The Let's Talk Bitcoin Network

Have you heard about what's happening in Panama? Hint: It has nothing to do with canals. A new bill has been presented to legalize cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, and we are joined by two important figures in this developing story to learn everything we need to know. Gabriel Silva, a congressman in Panama standing behind this bill, and Felipe Echandi, entrepreneur, seeking to propel the Panamanian economy forward, join us for this fascinating conversation. Our two guests approach the topic with practical discernment and understanding, discussing the basics of crypto legalization in the country, the developing geopolitical factors, and why Panama is becoming an increasingly attractive place for foreign residents. Sharing unique insider insights, Silva and Echandi provide a comprehensive view on Panama's laws, rules around banks and legal tender, comparisons to Singapore, and more. Why this bill specifically? What reality could it espouse to bring positive change for Panama and its people? Catch it all in this exciting episode!

Many crypto industry titans - including Vitalik Buterin - believe ZK Rollups are the key to Ethereum's scalability. With DeFi exchange dYdX generating over $2 BILLION in daily volume on Starkware, a ZK Rollup solution, I'm excited to chat with Starkware founders about:Why ZK-Rollups are the future vs. other Layer 2sStarkware vs. Optimism vs. Arbitrum: who wins?Can Fast Layer 1s like Solana compete with Starkware?Host: Jason Choi @mrjasonchoi . Not financial advice.------------ Sponsors -------------PARASWAP is the best place to trade your tokens and get the best price in DeFi today. Get started on paraswap.io/blockcrunchSOLANA: The Solana ecosystem is growing at a rapid pace and it's a great place to build your project or get involved with the community. Go to solana.com/blockcrunch to learn more!------------ Disclosures -------------Disclaimer: Jason Choi is a General Partner at Spartan Capital, a subsidiary of The Spartan Group. All opinions expressed by Jason and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of The Spartan Group and any of its subsidiaries

Show Notes:On this episode of the Unhashed Podcast, we talk Solana node troubles, Evergrande instability, Robinhood crypto withdrawals, how to pronounce Erdogan's first name, and how Ryan Selkis hates when you don't buy tickets to his events. BREAKING NEWS Friend of the show Riccardo 'œFluffy Pony' Spagni is out of Jail! Congrats Fuffy. In a tweet, Fuffy says 'œI am very pleased that the U.S. court has released me. I am actively working with my attorneys on a way to return to South Africa as soon as possible so I can address this matter and get it behind me once and for all. That's what I've always wanted to do.'On September 14, Solana node operators are coordinating a 'œrestart' of the high-speed blockchain Tuesday in an attempt to bring the stuttering network back online. 'œThe validator community elected to coordinate a restart of the network' and is preparing a 'œnew release' that will right the frozen blockchain, according to an afternoon tweet from the Solana Foundation. In Solana's Discord server, developers distributed restart instructions at 3:21 p.m. Eastern time. The outage began early Tuesday after 'œresource exhaustion' on the network brought blockchain validation to an hours-long halt. On-chain activity froze across Solana's multibillion-dollar ecosystem of trading, staking and lending projects.A source familiar with the matter told CoinDesk that the outage 'œimpacts everything built on Solana, but the issue is the underlying [layer 1].'Tuesday's outage came amid booming interest in Solana, a network seeking to attract Wall Street usage whose token has been on fire since late August. Investors have flocked to Solana as a low-fee platform for decentralized finance (DeFi). The disruption was caused by bot trading of Grape Protocol's Tuesday token offering, founder Anatoly Yakovenko said on Twitter. It is the second time in two weeks that Solana's mainnet cluster experienced 'œinstability,' according to a Messari research note reviewed by CoinDesk. A flood of transactions pushed the network past its limits early Tuesday, Solana's status account tweeted shortly after 3 p.m. Eastern time. The activity triggered a forking that knocked multiple nodes offline. Engineers tried and failed to triage the problem, according to Solana. It's not unheard of for blockchain networks to experience service disruptions. Solana's mainnet is still in beta mode; it last experienced an outage in December, another source said. Last week's hiccup was also related to a resource exhaustion event. 'œIt's good for people to understand that Solana mainnet is still clearly in beta,' said a source building one of Solana's popular DeFi protocols interrupted by the outage. 'œI have faith in the Solana core contributors and validators to resolve this issue promptly.' Engineers were rushing to push a patch to Solana node runners, multiple sources told CoinDesk. Once it's ready and running across 66% of validators (a supermajority on the network) Solana is expected to come back online. Until then, the ecosystem with over $11 billion in total value locked (TVL) is in wait-and-see mode. Activity remains frozen at block #96538485. It is unclear what implications the Tuesday outage may have for Solana. One source in the developer community pointed out that some projects have time-sensitive operations, like liquidations and IDO launches. Those could become thorny the longer the network remains down. Colin put together a price quote sheet if you wanted to run a Solana node here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rc43ZdM7ocsGmxf7VgLlXubUyVlxyrj_vZpKNiHbuZU/edit?usp=sharingEvergrande is China's largest property developer and was up until recently one of the most valuable companies in the world. However, most analysts now believe Evergrande is on the verge of insolvency and won't be able to meet its mountainous debt obligations without direct government interventions within the next few weeks as it struggles to pay its 4 million subcontractors and is unable to finish properties it is holding deposits on from 1.5 million properties. The crunch occurred because of changes made by the CCP in August of 2020 to the amount of debt Chinese developers could take on. Evergrande was accepting deposits from buyers and was then leveraging that money to borrow more money to expand ops and grow. But with the new rule change, they lost access to the spigot of money. In China, real estate is almost the only asset people invest in, and sometimes it takes generations to save up enough money to make a down payment. Many Chinese people may not get their money back if they invested and put down payments on properties under development by Evergrande. What does this have to do with Bitcoin? Well, the fallout of that collapse is so large that it is affecting large swathes of investors the world over. As Evergrande's fallout affects debt markets, all other markets are affected, especially risky, speculative markets like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. At least, that's the theory.Robinhood is finally testing Bitcoin and crypto withdrawals, as well as a new digital hot wallet, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The update comes after the past year of broad criticism of Robinhood for, among other things, not allowing users to control their own Bitcoin private keys. The firm repeatedly hinted at enabling such features without delivering any evidence that such products were being developed. Robinhood's new hot wallet and Bitcoin and crypto transfer feature announcement also comes after a mounting demand by customers. Bloomberg reported that evidence of such features has appeared in a beta version of the trading platform's iPhone app. Rather than providing photos or other evidence of such features, Bloomberg stated that 'œThe software includes a hidden image portraying a waitlist page' for users to sign up, and attributed the discovery of said features to software developer Steve Moser.Recep Erdogan '" the firebrand Turkish president '" has declared war on Bitcoin. In the aftermath of a sweeping ban on the use of cryptocurrencies back in April, the leader is aiming to assert financial control ahead of launching the digital Lira. While the central bank was not opposed to the utilisation of digital currency, Erdogan believes it faces conflict with cryptocurrencies. 'œWe are in a war against Bitcoin,' he said. 'œBecause we will continue on the road with our money, which is our fundamental identity in this matter.' The president commented during a national youth meeting with representatives from 81 Turkish provinces, following questions about the central bank's perceptions of cryptocurrencies. Many Turks have turned to cryptocurrency as a hedge on the volatility of the Lira in forex markets, and crypto has become a hot topic in Istanbul ahead of the proposal of new legislation aiming to regulate cryptocurrencies. Regulations will pave the way for the full implementation of the digital Lira, which Erdogan's government is aiming to launch by 2023.From ZeroHedge, 'œChina's War Against Crypto Is Officially Ramping Up (Again). In several Chinese provinces, inspections of companies have "intensified", with an eye toward targeting illegal mining at places like colleges, research institutions and data centers, according to the report. One miner in China told Bloomberg that his operations "remain intact" because he "regularly switches to new facilities to house his equipment" which is made up of "no more than 100 machines at one location". Hebei province has asked companies for a self-compliance check to ensure they are not mining by September 30. China has said that crypto mining would 'œseriously affect economic and social development and directly threaten national security." The statement says it would "disrupt" financial order. This news follows tighter restrictions in China across the board, from ending most visa's of foreign english teachers, limiting time on tiktok to 40 minutes per day and video game playing to three hours a week among teenagers.Self proclaimed 'œTwoBit Idiot' Ryan Selkis is running for Senate. In a tweet he stated, 'œIf you're wondering when I actually decided to run for Senate, it was when these fuckers came to my event, didn't buy a ticket, and served one of the speakers a subpoena. Enough talk. More war on our out of control regulatory state.

