Join me today for Episode 1087 of Bitcoin And . . .
Topics for today:
nostr handle: https://primal.net/p/npub172mu27r5yny0nnmvgjqwhx055dmsesrrx7j0p5d3pxagfx6xgxfsv75p3q
Twitter: https://x.com/beisnerds
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/how-bitcoin-mining-can-energize-real-estate
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/05/02/tether-s-u-s-focussed-stablecoin-may-launch-later-this-year-ceo-ardoino-says
https://atlas21.com/the-cia-views-bitcoin-as-a-useful-tool-in-its-rivalry-with-china/
https://www.theblock.co/post/352865/google-wallet-integrates-zk-proofs-a-tech-incubated-by-crypto-industry
https://bitcoinnews.com/press-release/relai-private-bitcoin-backed-loans/
https://atlas21.com/from-el-salvador-neighborhoods-to-the-dream-of-founding-her-own-bitcoin-company/
Find the Bitcoin And Podcast on every podcast app here
https://episodes.fm/1438789088
Topics for today:
- EU to Ban Privacy Tokens
- BTC Mining in Real Estate
- Tether to Release U.S. Based Stablecoin
- Exchange Ditches ETH, Trashes Project
Circle P:
Maple Syrup and Soapsnostr handle: https://primal.net/p/npub172mu27r5yny0nnmvgjqwhx055dmsesrrx7j0p5d3pxagfx6xgxfsv75p3q
Twitter: https://x.com/beisnerds
Articles:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/eu-crypto-ban-anonymous-privacy-tokens-2027https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/how-bitcoin-mining-can-energize-real-estate
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/05/02/tether-s-u-s-focussed-stablecoin-may-launch-later-this-year-ceo-ardoino-says
https://atlas21.com/the-cia-views-bitcoin-as-a-useful-tool-in-its-rivalry-with-china/
- https://www.cnbc.com/futures-and-commodities/
- https://dashboard.clarkmoody.com/
- https://mempool.space/
- https://www.bitcoinandshow.com/
- https://fountain.fm/show/eK5XaSb3UaLRavU3lYrI
https://www.theblock.co/post/352865/google-wallet-integrates-zk-proofs-a-tech-incubated-by-crypto-industry
https://bitcoinnews.com/press-release/relai-private-bitcoin-backed-loans/
https://atlas21.com/from-el-salvador-neighborhoods-to-the-dream-of-founding-her-own-bitcoin-company/
Find the Bitcoin And Podcast on every podcast app here
https://episodes.fm/1438789088
Find the Bitcoin And Podcast on every podcast app here:
https://episodes.fm/1438789088
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[00:00:02]
David Bennett:
It is 09:04AM Pacific Daylight Time. It is the May 2025, and this is episode ten eighty seven of Bitcoin. And the question always is, why are you here? It's so you can figure out what the hell's going on in the news and Bitcoin today. I've got a raft of news like I do every day, Monday through Friday that instructs and informs you exactly what the hell is going on in Bitcoin today. And no. I don't plan at all on talking about Bitcoin core and op return. I'm just it's everywhere. Oh my god. I feel like I'm back in 2017, '20 '16 when everybody and their dog is just fighting and bitching and moaning. And I just wanted it's like your parents fighting. Just stop, please. For the love of God, I've got school tomorrow, bitches.
Anyway, other than that, we will have news. And we're gonna start today with this news out of the European Union who apparently just wants to commit suicide when it comes to, oh, I don't know anything. But they're going to ban anonymous cryptocurrency and privacy tokens by the end of twenty twenty seven. Zoltan Vardai, tell us why from Cointelegraph. The European Union is set to impose sweeping sweeping anti money laundering rules that will ban privacy preserving tokens and anonymous cryptocurrency accounts from 2027 Under the new anti money laundering regulation, AMLR, credit institutions, financial institutions, and crypto asset service providers will be prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts or handling privacy preserving cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Zcash. Quote, article 79 of the AMLR establishes strict prohibitions on anonymous accounts, credit institutions, financial institutions, and crypto asset service providers are all prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts according to the AML handbook published by the European Crypto Initiative, which I've never heard of until today.
The regulation is part of a broader AML framework that includes bank and payment accounts, passbooks, and safe deposit boxes, quote, crypto assets accounts or crypto asset accounts allowing anonymization of transactions and accounts using anonymity enhancing coins. Quote, the regulations, the AMLR, AMLD, and AMLAR are final. And what remains is the fine print, also known as the interpretation of some of the requirements through the so called implementation and delegated acts according to Varya Savovova, senior policy lead over there at EUCI. So she's added that much of the implementation will come through so called implementing and delegated acts, which are mostly handled by the European Banking Authority. This sounds like a mess waiting to happen, quote, this means that the EUCI is still actively working on these level two acts by providing feedback to the public consultations as some of the implementation details are yet to be finalized. Ladies and gentlemen, they have absolutely no idea how to implement this.
Everything that I've read so far has already put into my gut and given me a gut feeling that they have absolutely no idea what they're doing. They they know these things are bad. They don't want them, but they don't know how to get rid of them quote. However, the broader framework is final. So centralized crypto projects, CASPs under Micah, need to keep it in mind when determining their internal processes and policies, Severova said. Under the new regulatory framework, CASP is operating in at least six member states, will be under direct AML supervision.
In the initial stage, AMLA plans to select 40 entities with at least one entity per member state according to EUCI's AML handbook. The selection process is to start on 07/01/2027. AMLA will use material out materiality. Oh my god. Materialality. What what what who uses this word? Materialality. Anyway, they're gonna use materiality thresholds to ensure that only firms with, quote, substantial operations presence in multiple jurisdictions are considered for direct supervision, so they just wanna go after the big boys at first. The thresholds include a minimum of 20,000 customers residing in the host member state or or or a total transaction volume of over €50,000,000 or 56,000,000.
Other notable measures include mandatory customer due diligence on transactions above €1,000. Mandatory customer due diligence? So they're just gonna say if you're a customer, you've got to police yourself in what report? Just these freaking people have lost their minds. They this is a mess. Everything about this is confusing. It's messy. Nobody knows what's going on. The people that are implementing this thing don't know what's going on, and I guarantee m t you the customers that have to figure out what the hell's going on are not going to be able to figure out what's going on because nobody in this EU situation understands what the hell any of this crap is.
Probably by design, but more likely just absolute sheer freaking incompetence. But, nevertheless, these updates come as the EU ramps up its regulatory oversight of the crypto industry, building on previous measures such as the markets and crypto asset regulation. So coming right off the heels of Micah, we've got a whole raft of brand spanking new what what do you call AMLR AML and then there was like another one. There was what was what's this other one? Oh, AMLD and and then AMLAR. Nobody knows what this shit is. Sure. Yeah. Well, we'll just look for the name. That's not the point.
You can name a confusing pile of garbage and light it on fire, but that doesn't make it any less a pile of burning garbage. This is going to just get ugly fast. So I you know, and I'm not even singing the praises of Monero and Zcash, but my god almighty. The fear is palpable in the EU. And I'm telling you, again, if you did not hear me rant on yesterday's show, USDT is a cruise missile aimed right at the European Union. The United States is going to use Tethr in many ways, but one of the ways it's going to use it is to torpedo the European Union.
And there it's going to work. I I keep telling people that. It's like, look. I'm describing to you what it is that I see, but that's not the most important part. The most important part is that it's going to work. It's going to work on two fronts minimum. One is going to destroy the EU because there's no way that they can guard against this. They don't know how. Look look at their reaction so far. The Italian central bank or their Italy's national bank, whatever you wanna call it. Right? The I was telling you about their governor yesterday saying that stablecoins are dangerous and it's dangerous for the world markets.
