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Welcome in to This Week in Bitcoin, Episode 89.

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My name is Chris, chrislas.com, jupiterbroadcasting.com.

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I'm not sure why.

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I thought maybe I'd hit 100 episodes before I saw this much crying in the streets.

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I'm not trying to be insensitive, but man, the number one thing I've been hearing and seeing this week, you could probably sum it up as, quote, I'm tired, boss.

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And OK, I felt that at times, too, especially over the years.

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But it feels like at this particular moment, with everything that's happening this week, which we're about to get into, and gold and silver going crazy, I've sort of heard one sentiment from Bitcoiners over and over again.

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I thought this was the moment Bitcoin was built for.

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Did Bitcoin miss its bid?

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And so that's what we're going to get into is where's the pamp?

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And not because we care about price, but because a lot of people are losing faith.

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People thought this was the structural moment that Bitcoin was designed for, that it's been

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building for.

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And now we have all of this adoption.

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Why isn't it shining?

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Well, let's start with what a week it's been.

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The globalist knives are out.

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And I don't say that lightly.

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And I use that term too often.

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The Davos Ski Party has turned ugly.

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And what used to be the quiet world order that only conspiracy theorists talked about is now openly crumbling in front of everyone on live streams with clips all over social media.

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It's just wild what we're seeing.

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And it really is because this world economic forum in Davos is going on and everybody's pissed off.

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And let's start with Ray Dalio, the famous Ray Dalio.

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And he says we are witnessing happen in real time on our social media streams a new monetary order and the old monetary order breaking down.

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The monetary order is breaking down.

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OK, what I mean by the monetary order is that fiat currencies and debt as a storehold of wealth is not being held by central banks in the same way.

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And that there was a change.

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The biggest market to move last year was the gold market, far better than the tech markets and so on.

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and the U.S. markets underperformed foreign markets because of the fact you could see it in the numbers of the central banks and so on.

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Yeah, if I was a central bank and I could print money, I'd probably buy gold like crazy right now.

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So let's just look at the fact that on the other side of trade deficits and trade wars, there are capital and capital wars.

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So capital wars are a second order effect of things like tariffs and trade wars.

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And so as we're looking at that and you reported what the stock market and so on, but you didn't report that the gold market is also up three.

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We did say that earlier this morning. It's up to record levels again.

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If you look at what is happening and why it's happening and who's buying it.

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So let's let's just take a moment on that capital war issue.

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OK. OK. We know that both the holders of U.S. dollar denominated debt, which is money, and the those who need it, the United States, are worried about each other.

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Right. So if you have other countries who are holding it and they're worried about each other and we're producing a lot of it, that's a big issue.

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So you have to explain what is going on with fiat currencies, generally speaking.

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And now if you take the conflicts, you can't ignore the possibility that capital wars,

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in other words, maybe there's not the same inclination to buy U.S. debt and so on.

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Well, that's definitely something we've been talking about.

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But don't worry, the banks will be unleashed on that soon enough.

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I think that was a good setup, though, because the banks have been buying gold like crazy.

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They're hedging, right?

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And what are they hedging?

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I think they were hedging what went down this very week.

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1971 was the year of the so-called Nixon shock.

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This is Ursula.

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The EU, supposedly old friends of the U.S., are spilling the tea.

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Ursula is currently the president of the European Commission.

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You might recognize her name because she's one of those uber elite politicians who's moved from bureaucratic job to other bureaucratic job over the years and been glanced by corruption, but never quite taken down.

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And, well, she's on stage and she's saying that we are going through another Nixon shock moment.

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And honestly, it's a way to frame, I think, a future position by the European Union.

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1971 was the year of the so-called Nixon shock.

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And the decision to delink the U.S. dollar from gold.

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In an instant, the foundations of the Bretton Woods system

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and the entire global economic order set up after the war effectively collapsed.

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But it also had two major effects.

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It inadvertently created the conditions for what would become a truly global order.

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What?

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And it provided a sharp lesson for Europe and on the need to strengthen its economic and political power.

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It was a warning to reduce our dependencies, in this case, on a foreign currency.

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The world may be very different today, without any question.

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But I believe the lesson is very much the same, that geopolitical shocks can and must serve as an opportunity for Europe.

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Never waste a crisis, as a good politician says.

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So we are living through, she's saying right now, this is another Nixon shock moment, the disruption by the Trump administration, the use of tariffs to get what they want for negotiations.

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All of this is another shock to the system.

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And so this is an opportunity, depending on how you look at it.

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Political shocks can and must serve as an opportunity for Europe.

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And in my view, the seismic change we are going through today is an opportunity, in fact, a necessity to build a new form of Europe.

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That's really something.

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I mean, I'll cut her off there because you know where she's going.

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And that's just downright friendly compared to what my neighbors to the north had to say.

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And I want to play this speech for you.

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In 1978, the Czech dissident Václav Havel, later president, wrote an essay called The Power of the Powerless.

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This is Mark Carney. I apologize about the audio.

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The original audio is quite bad.

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So this is a backup track that they had.

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Of course, Carney is currently the prime minister of Canada.

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Before this role, he served as the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance.

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Prior to that, he was the governor of the Bank of England.

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And from 2003 to 2013, he was the boss man at various positions in the Canadian bank system.

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And then before that, he spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs.

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I mention all of that because he now runs Canada, and he's kind of the perfect banker mouthpiece to deliver this message.

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And in it, he asked a simple question.

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How did the communist system sustain itself?

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And his answer began with a greengrocer.

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Every morning, this shopkeeper places a sign in his window.

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Workers of the world unite.

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He doesn't believe it.

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No one does.

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But he places the sign anyway to avoid trouble.

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So he's building a metaphor comparing the compliance of people under a communist regime to the compliance of nations under the regime of the United States.

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Quite an ironic comparison.

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To signal compliance, to get along.

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And because every shopkeeper on every street does the same, the system persists.

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Because every nation participates, the system persists.

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not through violence alone but through the participation of ordinary people in rituals

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they privately know to be false. Havel called this living within a lie. The system's power

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comes not from its truth but from everyone's willingness to perform as if it were true and

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its fragility comes from the same source. When even one person stops performing, when the green

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grocer removes his sign, the illusion begins to crack. Friends, it is time for companies

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and countries to take their signs down. For decades, countries like Canada prospered under

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what we called the rules-based international order. We joined its institutions, we praised

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its principles, we benefited from its predictability. And because of that, we could

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pursue values-based foreign policies under its protection. We knew the story of the international

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rules-based order was partially false, that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient.

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So is he saying that they knowingly enabled a bully, and by his definition, because

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it got them what they wanted?

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That trade rules were enforced asymmetrically.

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And we knew that international law applied with varying rigor depending on the identity of the accused or the victim.

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What?

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This fiction was useful.

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And American hegemony in particular helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system.

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How are the Canadian people not pissed when they hear this?

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I mean, isn't this essentially telling them, yeah, we knew everything we've been telling you for the last 40 years as the quality of life in Canada has gotten significantly worse through globalization.

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We knew it was all a lie.

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But, you know, we got some better deals out of it and we got some trade partnerships and we got to use soft speech to get the way we wanted around the world.

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Is that what you mean?

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I've got to play this back a little bit.

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As a Canadian, I would think this would be extremely upsetting because it's essentially telling you not only have we been lying to you, but we knew we were lying to you the entire time, but we just did it.

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Identity of the accused or the victim.

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This fiction was useful.

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And American hegemony in particular helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security, and support for frameworks for resolving disputes.

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So we placed the sign in the window.

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Who is we? The bankers? The politicians? The people?

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We participated in the rituals.

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And we largely avoided calling out the gaps between rhetoric and reality.

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This bargain no longer works.

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Let me be direct.

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We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.

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Over the past two decades, a series of crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics have laid bare the risks of extreme global integration.

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But more recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons.

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Tariffs is leveraged. Financial infrastructure is coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.

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You know, the irony here is they've also, Carney has announced that they're making deals with Canada or Canada is making deals with China.

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Of course, they're going to bring in some of the EVs capped, but they're bringing some EVs in and they're getting in trade.

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There's farm goods and whatnot.

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But then, you know, he's sitting here with this moral outrage about the United States while going to China, who is worse on all of these categories.

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Need I remind him that just a few weeks ago, China was threatening to hold and license and scan every single precious metal and earth that they have control over.

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Every earth that they have control over, they want to put a barcode on, even if it's just 1% of your product.

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Do I need to remind him that that just happened a few weeks ago?

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He's still, while claiming like, oh, all the doublespeak is over, he's now just introducing the next kind of doublespeak.

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happens. Tariffs is leverage. Financial infrastructure is coercion. Supply chains

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as vulnerabilities to be exploited. You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through

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integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination. The multilateral institutions

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on which the middle powers have relied, the WTO, the UN, the COP, the architecture, the very

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architecture of collective problem solving are under threat you see the guys in the middle are

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going to get squeezed the most by a hyper growth economy whether they can pull it off or not if we

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if we attain a hyper growth economy you know by tech by tech pamping and and and everything else

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and we we we increase dollar dominance through stable coins all of this screws canada and they feeling it already As a result many countries are drawing the same conclusions that they must develop greater strategic autonomy in energy food critical minerals in finance and supply chains

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And this impulse is understandable.

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A country that can't feed itself, fuel itself or defend itself has few options.

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When the rules no longer protect you, you must protect yourself.

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But let's be clear-eyed about where this leads.

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A world of fortresses will be poorer, more fragile, and less sustainable.

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And there's another truth.

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If great powers abandon even the pretense of rules and values

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for the unhindered pursuit of their power and interests,

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the gains from transactionalism will become harder to replicate.

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Hegemons cannot continually monetize their relationships.

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Allies will diversify to hedge against uncertainty.

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They'll buy insurance, increase options in order to rebuild sovereignty.

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The absolute hypocrisy here, because Carney worked in the very banking system that so deeply benefited from the U.S. financial dominance, from all of the money printing and all of the debt, he so deeply benefited from that in his entire run.

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and now to be sitting in this position and pretending like all of that hasn't led us to

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where we're at right if the governments weren't in such incredible deep debt we wouldn't be seeing

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if we wouldn't if we hadn't actually let's go further if we hadn't seen the systematic western

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debasement of fiat currency we wouldn't be seeing the surge of populism that we're seeing today

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that is putting pressure on all these establishment figures that is getting people like trump into

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office, right? We wouldn't be right where we're at right now if it wasn't for the very decisions

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and the very teats that guys like Kanye have sucked on for the last 35 years. It didn't just

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show up when Trump got elected last year. That's not how this works. This has been building for 30

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plus years. And this was an inevitable moment of history that we now find ourselves at. And when

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things become scarce again, then yeah, the superpowers start to make their moves. It was

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always going to go this way. It's always going to go this way. And he participated in the very

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system at its core. Right. He wasn't an ancillary figure at its very core at the Bank of England,

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at different levels in the Canadian banking system. He sucked off the climate scam from

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the U.N. that went absolutely nowhere, a total waste of money. It's a it's an absolute scam.

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And then he comes on there and pretends like, well, it all just fell apart because Trump wants

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Greenland. And the most surprising part of it isn't that he didn't pretend that there was a

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rules-based international order until Trump came along and ended it. Like, okay, sure, that's a

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great political line to go with. It's that he admitted the claim was always a fraud in the first

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place, but then affirmed that, yeah, we all went along with it because it benefited us.

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I cannot believe it. So yeah, sovereign risk is clearly here.

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So isn't this just Bitcoin's perfect moment?

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Isn't Bitcoin supposed to be separation of state and money?

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Shouldn't this be where everybody's going to?

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Well, obviously, we're way too early still.

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And I'll explain why.

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But first, I also think we should take a moment.

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This is not the beginning, right?

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We are in a historical period of time, but we are not at the end of this period of time.

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And people that are on social medias or on the different TVs or the blogs or whatever that are complaining about how Bitcoin isn't living up to its moment, this isn't the moment.

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This is part of a moment.

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We are going through massive shifts, and we are still so damn early.