'œSandwiched between Guatemala and Honduras, El Salvador '" the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America, with an average GDP per capita of around $3,500 '" is a most unlikely ground zero for a financial revolution.' - Alex GladsteinGladstein is back with the full story of Bitcoin and El Salvador. What it's like on the ground, the people it all started with, the responsibility we have as a community, & the history that gives much needed perspective to the actions of the political regime. You don't want to miss this one.Check out the original article and tons of other incredible work by Gladstein & others at Bitcoin Magazine:https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/the-polarity-of-bitcoin-in-el-salvadorEndless thanks to Bitcoin Magazine and the LTB Network for the incredible content they bring to the Bitcoin ecosystem.Check out our amazing sponsors below that keep this show alive, and all the things made audible for your listening pleasure!' Get sats back on everything with the Fold Card! Check them out at guyswann.com/fold for 20% off the Spin+ Card!' And keep those sats SAFE with the BitBox02 hardware wallet. 5% off with discount code "GUY" at guyswann.com/bitbox

My guests are Jeff Gallas and Rootz of Fulmo, an open source company dedicated to the research and development of the Lightning Network. They are the organizers of the Lightning Hackdays and the first Lightning Conference that took place in Berlin in 2019 and are supporters of the RaspiBlitz project, a Lightning and Bitcoin full node."If you run a Lightning node you're a part of replacing the VISA and Mastercard networks." - RootzTopics:Development of the Lightning Network and the RaspiBlitzAdoption rate of the Lightning NetworkAccessibility improvementsHow many payments will be possible on the Lightning NetworkMost exciting Lightning projectsWhy it's important to run your own nodeRaspiBlitz integrations, LND and c-lightningResources and RaspiBlitz communitiesShownotes on the episode page

My guest is Adam Back the inventor of Hashcash, that was used as the proof-of-work method in Bitcoin. His work is cited in the Bitcoin whitepaper as well as in the Tor Browser whitepaper. Adam is a seasoned cryptographer with a PhD in computer science and distributed systems. As co-founder and CEO of Blockstream he is building the infrastructure for the internet of the future.Topics:Blockstream's funding and future plansDecentralization of miningGreenlight: Lightning nodes for everyonehow Bitcoin supports green energyStarlink vs. Blockstream satellitesBitcoin R & D and innovations in AltcoinsInflation bug in BitcoinSimplicity: Bitcoin smart contractsStrategies to de-risk ETFs dangers to BitcoinHow to make more bitcoin out of your bitcoinDeFi on BitcoinWhat Adam Back is doing in his spare timeThe Future of Blockstream and BitcoinHow Bitcoin has changed Adam BackShownotes on the episode page

On this episode of the Unhashed Podcast, Colin and Mario go off our usual content track and interview Aella Girl, notable internet personality, constructor of insightful Twitter polls, and outspoken sex worker. Aella shares with us the experience of working at OnlyFans, dealing with stigma and taboos, and we explore the intersection of sex work and cryptocurrency.

My guest is Andreas M. Antonopoulos one of the worlds foremost experts on Bitcoin and open blockchains. Andreas is an educator, author of five books and an excellent speaker. His new co-authored book "Mastering the Lightning Network" will be published at the end of 2021. I was especially excited to be able to speak with him in person while we both visited Berlin. Our topics:the state of Bitcoin in 2021 Taproot and why it's important for Bitcoin the battle between regulators and DeFi staircase of financial sovereignty future of the Lightning Network immutability of Bitcoin what is sound money? Ethereum or Bitcoin will he write another Altcoin book? Shownotes on the episode page

Would you pay $30-$40,000 for a few lines of text against a black background?That's precisely what buyers of Loot - the latest NFT to capture the attention of the entire crypto space - are doing.I'm joined by early Loot adopters and crypto investors Jon Kol (@thePalenimbus) and Angie Dalton (@Daltonan).We discuss:Loot's origins and ties to MMORPG games"Meta-games": the new wave of crypto gaming?Will gaming studios contribute to open source games?What's next for Loot------------- Sponsors -------------PARASWAP is the best place to trade your tokens and get the best price in DeFi today. Get started on paraswap.io/blockcrunchSOLANA: The Solana ecosystem is growing at a rapid pace and it's a great place to build your project or get involved with the community. Go to solana.com/blockcrunch to learn more!------------- Disclosures -------------Musical credits: Underground Stars by Loxbeats https://spoti.fi/34tPBBO Creative Commons '" Attribution 3.0 Unported '" CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/underground-stars Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/vpJDMD2EzkA Disclaimer: Jason Choi is a General Partner at Spartan Capital, a subsidiary of The Spartan Group. All opinions expressed by Jason and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of The Spartan Group and any of its subsidiaries

As El Salvador announces Bitcoin as legal tender, and the world looks on in wonder at this amazing example of progress, we host a fascinating roundtable conversation on the important aspects of this news. CK, Aaron Van Wirdum, Alex Gladstein, Mike Peterson, Romero Martinez, and several others talk about the rollout, the public reception, Bukele's role, and first impressions of the Chivo Wallet. The conversation also covers some of the background leading up to this momentous time, and a few surprising experiences from our panel, including the ability to pay for a breakfast at McDonald's already! We look at challenges to wider adoption and acceptance of Bitcoin as the main currency, how integration will work with regard to enterprise business, and how the infrastructure and power grid of the country might be able to support Bitcoin mining as it scales. So, to get the latest on these hugely important shifts, and how a small country is leading the charge for the rest of the world to follow, make sure to tune in!

Hosts: Christian Keroles and Ansel LindnerIn this episode of Bitcoin Magazine's 'œFed Watch' podcast, we respond to Chairman Powell's comments at Jackson Hole on 27 August. We listen to several important sound bites and discuss it along the way. Powell was expected to announce a Fed taper, where they begin to shrink their monthly purchase of securities in QE.We have often said that Powell is somewhat of a straight shooter relative to other central banks of the past and present. We also are hesitant to ever agree with a Federal Reserve Chairman, but in this case, we find many points to agree on.Bitcoin is beginning to naturally fit into every discussion on central banks and the international financial system. We touch on bitcoin throughout this episode.

In this week's episode, the tit is moving (again) so Ruben Bryan and Colin walk through the finer points why DeFi insurance DAOs also need insurance, we give another toot to El Sal legal tender law, Tips on Twitter, and, finally, an analysis of the first live Dapp on Cardano testnet! Look out!From CoinTelegraph, In a candid open letter, the lead contributor of Cover and Ruler Protocol, 'œDeFi Ted,' announced the protocol will close its virtual doors in the near future, citing a mass developer exit as the primary reason for the project's conclusion. Launched earlier this year, the Ethereum-based decentralized finance (DeFi) insurance marketplace enabled users to stake Cover tokens as collateral and receive insurance payouts if their assets in other DeFi protocols are hacked or rug-pulled. In December 2020, the Cover protocol suffered a catastrophic exploit when a hacker minted 40 quintillion tokens, stratospherically increasing the token supply and effectively rendering the project valueless, a hypothesis confirmed with the consequential 97% price plummet. in a drastic turn of events becoming more commonplace in the market, the hacker consciously returned the funds, and attached the stern message, 'œNext time, take care of your own shit.' Despite the compassionate return of funds, serious damage was inflicted on the protocol both in terms of tokenomics value and cultural reputability.From FastCompany.com, On Sept. 7, 2021, El Salvador will become the first country to make bitcoin legal tender. The government even went a step further in promoting the cryptocurrency's use by giving $30 in free bitcoins to citizens who sign up for its national digital wallet, known as Chivo, or 'œcool' in English. Foreigners who invest three bitcoins in the country'"currently about $140,000'"will be granted residency. Legal tender refers to money'"typically coins and banknotes'"that must be accepted if offered in payment of a debt. The front of every U.S. banknote states, 'œThis note is legal tender for all debts public and private.' This statement has been enshrined in federal law in various forms since the late 1800s.In celebration of the El Sal law, a grassroots twitter effort has started to gain momentum for a market buy of $30 per person. From Michael Saylor, 'œOn September 7, El Salvador will officially begin using #Bitcoin as its national currency alongside the U.S. dollar. Every cyber hornet I know is planning to buy $30 in BTC tomorrow in solidarity with the people of #ElSalvador and their leader @nayibbukele. Will you join us?Twitter is now testing the ability to tip users in Bitcoin through Jack Maller's lightning network app Strike, according to The Block and a post on MacRumors. According to The Block, the new lightning service will be Strike enabled and also support Square's forthcoming hardware wallet. The company also lists Blue Wallet and Wallet of Satoshi as examples of custodial wallets and Breez, Muun, Phoenix and Zap as examples of non-custodial wallets. Twitter will also use Strike to produce Bitcoin invoices. For now, Twitter users will need a Strike account to receive tips in Bitcoin. "We use Strike to generate Bitcoin Lightning invoices so you'll need to connect your account to accept Bitcoin tips,' the instructions read. The Bitcoin developments at Twitter follow through with promises by CEO Jack Dorsey made in July. It was implied then that Bitcoin would be enabled in the Tip Jar service. He suggested also that BitcoinFrom @Sassal0X on twitter, The first dapp went live on Cardano today and ADA fanboys are finally discovering that you can't peer review your way out of fundamental issues. From the r/Cardano reddit, 'œLooks good, but when i try to swap things, all im getting is 'œTransaction Fail: UTXOs are being used this block. Please wait 20-40 seconds and try again' Reply : Unfortunately, and I hate to say it because it might be a bit painful, critic have been discussing this for years trying to understand how in the world Cardano is going to implement smart contracts with a UTXO model (which effectively means an app like Uniswap can only handle one TX per block). They've yet to an answer to this question. ' People need to ask such stuff to Charles on his YouTube AMA streams, rather than his thoughts on Afghanistan or something. Reply: They did and he laughed it off. Said people should learn more about eUTXO and it's a non-issue. --- Reply from @LarsBrunjes, the 'œDirector of Education at @InputOutputHK' and PhD in Pure Mathematics 'œYou are right, this is an issue. But our scientists are already thinking of 'œconcurrent state machines' that can address this.The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the startup behind one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, as regulators probe further into parts of the digital-asset market that have resisted oversight, according to people familiar with the matter. Regulators are examining Uniswap Labs, the main developer of the world's largest decentralized exchange, called Uniswap, the people said. Enforcement attorneys are seeking information about how investors use Uniswap and how it is marketed, the people said. A spokesman for Uniswap Labs said the company is 'œcommitted to complying with the laws and regulations governing our industry and to providing information to regulators that will assist them with any inquiry.' An SEC spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the agency doesn't confirm or deny investigations. The developers often say they no longer control the protocols, which could diminish their liability under securities laws. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has said DeFi projects aren't immune from regulatory scrutiny. They may still be controlled by developers or middlemen that benefit from incentives such as trading fees and digital tokens that give holders governance rights over the program, he has said. '" https://archive.is/ewYN

Today CK sits down with Jose Lemus, the founder of IBEX Mercado, to talk about the exciting developments in the El Salvadorian Bitcoin space! At the time of this recording, Bitcoin is about to be announced as legal tender in the country, and so by the time you listen to this conversation, that will be official! While this is exciting news for El Salvador, its people, and future, there is still some way to go before Bitcoin and the Lightning Network will be able to truly spread in the country and impact its economy on a massive scale. Jose shares some of his insider perspectives on the El Salvadorian situation and we talk about some of the potential hurdles, Bitcoin's scalability, the vision for IBEX, and the forthcoming months following the big announcement about Bitcoin becoming legal tender. Jose is dedicated and passionate about the spread of this technology and his long-term perspective and big picture mentality are hugely inspiring. For all this, be sure to listen in with us today!

