Welcome to another late-night episode of America Plus with your host, McCormick. This week, we dive deep into the world of Bitcoin, discussing the recent Bitcoin Conference 2024 and the speeches given by presidential candidates Donald Trump and RFK Jr. We compare their stances on Bitcoin, exploring how each candidate views the cryptocurrency and its potential impact on the future of America. McCormick shares his personal thoughts on the conference, the decentralized nature of Bitcoin, and the contrasting approaches of Trump and Kennedy.
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[00:00:01]
Cole McCormick:
Oh, we're going to Bitcoin land. What's up, What's up, everyone? It's America Plus. I'm your host, Cole McCormick. It's another week, another episode. What's going on, everybody? It's Sunday night. Sunday night. Oh, coming to you late night folks. It's 11:12 in the PM. Welcome to a another wonderful episode of America Plus. We're gonna get right into it, guys. So here at America Plus, we're talking about narratives that are healthy for the world, at least from my perspective. And one narrative that's been like that has consumed our lives is this narrative of money, and Bitcoin is something that has come up in my life, and many people's lives. And now it's come up in a in some certain presidential candidate's lives.
And the, this weekend has been the Bitcoin conference 2024, and, I just wanted to sit here and just to discuss Bitcoin in general. This this is a Bitcoin episode. We're talking about the conference, and mainly, we are comparing, Trump's and RFK Junior's speeches, because these two candidates spoke. These two candidates are pro Bitcoin. Allegedly, they're both pro Bitcoin. One might know more than the other. You know, just as a consumer, you know. So I'm here. I'm just like some random guy doing a podcast. I don't have access to Bitcoin land as in, like, I'm not a part of the Michael Sailor industry. I'm not a part of the Bitcoin conference industry.
I'm not getting invited to these things, and frankly, like, I I I didn't care about it. I don't care about going to this Bitcoin conference. It frankly makes no sense to me. It's a decentralized thing. It's a decentralized money, but we're gonna centralize the event. Like, why don't like, I don't know. Like, why do we need that? It it makes it seem like there's, like, there's unity when there's not really much unity in Bitcoin. There's some unity. You get, like, small pockets of unity within Bitcoin, and then some other group is gonna do what they want with Bitcoin. And that's, like, the beauty of it. Right?
But, when it comes to this conference, I wasn't into it. Out there in Nashville this year, there was a podcasting 2.0 meetup. Kyron Down is out there. He was hanging out with Dave Jones. They were hanging out with Dolby Doss. They were hanging out. Oh my god. They saw Nick and Oscar. That's like my freaking dream from Fountain. They lit they were literally hanging out with the men who run Fountain. It just sounds awesome. They're probably drinking beers. And I would have loved to have been there at that big at that, at that event because they were in Nashville, but they some of them were going to the Bitcoin 2024, but a lot of them weren't. They didn't care, and I'm in that group. So naturally, I'm just I'm happy I vibe with those people.
Like, nah, dude. Like, we're not gonna go to this conference, dude. Like, what are we talking about? Bitcoin? We can talk about Bitcoin right here, like, between you and I, peer to peer. We don't need to go to some conference. The last thing I wanna do is go to a freaking conference. So I'm happy. I'm I'm with, like, the cool guys. Okay? Like, we're not gonna call ourselves the cool guys, but I'm gonna call them the cool guys. They are cool. Dave Jones is cool. Adam Curry is cool. The podcasting 2.0 crew is cool.
And that's why I know that we're onto something with podcasting 2.0, because we don't care about the money that we're using. Or like like, we care about it, but we don't care enough about it to try to be, like, pretentious about it, to try to act like like, we're literally changing the world, and we know it, but we're not gonna, like, whatever. We're just gonna shrug it off. We're gonna shrug off the, the the heavy innovation going on for the globe, for humanity. And I'm proud to be a part of a vibe like that. At at least that's how I interpret this, this podcast in 2.0 space.
I would have just had had a beer with Kyron. That that that that that just sounds nice. That sounds like a chill vibe. And going into the conference, who's there? Like, it's a bunch of different companies trying to make money off of you. It's a bunch of different people trying to cast out their narrative of what they think Bitcoin can be. And when I say there's no unity in Bitcoin, there seems to be a bit of a a bit of a divide and, like, some sort of a chasm when it comes to thinking about use cases of Bitcoin, and how Bitcoin is discussed and projected to audiences.
And this takes me to RFK Junior and Donald j Trump. You know, not to get I'm really not trying to get too political, but it the watching these 2 guys talk, the difference is just right off the bat. RFK Junior, people have been saying, like, he's a Bitcoiner. Watching his speech, he knows Bitcoin, and he was speaking to an audience that knows Bitcoin. So he aligned himself with that. He is he seems to be pretty assimilated to that to to the culture of Bitcoin, and he's into it. He wants to make a strategic reserve, but there's the way Kennedy talks is something that does not excite me.
And comparing that to what Trump said, you know, like, Trump was more business. Trump was like more pro business with his words. You know, I don't think Trump knows a lot about Bitcoin, but I'm also not upset about that. Because, you know, when it comes to bitcoin, barely anyone can really talk about it. You know, everyone sort of knows their own little side of it, you know. Some people look like some people know the philosophical side of bitcoin. Some people know the technical side of bitcoin. Some people know the podcasting side of bitcoin. Some people know the meat side of Bitcoin, the ranching side, and the freedom, and and all these things. All these things.
But Trump not knowing a lot about Bitcoin only proves that he's Trump. Like, is Trump really an expert on anything? Even though he's interesting to me, I'm leaning towards him. It seems to be you know, he he sort of knows a little about a lot, and Kennedy knows a lot about, like, a handful of things. He knows a lot about Kennedy knows a lot about Bitcoin, vaccines, and glyphosate. I think those are, like, the top three things that he, like, has dug into as a human being. And Trump, you know, they what's the only good thing he's good at he he's good at his, real estate.
And so that's how he made his billions, which is fine, but I'm just saying, like, it's just real estate. You know what I mean? And for him to be positive for Trump to be positive on on Bitcoin, he was really just like a hype train. His speech was full on hype.
