Bitcoin is under attack. We're in the middle of the great node wars, which seems to be the defining
moment of 2025. Running a Bitcoin node is a critical piece of anybody's self-custody
infrastructure. You have to run one. The node essentially is a small piece of hardware.
Essentially what you're doing is that you're downloading the entire Bitcoin blockchain.
World unlocked by incorruptible money. Like holy cow, man. Like can you just imagine what kind of
amazing world of abundance we can build that can be built, that will be built? It's very exciting.
Don't fear it. Embrace it. Really, it's an opportunity of a lifetime and we are so early.
Bitcoin is money. It is the future of money. It's going to be the future neutral reserve currency,
in my opinion, and it must be protected at all costs. Free market has voted. The fact that not
went from under 1% to well over 20% in about two months. Australia or the UK are likely to be
coming the next Lebanon. I went to bed, woke up the next morning and my entire life savings were
completely swiped. Self-custody is the revolution. The Bitcoin future is...
Tony, it feels like Bitcoin is under attack. We're in the middle of the great node wars,
which seems to be the defining moment of 2025. We have the core developers pushing for an increase
to the op return limit to 100 kilobytes, up from 80 bytes. Then we have Bitcoin Not. They seem to
be handing the power back to the user through filtering and settings. The FUD surrounding
Bitcoin Nots and Bitcoin Core at the moment is exceptional, to be honest. Before we get too far
into what people are running, how to avoid relaying CSAM spam, anything not related to Bitcoin as
money, what exactly is an ode? And I guess even more important, why is not running one such a huge
danger to the individual who is stacking sets and taking their self-custody very seriously.
Yeah, absolutely, man. Running a Bitcoin node is a critical piece of anybody's self-custody
infrastructure. You have to run one. It's not like it's optional. A node essentially is a small piece
of hardware. Whether you buy one that's ready-made or you run one on your computer, essentially what
you're doing is that you're downloading the entire Bitcoin blockchain. And you have essentially a
vote on the network to run the version of the software that you see fit. Right now, the main
developers that have been around for the longest time are Bitcoin Core. They've been releasing
version after version for the last 16 years. Up until now, where this whole controversy blew up,
and basically what it comes down to is a very big division about what Bitcoin should be.
Those that are on the side of Bitcoin should be for money and money alone are pushing back really
hard on Bitcoin score's latest actions where they are literally opening up the Bitcoin network to
become a database for pretty much anything you want, which is not what it was designed for.
Removing the op return basically lets you store files of pretty significant sizes in there. And
once that door is open, well, then, you know, God knows what lands on it. And so whether it's
illegal content, you know, like see it or or who knows what what creative ideas people have,
you know, once the door is unlocked. Well, then basically every node runner will be relaying
all of that garbage, which you don't want. And we've seen this happen on other blockchains like
BCV. That's exactly what happened to them almost overnight. We saw what happened with them.
So Bitcoin maxis don't want this. Bitcoin is money. It is the future of money. It's going to be the
future neutral reserve currency, in my opinion, and it must be protected at all costs. Now,
the argument from the Bitcoin core people, well, you know, putting spam on the network was always
possible. And so that's why, you know, well, why not make it even more possible, which is
completely ludicrous. And what's more disturbing was their whole attitude towards the pushback from
the community that were saying, no, we don't want that, even though, you know, technically,
it's still possible to do it, you shouldn't make it, you know, much easier. By that definition,
anybody can argue, well, anybody can break into my home.
So then why should I put a lock on the door, put an alarm?
Why should I even have curtains on my windows?
Why don't I just let the entire world watch me walk around naked when I take a shower?
Why don't I do all of these things since it's technically already possible?
Do you understand how stupid that sounds?
That's the same argument.
All of these seemingly intelligent people should be uniting into finding ways to ossify
and cement and secure Bitcoin to no end.
the bigger picture here you know must never be forgotten bitcoin was created to ensure the
separation of money and state to ensure that the the abuse the theft or the surveillance that
control all of that stuff ends and for the first time in history as of 2008 8 billion people have
that option so all the efforts all the intellect should be all focused on that nothing else so the
fact that you have these you know a bunch of morons that are you know just being very flippant
about this for whatever selfish or very idiotic reasons is very concerning. Thankfully, there are
options and the free market has voted. The fact that nots, which is essentially the majority of
the same code base of Bitcoin Core, just with added tweaks that allow you to filter out and
make just the relaying of spam a bit more difficult, a bit more expensive. That is what the free market
is voting for, which is why it went from under 1% to well over 20% in about two months. So despite
all of this pushback, you would think that the people at Bitcoin Core that are supposed to be
on the side of humanity and the side of freedom and sovereignty would have clued in. But no,
they are still adamant that they are the people who are correct and they want nothing to do
with anybody's reaction or comments or feedback. They call everybody morons. They don't want to
listen. So what conclusion do you expect the market to have? Obviously, these people are either
under threat or have been compromised and, you know, by in some shape, way or form. And I don't
know how that ends. But all I can tell you is that they have absolutely destroyed their reputation
and trust in the space. And at some point, my wish is to see even more options out there right now.