Bitcoin can be a daunting thing to learn about. It involves the study of several different fields, from computer science to economics. At Bitcoin Magazine, we always hope to be able to educate our readers on the basics of Bitcoin. We offer a guides section, and have a large selection of books in our store. One of my parts about the magazine are contributor articles designed to simplify complex ideas. Nameless, one of our contributors here at the magazine, has sent in several of these articles, including 'œA Gentle Introduction To The Lightning Network,' 'œSo, What Are Bitcoin Miners Actually Doing?' and 'œAn Overview Of Bitcoin's Cryptography.' All of these articles are extremely high quality, and they take some of the more difficult to grasp subjects in Bitcoin and simplify them for the reader.

'œFarzan and her family traveled by foot, car and train thousands of miles through Iran and Turkey, finally making it to Germany in 2017. Along the way, dishonest middlemen and common thieves stole everything they brought with them, including their jewelry and cash. At one point, their boat crashed, and more belongings sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean. It's a tragic story familiar to so many refugees. But in this case, something was different. Through it all, Farzan was able to keep her bitcoin, because she hid the seed to her Bitcoin wallet on a piece of tiny, innocuous-looking paper. Thieves could not take what they could not find.' - Alex GladsteinYou don't want to miss another excellent piece in the incredible ongoing works by Alex Gladstein. Thanks to Bitcoin Magazine for this incredible work and continuing to put out so much incredible stuff for the Bitcoin space!Check out the article below for links to dig further and a huge collection of other excellent works at Bitcoin Magazine:https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/bitcoin-financial-freedom-in-afghanistanHuge thanks to the amazing Bitcoin Magazine & LTBNetwork for the incredible content they produce in the Bitcoin space!Don't forget to check out our awesome sponsors!5% off the BitBox02 with code "GUY," your bank grade digital vault for your Bitcoin keys from Shiftcrypto.chAnd secure your Bitcoin future by starting your automatic savings plan at SwanBitcoin.com/guy

On this episode of the Unhashed Podcast, we talk Coinbase 2FA slipups, the normalization of Ethereum consensus failures, anti-bitcoin protests in El Salvador, and IMF & CCP critiques of bitcoin. Lastly, we encourage Colin to stop farting on people on planes.Customers of leading United States crypto exchange Coinbase have spent the weekend panicking after the exchange mistakenly sent emails to users stating that their two-factor authentication (2FA) settings had been changed. On Friday, Coinbase accidentally sent the email to 125,000 of its customers, resulting in widespread public backlash. Coinbase took to Twitter on Sunday to apologize for the mishap, stating, 'œWe're laser-focused on building trust and security into the crypto community so that the open financial system we all want is a reality. We recognize that issues like this can hurt that trust.' Despite Coinbase's apology, many of its users reported taking significant measures in response to the email while fearing that their accounts were being targeted by hackers, including overhauling security settings and liquidating their crypto holdings. Comments on the exchange's social media also suggest that numerous customers were unable to access the Coinbase app for several days after the incident. 'œWe will continue to work to gain back the trust of every one of our customers who was impacted by those notifications,' Coinbase added. The firm also announced it is reimbursing users with $100 worth of Bitcoin (BTC). '" https://cointelegraph.com/news/users-panic-after-coinbase-mistakenly-sends-2fa-reset-notices-to-customersEthereum experienced a chain split due a number of network validators, also called nodes, failing to upgrade their software. On Aug. 24, the developer team behind the popular Ethereum software client Geth released an emergency hotfix to a security vulnerability in its code that would have prevented certain users from producing blocks. The Go Ethereum team had disclosed a vulnerability on Aug. 18, saying they would release a patch, but did not specify the exact nature of the vulnerability in an effort to prevent an attack: 'œThe exact attack vector will be provided at a later date to give node operators and dependent downstream projects time to update their nodes and software,' wrote Ethereum team lead Pƒter Szilƒgyi in Aug. 24 GitHub patch notes. However, it would seem some users identified the exploit that was hotfixed by the Geth team and are currently exploiting older versions of the Geth software. Though the Geth team emphasized that all users should upgrade their software immediately, only about 30% of users upgraded to the latest version, according to data from ethernodes.org. As background, Geth is the most relied-upon software to connect to the Ethereum blockchain, being run by roughly 75% of the users. This is not the first time Ethereum has experienced a chain split due to users running outdated versions of Geth. In November, the Ethereum network saw a similar disturbance after users failed to upgrade to the latest Geth release, version 1.10.X. At the time, Geth developers said the event was due to a lack of communication about the urgency of the upgrade. '" https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2021/08/27/ethereum-faces-chain-split-as-node-operators-fail-to-update-geth-hotfix/Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of El Salvador to raise their voices against President Nayib Bukele's decision to make Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) legal tender. What Happened: On Sept 7, Bukele will introduce the much-debated Bitcoin Law in the country. According to the text of this Law, all economic agents must accept Bitcoin along with the dollar as a means of payment. Bukele says that the Bitcoin Law will benefit the people and save close to $400 million in remittance commissions. In addition, it will guarantee instant and more secure financial transactions. But the people of El Salvador are not entirely convinced with it. Hundreds of protesters, including workers, veterans, and pensioners, marched through San Salvador to voice their concerns about the use of cryptocurrency. They are worried that with the law, they will be paid in crypto for their pensions and welfare instead of the US dollar. There is also a concern that people don't understand the technology needed to use crypto-currency. "We know this coin fluctuates drastically. Its value changes from one second to another, and we will have no control over it," Stanley Quinteros, a member of the Supreme Court of Justice's workers' union, told Reuters. Protesters are wary that the introduction of Bitcoin may encourage corruption which is already seen within its borders. However, as per the law, it does not mean that everyone has to conduct their transactions in the cryptocurrency.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) heavily criticized El Salvador's decision to adopt Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) as a legal tender. Alongside a blog post published on Sunday, the IMF tweeted that the risk of "privately issued crypto assets like Bitcoin" makes it so that "making them equivalent to a national currency is an inadvisable shortcut." In its blog post, the IMF admits that digital assets "have the potential to provide cheaper and faster payments, enhance financial inclusion, improve resilience and competition among payment providers, and facilitate cross-border transfers." Still, the institution points out that creating the "requires significant investment as well as difficult policy choices." For this reason, the IMF considers adopting Bitcoin to be a shortcut on El Salvador's part: it adopted a preexistent system instead of creating a custom-made one. The institution admits that many cryptos are secure, easy to access, and cheap to transact but claims that "in most cases risks and costs outweigh potential benefits." For instance, the post claims that crypto's "value is just too volatile and unrelated to the real economy." The IMF also warned that the widespread adoption of a crypto asset such as Bitcoin could hurt macroeconomic stability. The regulator claims that "if goods and services were priced in both a real currency and a crypto asset, households and businesses would spend significant time and resources choosing which money to hold as opposed to engaging in productive activities." Furthermore, adopting crypto exposes exchange rate risk if taxes were quoted in advance in it, while expenditures remained mostly priced in fiat currency or the reverse. Lastly, the IMF raises concern that Bitcoin mining consumes "an enormous amount of electricity" and consequently, "the ecological implications of adopting these crypto assets as a national currency could be dire."This week, the People's Bank of China said Bitcoin has no value. Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies "are not legal tenders and have no actual value support," Deputy Director of the Financial Consumer Rights Protection Bureau of the People's Bank of China, Yin Youping, said in the local Chinese language press on August 27. And China is not the only one. On August 13, Russia's Central Bank called it a 'œtechnological financial pyramid scheme.' First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, Sergey Shvetsov, likened buying Bitcoin to "entering a minefield" and said the local stock exchange should not list any companies that trade in Bitcoin (think the local version of Coinbase). UK central bankers said the same a month earlier, on July 18, when the Bank of England's FinTech Director, Tom Mutton, said 'œBitcoin, given its performance shortcomings and energy inefficiency, is in no way a relevant comparison for the sort of technology we might use in a central bank digital currency,' Coindesk reported him saying. And also...the US - On July 16, Jerome Powell said during testimony to Congress that the Fed's ongoing research into a digital dollar would probably just render Bitcoin obsolete. 'œYou wouldn't need stablecoins, you wouldn't need cryptocurrencies, if you had a digital dollar,' he said. And finally, Japan in late May, Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Bitcoin was basically a casino chip used for highly speculative gambling - 'œNo one really uses Bitcoin as a means of settlement.'Market Rebellion '" $DOGE accounted for 17% of Robinhood's transactional revenue in Q2 '" https://twitter.com/MarketRebels/status/1428177769855336449Tascha '" If you make a NFT of a real diamond, and the diamond itself gets destroyed in a fire tomorrow, you still have the same asset. Because the token still exists and is in limited supply just as before. Nothing has changed. What NFT is doing to the concept of asset, few understand. '" https://twitter.com/RealNatashaChe/status/1429576700346748938Mikeinspace '" Ethereum has been engineered to thrive in a permissive regulatory environment while Bitcoin has been engineered to thrive in a restrictive regulatory environment. So the "big bet" on the future of crypto hinges on one's perspective on the future of the regulatory environment. '" https://twitter.com/mikeinspace/status/1429986344487591940a void (leaks) '" Wow. Craig Wright is paying for his litigation by taking out a loan against the 'œTulip Trust' coins, to be paid back to Calvin Ayre. Coins for which Craig has testified (and his lawyer confirmed) he does not have the private keys. '" https://twitter.com/Tak_Horigoshi/status/142985715743289344