[00:07:49] Unknown:
It was, Bitcoin is going to the moon. Bitcoin, all of you people are beautiful. You bitcoiners,
[00:07:57] Cole McCormick:
thank you. And Kennedy is like, I know what needs to be done with Bitcoin. We will do this with the Federal Reserve. We will find a way. And then Trump says the exact same thing, but in, like, a, like, a more WWE way. Kennedy says, we will make a strategic reserve with Bitcoin. Trump says,
[00:08:19] Unknown:
I promise we're gonna keep and hold 100% of what the government has.
[00:08:25] Cole McCormick:
Fuck. Yeah. Fuck. Yeah, dude. Both are good. I like both of those things. So what does that mean for the future of America? America Plus, Bitcoin. How can Bitcoin create help facilitate a more beautiful world our hearts knows as possible? These 2 men are on the right track. You know, I'm not sure if I need my president. I I'm not sure if I need my leader to know everything there is about Bitcoin. What I need from the leader is to allow me to do what I want. To set up certain things to not infringe on what I want to do with this technology and with this industry.
Kennedy. So Trump was more pro business speaking to, towards those things. Getting rid of red tape. He made a whole thing about firing Gary Gensler, which is my absolute favorite thing. Like, we need to fire Gary Gensler. Absolutely ridiculous. Not just about not just the drama with crypto and Bitcoin. Gary Gensler, like, peep everyone in the stock market, like, all the all the AMC and GameStop Apes, all these people hate Gary Gensler. Like, he's screwing over everyone. He's suing everyone. He's saying everything's a meme, Scott, a a a meme stock, and, like, don't invest in Bitcoin. He he he he's crazy.
So and Kennedy didn't say anything about Gary Gensler. Kennedy had a lot of things to say about how the government will benefit from bitcoin. And that's something that I don't give a shit about. I just don't. Why do I want the government, like, to really do better? Like, of course, from an American perspective, I want the dollar to be strong. So if they wanna use Bitcoin to back the dollar, to somehow use Bitcoin to pay off any debt, to help inflation, Those are things I'm comfortable with to help the currency. Use Bitcoin to help the dollar. Using Bitcoin oh, oh, first of all, Kennedy said he wants to have 4,000,000 Bitcoin. He wants the government to buy 4,000,000 Bitcoin.
And right now the government has US I'm, I'm tapping in right now. US government Bitcoin holding. Give it to me. They currently have 210,000. So Kennedy wants to increase that by, like, tenfold, dude, elevenfold. Like, what does that even mean? He wants 4,000,000 Bitcoin to be in the strategic reserve for the country for some reason. I don't know how he came to that number. Why is 4,000,000 Bitcoin relevant? Why does the government need 4,000,000 Bitcoin? There's only 21,000,000. Why does the US government need 4? 4,000,000?
That sounds insane. And me hearing Trump say he'll make an order. He'll he'll write some executive order saying, like, America, the government will keep 100%. They'll keep 100% of what they have and acquire. 210,000 is pretty, like I think that's pretty manageable. I think like, I like that number. I want the government to have as little Bitcoin as possible, but to use as little Bitcoin as possible to solve all the problems? Is that possible? I don't know. I I I really don't know if all the world's problems can be solved with, with half a 1000000, with a quarter million.
But America has about 13,600,000,000 in Bitcoin right now, and China has 12, 12,000,000,000 in Bitcoin. These are the governments, dude. And El Salvador has point 3,000,000,000. So what does that mean? A few million? A few 100,000,000? Does the US need more Bitcoin? I don't know. I don't wanna give them any more Bitcoin. Why the hell would we give them more Bitcoin? What was weird about Kennedy speech is that he said he also added that a Bitcoin transaction between Bitcoin and cash that's unreportable. So that's un that's not a taxable event. That's what he wants to do, which is pretty cool, But this whole buying 4,000,000 Bitcoin, this he said he they he want he wants the government to buy 550 bitcoin a day until they get to 4,000,000.
Why do you want to do that? Like, how is that number gonna why? Why? Why? Why? Why? I don't support that. I don't support that Kennedy. Kennedy is pro government. Kennedy is just simply pro government, and I think that's what I'm not vibing with. What I need from him is just
[00:13:37] Unknown:
a bit more simplicity. Because every time when I listen Excuse
[00:13:41] Cole McCormick:
me. Every time when I listen to Kennedy, this guy has a has a 10 minute speech about every single industry that is, like, going downhill, and he has a plan. But at the same time, I'm just, like, uninterested in in, like, thinking that the things that he's presenting is crucial for a president. Is it crucial for Trump to like Bitcoin? No. Is it crucial for Kennedy? No. I think Kennedy is just waking up. I think Trump I think Trump is trying to get votes, and he's reaching out to different communities that might be influential online and, I don't know, within the future of of his potential second second term. And so Trump is naturally more business oriented.
He wants businesses to be good with Bitcoin. He wants businesses to be using Bitcoin. I don't think he cares about the government using Bitcoin. He's open to it. He clearly sees a use case. He clearly sees that Bitcoin is useful.
[00:14:56] Unknown:
His knowledge on it will have to be known, will have to be seen.
[00:15:01] Cole McCormick:
But, again, is it really that important? Is it really that important when you have a decentralized thing? Is it really important if the president doesn't know every single detail about it, or is it more important that they just allow it to thrive? So that's, like, sort of my 2 my 2¢ on those things. I didn't wanna play any clips because I didn't really think they're, like, all that relevant. I just wanted to air this out. If you wanna go to the speeches, the speeches are up online. They're on YouTube and Twitter. You know, they're just speeches. Trump was a lot more both of them were political too. I'll say that as well. They were very political. Trump was more domestic political with his speech.
Kennedy went more, international with his with his politics. Kennedy straight up said, here's a quote. I wanna tell you why Bitcoin is good for America. What happened in Canada with the truckers was a travesty.
[00:16:06] Unknown:
What? What did you just say?
[00:16:09] Cole McCormick:
Go to the speech. That's literally what happened. He literally said the sentence, let me tell you how America will benefit from Bitcoin. And then he starts talking about Canada. I don't give a shit about Canada. Tell me why it's gonna be good. He was talking about a good thing. He was talking about transactional freedom and the and the Canadian truckers and all that and how that woke him up, but that story came after a sentence that should have been about America. You should talk about America if you say you're gonna talk about America. So I don't know who he was pandering to. I don't know who Kennedy was really trying to speak to. He was speaking to the Bitcoiners, of course, but he was trying to he he's trying to do something really weird. Like, I'd that I don't fully understand if it's ignorance or if it's oversight, or if it's arrogance. You know? Ignorance or arrogance or oversight.