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And I know for some of you, that's got to feel crazy to say 17 years in, $2 trillion asset, all these different banks, et cetera, et cetera, ETFs.

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we are still so early when it comes to understanding the value of digital scarcity.

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Look at who controls the wealth in the world right now.

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Most of those folks are still figuring out how to send text messages.

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And gold has been benefiting for over a year now, for multiple years now, from safe haven flows,

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from people that are slowly hedging against fiat currencies like central banks.

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Gold is what you buy when you don't know what to do.

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Gold is what you buy when you need to preserve your massive wealth that you already have.

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And so from that lens, Bitcoin is still a risky play.

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Now, to more and more of us, a provably scarce digital asset is clearly more valuable than a shiny rock that someone else holds for you in a vault.

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But central banks have been buying gold because there's these de-dollarization talks, there's these sovereign fiat risk talks, and there's bond yield volatility, which we'll get more into.

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These kinds of things, they just make banks nervous and they're not ready.

209
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They're not ready to buy into Bitcoin yet.

210
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And see in other markets I track.

211
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This is Luke Roman.

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Bitcoin is gone into a bear market in gold terms.

213
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I think it's going to continue.

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I think part of that, you know, a is, you know, Bitcoin has been trading like, you know, a high beta tech stock.

215
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And as much as I think it will ultimately trade as a neutral reserve asset, it isn't yet.

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And so it is doing that.

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You know, to these traders, it's something that just came into the system still.

218
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So Luke's right there.

219
00:19:19,149 --> 00:19:22,929
But gold having, you know, a good run doesn't mean that Bitcoin won't do well long term.

220
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Bitcoin is savings for the future.

221
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Gold is thinking on politician timelines right now.

222
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Bitcoin is thinking about 10 years out or more.

223
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Worse before it gets better.

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This is Lin Alden.

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00:19:35,029 --> 00:19:39,389
I think that the world in general has to kind of get past the demographics hump.

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We kind of built all our systems, assuming that population always goes up and that the next generation is always bigger than the prior one.

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But as we have kind of, you know, kind of the ending of that kind of cycle, we have a very, you know, around the world, we have very top heavy entitlement systems.

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That's contributing to a lot of the polarization where people kind of feel the social contract breaking down around them.

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I mean, just take this point.

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She's she's been very, very broad here at very high level.

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But just look at the demographic shifts we have, the boomers being the largest generation, then retiring, moving out of the workforce, but still in the workforce, still in the political space right now, still hold most the power, most the wealth.

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You have the housing market that seems to be going through some sort of consolidation right now, but housing has been out of the reach of millennials for so long.

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But let's just take that one example.

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Say housing were to come down 30%.

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If we were to have a major housing correction, what would likely happen? I don't know, but it seems most likely that the housing prices would go down pretty significantly over a period of time.

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And then they would start to correct back up. They would probably go under and then back up over time.

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And millennials and other people under 40 that haven't been able to buy in yet would be able to buy homes.

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And once they bought those homes, it would then trigger a bunch of secondary economic activity, furniture, plumbers, garage door installs, you know, things like that that they have to do to equip their home and then the ongoing maintenance.

239
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And so then that creates a new also a new asset holder.

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So I think if we saw something like that, it wouldn't be painless.

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It would be a painful thing because the boomers are at an age where they need to essentially cash in on their assets.

242
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So they're not going to love this transition. So there will be pain there. Right. And when things correct, it's never very smooth. People overreact, et cetera, et cetera. People always end up getting burned. And it's it's not it's never a clean process. So what she's saying is we have a lot of demographic things, a lot of structural things that are going to need to get worked through that are going to constantly be price issues. This isn't a thing you can trade on in the next three or four years.

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kind of cycle.

244
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We have, you know,

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around the world,

246
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we have very top-heavy

247
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and title-blit systems.

248
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That's contributing

249
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to a lot of the polarization

250
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where people kind of feel

251
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the social contract

252
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breaking down around them,

253
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more intergenerational conflict.

254
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You know,

255
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and then that's where

256
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it gets very political.

257
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I mean, some economies

258
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then say, well,

259
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let's have a lot of immigration

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to fix that.

261
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And then you get the pushback

262
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against that in both Europe

263
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and the United States.

264
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So that becomes

265
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more of a political crisis.

266
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And a lot of that

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has to be worked through.

268
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And I think it's going to take

269
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a very long time.

270
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And then the pendulum

271
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kind of swings back and forth

272
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really far

273
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and gets kind of more extreme

274
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each time.

275
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And so I don't really see

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a clean fix anytime

277
00:22:29,429 --> 00:22:29,989
in the next,

278
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like an investable time rise

279
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in three, five, seven years.

280
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I think the best people can do

281
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is focus on themselves

282
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and their own communities

283
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and just try to be,

284
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just, you know,

285
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try to make their lives

286
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and the lives around themselves

287
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better than when they woke up

288
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that morning.

289
00:22:47,669 --> 00:22:57,369
Now, another thing that we've been tracking since about the middle of last year is this yen carry trade.

290
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And the unwind seems to continue.

291
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This is not my area of expertise, but here's what I do know.

292
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On Monday, the Japanese prime minister called for a snap parliamentary election set to be held on February 8th.

293
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So it's pretty soon.

294
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And that kicked things off in the market that, well, was negative.

295
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And Kyle, I think it's Chasey, he has a decent breakdown on his account, which I will link to in the show notes, that goes into sort of the turmoil that's happening here.

296
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Japan's long-dated government bonds just surged to record yields on fiscal and political fears heading into a snap election.

297
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Reuters called it a uncharted territory.

298
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The 40-year JGB yield pushed above 4%, hitting around 4.2%, which is a major regime shift

299
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for Japan.

300
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Why do we care?

301
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Well, because Japan is one of the deepest pools of global capital.

302
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When Japan's yields surge, global money has a reason to come home.

303
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That can pressure US treasuries, pressure equities, and tighten fiscal conditions everywhere.

304
00:24:01,529 --> 00:24:13,509
Reuters explicitly framed this as Japan's sell-off rippling into global bond markets, with U.S. long yields posting their biggest two-day rise since May.

305
00:24:13,649 --> 00:24:19,809
Yeah, that's one thing, is it's not just isolated to one market. It tends to have knock-on effects.

306
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So the prime minister's goal is to gain more support for her agenda, which includes a proposed two-year break on a 8% tax on food products.

307
00:24:28,529 --> 00:24:37,009
And, of course, the market is concerned about Japan's debt levels already, and investors fear such a tax holiday would make things worse.

308
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Now, of course, Japan isn't a side story here.

309
00:24:39,149 --> 00:24:42,589
That's why I've been talking about it on and off over the last six months.

310
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It really is the funding engine for global risk.

311
00:24:45,589 --> 00:24:48,889
So as a Bitcoiner, you need to wrap your noodle around this.

312
00:24:49,549 --> 00:24:51,129
For years, the trade was simple.

313
00:24:51,209 --> 00:24:52,249
You borrow cheap yen.

314
00:24:52,569 --> 00:24:55,649
You then lever into a U.S. bond if you want to play it safe.

315
00:24:56,169 --> 00:24:57,769
You're still making money there.

316
00:24:58,529 --> 00:25:02,189
Stocks was the go-to play and Bitcoin when risk was on.

317
00:25:02,269 --> 00:25:03,129
They would buy Bitcoin.

318
00:25:03,269 --> 00:25:06,189
They would take borrowed yen and buy Bitcoin.

319
00:25:06,989 --> 00:25:08,069
Seems like a sweet deal, right?

320
00:25:08,089 --> 00:25:09,689
Because the rates are crazy low.

321
00:25:10,189 --> 00:25:12,529
Bitcoin, even on a bad year, is still probably going to pay for that.

322
00:25:13,309 --> 00:25:17,289
So in the short term, this impacts Bitcoin's liquidity trade.

323
00:25:17,689 --> 00:25:22,469
And it also means there's going to be some folks that if they bought Bitcoin with borrowed

324
00:25:22,469 --> 00:25:26,069
yen, they may have to sell it to pay that yen back at a higher rate.

325
00:25:26,809 --> 00:25:38,549
Now, longer term, if this kind of thing turns into a sovereign debt crisis or even just sovereign debt stress, well, Bitcoin's no central bank promise is an awful strong appeal here.

326
00:25:38,649 --> 00:25:42,249
So I think the case only gets stronger for Bitcoin as we see more examples of these.

327
00:25:42,649 --> 00:25:47,609
But these are the, quote, teachable moments for the market to learn why Bitcoin matters.

328
00:25:47,609 --> 00:25:55,789
They have to watch this kind of stuff blow up to get it because in their world, something that is owned by the state has been the safest play.

329
00:25:56,069 --> 00:25:59,389
it's going to take them a while to get it in their head that it's the risky play now.

330
00:25:59,729 --> 00:26:01,849
And it's not the tough words about Greenland.

331
00:26:02,009 --> 00:26:06,069
I mean, that spooks people a little bit, but that can be walked back with talk.

332
00:26:06,789 --> 00:26:12,409
What's spooking people is this potential yen carry trade unwinding faster than they're prepared for.

333
00:26:12,809 --> 00:26:15,389
They can handle it as long as it doesn't go too fast.

334
00:26:15,989 --> 00:26:17,149
But that's the big problem.

335
00:26:17,149 --> 00:26:20,929
I believe the markets are going down because the Japanese bond market

336
00:26:20,929 --> 00:26:25,629
had a six standard deviation move for the past two days.

337
00:26:25,629 --> 00:26:28,429
This is Treasury Secretary Scott Besson.

338
00:26:29,089 --> 00:26:31,209
That would be in their 10-year bonds.

339
00:26:32,189 --> 00:26:40,409
I've been in touch with my economic counterparts in Japan and urged them to take the necessary measures to stabilize their bond market.

340
00:26:40,549 --> 00:26:43,969
That's spilling all over into all bond markets.

341
00:26:44,229 --> 00:26:47,449
I can imagine that phone call, hey, man, you're effing our stuff up.

342
00:26:48,209 --> 00:26:49,489
You need to make a buy.

343
00:26:49,769 --> 00:26:50,729
German yields are up.

344
00:26:50,849 --> 00:26:51,829
French yields are up.

345
00:26:51,989 --> 00:26:53,049
U.S. yields are up.

346
00:26:53,049 --> 00:26:57,689
And, again, it's mostly the Japanese bond market.

347
00:26:57,829 --> 00:26:59,389
Got nothing to do with Greenland.

348
00:26:59,849 --> 00:27:00,549
No, of course not.

349
00:27:00,609 --> 00:27:01,449
Nothing to do with Greenland.

350
00:27:01,589 --> 00:27:02,609
Nothing to do with Greenland at all.

351
00:27:02,989 --> 00:27:07,549
Although I think in the scale of things, yeah, the Greenland thing is a small, minor, temporary issue.

352
00:27:08,109 --> 00:27:15,769
The yen carry trade unwinding, depending on the acceleration of that, is a notable issue or a very serious issue.

353
00:27:23,049 --> 00:27:33,109
Well, something messing with your liquidity this week as well is the shenanigans with this stupid Clarity Act.

354
00:27:33,709 --> 00:27:45,598
As Bitcoiners there minimal impact for us other than market sentiment and market momentum And things were just about to get over the finish line when the bald man himself Brian Armstrong put a stop to things

355
00:27:46,218 --> 00:27:53,638
Coinbase has objected at the final hour and is pushing back on the Clarity Act, saying that no bill would be better than this bill.

356
00:27:54,038 --> 00:27:56,338
And I have figured out their main complaints.

357
00:27:57,078 --> 00:28:02,618
Coinbase's main complaints say, essentially from their point of view, that this bill kneecaps stablecoins.

358
00:28:02,618 --> 00:28:08,478
The draft bans platforms like Coinbase from paying yield on idle stablecoins.

359
00:28:08,678 --> 00:28:12,798
No interest, no rewards, unless users are actively transacting that stablecoin.