My guests today are Vitus Zeller and Richard Taylor my team mates at Team Satoshi, a decentralized sports team. We're talking about the interconnections between Bitcoin and sports and how you can participate in this movement.Introduction Vitus and Richard What is Bitcoin for you? Why are you active in the Bitcoin space? What is Team Satoshi and its goal Bitcoin and sports - where is the connection How do you stay healthy? Mental fitness First adventure of Vitus, Satoshi Freeathlon Road to BitcoinIcebathingShownotes on the episode page

After a special guest runs into an unexpected event, Colin Bryan and Mario are left wondering what they should talk about. It's a good thing Bitcoin is never boring. In this weeks UNSCRIPTED episode, we let Mario shill all his bags, including Blockstream's $3.2B valuation, Ledn's Proof of reserves, Coinbase's new phone support line and how a drug dealer got his BTC back from Swedish authorities using this one weird trick.Discussion on Blockstream $3.2 B valuation, going to start miningDiscussion on Ledn Proof of reserveCoinbase has announced a new support phone line for customers who believe their account has been compromised by outside actors. Users will be able to speak to a live support agent, who can kick off an investigation immediately. In an industry where support tickets and emails are the standard method of communication, Coinbase expects that this implementation could help users save valuable time when dealing with this type of crisis.Man bites dog, crypto edition The Swedish government has been forced to return over $1.5 million in bitcoin to a drug dealer after its value surged while he was in custody. Authorities in Sweden seized 36 BTC from the drug dealer, worth just under $150,000 at the time of his prosecution two years ago, according to a report Friday by U.K. newspaper The Telegraph. By the time the Swedish Enforcement Authority came to auction off the bitcoin, its value had appreciated to the extent that only three needed to be sold for the original value to be recouped. The authority must now return the remaining 33 bitcoin to the drug dealer, which prosecutor Tove Kullberg has described as 'œunfortunate.

Austrian economics is a very common topic of discussion and study within the bitcoin community. Being the base economic theory upon which we find bitcoin resting, it makes sense that understanding this would be a primary lead for someone to get into bitcoin. Josef T„'tek, one of our regular contributors here at Bitcoin Magazine, is an example of this. T„'tek has written some fantastic articles for us, including 'œYour Financial Data Is Not Private, Bitcoin Can Fix That,' 'œHere's Why Bitcoin Will Rejuvenate Your Hope In Life,' and 'œBitcoin Is The Sustainable Money Europe Deserves.' Bullish on both bitcoin and on life, T„'tek maintains an optimistic outlook that bears witness to the good bitcoin is capable of doing. In our interview, we discussed how his foundations in Austrian economics lead him to Bitcoin, and how the reverse is often true of bitcoiners. We then discussed how Bitcoin has impacted his life, both in personal preferences and in his career. We touched on what he believes is the most important part of people's bitcoin education '" in his opinion, an understanding of fiat. Finally, we discussed what he is looking forward to in the space, and his bullish price thoughts. He said, 'œin the short term, we are usually too optimistic. In the long term, we are too pessimistic."Check out the podcast above and be sure to read our written interview.

Fiat cash, aka government-issued currency, may be singing its swan song. The good news? Bitcoin and free markets have the potential to help people claim back their sovereignty. Chris Gimmer joins us on the show to talk about why the state of markets is so dismal, how government intervention has played a major role in this demise, and why Bitcoin is the way forward through the mess. Chris is the Co-founder of Snappa, a top-of-the-range design and templating SaaS product, as well as the creator of the bitcoin dashboard, Bitbo.io. In this episode, Chris dives into how we can transition from a fiat frame of mind into a Bitcoin-centered system. Discussing how Snappa is using BTC as their reserve asset, we hear first hand how this has enabled them to weather the economic downtown caused by COVID-19. In an ever-evolving global situation, Chris shares about why he's moving from Canada to the U.S., and how using a divisible, portable currency allows both brands and individuals to break out of the limitations provided by fiat currency, despite their geographical location. Tune in as we explore why we should be considering a bigger, future-oriented picture by investing in BTC.

Understanding bitcoin can change your life. Once you do understand it, your entire system for evaluating what is worthy of your time, money and effort is also changed. I discussed this idea and more with The Bitcoin Conference's latest addition to the team, Brad, on Twitter as @Chad_Capital. He and I discussed how he first heard about Bitcoin, which was a result of the infectious excitement many feel about Bitcoin once they understand it.In addition to this, we discussed the power of memes and how they, through humor, convey commonly understood ideas of the absurdity of the fiat world we live in.We finally finish off with what he is looking forward to in the bitcoin space, including a shoutout for Bitcoin 2022, and his final bullish price prediction.

Location: RemotelyDate: Tuesday, 30th MarchCompany: SupportAssange.wauland.deRole: N/AA world where the people are afraid to hold institutions and governments accountable for their actions is a dystopian reality. Julian Assange founded Wikileaks in 2006 to defend against injustices, hypocrisy, and tyranny; he published the truth. And for these actions, he has spent ten years fighting for his freedom.Today is a call to action for everyone aligned with Bitcoin, freedom of speech, freedom of press, censorship-resistance, and justice. Take the time and donate to the defence of Julian Assange.In this special episode, I talk to Julian Assange's father and brother, John and Gabriel Shipton. My friend Janine also joins us to discuss the plague of malice regarding Julian's case, his alignment with the Bitcoin ethos, and how you can support his defence.

Location: RemotelyDate: Wednesday 31st MarchCompany: GeminiRole: Co-FoundersEarlier this year, bitcoin hit a significant milestone when the market capitalisation (the price of the entire current supply) hit $1trillion for the first time. As Cameron Winklevoss said, "from white paper to $1 trillion, bitcoin is eating gold alive."Cameron and Tyler expect this trend to continue. With bitcoin as digital 'gold 2.0' that is more scarce, transferable and a better store of value than gold, it is just a matter of time until it eclipses gold's $10 trillion market cap.To welcome the show's newest sponsor, I talk with Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini's co-founders. We discuss their case for $10 trillion bitcoin, sponsoring devs, proof of reserves and whether governments will ban bitcoin.

Tranchess (@tranchess) is a new structured DeFi product offering a fixed income and Bitcoin exposure to users.Within one week of its launch, Tranchess has attracted $500M of capital in the protocol. I invited Tranchess co-founder, Danny Chong, to discuss the tranche product landscape, who are the next big wave of users in DeFi, and the challenges of creating sustainable protocol incentives.Host: Jason Choi (@MrJasonChoi). This show is not financial advice; show host and guest may hold some of the assets discussed.------------- Sponsors -------------PARASWAP is the best place to trade your tokens and get the best price in DeFi today. Get started on paraswap.io/blockcrunchSOLANA: The Solana ecosystem is growing at a rapid pace and it's a great place to build your project or get involved with the community. Go to solana.com/blockcrunch to learn more!------------- Disclosures -------------Musical credits: Underground Stars by Loxbeats https://spoti.fi/34tPBBO Creative Commons '" Attribution 3.0 Unported '" CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/underground-stars Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/vpJDMD2EzkA Disclaimer: Jason Choi is a General Partner at Spartan Capital, a subsidiary of The Spartan Group. All opinions expressed by Jason and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of The Spartan Group and any of its subsidia

'œThis technology goes around blockades and government restrictions, it allows you to move value without trusting anyone, it connects you to the world, and it allows you to empower yourself and do things that are otherwise impossible,' he said. 'œIt has created hope for those who want change.'Today Alex Galdstein takes us on another Bitcoin journey around the world, this time to Cuba. A communist regime where dissent is illegal, where 70% of the value of the currency is stolen by the government in the official conversion, & where the chance to accumulate wealth and engage in trade is a privilege for the few. With Bitcoin and internet finding their way to this lost country, a chance for a better future may be on the horizon. Don't miss another incredible piece from Gladstein & Bitcoin Magazine.Check out the original at Bitcoin Magazine, plus the other amazing works recently published over there at the link below:https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/cubas-bitcoin-revolutionA huge thanks to Bitcoin Magazine, the LTBNetwork, and our below sponsors! Don't forget to check them out.' 5% off the BitBox02 with code "GUY," your bank grade digital vault for your Bitcoin keys from Shiftcrypto.ch' And secure your Bitcoin future by starting your automatic savings plan at SwanBitcoin.com/guy

For months now, we've been teasing co-host Josh's super-secret blockchain project, and now all will be revealed...introducing THE STANDARD. The newest endeavor by the minds behind Vaultoro, The Standard is a new DeFi system that aims to bring together the best of digital and physical, backed currency -- a literal new gold standard for the world of cryptocurrency. Their platform will allow users access to the same features they've come to expect from DeFi, but with the added bonus of being able to use precious metals as a collateral option, all with the goal of demonstrating a practical solution to the problem of inflation. Founders Joshua Scigala and Laurin Bylica join the program today to talk about the origins of the project, when it will be live, and why the portability of cryptocurrency is so important in these days full of tumultuous world events.SIGN UP FOR EARLY ACCESS: https://thestandard.io/sign-up/?referral=7oX7D72&refSource=copyAbout the Guests:Joshua Scigala is an award-winning entrepreneur who has co-founded several technology startups including Vaultoro, SwapStyle and many more. Joshua is one of the first advocates of distributed ledger technologies and has become a leader in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency space. Joshua has experience with managing large technological teams successfully and has been a pioneer in the sharing economy since 2001.Laurin Bylica is an entrepreneur, fintech visionary, management consultant and senior associate for a corporate VC & family office in Hong Kong. Laurin has an outstanding track record of driving tech projects from start to finish, including the world's largest crypto sale which raised over US$4.2 billion.More Info:Tatiana Moroz '“https://tatianamoroz.comCrypto Media Hub '“https://cryptomediahub.comThe Standard - https://thestandard.ioFriends and Sponsors of the Show:Proof of Love '“https://proofoflovecast.comGlobal Crypto Advisors '“https://globalcryptoadvisors.ioYou have been listening to The Tatiana Show. This show may contain adult content, language, and humor and is intended for mature audiences. If that's not you, please stop listening. Nothing you hear on The Tatiana Show is intended as financial advice, legal advice, or really, anything other than entertainment. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Oh, and if you're hearing us on an affiliate network, the ideas and views expressed on this show are not necessarily those of the network you are listening on, or of any sponsors or any affiliate products you may hear about on the show.