thankfully we have not at some point down the line i guess in light of this event we might see
a third version come out the more options we have the better because it keeps bad actors at bay and
sends a clear message that if you think you're going to sit here and ruin what is you know
humanity's once in a lifetime opportunity at something revolutionary there's going to be
pushback and really strong in that sense. So that's where the whole Bitcoin core versus not
stings. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm more on the side of not more just to send a message
that this is not how things are supposed to play out. You are disgraceful in your actions,
in your behavior towards this issue at hand. And I'm really hoping and praying that somehow
there'll be a reversal and that, you know, like intelligent brains will, you know, come back to
sanity and start functioning as intended. Yeah, I agree. And I just got this delivered
the other day. I'm so excited. Currently, I am running Bitcoin Core. It's hidden in the
background on a Raspberry Pi version 29. And that's been fine. It's working, doing everything.
I guess what we're talking about when it comes to Core is version 30 in particular,
which is set to be released, I think, at the end of September or maybe early October.
But to be able to come out, I'm just going to switch that node off.
I've decided I'm not going to be running core at all once I have Notts running.
But what are the options for people out there in regards to running the node and how they should be thinking about it?
Like, should they be upgrading if they're currently running core?
Should they leave it as it is?
Should they look at possibly getting a Start9 server one or something else similar?
Like, what are your thoughts in regards to it?
Well, running a node is not very hard.
I mean, if you're the do-it-yourself type of person, you can install it on a computer and configure it as long as you know how to maintain it and keep up with all of these things.
Or you can buy reliable, ready-made devices like the Start9 that you just brought up, which is an excellent product.
And you can install whatever version you want.
Now, when it comes to Bitcoin Core, the problematic version is version 30, which hasn't been released yet, but is planned for late September, October, somewhere around that timeline.
You don't have to upgrade to version 30.
You can stay on any prior version and that's fine.
The thing is, you can't do this indefinitely
because even though there's no imminent rush to upgrade,
at some point, there's going to be updates and tweaks
and security enhancements
that you're going to want to have on your node.
So when that day comes,
which is still, I think, a far stretch from now,
hopefully we have better options in play.
Bitcoin Noughts is one of these options for now.
Like I said earlier,
I think we're going to see more flavors of nodes, operating systems come about specifically in light of this incident.
But if you're currently running core and you don't want to upgrade, you don't have to, you can stay there.
If you want to like support, you know, push the message of you're against Bitcoin being used as spam or any other disgusting stuff and you only want it as money.
Well, then, you know, Bitcoin Nots is available to you to download and install.
It's a five minute process. It's not that difficult.
I love it. I guess for everyone, sorry, I didn't really introduce you at the start. I've had you
on the show so many times and I know you so, so well, Tony. You're one of the greatest people
in the world to me that I know. I'd put you second after my wife. But for the audience that maybe
hasn't met you yet, you obviously help people set up nodes, take their Bitcoin self-custody
incredibly serious. I believe the Bitcoin way, your organization that you found is the best in
the world and teaching, mentoring people to be able to do that, like run nodes, protect
their Bitcoin, put into self custody, but then also be able to lock down their devices,
your help with plan Bs and stuff, which I really want to dive into this conversation.
Australia is turning a little bit whack in regards to money regulation, everything that's
coming down on us.
We're feeling the pressure more and more every day.
If you could just take a couple of moments to introduce yourself properly and the Bitcoin
way as well and what you guys do to help people be predominantly self-sovereign.
Sure, of course. I mean, here at the Bitcoin, basically, we push on education on how individuals
can become sovereign individuals. So we are all about the path to self-sovereignty. And it's
categorized into three stages. Step one, the highest priority is protecting the money. So we
teach everyone the proper skills into doing Bitcoin self-custody. We guide you on what the
proper hardware is or the proper software is and we literally hand hold you to them process so you
can get it right the first time there is no chance you make a mistake we bring many years of
cyber security into these consults to account for many extreme scenarios as well that most people
won't even consider we train you on them we make sure your infrastructure accounts for them so that
you're sleeping well at night no matter what amount of money that you're holding so whether
you're transacting with a dollar or a billion at the end of the day it is all under your and your
control alone and you can take this wealth and move it to any part of the globe at any point in
time knowing that it's still within your reach whenever you need it you don't need permission
from a bank you don't need permission from a government you become your own head of security
now you become what they call unconfiscatable and we teach you these steps so that at some point you
become fully autonomous where you don't even need us you don't need anyone you have this knowledge
you take it you pass it along to whomever you choose and hopefully they carry on with that
trajectory. So that's when it comes to the money. The other aspect of our services focuses around
cybersecurity, your protection of your digital footprint. You know, we even dive deep into,
you know, the de-Googled privacy phones now, which is becoming a big and a hot topic now because of,
you know, everything that's going on in the world. So you reclaim your privacy on that spy device
that you're holding in your hands, which is leaking all sorts of telemetry 24-7 without your consent
and even your knowledge.
