990 --> 00:43:07,610 It's good to hear from you, Pab. 609 00:43:08,541 --> 00:43:13,621 Marist February comes in with 10,000 sats. Oh, yeah. It's over 9,000. 610 00:43:15,601 --> 00:43:19,261 Brilliant. And a big time saver. Awesome. I love hearing that. 611 00:43:19,581 --> 00:43:21,881 That's what I'm going for. Thank you. Appreciate that. 612 00:43:22,641 --> 00:43:25,581 Atone comes in with 5,000 sats. Everything's under control. 613 00:43:25,801 --> 00:43:29,641 The back-to-back What Bitcoin Did episodes with Shinobi and The Mechanic were 614 00:43:29,641 --> 00:43:33,281 interesting because both sides sound completely reasonable while making the 615 00:43:33,281 --> 00:43:34,601 other side sound unreasonable. 616 00:43:34,601 --> 00:43:38,701 I don't know where I stand on Operaturn, but I guess more people on Knott's 617 00:43:38,701 --> 00:43:41,661 is good for decentralization. Thanks for the balanced coverage, Chris. 618 00:43:42,021 --> 00:43:47,121 Thank you for the value, A-Tone. Nice to hear from you, and I think I completely agree with your take. 619 00:43:47,301 --> 00:43:51,561 They both do a great job of making the other one seem nutty, 620 00:43:51,681 --> 00:43:54,281 don't they? Like, it's really something. 621 00:43:54,681 --> 00:43:59,701 Hey, Clarkian's here with 10,000 sats. Thank you for helping us help you help us all. 622 00:43:59,901 --> 00:44:03,861 I was already running Knott's, and Adam, I know I'm saying that wrong, 623 00:44:03,961 --> 00:44:07,001 but I'm tired. for my miners for true solo lottery mining. 624 00:44:07,301 --> 00:44:10,401 After the last two weeks following the debate on Twitter and podcasts, 625 00:44:10,701 --> 00:44:15,361 I just can't see any good consistent reason for maxing the hop turn resize and 626 00:44:15,361 --> 00:44:17,981 nuking configuration options. 627 00:44:18,181 --> 00:44:19,981 It's clear they want to homogenize all 628 00:44:19,981 --> 00:44:23,241 the mempools, which makes mining centralization even more of a problem. 629 00:44:23,601 --> 00:44:26,481 I need to get back to the original version of nodes being in control, 630 00:44:26,721 --> 00:44:30,561 node miners being more like... I'm not sure what that last word is. 631 00:44:31,381 --> 00:44:33,941 I'm not sure what he means there, but he goes on to say, Here's also a boost 632 00:44:33,941 --> 00:44:37,141 to the song props to the value for value artists for being better than most 633 00:44:37,141 --> 00:44:40,521 fiat slop on the radio these days, even if I don't particularly like the genre. 634 00:44:41,101 --> 00:44:44,701 Thank you, Clarkian, the all around solid boost. And thank you for supporting the artist. 635 00:44:45,221 --> 00:44:49,481 And yeah, I think if nothing else, why do we have to rush the whole decision? 636 00:44:49,961 --> 00:44:53,321 Couldn't we have just been debating it for a while? Nice to hear from you. 637 00:44:54,156 --> 00:44:58,636 Hell to there is here with a row of ducks. Great job with the show. 638 00:44:58,776 --> 00:45:01,076 You always have a great analysis and positive energy. 639 00:45:01,236 --> 00:45:04,936 Love it. Well, I really appreciate this audience. 640 00:45:05,676 --> 00:45:09,856 Really smart audience. Solid value coming into the show. It makes a big difference. 641 00:45:10,036 --> 00:45:13,376 Keeps me going. Even when I'm like exhausted, I'm like, no, I'm going to show up for the people. 642 00:45:13,816 --> 00:45:16,876 I'm going to show up for the people. We're going to do, there's big things going on. 643 00:45:17,196 --> 00:45:20,276 It's going to, you know, like the liquidity stuff I talked about at the top 644 00:45:20,276 --> 00:45:24,136 of the show is, you know, it's, it's beyond, it's beyond 150. 