He it's this it's this thing where, like, he still cares about the institutions. It's this thing where he still cares about the government, and, like, he wants a strong government, a good government. And
[00:17:35] Unknown:
when I think about what like, which Trump side?
[00:17:38] Cole McCormick:
Oh my god. I'm so freaking tired. But this is what it's all about. This is what it's all about. This is the dream, folks. When I listen to Trump talk about politics and how Bitcoin is gonna be good, I don't think he is fully comprehending all the words he's saying. He's a hype train. He's just trying to get you on his side, And Kennedy is saying, we should use this to make the government better. And those two things, whether that's a good analogy or a good analysis or not, I see Trump as more friendly, and Kennedy is more, like, boring professional.
Like, Kennedy is a Kennedy. And but where the energy is is, of course, the energy matches the energy of this time, the energy of this era. The energy that I'm feeling matches Trump. And if he's pro Bitcoin, then that's a bonus. That's all I have to say about that. That's all that really matters in the end. So don't don't really have much to say about that. Anything else, dude? I'm I'm speaking in freaking tongues, man. Can you tell I'm tired? I start droppling up my sentences when I'm, when I get a little sleepy. Let's go to the let me go to my email too. We gotta go to go to the boostograms, the freaking let's do the value for value section, folks. The value for value section. America Plus is a value for value show.
That means that I present I'm I'm coming to you. I'm coming to the audience just trying to talk talk about my heart. Just trying to open up and try to just try to make a new connection with you people. I okay. So the when it comes to value for value, you're able to support me through money. Okay? You can send me a PayPal. If you think I'm entertaining, you can send me some cash, or you can send me a boostagram and a modern podcasting app like fountain. Go to value for value dot info for more info, then download the fountain dot f m app. It's the best way to support the show. Fountain dot f m is my favorite modern podcasting app. The founders are in Nashville.
They're they're good guys. Oscar, Nick, and Thomas. These are good people. They're doing good things. Download Fountain. Support them with the premium subscription. I am. And just just have a time streaming sats. Have have a time. Have a time sending in boostograms. Like, these messages with satoshis, Satoshis Plus messages, like, this is the future of media online. This is the future of supporting your favorite content creator. And I'm gonna be reading it some boostograms from last week. Last week, I was, talking about, Italy. I spoke to Shannon, my girlfriend, Shannon. We're talking about the differences of Italian culture and American culture. She was coming back from a trip, and, we got some boostograms from that conversation. This first one comes in from at the mere mortals podcast, at Kyren Down. He sends in a beautiful 1,111¢.
That's his usual. Thank you, Kyron. He says, I haven't Okay. So last week we're talking about, like, Americans and traveling. Okay? And Kyron's a traveler, so he's talking about that. Karen says, I haven't really come across Americans in my travels. Do you guys not like backpacking and hostels? Anyhoo, Shannon getting out there and changing my impression. Really interesting cultural observations. Thank you. Thank you, Giron. Boost. And now, as the French say, it is time for Le Boost. Yeah, Kyren. Americans, we don't really, we don't really travel. Like, we we travel inside of America. We travel inside of, like, pods. We travel inside of ships.
We don't really explore. We don't really do much of that, dude. This culture that we live in, it only supports, consuming things from something that's been left behind a a while ago. So what does that mean for the future? I don't know. But it's the American culture, and I appreciate I'm inspired by the way Kyron travels. I wanna do it myself. Cameron's just, like, going around. He's I think he's in I think he's in LA, or he's about to be in LA, and he's I should be meeting him, but meeting up with him. I hope I'm meeting up with him. I'm dealing with with, with some stuff and my family right now. To be totally real real with you, I mean, this is something I don't really wanna, like, talk about too much, but, like, my dad's just, like, not doing too good right now. And I'm I'm in Arizona right now, so hopefully, I see Kyron.
Hopefully hopefully, prayers up prayers up for that to happen, but just shout out to Kyren. I love you, dude. Thank you for your boostagram. This next one, then the next two coming from atjoelw. He said, he he sent in 2 of them. He said, oh, I'm sorry. He sent in 1,111 sats. He says, couple friends did a European backpacking excursion for their honeymoon some years back. Thought that was a great way to spend a honeymoon. Always, always something I wanted to do, and was OD'd on Trump last week. Had to skip last week's. Joel, it's okay. Boosting is loving. It's basically, you put Bitcoin with anything, and all of a sudden, that is more efficient. The last one from Joel, he says, this was a much needed change of pace from clown world. Sounds like an amazing trip. It it it it was a good trip for her.
It was Shannon's, like, dream trip with her mom. She got to do it with her mom. They got like, it it was a beautiful trip for her, and I'm really happy. She got a bunch of, like, she took actual, like, film, like, film photos. So I'll probably post those sometime soon. When we get them? I'm not in them, but I I'll be posting them. But thank you to those people who wanted to donate. Value for value is really how I wanna sustain myself as a podcaster. I don't know where the future will go with the podcast. Me being right here in this moment, this is the best that I can offer right now, and I am committing myself to making it better and better and better in the future. If you've been following me for a while, I hope you've seen that progress. You know, it's of course, it's life. It's ups and downs, but I have a real goal and mission to get better, to be the best that I can at podcasting and and communicating these positive ideas for a more beautiful world.
This is a situation that requires me to level up. This is a life this is a moment in my life that requires me to man up. You know, man, like, just helping my dad, just trying to get out of bed, dude. Like, it's just it's not going good right now. You know? I this is a wild moment. So, like, this week oh, god. Okay. I didn't wanna talk about this, but it's, like, serious, and it needs to be communicated, and this is just me. So this week, my dad was officially put on hospice, which which was not expected to be right now.
There had always been, like, conversations and pamphlets about this type of a service, but I guess well well, the the crazy thing is that I I was here 2 weeks ago, and, you know, my dad was like, okay. He was like he he would, like things had, like, become, like, normal. You know? Like, during this cancer experience, behaviors become normal over time. You know? And 2 weeks ago, it seemed like a situation that was like, okay. Like, here's it's just like the rhythm of things happening. You know? He he's gotten a bit like, as the months have have as the months have progressed, he's gotten more tired. You know, he's been resting a lot more.