So there are products that can stop that.
They're very easy to use.
You still use the same apps that you always been using with the main difference being that you know that the device is secure and is not spying on you in any way shape or form And of course the third
part of our services is helping people find Plan B residencies, where you can move to jurisdictions
that don't treat you as a criminal or hate you in general. So there are many places out there that
are Bitcoin-friendly, tax-free, or have better tax incentives, where you can live peacefully on
your own terms, surrounded with like-minded individuals, and you don't have to go to bed
anxious and worried every night, anticipating what next horror story you're going to read about in
the papers, you know, the following day, which is what unfortunately is unfolding in Australia.
It's very sad and heartbreaking to see this because it's certainly starting to look, at least
to me, that Australia or the UK are likely becoming the next Lebanon.
What happened in Lebanon?
Well, basically in Lebanon, overnight, the bank stole everybody's life savings.
So this is what happened to me.
I went to bed, woke up the next morning, and my entire life savings were completely swiped.
So I woke up with a balance of zero, even though I thought I was essentially retired.
I was homeless, left with $70 to my name because that's all I had in my jeans, you know, from the night before.
And this happened to every bloody citizen in the country.
They just seized the accounts and locked you out completely.
That horror story I lived through for almost a year.
And let me tell you, it is an ugly, ugly, ugly picture.
What I'm starting to see happening in Australia are the same symptoms that eventually led to the collapse of Beirut.
So when you start seeing ludicrous ideas like taxing unrealized capital tax gains tax,
or something even worse, taxing unused bedrooms in a house, you know, that's when you know that the system is finished.
All it's going to take is one more stupid idea like this to explode and have like the entire
population into the streets, rioting or whatever the case may be, which is exactly what happened
in Lebanon.
In my case, it was one of these idiotic politicians that decided one day it was a brilliant idea
to tax a WhatsApp conversation.
Can you imagine how stupid that sounds?
He decided, why not?
Since everybody uses WhatsApp, you know, we'll tax you per every message that you send.
And as soon as people heard that, the country fell apart.
So it wasn't anything sophisticated. It was just something as stupid as thinking you can do something like that. Right. So these people that are, you know, spewing out these these rules and mandates, this is organized crime. And these people have been accustomed to stealing their entire life. They offer no value. They have zero value to the society. Their only purpose is to extract.
And right now, as of 2008, when Bitcoin was created, well, that's what that did is that it created an option to opt out.
Right. So for the first time ever, that entire legacy system has become optional.
And a lot of people are becoming aware of this, which is why these guys are desperately trying to find a solution.
So they're throwing anything at the wall now, hoping something sticks in order for them to extend their lifeline.
But as more people's lives become miserable, unaffordable, and just like complete hell,
hell, eventually all roads are going to lead to Bitcoin, right?
So whether you understand it now and consider yourself very lucky before that whole dam blows up,
or you wait till you have no choice.
But as you can clearly see, they are making the exits more and more difficult.
One, when it comes to the money, if you try to transfer something now, anything Bitcoin related, I'm sure many folks can already relate to the horror experience that the banks put you through.
Right?
It is so wild, man.
Absolutely.
And now this is starting to find its way into your citizenship and residency process in Australia.
There's a lot of folks leaving, severing tax ties with Australia because of the draconian measures that are coming into place.
because of that as of this conversation right now if you wanted to leave australia you have to stay
away for six months as of next june they're dropping that to 45 days and i wouldn't be
surprised if at some point they reduce it to a week maybe two that is their way of locking you
into the country so that you cannot leave because if you leave who are they going to tax who are
they going to extract from there'll be no nobody right so their only chance of doing this is by
literally locking you as a prisoner in your own country. So sovereignty comes in two pieces. One,
you protect your money. You opt out of their rotten and corrupt system, Bitcoin, and full
self-custody, which is in your control. And then part two, you protect you, your body. You move to
a jurisdiction that doesn't hate you, that doesn't treat you like a criminal, that treats you with
respect, and in fact incentivizes you to come and build your life with like-minded individuals. So
It's absolutely mind-boggling to me that more people aren't up in arms about this,
considering they know their life is going to hell on a daily basis.
Most people can't afford anything.
Most people are unable to have savings, and yet things remain calm.
But that calm is what worries me, because it feels to me like it's hanging on a thread.
And all it's going to take is that little unsophisticated trigger to blow the whole thing up.
And like I said earlier, you don't want to be caught in a place where that unfolds.
I lived through that for nine months.
It was not safe for me to walk down the street because people are running on adrenaline,
on pure basic instincts, because they have nothing left and nothing left to lose.
That is an extremely dangerous state of mind.
So if you don't think this is possible where you're located,
in my opinion, you are setting yourself for suicide
because it is coming to every city of every country
because the root of the problem, the money, the legacy money,
is the same across the board.