645 00:45:24,156 --> 00:45:25,256 150K type stuff eventually. 646 00:45:25,436 --> 00:45:28,716 I don't know about this year, but it's definitely the kind of thing that gets 647 00:45:28,716 --> 00:45:31,836 us beyond 150K, especially in 2026. 648 00:45:32,036 --> 00:45:34,096 But maybe sooner. It just depends on when they get it going. 649 00:45:34,416 --> 00:45:37,036 I mean, it's big for Bitcoin. So it's like, well, we better, 650 00:45:37,216 --> 00:45:40,796 you know, and not only that, but then you've got essentially a timeline for 651 00:45:40,796 --> 00:45:43,976 the federal government to start their Bitcoin reserve program in the latter half of the year. 652 00:45:44,756 --> 00:45:48,976 That's, think about, that's pretty valuable information if you just boil down 653 00:45:48,976 --> 00:45:50,056 what I'm telling you right there. 654 00:45:50,896 --> 00:45:53,136 Like, you're going look back and go, wow, look what he was telling us. 655 00:45:53,336 --> 00:45:56,516 He was telling us the last window. It's amazing. Like, I don't know. 656 00:45:57,016 --> 00:46:00,636 So I do it because, you know, the value keeps coming back. Appreciate it. 657 00:46:00,716 --> 00:46:02,496 Really, I do. Nice to hear from you. 658 00:46:03,036 --> 00:46:06,796 Mr. Plibs here with 5,000 sats. I don't think I'm saying that right. You're supposed to. 659 00:46:07,516 --> 00:46:08,676 Thanks for another great twib. 660 00:46:08,796 --> 00:46:12,736 Here's for a vote to continue the macro coverage. All right. You got it. 661 00:46:14,016 --> 00:46:17,216 I am really appreciating that feedback. Appreciate the boost, 662 00:46:17,296 --> 00:46:19,596 too. Amorph Sausage is here with 5,000 sats. 663 00:46:19,876 --> 00:46:22,876 Everything's under control. Here's a bit of feedback. I like the summary of 664 00:46:22,876 --> 00:46:26,316 what happened around the world, and I really appreciated the debate coverage of Operaturn. 665 00:46:26,596 --> 00:46:30,316 I would, however, also appreciate a bit more technical topics from time to time, 666 00:46:30,636 --> 00:46:34,456 like tips or stories on why or how people decided to run a node. 667 00:46:34,656 --> 00:46:37,956 Or, due to the current events, a deep dive into the difference between Bitcoin 668 00:46:37,956 --> 00:46:40,156 Core and Knott's keep up the good work. 669 00:46:40,656 --> 00:46:44,356 Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. I almost feel like those should be specials. 670 00:46:45,352 --> 00:46:49,272 Because it doesn't really go with the news flow. But I could see doing one-offs from time to time. 671 00:46:49,832 --> 00:46:54,652 If time and interest was there. And support, I think. I would love to hear more on that idea. 672 00:46:55,392 --> 00:46:57,792 Something I've toyed with before. Thanks, Morf. It's nice to hear from you. 673 00:46:58,612 --> 00:47:03,152 It's Among Us is here with 5,210 sats. You're doing very well. 674 00:47:03,652 --> 00:47:06,612 I'm abivalent on how I feel about the Dave Ramsey guru gang. 675 00:47:06,852 --> 00:47:11,432 On one hand, I think they help a lot of people stop making completely stupid financial decisions. 676 00:47:12,032 --> 00:47:16,092 But on the other hand, it's at the cost of having them stop thinking for themselves 677 00:47:16,092 --> 00:47:17,332 and just follow a formula. 