360
00:28:13,438 --> 00:28:20,358
So in other words, banks don't want you to park dollars on an exchange like Coinbase and just earn yield.

361
00:28:21,058 --> 00:28:22,598
They don't want that, right?

362
00:28:22,838 --> 00:28:25,278
The banks say, look, we can't compete with that.

363
00:28:25,278 --> 00:28:30,498
At best, we give people like 0.1, maybe 0.5% interest.

364
00:28:30,818 --> 00:28:34,358
And now they're going to go park it on Coinbase and get 4% interest.

365
00:28:34,578 --> 00:28:35,778
We can't compete with that.

366
00:28:35,838 --> 00:28:37,998
That's going to suck liquidity out of the banking system.

367
00:28:38,738 --> 00:28:42,018
And Brian Armstrong says, OK, well, then compete with us.

368
00:28:43,898 --> 00:28:46,098
It's a totally different business model for the banks.

369
00:28:46,138 --> 00:28:54,778
And I'm not here to defend the banks, but I can understand why they don't like the idea of you just saving your money on Coinbase and making 4%.

370
00:28:54,778 --> 00:29:04,818
There's no reason to keep it in the savings account because on the Coinbase stablecoin side, it's also backed by treasuries, where in the bank, it's fractional reserve banking.

371
00:29:05,158 --> 00:29:15,358
So they really only have a fraction of your actual money in the bank at any given time, where in theory, the stablecoin system would be completely backed by treasuries.

372
00:29:15,498 --> 00:29:19,678
Now, if you want to trust Coinbase, man, that's up to you.

373
00:29:19,738 --> 00:29:21,098
That's not the point I'm making here.

374
00:29:21,098 --> 00:29:25,478
But you could see why the banks would be a little nervous in theory if like a legitimate – well, OK.

375
00:29:25,858 --> 00:29:39,478
If another banking institution, which one of them would do, had this deal, like if Bank of America lets you just have stable coins in your Bank of America savings account at 4% yield, well, then everybody's pulling their money out of Wells Fargo.

376
00:29:39,518 --> 00:29:41,418
Insert name of bank here to make my point.

377
00:29:42,038 --> 00:29:48,338
The other thing that Coinbase drew a red flag around is that the bill seems to push more control to the SEC.

378
00:29:48,338 --> 00:29:54,058
And it's been noted that Elizabeth Warren herself, you know, thank goodness she's out there helping us.

379
00:29:55,358 --> 00:30:00,518
She has snuck in 38 amendments to this market structure bill to really crap it up.

380
00:30:00,798 --> 00:30:13,258
Amendments that remove developer protections, remove sanctioned compliance obligations, more illicit activity power monitoring by the government, more AML obligations for DeFi and especially for front end to DeFi.

381
00:30:13,258 --> 00:30:19,998
repeal positive OCC guidance for banks and gut the SEC's ability to allow tokenization

382
00:30:19,998 --> 00:30:25,878
and basically remove the CFTC as much as possible from the entire picture, which Coinbase doesn't

383
00:30:25,878 --> 00:30:33,638
like. Now, this seems to be the state of affairs. Negotiations are ongoing. Brian Armstrong was at

384
00:30:33,638 --> 00:30:38,498
Davos. He says, well, I think we're going to have a fix soon. The real question will be,

385
00:30:38,498 --> 00:30:42,978
Does Congress go with the banks or does Congress go with the crypto lobby?

386
00:30:43,738 --> 00:30:45,578
This is going to be a huge deal for the banks.

387
00:30:45,838 --> 00:30:52,278
And if they go with the crypto lobby, the banks are going to have to hustle into this as fast as possible to save their asses.

388
00:30:52,358 --> 00:30:57,518
But either way, David Sachs, the cryptos are here in the States, thinks we're going to find a compromise soon.

389
00:30:58,198 --> 00:31:02,998
Well, yeah, there's an issue right now, the so-called yield issue, whether stable coins are going to be able to pay yield.

390
00:31:03,098 --> 00:31:06,018
There's a difference of opinion between the crypto industry and the banking industry.

391
00:31:06,858 --> 00:31:08,358
Where do you sit?

392
00:31:08,498 --> 00:31:14,998
I'm in favor of reaching a solution and facilitating a compromise so that we can get a bill for market structure on the president's desk.

393
00:31:15,438 --> 00:31:20,118
We've seen this movie before, back in August, when the stablecoin bill passed, the Genius Act.

394
00:31:20,458 --> 00:31:23,398
It died about three times before it finally passed and was signed into law.

395
00:31:23,718 --> 00:31:25,618
So there's a process here that has to be worked through.

396
00:31:25,618 --> 00:31:28,018
What's a potential compromise look like?

397
00:31:28,118 --> 00:31:34,238
Because it looks like the banks don't want it to allow it to happen, and it looks like the crypto guys are adamant that it happened, that they'd be able to compete.

398
00:31:34,418 --> 00:31:36,758
How do you split the baby, I guess?

399
00:31:36,758 --> 00:31:44,538
Well, I think the banks have to recognize that yield is already a feature of the Genius Act that passed and was signed into law in August.

400
00:31:44,758 --> 00:31:49,458
So if the bill ends up dying, then there will be a form of rewards.

401
00:31:49,738 --> 00:31:51,858
And so I understand their point of view.

402
00:31:51,998 --> 00:31:55,398
But again, if there's no deal, then they're going to lose on this issue.

403
00:31:55,718 --> 00:31:58,058
So I think it's in their interest to work something out.

404
00:31:58,138 --> 00:32:03,438
At the same time, I would urge some of the crypto folks to be a little bit to see the bigger picture.

405
00:32:03,918 --> 00:32:09,358
Yes, I understand that yield is philosophically important to them, but so is getting an overall market structure bill.

406
00:32:09,858 --> 00:32:13,698
So I think if everybody takes place around everyone has to be reasonable here, I think.

407
00:32:13,738 --> 00:32:14,738
And if they do, that will get a bill.

408
00:32:14,738 --> 00:32:20,158
But is it a bill comes and then there's a sort of longer fight that continues, do you think, afterwards?

409
00:32:20,818 --> 00:32:22,558
No, I mean, it's already past the House.

410
00:32:23,198 --> 00:32:25,738
No, no, no. I mean, you sort of get this compromise.

411
00:32:26,518 --> 00:32:29,058
The banks don't love it. Crypto doesn't love it.

412
00:32:29,058 --> 00:32:34,418
And then over time, after this bill gets, if this gets signed, then there's sort of a continued fight to get even more.

413
00:32:35,198 --> 00:32:37,658
Well, a good compromise is everyone leaves a little bit unhappy.

414
00:32:37,878 --> 00:32:44,218
Right. Right. But I think what's going to happen is that after market structure passes, the banks are going to get fully into the crypto industry.

415
00:32:44,218 --> 00:32:47,098
So we're not going to have a separate banking industry and crypto industry.

416
00:32:47,098 --> 00:32:49,538
It's going to be one digital assets industry.

417
00:32:49,738 --> 00:32:52,738
And I think their opinions are going to evolve over time.

418
00:32:52,738 --> 00:32:57,598
And I bet you over time, the banks like the idea of paying yield because they're going to be in the stable coin business.

419
00:32:59,058 --> 00:33:05,678
All right, boost into the show.

420
00:33:06,038 --> 00:33:09,358
If Lynn's right and it's a structural issue, how long could you hold out?

421
00:33:09,978 --> 00:33:12,438
Most of the internet's pissed off we're not at 200,000 right now.

422
00:33:12,738 --> 00:33:13,578
Are you tired, bro?

423
00:33:14,098 --> 00:33:14,718
Share with me.

424
00:33:14,898 --> 00:33:16,118
How long can you huddle?

425
00:33:29,058 --> 00:33:31,778
Well, you can support the show just by doing what you do.

426
00:33:31,858 --> 00:33:35,438
If you want to buy sats on river, one of the best ways to stack sats in the United States,

427
00:33:35,518 --> 00:33:37,058
use my link in the show notes.

428
00:33:37,398 --> 00:33:40,438
If you're all about self-custody and you're in the U.S. or Canada,

429
00:33:40,798 --> 00:33:44,078
and you want to go from your self-custody wallet to and from when you buy and sell,

430
00:33:44,598 --> 00:33:45,258
the Bitcoin will.

431
00:33:45,358 --> 00:33:49,218
And they have a bunch of great services and more and more coming out to the U.S. too.

432
00:33:49,638 --> 00:33:52,018
Now, if you want to spend some of your Bitcoin on Lightning,

433
00:33:52,378 --> 00:33:56,878
you can go from sats to gift card for hundreds of different companies with a Bitcoin company.

434
00:33:57,218 --> 00:33:58,338
All they do is Bitcoin.

435
00:33:58,778 --> 00:33:59,898
Link in the show notes for that.

436
00:34:00,218 --> 00:34:03,278
If you want to stack stats passively while you pay bills and do your daily expenses,

437
00:34:03,398 --> 00:34:04,938
that's the bold card.

438
00:34:05,478 --> 00:34:06,538
Link in the show notes there.

439
00:34:06,898 --> 00:34:10,158
Last but not least, get access to your Bitcoin value without selling it.

440
00:34:10,358 --> 00:34:11,198
I go to Salt Lending.

441
00:34:11,698 --> 00:34:13,138
Link in the show notes for that.

442
00:34:13,138 --> 00:34:29,158
And now it is time for the boost.

443
00:34:29,158 --> 00:34:30,198
It is indeed.

444
00:34:30,338 --> 00:34:33,058
This is a value for value podcast supported by our listeners.

445
00:34:33,338 --> 00:34:40,318
And our baller booster this week is Wine Eagle with 44,442 sats.

446
00:34:43,138 --> 00:34:46,498
across 11 booths

447
00:34:46,498 --> 00:34:49,458
using breeze too

448
00:34:49,458 --> 00:34:51,598
nice

449
00:34:51,598 --> 00:34:55,598
says thanks chris is the highest signal bitcoin and macro podcast out there

450
00:34:55,598 --> 00:34:58,158
i love the focus and refusal to chase the shit coins

451
00:34:58,158 --> 00:35:01,358
i've been using bitcoin since 2012 nice dude

452
00:35:01,358 --> 00:35:04,398
lost 35 bitcoin on bit funder early on

453
00:35:04,398 --> 00:35:06,878
and a brutal lesson that forced a real discipline afterwards

454
00:35:06,878 --> 00:35:12,078
i hear you man i don't i don't i don't know

455
00:35:12,078 --> 00:35:20,298
I think I lost somewhere between 35 and 60 Bitcoin in a wallet hack when I was testing an online wallet for a podcast called TechSnap.

456
00:35:20,858 --> 00:35:27,558
And then I believe I lost somewhere between 10 and 25 Bitcoin on Mt. Gox when Mt. Gox was hacked myself.

457
00:35:28,318 --> 00:35:29,018
Very painful.

458
00:35:29,458 --> 00:35:30,658
My life would be very different.

459
00:35:30,758 --> 00:35:33,758
And I try not to think of it that way, but it is true.

460
00:35:34,558 --> 00:35:35,458
It is true.

461
00:35:35,458 --> 00:35:43,518
So, yes, you know, the thing is, a lot of us that have been in Bitcoin a long time, the stories are not very, very easy.

462
00:35:43,778 --> 00:35:45,958
They're not they're not fun necessarily.

463
00:35:46,138 --> 00:35:46,878
They're hard lessons.

464
00:35:47,258 --> 00:35:49,358
But the conviction also comes from that.

465
00:35:50,098 --> 00:35:51,518
I've already lost more than I'll ever spend.

466
00:35:51,598 --> 00:35:52,158
Same here, dude.

467
00:35:52,278 --> 00:35:52,878
Same here.

468
00:35:53,238 --> 00:35:55,058
And spent more than I'll ever save going forward.

469
00:35:55,198 --> 00:35:55,758
Totally, dude.

470
00:35:55,838 --> 00:35:57,838
At this stage, I'm experimenting with yield.

471
00:35:57,978 --> 00:35:59,018
Two approaches so far.