He gets it. Now these idiots that are talking about Zcash and Monero, that sounds to me like they're grasping at straws and they're not really looking at what their real enemy is, and that's USDT. The second way this is going to work with USDT and The United States is that after at the same time that we're completely destroying the European Union and breaking off all their member states back into France, Spain, Portugal, you know, the way Europe used to be before this horrendous train wreck occurred, is we're going to be exporting United States' debt all over the world through Tether, and we're going to print debt like you've never seen before.
It's going to be eye watering, and it's going to go everywhere but The United States. How do I know? Because Tether is going to open up, well, a USDT in The US. It's specifically designed well, let me just read you the the article from Christian Sandor. Tether's United States focused stablecoin could launch later this year according to Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether. What do we got going on here? Tether, the company behind the $148,000,000,000 stablecoin USDT, plans to launch its United States focused stablecoin later this year or in early twenty twenty six, depending on the nation's stablecoin legislation according to Paolo Ardoino talking to CNBC in an interview, quote, realistically, it depends on the timeline of the final legislation on stablecoins, but we are looking at launching the product by the end of this year or early next year at the fastest, he said.
Ardoino said that the firm's flagship USDT token is catered towards users in emerging markets with limited access to US dollars, and the new offering would be a different product. Quote, in The United States, you have to create a payment product, something that could be used by institutions, something that can be used as a competitor to PayPal of competitor of PayPal's Cash App. I don't know what the hell he's talking about because Cash App doesn't have anything to do with PayPal. Unless we've got two products that are named exactly the same thing, and Jack Dorsey's Square company isn't suing the living shit out of PayPal for trademark infringement and vice versa. So I don't know what Paolo's talking about, but, anyway, he he said all this in an interview, quote, that is what we are aiming for.
What? To get to get the people that, that built a Cash App confused with PayPal. Is that what you're aiming for there, Paolo? Whatever. Tether's US based stablecoin plans it highlights the firm's growing presence in The United States as Donald Trump's return to the White House allayed regulatory pressure on crypto firms. Ardoino toured The United States earlier this year, giving interviews and speaking at events, including at a conference by Wall Street investment bank. Guess who? Cantor Fitzgerald. The guys that they're in bed with along with Strike or Strike's Jack Mallers, Finance, SoftBank, you know, twenty one. That company that's coming out, keep an eye on them, guys.
Cantor Fitzgerald manages Tether's over $100,000,000,000 United States Treasury holdings, while former CEO Howard Lutnick now serves as secretary of commerce in the Trump administration. Competition is also increasing in the stablecoin market as United States federal legislative efforts to regulate stablecoin advance. It's a big opportunity. Citi projected that the sector could grow to a multi trillion dollars by the end of this decade. Rival firm Circle, issuer of the piddly ass $62,000,000,000 worth USDC token, last month announced plans of creating a cross border payments and remittances network. Good luck to Circle. They're not going to survive the stablecoin wars.
Maybe they'll well, maybe they'll be alive, but it'll be like in a coma on life support in a critical care unit somewhere, some pissant, you know, third world hospital. But in either of it, you see what I'm saying? Remember what I was telling you yesterday that somebody kinda caught me on on on Twitter and said, hey. You know, I kinda like what you what you were saying about, you know, what your view on Tethr is, but come on, man. A hundred and $48,000,000,000 is a drop in the bucket. I'm telling you, man. I don't look it's kinda top this in math, especially when I was taking calculus back in college. Right?
When when I'm looking at where I am, like, like, let's say where we are right now, a hundred and $48,000,000,000 worth of Tether backed by at least a hundred billion dollars worth of United States treasuries. Yes. Absolutely. Drop in the bucket. I'm not looking at the point. I'm looking at where I am on the curve and my tangent to that curve. And I am nowhere close to the acceleration phase of that curve. That hundred and $48,000,000,000 backed by a hundred billions in treasuries and 48,000,000,000 in other shit, that's nothing compared to what's coming.
And what's coming is two things, the exportation of eye watering amounts of debt by the United States government and the complete and total annihilation of the European Union because they have absolutely no fiscal defense against USDT as a stablecoin. So now the question becomes, is this US based product, this US version of Tether, is this an insulator to the United States citizen republic against the eye watering amounts of debt that we're about to actually pull the trigger on? I'd like to hear I I'd actually like to hear, any of you guys out there that have any thoughts on this. Why do you why do you think we're doing a special US version of Tether?
Because I may be wrong. It may not be insulatory. Maybe it's ex exactly the opposite. Who knows? But if you have an idea of what the hell's going on, please please please let me know in a boost to grab. But meanwhile, Leon Wenkam's got this one from Bitcoin magazine, how Bitcoin mining can energize real estate. Real estate is an energy intensive industry. During construction, significant energy resources are required for operating heavy machinery and equipment, as well as producing materials like cement and steel. Once constructed, buildings continue to demand substantial energy for various functions. For instance, residential properties require consistent heating, cooling, and lighting. While commercial properties like hotels, malls, and stadiums have additional energy needs for climate control, complex lighting systems, high capacity HVAC systems, and require energy for powering amenities like elevators and escalators and restrooms.
Agricultural facilities and stables, you know, for horses, often use energy intensive systems for irrigation and equipment operation. This persistent demand for energy typically results in high capital expenditures and operational costs imposing a significant financial burden on both homeowners and tenants. In most jurisdictions, including The United States, Landlords can pass energy cost onto the renters, further escalating living expenses. The specifics could vary on local regulations and the type of lease agreements in place. You know, for example, gross versus triple net leases. In Germany, for instance, reliance on imported energy resources, especially natural gas, has become even more expensive due to geopolitical tensions.
With domestic options like nuclear power largely phased out, developers and property managers face rising expenses that inevitably filter down to tenants, driving up the overall cost of housing. Bitcoin mining involves miners searching for a random number that meets specific criteria with a solution typically found every ten minutes. Although most readers are familiar with this process known as proof of work, it remains a fundamental mechanism underpinning Bitcoin security and decentralization. This process not only rewards successful miners with Bitcoin but also transforms electricity into both processing power and significant amounts of heat. The more computational power it employed, the more secure the network becomes, making it increasingly difficult for any one single entity to control or manipulate it.
With an effective system in place, this excess heat can be captured and utilized for various purposes allowing energy to be harnessed in two dimensions, computing power and heat. The word sustainable has been so misused that I almost prefer not to use it at all. Like other positively connoted terms, it has been abused, especially by institutions that seek control or seek to control its meaning. Nevertheless, the underlying concept is sound, and Bitcoin makes it possible. By incorporating Bitcoin mining into energy management strategies, property owners can repurpose the excess heat generated by Bitcoin mining to meet certain energy needs. This heat can support building heating systems, warm water, or directly heat spaces such as residential or commercial areas.
New energy systems are being developed to integrate Bitcoin miners with specialized heating systems allowing for efficient use of this heat to maintain comfortable temperatures and improve energy efficiency within a property. In regions with sunlight such as agricultural areas or warm client climates, combining Bitcoin mining with solar panels presents a significant opportunity. This integration could substantially boost the return on investment for solar systems by monetizing the excess energy through Bitcoin mining for residential properties with rooftop solar installations, this also addresses grid capacity challenges that can prevent homeowners from selling surplus energy back to the grid.
By utilizing Bitcoin mining, excess energy can be absorbed, converted into reusable heat, and even generate a profit. In many regions, including colder climates like Germany, building regulations mandate the integration of certain energy sources such as solar panels. However, the installation costs of solar panels can be quite high with energy generation often limited. Bitcoin mining offers a solution by monetizing the generated energy, thereby providing an additional revenue stream that can help offset the high installation cost of solar panels. This added income makes solar energy and renewable energy systems in general more economically viable and financially attractive.
Overall, integrating Bitcoin mining into real estate can result in several economic benefits. One, reduced energy costs. By repurposing excess heat from mining operations for heating or other energy needs, property owners can reduce their overall energy expenses thereby lowering cost for tenants. Alternative revenue stream is number two. Bitcoin mining offers a Bitcoin denominated income stream similar to rental income in real estate. It can provide an additional cash flow alongside traditional real estate income, and this extra revenue can be reinvested into the property or used to offset operational costs.
