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Join me today for Episode 1078 of Bitcoin And . . . 


Topics for today:

• UN Report on Mining: FUD
• Charles Schwab to Begin Spot BTC Trading
• Will US Trasury Buy Back Bonds?
• Metaplanet, Strategy Buy More BTC

#Bitcoin #BitcoinAnd 

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SoapMiner
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Articles:

https://decrypt.co/315611/illegal-crypto-mining-powerful-tool-for-cybercrime-syndicates-un-report
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/spar-supermarket-in-switzerland-starts-accepting-bitcoin
https://bitcoinnews.com/markets/charles-schwab-spot-bitcoin-trading/
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-rally-may-follow-us-treasury-buybacks

• https://www.cnbc.com/futures-and-commodities/
• https://dashboard.clarkmoody.com/
• https://mempool.space/
• https://www.bitcoinandshow.com/
• https://fountain.fm/show/eK5XaSb3UaLRavU3lYrI

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-stock-to-flow-model-creator-plan-b-attacks-eth-centralized-premined-shitcoin
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/04/21/strategy-buys-usd555m-of-bitcoin-increases-total-stash-to-538-200-btc
https://cointelegraph.com/news/metaplanet-surpasses-400-m-bitcoin-holdings-28-m
https://www.theblock.co/post/351321/bitget-will-roll-back-trades-compensate-users-after-abnormal-voxel-trading-activity


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[00:00:02] David Bennett:

It is 09:26AM   Pacific Daylight Time. It is the day after Easter twenty twenty five. This is episode ten   seventy eight   of Bitcoin, and the pope is dead.   In case you hadn't heard that by now,   pope Francis   passed away, I guess. They're saying on Easter day,   I call Huey.   I'm sorry. I I do this.   I think that he died, like, you know, several   several days ago,   and they were just keeping him, you know, in stasis   so they could announce it on Easter. And, honestly, if I was the Catholic church,   as as a as the holy see or the people overseeing the holy   see in the pope's absence, honestly, I would have done the same. Francis, definitely not my favorite pope. I mean, I'm not Catholic, so I don't really have that much of a dog in that hunt.  

But   if I if you say, well, okay. Well, who was your favorite pope? Well, it certainly wasn't the pope before this one, the guy that re that resigned.   He's the only, like, the second pope in history,   or at least in in in known history that has ever resigned and I can't remember his name, is that German dude.   I didn't like him at all. In fact, I I straight up called him anti pope and a lot of people are calling Francis   an anti pope himself,   But, again, no real dog in the hunt. But I gotta say, John pope John Paul the second, there was just something about that guy.   There was something about the expressions on his face. There was something there was just something about him. I'm sure there's several people out there that can find all manner of fault with John Paul the second.  

However, god, I wish I really do wish he was back.   So the question becomes,   what   pope is the conclave going to announce this time?   And I'm sure that they are calling the conclave into action. I'll I'll bet you the bishops are already on planes or however they they get over to   to the Vatican,   and they will be locked,   literally locked into a room   until they come up with a vote   that gives us a new pope.   You know, heaven only knows when that will actually be, but it, you know, it's always sad to see somebody die. The guy died of double pneumonia.   And if you've ever had pneumonia in just one lung, you know how bad that is.  

I've actually had pneumonia. When I was a kid, I had double pneumonia.   It   it is it is a   it's a test.   It's a test of humanity.   I just I would give it that. And, you know, I just I I'm sorry that he died   even if he wasn't my favorite pope. He, you know, it's it's just too bad to see an old, you know, an 88 year old man die of, god, double pneumonia.   Gotta be painful.   Alright.   So let's get into   the week   of Bitcoin news where Spar supermarkets   in Switzerland   is starting to accept Bitcoin, albeit   it seems to be in just one store. It looks like a pilot program.   The VVIXN Bitcoin from Bitcoin magazine might be able to shed some light on it.  

Spar   has begun accepting Bitcoin payments at its Zug, Switzerland location,   marking another milestone in Switzerland's progressive approach to Bitcoin adoption. And the implementation   uses the Lightning Network   through DFX   Swiss's   open crypto pay solution,   enabling instant transactions   at the point of sale.   Okay. So Lightning Network is definitely on deck for use in Switzerland. This should be interesting.   Because if you remember,   there were several times, especially in 2015,   '20 '14,   even though I was into Bitcoin,   summer late summer of, of 2035,   I had already known about Roger Ver,   and he basically, he had been going around trying to get a whole bunch of merchants to adopt Bitcoin. But at the time,   it was all on chain.  

And then the Lightning Network came out.   Roger Ver's attempts at getting any kind of traction on merchant adoption   was almost   nil. It just it just didn't really take off. Nobody's gonna wait ten minutes   to see if your transaction actually went through. I mean, that's yeah. I mean, that that's why Bitcoin is, you know, in my opinion, at the base layer is more about final settlement   than it is paying for coffee, and that's that's a well   that's a well worn meme right there. It's like, oh my god. My coffee with Bitcoin.   But when Lightning Network   came out,   things changed because that one was instant, albeit   not exactly final settlement. And that was one of the arguments that Roger Verb made against the Lightning Network. And the second argument that he made was that it doesn't work. He tried to use it a couple of times and it just failed on him. Well, he started using it around the same time that we all started using it. And, yeah, Lightning Network had some issues.  

There wasn't a lot of Lightning network nodes that were online for one thing   that causes, you know, the the way these networks work that causes problems.   But he was using the the no merchant adoption   and the Lightning Network not actually working   as his main points to launch   the Bitcoin Cash Network, which is completely failed, and then by itself got split off   by oh, god. What was it?   What's his name? Oh, god.   Craig Wright and his friend Calvin Ayre. They totally rugged Roger.   I think it was they had associated with Roger on the BCH   fork.  

And then one year later, they forked it again into BSV   and completely left Roger out in the wind to twist. It was a kind of a thing of beauty. But   getting back to this,   the store's location in Zug,   often called Crypto Valley, reflects Switzerland's embrace of the technology.   The country has emerged as a global leader in Bitcoin adoption with cities like Zug and Lugano   spearheading initiatives to integrate Bitcoin into everyday   transactions in Lugano, in particular,   has made headlines with its plan b initiative, which aims to make Bitcoin a de facto legal tender in the city.   The plan,   supported by mayor Michelle Folletti,   has already enabled Bitcoin payments for taxes and public services   and at hundreds of local merchants.  

