1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,280 Greetings and salutations my fellow plebs. My name is Walker and this is the 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:11,360 Bitcoin podcast. It's Wednesday September 13th 2023. The time recording the 3 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:17,640 Bitcoin block height is 807450 and the value of one Bitcoin is still one 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:22,760 Bitcoin. Today's episode is the Bitcoin news roundup. I'm gonna cover the big 5 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:27,820 stories, run through some rapid-fire news, then zoom out and give you some 6 00:00:27,820 --> 00:00:31,720 perspective. You can find all the links and accounts mentioned in this episode 7 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:36,040 via the article version of this show, linked in the show notes, or by going to 8 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:42,040 Bitcoinpodcast.net slash words. Earlier this week I released my latest Bitcoin 9 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:47,360 talk episode of the Bitcoin podcast with Preston Pish. You can watch the full 10 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:52,000 video interviews at Bitcoinpodcast.net on Twitter at Walker America or 11 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:57,520 youtube.com slash at Walker America. And of course you can always listen to these 12 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:02,960 episodes wherever you get your podcasts. Without further ado, let's get into the 13 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,080 Bitcoin news roundup. 14 00:01:10,960 --> 00:01:16,960 Lightning strikes Coinbase. It looks like Coinbase is finally poised to add 15 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:22,280 Lightning Network integration. Here's a very high-level background. On July 26th 16 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:27,000 Jack Dorsey asked Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, why do you continue to ignore 17 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:31,600 Bitcoin and Lightning? What crypto is better money transmission protocol and 18 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:37,280 why? On August 1st Armstrong quote tweeted Jack saying, we're looking into how to 19 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:42,120 best add Lightning. It's non-trivial but I think worth doing. I'm all for payments 20 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:45,840 taking off in Bitcoin. Not sure why you think we're ignoring Bitcoin. We've 21 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,160 onboarded more people to Bitcoin than properly any other company in the world. 22 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:54,880 Let's build it together. On August 2nd Victor Boonen, protocol specialist at 23 00:01:54,880 --> 00:02:00,160 Coinbase Cloud, quote tweeted Armstrong saying, friends I'm happy to say that I'm 24 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,800 leading up this effort. DM me if you'd like to grab some time to chat. 25 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,960 Lightning support at Coinbase. Particularly keen to get insights on 26 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,600 Lyft to add support. UX flows, open-source tooling, service providers and 27 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:17,840 edge cases. Thanks. Now fast forward to yesterday. Brian Armstrong tweeted, the 28 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:22,040 team did a great job digging into this and we've made the decision to integrate 29 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:27,280 Lightning. Bitcoin is the most important asset in crypto and we're excited to do 30 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:32,040 our part to enable faster cheaper Bitcoin transactions. We'll take some time to 31 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:39,360 integrate so please be patient. First and foremost this is great news. Coinbase is a 32 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:44,880 giant both in terms of Bitcoin and also crypto. For Brian Armstrong to publicly 33 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:50,080 state Bitcoin is the most important asset in crypto while simultaneously saying 34 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:54,200 Coinbase is moving forward with Lightning, a Bitcoin layer 2 that invalidates all 35 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:59,720 shitcoin use cases is a huge deal. That being said if you're a Bitcoiner you 36 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:04,440 may find the statement Bitcoin is the most important asset in crypto to be 37 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:08,520 absurd and based on the false premise that Bitcoin and crypto are even 38 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:14,360 comparable in any way. It's like saying breaking news water is wet. But while this 39 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:18,040 may be painfully obvious to anyone who has studied Bitcoin versus shitcoins 40 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,360 it's non-obvious to countless people who have been sucked in by the false 41 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:26,960 narratives promoted by shitcoin shows trying to pump their own bags. This 42 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:31,280 integration will expose countless crypto folks to the power of the Bitcoin 43 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,920 Lightning network and hopefully will be a reality check for many of the naysayers 44 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:40,440 who believe Bitcoin doesn't scale or Bitcoin doesn't work for payment. 