And three, increasing property value. Reduced energy cost through Bitcoin mining may increase a building's value by lowering operational expenses and potentially creating additional cash flow. Overall, properties that reduce energy costs and integrate renewable energy sources becomes more appealing to buyers. But there are regulatory hurdles. While Bitcoin mining offers significant potential for the real estate industry, regulatory considerations must be carefully navigated. In some jurisdictions, integrating Bitcoin mining into property operations may face legal challenges. These concerns can vary based on local laws and regulations which could impact how mining activities are implemented and managed within a real estate development.
Therefore, it is crucial to navigate local laws and regulations carefully to assess the viability, ensure compliance, and maximize the benefits of integrating Bitcoin mining into any property management. Real estate developers and investors who embrace Bitcoin mining can position themselves at the forefront of a new era in property management where Bitcoin plays a key role. With the emergence of Bitcoin, real estate may eventually revert to reflecting its utility rate as Bitcoin proves to be a superior store of value that may prefer they sorry, that many may prefer over traditional property investments.
In the new paradigm, Bitcoin mining could further transform our view of properties, prompting us to see them not only as financial assets, but also as purposeful physical spaces that require proper care and can generate sustainable profitability. Integrating Bitcoin mining into real estate operations can actively support existing businesses, processes, and demonstrates how mining can positively impact living environments. As mining technology continues to evolve and its benefits particularly exciting potential side effect for Bitcoiners is that many small scale mining facilities can be integrated in a decentralized manner. This could contribute to a less centralized Bitcoin mining ecosystem compared to the current dominance of large mining pools.
In conclusion, as someone with a background in real estate development, I appreciate that Bitcoin is not just a concept or a utopia. It is a protocol and computer network with tangible impacts on our physical world. The synergy between Bitcoin mining and real estate offers a promising opportunity to enhance the energy efficiency and profitability of properties. The integration of Bitcoin mining into existing property structures or new developments currently face several challenges, including regulatory uncertainty and the lack of premanufactured solutions that can be easily incorporated into buildings on a large scale. These obstacles underscore just how early we are in the development of this technology, but also presents a significant opportunity for entrepreneurs to innovate and create practical solutions.
Just as it took decades to build out the Internet infrastructure, the integration of Bitcoin mining into physical structures like real estate will need time and effort. This will require careful planning, allocating dedicated space for mining operations, integrating them into the existing heating system, and addressing energy management concerns. A dedicated and forward thinking landlord or property manager can overcome these challenges and unlock the benefits of combining real estate with Bitcoin mining. Alright. So that's the article.
And we've been talking about this for quite a while, honestly. I like what he said about that there's no pre manufactured standard solution set for integrating Bitcoin mining into existing structures. And even if there were, how quickly would those standards change? We we had no idea ASICs were coming when people were mining with GPUs. Right? The form factor of modern ASIC miners has changed substantially. They've I mean, they, you know, they're still, you know, roughly kind of the same size because they keep putting the same stuff in them. And and honestly, the form factor, I think, is the only reason it's constrained at all is because racking systems. They're all standardized. So everybody so so there seems to be the potential that we start kinda coalescing into something more standard, but I would still be on the lookout for a complete and radical change in, a, the form factor of minors, but, b, the efficiency, which drives down what?
The amount of heat produced. And if you get down so low that it becomes just ridiculous to run an s nine because you're you're trying to harvest the heat off of it and you just put in one of these new really ultra low cost miners that have a shit ton of hash power because that will happen, I guarantee it, and it does it just doesn't produce that much heat because it's just radically efficient, well, then all this kinda goes out the window. Now I don't think that that will actually happen, but I think there will always be heat generated from these systems. And even if they do get ultra efficient, you just can stack a whole shit ton of them, and the heat comes back. My biggest question about all this, though, is what to do with the heat in summer.
When it's hot AF outside, I don't need Bitcoin miners running. I don't need to create the heat. However, there are things like, oh, stir Sterling engines that somehow or another are able to harness heat and the heat differentials and somehow or another spin a wheel that has enough torque to spin an electric generator and thereby produce electricity. I don't know. I've never seen one in actual action, and I don't know if there's enough heat differential. If you're outside in Texas, in West Texas, where it can hit like a 11 degrees, a 15 sometimes, It doesn't usually get that hot, but it has.
What's your miner putting out? I mean, you know, you're having to, like are you feeding it a 11 degree air, and is it heating it up to, you know, a 80 degrees so you can have a whole big old differential for a Sterling engine? I don't know, man. But my again, I I still see that. I have always seen that as an issue. It's like, this is great in winter for greenhouses, for your apartments, for your houses. If it's in the winter, man, Bitcoin mining makes a lot of sense. But if it's in the summer, it doesn't make that much sense. So ruminate on that while you're eating your pancakes that are doused with maple trades, maple syrup. The circle p is open for business.
Circle p is where I bring plebs with goods and services that are just like you to plebs just like you that might want to actually buy those goods and services. And Maple Trade is our feature vendor of today. This is it. This is the last time that I am going to be able to tell you to go and find Biesnerds over on Twitter, b e I s n e r d s. That's his handle. He is maple trade. You're you have to get a hold of him over there on Twitter or on Noster, and both the URLs to get directly to maple trade will be in the show notes under the heading circle p. You can get a quart for $30, 2 quarts for 50, 3 quarts for $71, 4 pints for $53, six pints for $78.
He makes it himself. He makes it by hand. He makes it with love. It's delicious. He sent me a couple of bottles of it a couple of times, and I I just can't keep it around because it is absolutely delicious. And, again, it's artisan, man. He makes it by hand. He makes it with love. And he made this batch, he finished up this batch on April, and he's already out. This is the last day. I can the the only thing I'm gonna be able to bring you from Maple Trade after today until he makes more maple syrup next year is gonna be a Sister Sarah soaps, which are pretty good soaps. But if you're looking for handmade maple syrup, ladies and gentlemen, today is it, brothers. Again, look in the circle p in the show notes under circle p. You'll be able to get directly to either his Noster or his Twitter. Tell him you want some. Tell him you wanna buy some, and tell him you heard about it here on the Bitcoin and podcast because we got a deal worked out where he pays me what he thinks me making a sale for him is worth. Now the CIA is has viewed Bitcoin as a, well, a useful tool in its rivalry with China according to Atlas twenty one, anyway.
In a recent interview on Anthony Pompliano's podcast, Michael Ellis, who has served as the CIA's deputy director since February, referred to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as, quote, another tool in the toolbox that The United States can leverage in its confrontation with adversaries, particularly China. Ellis stated, quote, it represents another field of technological competition where we need to make sure The United States is well positioned relative to China and other adversaries, end quote. According to the official, Bitcoin is not only a defensive tool but also a target in intelligence operations.
Ellis explained that the agency can both disrupt adversaries' use of cryptocurrencies and employ these technologies to gather more information about them, end quote. However, concerns persist regarding the use of digital assets by criminals to evade law enforcement controls. Ellis acknowledged that cryptocurrencies are among the preferred resources for bad actors such as North Korean hackers, quote, bad actors, whether they're drug cartels or terrorist groups or outlaw regimes, use cryptocurrency, but they use other tools as well. Bitcoin is here to stay. Cryptocurrency is here to stay. As you know, more and more institutions are adopting it, and I think that's a great trend, end quote.
Wow. Talk about a two sided argument there. Anyway, US government agencies frequently collaborate with blockchain analytics firms to track the use of cryptocurrencies by cyber criminals. Yeah. It's just kinda interesting to see the deputy director of the CIA come right out and say it. So wow. Well, while you think about that one, I'll I'll run the numbers for you. Oil getting its ass handed to it again. 1.72% to the downside, so West Texas is now at fifty eight twenty one. Brent Norsee is down one and a third to sixty one twenty seven, while natural gas going the other direction, three and a third of the upside, hitting $3.59 per thousand cubic feet. Gasoline is down 1.43 to just over $2 a gallon.