678 00:47:17,952 --> 00:47:21,852 Bitcoiners should take this lesson as well, and no matter what podcast or Bitcoin 679 00:47:21,852 --> 00:47:27,392 guru they listen to, they should stay humble and decide for themselves on how to best stack sets. 680 00:47:27,992 --> 00:47:31,012 I'm going to give that a ding. I'm going to give that a ding and an eagle. 681 00:47:32,892 --> 00:47:35,792 I like that. Yeah, take in various different information sources, 682 00:47:36,352 --> 00:47:40,272 you know, sift through it, and use your noodle to sort it out. 683 00:47:40,932 --> 00:47:44,452 That's the best way to go. Thank you for the boost. Appreciate it. It's among us. 684 00:47:45,172 --> 00:47:52,232 And we have a boost from OBL918, 16,666 sats. Heck yeah! 685 00:47:53,392 --> 00:47:59,112 Linux or something. Right then. Let's get ourselves settled in for a wee deep dive. 686 00:47:59,372 --> 00:48:02,612 You asked if we missed the economics coverage. I always love me some economics 687 00:48:02,612 --> 00:48:05,612 coverage in Twib, but you can only fit so much into one show. That's true. 688 00:48:05,832 --> 00:48:09,272 He says, I bought lunch with sats over lightning at status. Yeah, 689 00:48:09,432 --> 00:48:12,772 cool. We got a Steak and Shake report. It was faster than credit card. 690 00:48:13,252 --> 00:48:16,872 Stack and replace. Boosty McBoosterson. Yeah. 691 00:48:20,012 --> 00:48:24,392 That's a good boost report. I like that. Yes, go to Steak and Shake and tell 692 00:48:24,392 --> 00:48:25,932 me how it went. I like you. 693 00:48:26,272 --> 00:48:30,812 You're a hot ticket. Thanks, OBL918. That's great to hear. I would do the same thing. 694 00:48:31,132 --> 00:48:34,132 I'll spend it. I'll spend and replace, especially on Lightning. 695 00:48:34,372 --> 00:48:37,372 I consider a lot of my Lightning sats to sort of be my checking account. 696 00:48:38,252 --> 00:48:40,892 So, yeah, good report. Thank you. Good, good. 697 00:48:42,076 --> 00:48:46,816 User 95 comes in with 3,000 sats. Hi, I'm a UK Bitcoiner and I love the show. 698 00:48:46,936 --> 00:48:49,196 I wanted to mention the Bhutan Bitcoin accumulation. 699 00:48:50,116 --> 00:48:53,696 I personally don't see this as a success story. I don't think the government 700 00:48:53,696 --> 00:48:56,416 having a lot of power is good and therefore I particularly like the strategic 701 00:48:56,416 --> 00:48:57,256 reserves in governments. 702 00:48:57,376 --> 00:49:00,636 I don't because it just empowers them to keep them big. 703 00:49:01,016 --> 00:49:03,816 Obviously, Bitcoin is for enemies, so don't keep me up at night. 704 00:49:03,896 --> 00:49:04,876 So it doesn't keep me up at night. 705 00:49:05,156 --> 00:49:08,356 But I am happy that the UK is avoiding Bitcoin's strategic reserve. 706 00:49:08,536 --> 00:49:11,636 I feel like this is an unpopular opinion, so I'm interested in what you think. 707 00:49:12,816 --> 00:49:16,776 Well, it's a pretty dark view, user95. I don't know if you're wrong. 708 00:49:16,936 --> 00:49:20,256 A lot of times, you know, current governments don't always take actions, 709 00:49:20,516 --> 00:49:22,916 often don't take actions in the best interest of their people. 710 00:49:23,016 --> 00:49:25,476 But governments are supposed to be made of the people by the people. 711 00:49:25,876 --> 00:49:30,976 So if a government holds Bitcoin, then technically the people hold the Bitcoin. 712 00:49:31,356 --> 00:49:35,956 And government often takes collective actions on behalf of the people, 713 00:49:36,696 --> 00:49:37,716 sort of the point of government. 714 00:49:38,276 --> 00:49:42,756 And it's up to the people to vote the right people in place, people they trust. 