You know, everything I everything I'm listing is is is on the list of, like, not good things. But this past week on Tuesday, my mom calls me, and she's like she just says that he's officially on hospice. You know? This is, like, this is real. This is going down. This is this is life right now. And we have nurses coming in, and, you know, we're getting their advice, and and and stuff. So there's really there's really not much I can say about it. You know? My emotional state, I can say that I feel brave. You know? That's something that I've I'm not sure if that's something that I've chosen to feel or if that's something that's been, like, bestowed on me.
I'm not some I'm not sure if that's, like, some genetic thing where I don't know, dude. But, like, in this moment, like, like, like, I'm sad. You know? Like, I'm sad. And but at the same time, I know what my family needs. And I'm more willing to give my family what they need than to be negative. You know? And I'm also not and I've never been delusional about anything. You know? Like, this has been a very humbling experience. And to be in Arizona right now, like, I took a leave from work. Like like, this week, like, since since you saw me last, since you fell last heard me, my entire world has pretty much, like, flipped upside down.
I've taken a leave from work indefinitely. I'm in Arizona. I don't know when I'll be back in LA. My girlfriend's working. She's not here. She was here for the weekend, but, like, she has to work, you know, and and then, like, you know, she doesn't it's not her responsibility to be here either. So, like, I gotta be here. And I feel like I'm manning up. I feel like I'm leveling up in the most surreal cosmic spiritual way. And we're on the verge of in my head, how I am interpreting it, we're on the verge of a miracle or the beginning of a very new chapter.
Like, it's one of those 2 things. Like, this is what the end game is. A miracle or the beginning of a really different chapter. So am I afraid? I don't know if I'm afraid of it's like, I don't have anything. I I usually have, like, some bullet points prepared, but I don't have anything prepared for this conversation, dude. I'm just trying to be brave for my dad. I'm trying to be there for my dad. I'm trying to just hold his hand and, like, oh my god. Just make sure he's comfortable. Make sure he's, like, able to move. Like, it's crazy, dude. Like, I'm not trying to get too graphic, but, like, his physical strength has just been decreasing.
And there's been a drop in the last, like since I got here. I got here on freaking Thursday night, and since then, there's been another like, there there there's been more drops. I've been feeling him getting weaker, and which is which is wild. Up until now, you know, like, it's been like a normal life. You know? It's of course, he he was going to hospitals and chemo and and things, but I was still talking to him. I was still, like, just, like, living life with him. And we were going to places. We're going to amusement parks, and it's just wild how, like, just like like like now it's hospice.
Now it's hospice care. Like, 2 weeks ago was his birthday, and we're, like, chilling. Like, he was tired, and he was he wasn't talking a whole ton. But it's just like like, you just don't know what it's gonna be like. You just don't know what non communication sounds like. You don't know what that means. You don't know what that experience is like, and I've chosen to be patient. I've chosen to be the most patient person in the room. Not in not in competition, but just I'm I'm just trying to give my dad the best thing that I that I can give him. So it's a wild time right now, dude.
I don't know if I'll see Kyron in in LA. I I I I I really want to. Me and him had plans to go to V con. We're gonna see Gary v. I was gonna bull rush the lines, and we're gonna talk to Aubrey Marcus and ask him about souls, at least I was. We're gonna talk to I wanna talk to the CEO of X. We're gonna get all these interviews on America Plus. Vicon was v dude, I wanna go to Vicon. I still wanna go to Vicon. Like, Vicon is so dope. I've I have the fucking ticket on my phone. My god. Like, it's just like and and it I'm not, like, having a pity party about that. It's just like, I've been making new friends.
I've been meeting new people. And now it's like, here's this new moment. It's like, wow. Like, time to be an adult here. Like, time to, like I'm not trying to ghost anyone. I'm not trying to be I'm not trying to make an emotional decision. I'm not trying to make a knee jerk decision. You know? I'll just, you know, make try to do my best to make calm, level headed decisions. And, you know, this is just life. This is how the universe works. Everything happens. Like, the family stuff, the friend stuff, the event stuff, like, it's all compiling together, and it's coming into this podcast. And I I I was really trying to avoid talking about this, but, of course, I can't stop talking about my feelings. And I can't just I I I I just can't stop talking.
I really just can't. It's impossible. I get in trouble at work all the time. I I had to take a leave, because I just can't stop talking. And I know there's there's a few people who listen to this, and and they've lost parents to cancer. And, you know, Kyron has been open about losing his mom this summer, and it's like, damn. It's like, is that is that how me and Kyron make friends? Is that how him and I really hit it off? Like, oh my god. Like, that's like is that, like, sure. It's gonna be happy in the future. It's gonna be a good thing later.
It's not a good thing now. So I'm able to laugh about these things. I'm able to try to be mature about these things. Maturity and laughter. How do you balance these two things? I don't know, but we're doing it now. We're doing it live. We're doing it live. We're doing it live. We're doing it live. Let's play a song, dude. I listened to the to to podcasting 2 point o. They played this pretty dope song, called Cool Summer by Tony Salamone, or Toly Salamone. I, I played one of his songs in the past, and I like this guy. So this song is called Cool Summer. Great summer vibes.
Just vibe out with me. You know, I'm really just this is music. When I play music on the podcast, it's it's about the vibes. It's about the positivity. It's about the raising of your vibration, and that is such a real thing. I'm trying to evoke reason to see a more beautiful world, to to be open to the lesson that is within the challenge in front of me. And so I'm just trying to express this, man. So here we go. Tony Salamone. Oh, and he's also getting when I play music on the podcast, they're getting 60% of your Satoshis. Okay? 60% of your Satoshi donation is going directly to the artist. There was all these artists at at at Bitcoin 2024 as well, like like musicians were there, and they're doing a whole live thing. So check out check out Ainsley Costello.
Check out check out any artist that Adam Curry retweeted. Check out, I I would recommend check out this guy, Tony Salomon. Check out Angie Costello. Check out, what's that British guy's name, dude? I forget the British guy's name. Hang on. Let me go to Wave Lake. I gotta go to Wave Lake. I can't just not remember this guy's name. He was, like, the first musician to do it. What's this guy's name? Of course, they don't have him on Wave Lake anymore. Oh my god. Anyone know what I'm talking about? The British guy who's famous on who's famous for being the first one? Joe Martin. This guy. Joe Martin. Look up Joe Martin. Look up, who I just said. Anthony Costello and Tony Salamone. Cool summer. They're getting 60%.