It's just going to happen in different places quicker than others.
I know all the legends watching this in a shout-out
to understand that the money's broken,
but here in Australia, like what you were just saying, Tony,
is that everything is getting more expensive.
In the last five and a bit, maybe six years,
they added 63% to the M3 money supply.
Maybe they put a little bit out of it.
Maybe it's a little bit higher.
But the messaging or the propaganda
or the misinformation from the mainstream media
is the greedy supermarket owners.
It's the greedy gas station owners
that are just jacking up prices.
It's the greedy small business, large business
that are jacking up prices.
The only reason they're jacking up prices
because the money's worth less and all their costs are going up.
How do you refute that?
The media is just saying it's big business.
They're the ones stealing from you.
That's the reason why you can't save a little bit of money.
As Bitcoiners, we know that it's simply because of the money.
They just debase it.
They just inflate it away more and more.
And that's where the inflation comes from as they expand them through money supply.
But how do you get people, I guess, to know that's the truth
and it's not the greedy business owners doing this.
Well, the thing is, you can keep,
the only thing you can do is keep pushing out
the messaging and the education.
But ultimately it's up to, you know,
every individual to be either open-minded to it
or to remain completely stubborn, you know,
with their heads in the ground,
hoping, you know, everything will somehow work itself out.
Nothing's going to work itself out.
What we're witnessing today is really historic,
a collapse of an entire system
and we're seeing it unfold in real time.
You have to ignore the mainstream media.
These people are beyond corrupt, beyond like the messaging that they send is completely rubbish.
I mean, that was abundantly clear during that fake pandemic that they created.
I mean, if you just want to like a solid example, just go back a few years and look what happened when you're during the COVID times.
I mean, does that seem normal to you?
I haven't had a TV subscription or a radio subscription in over 30 years.
I understood this garbage very long time ago and I don't listen to it.
You have to be willing to do the work.
And part of that work is finding real information, ignoring the noise.
You don't need the approval of your neighbor in order to improve your life.
You just need to have the right knowledge, understand it, and take care of yourself.
Because if you don't do that, nobody else will.
And nobody cares about you.
When your life blows up, believe me, no one is coming to save you.
No one will even notice or care.
Not like that saying with the crypto bros, the shit coiners wag me, we're all going to make it.
Are you saying that's not the truth, Tony?
You only make it if you plan to make it.
If you're just sitting here wishful thinking that somehow, you know, a miracle from the sky is going to land and make your life magical.
well then you know good luck to you because that is absolutely not the way things work.
You have to get a little bit uncomfortable in order to become very comfortable later on and
the path to doing so thankfully exists. Like I can't imagine this world if Satoshi Nakamoto hadn't
released Bitcoin for us because everything is headed into like very extreme tyranny. You see it
There's talk about digital IDs, central bank digital currencies, everything to tighten that
noose around your neck because you have a bunch of psychopaths, that club that you don't belong to,
that genuinely believe they have the right to play God and that everyone on earth is a meaningless
peon that is put on this planet to serve them so that they can live for free at the expense of your
time and energy. So those that say no to a life of a donkey are going to opt out. And those that
don't care, well, you know, then they have, they lose the right to complain and they have to just
accept everything that's coming their way. But in my opinion, even the most resistant, stubborn,
ignorant, stupid human being at some point is going to have enough because things are going to
get so bad that it's going to be either death or a better solution because the current state
will be unlivable. So that is coming. And which is why I believe we're headed into a divided world,
which is going to become very apparent. I often refer back to that movie Elysium. I don't know if
anybody has seen it, but if you haven't, I strongly recommend it. And basically it talks about earth
being like this really devastating shithole,
whereas above Earth,
there's this man-made, created,
you know, like a planet, so to speak,
where those that have their resources are living.
Beautiful life, you know, med-based, super AI,
perfect life,
whereas everyone that can't exit the system,
Earth, is stuck in that, you know, in that shithole.
So I think we're headed towards some version of this,
where those that are outside the system,
financially independent, not needing government assistance in any way, shape or form, are living
amongst very tightly knit and very strong and very financially comfortable circular economies.
And those that aren't, well, they're going to experience that nightmare that I'm talking about.
And at some point, they're going to want to leave, right? But the entry point to that other world is
going to be very high at that point. So how that unfolds, I have no idea. Like I don't have a
crystal ball but i genuinely believe we are headed towards some form of this of this life on earth
so for anyone paying attention if you're still in a position to opt out and by opting out i don't
mean like going 100 you know overnight into bitcoin because that requires um like a solid
understanding of first of all what you're doing and why you're doing it for and understanding
bitcoin in general bitcoin is money it's not a speculative asset it's not an investment it's not
It not a stock it not a share that you buy in order to sell for worthless paper later on which is still unfortunately what a lot of people seem to think it is and why most of them end up losing money You need to understand that Bitcoin was created as a currency So you had the dollar the euro the yen now you have Bitcoin
And the main difference is that it's not controlled by anyone and no one can manipulate it.