The city is also partnered with Tether, of course, to establish a technology education center and startup fund. Quote,   this spa location   is among the first supermarkets in Switzerland where you can pay directly at the checkout   using   Bitcoin via an l n u r l d f x Swiss announced. And the implementation   could pave the way for expansion across Spar's network of,   well, holy moly, 13,900   stores   in 48 countries,   which serves approximately 14,700,000   customers a day.   Bitcoin Association Switzerland director,   Rahim   Tagesagdigan,   demonstrated the system's simplicity.  

Quote,   just scan a static QR code, send sats,   immediate and easy registration   by the cashier, end quote.   This user friendly approach aligns with Switzerland's vision of making Bitcoin transactions   accessible   to everyday consumers.   The country's Bitcoin friendly stance has attracted numerous Bitcoin and crypto companies   and initiatives   beyond Zug and Lugano,   cities across Switzerland are exploring similar programs supported by a robust banking sector that increasingly is embracing Bitcoin.   Spar's initiative builds on this foundation,   joining other Swiss retailers and businesses   in accepting Bitcoin payments.  

The move could influence adoption across the retail sector, particularly given Switzerland's role as a model for Bitcoin integration   in traditional finance and commerce.   So my question, that's the end of the article, but my question is, will it work this time?   And if I say anything other than yes, I'm going to be crucified.   And I don't think it's going to work this time either.   And it's not that I think   it's not that I'm saying anything bad itself about Bitcoin. We all know where this is going.   We're   when I say we're, I mean, the people of the planet.   We're still infused with the logic of fiat.  

And you're you're talking about a tiger changing its spots.   It's really, really hard to do that. It's like teaching an old dog new tricks.   This has nothing to do   with whether or not Bitcoin,   whether or not it's plugged into Lightning Network or eCash or any of that. It's not whether or not it works, whether or not it's easier now than it used to be, and whether or not it's going to get even easier in the future, that has nothing to do with it.   Roger was wrong in trying to get merchant adoption   not because Bitcoin didn't work,   but because he was up against human psychology.  

And that psychology   is molded   in the times   that they live in.   Right? The psychology of all people isn't isn't something you're just born with and it doesn't change. Your psychology is like clay.   And all of us, me included and everybody else I know, we're all molded by media,   bullshit stories coming out of the media, events that happen across the globe, whether they're reported correctly by media or, you know, or incorrectly by media or correctly by independent   media as we are now starting to find out these guys are much better at it because they're more honest.   It's it   we get shaped every day by the events and the people and their opinions, and their opinions are shaped by all the events around them. And it's just it's just this pool   of where we are. And where we are   is firmly in two things,   a bullshit fiat system   where money is just continuously debased, and yet we're told that's good   because inflation is good for the economy even though there's no basis in truth for that.  

But because a Nobel laureate, you know, commentator on CNBC says it, well, then it must be true because you're not on TV.   Well, that's an appeal to an authority, which is, well, is one of the   basic logical fallacies that you can fall into.   And the entire world is operating on a logical fallacy. If it's not on CNBC,   if it's not said by Jim Cramer,   if it's not said by, I don't know,   Rachel Maddow,   then it can't be true.   Nobody else has the authority   to be able to tell you what to do.   So we're continuously   bathed   in the light of fiat.  

And until that light is extinguished, and I hope it's done with a howitzer one zero five,   it's it's going to be this way. And it's going to continuously   be difficult   no matter how easy it is, how easy we make it   to interact with and do business in Bitcoin.   We're not fighting against that technology. We're not fighting against whether or not Bitcoin works or not. We're fighting ourselves.   And we're also fighting the UN   who comes out with reports like this.   Illegal crypto mining is a powerful tool   for cybercrime   syndicates.  

Vismea v   writing this one for decrypt.   The United Nations   once again, has sounded the alarm on a new phase of global organized crime   where crypto mines   in militia   run factories.   Stablecoins   helps wash billions,   and Telegram, well, they just host black markets.   A new report from the United Nations Office of Drugs   and Crime   reveals that transnational criminal groups from East And Southeast Asia   are rapidly expanding their operations worldwide using illegal crypto mining as a powerful tool to launder billions in illicit proceeds.   The report titled, quote,   inflection point,   the global implications   of scam centers,   underground banking, and illicit online marketplaces   in Southeast Asia,   documents   how these syndicates are embedding themselves in regions with weak oversight   from Zambia and Nigeria to Tonga and The Middle East.  

The groups are diversifying   beyond scams and trafficking,   building full fledged online ecosystems   that incorporate   unlicensed, oh my god, crypto exchanges.   Oh oh, and for the love of Mary,   encrypted messaging tools. And the holy grail of it all,   stablecoin   to power an industrial scale fraud machine,   the reports author said. Actually, they call it fraud economy,   but fraud machine is, I think, a better way to actually describe what they're lying about about here. Quote, we are seeing a global expansion of east and southeast Asian organized crime groups,   says Benedict Hoffman, UNODC,   actor acting regional representative.  

Quote, it spreads like a cancer.   Authorities treat it in one area, but the roots, they never disappear.   They simply   migrate,   end quote.   Are you suggesting   never mind. Mind. I was about to launch into something else. Don't worry about it. The report pointed   to Huon   Guaranty   recently rebanded   Howang   as one of the central hubs of this   black   underground economy. With over 970,000   users and $24,000,000,000   in crypto flows since 2021,   this Cambodia   based platform has reportedly become a one stop shop for laundering tools, fake identities, and scam services   many now offered on Telegram   as enforcement pressure grows.  

The platform has also launched its own stablecoin called blockchain,   crypto exchange, and online gambling products   designed to circumvent government controls, the reports authors said.   The convergence   between the acceleration   and professionalization   of these operations on the one hand   and their geographical   expansion into new parts of the region and beyond,   on the other,   translates into a new intensity in the industry,   one that governments need to be prepared to respond to, Hoffman said.   Some Huon vendors now target jurisdictions like Nigeria,   Namibia,   and Angola, showing the platform's widening global footprint.  