Enjoy, folks. That's America Plus, bitch. Stay free.
Oh, we're going to Bitcoin land. What's up, What's up, everyone? It's America Plus. I'm your host, Cole McCormick. It's another week, another episode. What's going on, everybody? It's Sunday night. Sunday night. Oh, coming to you late night folks. It's 11:12 in the PM. Welcome to a another wonderful episode of America Plus. We're gonna get right into it, guys. So here at America Plus, we're talking about narratives that are healthy for the world, at least from my perspective. And one narrative that's been like that has consumed our lives is this narrative of money, and Bitcoin is something that has come up in my life, and many people's lives. And now it's come up in a in some certain presidential candidate's lives.
And the, this weekend has been the Bitcoin conference 2024, and, I just wanted to sit here and just to discuss Bitcoin in general. This this is a Bitcoin episode. We're talking about the conference, and mainly, we are comparing, Trump's and RFK Junior's speeches, because these two candidates spoke. These two candidates are pro Bitcoin. Allegedly, they're both pro Bitcoin. One might know more than the other. You know, just as a consumer, you know. So I'm here. I'm just like some random guy doing a podcast. I don't have access to Bitcoin land as in, like, I'm not a part of the Michael Sailor industry. I'm not a part of the Bitcoin conference industry.
I'm not getting invited to these things, and frankly, like, I I I didn't care about it. I don't care about going to this Bitcoin conference. It frankly makes no sense to me. It's a decentralized thing. It's a decentralized money, but we're gonna centralize the event. Like, why don't like, I don't know. Like, why do we need that? It it makes it seem like there's, like, there's unity when there's not really much unity in Bitcoin. There's some unity. You get, like, small pockets of unity within Bitcoin, and then some other group is gonna do what they want with Bitcoin. And that's, like, the beauty of it. Right?
But, when it comes to this conference, I wasn't into it. Out there in Nashville this year, there was a podcasting 2.0 meetup. Kyron Down is out there. He was hanging out with Dave Jones. They were hanging out with Dolby Doss. They were hanging out. Oh my god. They saw Nick and Oscar. That's like my freaking dream from Fountain. They lit they were literally hanging out with the men who run Fountain. It just sounds awesome. They're probably drinking beers. And I would have loved to have been there at that big at that, at that event because they were in Nashville, but they some of them were going to the Bitcoin 2024, but a lot of them weren't. They didn't care, and I'm in that group. So naturally, I'm just I'm happy I vibe with those people.
Like, nah, dude. Like, we're not gonna go to this conference, dude. Like, what are we talking about? Bitcoin? We can talk about Bitcoin right here, like, between you and I, peer to peer. We don't need to go to some conference. The last thing I wanna do is go to a freaking conference. So I'm happy. I'm I'm with, like, the cool guys. Okay? Like, we're not gonna call ourselves the cool guys, but I'm gonna call them the cool guys. They are cool. Dave Jones is cool. Adam Curry is cool. The podcasting 2.0 crew is cool.
And that's why I know that we're onto something with podcasting 2.0, because we don't care about the money that we're using. Or like like, we care about it, but we don't care enough about it to try to be, like, pretentious about it, to try to act like like, we're literally changing the world, and we know it, but we're not gonna, like, whatever. We're just gonna shrug it off. We're gonna shrug off the, the the heavy innovation going on for the globe, for humanity. And I'm proud to be a part of a vibe like that. At at least that's how I interpret this, this podcast in 2.0 space.
I would have just had had a beer with Kyron. That that that that that just sounds nice. That sounds like a chill vibe. And going into the conference, who's there? Like, it's a bunch of different companies trying to make money off of you. It's a bunch of different people trying to cast out their narrative of what they think Bitcoin can be. And when I say there's no unity in Bitcoin, there seems to be a bit of a a bit of a divide and, like, some sort of a chasm when it comes to thinking about use cases of Bitcoin, and how Bitcoin is discussed and projected to audiences.
And this takes me to RFK Junior and Donald j Trump. You know, not to get I'm really not trying to get too political, but it the watching these 2 guys talk, the difference is just right off the bat. RFK Junior, people have been saying, like, he's a Bitcoiner. Watching his speech, he knows Bitcoin, and he was speaking to an audience that knows Bitcoin. So he aligned himself with that. He is he seems to be pretty assimilated to that to to the culture of Bitcoin, and he's into it. He wants to make a strategic reserve, but there's the way Kennedy talks is something that does not excite me.
And comparing that to what Trump said, you know, like, Trump was more business. Trump was like more pro business with his words. You know, I don't think Trump knows a lot about Bitcoin, but I'm also not upset about that. Because, you know, when it comes to bitcoin, barely anyone can really talk about it. You know, everyone sort of knows their own little side of it, you know. Some people look like some people know the philosophical side of bitcoin. Some people know the technical side of bitcoin. Some people know the podcasting side of bitcoin. Some people know the meat side of Bitcoin, the ranching side, and the freedom, and and all these things. All these things.
But Trump not knowing a lot about Bitcoin only proves that he's Trump. Like, is Trump really an expert on anything? Even though he's interesting to me, I'm leaning towards him. It seems to be you know, he he sort of knows a little about a lot, and Kennedy knows a lot about, like, a handful of things. He knows a lot about Kennedy knows a lot about Bitcoin, vaccines, and glyphosate. I think those are, like, the top three things that he, like, has dug into as a human being. And Trump, you know, they what's the only good thing he's good at he he's good at his, real estate.
And so that's how he made his billions, which is fine, but I'm just saying, like, it's just real estate. You know what I mean? And for him to be positive for Trump to be positive on on Bitcoin, he was really just like a hype train. His speech was full on hype.
[00:07:49] Unknown:
It was, Bitcoin is going to the moon. Bitcoin, all of you people are beautiful. You bitcoiners,
[00:07:57] Cole McCormick:
thank you. And Kennedy is like, I know what needs to be done with Bitcoin. We will do this with the Federal Reserve. We will find a way. And then Trump says the exact same thing, but in, like, a, like, a more WWE way. Kennedy says, we will make a strategic reserve with Bitcoin. Trump says,
[00:08:19] Unknown:
I promise we're gonna keep and hold 100% of what the government has.