472
00:35:59,858 --> 00:36:05,038
Heavy STRC exposure, 15 percent of my Bitcoin net worth for yield now with a dividend cash flow.

473
00:36:05,038 --> 00:36:07,438
and then careful DeFi experimentation on the side.

474
00:36:08,158 --> 00:36:10,298
I would love more details about both of those.

475
00:36:10,378 --> 00:36:13,278
I don't know much about any of the DeFi stuff.

476
00:36:13,358 --> 00:36:15,558
It sounds risky to me, but that's just my initial reaction.

477
00:36:16,098 --> 00:36:17,658
And as far as the strike stuff goes,

478
00:36:18,898 --> 00:36:21,558
that seems, I mean, it seems interesting as a long time,

479
00:36:21,598 --> 00:36:23,358
but don't you feel like over 10, 20 years,

480
00:36:23,618 --> 00:36:25,578
it's always risky not to just keep the Bitcoin

481
00:36:25,578 --> 00:36:27,978
over 15 years, even 10 years?

482
00:36:28,598 --> 00:36:29,138
I don't know.

483
00:36:29,158 --> 00:36:30,038
I'd like to know your thoughts on that.

484
00:36:30,078 --> 00:36:33,658
He says, I converted some of my BTC into TBTC,

485
00:36:33,658 --> 00:36:38,338
BTC, which is a threshold on Ethereum, and deposited into Aave. I took a loan against it,

486
00:36:38,358 --> 00:36:43,358
a 4% APR, and I borrowed Tethered. I converted to USDC and withdrawed via Coinbase and moved to

487
00:36:43,358 --> 00:36:49,658
Vanguard for even more yield. Yes, very risky. Okay. This is great detail. So you're using Aave.

488
00:36:49,738 --> 00:36:56,278
I've heard of that before. So you're paying a 4% APR over there. Then you have to convert it to

489
00:36:56,278 --> 00:37:00,338
USDC. Is there an expense to that? And then to move it to Coinbase, once it's USDC, I know that's

490
00:37:00,338 --> 00:37:05,598
free. And then you put it on Vanguard. So you're depositing from Coinbase into Vanguard to get

491
00:37:05,598 --> 00:37:09,778
even more yield. That's interesting. I'd like to know what your total is there.

492
00:37:10,098 --> 00:37:13,998
I'm fully aware there are multiple points of failure. This is a controlled experiment and

493
00:37:13,998 --> 00:37:18,598
not a recommendation. Well, that makes sense. Fun will now commence.

494
00:37:19,478 --> 00:37:23,738
Timeline blew my mind. Did this Saturday night and by Tuesday morning, I already had additional

495
00:37:23,738 --> 00:37:28,258
strike shares in my brokerage. My plan is to repay soon, partially to prove to my wife that

496
00:37:28,258 --> 00:37:30,618
This can be addressed in an emergency if needed.

497
00:37:31,078 --> 00:37:34,138
Cutting edge fun degen leverage aside, stay humble and stack sats.

498
00:37:34,218 --> 00:37:35,878
Don't repeat the mistakes I made in 2013.

499
00:37:36,518 --> 00:37:39,118
Side note, I've been boosting, but my balance doesn't seem to drop.

500
00:37:39,358 --> 00:37:40,238
Are the messages going through?

501
00:37:40,378 --> 00:37:40,918
Breeze is great.

502
00:37:41,198 --> 00:37:41,778
Breeze is great.

503
00:37:41,838 --> 00:37:43,038
No KYC, no email.

504
00:37:43,558 --> 00:37:44,218
Sometimes clunky.

505
00:37:44,678 --> 00:37:48,938
Yeah, usually if it doesn't go down, it means like one of the splits failed partially or something like that.

506
00:37:49,278 --> 00:37:52,278
So if some of your amount goes down, but not all of it.

507
00:37:52,898 --> 00:37:55,678
This is a really fascinating conversation, Wine Eagle.

508
00:37:55,678 --> 00:37:58,738
I wish you were going to be at scale or Planet Nick so I could talk to you more.

509
00:37:59,138 --> 00:38:08,538
Not necessarily that I'm going to engage in this, but I do think it's an interesting thing to understand better and an area that I could learn more about just so I can speak to it better.

510
00:38:08,958 --> 00:38:10,078
Really appreciate those details.

511
00:38:10,198 --> 00:38:11,318
Anything else you want to share, Wine Eagle?

512
00:38:11,598 --> 00:38:13,778
Very much would be appreciative.

513
00:38:14,258 --> 00:38:15,278
And thanks for being our baller.

514
00:38:15,918 --> 00:38:19,818
Kiwi Bitcoin Guide came in at 33,333 sats.

515
00:38:20,138 --> 00:38:22,858
I hoard that which your kind covets.

516
00:38:23,338 --> 00:38:24,458
That's not too bad either.

517
00:38:24,458 --> 00:38:25,018
Thank you there.

518
00:38:25,018 --> 00:38:26,418
It's across two booths, of course.

519
00:38:26,558 --> 00:38:26,978
Oh, my God.

520
00:38:27,038 --> 00:38:28,478
This drawer is filled with fruit loops.

521
00:38:28,618 --> 00:38:28,858
Hey, Chris.

522
00:38:28,938 --> 00:38:32,658
It was interesting to hear you say that you look at each of your shows as a business.

523
00:38:32,838 --> 00:38:34,138
Tell us more about the vision for Twib.

524
00:38:34,238 --> 00:38:38,258
Do you see it following the same path as LUP with value for value memberships and bonus content but no paid ads?

525
00:38:38,578 --> 00:38:40,438
Are there any other unique things you're considering for Twib?

526
00:38:40,758 --> 00:38:41,118
Nah.

527
00:38:42,498 --> 00:38:43,138
Oh, man.

528
00:38:43,258 --> 00:38:49,918
You know, I'm so heads down on every single week just following the news that I don't think about it as much as I probably should.

529
00:38:50,638 --> 00:38:53,358
Where I say that is because each show has its own unique audience.

530
00:38:53,358 --> 00:39:02,198
There's crossover, of course, obviously, but there's also its own unique audience with its own unique demographic and niche that it addresses and its own topics with its own possible swag line.

531
00:39:02,618 --> 00:39:07,818
You know, I would love to do a couple of stupid swag items, not crappy ones, but fun ones.

532
00:39:08,518 --> 00:39:11,858
And I would like to go to events and I would like to meet up with people like I do for LUP.

533
00:39:12,218 --> 00:39:15,418
Would I be willing to take paid sponsorships because that is part of the LUP model?

534
00:39:16,158 --> 00:39:17,418
You'd really have to be the right.

535
00:39:18,338 --> 00:39:20,618
I'd have to have, you know, I just, I don't know, man.

536
00:39:21,178 --> 00:39:23,138
Things change so fast in the Bitcoin space.

537
00:39:24,058 --> 00:39:25,058
So it's a risky one.

538
00:39:25,878 --> 00:39:26,798
It'd be hard to do right.

539
00:39:28,158 --> 00:39:29,878
What other areas and things am I thinking?

540
00:39:29,978 --> 00:39:32,178
Well, I'd like to get more into guides and how-tos,

541
00:39:32,278 --> 00:39:36,638
but that's just been, again, doing the show itself takes so much time.

542
00:39:38,398 --> 00:39:39,258
Yeah, we'll see.

543
00:39:39,458 --> 00:39:39,998
But he goes on,

544
00:39:40,018 --> 00:39:42,438
do you see any opportunities in the Bitcoin education space through TWIP?

545
00:39:42,898 --> 00:39:44,518
Membership and courses, educational content.

546
00:39:44,618 --> 00:39:46,178
Are there any ways to open source any of this

547
00:39:46,178 --> 00:39:48,778
via the value for value community contributions or something like that?

548
00:39:49,558 --> 00:39:52,658
I see why you've done with Linux Unplugged

549
00:39:52,658 --> 00:39:54,278
and wonder if it's possible to do with Twib.

550
00:39:54,878 --> 00:39:56,758
Anyway, something to ponder.

551
00:39:56,878 --> 00:39:59,118
Your show drops on Thursday in my part of the world,

552
00:39:59,178 --> 00:40:00,978
and I always look forward to Twib Thursdays now.

553
00:40:01,058 --> 00:40:01,738
Oh, that's nice.

554
00:40:02,498 --> 00:40:05,958
Yeah, I try to get it out as early as I can my time Wednesday.

555
00:40:05,958 --> 00:40:10,558
So I start working on the show usually by 6 a.m.,

556
00:40:10,558 --> 00:40:12,998
and if I can get my butt out of bed early enough,

557
00:40:13,118 --> 00:40:16,278
I start working on the show about 5.30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

558
00:40:16,798 --> 00:40:20,678
But I am working on the show pretty heavily by Monday,

559
00:40:20,678 --> 00:40:26,798
and Tuesday I'm already starting to sort and process and eliminate some clips and add new

560
00:40:26,798 --> 00:40:31,598
clips. And then I do another round of that Wednesday. And then I kind of just trickle follow

561
00:40:31,598 --> 00:40:38,078
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I still, every day I'm reading the news, following feeds. I have

562
00:40:38,078 --> 00:40:44,278
about, probably have about 70 RSS feeds dedicated for Twib. I have about 300-ish overall, but about

563
00:40:44,278 --> 00:40:49,038
70 dedicated to Twib. And these are following content creators and news sources that I've found

564
00:40:49,038 --> 00:40:54,238
to be reliable. And so I follow that every single day using fresh RSS, which is kind of my go-to

565
00:40:54,238 --> 00:41:00,898
tool that I have self-hosted. And that comes into a pipeline that I have ready for me when I sit down

566
00:41:00,898 --> 00:41:05,198
Wednesday morning. So, and I try to automate that as much as possible so that I can dedicate myself

567
00:41:05,198 --> 00:41:09,318
to other functions like, you know, reviewing the clips, clipping the clips, thinking about a lot of

568
00:41:09,318 --> 00:41:14,078
this requires taking in multiple different perspectives and then really kind of coming

569
00:41:14,078 --> 00:41:18,138
up with my own thoughts about it. And then trying to find somebody who can intellectually challenge

570
00:41:18,138 --> 00:41:20,438
that like a, you know, an audio clip or something like that.

571
00:41:21,078 --> 00:41:22,978
And then, so that is a big time consumer.

572
00:41:22,978 --> 00:41:35,047
So then getting into tutorials and how to and guides is a whole nother type of content creation And so that why I say they really are a business unto themselves right Especially if you get ads involved and whatnot

573
00:41:35,967 --> 00:41:40,347
So what I struggle with is getting out underneath just the production of the show.

574
00:41:41,487 --> 00:41:45,807
And I wonder if there isn't some experimentation in here, you know, on slow weeks.

575
00:41:45,807 --> 00:41:48,507
Maybe I don't do a regular show, although there's never really a slow week.

576
00:41:49,327 --> 00:41:51,607
So there hasn't been a slow week.

577
00:41:51,607 --> 00:41:58,127
I don't know. I'd like input if anybody can make any sense of that rambling and give me feedback.

578
00:41:58,367 --> 00:42:03,147
I could use some guidance. But I do appreciate the questions and I appreciate the boost Kiwi.

579
00:42:03,267 --> 00:42:08,127
Good to hear from you. Marius is here with 21,420 sats.

580
00:42:08,127 --> 00:42:16,967
and you know i think too we still have still collecting opinions out there on

581
00:42:16,967 --> 00:42:26,027
what we should do for a bitcoin boost a 21 000 sats boost there has been one submission for an

582
00:42:26,027 --> 00:42:30,787
idea so we'll go with that this week but i don't i don't think it's the final idea i think we i

583
00:42:30,787 --> 00:42:34,747
think we could do something a little better and i believe you'll understand when i played all right

584
00:42:34,747 --> 00:42:41,987
Okay, all of that to say, Marius writes, clear words on the nature of Fed from Edwards Griffins, the creature from Jekyll Island.

585
00:42:42,127 --> 00:42:42,487
Oh, yeah.