So it's really money for the people by the people.
No matter how much of it you own, your influence on the network is a big fat zero, which is
why ultimately I believe all governments are going to settle on it because they're never
going to accept that some other country has an advantage over them with. That takes a little bit
of knowledge and doing the work and reading and understanding. But once that cements,
there is no going back. And unless you've walked in my shoes and experienced hell itself,
you know, the other side of the fiat nightmare, how long that takes you to get to that point of
conviction, that really depends on you. So if you're going to wait until your life blows up like I did,
Well, you're going to learn it, you know, instantly, but it's going to be a very painful lesson.
Otherwise, you can start the transition by understanding what Bitcoin is and slowly progressing your way into it.
You don't have to buy one entire Bitcoin to get started.
Bitcoin is a savings technology.
So you save, you start at your own comfort level, and you eventually work your way up.
It is the most scarce asset in the universe that humanity has ever known.
21 million enshrined in code no one's going to change that so no matter how small your number is
that will represent at some point a purchasing power larger than you can possibly imagine
because we've never had anything like this before so i get this comment a lot yeah but you know i
have a small pathetic number it's it's it's not much i'm like says who is like because you're not
living in that future yet. That's why you're still measuring your wealth based on dollars,
which is the worst metric available for this. Put your savings in Bitcoin. If you're not in a
position to spend and replace, just continuously add to your savings. But if you are in a position
to spend and replace, then use Bitcoin as money, because that's what it is. And it's the only way
it remains decentralized and secure, which in turn adds to its store of value. If Bitcoin was
only used to hold and never spend, it would fail because at some point it would get co-opted.
Thankfully, that is not what's happening because there's many countries around the world,
there's millions of folks around the globe that are using Bitcoin as currency. These people have
been debanked their entire life. They've never seen a bank account. They've never had a single
penny to their name. As of Bitcoin, they all do. They have businesses now, they run their lives,
they earn their keep in Bitcoin. So if somebody is earning $20, $30 a day in Bitcoin, they're not
holding it to become a billionaire in seven years. They're using those $20, $30 the same day to go
buy groceries or whatever else they need. So they are using it as money. So again, when 8 billion
people use Bitcoin as money, which I think at some point is going to happen, that's how it remains
decentralized and secure because you cannot stop 8 billion people from peer-to-peer transactions.
That is lunacy. That is a narrative that governments and institutions are trying to push
just to instill fear and FUD. Peer-to-peer is unstoppable. They can threaten, talk about it
all day. They cannot stop it. If they could, they would have done it. Believe me, they tried to
stop the peer-to-peer sharing of music, movies, and software for the last, God knows how long,
20, 30 years. How well has that played out? And that's meaningless. These are meaningless items.
No one's going to stop peer-to-peer money. Okay, so don't get swayed by what they say. Don't let
the fear paralyze you. This is a threat to the system, a real threat. They know this,
which is why they hate it. And which is why there's two words that governments and institutions
will never advertise.
Self-custody.
That is the revolution.
That is what Bitcoin was created for.
If you read the white paper,
the first headline,
peer-to-peer electronic cash.
That's it.
That means the days of relying
on third-party institutions
or custodians are over.
You don't need these people anymore at all.
You are the king now.
You learn the steps.
You become unconfiscatable
and uncontrollable.
because now you are the decider for anything and everything around the finances of your life.
So you make sure you have that, and then you make sure you live in a jurisdiction
that is not going to become a nightmare in your everyday life.
And once you establish these steps, your life magically upgrades,
like in a way that is indescribable until you are walking in these shoes every day.
And if you have kids, in my opinion, it is almost mandatory that you look into this
and secure this for them.
Because even if you are okay for the time being,
they will outlive you.
And you don't want them to end up living in a hellhole,
living essentially as like imprisoned dogs
under the tyrannical rule of psychopaths.
So it's a lot to unpack,
but we're having this conversation.
We don't have an infinite amount of time.
So I'm trying to condense it
and as easy to understand as possible.
There is a lot to be able to unpack,
I guess in reference to the white paper.
If anyone hasn't read it, it's nine pages.
It's on g'daybitcoin.com, link in the description.
And then to learn more about Bitcoin,
the big print by Lawrence Lippard's highly recommended
if you're a reader.