715 00:49:43,356 --> 00:49:47,256 And if they don't trust the people, they need to be voting better and harder, I guess. 716 00:49:48,116 --> 00:49:51,976 But I do think there is a point of view out there that they really should just stay out of it. 717 00:49:52,456 --> 00:49:55,056 But if that was the case, then you could make the same argument they should 718 00:49:55,056 --> 00:49:56,636 stay out of gold and oil, right? 719 00:49:57,636 --> 00:49:59,516 Uranium, helium, et cetera. 720 00:50:00,449 --> 00:50:03,089 So I don't know if that actually holds up, but tell me what you think of that. 721 00:50:03,329 --> 00:50:07,109 And I'd also like anybody else's insights on 95's booster. It's a good boost. 722 00:50:07,269 --> 00:50:08,389 It's thoughtful. Appreciate that. 723 00:50:09,049 --> 00:50:10,589 Ace Ackerman's here with a row of ducks. 724 00:50:12,109 --> 00:50:16,109 2,222 sets. He says, boost coming in hot. Coming in hot with the boost. 725 00:50:16,129 --> 00:50:17,749 Yeah, it is. Nice to hear from you, Ace. 726 00:50:18,269 --> 00:50:23,069 All right, here we go. Sick and Toshi's here. I think I'm saying that, but I'm probably not. 727 00:50:23,269 --> 00:50:27,269 With 4,200 sets. All systems are functional. 728 00:50:27,589 --> 00:50:30,669 Great show as always. Appreciate your effort. Keep it up. I'm sorry if I missed 729 00:50:30,669 --> 00:50:33,689 it. Snick Toshi? Not Sick Toshi. It's Snick, isn't it? 730 00:50:34,589 --> 00:50:39,269 Oh, for God's sakes. I just can't be helped. Just pump the brakes right there. 731 00:50:39,389 --> 00:50:41,129 But I appreciate the boost. Thank you very much. 732 00:50:41,609 --> 00:50:44,609 Adversary 17 is here with 16,384 sats. 733 00:50:44,809 --> 00:50:47,569 Quite a banger of an episode. Let's hear it good, buddy. Thanks, 734 00:50:47,649 --> 00:50:49,789 adversaries. Always nice to hear from you. He's a good guy. 735 00:50:49,989 --> 00:50:53,829 He's a real good guy. No, he's a great guy. And our last boost of the week from 736 00:50:53,829 --> 00:50:56,449 Nakamoto 6102 is 3,000 sats. 737 00:50:56,949 --> 00:51:00,249 Well, I'll be dipped. He says thanks for the value. Thank you, 738 00:51:00,429 --> 00:51:03,729 everyone. Thank you, everybody who boosted below the 2000 set cutoff to what a banger. 739 00:51:04,009 --> 00:51:08,829 Really appreciated that, especially after taking a couple of weeks off this last month. 740 00:51:08,829 --> 00:51:13,789 I was really kind of concerned about a drop off and was so looking forward to 741 00:51:13,789 --> 00:51:15,329 getting back and doing the show for you. 742 00:51:15,329 --> 00:51:20,189 And as a content creator, if I can use that term, I can't tell you what a great 743 00:51:20,189 --> 00:51:24,329 position that is to be in, to be excited and ready to go, even when you're worn 744 00:51:24,329 --> 00:51:28,569 out, even when you're tired, you know, to still have the drive to want to get 745 00:51:28,569 --> 00:51:29,989 out there and do the show for this community. 746 00:51:30,309 --> 00:51:34,689 And I really appreciate the support. I'm going to be taking in all of the news that will be flowing. 747 00:51:34,709 --> 00:51:37,449 And, you know, I'll either be busting an episode early if I need to, 748 00:51:37,589 --> 00:51:40,769 or I'll have a banger for you next week because that's my job. 749 00:51:40,869 --> 00:51:42,909 And I appreciate you supporting the show. 750 00:51:43,049 --> 00:51:46,149 It really makes the difference. And when we put it all together this week, 751 00:51:46,289 --> 00:51:50,869 we had 47 of you stream those sats into the show. Huh? Huh? Not too bad. 752 00:51:51,369 --> 00:51:55,809 47 of you. That's we're almost at 50 people streaming sats as they listen. 