586
00:42:43,187 --> 00:42:51,007
To hear, people have iterated over and over how the Fed is a private bank with public funding, a pursuit of cover government agency, and an outdated mandate.

587
00:42:51,787 --> 00:42:52,627
Nice, Marius.

588
00:42:52,967 --> 00:42:54,007
And thank you for the boost.

589
00:42:54,807 --> 00:42:58,667
Moon Knight comes in with 21,121 sats.

590
00:42:59,047 --> 00:43:01,507
1.21 gigawatts!

591
00:43:01,947 --> 00:43:05,967
Moon Knight writes, how about 1.21 gigawatts as a sound clip for the Bitcoin boost?

592
00:43:06,067 --> 00:43:06,647
Well, there you go.

593
00:43:06,767 --> 00:43:07,327
What'd you think?

594
00:43:07,827 --> 00:43:10,727
The thing is, that clip is not as tight as you remember.

595
00:43:11,027 --> 00:43:15,667
So you remember him just saying that in isolation, but he actually says it over the video version

596
00:43:15,667 --> 00:43:16,067
of himself.

597
00:43:16,187 --> 00:43:16,907
It just doesn't work.

598
00:43:16,907 --> 00:43:19,407
1.21 gigawatts!

599
00:43:19,467 --> 00:43:20,347
Could just be a little tighter.

600
00:43:20,947 --> 00:43:21,387
A little tighter.

601
00:43:21,527 --> 00:43:22,627
But I like the idea, Moon Knight.

602
00:43:23,147 --> 00:43:25,707
Hybrid Sarcasms here with 10,000 sats.

603
00:43:26,007 --> 00:43:27,787
It's over 9,000!

604
00:43:27,787 --> 00:43:31,907
A really enjoyable episode and a happy new year to you.

605
00:43:31,987 --> 00:43:32,907
Well, thank you.

606
00:43:33,167 --> 00:43:33,727
He's a good guy.

607
00:43:33,967 --> 00:43:34,927
He's a real good guy.

608
00:43:35,087 --> 00:43:35,767
No, he's a great guy.

609
00:43:36,027 --> 00:43:36,587
Appreciate it, hybrid.

610
00:43:36,687 --> 00:43:38,647
Speaking of good guys, Gene Beans here.

611
00:43:39,367 --> 00:43:41,707
He comes in with 4,100 sats.

612
00:43:41,827 --> 00:43:42,867
Well, I'll be dipped.

613
00:43:43,087 --> 00:43:46,027
Regarding the dual mandate of the Fed, I think Matthew nailed it.

614
00:43:46,027 --> 00:43:47,567
No one can serve two masters.

615
00:43:47,807 --> 00:43:49,947
Either you will hate the one and love the other,

616
00:43:50,067 --> 00:43:53,667
or you'll be devoted to one and despise the other.

617
00:43:53,667 --> 00:43:58,847
I says please talk more about the hosted minor stuff

618
00:43:58,847 --> 00:44:00,427
Okay Gene, I will as I learn more

619
00:44:00,427 --> 00:44:02,767
And here's a boost for you, boosting the song

620
00:44:02,767 --> 00:44:05,087
Oh yeah, thanks, thanks for boosting our artist

621
00:44:05,087 --> 00:44:06,167
I appreciate that Gene

622
00:44:06,167 --> 00:44:08,227
Always good to hear from you too

623
00:44:08,227 --> 00:44:12,407
Fair Vaultie is here with 2026 Sats

624
00:44:12,407 --> 00:44:13,147
Yes, hi

625
00:44:13,147 --> 00:44:14,287
Did I get that right?

626
00:44:15,047 --> 00:44:16,227
Fair Vaultie, Fair Vaultie

627
00:44:16,227 --> 00:44:17,747
The traders love the vol

628
00:44:17,747 --> 00:44:20,207
Happy New Year Twib and Merry Noster

629
00:44:20,207 --> 00:44:21,867
And he links me to a Noster and Pub

630
00:44:21,867 --> 00:44:22,627
Oh, is that you?

631
00:44:23,027 --> 00:44:24,487
I will try to remember to follow that.

632
00:44:24,907 --> 00:44:25,367
Good times.

633
00:44:25,507 --> 00:44:26,587
Glad to see you're on Nostert.

634
00:44:26,707 --> 00:44:27,547
Thanks for the boost.

635
00:44:28,087 --> 00:44:28,907
Appreciate that.

636
00:44:29,887 --> 00:44:32,527
A blazer, 4151.

637
00:44:32,667 --> 00:44:39,667
Oh, it's been a long time getting from.

638
00:44:39,847 --> 00:44:40,247
Oh, sorry.

639
00:44:40,927 --> 00:44:41,707
He says.

640
00:44:42,407 --> 00:44:43,747
The traders love the vol.

641
00:44:43,807 --> 00:44:44,627
No, he doesn't say that.

642
00:44:44,887 --> 00:44:45,627
Another great episode.

643
00:44:45,747 --> 00:44:46,887
Thank you so much for the spin.

644
00:44:47,407 --> 00:44:49,807
I'd been in Bitcoin space through my husband,

645
00:44:49,947 --> 00:44:51,147
but I got active, or she says.

646
00:44:51,267 --> 00:44:51,867
Sorry about that.

647
00:44:51,867 --> 00:44:55,767
actively involved, or they, in 2023 with music and the Value for Value model.

648
00:44:56,207 --> 00:44:58,787
Bitcoin and Value for Value are changing the game for artists,

649
00:44:58,807 --> 00:45:01,487
and it's been exciting to be a part of it and watch it grow.

650
00:45:01,827 --> 00:45:02,547
Oh, it's Sarah Jade.

651
00:45:02,787 --> 00:45:03,467
Did I skip one?

652
00:45:03,527 --> 00:45:03,827
I did.

653
00:45:04,087 --> 00:45:05,047
Bias Blazar, thank you.

654
00:45:05,187 --> 00:45:06,747
He just had a smiley face.

655
00:45:06,807 --> 00:45:07,247
Thank you, Blazar.

656
00:45:07,367 --> 00:45:07,887
Appreciate the value.

657
00:45:08,327 --> 00:45:11,727
Sarah Jade, good to hear from you again with 3,333 sats.

658
00:45:13,107 --> 00:45:14,127
Got all mixed up there.

659
00:45:14,127 --> 00:45:16,707
But yeah, if you haven't boosted last week's artist,

660
00:45:17,027 --> 00:45:18,487
go back and listen and boost Sarah Jade.

661
00:45:18,587 --> 00:45:19,127
That was her song.

662
00:45:19,727 --> 00:45:20,907
Sarah, I love that you're listening,

663
00:45:20,907 --> 00:45:22,387
and thanks for staying in touch

664
00:45:22,387 --> 00:45:23,607
and great work on the song.

665
00:45:23,667 --> 00:45:24,107
It was a banger.

666
00:45:24,907 --> 00:45:28,067
Tomatoes here with 4,444 sats.

667
00:45:28,567 --> 00:45:29,607
Yeah, now I got it.

668
00:45:29,887 --> 00:45:30,727
Welcome back.

669
00:45:31,167 --> 00:45:32,707
Whilst I prefer the show's not focused

670
00:45:32,707 --> 00:45:33,847
on U.S. internal politics,

671
00:45:33,947 --> 00:45:34,807
I know there will be some of that.

672
00:45:35,547 --> 00:45:37,267
It's only natural for your U.S.-based show.

673
00:45:37,887 --> 00:45:38,787
Oh, Tomato.

674
00:45:39,747 --> 00:45:40,767
That's such a...

675
00:45:40,767 --> 00:45:43,287
I'm going to guess you're not in the U.S.

676
00:45:44,727 --> 00:45:46,947
You guys do this all the time.

677
00:45:47,447 --> 00:45:49,427
All the effing time.

678
00:45:50,067 --> 00:45:53,387
You see, you sit here and you lecture me about being too focused on the U.S.

679
00:45:53,707 --> 00:46:01,107
And then shit goes down like this week with the Greenland and the changing economic order and the EU must protect themselves.

680
00:46:01,287 --> 00:46:03,187
And now it's all up in your backyard.

681
00:46:03,567 --> 00:46:06,347
And now all of a sudden it matters quite a bit, doesn't it?

682
00:46:06,707 --> 00:46:10,807
It's almost like there was a point to covering it even if you're outside the U.S.

683
00:46:11,627 --> 00:46:18,787
If we're talking about the U.S. Fed, though, he continues, what do you think about the New York Fed holding 7000 tonnins of gold on behalf of foreign governments?

684
00:46:18,787 --> 00:46:22,287
I think it's hilarious that people haven't demanded that back.

685
00:46:22,767 --> 00:46:26,187
After invading Venezuela, the U.S. might be able to steal its Bitcoin reserves or maybe not.

686
00:46:26,687 --> 00:46:28,607
The gold in New York is much easier to steal.

687
00:46:28,987 --> 00:46:31,507
If I wanted a sovereign reserve, I know where I'd look.

688
00:46:31,867 --> 00:46:33,267
I think they already do.

689
00:46:33,867 --> 00:46:37,327
I'm not saying it's right, but I think they already do, don't you?

690
00:46:38,047 --> 00:46:39,787
I bet that's on a balance sheet somewhere.

691
00:46:40,667 --> 00:46:41,687
I would bet it is.

692
00:46:42,447 --> 00:46:43,507
I would think so, tomato.

693
00:46:43,627 --> 00:46:44,047
I don't know.

694
00:46:44,467 --> 00:46:45,367
Just food for thought, he writes.

695
00:46:45,367 --> 00:46:47,607
I do wonder what the eventual effects might be for Bitcoin.

696
00:46:47,807 --> 00:46:48,927
Hopefully positive.

697
00:46:49,707 --> 00:46:53,667
Yeah, I think it'd be even wilder if we got to a point where some of these trade deals

698
00:46:53,667 --> 00:46:57,647
ended up getting settled in gold and then the gold needed to start being accounted for.

699
00:46:57,787 --> 00:46:59,707
And then that, I think, would be the spark.

700
00:46:59,847 --> 00:47:00,847
That's a good point, Tamato.

701
00:47:01,347 --> 00:47:02,787
Thank you very much for the boost.

702
00:47:03,427 --> 00:47:03,987
Appreciate it.

703
00:47:03,987 --> 00:47:06,307
Even if I had to give you a hard time, I really do appreciate it.

704
00:47:06,447 --> 00:47:07,107
Thank you very much.

705
00:47:07,627 --> 00:47:09,747
OB's here with 19,001 sat.

706
00:47:11,047 --> 00:47:14,227
Our buddy Luke Roman did an interesting interview with Joe Burnett.

707
00:47:14,227 --> 00:47:21,947
He equated Bitcoin's scarcity with the scarcity of his lake house property.

708
00:47:22,347 --> 00:47:25,027
He paid off his mortgage with his Bitcoin sale proceeds.

709
00:47:25,587 --> 00:47:26,987
Overall, though, he sounded defensive.

710
00:47:27,167 --> 00:47:30,127
He certainly went over and above to explain away his Bitcoin sale.

711
00:47:30,647 --> 00:47:31,087
Oh, really?

712
00:47:31,187 --> 00:47:32,307
I missed that interview.

713
00:47:32,427 --> 00:47:33,507
Thank you for the heads up, Obi.

714
00:47:34,287 --> 00:47:37,507
I have seen Luke subsequently also seeming very defensive.

715
00:47:37,507 --> 00:47:45,427
The thing about it is, like, I think it's weird for a macro person to day trade Bitcoin.

716
00:47:46,047 --> 00:47:47,287
It's a scarce asset.

717
00:47:47,927 --> 00:47:50,027
There's other things you can buy and sell.

718
00:47:50,847 --> 00:47:51,547
I don't know, man.

719
00:47:52,167 --> 00:47:52,587
I don't know.

720
00:47:52,667 --> 00:47:52,827
I know.

721
00:47:52,967 --> 00:48:00,847
I do appreciate getting, like, front property, but then it'd be hilarious if real estate prices crash because Luke is the one saying that there's going to be a market crash, right?