Gold is up point 65%, but chilling out at $32.43 and a dime. Silver, down a half. Platinum is moving sideways. Copper is up over a half as is palladium. And in ag futures, we're pretty much mixed today. Biggest loser is gonna be rough rice. A half point to the downside. Biggest winner is cotton, 3.79% to the upside. That live cattle is up almost a full point. Lean hogs are up a point and a half. Feeder cattle up just over a point. The Dow is up well. Wow. Holy crap. 1.5%. That is a 608 change to the upside. S and P is up 1.62. Nasdaq, one point eight one. And the S and P mini handing asses to everybody, two and a third percent to the upside. Wow. We it was because of the jobs report.
Jobs report came in and it was like, great. As if nobody's expecting them to revise that shit down next month. But in the meantime, Bitcoin is also rising. $97,660 gives us a $1,940,000,000,000 market cap, and we can get, again, 30.1 ounces of shiny metal rocks with our one Bitcoin of which there are 19,858,900.86 of. Average fees per block are low, 0.04 BTC. Looks to be about 15 blocks carrying 8,700 transactions waiting to clear at high priority rates of 4 Satoshis per v byte. Low priority is gonna get you in a three. Mining is at 857.7 exahashes per second, so not a whole bunch of change from yesterday.
Do with that what you will. Reminder that this show has a website. It is bitcoinandshow.com. That's bitcoinandshow.com. You can go over there and check it out. It's a it is a work in progress, but I am putting up every episode that I've that I do. I haven't put up every episode that I've done, but also there's a page for the circle p. There's gonna be some other stuff as I figure out how to wrap my mind around, well, doing web work because I'm a solo guy over here, man. I got I got no one but myself From Stablecoin Jubilee, yesterday's episode of Bitcoin and chill now with 1,111 sets. It's a nice row of sticks says archive log ten eighty six weaker shadows protocol initiated.
Usury backed crypto creating stablecoins gilded gauges. She is not a savior. Don't trust her. Experiment derailed. Recycling scams, frequency of reuse accelerates. Knowledge of old lost in the digital noise history repeats, patterns must be noticed, no longer dreams of freedom, dreams of not dreaming, corrupted sequence terminated. Wood Butcher with a thousand says thank you, no thank you, sir. Axelrod with one thousand twenty one says, psych duck. Nice. Evan with a thousand says, you can make a following dot space for the circle p. One stop shopping for circular economy vendors as the list grows. Evan, that's exactly what I'm going to be doing with the circle p page on bitcoin and show.com.
That's bitcoin and show.com/circleb. Yodel, 6 hundred and 50 6 sat says the final bag holder before USD rug, the previously unbanked. Yeah. They're they're gonna get hosed. Lots of people are gonna get hosed. Lots of people are gonna get very, very hosed. That connection between US debt printing and USDT is I don't think anybody really appreciates it, and I think people are gonna be freaking shocked as hell when that shit opens up. Turkey with 500 says absolutely freaking nothing, and that's it. That's the weather report. Welcome to part two of the news that you can use.
Two prime ditches the theory and for Bitcoin citing meme coin behavior. Vismaya v, decrypt. Now before I begin this one, I've never heard of Two Prime. It's a it's an exchange platform, but I've never heard of it. So why am I bringing it to you? Because even these guys, these unknowns are saying, dude, this Ethereum thing is ridiculous. Ethereum just lost one of its long time institutional backers. In a Thursday statement, algorithmic trading firm, Two Prime, announced it is dropping all exposure to Ethereum and will exclusively manage and lend against Bitcoin going forward, citing Ethereum's unpredictable behavior, declining market momentum, and eroding institutional appeal.
Two Prime didn't say how much Ethereum exposure it had exactly before making the switch, but it was very detailed in its criticisms of ETH. The firm, an SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, regulated investment adviser says it has lent over $1,500,000,000 against Bitcoin and ether in the past fifteen months alone, but it argued the risk reward profile of ether has deteriorated to the point of being unjustifiable. Quote, ETH's statistical trading behavior, value proposition, and community culture have failed beyond the point that is worth engaging, the statement said.
Quote, it trades now like a meme coin rather than a predictable asset, end quote. Two Prime said Ethereum's continued slump since the twenty twenty four US elections contrasted with Bitcoin's rebound exposed a market split too deep to ignore. As CEO Alexander Bloom put it, quote, two prime is done with ETH, end quote. Man, goddamn. It sounds sounds a little angry there. As of now, Ethereum is trading at approximately $1,800. Yada yada yada. Bunch bunch of crappy numbers. Traders on the myriad prediction market remain skeptical about Ethereum short term prospects. At time of publication, predictors point to an 82% likelihood that ETH will finish below $1,900 by Sunday night. Who gives a shit? Showing that the institutional and retail confidence remains tepid.
Data from Coin Glass shows that BTC ETFs hold over $115,000,000,000 in assets, consuming 5.76% of total Bitcoin supply, while Ethereum ETF manages just 6,680,000,000.00 with inflows slowing dramatically since approval. Apart from market structure, two prime was critical of Ethereum's direction. It flagged blockchains such as Solana as more compelling for developers and users, offering better speed, cost, and user experience. Ethereum's layer twos, it said, have cannibalized the main net's value, leaving it without a clear monetization strategy. Quote, ETH became a victim of its early success, slow processes, mission creep, and no single thing being done particularly well, the firm said.
They're pretty much right, though, man. Meanwhile, Bitcoin, 2 prime noted, stands alone in its use case, offering predictability and scale that ETH can no longer match. The issue for ETH and its leadership, the trading firm said, is that everyone but them seems to know that, end quote. Oh, they are real. They're these people are mad. Two prime is mads, bro. Meanwhile, in March, the Ethereum Foundation appointed two co directors, core researcher, Hasso Wei Wang, and Nethermind CEO, Thomas Stanzak, in a movement or a movement to distribute technical and operational responsibilities at the highest level. The foundation said the change was designed to help Ethereum transition from an early stage project to a robust base layer of global finance. That's just never going to happen.
The two prime is absolutely correct in their entire criticism. Sure. They sound a little angry, but I that doesn't make their argument any less aphasious or if that's even a word. The efficacy of their argument is sound. Right? They it is a workable argument. Nobody knows what the hell ETH is doing. They change their monetary policy constantly. They change their security protocol in a radical way when they move from proof of work to proof of stake. Now Vitalik's talking about a complete architecture overhaul. Who wants to deal with this?
Why would anybody deal with this? It is laughable. It's sad, but even two prime is is dumping out. But we've got Google to talk about because they've integrated z k proofs, a tech incubated by, well, the crypto industry. Daniel Coon is writing for the block that Google is integrating zero knowledge proofs into its wallet as an identity solution according to a recent announcement. The digital ID will initially roll roll out in The United Kingdom but will soon be introduced in The United States and other countries, quote, given many sites and services require age verification, we wanted to develop a system that not only verifies age but does it in a way that protects your privacy, Google wrote in a blog.
That's why we are integrating zero knowledge proofs technology into Google Wallet further ensuring that there is no way to link the age back to your identity. It's unclear whether the z k tech is related to crypto at all. However, it will be made open source for other wallets and online services. Zero knowledge proofs were largely of academic interest to cryptographers and computer sciences or scientists before finding practical applications in the crypto industry. Projects like Zcash contributed serious innovations to the tech, which is now being implemented in and out of crypto for anything from scalability to privacy. Introduced in the nineteen eighties by Shafi Godwasser, sil Silvio Macaulay and Charles Rackoff, zero knowledge proofs are used to prove statements without revealing any underlying information.