45 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:45,480 Lightning isn't perfect, nothing is, but if you've used it you know that it feels 46 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:50,880 like magic. I'm looking forward to more people being given direct exposure to the 47 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,640 power of Lightning through this Coinbase integration. Now let's see how many blocks 48 00:03:55,640 --> 00:04:00,320 tick by before this integration actually goes live. 49 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:16,040 The Emir of Qatar comes to El Salvador. Yesterday co-founder of El Zonte Capital, 50 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,960 Stacey Herbert, who worked to establish the Bitcoin office in El Salvador, 51 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:26,840 announced the Emir of Qatar has landed in El Salvador. El Salvador's president, 52 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:32,600 Naib Bukele, posted a video saying, El Emir de Qatar, Su Alteza, Tamín Bin Hamad 53 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:39,440 ha llegado a Nuestro país y con estilo. For humanolinguists, that means the 54 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:44,280 Emir of Qatar, His Highness, Tamín Bin Hamad has arrived in our country and with 55 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:49,640 style. According to the Embassy of Qatar in El Salvador, the visit of His Highness 56 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:54,080 the Emir to El Salvador will open new doors to promote commercial cooperation 57 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:59,400 between both countries. Like El Salvador, Qatar is a small but energy-rich 58 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:04,000 country but instead of hydroelectric and geothermal volcano power, Qatar has 59 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:08,880 massive natural gas reserves and production. As Bitcoin archive mused, 60 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:14,640 imagine Qatar adopting Bitcoin and also mining with flared gas. I think this is 61 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:19,200 a very interesting and very real possibility. Here are some numbers for 62 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:25,520 you. Qatar flares about 1 billion cubic meters of gas each year. For context, the 63 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:30,200 USA flares a little under 9 billion cubic meters of gas annually. But the USA has a 64 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:35,160 population of over 330 million compared to just under 3 million people in Qatar. 65 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:40,160 It would be pretty amazing to see all this wasted energy from flared gas put 66 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:45,840 to work mining Bitcoin. The timing is also quite fitting. After all, just over 67 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:50,960 two years ago on September 7th, 2021, El Salvador became the first nation state 68 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:55,640 to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. I'm sure these two leaders have much to 69 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,960 discuss but I have to imagine that Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining will be a key 70 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:04,280 topic of conversation. It seems we've truly entered the era of Bitcoin 71 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:18,640 diplomacy with El Salvador leading the charge. CPI Oh My. Today, the Bureau of 72 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:24,000 Labor Statistics announced that year over year CPI increase came in at 3.7% 73 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:30,520 for August 2023 from the BLS. The consumer price index for all urban 74 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:35,800 consumers rose 0.6% in August on a seasonally adjusted basis after increasing 75 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:40,960 0.2% in July. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today over the last 76 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:47,440 12 months, the all items index increased 3.7% before seasonal adjustment. The 77 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,920 index for gasoline was the largest contributor to the monthly all items 78 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:55,320 increase, accounting for over half of the increase. Also contributing to the 79 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:59,520 August monthly increase was continued advancement in the shelter index, which 80 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:04,840 rose for the 40th consecutive month. The energy index rose 5.6% in August as 81 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:09,920 all the major energy component indexes increased. The food index rose 0.2% 82 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:14,720 in August as it did in July. The index for food at home increased 0.2% 83 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:19,800 over the month while the index for food away from home rose 0.3% in August. 84 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:24,240 President Biden's social media team tweeted the following on behalf of our 85 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:29,440 aging leader. Core inflation has fallen 2.4% over the last three 86 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:34,200 months, the lowest level in over two years. But despite the drop, I know 87 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:38,520 families are feeling last month's increase in gas prices. That's why lowering 88 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:43,320 costs for families from the pump to the pharmacy remains my top priority. I'm 89 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:48,120 sorry that was a pretty bad imitation but I'll try better next time. So thanks 90 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,980 for the empty platitudes and bullshit metrics White House social media 91 00:07:50,980 --> 00:07:55,240 intern. Honestly I don't want to spend too much time on CPI because it's just 92 00:07:55,240 --> 00:08:02,200 exhausting. But I'll say this as a reminder. CPI is a year over year measure 93 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:08,040 based on an arbitrary and changing basket of goods, the politicians, bureaucrats, 94 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:13,280 central bankers, and fiat economists use to obfuscate the fact that our money is 95 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:17,800 broken and that they are stealing the value of your time and energy by slowly 96 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:21,680 destroying the purchasing power of your money through the silent tax of inflation. 