Crypto mining is   especially valuable to these groups because it largely avoids anti money laundering oversight, says the   UNDOC,   by stealing electricity and operating off grid.   Oh, okay. Hold on.   How could you steal electricity but not be on the grid?   Are are you hooking up to, like, your neighbor's gasoline generator?   Do you see how much bullshit this is?   By stealing electricity and operating off grid,   gangs can generate seemingly clean digital assets at minimal cost and with little traceability. In regions like Libya,   where electricity costs are among the lowest in the world,   these operations have even caused citywide blackouts according to Libyan officials cited in the report.  

The recent findings   build on warnings first outlined in a 2024   UNODC   report,   which highlighted the increasing convergence of crypto, cybercrime, and AI in Southeast Asia.   That report warned that organized crime groups were exploiting   vulnerabilities across the region,   with their operations quickly outpacing government's ability to respond.   In 2023 alone,   Americans lost $5,600,000,000   to crypto related scams with $4,400,000,000   attributed to, quote,   pig butchering schemes traced back to Southeast Asia.   Meanwhile,   East and Southeast Asian nations reported an estimated $37,000,000,000   in cyber fraud losses,   most of it routed through crypto based laundering tools, the latest report said.  

Decrypt reached out to UNODC   for additional comment and will update   this story if a response is ever received.   In March,   Thailand authorities uncovered 63 illegal crypto mining machines operating out of an abandoned building in Pathim Thane   province.   The operation,   remotely controlled,   resulted in electricity theft exceeding $300,000.   In neighboring Malaysia, a house explosion in February led authorities to a covert mining setup,   just one of many uncovered in that country's ongoing crackdown.   Meanwhile,   Iran experienced rolling blackouts in Tehran and other provinces in late twenty twenty four with suspicions   that unauthorized crypto mining was contributing to the strain on the power grid. Well, wait a minute. I thought these guys were operating off grid.  

Anyway, to address the issue, the UN has called for urgent multilateral action, including the need to, quote,   monitor and investigate   threats   like crypto enabled fraud,   strengthen legal frameworks for asset recovery and investigation, and enable cross border coordination   through timely information exchange.   Sounds like   your,   Interpol to me. Okay. This is   this is a FUD piece.   We're out of the UN   because they got nothing better to do, and they're scared shitless.   Actually, the probably that they do have better things to do, but they have actually   been directed   to write this. This is this is ridiculous.  

The crypto mining itself   isn't really going to do a whole lot   if you're stealing other people's crypto.   I mean, unless unless it could be proven that the transactions that were involved in said fraud or said theft   were not being mined by any other pool.   And what let's just let we're talk like, I'm just talking about Bitcoin right now because Bitcoin,   Litecoin,   maybe Dogecoin, I think are the only things left to actually use proof of work where you need   electricity   powered mining machines to actually do transactions.   Okay.  

So   unless we can actually prove   that all the transactions or at least   a good guts and feathers   of these transactions   that were involved in these frauds were were refused   by any of the pools.   And the only way that they could get mined   is through these particular mining facilities that were clearly stealing electricity   somehow   in an off grid situation, which I'm I'm just gonna harp on because the ludicrousness   of that statement   leads me to believe that the rest of this report is complete bullshit.   There's no way that you can steal electricity in the amounts needed to do   functional mining   and be off grid.  

The only way that you can do that   is if you're gonna be off grid, you gotta find an a power source all of your own, whether it's you've you've got a hydroelectric   generator   or you're somehow or another on a gas well or something.   But if you're off grid,   the chances of you getting enough electricity   to steal it that is noticeable by authorities   is infinitesimal.   It there's no way you can do that.   And that pretty much, as far as I'm concerned, breaks that entire report right in half.   So do not listen to anything that the UN says. They're being directed pretty much, you know, by people above them saying we we've we've gotta do everything we can   to continuously   shed the light that crypto is bad because we can't control it. That's what this all boils down to. And if you feel dirty,   you know, about listening to that,   Try Soap Miner's handmade tallow soaps. The Circle P is open for business. It's where I bring plebs with goods and services   to plebs just like you who might wanna actually, you know, purchase those goods and services   in   a circular Bitcoin economy. That's right. And you can get   cedarwood tallow soaps. You can get peppermint tallow soap. You can get lavender. You can get pine tar, or you can get unflavored   or, well, unscented.  

Like, the rough cut tallow's got three ingredients,   a % beef tallow, it's got lye, it's got distilled water, and SoapMiner on his website, which is SoapMiner.com,   that's SoapMiner.com,   that's a hell of a, a grab for a URL, dude.   I mean, I I am I I am like, I I just realized that he's got SoapMiner.com.   Not net, not, you know, I o, not nothing. Soapminer.com.   Like, nobody figured out soap miner?   I don't know, man. That that's pretty good. But on his website, soapminer.com,   he will take Bitcoin,   and there's a place in the notes   where you can leave a note. If you decide to try out his soaps and buy a couple of bars, make sure you tell him that you heard about it here on the Circle p on the Bitcoin and podcast, and maybe just maybe Soap Miner will cut me a few Satoshis.  

You know, clean,   laundered   Satoshis   because, you know, soap mining.   I'll bet he's off grid and stealing electricity.   Good for you, brother. Now on to   the $10,000,000,000,000   giant in the room.   Charles Schwab   is launching a spot Bitcoin trading   by 2026   according to Bitcoin News and Alex   Larry, financial investment giant Charles Schwab   has announced plans to offer spot   Bitcoin trading to its clients   within the next twelve months.   This is a big move into the digital asset space by a company with over $10,000,000,000,000   in assets under management.  

Rick Wurster,   who became CEO of Charles Schwab in 2025, confirmed the plans during several recent public appearances,   including   the twenty twenty five spring business update   and various media interviews.   Wurster said, quote,   we are hopefully   and likely   to be able to launch direct spot crypto.   Our goal is to do that in the next twelve months, and we're on a great path to be able to do that, end quote.   If approved,   Schwab's new offering would allow millions of its clients to buy and sell digital assets like Bitcoin   through their brokerage accounts. This is retail.  

