Bitcoin Magazine Podcast

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 “Bitcoin 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.  “America led in the Industrial Revolution, the advent of the automobile and the development of the internet,” said Davidson, “and 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. 

It is often difficult for people new to bitcoin to grasp the enormous innovation that Bitcoin represents. A lot of background education that most people do not have is needed for someone to begin to grok what reinventing money really means. Eric Yakes, Author of the 7th Property: Bitcoin and The Monetary Revolution, wrote 4 fantastic articles for Bitcoin Magazine breaking down the foundations of money in society and why Bitcoin is the best money ever invented.  Host Christian Keroles sits down with Eric to discuss the four articles one by one and reflect on what money is and what Bitcoin could mean for society. The first article, The Dimensions of Money, focuses on what money is, how it works, and what makes a good money. It is important for people to understand that money is a good or a product and that different properties make an ideal monetary good. According to Yakes, money helps society transfer value across time, space, and scales. This is realized in the properties of scarcity, durability, acceptability, portability, divisibility, and fungibility. According to Yakes, Bitcoin fulfills these roles better than anything we have ever had before to serve as money.  Articles two thru four focus on why bitcoin makes the world a better place, how it works today and moving into the future. Yakes has a very historical approach to defining the problem set that Bitcoin was invested to solve and illustrating how Bitcoin is a novel and valuable solution to this historic problem that is affecting every human on earth.  This is the perfect podcast to give to your bitcoin curious friend that needs a bit more understanding to fully take the orange pill! Please enjoy this show and all of Eric’s fantastic articles.  Part 2: What Bitcoin Does that Changes the World.  Part 3: The Fundamental of How Bitcoin Works. Part 4: The Monetary Properties of Bitcoin. Follow Erik on Twitter @ericyakes and his Author Page on Bitcoin Magazine.

Gaza faces civilizational collapse. 1 out of 2 live in poverty. Half are unemployed. 80% depend on handouts. Investment is gone. Capital stock is destroyed. There is very little hope left.  In his latest piece on Bitcoin and global human rights, Alex Gladstein speaks to Palestinians to learn how they are using Bitcoin as a peaceful protest to overcome staggering financial barriers.  Although the people in Gaza may be physically trapped and economically cut off from the world, some have said Bitcoin gives them freedom, describing it as “a checkpoint that’s always open.” Join Guy Swann as he reads Alex Gladstein's article on Bitcoin and Palestine. Find the full article on Bitcoin Magazine:  https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/can-bitcoin-bring-palestine-freedom

In this Bitcoin Magazine podcast, hosts David Zell and Dylan LeClair sat down with Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan to talk about the elusive bitcoin ETF. At the helm of ETF.com for more than a decade, Matt knows more about exchange traded funds than just about anyone. Through his years working alongside financial policymakers, Hougan has gained a keen understanding of the regulatory landscape regarding new ETF approvals. In this interview, Matt breaks down the impact an American bitcoin ETF would have on institutional adoption, the differences between this and existing products like Grayscale, and shares his insights on when we may see a bitcoin ETF approved in the U.S.  ETFs may seem boring, but our interview certainly wasn’t. Hougan shared some wild stats and projections on how a bitcoin ETF would put BTC into the hands of untold millions of Americans, notably older generations and middle-class professionals who rely on financial planners to help them prepare for retirement. This was a conversation you won’t want to miss. Follow Matt on Twitter: @Matt_Hougan

During the 2020 lockdowns countries across the globe cracked down on their populations, forcing them inside their homes and closing down businesses from operating normally. Different countries and political structures reacted to these lockdowns in different ways. Most countries found themselves spiraling into more and more totalitarian rule and lockdowns. States have expanded their grasp and where not letting it go despite any real or false threats.  In this interview with Thinker, Musician, writer, and freedom fighter Zuby, Christian Keroles dives into Zuby’s experiences and learnings from 2020 in the UK. This podcast was inspired by Zuby’s twitter thread: ​​20 Things I've Learned (Or Had Confirmed) About Humanity During The 'Pandemic'. This interview dives into many of Zuby’s learnings and teases out topics around propaganda, big governments over reach, the state of the average person and many more deep and nuanced topics.  Zuby is such a clear thinker and speaker, he has built his reputation on his raw and unfiltered commentary on the world and the nature of humanity. In the interview Zuby expresses hope for people who can start thinking critically and is thankful for tools and practices that can help make a person more sovereign and independent.  Zuby has both been a fan of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies while still maintaining a relatively pessimistic view on the technologies ability to reach the masses or have the wide reaching effects that many Bitcoin enthusiasts see in it. In the interview Zuby admits that 2020 has validated Bitcoin to a much greater degree, however still pushes back that it is not a cure-all solution.  Please enjoy this wide ranging conversation with Zuby!  Follow Zuby on Twitter @ZubyMusic