722
00:48:01,227 --> 00:48:02,967
It seems like maybe he bought at the top.

723
00:48:03,627 --> 00:48:04,507
I don't know.

724
00:48:04,507 --> 00:48:07,927
You mentioned something about Luke and Lopp and Knott's.

725
00:48:07,987 --> 00:48:08,667
What did I miss?

726
00:48:09,087 --> 00:48:12,127
No, you didn't miss anything on the podcast, OB.

727
00:48:12,447 --> 00:48:17,327
It was Lopp made a post about, you know, sort of Luke's wacky history.

728
00:48:17,627 --> 00:48:24,707
I didn't cover on the show because it's sort of a personal attack and doesn't really bear on if the code quality of Knott's is good or not.

729
00:48:25,567 --> 00:48:27,747
But, you know, also all that was getting so personal.

730
00:48:27,867 --> 00:48:31,387
It's probably, you know, if you want to go search it, you could probably find it on Lopp's social media.

731
00:48:31,387 --> 00:48:35,727
You know, it's the whole thing about core and knots and getting into the personal stuff.

732
00:48:35,787 --> 00:48:36,527
I just never liked that.

733
00:48:36,547 --> 00:48:42,067
I'd rather focus on the technical aspects of the implementations and which ones seem to have the better preference for us node runners.

734
00:48:42,947 --> 00:48:45,267
Although there may be something to understanding people's past.

735
00:48:45,427 --> 00:48:46,567
I don't know.

736
00:48:46,807 --> 00:48:47,387
You know what I mean, Obi?

737
00:48:47,647 --> 00:48:48,167
You know what I mean?

738
00:48:48,227 --> 00:48:48,947
It's one of those things.

739
00:48:48,947 --> 00:48:49,807
But thank you for the boost.

740
00:48:49,927 --> 00:48:51,087
And thank you for asking.

741
00:48:51,167 --> 00:48:53,207
I probably could have been more clear about that.

742
00:48:54,027 --> 00:48:55,627
ChloroFloor is here with a row of ducks.

743
00:48:55,707 --> 00:48:57,607
That's 2,222 sats.

744
00:48:57,607 --> 00:49:02,847
When you say node up, does running the AlbiHub count?

745
00:49:03,207 --> 00:49:04,847
I think, is that a full node?

746
00:49:04,907 --> 00:49:05,847
Yeah, AlbiHub counts.

747
00:49:06,387 --> 00:49:10,107
AlbiHub and a Lightning node count, they're going to depend on a Bitcoin node one way or another.

748
00:49:10,707 --> 00:49:13,987
And participating in the network with Lightning is a fantastic learning experience.

749
00:49:14,107 --> 00:49:17,467
And if you are doing that, you are helping grow the network.

750
00:49:17,667 --> 00:49:23,067
If you're participating in Lightning and learning it and understanding what channels are and what a pain in the neck they can be,

751
00:49:23,147 --> 00:49:26,587
but why they can be a pain in the neck and how to make them not a pain, like you learn all that stuff.

752
00:49:26,587 --> 00:49:29,907
you're helping Bitcoin grow and you're doing your part.

753
00:49:30,007 --> 00:49:30,687
You've noted up.

754
00:49:30,867 --> 00:49:31,227
Absolutely.

755
00:49:32,187 --> 00:49:32,647
Good question.

756
00:49:32,747 --> 00:49:33,227
Thank you, Clara.

757
00:49:33,787 --> 00:49:36,407
Wise Hoddles here with 2,100 sats.

758
00:49:36,767 --> 00:49:38,127
No message, just value.

759
00:49:38,247 --> 00:49:39,127
Well, thank you very much.

760
00:49:39,527 --> 00:49:41,027
Ace Ackerman's back with a row of ducks.

761
00:49:42,367 --> 00:49:46,107
I do like the cold card Mark IV better than the original Jade wallets,

762
00:49:46,107 --> 00:49:49,787
and the Jade is not compatible with Unchained Capital multi-sig vaults,

763
00:49:50,027 --> 00:49:51,267
which I also like.

764
00:49:51,887 --> 00:49:54,187
Oh, you know, I'd like to hear more about Unchained Capital.

765
00:49:54,187 --> 00:49:57,867
Seems appealing for some, especially with the multi-sig setup.

766
00:49:58,047 --> 00:49:58,527
Thanks, Ace.

767
00:49:58,767 --> 00:49:59,707
That's good insight there.

768
00:49:59,787 --> 00:50:00,407
Appreciate that.

769
00:50:01,147 --> 00:50:04,867
I had not even thought about the Unchained Capital route.

770
00:50:04,947 --> 00:50:06,307
I haven't heard a lot from them recently.

771
00:50:07,327 --> 00:50:10,507
You know, see, there's a company I could perhaps see sponsoring, right?

772
00:50:10,567 --> 00:50:13,107
That seems like somebody who's been around for a while I could trust.

773
00:50:13,507 --> 00:50:14,747
So somebody over at Unchained, get a hold of me.

774
00:50:16,267 --> 00:50:19,027
Amorph Sausage, or no, I always say sausage.

775
00:50:19,447 --> 00:50:20,367
Amorph Phage.

776
00:50:20,367 --> 00:50:25,007
but I like to say Amorphous Sausage is here with 6,600 sets.

777
00:50:25,447 --> 00:50:26,807
Yeah, isn't that nice?

778
00:50:27,667 --> 00:50:28,107
Yeah.

779
00:50:32,107 --> 00:50:34,147
He says, talking about hardware wallets,

780
00:50:34,167 --> 00:50:36,447
I'm surprised nobody mentioned the seed signer yet.

781
00:50:36,547 --> 00:50:37,127
There it is.

782
00:50:37,527 --> 00:50:39,147
I know it's a bit different from the others

783
00:50:39,147 --> 00:50:40,547
as it's not storing your keys,

784
00:50:40,687 --> 00:50:41,907
but it's air-gapped, open source,

785
00:50:42,007 --> 00:50:44,567
and you build the device yourself from a Raspberry Pi.

786
00:50:45,147 --> 00:50:46,507
I like it. Curious what you think.

787
00:50:46,587 --> 00:50:48,547
I'm also interested in getting to mining with a J.B. pool.

788
00:50:49,167 --> 00:50:50,407
Yes, yes, yes.

789
00:50:50,427 --> 00:50:52,327
Another plus one to a JB mining pool.

790
00:50:52,527 --> 00:50:53,787
Let's do this.

791
00:50:53,787 --> 00:50:56,467
I don't know how to get started.

792
00:50:57,087 --> 00:50:58,167
Anybody that does, let me know.

793
00:50:58,367 --> 00:51:00,087
Okay, to your other question.

794
00:51:00,507 --> 00:51:02,107
I think a lot of people like the cold card

795
00:51:02,107 --> 00:51:04,727
because of the secure element and all of that.

796
00:51:05,327 --> 00:51:06,547
But I think the seed signer

797
00:51:06,547 --> 00:51:08,407
could all absolutely be part of it.

798
00:51:08,747 --> 00:51:10,167
You know, I think I would like to have

799
00:51:10,167 --> 00:51:12,527
a multi-vendor setup either way, myself personally.

800
00:51:13,127 --> 00:51:15,627
Thanks, Amorph, and hope you enjoy the sausage.

801
00:51:16,267 --> 00:51:17,547
Thank you, everybody who boosted,

802
00:51:17,547 --> 00:51:20,287
including those of you who boost below 2,000 sats.

803
00:51:20,907 --> 00:51:22,947
2,000 sats is our cutoff for airtime.

804
00:51:23,027 --> 00:51:24,147
And of course, a shout out to all of you

805
00:51:24,147 --> 00:51:25,487
who stream sats as you listened.

806
00:51:26,027 --> 00:51:27,567
A nice, wow, good, look at this,

807
00:51:27,627 --> 00:51:29,067
43 of you stacked a good one.

808
00:51:29,147 --> 00:51:31,667
It's 74,906 sats.

809
00:51:31,747 --> 00:51:33,327
That's technically our baller booster.

810
00:51:34,067 --> 00:51:35,107
Thanks, sat streamers.

811
00:51:35,127 --> 00:51:36,007
I really appreciate that.

812
00:51:36,047 --> 00:51:37,667
You collectively had a big lift this week.

813
00:51:37,867 --> 00:51:39,587
When you combine that with our boosters,

814
00:51:40,027 --> 00:51:45,047
this episode stacked a grand total of 261,221 sats.

815
00:51:47,547 --> 00:51:53,347
Not too bad.

816
00:51:53,467 --> 00:51:55,267
In fact, not too bad at all.

817
00:51:55,507 --> 00:51:57,847
My goal would be to get to 300,000 sats

818
00:51:57,847 --> 00:52:00,347
if we can make it possible for episode 90,

819
00:52:00,647 --> 00:52:03,267
which is just next week, if you can believe it.

820
00:52:03,327 --> 00:52:04,487
90 feels like a milestone.

821
00:52:05,207 --> 00:52:10,227
And I think 300,000 sats is right where future me

822
00:52:10,227 --> 00:52:12,967
feels like it was worth the time invested in the show.

823
00:52:13,207 --> 00:52:16,567
So if you'd like to help get me to my goal for 300,000 sats,

824
00:52:16,567 --> 00:52:20,667
boost in with something like fountain.fm or go set up AlbiHub.

825
00:52:20,927 --> 00:52:25,127
And there's lots of apps, including just the podcast index that make it all quite possible.

826
00:52:26,427 --> 00:52:29,767
And thank you, everybody who supported episode 89.

827
00:52:37,807 --> 00:52:42,187
Well, let's keep a watch on the Federal Reserve pressure.

828
00:52:42,647 --> 00:52:44,947
We're just going to spend one moment on this.

829
00:52:44,947 --> 00:52:46,487
Not too much of an update here.

830
00:52:46,567 --> 00:52:50,487
But U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant was out and about.

831
00:52:50,747 --> 00:52:54,167
And we'll start with the most Bitcoin-relevant update we have from him.

832
00:52:54,307 --> 00:52:59,787
And that was he was just asked a matter of hours ago for an update on the U.S. Bitcoin reserve.

833
00:53:00,187 --> 00:53:08,507
Can you give us an update this year in 2026 what America's strategy is for a Bitcoin strategic reserve?

834
00:53:08,507 --> 00:53:26,867
And given that the SDNY recently seized Bitcoin from developers working on a project called Tornado Cash, what does the administration think about that, contrary to Trump's executive order saying that Bitcoin should not be, seized Bitcoin should not be sold?

835
00:53:27,567 --> 00:53:30,287
So a lot of things to unpack there.

836
00:53:30,567 --> 00:53:32,787
I'm not going to talk about Bitcoin specifically.

837
00:53:32,987 --> 00:53:38,167
What I will talk about is the administration led by Treasury,

838
00:53:38,647 --> 00:53:42,827
and they are our colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Congress

839
00:53:42,827 --> 00:53:46,407
passed historic legislation, the Genius Act for stable coins.

840
00:53:46,407 --> 00:53:48,687
We are working on clarity legislation.

841
00:53:49,267 --> 00:53:56,247
And our goal, again, it is the president bringing digital assets

842
00:53:56,247 --> 00:53:58,627
and innovation onshore to the U.S.

843
00:53:58,647 --> 00:54:01,247
We want to be the best regulatory regime.

844
00:54:01,327 --> 00:54:02,267
He'll get there, don't worry.

845
00:54:02,447 --> 00:54:03,667
And that Bitcoin does come up.

846
00:54:04,147 --> 00:54:08,687
For digital assets and creativity to spark innovations.

847
00:54:08,687 --> 00:54:12,827
The previous administration almost created an extinction event

848
00:54:12,827 --> 00:54:16,987
for digital asset companies.

849
00:54:17,407 --> 00:54:18,687
We are bringing them back.

850
00:54:18,887 --> 00:54:21,767
I'm not going to comment on that litigation

851
00:54:21,767 --> 00:54:25,367
other than to say if anything was seized,

852
00:54:25,367 --> 00:54:27,767
I believe it would have been seized from the founders.