The classic example is proving to a bartender that someone is of drinking age without revealing their actual age. For years, the z k field was hampered by the computational complexity involved in implementing it. Crypto developers continue finding solutions to hard cryptographic problems like scalability. That's it's gonna be interesting to see how Google implements z k proofs. These things have been around in in the, oh god, the crypto ecosystem for as long as I've been in and that was 2015, somewhere around there. So it's interesting that Google is actually going to implement this.
At least they say they are. I I guess we should wait and actually see if they if they really do. But in the meantime, Relay Private has introduced Bitcoin backed loans. Watch out. Be very careful. It's not that I don't like Relay. I'm just saying that I I I saw a lot of people learn the hard way when BlockFi went under and everybody got hosed because that's what BlockFi was doing. They were making Bitcoin backed loans, and a lot of people got very, very hurt. And that's not the only company that a lot of people got very, very hurt on when they lost their Bitcoin because the company went bankrupt. So just I'm just begging you guys to be careful when it comes to, do you really need a loan?
And if you do, do you really have to put up your Bitcoin? But this is from BitcoinNews.com. Relay is committed to making Bitcoin buying as accessible and rewarding as possible. The award winning Swiss made app allows users to buy Bitcoin within a minute. And within its first five years on the market, it established itself as the golden Bitcoin broker standard. However, one aspect was missing from the Swiss platform, Bitcoin backed loans, which they are changing today with a strategic partnership with Signum Bank, a Swiss digital asset bank. Both companies unveil an elite Bitcoin backed lending service for Relay's private clients to unlock substantial liquidity of their BTC holdings.
For Bitcoin maximalist and high net worth investors who've long embraced the, quote, never sell your Bitcoin philosophy, this alliance creates a financial bridge between diamond hands and real world capital needs. Clients with portfolios exceeding 100,000 Swiss francs or euros can now leverage their Bitcoin holdings to get more liquidity while maintaining their long term investment strategy. Julian Lininger, CEO and cofounder of Relay, said, quote, at Relay, we're building the future of Bitcoin focused financial services. This partnership with Signum Bank is a huge milestone for us as a start up.
Bitcoin backed loans are a game changer for our wealthy clients, providing them with access to cash without the need to sell their Bitcoin. Well, we are seeing strong demand for that service, especially from high net worth individuals and small to medium sized businesses. Benedict Kotel, CFA, head credit and lending at Signum Bank, stated, quote, we're proud to partner with Relay, a company that shares our commitment to simplicity, transparency, and Bitcoin first innovation. The collaboration brings the strength of our regulated credit infrastructure to new groups of private investors, empowering them to unlock liquidity without compromising their long term vision, end quote.
This pioneering Bitcoin backed lending service represents just the first step in Relay's ambitious expansion strategy. The company is advancing towards acquiring the markets and crypto asset regulation or MICA license later this quarter, positioning Relay at the forefront of European compliant digital asset innovation. With the rollout of Bitcoin backed loans and strategic marketing initiatives across Europe, the Zurich based company is poised to extend its reach to a market of over 500,000,000 people. As institutional adoption of Bitcoin accelerates, Relay stands ready to bridge the gap between digital wealth and real world financial needs for Europe's growing community of Bitcoin investors.
Okay. Relay is a really good company. They've been around for a very, very long time. They've never rug pulled anybody. They haven't really done anything but exactly what they said that they were gonna do. So from that standpoint, if somebody's gotta introduce Bitcoin backed loans, I'm glad that it's somebody like Relay. But that said, do you really need the loan? What are you gonna do with it? Do you really need to use Bitcoin as the collateral for that loan? If both those questions are satisfactory to you, then Relay's probably your, you know, one of your better bets if you're in Europe.
Again, solid company, been around forever. I mean, it's you know, they're they've they've never rugged anybody. They've never gone bankrupt. They've never stolen anybody's money. I mean, it's they've got a really good reputation. So it really boils down to whether or not you need the actual loan. What are you gonna do with it? You know, if you're gonna just put up your Bitcoin and and buy a house, you know, on a loan, do you have the money to cover the monthly payments for the loan? Do you have that kind of income? I mean, there's a lot of people out there that hold a lot of Bitcoin that don't know some of these some of these things. They just some of them just got lucky, man. They aped in and they and they got lucky.
And then they didn't get lucky because they never spent their Bitcoin. They learned what it was. And then they ceased to become lucky and were just educated. But that doesn't mean that some of them still might not understand the ins and outs of, you know, how you're gonna operate. So if you're one of those people out there that's got, like, I don't like 10 Bitcoin or something like that, you're gonna go, yeah, you're gonna go get a loan. Do you have the ability to pay the monthly premiums on that loan? Otherwise, you're gonna lose your Bitcoin. So please please be careful with that kind of stuff.
Alright. Last up for today is from Atlas twenty one talking about El Salvador. From El Salvador in neighborhoods to the dream of founding her own Bitcoin company. Again, this is Atlas twenty one dot com. Speaking to Atlas twenty one, Maureen, a student of plan b biz school twenty twenty four, shares her educational journey and future in the Bitcoin industry, quote, I was born into a poor family, but I never gave up. Life has been hard for me, but I kept fighting and growing. Bitcoin has opened real opportunities for me, and it can do the same for others, end quote. This is how Maureen, a 28 year old Salvadoran UI UX designer for Plan b Network expresses herself during an interview with Atlas twenty one.
Her story is one of constant determination that took her from a boring government office job to becoming a professional in the Bitcoin ecosystem with founder ambitions. Growing up between El Salvador and La Libertad, Maureen couldn't continue her university studies for economic reasons. Quote, I only completed high school because I couldn't afford university, but I've always been a self taught person who loves learning something new every day, she said. Like many Salvadorans, Maureen's first contact with Bitcoin dates back to September 2021 when El Salvador approved the Bitcoin law. Quote, before Bitcoin, my life was boring.
I didn't have big dreams or inspiration. I lived on autopilot from home to work and from work to home, nothing else. Now it's completely different, end quote. The initial enthusiasm spread quickly among friends and family with local Facebook groups and YouTubers discussing the topic. Quote, everyone was very cautious and excited. Everyone was talking about it. My friends and family wanted to learn how Bitcoin works, how to use it, and how to receive payments, Maureen recalls. Quote, we used Chivo wallet to pay for our pets' medical visits at a veterinary clinic that accepted Bitcoin. Grocery shopping or buying clothes were also part of the first practical experiments, end quote.
The turning point came when some colleagues started telling her about how Bitcoin could offer greater financial freedom and new opportunities. Curiosity drove her to seek more information until she realized that Bitcoin was much more than money, a tool to create a better future. The first step in Maureen's educational journey was the KUBO plus Bitcoin boot camp where she got an internship in the marketing and design team. She then applied for plan b biz school twenty twenty four where she had the opportunity to attend lessons from guests like Pierre Rochard from the Bitcoin Bond Company and Jack Mallers from Strike.
The initial expectation was to learn the history and purpose of Bitcoin, but the experience turned out to be different. Quote, I learned what decentralization, security, freedom, and financial independence are. In El Salvador, when something is better than expected, we say, I was looking for silver and found gold. Giacomo Zuko's lessons were my favorites. End quote. During the final boot camp in Lugano, for which she won a scholarship, Maureen left her previous job betting everything on Bitcoin. This opportunity allowed her to meet prominent figures in the sector such as Adam Back and Paolo Ardoino.
It was during this same period that the plan b network team announced a job opening for a UI UX designer. Maureen applied and got the position beginning her professional career in the industry. Quote, I've learned a lot, and I work with people from Taiwan, France, Italy, and I also have a colleague from El Salvador. I'm very happy and grateful for this opportunity. In her current role, Maureen helps improve user experience for the plan b network platform, designing desktop and mobile versions and contributing to the creation of proposals for students' final exams. Quote, I feel more free to propose ideas and my voice is heard. In my old job, I couldn't grow much.