753 00:51:56,089 --> 00:52:00,549 I think that's really neat. And collectively, you stacked 97,330 sats. 754 00:52:00,649 --> 00:52:03,089 We could almost get those sats streamers to 100,000. 755 00:52:03,951 --> 00:52:07,711 I think that would be a first for the show. Then when we combine it with our 756 00:52:07,711 --> 00:52:13,091 boosters, the show stacked a healthy 294,142 sets. 757 00:52:19,031 --> 00:52:22,551 If you would like to support the show, you can do it with Fountain.fm. 758 00:52:22,651 --> 00:52:23,831 That's probably the easiest way. 759 00:52:23,951 --> 00:52:27,671 Fountain.fm makes it really easy to get sats. It also integrates with Strike. 760 00:52:28,011 --> 00:52:31,331 And then they handle all the lightning stuff for you. So you don't have to worry 761 00:52:31,331 --> 00:52:34,271 about a node or anything like that. You just use the app and boost the show. 762 00:52:35,231 --> 00:52:38,691 However, if you want to play around and build a node, use something like AlbiHub, 763 00:52:38,831 --> 00:52:41,451 you can go to podcastapps.com. There's lots of apps you can use. 764 00:52:41,571 --> 00:52:44,711 You can send a boost with the show. You just need the sats, and you get to send 765 00:52:44,711 --> 00:52:46,471 a message. You can find it in the feed. Boom. 766 00:52:46,971 --> 00:52:50,991 And the great thing about these new podcast apps, if I do say so myself, 767 00:52:51,311 --> 00:52:55,231 is you get a bunch of other nice features. Every episode of Twib has a transcript. 768 00:52:55,891 --> 00:52:58,451 You can search. You can throw an LLM. You can do what you want. 769 00:52:58,731 --> 00:53:00,651 And also, every episode has chapters. 770 00:53:01,831 --> 00:53:06,051 And if we ever do a live show, it'll be there right there in your podcasting 771 00:53:06,051 --> 00:53:08,211 2.0 app. And I think I will do a live show one day. 772 00:53:08,691 --> 00:53:11,271 But how will you know? Unless you have a podcasting 2.0 app, 773 00:53:11,351 --> 00:53:12,531 you won't know. There'll be no way. 774 00:53:12,831 --> 00:53:15,891 If you have the app, boom, you'll see it right there in the stream. 775 00:53:16,111 --> 00:53:19,331 And then last but not least, you get dang near instant releases. 776 00:53:19,751 --> 00:53:24,151 So when I do publish, generally on a Wednesday afternoon, it's in there about 90 seconds later. 777 00:53:24,291 --> 00:53:26,631 It's one of the great features as well. So you're not waiting around for your 778 00:53:26,631 --> 00:53:28,591 app to finally figure it out and all that kind of stuff. 779 00:53:29,131 --> 00:53:31,851 It's one of the great features of podcasting, 2.0 apps. Thank you, 780 00:53:32,011 --> 00:53:33,251 everybody who supports the show. 781 00:53:33,671 --> 00:53:36,851 Really appreciate it. This is a value for value production. It's your support 782 00:53:36,851 --> 00:53:38,671 that keeps it going. There is no sponsor. 783 00:53:38,831 --> 00:53:44,331 It is made for the audience. Transcription by CastingWords. 784 00:53:50,791 --> 00:53:54,011 We have some updates. This one's a doozy. 785 00:53:54,251 --> 00:53:58,431 Today, as I record, the U.S. Labor Department has rescinded 2022 guidance that 786 00:53:58,431 --> 00:54:03,391 warned fiduciaries against including crypto in 401k plans. 