[00:08:25] Cole McCormick:
Fuck. Yeah. Fuck. Yeah, dude. Both are good. I like both of those things. So what does that mean for the future of America? America Plus, Bitcoin. How can Bitcoin create help facilitate a more beautiful world our hearts knows as possible? These 2 men are on the right track. You know, I'm not sure if I need my president. I I'm not sure if I need my leader to know everything there is about Bitcoin. What I need from the leader is to allow me to do what I want. To set up certain things to not infringe on what I want to do with this technology and with this industry.
Kennedy. So Trump was more pro business speaking to, towards those things. Getting rid of red tape. He made a whole thing about firing Gary Gensler, which is my absolute favorite thing. Like, we need to fire Gary Gensler. Absolutely ridiculous. Not just about not just the drama with crypto and Bitcoin. Gary Gensler, like, peep everyone in the stock market, like, all the all the AMC and GameStop Apes, all these people hate Gary Gensler. Like, he's screwing over everyone. He's suing everyone. He's saying everything's a meme, Scott, a a a meme stock, and, like, don't invest in Bitcoin. He he he he's crazy.
So and Kennedy didn't say anything about Gary Gensler. Kennedy had a lot of things to say about how the government will benefit from bitcoin. And that's something that I don't give a shit about. I just don't. Why do I want the government, like, to really do better? Like, of course, from an American perspective, I want the dollar to be strong. So if they wanna use Bitcoin to back the dollar, to somehow use Bitcoin to pay off any debt, to help inflation, Those are things I'm comfortable with to help the currency. Use Bitcoin to help the dollar. Using Bitcoin oh, oh, first of all, Kennedy said he wants to have 4,000,000 Bitcoin. He wants the government to buy 4,000,000 Bitcoin.
And right now the government has US I'm, I'm tapping in right now. US government Bitcoin holding. Give it to me. They currently have 210,000. So Kennedy wants to increase that by, like, tenfold, dude, elevenfold. Like, what does that even mean? He wants 4,000,000 Bitcoin to be in the strategic reserve for the country for some reason. I don't know how he came to that number. Why is 4,000,000 Bitcoin relevant? Why does the government need 4,000,000 Bitcoin? There's only 21,000,000. Why does the US government need 4? 4,000,000?
That sounds insane. And me hearing Trump say he'll make an order. He'll he'll write some executive order saying, like, America, the government will keep 100%. They'll keep 100% of what they have and acquire. 210,000 is pretty, like I think that's pretty manageable. I think like, I like that number. I want the government to have as little Bitcoin as possible, but to use as little Bitcoin as possible to solve all the problems? Is that possible? I don't know. I I I really don't know if all the world's problems can be solved with, with half a 1000000, with a quarter million.
But America has about 13,600,000,000 in Bitcoin right now, and China has 12, 12,000,000,000 in Bitcoin. These are the governments, dude. And El Salvador has point 3,000,000,000. So what does that mean? A few million? A few 100,000,000? Does the US need more Bitcoin? I don't know. I don't wanna give them any more Bitcoin. Why the hell would we give them more Bitcoin? What was weird about Kennedy speech is that he said he also added that a Bitcoin transaction between Bitcoin and cash that's unreportable. So that's un that's not a taxable event. That's what he wants to do, which is pretty cool, But this whole buying 4,000,000 Bitcoin, this he said he they he want he wants the government to buy 550 bitcoin a day until they get to 4,000,000.
Why do you want to do that? Like, how is that number gonna why? Why? Why? Why? Why? I don't support that. I don't support that Kennedy. Kennedy is pro government. Kennedy is just simply pro government, and I think that's what I'm not vibing with. What I need from him is just
[00:13:37] Unknown:
a bit more simplicity. Because every time when I listen Excuse
[00:13:41] Cole McCormick:
me. Every time when I listen to Kennedy, this guy has a has a 10 minute speech about every single industry that is, like, going downhill, and he has a plan. But at the same time, I'm just, like, uninterested in in, like, thinking that the things that he's presenting is crucial for a president. Is it crucial for Trump to like Bitcoin? No. Is it crucial for Kennedy? No. I think Kennedy is just waking up. I think Trump I think Trump is trying to get votes, and he's reaching out to different communities that might be influential online and, I don't know, within the future of of his potential second second term. And so Trump is naturally more business oriented.
He wants businesses to be good with Bitcoin. He wants businesses to be using Bitcoin. I don't think he cares about the government using Bitcoin. He's open to it. He clearly sees a use case. He clearly sees that Bitcoin is useful.
[00:14:56] Unknown:
His knowledge on it will have to be known, will have to be seen.
[00:15:01] Cole McCormick:
But, again, is it really that important? Is it really that important when you have a decentralized thing? Is it really important if the president doesn't know every single detail about it, or is it more important that they just allow it to thrive? So that's, like, sort of my 2 my 2¢ on those things. I didn't wanna play any clips because I didn't really think they're, like, all that relevant. I just wanted to air this out. If you wanna go to the speeches, the speeches are up online. They're on YouTube and Twitter. You know, they're just speeches. Trump was a lot more both of them were political too. I'll say that as well. They were very political. Trump was more domestic political with his speech.
Kennedy went more, international with his with his politics. Kennedy straight up said, here's a quote. I wanna tell you why Bitcoin is good for America. What happened in Canada with the truckers was a travesty.
[00:16:06] Unknown:
What? What did you just say?
[00:16:09] Cole McCormick:
Go to the speech. That's literally what happened. He literally said the sentence, let me tell you how America will benefit from Bitcoin. And then he starts talking about Canada. I don't give a shit about Canada. Tell me why it's gonna be good. He was talking about a good thing. He was talking about transactional freedom and the and the Canadian truckers and all that and how that woke him up, but that story came after a sentence that should have been about America. You should talk about America if you say you're gonna talk about America. So I don't know who he was pandering to. I don't know who Kennedy was really trying to speak to. He was speaking to the Bitcoiners, of course, but he was trying to he he's trying to do something really weird. Like, I'd that I don't fully understand if it's ignorance or if it's oversight, or if it's arrogance. You know? Ignorance or arrogance or oversight.
He it's this it's this thing where, like, he still cares about the institutions. It's this thing where he still cares about the government, and, like, he wants a strong government, a good government. And
[00:17:35] Unknown:
when I think about what like, which Trump side?