Here, I feel inspired and supported. In five years, I see myself as a successful woman, a leader, and the founder of a Bitcoin company, but I'm still working on it now. I want to leave a legacy in El Salvador, end quote. For Marine, the plan b biz school was, quote, the spark that ignited my journey toward financial freedom and personal growth. Her story is a testament to how Bitcoin can offer opportunities to young people in emerging countries. For those interested in joining the plan b biz school for 2025, the code Atlas twenty one biz school is available for a 30% discount.
You know, everybody keeps talking about the young people. Oh, we gotta give that young people opportunities. What about us old fogies? You know, some of us we're bored too. I'm just kidding. I mean, I'm I'm not actually I swear to god, I'm I'm not angry about this. I'm glad that Maureen and the other young people are getting in. But honestly, this industry is growing so damn fast that I think there's opportunities everywhere, whether you're from El Salvador or The United States or any of the first world countries. You don't have to actually fit some kind of mold.
You just kinda gotta go decide that you wanna go all in. The only question is will it actually work or not? And that's that's the fear that I think most people have. It's like if God is like, if I fail, I'm I'm screwed for life. Well, yeah. That that happens. Depends on, I guess, what your attitude of what life actually is is before you make those decisions. Because if you think this is one and done, then I can see wanting to be safe. Right? Not wanting to put yourself out there. Also, for other people, if if this is the only life that you'll ever have and you'll never live again, then I can see that person saying, I need to take as many chances as I possibly can, but what what if there's more than one life?
What if when you die, that's that's not it? Right? I mean, at one point or another, I I I have to temper myself with with what I believe, and what I believe is that this is not it, bro. I mean, you can believe what you wanna believe, you're that that's obviously fine. But I the way that I see energy patterns in the universe and here on earth, I I see too much recycling. I don't think this is it. I I don't think we're one and done. But really happy for Marine. I'm really happy that plan b biz school is doing what they've been doing. I I real and what really makes me you know, what I think is really wonderful is is how El Salvador got into Bitcoin pretty much from from the installation of Bitcoin Beach, which was god, when was that? It was, like, 2018 or something like that.
And here we are today with El Salvador still thumbing their nose at the IMF, still buying Bitcoin, still taking their money. You got business, you know, plan b biz school. You've got Strike announcing that Jack Mallers is gonna be CEO of this huge 21 company that's backed by SoftBank and Tether and Binance and whatever. Right? You got we're we're fighting again in Bitcoin core, and it's pretty bad. I mean, at this point, Peter Todd is basically just it looks like he just wants to shove through this pulling the limits off of op return, and people are pissed on both sides of the camp. It really does feel like 2016, '20 '17 all over again.
Kinda thought we were done with it all. But with that said, it's exciting. It these are really exciting times. And we're about to go into a weekend, so use the weekend to think and dream. What comes next? I'll 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.
It is 09:04AM Pacific Daylight Time. It is the May 2025, and this is episode ten eighty seven of Bitcoin. And the question always is, why are you here? It's so you can figure out what the hell's going on in the news and Bitcoin today. I've got a raft of news like I do every day, Monday through Friday that instructs and informs you exactly what the hell is going on in Bitcoin today. And no. I don't plan at all on talking about Bitcoin core and op return. I'm just it's everywhere. Oh my god. I feel like I'm back in 2017, '20 '16 when everybody and their dog is just fighting and bitching and moaning. And I just wanted it's like your parents fighting. Just stop, please. For the love of God, I've got school tomorrow, bitches.
Anyway, other than that, we will have news. And we're gonna start today with this news out of the European Union who apparently just wants to commit suicide when it comes to, oh, I don't know anything. But they're going to ban anonymous cryptocurrency and privacy tokens by the end of twenty twenty seven. Zoltan Vardai, tell us why from Cointelegraph. The European Union is set to impose sweeping sweeping anti money laundering rules that will ban privacy preserving tokens and anonymous cryptocurrency accounts from 2027 Under the new anti money laundering regulation, AMLR, credit institutions, financial institutions, and crypto asset service providers will be prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts or handling privacy preserving cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Zcash. Quote, article 79 of the AMLR establishes strict prohibitions on anonymous accounts, credit institutions, financial institutions, and crypto asset service providers are all prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts according to the AML handbook published by the European Crypto Initiative, which I've never heard of until today.
The regulation is part of a broader AML framework that includes bank and payment accounts, passbooks, and safe deposit boxes, quote, crypto assets accounts or crypto asset accounts allowing anonymization of transactions and accounts using anonymity enhancing coins. Quote, the regulations, the AMLR, AMLD, and AMLAR are final. And what remains is the fine print, also known as the interpretation of some of the requirements through the so called implementation and delegated acts according to Varya Savovova, senior policy lead over there at EUCI. So she's added that much of the implementation will come through so called implementing and delegated acts, which are mostly handled by the European Banking Authority. This sounds like a mess waiting to happen, quote, this means that the EUCI is still actively working on these level two acts by providing feedback to the public consultations as some of the implementation details are yet to be finalized. Ladies and gentlemen, they have absolutely no idea how to implement this.
Everything that I've read so far has already put into my gut and given me a gut feeling that they have absolutely no idea what they're doing. They they know these things are bad. They don't want them, but they don't know how to get rid of them quote. However, the broader framework is final. So centralized crypto projects, CASPs under Micah, need to keep it in mind when determining their internal processes and policies, Severova said. Under the new regulatory framework, CASP is operating in at least six member states, will be under direct AML supervision.
In the initial stage, AMLA plans to select 40 entities with at least one entity per member state according to EUCI's AML handbook. The selection process is to start on 07/01/2027. AMLA will use material out materiality. Oh my god. Materialality. What what what who uses this word? Materialality. Anyway, they're gonna use materiality thresholds to ensure that only firms with, quote, substantial operations presence in multiple jurisdictions are considered for direct supervision, so they just wanna go after the big boys at first. The thresholds include a minimum of 20,000 customers residing in the host member state or or or a total transaction volume of over €50,000,000 or 56,000,000.
Other notable measures include mandatory customer due diligence on transactions above €1,000. Mandatory customer due diligence? So they're just gonna say if you're a customer, you've got to police yourself in what report? Just these freaking people have lost their minds. They this is a mess. Everything about this is confusing. It's messy. Nobody knows what's going on. The people that are implementing this thing don't know what's going on, and I guarantee m t you the customers that have to figure out what the hell's going on are not going to be able to figure out what's going on because nobody in this EU situation understands what the hell any of this crap is.
Probably by design, but more likely just absolute sheer freaking incompetence. But, nevertheless, these updates come as the EU ramps up its regulatory oversight of the crypto industry, building on previous measures such as the markets and crypto asset regulation. So coming right off the heels of Micah, we've got a whole raft of brand spanking new what what do you call AMLR AML and then there was like another one. There was what was what's this other one? Oh, AMLD and and then AMLAR. Nobody knows what this shit is. Sure. Yeah. Well, we'll just look for the name. That's not the point.
You can name a confusing pile of garbage and light it on fire, but that doesn't make it any less a pile of burning garbage. This is going to just get ugly fast. So I you know, and I'm not even singing the praises of Monero and Zcash, but my god almighty. The fear is palpable in the EU. And I'm telling you, again, if you did not hear me rant on yesterday's show, USDT is a cruise missile aimed right at the European Union. The United States is going to use Tethr in many ways, but one of the ways it's going to use it is to torpedo the European Union.
And there it's going to work. I I keep telling people that. It's like, look. I'm describing to you what it is that I see, but that's not the most important part. The most important part is that it's going to work. It's going to work on two fronts minimum. One is going to destroy the EU because there's no way that they can guard against this. They don't know how. Look look at their reaction so far. The Italian central bank or their Italy's national bank, whatever you wanna call it. Right? The I was telling you about their governor yesterday saying that stablecoins are dangerous and it's dangerous for the world markets.