97 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:26,960 In August 2023, there was a 3.7% year-over-year increase since August 98 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:32,960 2022. In August 2022, there was an 8.3% increase year-over-year since August 99 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:38,960 2021. In August 2021, there was a 5.3% year-over-year increase since August 100 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:44,960 2020 and so on and so forth. Inflation compounds and your purchasing power 101 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:52,080 continues to decline. 102 00:08:55,240 --> 00:09:01,680 Paypal fat fingers. On September 10th, Mononaut revealed that someone had 103 00:09:01,680 --> 00:09:05,680 massively overpaid for a Bitcoin transaction. How much did they overpay? 104 00:09:05,680 --> 00:09:13,760 They paid $8,182,079 sats per V-Bike, equating to a total transaction fee 105 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:25,000 of $1,982,108,632 sats or around $510,000. This is overpaying by around 106 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:30,520 479,000 times. Most folks took the opportunity to have a good laugh at this 107 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:36,000 and many mempool memes were made. Others tried to figure out how the hell this 108 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:40,600 could have happened. Jameson Lopp theorized the transaction that paid nearly 109 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:46,720 $20BTC, $500,000 fee a few hours ago looks like an exchange or payment 110 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:51,480 processor with buggy software. They've received 60,000 plus transactions and 111 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:56,680 sent 60,000 plus transactions from the same address, had practice, and likely 112 00:09:56,680 --> 00:10:01,120 calculated their change-up put incorrectly. Today, Mononaut announced a 113 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:07,200 revelation. The fat fingers belonged to PayPal, quoting Mononaut. I had initially 114 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:11,040 discounted that possibility, but after receiving a tip-off, I took another look. 115 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:18,680 The overpaid fee came from a hot wallet reusing the address BC1QR3.ZPW3, 116 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:23,480 which started operating in June of this year. The on-chain activity is consistent 117 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:27,120 with automated processing of fiat-denominated withdrawals and also 118 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:33,360 closely matches the behavior of a now inactive wallet BC1QHS.KX4N, 119 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:39,560 which is labeled on PayPal on OXT.ME. In fact, the transition from the old 120 00:10:39,560 --> 00:10:47,800 wallet BC1QR3.ZPW3 is clearly visible on-chain via an intermediate 121 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:55,960 address BC1QLM.YVA. To make doubly sure, I verified by looking up some 122 00:10:55,960 --> 00:11:00,320 of the actual PayPal withdrawals on-chain. Of course, it's possible this is run by a 123 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:05,240 third-party vendor, but as far as I know, PayPal manages their Bitcoin in-house. All 124 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:10,360 evidence now points to a software bug, like this as the cause of error. I really 125 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:14,120 feel for the developer who wrote that code. It's such an easy mistake to make, 126 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,800 and it should have been caught in review. More importantly, there should have been 127 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:22,680 monitoring and sanity checks in place to prevent actual loss of funds. In reality, 128 00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:26,840 the system was apparently running completely unmonitored, since PayPal 129 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:31,400 didn't notice our halt withdrawals for almost 24 hours. Some other thoughts. 130 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:36,680 Single address wallets are terrible for privacy. It was trivial to unravel PayPal's 131 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:40,240 entire wallet structure and payment history from one known transaction. 132 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:46,000 Bitcoin software is complex and unforgiving. Big companies are way worse at it 133 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,200 than you might expect. Thanks to atmononautical on Twitter for this 134 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:55,280 investigation and analysis. It's a great reminder that there are no takebacks in 135 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:59,640 Bitcoin, so double-check those transactions before you send them. And of 136 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:05,320 course, thanks to PayPal for your generous donation to Bitcoin miners. 137 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:21,240 Now for some rapid-fire news. Via Bitcoin Archive, $1.5 trillion asset 138 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:26,600 manager Franklin Templeton has filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF. This adds to the list 139 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:33,280 of other spot Bitcoin ETF applications. BlackRock, $10 trillion AUM, Fidelity, $4.5 140 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:38,360 trillion, Invesco Galaxy, $1.5 trillion, Wisdomtree, $87 billion, 141 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:45,320 VanEck, $61 billion, GlobalX, $40 billion, ArchInvest, $14 billion, Bitwise, $1 billion, 142 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:52,040 Valkyrie, $1 billion, bringing the total AUM value to $17.7 trillion. Via 143 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:57,080 BTC Times, we're trying to turn Bitcoin into a global payment network. We're 144 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,320 still in the fax era of global payments and that's what we're attempting to 145 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:05,960 solve, says Lightspark CEO David Marcus via the Kibise letter. The debt-to-income 146 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:12,040 ratio for all home buyers in the US just hit 40% for the first time in history. 