Despite the multitude of opinions on Bitcoin and its future, the reality is that we are at a huge inflection point in history. Our guest today, Seb Bunney, explains why the decentralization of the economy presents us with an exceptional opportunity to build equality and escape this economic modern-day slavery perpetuated by banks and the government. Seb is a contributor to Bitcoin Magazine, and today we will be focusing on his most recent article titled, 'The Truth Behind Bitcoin's Opposition,' which peels back the curtain to reveal who is at risk of loss in the wake of Bitcoin's growth, and the efforts being made to try to halt it. Seb brings an infectious passion for Bitcoin into the way he educates the public on this vital topic. In our conversation, we cover the skewed view and approach of the Federal Reserve System, what exactly is broken in the current system, how counterterrorism has been used as an excuse to protect the dollar, and a lot more that you definitely don't want to miss. Expect to come away with an excellent gateway into why Bitcoin might be a threat to the US dollar, plus some useful avenues for further exploration.

Location: RemotelyDate: Friday 26th, MarchCompany: lynalden.comRole: MacroeconomistThis month we have seen the markets signal an expected increase in inflation; while bond prices are a good indicator, Lyn Alden explains that just looking at bonds or the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does not tell the whole story. Price changes can vary wildly in services, commodities, and especially asset prices, but inflation affects different people in different ways.Outside of inflation, Bitcoiners have been looking closely at the Grayscale Trust (GBTC) recently and specifically the premium. I asked Lyn why people would pay less (or more) than the market price of Bitcoin for shares of GBTC. There are several reasons that GBTC is down recently, one of which is the potential approval of a Bitcoin ETF. Canada recently approved a Bitcoin ETF, with significant demand. An ETF in the United States is still being held up by regulators, despite increasing applications from institutions like Fidelity. But the rumour is one is right around the corner, and it would likely have significantly more demand than Canada's. In this interview, I talk to Lyn Alden, a macroeconomist and Lyn Alden Investment Strategy founder. We discuss bond yields, the effects of the rising inflation rate, the GBTC premium, and potential Bitcoin ETFs.

On this episode of the Unhashed Podcast, we talk with special guest Steve Barbour of Upstream Data Inc. We learn about bitcoin mining, oil and gas wells, using stranded power, ASIC efficiency, heat re-usage, and more.

In this episode of the 'œBitcoin Bottomline,' hosts Steven McClurg and C.J. Wilson discussed how to alter your portfolio allocation based on inflation, what the infrastructure bill means for Bitcoin and how legislative involvement plays a part in the Bitcoin space. This episode dove into the details of the proposed U.S. infrastructure bill, including providing perspective on the terminology in the bill. McClurg explained the term 'œbroker' and how the definition of the word in the new infrastructure bill differs from that of a crypto broker, using the example of a real estate broker. McClurg explained how bitcoin falls under the same rules as real estate, since it's considered by the IRS to be property and not currently viewed as a security by the U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission. He went on to say that in terms of the new bill, bitcoin 'œshould be an exemption, and I think it will be.' They later discussed Wilson's meeting with Senator Ted Cruz and his interest in Bitcoin, which was made possible by the actions that Bitcoiners have taken in outreach to political representatives to publicly speak on the matter.Inflation is on the rise, and McClurg gave some advice to listeners: 'œIt doesn't make sense to own bonds anymore,' he said. 'œOwning property, bitcoin, real estate, art, or any other kind of hard asset, those are the only things that can protect you from inflation that's coming.'Wilson touched on the 'œfreedom' and 'œfuture' aspects of Bitcoin. 'œWhatever you have in your bitcoin holdings today could potentially be a down payment for a house in the future,' he said.Wilson and McClurg closed out the episode with a conversation about how inflation might be worse than we thought. 'œYou're seeing people gobbling up all these hard assets that are saying '˜this is a special thing because it's unique.,' Wilson stated. McClurg shared another perspective, explaining how 'œnot everyone has the ability to plow into hard assets to protect themselves.' This begs the question: With the prices of houses and cars exponentially increasing, while wages stay relatively the same, how will the average American, living paycheck to paycheck, retire? Follow us on social media: Twitter: @bitcoin_pod Youtube: Bitcoin Bottom Line Instagram: @bitcoinbottomlineFollow our hosts: Steven McClurg: @stevenmcclurg C.J. Wilson: @str8edgeracerDISCLOSURE: The opinions presented herein are solely of the individual and not necessarily representative of Valkyrie Investments Inc. and their affiliates. There is no guarantee that any specific outcome will be achieved. Investments may be speculative, illiquid and there is a risk of total loss of your investment. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

It is often difficult for people to get into Bitcoin without already being primed to align with one of Bitcoin's strange attributes. Parker Lewis described Bitcoins strangeness as 'œbeing counterintuitive, and then hyper-intuitive' after one puts in enough work to understand it. Like many Bitcoiners, Kit Stanwood needed to hear about Bitcoin a couple of times before it clicked. But once it did click, it became hyper-intuitive and she dove right in! Stanwood is now the social media manager for Bitcoin Magazine and a savage Bitcoiner roaming the U.S. getting paid to blog.Stanwood is bullish on Bitcoin and thinks that it has made her into a more effective, committed and successful person. She is an outside-of-the-box thinker and really relates to the Bitcoin enthusiasts that she has met since beginning her orange pill journey. Stanwood loves the Bitcoin community and how the Bitcoin enthusiasts. known as the 'œplebs,' speak and fight for the truth. Please enjoy this wide ranging conversation about bitcoin with Kit Stanwood. Follow Kit on Twitter @kit_sats

Location: RemotelyDate: Thursday 25th MarchCompany: HypersheetRole: Co-FounderIn the first two weeks of March, the bitcoin price bounced from around $45k to a new all-time high and local top of $62k. The price then dropped significantly, with many blaming CryptoQuant for the sell-off after posting a message in their Telegram group saying, "18,961 #BTC ($1,145,210,023) aggregated inflow to #Gemini: be careful downside risk from whale dumping" just moments before the price began to crash.While the data was accurate and someone moved a large amount of bitcoin into a Gemini wallet, it was misleading. The move was from BlockFi into Gemini's custodial wallets.But during these dumps, who are the buyers? Willy thinks the people buying the dip are 'Rick Astleys'; HODLer's of last resort who 'never give up, or desert bitcoin'.In this episode, I talk to on-chain analyst and the co-founder of Hypersheet; Willy Woo. We discuss the drop from $62k, Cryptoquant's analysis, the "Rick Astleys" buying the dip and how to catch the top of the market.

I'm excited to be joined by my friend Calvin Chu (@calchulus), former core team at Binance. At Binance, Calvin helmed initiatives such as Launchpad, and is now leveraging his experience to start IMPOSSIBLE FINANCE, a decentralized incubator for new crypto projects.We discuss what it takes to launch a successful token, regulatory compliance, and the landscape for decentralized launchpads.Host: Jason Choi (@MrJasonChoi). This show is not financial advice; show host and guest may hold some of the assets discussed.------------- Sponsors -------------PARASWAP is the best place to trade your tokens and get the best price in DeFi today. Get started on paraswap.io/blockcrunchSOLANA: The Solana ecosystem is growing at a rapid pace and it's a great place to build your project or get involved with the community. Go to solana.com/blockcrunch to learn more!------------- Disclosures -------------Musical credits: Underground Stars by Loxbeats https://spoti.fi/34tPBBO Creative Commons '" Attribution 3.0 Unported '" CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/underground-stars Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/vpJDMD2EzkA Disclaimer: Jason Choi is a General Partner at Spartan Capital, a subsidiary of The Spartan Group. All opinions expressed by Jason and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of The Spartan Group and any of its subsidia

Sjors is back!In this episode of The Van Wirdum Sjorsnado, hosts Aaron van Wirdum and Sjors Provoost discuss BOLT 12 (Basis of Lightning Technology 12), a newly proposed Lightning Network specification for 'œoffers', a type of 'œmeta invoices' designed by c-lightning developer Rusty Russell.Where coins on Bitcoin's base layer are sent to addresses, the Lightning network uses invoices. Invoices communicate the requested amount, node destination, and the hash of a secret which is used for payment routing. This works, but has a number of limitations, Sjors explains, notably that the amount must be bitcoin-denominated (as opposed for fiat denominated), and the invoice can only be used once.BOLT 12, which has been implemented in c-ligtning, is a way to essentially refer a payer to the node that is to be paid, in order to request a new invoice. While the BOLT 12 offer can be static and reusable '" it always refers to the same node '" the payee can generate new invoices on the fly when requested, allowing for much more flexibility, Sjors explains.Finally, Aaron and Sjors discuss how the new BOLT 12 messages are communicated over the Lightning Network through an update to the BOLT 7 specification for message relay.

Location: RemotelyDate: Thursday 25th MarchCompany: N/ARole: N/ABack in the fall, American HODL and I bet on the outcome of the US election, with Phil Geiger, from Unchained Capital as the arbiter. In this show, we got together to settle the bet.But so much has happened since we made the bet and I asked HODL to join us for a monthly bitcoin rehab show. Despite the massive gains bitcoin has made this last year, it feels like a wall of money is still to come. Money managers increasingly realize their jobs may be replaced by two words: 'œbuy bitcoin'. Top risk analysis teams at companies like iconic insurance firm MassMutual are hedging with massive allocations. The only real question is, who's next?While the price action has been bouncing around for the past few weeks, sometimes we perhaps lose perspective on how far we have come. Weak hands sell; strong hands accumulate.In this interview, I talk to American HODL and Phil Geiger. We discuss settlement of our Trump bet, rumours of the incoming institutional stampede, strong hands (and HODL yells at everyone).