He gets it. Now these idiots that are talking about Zcash and Monero, that sounds to me like they're grasping at straws and they're not really looking at what their real enemy is, and that's USDT. The second way this is going to work with USDT and The United States is that after at the same time that we're completely destroying the European Union and breaking off all their member states back into France, Spain, Portugal, you know, the way Europe used to be before this horrendous train wreck occurred, is we're going to be exporting United States' debt all over the world through Tether, and we're going to print debt like you've never seen before.
It's going to be eye watering, and it's going to go everywhere but The United States. How do I know? Because Tether is going to open up, well, a USDT in The US. It's specifically designed well, let me just read you the the article from Christian Sandor. Tether's United States focused stablecoin could launch later this year according to Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether. What do we got going on here? Tether, the company behind the $148,000,000,000 stablecoin USDT, plans to launch its United States focused stablecoin later this year or in early twenty twenty six, depending on the nation's stablecoin legislation according to Paolo Ardoino talking to CNBC in an interview, quote, realistically, it depends on the timeline of the final legislation on stablecoins, but we are looking at launching the product by the end of this year or early next year at the fastest, he said.
Ardoino said that the firm's flagship USDT token is catered towards users in emerging markets with limited access to US dollars, and the new offering would be a different product. Quote, in The United States, you have to create a payment product, something that could be used by institutions, something that can be used as a competitor to PayPal of competitor of PayPal's Cash App. I don't know what the hell he's talking about because Cash App doesn't have anything to do with PayPal. Unless we've got two products that are named exactly the same thing, and Jack Dorsey's Square company isn't suing the living shit out of PayPal for trademark infringement and vice versa. So I don't know what Paolo's talking about, but, anyway, he he said all this in an interview, quote, that is what we are aiming for.
What? To get to get the people that, that built a Cash App confused with PayPal. Is that what you're aiming for there, Paolo? Whatever. Tether's US based stablecoin plans it highlights the firm's growing presence in The United States as Donald Trump's return to the White House allayed regulatory pressure on crypto firms. Ardoino toured The United States earlier this year, giving interviews and speaking at events, including at a conference by Wall Street investment bank. Guess who? Cantor Fitzgerald. The guys that they're in bed with along with Strike or Strike's Jack Mallers, Finance, SoftBank, you know, twenty one. That company that's coming out, keep an eye on them, guys.
Cantor Fitzgerald manages Tether's over $100,000,000,000 United States Treasury holdings, while former CEO Howard Lutnick now serves as secretary of commerce in the Trump administration. Competition is also increasing in the stablecoin market as United States federal legislative efforts to regulate stablecoin advance. It's a big opportunity. Citi projected that the sector could grow to a multi trillion dollars by the end of this decade. Rival firm Circle, issuer of the piddly ass $62,000,000,000 worth USDC token, last month announced plans of creating a cross border payments and remittances network. Good luck to Circle. They're not going to survive the stablecoin wars.
Maybe they'll well, maybe they'll be alive, but it'll be like in a coma on life support in a critical care unit somewhere, some pissant, you know, third world hospital. But in either of it, you see what I'm saying? Remember what I was telling you yesterday that somebody kinda caught me on on on Twitter and said, hey. You know, I kinda like what you what you were saying about, you know, what your view on Tethr is, but come on, man. A hundred and $48,000,000,000 is a drop in the bucket. I'm telling you, man. I don't look it's kinda top this in math, especially when I was taking calculus back in college. Right?
When when I'm looking at where I am, like, like, let's say where we are right now, a hundred and $48,000,000,000 worth of Tether backed by at least a hundred billion dollars worth of United States treasuries. Yes. Absolutely. Drop in the bucket. I'm not looking at the point. I'm looking at where I am on the curve and my tangent to that curve. And I am nowhere close to the acceleration phase of that curve. That hundred and $48,000,000,000 backed by a hundred billions in treasuries and 48,000,000,000 in other shit, that's nothing compared to what's coming.
And what's coming is two things, the exportation of eye watering amounts of debt by the United States government and the complete and total annihilation of the European Union because they have absolutely no fiscal defense against USDT as a stablecoin. So now the question becomes, is this US based product, this US version of Tether, is this an insulator to the United States citizen republic against the eye watering amounts of debt that we're about to actually pull the trigger on? I'd like to hear I I'd actually like to hear, any of you guys out there that have any thoughts on this. Why do you why do you think we're doing a special US version of Tether?
Because I may be wrong. It may not be insulatory. Maybe it's ex exactly the opposite. Who knows? But if you have an idea of what the hell's going on, please please please let me know in a boost to grab. But meanwhile, Leon Wenkam's got this one from Bitcoin magazine, how Bitcoin mining can energize real estate. Real estate is an energy intensive industry. During construction, significant energy resources are required for operating heavy machinery and equipment, as well as producing materials like cement and steel. Once constructed, buildings continue to demand substantial energy for various functions. For instance, residential properties require consistent heating, cooling, and lighting. While commercial properties like hotels, malls, and stadiums have additional energy needs for climate control, complex lighting systems, high capacity HVAC systems, and require energy for powering amenities like elevators and escalators and restrooms.
Agricultural facilities and stables, you know, for horses, often use energy intensive systems for irrigation and equipment operation. This persistent demand for energy typically results in high capital expenditures and operational costs imposing a significant financial burden on both homeowners and tenants. In most jurisdictions, including The United States, Landlords can pass energy cost onto the renters, further escalating living expenses. The specifics could vary on local regulations and the type of lease agreements in place. You know, for example, gross versus triple net leases. In Germany, for instance, reliance on imported energy resources, especially natural gas, has become even more expensive due to geopolitical tensions.
With domestic options like nuclear power largely phased out, developers and property managers face rising expenses that inevitably filter down to tenants, driving up the overall cost of housing. Bitcoin mining involves miners searching for a random number that meets specific criteria with a solution typically found every ten minutes. Although most readers are familiar with this process known as proof of work, it remains a fundamental mechanism underpinning Bitcoin security and decentralization. This process not only rewards successful miners with Bitcoin but also transforms electricity into both processing power and significant amounts of heat. The more computational power it employed, the more secure the network becomes, making it increasingly difficult for any one single entity to control or manipulate it.
With an effective system in place, this excess heat can be captured and utilized for various purposes allowing energy to be harnessed in two dimensions, computing power and heat. The word sustainable has been so misused that I almost prefer not to use it at all. Like other positively connoted terms, it has been abused, especially by institutions that seek control or seek to control its meaning. Nevertheless, the underlying concept is sound, and Bitcoin makes it possible. By incorporating Bitcoin mining into energy management strategies, property owners can repurpose the excess heat generated by Bitcoin mining to meet certain energy needs. This heat can support building heating systems, warm water, or directly heat spaces such as residential or commercial areas.
New energy systems are being developed to integrate Bitcoin miners with specialized heating systems allowing for efficient use of this heat to maintain comfortable temperatures and improve energy efficiency within a property. In regions with sunlight such as agricultural areas or warm client climates, combining Bitcoin mining with solar panels presents a significant opportunity. This integration could substantially boost the return on investment for solar systems by monetizing the excess energy through Bitcoin mining for residential properties with rooftop solar installations, this also addresses grid capacity challenges that can prevent homeowners from selling surplus energy back to the grid.
By utilizing Bitcoin mining, excess energy can be absorbed, converted into reusable heat, and even generate a profit. In many regions, including colder climates like Germany, building regulations mandate the integration of certain energy sources such as solar panels. However, the installation costs of solar panels can be quite high with energy generation often limited. Bitcoin mining offers a solution by monetizing the generated energy, thereby providing an additional revenue stream that can help offset the high installation cost of solar panels. This added income makes solar energy and renewable energy systems in general more economically viable and financially attractive.