[00:17:38] Cole McCormick:
Oh my god. I'm so freaking tired. But this is what it's all about. This is what it's all about. This is the dream, folks. When I listen to Trump talk about politics and how Bitcoin is gonna be good, I don't think he is fully comprehending all the words he's saying. He's a hype train. He's just trying to get you on his side, And Kennedy is saying, we should use this to make the government better. And those two things, whether that's a good analogy or a good analysis or not, I see Trump as more friendly, and Kennedy is more, like, boring professional.
Like, Kennedy is a Kennedy. And but where the energy is is, of course, the energy matches the energy of this time, the energy of this era. The energy that I'm feeling matches Trump. And if he's pro Bitcoin, then that's a bonus. That's all I have to say about that. That's all that really matters in the end. So don't don't really have much to say about that. Anything else, dude? I'm I'm speaking in freaking tongues, man. Can you tell I'm tired? I start droppling up my sentences when I'm, when I get a little sleepy. Let's go to the let me go to my email too. We gotta go to go to the boostograms, the freaking let's do the value for value section, folks. The value for value section. America Plus is a value for value show.
That means that I present I'm I'm coming to you. I'm coming to the audience just trying to talk talk about my heart. Just trying to open up and try to just try to make a new connection with you people. I okay. So the when it comes to value for value, you're able to support me through money. Okay? You can send me a PayPal. If you think I'm entertaining, you can send me some cash, or you can send me a boostagram and a modern podcasting app like fountain. Go to value for value dot info for more info, then download the fountain dot f m app. It's the best way to support the show. Fountain dot f m is my favorite modern podcasting app. The founders are in Nashville.
They're they're good guys. Oscar, Nick, and Thomas. These are good people. They're doing good things. Download Fountain. Support them with the premium subscription. I am. And just just have a time streaming sats. Have have a time. Have a time sending in boostograms. Like, these messages with satoshis, Satoshis Plus messages, like, this is the future of media online. This is the future of supporting your favorite content creator. And I'm gonna be reading it some boostograms from last week. Last week, I was, talking about, Italy. I spoke to Shannon, my girlfriend, Shannon. We're talking about the differences of Italian culture and American culture. She was coming back from a trip, and, we got some boostograms from that conversation. This first one comes in from at the mere mortals podcast, at Kyren Down. He sends in a beautiful 1,111¢.
That's his usual. Thank you, Kyron. He says, I haven't Okay. So last week we're talking about, like, Americans and traveling. Okay? And Kyron's a traveler, so he's talking about that. Karen says, I haven't really come across Americans in my travels. Do you guys not like backpacking and hostels? Anyhoo, Shannon getting out there and changing my impression. Really interesting cultural observations. Thank you. Thank you, Giron. Boost. And now, as the French say, it is time for Le Boost. Yeah, Kyren. Americans, we don't really, we don't really travel. Like, we we travel inside of America. We travel inside of, like, pods. We travel inside of ships.
We don't really explore. We don't really do much of that, dude. This culture that we live in, it only supports, consuming things from something that's been left behind a a while ago. So what does that mean for the future? I don't know. But it's the American culture, and I appreciate I'm inspired by the way Kyron travels. I wanna do it myself. Cameron's just, like, going around. He's I think he's in I think he's in LA, or he's about to be in LA, and he's I should be meeting him, but meeting up with him. I hope I'm meeting up with him. I'm dealing with with, with some stuff and my family right now. To be totally real real with you, I mean, this is something I don't really wanna, like, talk about too much, but, like, my dad's just, like, not doing too good right now. And I'm I'm in Arizona right now, so hopefully, I see Kyron.
Hopefully hopefully, prayers up prayers up for that to happen, but just shout out to Kyren. I love you, dude. Thank you for your boostagram. This next one, then the next two coming from atjoelw. He said, he he sent in 2 of them. He said, oh, I'm sorry. He sent in 1,111 sats. He says, couple friends did a European backpacking excursion for their honeymoon some years back. Thought that was a great way to spend a honeymoon. Always, always something I wanted to do, and was OD'd on Trump last week. Had to skip last week's. Joel, it's okay. Boosting is loving. It's basically, you put Bitcoin with anything, and all of a sudden, that is more efficient. The last one from Joel, he says, this was a much needed change of pace from clown world. Sounds like an amazing trip. It it it it was a good trip for her.
It was Shannon's, like, dream trip with her mom. She got to do it with her mom. They got like, it it was a beautiful trip for her, and I'm really happy. She got a bunch of, like, she took actual, like, film, like, film photos. So I'll probably post those sometime soon. When we get them? I'm not in them, but I I'll be posting them. But thank you to those people who wanted to donate. Value for value is really how I wanna sustain myself as a podcaster. I don't know where the future will go with the podcast. Me being right here in this moment, this is the best that I can offer right now, and I am committing myself to making it better and better and better in the future. If you've been following me for a while, I hope you've seen that progress. You know, it's of course, it's life. It's ups and downs, but I have a real goal and mission to get better, to be the best that I can at podcasting and and communicating these positive ideas for a more beautiful world.
This is a situation that requires me to level up. This is a life this is a moment in my life that requires me to man up. You know, man, like, just helping my dad, just trying to get out of bed, dude. Like, it's just it's not going good right now. You know? I this is a wild moment. So, like, this week oh, god. Okay. I didn't wanna talk about this, but it's, like, serious, and it needs to be communicated, and this is just me. So this week, my dad was officially put on hospice, which which was not expected to be right now.
There had always been, like, conversations and pamphlets about this type of a service, but I guess well well, the the crazy thing is that I I was here 2 weeks ago, and, you know, my dad was like, okay. He was like he he would, like things had, like, become, like, normal. You know? Like, during this cancer experience, behaviors become normal over time. You know? And 2 weeks ago, it seemed like a situation that was like, okay. Like, here's it's just like the rhythm of things happening. You know? He he's gotten a bit like, as the months have have as the months have progressed, he's gotten more tired. You know, he's been resting a lot more.
You know, everything I everything I'm listing is is is on the list of, like, not good things. But this past week on Tuesday, my mom calls me, and she's like she just says that he's officially on hospice. You know? This is, like, this is real. This is going down. This is this is life right now. And we have nurses coming in, and, you know, we're getting their advice, and and and stuff. So there's really there's really not much I can say about it. You know? My emotional state, I can say that I feel brave. You know? That's something that I've I'm not sure if that's something that I've chosen to feel or if that's something that's been, like, bestowed on me.