On this episode of the Unhashed Podcast, we talk AMC accepting bitcoin, infrastructure bill shenanigans, Ee-lawn Musque's take on mining energy mix, how ETFs might or might not track the BTC price, half a billion dollars in a DeFi hack, and then finish off with some movie reviews.AMC Theaters will accept the cryptocurrency bitcoin for movie tickets and concessions in the U.S. by the end of 2021, according to CEO Adam Aron, who first made the announcement during an earnings call on Monday. The theater chain will also start accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay, but there are still plenty of important questions about AMC's bitcoin bet that haven't yet been answered. 'œI've had to learn more in the past six months about blockchain and cryptocurrency than I learned about it in the entire decade before that,' Aron told members of the conference call. 'œThis increased knowledge has given me the confidence to tell you all today that AMC is hereby formally announcing on this call that by year's end we will have the information technology systems in place to accept bitcoin,' Aron continued. Aron noted that all bitcoin purchases of movie tickets and concessions would need to happen online, leaving some question about whether customers would be able to change their purchases after they showed up to the theater.A compromise crypto amendment between senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), and the U.S. Treasury failed to make it into the final version of the infrastructure bill. Today in the Senate, Senator Toomey introduced a process known as Unanimous Consent, which required zero objections to pass a motion. Although support for the compromise agreement was widespread, it failed on the objection of Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), who objected with the request of including a $50 billion defense amendment to the bill. Then in a last-ditch effort Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked for Unanimous Consent on his own amendment, which would have stricken the crypto language from the bill altogether. However, Shelby objected for the same reasons. There had been optimism this morning when the bi-partisan group of senators, which had been promoting competing agreements over the past few days, that the '˜problematic' language from the original bill would be struck before a final vote. In particular, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OE), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Pat Toomey (R-PA), objected to vague language that would require any node or miner, as well as software developers, to be categorized as a '˜broker' and produce 1099s for crypto users. The compromise language would have exempted these entities to primarily focus on crypto exchanges, such as Coinbase. The failure comes on the back of widespread crypto industry rallying, including more than 40,000 calls reportedly made to Senators by the non-profit Fight for the future. With no more paths to alter the bill's language, the next step in the process is for the $1.2 trillion bill to be voted on in its entirety by the Senate, which could happen anytime. Given the bi-partisan nature of the bill, it is expected to pass. It must then be reconciled with a version produced by the 435 member House of Representatives before getting signed by President Biden and becoming law. Actual implementation of the law is expected in 2023.Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company will likely start accepting bitcoin for vehicle purchases again. 'œIt looks like bitcoin is shifting a lot more toward renewables and a bunch of the heavy-duty coal plants that were being used...have been shut down, especially in China,' said Musk on Wednesday at The B-Word conference, an event hosted by the Crypto Council for Innovation. 'œI want to do a little more due diligence to confirm that the percentage of renewable energy usage is most likely at or above 50% and that there is a trend toward increasing that number. If so, Tesla will most likely resume accepting bitcoin,' he said. In May, Musk said on Twitter that the company would suspend vehicle purchases using bitcoin out of concern over the 'œrapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining.' Since then, Beijing has cracked down on crypto, expelling the country's crypto miners, who have since begun to patriate elsewhere. New data from Cambridge University shows many miners are headed to the U.S., which is now the second-biggest destination for the world's bitcoin miners. The U.S. is home to some of the cheapest sources of power on the planet, which, more often than not, are renewable. Fred Thiel of Marathon Digital said most miners new to North America will be powered by renewables, or gas offset by renewable energy credits, and Compass CEO Whit Gibbs estimated that bitcoin mining in the U.S. is more than 50% powered by renewables. 'œLong-term, renewable energy will be the cheapest energy, but it doesn't just happen overnight,' Musk said. 'œBut as long as there is a conscious and determined, real effort by the mining community to move toward renewables, then obviously Tesla can support that.'French regulators have approved asset manager Melanion Capital to begin offering a bitcoin-tied exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the European Union. Though this asset does not have full correlation to the price of the world's number one cryptocurrency, its wide international market and 90%+ correlation marks major progress for investors' ability to gain bitcoin exposure. The struggle to create a legal, regulator-approved Bitcoin ETF has been a major ongoing development for years now. An ETF is a type of derivative that has its own value set to correspond with the value of some outside tangible or intangible asset, such as gold bullion or the growth in stocks of a specific private firm. The mechanisms of keeping this valuation on target can be a challenge, with slight fluctuations from the actual value to be expected, but complicated systems of arbitrage exist for most ETFs so that the asset managers can respond to changes in the financial world with speed and precision.Hackers allegedly breached blockchain-based platform Poly Network and extracted more than $600 million in cryptocurrencies on Tuesday, the company announced on Twitter, marking the biggest hack ever in the decentralized finance space that's heating up among investors. Crypto-exchange operators spoke out soon after the massive hack. Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance said in tweets that the company, which serves as the primary operator of the blockchain on which binance coins are built, will coordinate with its security partners and 'œdo as much as [it] can' to help. Meanwhile, Jay Hao, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange OKEx, said the company is "watching the flow of coins and will do [its] best to manage the situation." According to a series of tweets by Mudit Gupta, the contract with the funds on Ethereum was essentially controlled by a single key, so the "hack" may have been as simple as a custodian losing their key.

In this episode of Bitcoin Magazine's 'œFed Watch' podcast, hosts Christian Keroles and Ansel Lindner have a conversation about current Federal Reserve policy, headlines in the financial press, and rumors. Then we touch on PBoC and Evergrande problems in China. Lastly, the fun starts and we talk about the Infrastructure Bill and some hot takes about what to take away from it. It's one of our longest episodes and a must listen for contrarian bitcoiner opinions.

Payments on the internet have always been a weakness. An entire Frankenstein mash up of surveillance, credit card payments, walled garden ecosystems emerged as the way for the internet and internet companies to monetize. Freemium and ad driven models became the way that users were monetized but if you get something for free you are the product and in 2021 this is turning into a problem. Stephan Dodge and Ian Major, the co-founders of BYOD, think bitcoin can fix this. Host Christian Keroles sits down with these ambitious entrepreneurs to discuss how the emerging Bitcoin ecosystem and tech stack is enabling people to take the power back over their data and to even monetize it. BYOD is a solution built on top of Bitcoin and the Stack 2 blockchain to enable users to create advertising profiles and in a cryptographically secure and distributed manner host and sell access to their data. Dodge and Major believe that BYOD will create a better customer profile and a better experience for both advertisers and customers. Users will get paid out in Bitcoin and have more granular control than ever over how their data is used.Beyond just the application that BYOD is pioneering, Stephan and Ian both are incredibly excited about how well the bitcoin ecosystem and tech stack are developing. A few years ago it would not have been possible for them to build a solution like BYOD using Bitcoin in a way they deemed sufficiently decentralized. Today there are several avenues where this was possible including Stacks. Learn more about BYOD at BYOD.exchange

In this episode of Bitcoin Magazine's 'œMeet The Taco Plebs,' I sat down with Satoshi Sarah, a new addition to the Bitcoin Magazine team.Sarah is extremely passionate about bitcoin education, which is what she will be working on at the magazine. She believes in the freedom and sovereignty offered by bitcoin, and is fascinated by the diversity in the community.Like me, Sarah is a zoomer, and sees life through a lens only offered by the experiences zoomers have collectively gone through. With events like the 2008 stock market crash and the 2020 coronavirus being focal points in our (relatively) short lives, the necessity for sound money has become apparent.For Sarah, the best way to bring about hyperbitcoinization and all that entails is through education. But in order to have an infrastructure to educate people on, she believes that layered protocols built on top of Bitcoin are the key to mainstream adoption. She envisions a Bitcoin industry that utilizes these layers in order to overcome the all too often expressed FUD in regards to scalability.I entirely agree with her, and I personally see Lightning as a main example of this.

High fees on Ethereum is a persistent problem.Founders of Ethereum Gas Limit (EGL), Eleni (@EleniThinks) and Uri (@UriKlarman), join us in discussing:How miners control Ethereum's gas limit todayHow it affects network feesHow EGL coordinate gas limit effectivelyImplications with EIP 1559Host: Jason Choi (@MrJasonChoi). This show is not financial advice; show host and guest may hold some of the assets discussed.------------- Sponsors -------------PARASWAP is the best place to trade your tokens and get the best price in DeFi today. Get started on paraswap.io/blockcrunchSOLANA: The Solana ecosystem is growing at a rapid pace and it's a great place to build your project or get involved with the community. Go to solana.com/blockcrunch to learn more!------------- Disclosures -------------Musical credits: Underground Stars by Loxbeats https://spoti.fi/34tPBBO Creative Commons '" Attribution 3.0 Unported '" CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/underground-stars Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/vpJDMD2EzkA Disclaimer: Jason Choi is a General Partner at Spartan Capital, a subsidiary of The Spartan Group. All opinions expressed by Jason and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of The Spartan Group and any of its subsidia