Just to be able to learn that,
like listening to Tony sometimes,
you're like, oh, maybe that's not going to happen
Australia or Canada or the UK or something. It's not like Lebanon. But then when you listen to
someone like Lawrence Lopardon, who's saying exactly the same thing in a different way,
and then you read another book and another book or watch another podcast, and all this information
is triangulating onto this one data point that slowly then suddenly, like there's Vladimir Putin,
the dictator of Russia, one of his main spokespeople came out warning the world, basically,
that the US government could debase the dollar so fast and so rapidly and put it into the crypto
cloud talking about Bitcoin and stuff. If that happens, the whole world, like the US dollar is
the world reserve currency. If that collapses or hyperinflates, what happens to the Australian
dollar, the Canadian dollar, the pound sterling, etc? We may go along and we think we're so safe
and everything's okay and stuff, but all the information converging at the same time as AI
and this debt-death spiral that we're in in our monetary system, it is coming, unfortunately,
in my opinion, as well as Tony's, and there is a better option. There's an easier option,
which is Bitcoin. And you can also jump on the phone. When people, if they meet with you, Tony,
the first consultation's free so they should like start to ask these questions and seek out
that new information if they are inclined and learn what else is out there because you get to
speak to heaps of people I was wondering if you'd be able to um we sort of talked about
like using bitcoin as money a little bit but I guess like using bitcoin as money as self-sovereignty
combining that with the plan B, because earlier you were saying it's no longer like just about
the money, but obviously the money is a huge component, but it's about protecting the body.
Like when you said that, I was like, well, what's that mean?
Well, because if you control the money, but you're still stuck in a country that literally
doesn't let you leave, then what have you accomplished? You're still a prisoner, right?
So you want to protect yourself by moving somewhere where they're not going to treat
you as a criminal. That's where the plan B right now these days is no longer an option, really,
in my opinion. I think it's supposed to be a plan A, pretty much along the same priority as the
money. But of course, you know, if you really wanted to rank them, the money will always come
first. But you cannot dismiss where you live. Because let me give you another scenario. Let's
say you protect the money and you're living in a country where everybody else around you is
bankrupt or like in a very dire situation. So even though you're financially comfortable,
it's not safe for you to walk down the street because, you know, you are going to potentially
be a target every five minutes because everyone around you isn't financially comfortable.
So it becomes very unpredictable to be in a position like this. And the point about the
money that you made about, you know, people thinking that's not going to hyperinflate,
It's already happening.
I mean, when people contact me and we discuss pricing,
I still get these comments like,
oh my gosh, why is it more expensive in Aussie dollars
versus euros or other currency?
I'm like, it's not more expensive.
It's the exact same amount.
It's just that the Australian dollar has lost so much value
that yes, it takes a bigger number to equate that same value.
And so as a joke, you know, like for example,
like I use like a $5,000 metric just to illustrate the point, like a 5,000 euro, for example,
is almost 9,000 Aussie dollars. So it's almost double. So someone, someone wouldn't with a,
without a strong understanding of money automatically thinks that, you know, we're
charging more to Australians, which is silly. It's the same value. So to put that in perspective,
I tell them what, do you want to know what 5,000 euros is in Lebanese pounds? And then I tell them
It's around 526 million.
So am I charging the Lebanese people 526 million?
Why?
Because I'm an asshole?
It's the same amount, which is why everything we do is in Bitcoin.
You take all of these numbers, all these meaningless fiat numbers,
you convert them back to real money, and that number doesn't change.
That's how you know that the money that you've been working for your entire life
is literally toilet paper.
It's worthless money.
Printed, you know, on a whim by a bunch of crazy people that are living for free
at your expense. So if things are getting more expensive in your local currency, it's not because
merchants are charging you more. It's because your local currency is headed to zero in value.
And the longer you wait, the higher those numbers are going to be. And at some point,
you're not going to be able to buy anything. So in Lebanon, that happened within six days.
so it's not like it's going to take three years for it to go to zero when the system breaks it
breaks really fast if at some point if you wanted to go have a chicken breast lunch in Beirut do
you know what it costs you sixteen hundred dollars okay and so when you want to go to the supermarket
to buy basic needs you literally have to carry your luggage a suitcase to fill it with that garbage
in order to pay for basic items.
That's how much of it you physically need to carry.
So all fiat money, including the US dollar,
is headed to zero.
They are trying to extend that in the US
via the Stablecoin Act.
Maybe they extend that a little bit,
but if that plays out,
that's going to be at the detriment
of 170 currencies worldwide.
And eventually, their turn will come.
Why?
for one reason.
There now exists in the world
an alternative currency, Bitcoin.
It's not going away.
They can't shut it down.
You can't pretend it doesn't exist.
Eventually, 100 trillion or more assets
around the world are going to find its way
into incorruptible money.
Logically, there's nowhere else to put it.
It cannot be stolen, manipulated, or corrupted
by any living soul anymore.
And that is why Bitcoin has so much value.
Not because it the fastest or the sexiest or whatever else you want to call it It because no one can control it If that was its one and only feature that enough Yeah I agree
I want to speak to two points that you made.
If anyone truly doesn't think this is going to happen to Australia,
in the life of the Australian dollar, it's already lost 93% of its purchasing power,
which is crazy.
But then another point that you're making,
probably about midway through the conversation, Tony,
is people don't need to go out and buy one Bitcoin.
That's about $180,000 plus Australian at the moment.
People will be like, whoa, that's so much.
But over like the last four, four and a bit years,
say go back six months and then four years prior,
there's somebody stacking $10 a day USD
and they managed to get to one Bitcoin.
They just day in, day out, $70 a week, $10 a day,
they got to one Bitcoin.