This is Joe on the street.   Charles Schwab   is not the institution   where billionaires   go.   This is   this is like   this is you and me.   Yeah. I hey, man. I got a Charles Schwab account.   I could buy Vanguard through Charles Schwab. Yeah. See, that is that's why it's huge.   But if, but Charles Schwab currently does offer Bitcoin ETFs and futures,   but not   direct trading of digital assets.   The move into spot Bitcoin trading puts Schwab in direct competition with platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood,   which already allow users to trade digital assets. It also signals   a bigger trend of traditional financial firms embracing digital assets as mainstream   investments.  

Wurster said the company is being driven by customer demand. Quote, visits to our crypto content,   oh, have gone up 400%,   and 70% of those visitors are not yet Schwab clients.   So we think we can attract a lot of new users, he said, adding, quote,   as people in the industry are thinking about crypto,   they'd love to work with a trusted brand and a firm that can bring them a lot of capabilities,   and we are that firm, end quote.   One of the main reasons Charles Schwab has not offered direct Bitcoin trading before   is regulatory uncertainty in The United States.  

Previous CEO, Walt Bettinger,   said the lack of clarity was a major   obstacle.   But the Donald Trump reelected well, with Donald Trump reelected,   Schwab executives now think the regulatory environment is getting clearer.   Wersher said that he expects   better digital asset rules to come out under this administration, and it will be easier   for companies like Schwab to launch these services.   As Schwab gets into the spot Bitcoin market, many in the community are watching how this will affect prices. And right now, Bitcoin is around $87,000,   and analysts are predicting a move to a hundred thousand.  

Technical show Bitcoin is consolidating at key levels, and if the momentum continues, it could break out.   Schwab's ten trillion dollars in assets under management   gives it the confidence to actively get into the spot Bitcoin markets, a shift from just holding passive ETFs   to a more deep involvement.   Some think Schwab's entry will have an impact similar to BlackRock and Fidelity launching Bitcoin ETFs in early twenty twenty four.   If Schwab does launch, spot Bitcoin trading as planned,   it will unlock a lot of liquidity and attract both retail and institutional investors   to the platform   and to the broader market.  

Yeah. Schwab,   they have some kind you know, some institutional   traction, but that's not their bread and butter, dude.   Their bread and butter is just Joe Blow on the street.   You know? Sally Sue   eating the sandwich.   You know? The teachers, the firemen, the cops.   You know? The the regular people that have regular jobs that aren't billionaires or even millionaires.   That that that's the bread and butter of Charles Schwab.   And once Schwab does this, if they do, if if they turn it on,   then that's gonna be the that's gonna be the last light   switch to flick on   for the rest of the retail industry. They're all gonna go shit. We gotta do it now.  

And,   yeah, there will probably be a whole host of chicanery that goes on, and, yes, there will be crying and the gnashing of teeth and the bearing of claws because they're oh my god. Bitcoin's so manipulated by the institutions.   I can't say Bitcoin is for enemies any more than I already have.   If   you have a solution   that is going to allow us,   to force these institutions   to not do the thing,   and the thing is buy Bitcoin,   then you're you're advocating for the very thing that would allow me not to buy Bitcoin.   And we can't have that.  

I mean, you you can't have everything   perfect.   At one point or another, you just gotta take the lumps. And   there may be some other weird issues along the way. And   Arthur Hayes points out something that,   well, I haven't really been thinking about it, but I do think a lot about US treasuries.   Arthur seems to be thinking about US treasuries in a slightly different way. Zoltan Vardai from Cointelegraph   says Bitcoin rally above a hundred thousand dollars   may follow   United States Treasury   buybacks.   This is according again to Arthur Hayes.   Investors seeking Bitcoin exposure may be running out of time to purchase below a 6 figure price as US Treasury buybacks may signal the next leg up for the world's first cryptocurrency.  

This might be the, quote, last chance to buy Bitcoin below the $100,000   mark according to Arthur Hayes, cofounder of BitMex and chief investment officer   over at Maelstrom.   Quote, seriously, fam.   This might be the last chance you have to buy bit BTC   post hinting at incoming treasury buybacks   as the bazooka   for Bitcoin's   price trajectory.   Okay. Those first two sentences where it's like, this may be your last chance.   Dude,   it's hype.   Okay? And I'm not saying that we won't get there. I'm I'm we probably will. We've we've seen a hundred thousand before.   But when we start taught using sentences and telling normies, hey. This is your last chance below, I don't know, x amount of dollars,   please don't do that. It it's not it's not helpful.  

But that's not the reason why I'm bringing you this story in the first place. It is not to hype you up. It is not to get you all salivating so that you go out and mortgage your house for the fifth time to go all in on Bitcoin. That's not why I'm reading this.   This is about this treasury   buyback   that Arthur Hayes is talking about.   So maybe, just maybe,   Arthur will get into it here.   Treasury buybacks   refer to the United States Treasury Department   repurchasing   its outstanding bonds from the open markets to increase liquidity,   manage federal debt, or stabilize   interest rates.  

These operations can inject liquidity into the financial system, often   benefiting risk assets like Bitcoin.   Other analysts predict that the growth of the fiat money supply   will be Bitcoin's main catalyst this year, 2025.   The growing money supply, m two,   may push Bitcoin's price above a hundred and 32,000   before the end of the year according to Jamie Coutts,   chief crypto analyst at Real Vision. However,   global trade war concerns may limit investor appetite until The US and China reach trade agreement.   Bitcoin briefly rose above 87,700   for the first time in nearly three weeks since US president Donald Trump announced reciprocal   import tariffs on April. Quote,   looks like Bitcoin is pumping on continued dollar weakness,   wrote Andre Dragosz,   the European head of research at Bitwise,   adding that the US dollar index just touched the lowest level   since March of twenty twenty two.  