787 00:54:05,167 --> 00:54:10,547 This is huge. So now they can have, you can have crypto in your 401k plan. 788 00:54:10,647 --> 00:54:13,827 I mean, assuming the banks actually go forward with it. But the government was 789 00:54:13,827 --> 00:54:17,487 essentially discouraging the inclusion of Bitcoin in 401ks. 790 00:54:17,807 --> 00:54:21,567 It stated that digital assets remain, quote, highly speculative while also warning 791 00:54:21,567 --> 00:54:22,767 about price volatility. 792 00:54:23,107 --> 00:54:27,087 And they were concerned regarding custody issues and all of that, 793 00:54:27,147 --> 00:54:28,187 and it was just too risky. 794 00:54:28,427 --> 00:54:31,947 But now that guidance has been scrapped and fiduciaries can now consider cryptocurrency 795 00:54:31,947 --> 00:54:35,267 investments without facing additional scrutiny by the DOL. 796 00:54:35,607 --> 00:54:39,267 So they're not really taking an exact position. They're not directly encouraging, 797 00:54:39,267 --> 00:54:43,607 but they're no longer discouraging the inclusion of crypto in retirement plans. 798 00:54:43,747 --> 00:54:48,507 It's worth noting that there's more than $7 trillion in American retirement plans. 799 00:54:48,947 --> 00:54:52,107 This recent policy reversal doesn't mean that you're going to see Bitcoin become 800 00:54:52,107 --> 00:54:56,247 part of retirement plans tomorrow, but it's a pretty significant shift. 801 00:54:56,727 --> 00:54:59,647 This industry is just gaining more and more credibility and resiliency, 802 00:54:59,647 --> 00:55:01,507 and this is just another one of those things. 803 00:55:02,127 --> 00:55:04,687 So in that regard, pretty good to see. 804 00:55:06,247 --> 00:55:11,607 AlbiHub 1.17 is out, and this one's a doozy. I don't cover every AlbiHub release, 805 00:55:11,707 --> 00:55:13,727 but when I do, you know it's a banger. 806 00:55:14,227 --> 00:55:18,467 First and foremost, improve subwallets. This is a feature I love because we 807 00:55:18,467 --> 00:55:22,307 have hosts on the network that don't have the time or capacity to host their 808 00:55:22,307 --> 00:55:23,787 own Lightning nodes and wallets. 809 00:55:24,267 --> 00:55:28,207 So we have an AlbiHub setup that uses subwallets. Fantastic feature, 810 00:55:28,327 --> 00:55:32,567 also great for families and friends, and they have essentially their own independent 811 00:55:32,567 --> 00:55:34,427 wallet that uses your node's liquidity. 812 00:55:34,967 --> 00:55:38,707 Fantastic feature. It is now just overall smoother. 813 00:55:39,027 --> 00:55:42,067 The connection flow is better. It's more accessible in the main menu, 814 00:55:42,087 --> 00:55:46,567 and it gives you an overview now of your total assets under management. 815 00:55:47,586 --> 00:55:52,866 But the big feature that I am quite excited to see that I'll be honest with 816 00:55:52,866 --> 00:55:57,866 you, I asked for early in the beta phase when I was helping them test AlbiHub 817 00:55:57,866 --> 00:56:00,566 before it was released to the public. I told them, you need this feature. 818 00:56:01,166 --> 00:56:07,066 They now have auto swaps. You can set a threshold and AlbiHub will automatically 819 00:56:07,066 --> 00:56:10,506 swap from your lightning spending balance to your on-chain balance. 820 00:56:11,286 --> 00:56:14,906 Huge. You just set it and forget it and then you don't have to interact with 821 00:56:14,906 --> 00:56:18,886 it again, which is exactly what I asked for. We're really happy to see the team add this. 822 00:56:19,366 --> 00:56:22,926 Also, some improved on-chain transparency now. All your on-chain transactions 823 00:56:22,926 --> 00:56:25,046 are now visible directly in the node page. 824 00:56:25,286 --> 00:56:31,126 And they've upgraded the bundled Lightning node that comes with AlbiHub as well. 825 00:56:31,246 --> 00:56:34,386 So really solid release, version 1.17. 