On this episode of the Unhashed Podcast, Ruben and Mario go on some detours. We talk AA+AB twitter drama, who has and hasn't gotten arrested among our hosts and guests, and go on a rant or two about generational wealth before tackling the ancient philosophical query: is calling someone a "whale" an insult?Andreas Antonopoulous (AA) and Adam Back (AB) got into a little Twitter argument this week: AA: Free of dictators, institutions, third-party, intermediaries, and just overall bullshit. Learn the difference between Blockchains and Bullshit [video link] | AB: Don't forget the mastering book | AA: I never wrote a book about Liquid! | [AA deletes his post and hides AB's post] | AB: hey I didn't write the book in question. no need to get bendy, people expressed surprise at the time. just a subtle reminder... no need to get upset. '" https://twitter.com/adam3us/status/1420333121036328961Riccardo Spagni, the former maintainer of privacy coin monero, was arrested in Nashville, Tenn. on July 20 and will be extradited to South Africa to face fraud charges for crimes unrelated to crypto. Spagni, known online as 'œFluffypony,' is accused of stealing approximately $100,000 from his former employer, Cape Cookies, by generating false invoices from fictional entities and routing payment to his personal bank accounts between 2009-2011. Spagni was previously charged with fraud and related charges in a regional court in Cape Town, but pleaded not guilty and failed to appear in court. According to court documents, South African authorities could not find Spagni at his home address in South Africa. After speaking with Spagni's friends and family they learned Spagni had fled South Africa. South African police issued a warrant for Spagni's arrest in April. Spagni was arrested in Nashville when a private charter jet he was using for a trip from New York to Los Cabos, Mexico, stopped for fuel. Spagni is believed to have 'œsignificant cryptocurrency assets that would enable him to flee' as well as a 'œwatch valued at $800,000,' according to the warrant. '" https://www.coindesk.com/former-monero-maintainer-fluffypony-to-be-extradited-for-non-crypto-crimesTo what degree is 'œgenerational wealth' a sensible meme? As Unhashed superfan Paul Sztorc tweeted earlier today '˜A short lesson for the people mumbling on here about "generational wealth"', linking to a story about Geico's founders' heir having a rather sad relationship with his generational wealth. According to a Wedgewood Partners' Inc 'œThe Goodwin's had bequeathed their stock to their son Leo, Jr., who had margined the stock to the hilt. Tragically, after the stock crashed, he took his life.' '" https://twitter.com/neckarvalue/status/142223078313833677

Many Bitcoin enthusiasts tend to lean from a significantly libertarian perspective. Many take pride in routing around the government and relish in Bitcoin's ability to just opt out completely. Unfortunately for the Bitcoiners not interested in participating in politics, last week in the United States Infrastructure Bill emerged an existential crisis for Bitcoin and the more general crypto ecosystem. The bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, that is a hallmark part of the Biden Administration's first year in office, has a couple last minute pages added to it looking for 38 billion in tax revenue from redefining a broker in the crypto ecosystem. The wording was very wide ranging and unclear, many legal experts interpreted that the language could have put on onerous reporting requirements on any and all participants of the digital value ecosystem. Amanda Cavaleri, a Bitcoiner and COO of Pearl Snap Capital in Wyoming sits down with Christian to discuss how Bitcoiners can work together to make sure that Washington respects Bitcoin and the financial innovation it brings to the United States. According to Cavaleri, the Bitcoin cohort is larger than AARP and could soon command more wealth than AARP. The Bitcoin Voting Block has the potential to become the most powerful and influential single issue voting block in the country and all we need to do is organize. Cavaleri believes that Bitcoin is the foundation of privacy and property in the digital future and that we must stand up today to defend it. Amanda recently coauthored an excellent article in Bitcoin Magazine urging and educating Bitcoiner's on how to effectively communicate and advocate with lawmakers the benefits of Bitcoin. Follow Amanda on Twitter @Amanda_Cavaleri

Miami's own Erik Mendelson is a mover and shaker in many industries, but now he's tackling one of the hottest spheres in economics: US real estate. And if you're a crypto adopter or investor, he's got some excellent tips on how you can leverage the contents of your wallets to be able to make your next home purchase, even if your credit score is not quite up to par. From using your portfolio as collateral to getting loans using DeFi platforms like SmartFi, Erik talks about your options for getting into one of the hottest markets since the housing bust of '09. Plus, he gives his thoughts on why Florida's housing rules make it such a unique market for both good and ill, and some advice on how to avoid the looming eviction & foreclosure crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.About the Guests:Executive music producer and artist manager Erik Mendelson graduated on the Dean's List with a Bachelor's Degree from Rutgers University and is currently the CEO of Cre8tor.app (formerly RecordGram) & Tune Token.He believes blockchain technology and tokenized ecosystems are going to redefine the music industry by allowing for greater transparency between all of the stakeholders in the creation, discovery and distribution of music.Erik's vast range of tenured entertainment experience comes from stints at Interscope Records, Loud Records, Hot 97, Elektra Records and Jive Records serving in marketing and radio promotion roles for some of the biggest music superstars.In May 2017 Erik's company Cre8tor.app (formerly RecordGram) won the coveted TechCrunch Disrupt Cup which is the most prestigious prize for a startup technology company.During the same year, Erik and his Co-Founder was featured on Apple Music's original content series "Planet of the Apps" which included celebrity mentors Jessica Alba, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gary V and will.i.am.The multi-episode series received ten thousand applications but only 36 apps were selected for the show.Of those 36, only 15, including Cre8tor.app, received funding from globally recognized VC Lightspeed Venture Partners.Cre8tor also received additional funding from the New World Angels which is Florida's largest Angel investor group and Monique Mosley, a tenured music, film and advertising executive.Prior to receiving investment, Erik participated the Project Music accelerator in Nashville which was financially supported by some of the most influential record labels, music publishers and artist management companies.In 2006, Erik started Answerman Management signing his first artist MIMS to a 5 album deal with EMI/Capitol Records, serving as the Executive Producer for the album that grossed over $16 million.Additionally, Erik has signed 2 other clients to major recording deals generating over $18 million in revenue.He's also responsible for signing POP superstar Jason Derulo to his first production deal and assisted with procuring a publishing deal between Sony/ATV and the Grammy award winning production duo Da Internz.Furthermore, he has successfully implemented strategic and progressive marketing initiatives over his career and is a proven leader in developing new revenue streams for ongoing businesses in the entertainment industry.Erik's accomplishments range from negotiating multi million-dollar major recording and publishing deals to booking tours and negotiating licensing deals including a $9 million Microsoft campaign. Additionally, Erik regularly speaks on music industry panels discussing progressive marketing, promotion and advertising strategies. He's considered a pioneer in the digital music landscape helping to create Digiwaxx Media and has executive experience in dealing with content acquisition, contract negotiation and developing cross-functional relationships between internal and external departments including artists managers, booking agents, media personnel and advertising agencies.Erik has strategically aligned his clients and brands with targeted consumers thru the use of integrated marketing campaigns. All of his clients seek his expertise in guiding campaigns that go above and beyond traditional marketing, promotion and advertising techniques.Erik has won numerous technology awards and has received press in Techcrunch, Forbes, Inc, Billboard, NPR, Mass Appeal and many more.Erik is also a licensed Florida realtor and the founder of Crypto Currency Realtors.More Info:Tatiana Moroz '“https://tatianamoroz.comCrypto Media Hub '“https://cryptomediahub.comTuneToken - https://tunetoken.ioCrypto Currency Realtors - https://cryptocurrencyrealtors.comFriends and Sponsors of the Show:Proof of Love '“https://proofoflovecast.comGlobal Crypto Advisors '“https://globalcryptoadvisors.ioYou have been listening to The Tatiana Show. This show may contain adult content, language, and humor and is intended for mature audiences. If that's not you, please stop listening. Nothing you hear on The Tatiana Show is intended as financial advice, legal advice, or really, anything other than entertainment. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Oh, and if you're hearing us on an affiliate network, the ideas and views expressed on this show are not necessarily those of the network you are listening on, or of any sponsors or any affiliate products you may hear about on the show

Location: RemotelyDate: Tuesday 23rd MarchCompany: Block DigestRole: HostWith Bitcoin, if you don't control your private keys, you don't own your bitcoin. That means the first thing you should do once you have bought bitcoin is to move it to a wallet you control.Bitcoin wallets come in all shapes and sizes and offer different use cases depending on the amount of bitcoin you have and how you intend to use it:For smaller amounts of bitcoin, mobile and desktop wallets are convenient and often simple to use. However, by operating on your device, they are constantly connected to the internet and more vulnerable to attack.For more significant bitcoin holdings, hardware wallets separate your keys from an internet connection and offer a far greater level of security.Another option for securing large amounts of bitcoin is multi-signature wallets. A multi-signature wallet requires multiple keys to sign a transaction; this means you can geographically distribute these keys and have no single point of failure.In this interview, I talk to Shinobi, the host of Block Digest. We discuss the tradeoffs between different wallets, how wallets work, and how you should secure your bitcoin.

DeFiance Capital is one of the first hedge funds that champion "fundamentals investing" - focusing less on market structure and technical analysis, more on things such as protocol revenues and user growth when formulating their trades.Founder Arthur Cheong (Arthur0x) joins me in discussing:Finding conviction in bear marketsFinding valuation frameworks that matter in cryptoHow Arthur identifies successful projectsWhy DeFi is Arthur's primary focusHost: Jason Choi (@MrJasonChoi). This show is not financial advice; show host and guest may hold some of the assets discussed.------------- Sponsors -------------PARASWAP is the best place to trade your tokens and get the best price in DeFi today. Get started on paraswap.io/blockcrunchSOLANA: The Solana ecosystem is growing at a rapid pace and it's a great place to build your project or get involved with the community. Go to solana.com/blockcrunch to learn more!------------- Disclosures -------------Musical credits: Underground Stars by Loxbeats https://spoti.fi/34tPBBO Creative Commons '" Attribution 3.0 Unported '" CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/underground-stars Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/vpJDMD2EzkA Disclaimer: Jason Choi is a General Partner at Spartan Capital, a subsidiary of The Spartan Group. All opinions expressed by Jason and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of The Spartan Group and any of its subsidia

Aleks Svetski discussed his 'œIntelligent Guide To Bitcoin' and the misunderstandings about BTC that are often perpetuated.Many in the traditional financial space, government and academia have long dismissed Bitcoin as a silly toy for criminals and predicted that its price will go to zero. These predictions remain commonplace in the mainstream media to this day, despite the network's astounding growth and the currency blasting past $30,000 prices and making inroads across the global economy. Upon reading a recent example of these crypto dismissal articles from an Australian professor, titled the 'œDummies Guide To Crypto,' Aleks Svetski '" CEO of Bitcoin DCA app Amber and Bitcoin Magazine contributor '" felt that he needed to respond. Svetski agrees with the author of the 'œDummies Guide' that 'œcrypto' is trash and that there is very little substance to the general 'œcrypto' market. Aleks does however disagree that these assumptions are also true for Bitcoin. The reality is that Bitcoin is a very well thought out solution to a very important problem that has been plaguing humanity. Aleks' response to the 'œDummies Guide' is 'œThe Intelligent Guide To Bitcoin.' In the article, Svetski covered what Bitcoin is, whether people should invest in it, the mining and energy factors and its downsides.'œBitcoin Magazine Podcast' host Christian Keroles sat down with Svetski to discuss the key points in the article and debate how to best articulate them to people that think Bitcoin is just a silly toy.