The weakening of the US dollar   may reinforce Bitcoin's appeal as a safe haven asset, Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, told Cointelegraph adding, quote, strong volume and technical confirmation from a descending wedge breakout suggests   a potential test of the $90,000   resistance   with macro factors like a weakening dollar and rising gold correlation   reinforcing   Bitcoin's appeal as a hedge, end quote.   Despite the recent correction,   Japanese and UK based investment firms are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into Bitcoin, Bitcoin,   signaling continued institutional adoption that may accelerate Bitcoin's 4 year cycle. Alright.  

So,   when they say Japanese and UK based investment firms are investing hundreds of   millions into Bitcoin,   1 of them is referencing   a UK investment firm buying $250,000,000   worth of Bitcoin,   apparently right before the Easter weekend.   And in Japan,   Cointelegraph   is referencing   the Meta Planet   surpasses 400,000,000   Bitcoin holdings. Well, Meta Planet,   just because it started out as a Japanese company, I don't I don't know, man. That CEO is definitely not Japanese, but, hey, it is what it is. But that's what they're referring to. Now getting back to this buyback of US treasury bonds,   what who who's fighting who right now in US government? And that's would be Trump and Powell.  

They are fully engaged in a flat out,   very public,   very nasty battle.   Trump wants to simply fire Powell. He's asked the Supreme Court to see if he has the authority to do so. I don't think he does.   Powell   is refusing   to budge on interest rates   even though the market is signaling,   dude, we we   we,   we really want lower interest rates, but Powell wants to be like,   was it Volkner?   Volker.   I think he was a pre, he was the,   trade or, Federal Reserve secretary, chair under Reagan.   He's the guy that cranked up the interest rates to, like, 20%.   And, I mean, he got everything back on track, but, man, it really hurt a lot of people.  

It hurt a whole bunch of people.   So   we've got a very public, very nasty battle going on.   And if the treasury   if the only way that they can inject liquidity back into the system   is by buying their own bonds, they're basically gonna be monetizing the debt that they printed, which means that they're going to take   potential   money   in the form of a treasury bond that they printed. They printed it out of thin air, and they're basically going to make it kinetic   by exchanging it for money, which they will actually have to print.   It's   it's just   who knows what's actually going to happen.  

You just hold on tight, ladies and gentlemen. Meanwhile, we will run the numbers.   Futures and commodities, oil getting wrecked down two and two thirds of a point to $62.97.   Brent, North Sea, likewise, getting slaughtered   2.8%   of the downside to $66.01   on a barrel. Natural gas   might as well have taken it up the Aztec,   pyramid and pulled its heart out   as a human sacrifice. 5.12%   of the downside. Gasoline is down almost two points   to $2.05   a gallon.   Gold rallies again 3% to the upside. New all time high at $3,425.60.   Silver is up a half point to $32.62.  

Platinum is down a row of sticks, one eleven.   Copper is down point 16%.   Palladium is down   almost three full points.   Ag not looking all that good. Biggest winner today is chocolate. 2.5%   to the upside.   Biggest loser   is coffee. 2.6%   to the downside. Meanwhile, live cattle   crawling sideways. Lean hogs,   down a third of a point. Feeder cattle, also down a third of a point.   And here comes the equities indices, you know, the measurement of the Fiat legacy financial system. The Dow getting clobbered.   2.79%.   S and P   ass being handed to it, 2.88%   of the downside.  

The Nasdaq getting its hat handed to it, it's 3% of the downside. And the S and P Mini,   pretty much chugging along 2.77%   to the downside.   It's a bloodbath out there. And yet Bitcoin is at $86,700.   That puts us to a $1,720,000,000,000   market cap. We can get 25.2   ounces of shiny metal rocks with our one Bitcoin, of which there are   19,854,141.51   of.   And average fees per block are slightly higher than normal 0.05   BTC   taken in fees on a per block basis. Let me just say something about what gold is doing against Bitcoin.   20 5 ounces   of gold   per Bitcoin   has been relatively stable.  

They're both going up together.   It's like it's kinda like now I I this isn't long term. This is clearly on the short term play,   but gold and Bitcoin are basically riding this in tandem.   All the confusion,   any but, like, all the people that are saying, oh my god. There's chaos out there. Yeah.   Yeah. Well,   Bitcoin and gold seem to be riding that wave. At the same time, they're kinda holding hands, which   brings me to, you know, Peter Schiff.   And he's still just basically   shitting on Bitcoin.   And you know what Bitcoin like, I see a bunch of Bitcoiners, and you know what they're doing? They're actually congratulating   Peter Schiff.  

I mean, they're they're   they're being really polite to him, and they're being very nice to him. And they're like, hey. We you know, we've been doing this honestly, we've been doing this for a while. We've been trying to get Peter Schiff to understand that we essentially believe the exact same things that you do, Pete,   but we also like Bitcoin.   But he is just going to he's nonrelenting.   He is recalcitrant.   He hates Bitcoin. He's always gonna hate Bitcoin. There's just no   there's just no reconciliation with that guy. Okay. So as I said, these are a little bit higher than normal, but there's also more blocks in the MN pools around the world than normal.   In fact, there's, like, eight   no. Wait.  

There's, like, twelve, thirteen blocks now. Wow. 25,000   unconfirmed transactions   waiting to clear at high priority rates of 6 Satoshis per vByte. Low priority is gonna get you in at four.   Hash rate has dropped and in a relatively   precipitous fashion, yet nothing that I'm concerned about. 859   exahashes   per second.   Friday, I believe it was well above 900 exahashes per second. So we have seen   not I won't say it's not minor capitulation, but we have seen   a good amount of hash work come off the network.   And from Bitcoin and Friday,   episode, base debased,   I've got   these. Now I'm doing this a little bit different. I'm I'm gonna be reading these boosts just a little bit differently. I'm trying out Helipad,   their boost tracker,   which is running on my start nine node and is connected   directly to my lightning node, which is the ones that receive all of my boost and streaming Satoshis.  