826 00:56:34,906 --> 00:56:37,626 Looks like it's definitely worth upgrading. And I'm going to be playing around 827 00:56:37,626 --> 00:56:40,106 with those auto swaps after the show. I love to see that. 828 00:56:41,486 --> 00:56:45,946 Well, Bitcoin node operators seem to be adopting Bitcoin knots at a pretty good 829 00:56:45,946 --> 00:56:53,906 clip. Yet, between September 2024 and April 2025, Nott's nodes grew from 210 to 840. 830 00:56:54,106 --> 00:56:59,286 Not a huge number, but a 280% increase overall, while Bitcoin Core nodes rose 831 00:56:59,286 --> 00:57:03,326 more modestly from 18,900 to 20,720. 832 00:57:03,726 --> 00:57:10,786 Notably, Core lost about 250 nodes during February to April 2025, as Nott's gained 340. 833 00:57:11,386 --> 00:57:16,066 Does seem like some people are voting with their feet and transitioning to Nott's. 834 00:57:16,266 --> 00:57:18,426 If you're one of them, boost in and tell me why. 835 00:57:18,320 --> 00:57:24,560 Music. 836 00:57:29,325 --> 00:57:33,745 Not one, but two final clips of the week that kind of go together. 837 00:57:36,385 --> 00:57:40,525 One of the things that was just killing me that I couldn't talk about, 838 00:57:40,605 --> 00:57:43,125 and I didn't really have time to fit into this week's episode, 839 00:57:43,245 --> 00:57:45,325 but I still wanted to cram it in here a little bit. 840 00:57:45,325 --> 00:57:52,745 And that is a number of Bitcoin haters capitulated in the last week. 841 00:57:52,965 --> 00:57:58,045 Historical, stick-in-the-mud Bitcoin haters capitulated. 842 00:57:58,285 --> 00:58:02,985 And one of my favorite capitulations was A. 843 00:58:03,105 --> 00:58:08,385 GigaBear. And he finally gave in this week and opened the floodgates to Bitcoin. 844 00:58:08,645 --> 00:58:13,085 How times have changed. Four years after calling Bitcoin worthless, 845 00:58:13,885 --> 00:58:18,305 J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon says that clients can now buy the cryptocurrency, 846 00:58:18,305 --> 00:58:21,185 but it doesn't mean he's buying it himself. 847 00:58:22,045 --> 00:58:26,425 I am not a fan of it. We are going to allow you to buy it and we're going to 848 00:58:26,425 --> 00:58:27,565 we're not going to custody it. 849 00:58:27,705 --> 00:58:30,485 We're going to put in statements for clients. 850 00:58:30,665 --> 00:58:34,665 So, you know, I don't think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke. 851 00:58:34,905 --> 00:58:37,445 I defend your right to buy Bitcoin. Go at it. 852 00:58:38,365 --> 00:58:42,585 Go at it, right? Jamie Dimon, who also called Bitcoin a pet rock, 853 00:58:42,785 --> 00:58:45,745 understands that personal feelings can't get in the way of business, 854 00:58:45,885 --> 00:58:48,445 especially not while business is booming. 855 00:58:48,985 --> 00:58:55,305 Bitcoin topping records today, you have it above 111,000 per Bitcoin. 856 00:58:55,705 --> 00:58:58,605 This is as major crypto regulation bill advances now into the Senate. 857 00:58:58,605 --> 00:58:59,785 Well, you know what I always say. 858 00:59:00,765 --> 00:59:04,025 Smoke if you got them. Smoke if you got them, Jamie. Smoke if you got them. 859 00:59:04,085 --> 00:59:06,065 Now, why did Jamie me capitulate? 860 00:59:06,325 --> 00:59:13,425 Well, the old stubborn sob waited till the absolute last minute because rumors 861 00:59:13,425 --> 00:59:17,825 started circulating on the street that Bank of America could be about to open 862 00:59:17,825 --> 00:59:20,845 the floodgates and allow their customers to start buying Bitcoin. 