853
00:54:28,407 --> 00:54:39,167
And the policy of this government is to add seized Bitcoin to our digital asset reserve after the damages are done.

854
00:54:39,767 --> 00:54:41,767
So the Bitcoin reserve.

855
00:54:41,787 --> 00:54:43,227
So that's an important clarification there.

856
00:54:43,807 --> 00:54:52,727
What he's saying is it is our policy to seize the Bitcoin, but we do not put it in the reserve until after the case is essentially closed.

857
00:54:53,087 --> 00:54:59,307
And this might explain some of the confusion because we saw Bitcoin get seized and then

858
00:54:59,307 --> 00:55:03,087
we saw a federal agency transfer that Bitcoin to Coinbase.

859
00:55:03,327 --> 00:55:08,367
And it's very likely that it's being held at Coinbase until all of the damages are finished

860
00:55:08,367 --> 00:55:09,267
for the case.

861
00:55:09,627 --> 00:55:11,647
The damages are done.

862
00:55:11,647 --> 00:55:18,547
So the Bitcoin reserve, our view was first you have to stop selling, which we had

863
00:55:18,596 --> 00:55:23,116
And then we can add the assets and asset forfeitures.

864
00:55:23,576 --> 00:55:25,536
Yeah, so don't let them get your Bitcoin.

865
00:55:26,536 --> 00:55:34,056
And just to make a few things clear, the Bitcoin was forfeited from the Samurai wallet developers who were made to sign an asset liquidation agreement in regard to their Bitcoin.

866
00:55:34,216 --> 00:55:35,316
That's how we know about this.

867
00:55:35,776 --> 00:55:37,996
And then that Bitcoin seems to have been sent to Coinbase.

868
00:55:38,596 --> 00:55:39,796
They're claiming it wasn't sold.

869
00:55:39,896 --> 00:55:42,896
The U.S. government has claimed recently that that Bitcoin was, in fact, not sold.

870
00:55:43,476 --> 00:55:50,956
Tornado Cash is a separate case, but like the Samurai developers, were also brought by the Biden Southern District of New York.

871
00:55:50,956 --> 00:55:52,336
And that case is ongoing.

872
00:55:52,556 --> 00:55:56,436
Both cases involve privacy software, but Tornado Cash is on ETH.

873
00:55:56,996 --> 00:55:58,876
Samurai was Bitcoin.

874
00:55:58,876 --> 00:56:13,336
And the founders of Samurai are currently servicing prison sentences for unlicensed money transmission, even though regulators in charge of Finston said that they would not qualify for a license because they didn't take custody of any funds.

875
00:56:13,596 --> 00:56:14,516
So chew on that one.

876
00:56:15,016 --> 00:56:18,236
That deserves its own special episode.

877
00:56:18,436 --> 00:56:20,396
But I wanted to make it clear what's going on here.

878
00:56:20,836 --> 00:56:24,056
And we do have one more Scott update while we're in the Scott folder.

879
00:56:24,056 --> 00:56:29,276
And then he was, again, saying the quiet part out loud.

880
00:56:30,016 --> 00:56:36,616
The Fed has the luxury of when they need to buy something, when they're going over budget, they just print the money for themselves.

881
00:56:36,956 --> 00:56:39,716
So when they need something, they debase our currency.

882
00:56:40,196 --> 00:56:41,476
Larry, a lot to unpack there.

883
00:56:41,596 --> 00:56:48,756
First of all, I'm not going to comment and can't comment on the ongoing investigation if there is one.

884
00:56:48,876 --> 00:56:50,836
I don't know much about it.

885
00:56:50,836 --> 00:56:56,176
But what I can tell you is that as far back as beginning of last summer, I've been calling

886
00:56:56,176 --> 00:57:03,296
for the Fed to conduct its own internal investigation into a lot of the deficiencies that the institution

887
00:57:03,296 --> 00:57:04,296
has had.

888
00:57:04,296 --> 00:57:11,056
Because, Larry, as you know, I know, and everyone, especially in the financial markets, knows,

889
00:57:11,056 --> 00:57:15,356
the Federal Reserve occupies a special place with the American people.

890
00:57:15,356 --> 00:57:21,616
It has a tremendous amount of sway and influence over their life, but there is no accountability.

891
00:57:22,316 --> 00:57:26,296
So I think the Fed has to be like Caesar's wife, beyond reproach.

892
00:57:26,296 --> 00:57:35,756
And we have seen, we recently saw a governor resign over an ethics violation, and that was put out three, four months after she left.

893
00:57:36,336 --> 00:57:38,376
In my opinion, deficient.

894
00:57:38,656 --> 00:57:44,036
We have seen these cost overruns, and I think it would just be much better if the Fed came forward

895
00:57:44,036 --> 00:57:50,456
and they got these issues out in the open rather than having a tight hold.

896
00:57:50,456 --> 00:57:51,556
I can't.

897
00:57:54,656 --> 00:57:55,136
Yeah.

898
00:57:55,396 --> 00:57:57,976
Yeah, that's what the Fed's known for is doing this stuff out in the open.

899
00:57:58,056 --> 00:57:59,256
They should just come out and be transparent.

900
00:57:59,836 --> 00:58:01,456
They live in the shadows.

901
00:58:01,936 --> 00:58:09,236
And the very fact that the Treasury Secretary is out there airing this dirty laundry is historic.

902
00:58:09,616 --> 00:58:10,996
And that's why I keep playing this.

903
00:58:10,996 --> 00:58:22,016
You have to understand this is a complete change in narrative and it is really a power struggle that's happening and a clear sign that we are just in the absolute throes of fiscal dominance.

904
00:58:22,016 --> 00:58:27,396
They got these issues out in the open rather than having a tight hold.

905
00:58:27,576 --> 00:58:35,336
I do think we need some transparency here because, again, I don't know anything about construction.

906
00:58:35,536 --> 00:58:37,716
Seemingly, not many people at the Fed do.

907
00:58:38,216 --> 00:58:41,936
But the way the Fed works, there are no appropriations.

908
00:58:42,296 --> 00:58:48,016
They just print the extra $700 million, whether it turns into an extra billion, an extra billion and a half.

909
00:58:48,316 --> 00:58:49,236
They just print it.

910
00:58:49,236 --> 00:58:58,256
I can't do that. If I wanted a new chair in my office at Treasury, I have to go through the appropriations process.

911
00:58:58,576 --> 00:59:04,876
No wonder they're building such a palace. I mean, really, it's no wonder they're building such an incredible palace.

912
00:59:05,656 --> 00:59:10,576
Well, this is an interesting study that came out. I believe it was over by CoinGecko.

913
00:59:11,016 --> 00:59:17,376
And they say that more than half of all the crypto tokens that have ever been created failed and most have died in 2025.

914
00:59:17,376 --> 00:59:30,876
Over 53% of all crypto tokens launched since 2021 are now inactive, with 2025 alone accounting for 86% of total failures.

915
00:59:31,176 --> 00:59:31,836
Okay.

916
00:59:32,076 --> 00:59:43,396
And you're not going to be too surprised to hear this, but the $19 billion liquidation event in October triggered a sharp downturn, wiping out 7.7 million tokens in just three months.

917
00:59:43,396 --> 00:59:52,696
More than half of all cryptocurrencies ever launched are now defunct, with most of the failures happening in 2025.

918
00:59:53,296 --> 00:59:54,616
That's according to CoinGecko.

919
00:59:54,936 --> 00:59:56,836
What a brutal year for altcoins.

920
00:59:57,296 --> 01:00:01,396
Everything bleeds to Bitcoin and just really puts it in perspective.

921
01:00:01,616 --> 01:00:03,076
I'll have a link to that in the show notes.

922
01:00:03,816 --> 01:00:16,873
All right let zoom out for a moment Tim Draper he built a career by really having conviction early to certain things He one of those rich guys He so rich You know his name and his eyebrows even though you

923
01:00:16,873 --> 01:00:21,613
probably can't quite picture his face. And he's really made his billions by staying focused during

924
01:00:21,613 --> 01:00:28,373
times of chaos. He was on the Divot podcast this last week, and the topic of trading Bitcoin during

925
01:00:28,373 --> 01:00:33,273
these uncertain times came up. And well, I thought the clip was worth sharing with you.

926
01:00:33,273 --> 01:00:58,693
See, I'm looking at it very differently than that. I'm not looking at it as an investor. I'm looking at it as a transformative technology that is, and, you know, I'll give you this example. My dad gave me a million dollar bill when I was about 10 years old. And I go, million dollars? Look, what can I do with it? And he goes, nothing. And I said, what do you mean? It's a million dollars. He said, that's a million Confederate dollars.

927
01:00:58,693 --> 01:01:01,413
The Confederates lost the word of the union.

928
01:01:01,713 --> 01:01:03,493
They inflated their money.

929
01:01:03,853 --> 01:01:07,533
A million dollars wouldn't buy one single union dollar.

930
01:01:07,673 --> 01:01:12,313
A million Confederate dollars wouldn't buy one single Confederate dollar.

931
01:01:12,553 --> 01:01:17,933
So I'm seeing, in effect, in slow motion, the exact same thing.

932
01:01:17,993 --> 01:01:18,193
Sure.

933
01:01:18,193 --> 01:01:34,653
Because, okay, not only is a dollar today worth more than a dollar in a year, we lose it to inflation or usage or whatever, or even stable coins, you know, that actually is inflative.

934
01:01:34,993 --> 01:01:47,193
And so the value of a dollar today versus, I mean, is a dollar and in a year that's going to be 90 cents and 80 cents or whatever, and it'll keep dropping.

935
01:01:47,193 --> 01:02:12,753
But the value of Bitcoin continues to grow because the network continues to grow. The bigger the network, the more powerful and effective the unit of currency Bitcoin is. And so not only is Bitcoin against the dollar a really good bet, but you're seeing the dollar fall as fast as you're seeing Bitcoin grow.

936
01:02:12,753 --> 01:02:26,533
And that combination is going to, you know, it'll hit 250,000, but it's going to hit a million, it's going to hit 10 million on its way to where the dollar is no longer accepted, no longer worth it.

937
01:02:26,533 --> 01:02:34,653
And Bitcoin is the one source of store of value in currency for the world eventually.

938
01:02:34,953 --> 01:02:41,593
But there will probably be competitive currencies, but Bitcoin's 61% of the market for cryptocurrency.

939
01:02:41,593 --> 01:02:46,633
So I think there's kind of one big winner and then there are lots of little things.

940
01:02:46,633 --> 01:02:48,413
You think there's no turning back for the dollar?

941
01:02:48,553 --> 01:02:52,373
Is there no way for the U.S. to resurrect the dollar?

942
01:02:52,373 --> 01:03:06,653
I think if you put a, if you told Congress, here's your budget and everybody votes for a share of that budget, then people would hold, then the dollar still might be able to survive.

943
01:03:06,753 --> 01:03:11,433
But it is old technology and it's tied to banks and it's tied to governments.

944
01:03:11,433 --> 01:03:20,373
And even if you solve the problem one time, the government spending as a percentage of GDP is on a straight line up.

945
01:03:20,473 --> 01:03:22,073
It just keeps going higher.

946
01:03:22,613 --> 01:03:24,793
Well, our role seems pretty clear to me then.

947
01:03:25,033 --> 01:03:26,653
We just got to grow the network.

948
01:03:27,213 --> 01:03:31,153
Node up, add more wallets, add more users, grow the network.

949
01:03:41,433 --> 01:03:51,513
All right, I'm usually pretty tough on Coinbase and Brian Armstrong in particular,

950
01:03:52,553 --> 01:03:59,873
especially recently. But I got to give him final clip of the week because like a pro,

951
01:03:59,873 --> 01:04:06,873
he calmly and sharply knocked back a rather smug French central banker who was having a laugh

952
01:04:06,873 --> 01:04:09,133
when the topic of Bitcoin came up.

953
01:04:09,593 --> 01:04:12,913
This was at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week.