And I got 500 sats from Lupin,   says, looks like poor Judd is dead.   Thanks again for your work. Happy Easter to you and your family and to yours too, sir.   3,222   sats from Dubravco says the boost to make up for your node not getting one previously,   And I guess he's talking about the 3,231   sap boost that he gave me right before that. And it says your last boost didn't go to your Red Raider node, silly goose.   No notes, but I will take your thoughts and prayers.   I have some challenges, but per Dave Ramsey, I am doing better than I deserve. DeBravco, I do hope that whatever it is you're going through, you come out the other side.   A thousand and 21 sats from Axelrod   double aught says Axelrod rules. A thousand from Bubba   saying according to Adam,   I'm glad I'll be dead in twenty years   or too fucking old to care.  

Quantum versus pencil and paper. Who wins in history?   I don't know. Whoever gets to write it. Whoever writes the history is clearly is the winner.   586   from Psyduck, says Psyduck. And 3,333   from wartime   says Good Friday indeed. 585   from Psyduck, says Psyduck. Oh, no. That's from crowd healths. That's from a different episode. Okay. So those are the those are all the boosts that I got   from,   base to base.   And I put a filter on it this time. Just to and I'm I'm not trying to be a dick. I'm just saying I wanted to try to see if this helipad,   it's got some features on it. So I said, okay. I'm only gonna I only wanna see everything above 500 Satoshis.  

Seems to have worked.   So if you guys, for whatever reason, have a, you know,   get are getting your own boosts   from your, like, if you have a,   I don't know, ZapStream,   you can boost people over there. If you have your own podcast   and your two point, podcasting two point o enabled, you might wanna give Helipad   a try. It's really easy to install on a start nine   h e l I p a d helipad.   Give it a try.   That's the weather report.   It is part two of the news you can use   Bitcoiner   plan b slams   ETH,   centralized   and pre mine shitcoin.   Adrian Zemunsky gives us laugh from Cointelegraph.  

If you guys remember plan b, he's the guy that came up with a stock to flow model   that kinda everybody, you know, started laughing at him when it failed. I honestly don't know why everybody laughs at somebody when their model doesn't, you know, meet up with reality.   All models are broken.   All of them. There's not a single model   inside or outside of Bitcoin that actually works   all the time.   So please stop bagging on on plan b for having a a a model that kinda broke a couple of years ago. It's not that big of a deal. But sued anonymous   Bitcoin stock to flow model creator plan b   attacked Ethereum and mocked the project's cofounder,   Vitalik Buterin. Oh, he mocked him.  

Plan b, oh, mockingly   reposted a June   2022   Twitter post by Buterin   in which the Ethereum cofounder said the stock to flow   is really not looking good now.   Plan b responded with a new post stating,   Ethereum   is really not looking good now.   And if you've seen the chart of Ethereum versus BTC, you know what he's talking about.   In his response to Buterin's criticism from years ago,   plan b claimed Ethereum and the network's coin, Ether, are centralized and pre mined, pointing to its shift to proof of stake and changes in its issuance rate. He said that those features are harmful and deserve all the mockery they get, echoing Buterin's old comment   about stock to flow.  

In a separate Twitter post, plan b explained that an Ethereum full node   requires   nine   terabytes   of disk space,   meaning he cannot run it on his hardware.   The kind of node in question is probably an Ethereum archival node, which according to   Etherscan data requires over 21.8   terabytes   terabytes   with a Geth client.   Yeah. I remember those days.   An Ethereum full node running the Geth client   that prunes older states with the default setting requires 1.28   terabytes   according to Etherscan data. The Bitcoin and Ethereum communities have long debated what constitutes a, quote, full node.   This type of pruned node cannot access the full historical data or generate Merkle proofs for old blocks which limits its research and bug finding applications.  

Still, such nodes can engage   in full trustless block and transaction validation.   Bitcoin's full nodes require under 700 gigabytes   according to Statista Data and also require much less compute power.   Well, this means that users can run Bitcoin full nodes much more easily,   leading to a higher node count and higher network decentralization.   Not everyone views the criticism as founded.   Jeremiah O'Connor, chief technology officer and cofounder at crypto cyber   security firm   to   oh, TrueGuard. Sorry. I I read it as turgid, but, no. Never mind.   He says, quote,   plan b's take is classic Bitcoin maxi energy, loud, confident, and missing half the picture, end quote.  

O'Connor explained that Ethereum and Bitcoin serve two different purposes.   No. They don't.   He said that Ethereum nodes are bigger and more complex   since ether isn't just digital gold, but it's a full on global computer.   Quote, of course it's heavier. End quote. Oh, my God. They're still going with the   global   the world computer narrative. I can't believe they're doing that.   They I mean, honestly, that's the first time I've heard   world computer narrative out of any   ether heads, you know, mouth in, oh, a couple of years now, honestly.   But he conceded   that users relying on centralized data providers like Infura   is a problem.  

Still,   he claimed that every ecosystem engages in centralization   trade offs and that the Ethereum developers   are working to address the issue and it's evolving fast. Dude, you guys have said you've been working on that shit for five years.   Stop. Quote,   calling ETH a shitcoin because it's not Bitcoin is like calling smartphones a scam because they aren't landlines.   He added that the two are different tools with differing purposes. He views Bitcoin as a rock solid value storage and Ethereum as where the builders are and said that both matter   and both complement each other, end quote.  

Plan b also questioned Buterin's influence   on Ethereum's development, calling him a single point of failure.   However,   Ethereum Foundation co executive director,   Thomas   Stanczacek,   recently   announced that Buterin is stepping back   from day to day operations to focus on, well,   research.   Plan b also raised an issue with Ethereum rolling back transactions following the 2016   Dow hack, quote, the fact that this is even possible should worry you, end quote. Yeah. It should.   Fivebit CEO, Ben Zhao, suggested an Ethereum rollback   following the exchange's $1,400,000,000   hack.  

Still, many in the community argued that a rollback happening now with Ethereum being a more mature network would be next to impossible.   Bitcoin itself had a comparable incidence in incident in its early history as well.   On August   2010,   an exploit resulted in a transaction that mined a hundred and 84 Bitcoin on the network   in Block 74638.   God, that was a long time ago.   Satoshi Nakamoto, still involved in development at the time and other core devs,   released an update   that indeed rolled back the network to block 74,637   and patched the vulnerability.  