Pleb.Hodl, Bull Bitcoin's new head of marketing, discussed his rabbit hold journey and the importance of welcoming precoiners.In this episode of Bitcoin Magazine's "Meet The Taco Plebs," I sat down with Bull Bitcoin's newest head of marketing, Pleb.Hodl (@btcplebeian on Twitter) to discuss his unique Bitcoin rabbit hole story, his new position at Bull Bitcoin, the effect Bitcoin has on one's mindset and much more.Pleb.Hodl went into detail about his experience being 'œfiat pilled' coming out of university and the awakening that he had after being around people that advocated for bigger government. Along with this, we discussed the effects that believing in the ideals around Bitcoin has on individuals and society in general.To finish, we delved into his new position at Bull Bitcoin and the excitement he has for the opportunity to work with the team there and build a phenomenal platform for true Bitcoiners.

In this episode of The Van Wirdum Sjorsnado, Aaron van Wirdum hosts one more interview without his regular cohost Sjors Provoost. Instead, he is joined by Blockstream's Lawrence Nahum, one of the developers behind the Jade wallet, and Ben Kaufman, one of the developers of the Spectre wallet, which is specifically designed to work with hardware wallets.Aaron, Lawrence and Ben talk about what hardware wallets are, and discuss the design tradeoffs that different hardware wallets have taken by focussing on the Trezor, Ledger and ColdCard specifically. In this light, Lawrence and Ben explain what secure elements and secure chips are, and why some hardware wallets choose to rely on using such chips more than others.Then, Lawrence explains which tradeoffs the Jade wallet makes. He also details how an additional server-based security step is used to further secure the Jade wallet, and briefly outlines some additional differences in hardware wallet designs, for example those focused on usability.Finally, Aaron, Lawrence and Ben discuss whether the concept of hardware wallets are a good idea in the first place, or if it would perhaps be better to use dedicated smartphones to store your bitcoin.And don't worry, Sjors will be back for episode 44!

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 48 hours, you've likely heard about the last-minute addition of a cryptocurrency tax to the U.S. Senate's forthcoming infrastructure bill. In this episode of the 'œBitcoin Magazine Podcast,' host David Zell sat down with one of D.C.'s strongest Bitcoin supporters, Representative Warren Davidson (R-OH), to talk about the specific language and potential impact of this cryptocurrency tax legislation. As it stands now, the bill's language is so broad that it could apply to a myriad of crypto-related activities that have no business being taxed. Worse still, the additional compliance costs that this bill could trigger would gravely jeopardize the viability of companies and startups in the Bitcoin space. Davidson blasted its stunningly poor verbiage, lamenting that it must have been written by people either totally ignorant about the industry or worse, by people looking to harm it. In his view, passing the bill in its current form would be a disaster both for the cryptocurrency industry and the American economy overall. Davidson spoke about how this bill marks a departure from America's longstanding role as a nation that spearheads innovation. Should it pass with its current language, he warned, America risks missing out on one of the most revolutionary technological strides in history and falling behind our adversaries in this vital innovation. 'œAmerica led in the Industrial Revolution, the advent of the automobile and the development of the internet,' said Davidson, 'œand now America is about to forfeit that leadership with this new technology.' The congressman discussed how the bill might be altered for the better and how much time there is to fix it. At the end of our discussion, Davidson called on the Bitcoin community to jam up the phone lines of their elected officials and implore them to fight the cryptocurrency tax language in the bill. You won't want to miss this.

On this week's episode of the Unhashed Podcast we talk about the latest in NFT weirdness with celebrity "Stoner Cats", how video game grinding is the original PoW, Blockfi's regulatory setback, ThorChains incompetency, the new EU proposal on crypto regulations, and more!In a hard hitting piece from Coindesk, a new animated web series, 'œStoner Cats,' launches Monday, featuring Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, Jane Fonda, and others. To watch the first five-minute episode, viewers must purchase a non-fungible token (NFT) for 0.35 ETH each, which is both a digital artwork of a character from the show, as well as a ticket to unlock all 'œStoner Cats' episodes as they are made. Actress and entrepreneur Mila Kunis, along with Sound Ventures Partner Maaria Bajwa were interviewed to 'œshare insights' into their project.Last week, Ukrainian authorities busted a massive illegal Sony PlayStation 4 farm for what they believed was a crypto mining operation. As it turns out, the warehouse was actually grinding for FIFA Ultimate Team coins and cards. According to the Ukrainian business journal Delo, which undertook an investigation itself following skepticism from initial findings by the authorities, the 3,800 PS4s discovered weren't actually being used to mine cryptocurrency, which makes sense given how their hardware and graphics cards aren't ideal. It also pointed out that in many photos you can see game discs actually sticking out of the consoles. The Security Service of Ukraine has refused to comment on Delo'˜s findings, explaining that the ongoing investigation must be kept a secret. For those unfamiliar, the Ultimate Team game mode within FIFA allows gamers to build their own custom teams with various player cards. To get better players, you'll have to play and win more matches, giving you in-game currency to buy packs. Alternatively, you can also pay with real currency to buy coins to unlock these packs. On the flip side, the in-game currency earned or cards you obtain can be sold back in black markets for actual money. To give you a sense of just how big this market is, official FIFA Ultimate Team transactions brought in $1.6 billion USD for EA in just the past year. '" https://hypebeast.com/2021/7/ukraine-playstation-4-farm-fifa-ultimate-team-account-grindingBig woes this week for Blockfi. It started with the state of New Jersey, Blockfi's home turf, sending in a cease and desist, causing Blockfi to stop offering its Bitcoin Interest Account (BIA for short) to new customers from the state. Within the next several days, Alabama, Texas and Vermont followed suit. At issue is whether or not the BIA is to be deemed a security. In a piece for Coinbase, Preston Byrne lays out the security laws at issue. TLDR, you bank can pay you interest on your dollars and that is not a security because of the tiny risk (due to FDIC insurance), but with BlockFi and other platforms, according to Byrne's interpretation and the suits by the states, you are actually trading your bitcoin for BIA promises, and these promises are securities. '" https://www.coindesk.com/blockfi-securities-law-defiLast week, the Thorchain protocol was drained of around 4,000 ether. A couple of days ago Thorchain was hit by another exploit, this time costing around $8 million. The hacker claims they deliberately minimized the damage from the exploit in a bid to teach THORChain a lesson, stating: 'œDo not rush code that controls 9 figures,' and 'œDisable until audits are complete.' The hacker adds that they could have stolen Ether, Bitcoin, Binance Coin, Lycancoin, and many BEP-20 tokens if they had wanted to, asserting that 'œmultiple critical issues' were found and that a 10% bug bounty could have prevented the incident. '" https://cointelegraph.com/news/possible-white-hat-hacker-exploits-thorchain-for-8m-proposes-10-bountyProposed changes to EU law would force companies that transfer Bitcoin or other crypto-assets to collect details on the recipient and sender. The proposals could take two years to become law. The Commission argued that crypto-asset transfers should be subject to the same anti-money-laundering rules as wire transfers. "Given that virtual assets transfers are subject to similar money-laundering and terrorist-financing risks as wire funds transfers... it therefore appears logical to use the same legislative instrument to address these common issues," the Commission wrote. While some crypto-asset service providers are already covered by anti-money-laundering rules, the new proposals would "extend these rules to the entire crypto-sector, obliging all service providers to conduct due diligence on their customers," the Commission explained. Under the proposals, a company transferring crypto-assets for a customer would be obliged to include their name, address, date of birth and account number, and the name of the recipient. David Gerard, author of Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain, told the BBC: "This is just applying existing rules to crypto. This has been coming since 2019." He said that although these were European proposals their impact would reach much further. "If you want to make real money, you have to follow the rules of real money," he said. '" https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-5790111

'œIndependence is financial,' Abukhdeir told me. 'œIf we don't have financial freedom, nothing is going to change.' - Alex GladsteinAnother brilliant addition to the Gladstein series from Bitcoin Magazine. Gladstein has been investigating Bitcoin's benefits for people all over the globe, those in the first world, the third, connected to the modern banking system, the entirely unbanked, those stuck under oppressive regimes, monetary colonialization, & behind walls of political tyranny. Today he takes a deep dive into Palestine and how they have ben bled dry of their capital and manufacturing base over 50 years in significant part through a monetary and banking system completely controlled by external powers. And how Bitcoin may be a spark of hope to begin changing that harsh reality.Could Bitcoin be Palestine's Currency of Freedom?https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/can-bitcoin-bring-palestine-freedomFor the best resource on news, information, essays, and education in the Bitcoin space, don't forget to check out the incredible BitcoinMagazine and the LTBNetwork for other shows all about the developments in this ecosystem!Check out tons of other great works & discussion at BitcoinAudible.com! Search the library for any topic or work you would like to hear, including other great pieces from Erik Cason.Don't forget your goodies from our awesome sponsors!5% off the BitBox02 with code "GUY," your bank grade digital vault for your Bitcoin keys from Shiftcrypto.chAnd secure your Bitcoin future by starting your automatic savings plan at SwanBitcoin.com/guy