I'm not some I'm not sure if that's, like, some genetic thing where I don't know, dude. But, like, in this moment, like, like, like, I'm sad. You know? Like, I'm sad. And but at the same time, I know what my family needs. And I'm more willing to give my family what they need than to be negative. You know? And I'm also not and I've never been delusional about anything. You know? Like, this has been a very humbling experience. And to be in Arizona right now, like, I took a leave from work. Like like, this week, like, since since you saw me last, since you fell last heard me, my entire world has pretty much, like, flipped upside down.
I've taken a leave from work indefinitely. I'm in Arizona. I don't know when I'll be back in LA. My girlfriend's working. She's not here. She was here for the weekend, but, like, she has to work, you know, and and then, like, you know, she doesn't it's not her responsibility to be here either. So, like, I gotta be here. And I feel like I'm manning up. I feel like I'm leveling up in the most surreal cosmic spiritual way. And we're on the verge of in my head, how I am interpreting it, we're on the verge of a miracle or the beginning of a very new chapter.
Like, it's one of those 2 things. Like, this is what the end game is. A miracle or the beginning of a really different chapter. So am I afraid? I don't know if I'm afraid of it's like, I don't have anything. I I usually have, like, some bullet points prepared, but I don't have anything prepared for this conversation, dude. I'm just trying to be brave for my dad. I'm trying to be there for my dad. I'm trying to just hold his hand and, like, oh my god. Just make sure he's comfortable. Make sure he's, like, able to move. Like, it's crazy, dude. Like, I'm not trying to get too graphic, but, like, his physical strength has just been decreasing.
And there's been a drop in the last, like since I got here. I got here on freaking Thursday night, and since then, there's been another like, there there there's been more drops. I've been feeling him getting weaker, and which is which is wild. Up until now, you know, like, it's been like a normal life. You know? It's of course, he he was going to hospitals and chemo and and things, but I was still talking to him. I was still, like, just, like, living life with him. And we were going to places. We're going to amusement parks, and it's just wild how, like, just like like like now it's hospice.
Now it's hospice care. Like, 2 weeks ago was his birthday, and we're, like, chilling. Like, he was tired, and he was he wasn't talking a whole ton. But it's just like like, you just don't know what it's gonna be like. You just don't know what non communication sounds like. You don't know what that means. You don't know what that experience is like, and I've chosen to be patient. I've chosen to be the most patient person in the room. Not in not in competition, but just I'm I'm just trying to give my dad the best thing that I that I can give him. So it's a wild time right now, dude.
I don't know if I'll see Kyron in in LA. I I I I I really want to. Me and him had plans to go to V con. We're gonna see Gary v. I was gonna bull rush the lines, and we're gonna talk to Aubrey Marcus and ask him about souls, at least I was. We're gonna talk to I wanna talk to the CEO of X. We're gonna get all these interviews on America Plus. Vicon was v dude, I wanna go to Vicon. I still wanna go to Vicon. Like, Vicon is so dope. I've I have the fucking ticket on my phone. My god. Like, it's just like and and it I'm not, like, having a pity party about that. It's just like, I've been making new friends.
I've been meeting new people. And now it's like, here's this new moment. It's like, wow. Like, time to be an adult here. Like, time to, like I'm not trying to ghost anyone. I'm not trying to be I'm not trying to make an emotional decision. I'm not trying to make a knee jerk decision. You know? I'll just, you know, make try to do my best to make calm, level headed decisions. And, you know, this is just life. This is how the universe works. Everything happens. Like, the family stuff, the friend stuff, the event stuff, like, it's all compiling together, and it's coming into this podcast. And I I I was really trying to avoid talking about this, but, of course, I can't stop talking about my feelings. And I can't just I I I I just can't stop talking.
I really just can't. It's impossible. I get in trouble at work all the time. I I had to take a leave, because I just can't stop talking. And I know there's there's a few people who listen to this, and and they've lost parents to cancer. And, you know, Kyron has been open about losing his mom this summer, and it's like, damn. It's like, is that is that how me and Kyron make friends? Is that how him and I really hit it off? Like, oh my god. Like, that's like is that, like, sure. It's gonna be happy in the future. It's gonna be a good thing later.
It's not a good thing now. So I'm able to laugh about these things. I'm able to try to be mature about these things. Maturity and laughter. How do you balance these two things? I don't know, but we're doing it now. We're doing it live. We're doing it live. We're doing it live. We're doing it live. Let's play a song, dude. I listened to the to to podcasting 2 point o. They played this pretty dope song, called Cool Summer by Tony Salamone, or Toly Salamone. I, I played one of his songs in the past, and I like this guy. So this song is called Cool Summer. Great summer vibes.
Just vibe out with me. You know, I'm really just this is music. When I play music on the podcast, it's it's about the vibes. It's about the positivity. It's about the raising of your vibration, and that is such a real thing. I'm trying to evoke reason to see a more beautiful world, to to be open to the lesson that is within the challenge in front of me. And so I'm just trying to express this, man. So here we go. Tony Salamone. Oh, and he's also getting when I play music on the podcast, they're getting 60% of your Satoshis. Okay? 60% of your Satoshi donation is going directly to the artist. There was all these artists at at at Bitcoin 2024 as well, like like musicians were there, and they're doing a whole live thing. So check out check out Ainsley Costello.
Check out check out any artist that Adam Curry retweeted. Check out, I I would recommend check out this guy, Tony Salomon. Check out Angie Costello. Check out, what's that British guy's name, dude? I forget the British guy's name. Hang on. Let me go to Wave Lake. I gotta go to Wave Lake. I can't just not remember this guy's name. He was, like, the first musician to do it. What's this guy's name? Of course, they don't have him on Wave Lake anymore. Oh my god. Anyone know what I'm talking about? The British guy who's famous on who's famous for being the first one? Joe Martin. This guy. Joe Martin. Look up Joe Martin. Look up, who I just said. Anthony Costello and Tony Salamone. Cool summer. They're getting 60%.
Enjoy, folks. That's America Plus, bitch. Stay free.
Introduction and Overview
The Narrative of Money and Bitcoin
Bitcoin Conference 2024 and Presidential Candidates
RFK Jr. vs. Trump on Bitcoin
Future of Bitcoin in America
Value for Value Section
Personal Reflections and Family Matters
Music Break and Closing Remarks