In other words, Bitcoin saw its own blockchain rollback in its early days.   Other points raised by plan b include Ethereum switching to point of or point of,   proof of stake or POS, which he claims has consequences for the price. He suggested that changes to issuance and governance   undermine Ethereum's value proposition compared to Bitcoin's fixed and predictable supply.   Yes. It it is true that the Bitcoin network did have its own rollback.   And if we were to say, okay. Well, Ethereum had its rollback. Bitcoin had its rollback.   Let's let's just cancel those out.  

Right? One for one,   there's only been one on each chain. So let's say that all bets are, you know, all bets are off on that thing, and we just let those two things collide and they cancel each other out, like, you know, like dark matter and regular matter annihilating each other. Right? Alright. Or anti matter and matter annihilating each other.   Plan b still has a point.   And that point is the fact that they have switched their monetary policy on Ethereum so many times   that you don't really know what's gonna happen next.   What they've demonstrated   is that   it's whatever they want to do,   whereas Bitcoin pretty much stays stable all the time. We've never changed   monetary policy.  

We have never changed the security model.   Nothing about the protocol has ever changed except for the addition   of things that don't disrupt those people that were interacting with the network before those changes occurred, which means that somebody who got into a coma in 02/2009   and still had a Bitcoin wallet that had one Bitcoin on it would be able to interact with the network today.   Although their wallet probably sucks   because back in the early day, the the Bitcoin core wallet, which is all you had available,   was awful. It wasn't all it doesn't mean that you'd lose your money. It was just a really bad user experience.  

It was really technical, and you really had to know what you were doing.   Otherwise, you very well could lose that particular Bitcoin.   But the upgrade to Segwit and Taproot and all that does not preclude   that person being able to interact with today's network.   And we've never changed security, and we've never changed issuance, and we've never changed   the cap. We we haven't ever changed anything, and Ethereum just changes shit all day long.   So even if you go, well, Bitcoin had its rollback,   yeah, but everything else has stayed the same.   The only thing that that Ethereum does is change their monetary policy on a whim. That is not what I wanna be invested in.  

I wanna be invested in what Michael Saylor's invested in because they bought another, what, $555,000,000   worth of Bitcoin and have increased their total stash to 538,200   Bitcoin according to Francisco Rodriguez   from CoinDesk.   MicroStrategy   or strategy has added 6,556   Bitcoin   to its balance sheet, and they spent $555,800,000   in the process.   The purchases   or the purchase was funded using proceeds   from the companies   to   at the market   stock offering programs the filing notes.   The firm,   which holds the most amount of Bitcoin,   sold 1,760,000.00   shares of its class a common stock and over 91,000   shares of a preferred stock series called STRK   between April 14 and April 20. That's their strike,   stock offering.  

The common stock sale brought in 54 or $547,000,000,   while the preferred shares added another 7.8.   The latest acquisition boost strategies total holdings to 538,200   Bitcoin   purchased at an average price of $67,766   per coin.   So what's the most important thing here?   Is it is the most important thing here that MicroStrategy   bought more Bitcoin? No. Not really.   Not not really.   What's most important here   is that the firm sold 1,760,000.00   shares of class a common stock.   That's that's their that's the stock they've always had, and people are buying micro strategy or strategy stock hand over fist. It's not the special strike. It's not the special other one called strife.   No. No. No.  

No. This is just a regular   available   Joe on the street,   common   stock   stuff.   And there's still   massive amounts of demand for it.   And I I hear the people, you know, out there on on Twitter and whatnot   saying this is gonna end badly and and all that kind of stuff. But again, I have to I have to remind everybody,   dude, you cannot stop microstrata or strategy from buying Bitcoin.   If you could, then you could stop me from buying Bitcoin,   and then we actually have a problem.   What will be the end game for strategy and all this this Bitcoin? Nobody knows.   Hell, not even Michael Saylor probably knows. He might think he's got a plan, but, you know, everybody's got a battle plan until you beat on the field of battle and get punched in the face.  

It   things could change for Michael Saylor dramatically.   I don't know. I mean, a a plane could fall out of the sky and sever both of his legs, and he all of a sudden has a come to Jesus moment and sells all his Bitcoin. Who knows?   Nobody knows what the hell he's gonna do. I mean, he says he's gonna keep it forever.   Who? I don't know.   The BlackRock stuff is the same way, man.   You can't stop them from buying Bitcoin.   You can't stop them from having customers.   I mean, at what point do we just have to   sit there and and say,   I I can't do anything about it.  

I can only control that which is in   my influence.   I have no influence and neither do you over Michael Saylor.   So it's to me, when I see people crying about Misty,   this MSTY   thing all day, I'm like, you cry all you want.   It is not gonna change perception in the market.   It is a waste of time.   Stop crying about it. Because even Meta Planet   is buying Bitcoin.   And they've topped $400,000,000   worth of Bitcoin holdings   with their brand new $28,000,000   purchase.   Zoltan Vardai is writing for Cointelegraph.   Japanese investment firm, MetaPlanet, increased its Bitcoin holdings to more than $400,000,000   after its lace latest purchase of 330   Bitcoin   bought at 28,200,000.0   at an average price of $85,605   per Bitcoin,   bringing its total holdings   to 4,855   Bitcoin, which is worth   $414,000,000   according to an April 21 post from Simon Gurovich,   the CEO   of Meta Planet. And that's all we really need to know about that one, honestly.  

So the last one up today is Bitget,   speaking of rollbacks,   is going to roll back trades   and compensate users after   abnormal   Voxel trading activity. Are we gonna talk about a shit coin, David? Yes. We are. And not because I'm interested in Voxel at all. I couldn't care less. It's the fact that we have a whole set of trades   that are going to be rolled back.   And remember we were talking about the rollbacks of the Bitcoin and Ethereum chains?   Well, this is   this is like   this isn't even the voxel chain rolling something back. This seems to me like it's the exchange itself   saying, you know, we're just not we're no. No. No. That was all fake. And and this is just to demonstrate   stop playing in   this casino.  