Obviously, Bitcoin's priced a lot higher now.
Over the next four years, by doing $10 a day, maybe you get to 0.1 Bitcoin or 0.05 or whatever it is, but it'll add up to be such a huge amount.
And maybe the Bitcoin decimal point number is pretty small, but in fiat terms, over time, it's going to be worth a lot more than what you're putting in there.
But we've covered a lot of information in this podcast, Tony, like we're talking on nodes, plan B, using Bitcoin as money.
I think that's the most important thing and really where I'd like to wrap the conversation up with is, especially since last year with BlackRock coming out with the Bitcoin ETF and stuff, that's one way to be able to, I don't even want to say buy Bitcoin, but buy exposure to Bitcoin's price.
I think that's maybe more of a fair way to do it.
Or you can buy Bitcoin, but leave it on the exchange.
I still don't believe you've got exposure to Bitcoin,
maybe to the number go upside of things, but it's not your Bitcoin.
If you're using collaborative custody, things like that,
you've got exposure again to Bitcoin that can benefit your life,
but you're not holding the bearer asset the way that it was intended,
like Satoshi made.
Like it's just such an crazy revolution.
A good book on this is resistance money.
But I'd just like you to maybe unpack like the ETFs leaving on the exchange and just like why at this time with everything we've discussed, digital IDs, CBDCs and stuff, people really need to either spend the time or spend the money to be able to learn to do self-custody.
because my opinion, Tony, and I'm sure you can relate to this,
unless it's in self-custody, it's not your Bitcoin.
It's not freedom money.
And when you need it there the most, it may not be there
or it may not be easily accessible.
Whereas if you get it right now, then it's good.
You're good.
Like you can be self-sovereign.
You can live a life of freedom.
You can live the life of your dreams.
Yeah, absolutely, man.
I mean, self-custody is the revolution.
It's the only way you win in Bitcoin.
Everything else, these are all fiat games.
And I mean, when you see governments and institutions praise Bitcoin all day long, if you notice, they're praising it as long as it's in their version of Bitcoin, which is, you know, the ETFs, the Bitcoin treasuries, you know, leaving your Bitcoin in the custody of a bank that they control.
Basically, they would like you to adopt Bitcoin, but in a way that keeps you dependent on them.
That's the lie.
You don't need them.
Now, they're free to do this.
I mean, Bitcoin is for anyone, the good, the bad and the ugly.
But when you understand Bitcoin, you understand that that's not what it was created for.
Bitcoin was created as an exit that you don't have to depend on anyone, especially not those
that created a system that funds wars, that funds genocides, that's designed to steal
censor control and like pretty much enslave humanity so that, you know, a bunch of people
that belong to that, you know, club can live for free at everybody else's expense.
So we need to unlearn the lies.
This is the hardest thing that I find people have a hard time wrapping their brains around,
is unlearning the lies that we've been taught since the day we were born.
The days of trusting third-party custodians have now become optional.
You don't need them.
In fact, they are an extremely risky position to put yourself in because, you know,
human beings are, you know, corruptible and under the right circumstances.
They will lie, they will steal, they will throw you under a bus in order to save themselves.
So if you don't want to have this headache looming around your head all the time, well, then you simply need to learn a few steps and opt out.
And one thing I want to stress on is how do we live on a Bitcoin standard?
Like people ask me this all the time, you know, while you talk about Bitcoin, Bitcoin has money.
How do you actually live on a Bitcoin standard?
Well, that's a very valid question and I'll answer it.
First of all, there are thousands of merchants every day accepting Bitcoin.
one thing we push heavily here at the bitcoin way is that if you're a person who owns a business
that was selling a product or a service or whatever the case may be start accepting bitcoin
as payment that incentivizes other people to do the same which in turn subconsciously registers
bitcoin as money in the minds of eight billion people so they start seeing it you know cash
credit cards bitcoin cash credit cards bitcoin so it's money they don't necessarily see it as
an investment because it's not an investment. It's a savings technology that's infinitely
appreciating in value. So a lot of businesses now accept Bitcoin. Unless you're looking for
something really specific, you'll probably find someone who's accepting Bitcoin for it. So that's
one. In the event you have to buy something where Bitcoin is not accepted yet, while there are debit
cards, you know, Visa, MasterCards that you can load up with your Bitcoin and you just go on about
the world tap tap tap you know buying whatever you want and what these cards are doing in the
background is that they're selling that little bit of bitcoin into the local currency to pay for the
item that you're purchasing so the merchant has no idea this is happening only you know because
it's your card but with these two things you can 100% live on a bitcoin standard so whenever
bitcoin is accepted of course you pay in bitcoin and you replace it if you still have access to
you know, worthless fiat, you swap it right away.
Otherwise, you can use these debit cards in these places
where the Bitcoin is not accepted yet.
But over the last five years,
I'd say that I'm using my fiat debit card
way less than I used to five years ago.
And as time moves forward, at some point, I won't even need it.
