The Peter McCormack Show

Location: Remotely Date: Tuesday 5th January Company: Zap Role: CEO This week Jack Mallers announced the launch of Strike Global, a Bitcoin neobank that uses the Bitcoin network and lightning to facilitate the sending of money anywhere in the world, in a matter of seconds, for free. The speed and cost of payments have often been a topic of debate in Bitcoin. While the basechain is necessarily slow, the Lightning Network promises to provide instant and low-cost bitcoin transfers. With Strike, Jack Mallers is taking this to the next level allowing users to settle in fiat currencies across the Bitcoin network. Fast and no cost transfers of fiat currencies solve problems across the world, especially in third-world countries. Strike aims to run a pilot in El Salvador to prove this. Strike has also enabled Caroline Panthers Offensive Tackle; Russell Okung to become the first NFL player to be paid in bitcoin, half of his $13 million salary. In this interview, I talk to Zap CEO Jack Mallers. We discuss the newly launched Strike Global, revolutionising global payments, neobanking with Bitcoin and helping to bank the unbanked in 3rd world countries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: Remotely Date: Tuesday 29th December Company: SkyBridge Capital Role: Founder SkyBridge Capital is an investment firm, run by Anthony Scaramucci. The firm, which has $9.3 billion under management, has announced a Bitcoin fund, allowing customers to invest in Bitcoin. SkyBridge is the latest in a growing list of companies creating onramps for institutional exposure to Bitcoin, going up against the likes of Grayscale. The latter already has over half a million Bitcoin under management. In this interview, I talk to SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci. We discuss the SkyBridge Bitcoin fund, institutional interest, and 11-day stint working for President Trump. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Odell, co-host of 'Tales from the Crypt', dives into the transformative year of 2020 for Bitcoin. He discusses the sharp market drop due to COVID-19, the rise of institutional investors like MicroStrategy, and Bitcoin's role as a tool for freedom in places like Belarus. The conversation highlights the shifting dynamics between traditional finance and cryptocurrency, the importance of education on Bitcoin keys, and the evolving community around Bitcoin. Odell's insights provide a critical lens on Bitcoin's potential and challenges ahead.

Location: Remotely Date: Friday 18th December Company: lynalden.com Role: Macroeconomist 2020 has been a year unlike any, even before the coronavirus pandemic, the global economy was showing signs of stress. With the outbreak, the spread of the virus and subsequent lockdowns, governments worldwide resorted to unprecedented levels of monetary and fiscal stimulus to keep the flailing economy afloat. With the record levels of money printing and the ballooning money supply, many earmarked 2020 as the year that Bitcoin could prove itself. In the last few days, Bitcoin has hit all-time highs of around $24,000, but unlike 2017, it is not just retail investors that have flocked to Bitcoin. MicroStrategy has paved the way for institutional investors to own Bitcoin by not only converting $450m of their treasury to Bitcoin but raising an additional $650m by way of a convertible senior note sale to buy more Bitcoin. MicroStrategy, legendary macro investors Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller have taken positions in Bitcoin, signalling a new era of Bitcoin investors. In this interview, I am joined by Lyn Alden, a macroeconomist and founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy. We discuss the coronavirus pandemic's impact, the increase in the broad money supply, high inflation and institutional investment in Bitcoin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: Remotely Date: Tuesday 22nd December Company: Coin Center Role: Executive Director & Research Director Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary of the United States, is looking to implement a new regulation that would require financial institutions to verify the identity of both senders and recipients of any Bitcoin transaction, over $3000. A few weeks ago, Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong tweeted that Mnuchin was looking to 'rush out' new regulation before the end of President Trump's term in office. This regulation is not without opposition and Coin Center is addressing many concerns with the new rules and the method in which they are being passed. In this interview, I talk to Jerry Brito and Peter Van Valkenburgh, Coin Center Executive Director and Research Director. We discuss the implications of the new regulations, the key issues and what you can do to prevent them from passing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: Remotely Date: Monday 21st December Company: Block Digest Role: Host 2020 has been a record-breaking year for Bitcoin where we have seen the price reach a new all-time high of over $24,000. Companies like MicroStrategy and Square have paved the way for institutional investors, and mainstream media covers Bitcoin more than ever. While interest in Bitcoin is continuing to grow, behind the scenes, Bitcoin developers are quietly continuing to push the technology forwards. With improvements like Schnorr signatures and CoinSwap on the horizon and advancements with discrete log contracts and Lightning Lab's Loop, the technical side of Bitcoin is also thriving. In this interview, I am joined by Shinobi host of Block Digest. We review the technical side of Bitcoin in 2020, including MuSig, Schnorr & Taproot, discrete log contract, Lightning Labs Loop and CoinSwap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: Remotely Date: Monday 21st December Company: Ledger Role: CEO In July of this year, Ledger was made aware of a data breach on their website. Their initial statement read: "consisting mostly of email addresses, but with a subset including also contact and order details such as first and last name, postal address, email address and phone number." Since then customers have been subject to a range of phishing attempts with scammers sending fraudulent emails claiming that their "cryptocurrency assets are at risk", prompting them to download the latest version of Ledger Live. This fake version would then ask for the user's seed words. To make this data breach worse, what was initially reported by Ledger as 9,500 customers personal details (including physical addresses) was actually over 270,000. Yesterday both that list, along with over one million customer email addresses, was uploaded to RaidForums for anyone to download. Since the dump, there has been an increase in phishing attempts, including a new threat of physical attacks. In this interview, I talk to Ledger CEO, Pascal Gauthier. We discuss the data breach, their disclosure of the hack, how they communicated with those affected and their plans moving forwards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: Remotely Date: Tuesday 15th December Company: Hypersheet Role: Co-Founder Bitcoin has had an incredible year. Following the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Bitcoin price crashed to just below $4,000. However, the subsequent government bailouts and money printing has led to many fearing fiat currencies will suffer from high inflation, highlighting the importance of hard money. Since the lows in March, Bitcoin has gone from strength to strength, particularly on the back of corporate interest. MicroStrategy and Square paved the way for corporations to buy Bitcoin, and others are following. Over the last couple of days, Bitcoin has rallied to new all-time highs, reaching close to $24,000, but what makes this time different to 2017? And how high could the price go in 2021? In this interview, I talk to on-chain analyst and the co-founder of Hypersheet; Willy Woo. We discuss the current state of the Bitcoin market, the catalysts for Bitcoin's rally and what to expect in the coming year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: Remotely Date: Friday 11th December Company: The Rebel Capitalist Show Role: Host Bitcoin is a revolutionary thing that will potentially have a hugely positive impact on the world. Bitcoiners believe in its ability to change many aspects of the modern world by reducing the role of the state and leading to a more open and free society but this vision isn't shared by all. With memes like Bitcoin fixes this applied to everything from central banking to inequality and war, however, for those looking from the outside, does this behaviour look like a religion or cult? In this interview, I talk to George Gammon, an investor and YouTube host who is "bullish Bitcoin, bearish Bitcoiners". We discuss his Bitcoin thesis, where he thinks its strengths and weaknesses lie and his thoughts on the Bitcoin community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Location: Remotely Date: Tuesday 1st December Role: Senator Wyoming's Cynthia Lummis is the first woman to represent Wyoming in the Senate, not only that; she is the first Bitcoiner ever to make it into the Senate. Cynthia describes herself as a "libertarian-leaning Republican". She plans to focus on reducing government debt as well as increasing the understanding of Bitcoin within the Senate. In this interview, we discuss how she became a Bitcoiner, her political goals, the understanding of Bitcoin within the government and the US debt and deficit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.