It's going to do things to you that you don't want to be done to you.   It's going to torture you until you say uncle, and then it's going to torture you some more because it is a conniving,   evil,   backstabbing,   karma crushing   piece of garbage that you need to stay away from. Stop gambling your money at centralized cryptocurrency   exchange, Bitget,   because it's going to roll back trades and compensate users after abnormal trading activity in its perpetual futures market affected a little known token.   A little known token sending volume soaring to levels   higher than that of Bitcoin.  

I've never even heard of Voxel before.   I haven't heard of most of these before. But Voxel trading at volumes above Bitcoin?   Are you kidding?   Uh-huh. Well, early Sunday morning, traders in Bitget's perpetual futures market for Voxel,   the native token of Polygon based RPG   game Voxie Tactics,   suddenly faced a surge of volume as the token rose in value.   Voxel is the seven hundred and twenty third largest cryptocurrency   by market capitalization   according to CoinMarketCap,   and the token is up was up over 300%   in the past week.   One Twitter user reportedly   logged a 6 figure profit from an investment of under $100.  

Quote,   Bitget probably has a bug in its market making robot,   they said.   Yet with Bitget planning to roll back all trades in the market, the user's profiles   or profits are likely to evaporate.   Well, how?   If you didn't take your voxel off of that exchange and send it to another exchange,   then, yes, you can. But if you follow the directions that we all say, and I don't care if it's Bitcoin or a shitcoin,   you cannot keep your shit on the exchange because shit like this will happen to you. Quote,   upon investigation,   certain accounts were found to have potentially engaged in market manipulation   triggering our risk control system.  

To ensure a fair and secure trading environment, Bitget will now initiate a rollback of irregular trades within twenty four hours,   for users who incurred losses during this period,   a compensation plan will be offered, end quote.   The Bitget spokesperson   said on Twitter that the exchange is still investigating the incident and will provide an update within twenty four hours.   Voxe Tactics cannot be immediately reached for comment. Okay. So the guys that lost money are gonna be compensated.   What about the guys that made money? And I'm not and I I think there's gonna be two flavors of those people that made money.   The people that directly manipulated the market clearly.  

But I'll bet you there were some people that were sitting there watching these markets because there are people that do this,   that sit there and they just look at graphs all day long and they've probably got some kind of automated process to throw out alarms and whatnot like that, and they probably made out like bandits and were not part of the actual market manipulation   itself.   They were just saying, hey, this thing's going up. They throw a whole bunch of money into it and then boom, you know, 6 figure profit.   Okay.  

Do they have to give the money back? Because that was never said in the statement from Bitget.   So   this is this is why it's so very, very important   for you guys to not trade in the casino.   It's not good for your health.   It's not good for your physical health or mental health, and it's not good for those that depend on you.   Stop gambling.   Get some help.   I'm serious.   If you've got a gambling addiction,   you need to you need to stop it now. This is not the time to be addicted to gambling. And I'm not talking about Voxel. I ain't talking about Bitget. Hell, I'm not even talking about Bitcoin at this point.   I'm talking about   straight up flying to Vegas   and being unable to stop gambling   while the markets,   both   cryptocurrency   related   and fiat legacy markets,   are on fire.  

And I'm really talking about the fiat legacy markets being on fire. Nobody knows what to do in this environment.   Nobody knows what to buy.   Housing right now is really shaky.   Man, I saw I saw a house that my wife actually found this house in a place that we both love to go in Southwest Colorado,   and it was, like, right in the same village of the house that that we already have. And she's like, you know, what about look at this.   And I'm looking at this house and it's six bedrooms,   four bathrooms.   It's on a quarter acre of land   right off the highway that has maybe, I don't know, one car an hour come down it. It's really quiet.  

It's in the San Juan Mountains. It's absolutely freaking gorgeous.   Others then, like, the bedrooms having cheap wood paneling in it that would literally deemed to be taken down immediately   and replaced with something else like, oh, I don't know, paint.   This thing was going for $480,000.   The owners have been trying to sell it   since 2023.   It's had three   failed   sales runs.   And I can tell because   I got a hold of the MLS,   sheet from from our realtor up that lives up there.   And she I mean, she's over the over that, you know, like, that entire valley.   All the homes. She has like, she can get all the pull all the MLS data on them because she's a real estate agent. So she sends me this thing, and I'm looking at it sales history.  

And it's been owned by the same family for, like, decades.   And in 2023,   they tried to sell it for right at $600,000.   And this is a nice looking house. It's it's it's not a mansion.   It's not a log cabin.   You know? It's it's not something that, like, a millionaire is going to build or or or buy, but it's a nice house.   And they were trying to get unloaded for $600,000   failed.   Then they dropped the price the next year   to, like, $580,000.   It failed. After and both of these times, this thing was on on the market for a year.   They finally came in and put it back on the market for, like, a third time is or maybe even a fourth time for $480,000.  

I haven't seen it sell yet.   But when I look at the map, if I take that price and I go over to Zillow   and I look at the at the pricing map in that valley,   that's the lowest price house there, and it's six bedrooms, four bathrooms.   It's got it's got a a shed outside,   and I mean a nice looking shed. Something you could, like, either have it as, like, as a little art place for, like, you know, like, for your wife, for your husband,   or, like, a recording small recording studio for a podcast, or just a a little by yourself reading room shack. It's really nice.   And I'm looking at the other prices around this valley, and they're 587,000,   6 hundred thousand, 7 hundred and 50 thousand dollars. It's ridiculous.  

It's utterly ridiculous.   These guys were undercutting the market since 02/2023   on their prices, and they still could not unload this house.   And what does that tell me? It tells me people still believe that there's that the value they think they have in their house because Zillow tells them that is not the value they actually possess in that house. Maybe they're thinking they're gonna refi it and get some cash out. Good luck.   Good luck.   Nobody knows what this market's going to do, whether it's real estate, equities,   treasury.  

It does not matter. Nobody knows what to do.   This is not the time   to extend   or become addicted   to a gambling habit.   I am begging you. If you were somebody   listening to my voice and and you're somebody who can say that you have a bookie,   don't ever call the bookie again.   We're gonna have to ride this shit out. We can all do it together, and I hope that I see you on the other side.   This has been Bitcoin, and and I'm your host, David Bennett. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and hope to see you again real soon.   Have a great day.