Yeah.
Okay, so that world exists.
It's not like a fairy tale dream.
And I'm not unique.
There are millions like me doing the same thing.
And everyone is doing just fine.
Even just like an example in this room,
the artwork on the walls, I paid for that in Bitcoin.
My logo paid for in Bitcoin.
Start9, server1 paid for it in Bitcoin.
The books paid for it in Bitcoin.
my editors thumbnail design everything paying bitcoin like if i need someone to edit a video
or something i won't pay them in cash or like no you're doing bitcoin stuff you'll get paid in
bitcoin or i'll go find someone else and they're like okay and they'll do it and i've gotten them
on on board with that one thing one last question tony is some people may come back and they're like
self-custody is not for for me i'm not maybe comfortable with technology or i'm too old or
I'm not used to it or I don't know how to drive a computer
or I don't want to be able to take that responsibility.
I possibly can't hold on to my worth myself and be 100% responsible for that.
What would you say?
Because I know that you've talked to lots and lots and lots of people
of all different demographics coming from different skill sets,
backgrounds, skill stacks.
I guess what would you say for the person that thinks that
They can't for one reason or another.
There's no human being on the planet, in my opinion, that can't do this.
This isn't rocket science.
I get this question a lot.
You know, people are like, yeah, but you know what?
I really suck on a computer.
I'm like, that's fine.
You don't have to have a PhD in networking or be a cryptographer to do this.
You just have to learn seven or eight new steps.
And all you need is a very good teacher to break them down to you into baby steps.
And this is exactly what we do here at The Bitcoin Way.
We speak basic English.
There's no fancy vocabulary or words.
There's nothing, you know, very elaborate about, you know, it's not an engineer talking
to an engineer.
It's talking, it's like an expert talking, you know, very basic ABCs to break this down
into, you know, bite-sized pieces.
Most of the people that we work with are, I'd say, in their 50s, 60s, 70s, well into
their 80s.
I can assure you none of them have a computer background, zero.
They are all 100% sovereign.
Encrypted vaults, air-gapped wallets, Bitcoin nodes, solo mining.
all of that stuff that we do they do comfortably it takes a little bit of muscle memory to build up
you know that comfort level and of course these are things that we assist with but it happens much
quicker than you you'd expect and once once you get the hang of it you'll never go back to that
broken system because everything is so much quicker and so much easier on a bitcoin standard that
you're like why didn't i do this like 10 years ago that is a comment i hear very frequently so
So as long as you're comfortable on a computer, on its basic level, following clear and concise instructions,
like press here, do this, do that, we will walk you through all of it.
And we will make sure that you have the exercises that you need to build that muscle memory in a very quick and easy way.
And you will get it.
I mean, when you drive your car, do you think twice about it?
Of course not.
You just get in, turn the ignition and go.
This is the same thing.
so it's just it's just the fear of the unknown because you haven't done it yet that is giving
you all of these you know crazy thoughts but those disappear very very quickly i agree and that's been
like my experience is already very comfortable with bitcoin but at the start you tore my security
setup and like rebuild it from scratch basically and changed it more secure but friends family
the audience, the subscribers, everyone that's gone through nothing but amazing feedback.
As always, Tony, it's been such a pleasure to have you on the show. For everyone watching,
I have put links to Tony below to the Bitcoin way. But also that podcast where we really dive
deep into your journey in Lebanon, it's the most intense conversation I've ever had in my life.
It's not for the faint of heart, but for anyone sitting on the fence thinking,
You know, this could never happen in whatever country you're living in.
If you've got the time, I'd really urge you to listen to that video.
But still think about it.
I don't know how long ago that was, 18 months, two years ago or something.
It was quite a while ago we filmed and it left a lasting impression.
But as always, Tony, keep helping people, stack those sets and become self-sovereign.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Sean, for having me, man.
Always a pleasure.
I'll just leave your audience with a last note that this is a very exciting period of
time that we're living in.
Like, don't fear this. This is like you should be over the moon ecstatic that we have this opportunity, you know, presented to us.
The Bitcoin future is unlike anything we've ever seen.
It is really like the Renaissance.
In my opinion, it's like the ninth wonder of the world on steroids.
A world unlocked by incorruptible money.
Like, holy cow, man.
Like, I mean, the possibilities, you know, of AI.
Can you just imagine what kind of amazing world of abundance we can build that can be built, that will be built using incorruptible sound money?
it's very exciting don't fear it embrace it really it's an opportunity of a lifetime and we are so
early um that you know just just do it just to back tony up yes um maybe there was a little bit
of people might have felt a little bit of fear or something throughout this video but only if you're
not on the bitcoin standard if you're on the bitcoin standard none of it matters at all life's
gravy but tony amen brother for everything that you and the team team are doing i look forward to
getting you back on to talk about especially decentralized solo mining and the intersection
of AI with Bitcoin. But for everyone out there, please do something nice for yourself today.
And for somebody else out there, be blessed. Peace.