For most investors, Bitcoin is still just a hedge. Bitcoin is a small allocation with tremendous upside. The majority of retail and institutional investors alike have yet to fully accept what Hyperbitcoinization is going to do to the world of finance.  On this episode of the Bitcoin Magazine podcast Christian Keroles sits down with the CEO and Founder of Mimesis Capital, an institutional investor investing with a Bitcoin mindset. Louis, and young, energized, and brilliant investor cuts through the legacy investing hurristic with a sharp and clear reason why Mimesis and eventually any other serious fund will have to adopt and out perform a Bitcoin standard. According to Louis, fiat denominated funds in the future will not exist and believes that all serious investors will have to outperform Bitcoin in order to prove their worth.  Scarcity drives every aspect of Louis’s investment mindset. Louis and Mimesis Capital have been investing heavily in Bitcoin directly since the beginning of the pandemic. Following the large run up in price Louis has also allocated capital to uniquely bitcoin oriented businesses like Unchained Capital, Swan Bitcoin, and many more Bitcoin only and bitcoin centric businesses. Louis believes in investing with a long term mindset and in investing in organizations that make Bitcoin stronger. He does not see allocating bitcoin to these startups as losing out on a direct bitcoin investment but rather as further investment in the bitcoin ecosystem.  Louis and Mimesis famously purchased the famous fractile encrypt sculpture from the Bitcoin 2021 art auction. Another investment into scarcity.  Follow Louis: @louishliu Follow Mimesis Capital: @MimesisCapital

Today on the Bitcoin Magazine Podcast, Christian Keroles sits down with CEO of Viridi Funds Wes Fulford to discuss the $RIGZ clean energy mining ETF!  The Viridi Cleaner Energy Crypto-Mining & Semiconductor ETF is an actively managed exchange-traded fund that is focused on investments within the cryptocurrency mining and mining infrastructure industries. RIGZ was created by Viridi to align profit with purpose – a growing number of investors are keen to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency sector through regulated investment vehicles, but also want to see active leadership and commitment to environmental sustainability. According to Wes, Bitcoin mining is a sector that is particularly well suited to such an investment product as, according to recent figures, over 50% of North American bitcoin mining is done using renewable energy sources, which is a trend that Viridi hopes to encourage through products like RIGZ To learn more please see Bitcoin Magazine’s coverage of the $RIGZ ETF. https://bitcoinmagazine.com/press-releases/viridi-funds-launches-rigz-etf Follow Wes on Twitter @WesFulford

On today’s Bitcoin Magazine Podcast, Christian Keroles sits down with the infamous Bitcoin Twitter personality and troll Udi Wertheimer to discuss why hard core Bitcoin faithful should not be so worried about Alternative Cryptocurrencies. Generally speaking Bitcoiners are very adversarial towards Altcoins and altcoiners. It is not unheard of to see Bitcoiner’s loudly decrying Altcoins as all scams and altcoin investors as foolish.  Both Udi and Christian don't believe that Altcoins are a challenge to Bitcoin and that they can even be helpful for new people that are not quite primed to understand Bitcoin initially. Bitcoin is quite unintuitive to people still operating on a fiat mindset. Udi also challenges Bitcoiner’s by claiming they lose credibility when they continue to pretend that some altcoins like Doge and Ethereum have not outperformed Bitcoin substantially in 2021.  Udi thinks that toxicity was much more necessary back in 2015-2017 during the Bitcoin fork wars. He now believes that Bitcoiner’s can be much more empathetic and successful at converting new and precoiners to Bitcoin with a less toxic strategy. The current brand of altcoins are no threat to Bitcoin itself and if anything amplifies Bitcoin’s brand, reach and TAM.  Please listen, share and tell Bitcoin Magazine what you think of this conversations with Udi Wertheimer.  Follow Udi @udiWertheimer

In this episode of the Bitcoin Magazine podcast, Aaron van Wirdum speaks with Jorge Valenzuela and Roman Martinez AKA Chimbera, two community leaders from the Bitcoin Beach project in El Zonte, El Salvador. Jorge and Roman tell the history of the Hope House, the heart of the Bitcoin Beach project, which aims to offer local youth a sense of community and perspective. They explain how their efforts have in recent years come to integrate Bitcoin, and what that process looked like. Jorge and Roman go on to explain how El Zonte has quickly grown to be a Bitcoin hotspot in El Salvador and Central America, and how this has changed the lives of people in the costal surfer town. From there, the Bitcoin Beach community leaders tell how the country of El Salvador adopted the new law to make bitcoin legal tender, and how they received the new law in El Zonte. They also discuss what they think the rest of the country thinks of the new law. Finally, Jorge and Roman speculate about what the Bitcoin law could mean for El Zonte and El Salvador moving forward, and how bitcoiners from all around the world can help make the initiative a success.

On this episode of the Bitcoin Magazine Podcast, Christian Keroles sits down with the co-founder and CEO of Moonpay. Moonpay is a bitcoin infrastructure company building out the interoperability between bitcoin and the legacy finance system. Moonpay is focused on making it as easy and cost effective as possible to purchase and hold bitcoin with as many payment providers and options as possible. The Moonpay API can be built directly into noncustodial bitcoin wallets so that users can buy and acquire bitcoin in a way that is completely custody free.  Ivan tells the story of how he got into bitcoin and how and why he started Moonpay. Soto-Wright discusses why Moonpay is a mission oriented company and how building around a mission is the best way to build an awesome and effective team! Ivan is passionate about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency adoption as it gives people access to financial services that have never been afforded to them previously.  Lastly the podcast highlights the challenges with dealing with traditional finance and why bitcoin offers such a fantastic solution to all of the problems that currently inhibit the globe from successfully accessing financial infrastructure.  Please enjoy this wide ranging conversation with Ivan Soto-Wright.  Follow Ivan on Twitter @isotowright