147 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:18,040 Via House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. If not open, permissionless, and private, like 148 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:23,880 cash, a CBDC is nothing more than a CCP style surveillance tool that can be 149 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:29,760 weaponized to oppress the American way of life. Via Francis at BullBitcoin, 150 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:34,360 BullBitcoin is the first and only exchange in Costa Rica to allow Bitcoin 151 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:39,120 colonists conversions using the National Fiat Mobile Payment System, allowing 152 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:43,960 instant low-cost access for millions of Costa Ricans and an off-ramp for 153 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:50,280 tourists and businesses. Via CoinTelegraph, Binance US is said to have cut a 154 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:54,440 third of its staff with President and Chief Brian Schroeder also leaving the 155 00:13:54,440 --> 00:14:01,720 crypto exchange amid suits from the SEC and CFTC. Via the Kibise letter, banks in 156 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:05,400 the US just saw their biggest weekly deposit outflows since the collapse of 157 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:11,400 SVB. Total bank deposits on a seasonally adjusted basis plunged by 70 billion 158 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:16,680 last week alone. This puts bank deposits at their lowest level since May. At the 159 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:21,600 same time, usage of the Fed's emergency bank funding facility just hit a record 160 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:29,640 high of $108 billion. Via Riot and Pierre Rochard. In August, Riot provided 161 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:34,920 over 84,000 megawatt hours of energy to the market in Texas to reduce overall 162 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:39,240 demand, lower consumer prices, and stabilize the grid during a heat wave. 163 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:44,280 They received $7 million from ERCOT and $24 million for selling 164 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:48,680 pre-purchased energy to its energy provider TXU pursuant to its long-term 165 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:55,040 power purchase agreements. And to wrap it up, Ted Cruz tweets, I'm bullish on 166 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:59,320 Bitcoin. Texas is the natural home for the digital asset industry since Texans 167 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:03,680 love freedom and so do digital asset bulls. This innovation is already 168 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:08,440 benefiting Texas's economy and the grid. 169 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:19,920 To wrap up today's show, let's zoom out and I'm gonna do something a little 170 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:23,960 different and read you an excerpt from a piece I wrote a while ago called It's 171 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:28,000 Time to Wake Up. I think I'll read the entire thing on an upcoming Bitcoin 172 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:33,840 out loud episode, but I wanted to give you a taste of it today. Here it is. 173 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:02,720 Ordinary citizens pay the price for the avarice of those who wield true power. 174 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:09,080 This is not opinion or conjecture. This is historical fact proven time and time 175 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:14,980 again. History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme. They will try to hide this 176 00:16:14,980 --> 00:16:19,440 truth, to paper over the ever-widening cracks with the creation of more money. 177 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:24,520 They are not but counterfeiters in expensive suits, stealing the value of 178 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:31,640 your hard work, thieves of time and energy. All they can do is lie. All we must 179 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:37,560 do is tell the truth. Bitcoin is truth and the truth will set us free. 180 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:42,520 Noster is the open pulpit from which we will speak. Noster is how we make our 181 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:51,800 voices heard. And that's a wrap on this week's Bitcoin News Roundup. If you're a 182 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:55,520 Bitcoin-only company interested in sponsoring another fucking Bitcoin 183 00:16:55,520 --> 00:17:00,680 podcast, head to BitcoinPodcast.net. You can find me on Noster by going to 184 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:05,760 primal.net slash Walker. If you want to follow the Bitcoin podcast on Twitter, go 185 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:10,800 to attickoinpodcast and at Walker America. You can also find the video version of 186 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:15,960 this podcast at youtube.com slash at Walker America and Walker America on 187 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:22,680 Rumble and X. Bitcoin is scarce. There will only ever be 21 million, but Bitcoin 188 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:27,680 podcasts are abundant. So thank you for spending your scarce time to listen to 189 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:47,040 another fucking Bitcoin podcast. Until next time, stay free.