863 00:59:21,305 --> 00:59:27,245 Trillions of dollars in assets under management and registered reps all over the country. 864 00:59:27,485 --> 00:59:31,525 Financial advisors can now put people in Bitcoin. We knew it going to make it 865 00:59:31,525 --> 00:59:35,365 go up. We knew the Trump administration was basically friendly to crypto. 866 00:59:35,825 --> 00:59:40,405 This was such an inevitable move. That's why it's gone higher now. 867 00:59:40,625 --> 00:59:43,785 That's probably why it's going to continue to go higher, because Bank of America, 868 00:59:43,945 --> 00:59:48,745 for example, the biggest bank, has not yet made that decision, and they are bound to. 869 00:59:52,400 --> 00:59:57,840 Music. 870 00:59:59,949 --> 01:00:05,529 Let's check in on the state of the network. As I wrap up episode 58, 871 01:00:05,529 --> 01:00:09,829 we are at block height 898,790. 872 01:00:10,429 --> 01:00:14,489 The current price to U.S. dollars is 107,220. 873 01:00:15,849 --> 01:00:20,049 That makes the sats per dollar around 932 sats to one U.S. dollar. 874 01:00:20,289 --> 01:00:23,189 I love it when we're under a thousand or right around there even. 875 01:00:23,309 --> 01:00:24,349 It makes it so easy to do the math. 876 01:00:25,389 --> 01:00:31,609 We are down just 4% from the all-time high, which we recently hit on May 22nd, 877 01:00:31,809 --> 01:00:37,929 which was $111,980, a new all-time high for the Bitcoin network. 878 01:00:38,149 --> 01:00:45,809 There are currently, there should be more, but there are currently 22,430 nodes online. Not too bad. 879 01:00:46,789 --> 01:00:54,469 Looking at just the knots nodes now. The knots nodes are around 9% of the Bitcoin 880 01:00:54,469 --> 01:00:57,909 nodes, just under the 10% mark, 9.1%. 881 01:00:58,529 --> 01:01:04,349 Not too bad. That's a pretty, pretty big change from 4% when we started talking about it. 882 01:01:04,569 --> 01:01:09,409 Not saying we talked about it and it went up, just saying the news definitely drove adoption. 883 01:01:10,349 --> 01:01:13,749 Things are looking really good. The Bitcoin conference is going on. 884 01:01:13,869 --> 01:01:15,089 I'll continue to follow the news. 885 01:01:15,269 --> 01:01:18,749 And the Bitcoin network remains strong. There's lots still to come. 886 01:01:18,749 --> 01:01:34,129 We'll be right back. 887 01:01:21,680 --> 01:01:34,960 Music. 888 01:01:36,349 --> 01:01:39,249 Well, if you made it this far, I think you should check out the links for this 889 01:01:39,249 --> 01:01:40,469 week. There's lots of good stuff. 890 01:01:40,729 --> 01:01:44,709 Some things that didn't even make it on the show. That's over at thisweekinbitcoin.show. 891 01:01:45,189 --> 01:01:46,629 This was episode 58. 892 01:01:47,149 --> 01:01:50,429 My goal is to create a good high signal show that doesn't get distracted by 893 01:01:50,429 --> 01:01:53,769 the emotions or some of the politics around this, but just gets you the news, 894 01:01:53,909 --> 01:01:56,989 lets you focus on what you need to know, and then gets you out of here. 895 01:01:57,069 --> 01:01:58,389 So let me know how I did with the boost. 896 01:01:58,529 --> 01:02:00,849 And if you think I missed anything, I always like hearing that too. 897 01:02:01,109 --> 01:02:03,809 Now, I'm going to wrap up with a value for value track. Now, 898 01:02:03,929 --> 01:02:06,809 right now, this is number six on the value charts. 899 01:02:07,209 --> 01:02:10,749 Maybe we could bump it up a little bit. It's pretty good. It's test of verdict. 900 01:02:10,640 --> 01:07:44,273 Music.