954
01:04:13,453 --> 01:04:14,953
And props to Brian Armstrong.

955
01:04:15,493 --> 01:04:19,013
I mean, you'll hear how smug this guy is and how well Brian handles it.

956
01:04:19,353 --> 01:04:20,853
Governor, you have to address this.

957
01:04:20,993 --> 01:04:22,893
Is the euro in danger from a Bitcoin standard?

958
01:04:23,374 --> 01:04:25,353
No, I'm a bit skeptical, Brian.

959
01:04:25,353 --> 01:04:28,773
Sorry to say it about this idea of the Bitcoin standard.

960
01:04:29,813 --> 01:04:34,193
We left the gold standard, but the gold was only a technical mean.

961
01:04:34,433 --> 01:04:36,073
What is important is what you say.

962
01:04:36,073 --> 01:04:40,614
but that monetary policy and money is part of sovereignty.

963
01:04:41,133 --> 01:04:45,734
And we live in democracies, and I think the public role is key.

964
01:04:46,653 --> 01:04:51,273
And if we lose that, we lose a key function of democracy.

965
01:04:51,994 --> 01:05:10,011
That said I always keep repeating that money as long as it exists for centuries has been a public partnership You need a public anchor whatever its form is Remember silver and gold were sovereign assets so it was on the public side

966
01:05:10,671 --> 01:05:13,491
And then you had banknotes and you will have CBDC.

967
01:05:14,371 --> 01:05:19,311
But anyway, the most important part of payments is in the private sphere,

968
01:05:19,771 --> 01:05:22,751
and this is the development of tokenized private money.

969
01:05:22,751 --> 01:05:27,931
But this tokenized private money must be regulated to inspire trust.

970
01:05:28,471 --> 01:05:33,711
I love the idea here that he's trying to imply that, well, a CBDC is essentially a public money.

971
01:05:33,851 --> 01:05:39,871
And you see the whole framework here is you have public money with a private pin, a private anchor.

972
01:05:40,051 --> 01:05:42,331
And you're going to have CBDCs now that will play that role.

973
01:05:43,091 --> 01:05:49,031
This actually, that right there, that one sentence reveals why they want CBDCs so badly.

974
01:05:49,531 --> 01:05:51,231
Because there was a public component.

975
01:05:51,231 --> 01:05:54,131
And now with CBDCs, they can own the entire chain.

976
01:05:54,251 --> 01:05:56,631
You had banknotes and you will have CBDC.

977
01:05:57,511 --> 01:06:02,431
But anyway, the most important part of payments is in the private sphere.

978
01:06:02,911 --> 01:06:05,891
And this is a development of tokenized private money.

979
01:06:06,511 --> 01:06:11,911
But this tokenized private money must be regulated to inspire trust, confidence.

980
01:06:12,111 --> 01:06:16,371
It's fascinating that you say that, Brian, you mentioned a complementary role that you could play.

981
01:06:16,571 --> 01:06:20,191
So I think that crypto is very good for fiat currencies.

982
01:06:20,651 --> 01:06:21,311
It's very good.

983
01:06:21,991 --> 01:06:27,571
Bitcoin is good as a check and balance on deficit spending because when there is a lack of trust or people, you know,

984
01:06:27,631 --> 01:06:32,811
like in a U.S. context, if people are worried about inflation or maybe in places like Argentina or Turkey or Nigeria,

985
01:06:33,311 --> 01:06:37,311
they are going to flee to the thing that they believe is going to store value more.

986
01:06:37,671 --> 01:06:40,811
So I think in general, it's going to be very complimentary.

987
01:06:41,111 --> 01:06:42,971
And like you said, I think it comes down to trust.

988
01:06:42,971 --> 01:06:52,851
And so if fiat currencies can maintain trust and not have the money printer kind of debasing everybody, then they'll survive.

989
01:06:53,011 --> 01:06:58,791
But if countries that have bad behavior on that dimension, Bitcoin doesn't have a money printer.

990
01:06:59,131 --> 01:07:03,851
The supply is fixed and people will go to it in times of uncertainty, kind of like they did with gold.

991
01:07:04,591 --> 01:07:08,071
The guarantee for trust is independence on central bank side.

992
01:07:08,531 --> 01:07:11,191
And we have a common date and we are accountable to that.

993
01:07:11,191 --> 01:07:12,771
But sorry to say that.

994
01:07:13,011 --> 01:07:14,511
I love that they always have this.

995
01:07:14,631 --> 01:07:16,171
Oh, the central banks are so independent.

996
01:07:16,891 --> 01:07:21,271
You see, the central bank, what he just said, the promise of trust is independence of the central bank.

997
01:07:21,551 --> 01:07:25,531
Of course, when Jay Powell puts out a statement, they all work in unison.

998
01:07:25,531 --> 01:07:29,631
Or when one of them starts to lower rates, they all seem to lower rates, especially during COVID.

999
01:07:29,711 --> 01:07:32,811
There wasn't any independent action during COVID at all.

1000
01:07:33,591 --> 01:07:40,731
But then the moment that's passed, they're back to clutching their pearls about how independence of the central bank is at the cornerstone of the financial system.

1001
01:07:41,191 --> 01:07:45,871
It's essentially saying an illusion is at the center of the financial system.

1002
01:07:45,871 --> 01:07:48,631
And we have a common date and we are accountable to that.

1003
01:07:49,191 --> 01:07:59,271
But sorry to say that I trust more independent central banks with a democratic mandate than private issuers of Bitcoin, which have a very useful role.

1004
01:07:59,771 --> 01:08:01,611
Bitcoin is a decentralized protocol.

1005
01:08:01,731 --> 01:08:03,031
There's actually no issuer of it.

1006
01:08:03,451 --> 01:08:06,371
So that's in the sense that central banks have independence.

1007
01:08:07,011 --> 01:08:08,151
Bitcoin is even more independent.

1008
01:08:08,151 --> 01:08:11,011
There's no country or company or individual who controls it in the world.

1009
01:08:11,131 --> 01:08:19,091
And so anyway, I think it's a healthy competition because because if people can decide which one they trust more.

1010
01:08:19,311 --> 01:08:23,351
And I think it's actually the greatest accountability mechanism on deficit spending.

1011
01:08:23,351 --> 01:08:41,551
All right, I'm wrapping up at block height 933,258, the Bitcoin price to one U.S. dollar.

1012
01:08:41,551 --> 01:08:45,871
You can get a Bitcoin for 89,830 greenbacks.

1013
01:08:46,291 --> 01:08:50,531
That makes our sats per dollar 1,113 sats to one U.S. dollar.

1014
01:08:50,531 --> 01:08:57,531
We're just near that 30% downrange, that 30% significant number in my head for some reason.

1015
01:08:58,211 --> 01:09:01,331
Our current all-time high decline, 28.8%.

1016
01:09:01,331 --> 01:09:06,791
Of course, that was October 6, 2025, 126,180.

1017
01:09:07,251 --> 01:09:09,331
That was 107 days ago.

1018
01:09:09,771 --> 01:09:16,891
Now, we still have a downwards adjustment expected, and this could get even sharper with the cold weather forcing some miners to shut down.

1019
01:09:17,531 --> 01:09:21,411
Estimated difficulty change is currently a downwards 3.8%.

1020
01:09:21,411 --> 01:09:24,371
Nodes have ticked back up a bit, but we need more nodes.

1021
01:09:24,691 --> 01:09:27,351
Reachable nodes, 24,624.

1022
01:09:28,311 --> 01:09:29,671
Let's get some more nodes going.

1023
01:09:30,151 --> 01:09:33,451
And that right there, my friends, is the state of the Bitcoin network.

1024
01:09:46,891 --> 01:10:00,809
Well if you going to be at scale or Planet Nix at I don know March 5th to the 6th Pasadena California Come say hi I probably have a meetup somewhere in there like a Friday or a Saturday

1025
01:10:01,389 --> 01:10:03,289
I'll be attending both Planet Nix and Scale.

1026
01:10:03,709 --> 01:10:04,529
You do need to register.

1027
01:10:04,649 --> 01:10:08,469
If you want to go, you can get 40% off registration with my promo code UNPLG.

1028
01:10:08,469 --> 01:10:08,549
UNPLG.

1029
01:10:10,549 --> 01:10:17,869
And meetup.com slash Jupiter Broadcasting is where I'll put the meetup details when I actually have them.

1030
01:10:17,869 --> 01:10:19,809
That's meetup.com slash Jupiter Broadcasting.

1031
01:10:20,429 --> 01:10:24,469
Links to what I talked about this week are over at thisweekinbitcoin.show.

1032
01:10:24,749 --> 01:10:30,769
Lots of stuff over there, including the back catalog and details and extra info that didn't even make it into this episode.

1033
01:10:31,169 --> 01:10:36,009
So my goal right here, right now, is to create a show that doesn't get distracted by the emotions around what's happening,

1034
01:10:36,069 --> 01:10:41,969
but stays focused for you on the signal so you can plan for yourself, your family, your business, whatever it might be.

1035
01:10:42,189 --> 01:10:46,469
So let me know how I did with a boost or if there's anything you think I should have included or any questions you have,

1036
01:10:46,469 --> 01:10:47,789
you can boost those in.

1037
01:10:47,869 --> 01:10:55,449
And don't forget the show also has a membership through Fountain FM or Jupiter.Party, where you can support the whole network and all of the shows.

1038
01:10:55,809 --> 01:10:59,269
Now, I am going to leave you with a value for value track, as I always do.

1039
01:10:59,269 --> 01:11:05,309
This week's song is by Suzanne Santo, and it's her track, New All Along.

1040
01:11:17,869 --> 01:11:47,849
We'll be right back.

1041
01:11:47,869 --> 01:11:51,229
That half the time you have to run

1042
01:11:51,229 --> 01:11:53,909
And you do all alone

1043
01:11:53,909 --> 01:11:56,829
That love would leave you stunned

1044
01:11:56,829 --> 01:11:59,589
And you'd be another level down

1045
01:11:59,589 --> 01:12:03,389
From leveling up

1046
01:12:03,389 --> 01:12:07,689
She said they're crowning you a queen

1047
01:12:07,689 --> 01:12:10,609
Thought you're turning your back

1048
01:12:10,609 --> 01:12:13,789
Do you know what I mean

1049
01:12:13,789 --> 01:12:16,349
When I say you're living in lack

1050
01:12:16,349 --> 01:12:19,129
But you don't need to suffer, honey

1051
01:12:19,129 --> 01:12:22,529
You can just relax

1052
01:12:22,529 --> 01:12:25,609
Cause you knew all along

1053
01:12:25,609 --> 01:12:28,669
You weren't like the other ones

1054
01:12:28,669 --> 01:12:31,469
You knew all along

1055
01:12:31,469 --> 01:12:34,709
Half the time you left to run

1056
01:12:34,709 --> 01:12:37,269
You knew all along

1057
01:12:37,269 --> 01:12:39,949
That love would leave you stunned

1058
01:12:39,949 --> 01:12:42,949
Then you'd be another level down

1059
01:12:42,949 --> 01:12:45,949
From leveling up

1060
01:12:45,949 --> 01:12:53,949
Leveling up, leveling up, leveling up

1061
01:13:15,949 --> 01:13:20,709
You knew all along

1062
01:13:20,709 --> 01:13:25,069
That you were like the other ones you knew

1063
01:13:25,069 --> 01:13:29,089
You would have to ride

1064
01:13:29,089 --> 01:13:32,049
You knew all along

1065
01:13:32,049 --> 01:13:34,729
The love would leave you still

1066
01:13:34,729 --> 01:13:37,769
Maybe another level down

1067
01:13:37,769 --> 01:13:41,369
Leveling down

1068
01:13:41,369 --> 01:13:45,529
You're gonna have to level up

1069
01:13:45,529 --> 01:13:47,749
You're gonna have to live

1070
01:13:47,749 --> 01:13:50,989
You're gonna have to live

1071
01:13:50,989 --> 01:13:53,809
You knew

1072
01:14:15,529 --> 01:14:45,509
Thank you.