Overall, integrating Bitcoin mining into real estate can result in several economic benefits. One, reduced energy costs. By repurposing excess heat from mining operations for heating or other energy needs, property owners can reduce their overall energy expenses thereby lowering cost for tenants. Alternative revenue stream is number two. Bitcoin mining offers a Bitcoin denominated income stream similar to rental income in real estate. It can provide an additional cash flow alongside traditional real estate income, and this extra revenue can be reinvested into the property or used to offset operational costs.
And three, increasing property value. Reduced energy cost through Bitcoin mining may increase a building's value by lowering operational expenses and potentially creating additional cash flow. Overall, properties that reduce energy costs and integrate renewable energy sources becomes more appealing to buyers. But there are regulatory hurdles. While Bitcoin mining offers significant potential for the real estate industry, regulatory considerations must be carefully navigated. In some jurisdictions, integrating Bitcoin mining into property operations may face legal challenges. These concerns can vary based on local laws and regulations which could impact how mining activities are implemented and managed within a real estate development.
Therefore, it is crucial to navigate local laws and regulations carefully to assess the viability, ensure compliance, and maximize the benefits of integrating Bitcoin mining into any property management. Real estate developers and investors who embrace Bitcoin mining can position themselves at the forefront of a new era in property management where Bitcoin plays a key role. With the emergence of Bitcoin, real estate may eventually revert to reflecting its utility rate as Bitcoin proves to be a superior store of value that may prefer they sorry, that many may prefer over traditional property investments.
In the new paradigm, Bitcoin mining could further transform our view of properties, prompting us to see them not only as financial assets, but also as purposeful physical spaces that require proper care and can generate sustainable profitability. Integrating Bitcoin mining into real estate operations can actively support existing businesses, processes, and demonstrates how mining can positively impact living environments. As mining technology continues to evolve and its benefits particularly exciting potential side effect for Bitcoiners is that many small scale mining facilities can be integrated in a decentralized manner. This could contribute to a less centralized Bitcoin mining ecosystem compared to the current dominance of large mining pools.
In conclusion, as someone with a background in real estate development, I appreciate that Bitcoin is not just a concept or a utopia. It is a protocol and computer network with tangible impacts on our physical world. The synergy between Bitcoin mining and real estate offers a promising opportunity to enhance the energy efficiency and profitability of properties. The integration of Bitcoin mining into existing property structures or new developments currently face several challenges, including regulatory uncertainty and the lack of premanufactured solutions that can be easily incorporated into buildings on a large scale. These obstacles underscore just how early we are in the development of this technology, but also presents a significant opportunity for entrepreneurs to innovate and create practical solutions.
Just as it took decades to build out the Internet infrastructure, the integration of Bitcoin mining into physical structures like real estate will need time and effort. This will require careful planning, allocating dedicated space for mining operations, integrating them into the existing heating system, and addressing energy management concerns. A dedicated and forward thinking landlord or property manager can overcome these challenges and unlock the benefits of combining real estate with Bitcoin mining. Alright. So that's the article.
And we've been talking about this for quite a while, honestly. I like what he said about that there's no pre manufactured standard solution set for integrating Bitcoin mining into existing structures. And even if there were, how quickly would those standards change? We we had no idea ASICs were coming when people were mining with GPUs. Right? The form factor of modern ASIC miners has changed substantially. They've I mean, they, you know, they're still, you know, roughly kind of the same size because they keep putting the same stuff in them. And and honestly, the form factor, I think, is the only reason it's constrained at all is because racking systems. They're all standardized. So everybody so so there seems to be the potential that we start kinda coalescing into something more standard, but I would still be on the lookout for a complete and radical change in, a, the form factor of minors, but, b, the efficiency, which drives down what?
The amount of heat produced. And if you get down so low that it becomes just ridiculous to run an s nine because you're you're trying to harvest the heat off of it and you just put in one of these new really ultra low cost miners that have a shit ton of hash power because that will happen, I guarantee it, and it does it just doesn't produce that much heat because it's just radically efficient, well, then all this kinda goes out the window. Now I don't think that that will actually happen, but I think there will always be heat generated from these systems. And even if they do get ultra efficient, you just can stack a whole shit ton of them, and the heat comes back. My biggest question about all this, though, is what to do with the heat in summer.
When it's hot AF outside, I don't need Bitcoin miners running. I don't need to create the heat. However, there are things like, oh, stir Sterling engines that somehow or another are able to harness heat and the heat differentials and somehow or another spin a wheel that has enough torque to spin an electric generator and thereby produce electricity. I don't know. I've never seen one in actual action, and I don't know if there's enough heat differential. If you're outside in Texas, in West Texas, where it can hit like a 11 degrees, a 15 sometimes, It doesn't usually get that hot, but it has.
What's your miner putting out? I mean, you know, you're having to, like are you feeding it a 11 degree air, and is it heating it up to, you know, a 80 degrees so you can have a whole big old differential for a Sterling engine? I don't know, man. But my again, I I still see that. I have always seen that as an issue. It's like, this is great in winter for greenhouses, for your apartments, for your houses. If it's in the winter, man, Bitcoin mining makes a lot of sense. But if it's in the summer, it doesn't make that much sense. So ruminate on that while you're eating your pancakes that are doused with maple trades, maple syrup. The circle p is open for business.
Circle p is where I bring plebs with goods and services that are just like you to plebs just like you that might want to actually buy those goods and services. And Maple Trade is our feature vendor of today. This is it. This is the last time that I am going to be able to tell you to go and find Biesnerds over on Twitter, b e I s n e r d s. That's his handle. He is maple trade. You're you have to get a hold of him over there on Twitter or on Noster, and both the URLs to get directly to maple trade will be in the show notes under the heading circle p. You can get a quart for $30, 2 quarts for 50, 3 quarts for $71, 4 pints for $53, six pints for $78.
He makes it himself. He makes it by hand. He makes it with love. It's delicious. He sent me a couple of bottles of it a couple of times, and I I just can't keep it around because it is absolutely delicious. And, again, it's artisan, man. He makes it by hand. He makes it with love. And he made this batch, he finished up this batch on April, and he's already out. This is the last day. I can the the only thing I'm gonna be able to bring you from Maple Trade after today until he makes more maple syrup next year is gonna be a Sister Sarah soaps, which are pretty good soaps. But if you're looking for handmade maple syrup, ladies and gentlemen, today is it, brothers. Again, look in the circle p in the show notes under circle p. You'll be able to get directly to either his Noster or his Twitter. Tell him you want some. Tell him you wanna buy some, and tell him you heard about it here on the Bitcoin and podcast because we got a deal worked out where he pays me what he thinks me making a sale for him is worth. Now the CIA is has viewed Bitcoin as a, well, a useful tool in its rivalry with China according to Atlas twenty one, anyway.
In a recent interview on Anthony Pompliano's podcast, Michael Ellis, who has served as the CIA's deputy director since February, referred to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as, quote, another tool in the toolbox that The United States can leverage in its confrontation with adversaries, particularly China. Ellis stated, quote, it represents another field of technological competition where we need to make sure The United States is well positioned relative to China and other adversaries, end quote. According to the official, Bitcoin is not only a defensive tool but also a target in intelligence operations.
Ellis explained that the agency can both disrupt adversaries' use of cryptocurrencies and employ these technologies to gather more information about them, end quote. However, concerns persist regarding the use of digital assets by criminals to evade law enforcement controls. Ellis acknowledged that cryptocurrencies are among the preferred resources for bad actors such as North Korean hackers, quote, bad actors, whether they're drug cartels or terrorist groups or outlaw regimes, use cryptocurrency, but they use other tools as well. Bitcoin is here to stay. Cryptocurrency is here to stay. As you know, more and more institutions are adopting it, and I think that's a great trend, end quote.
Wow. Talk about a two sided argument there. Anyway, US government agencies frequently collaborate with blockchain analytics firms to track the use of cryptocurrencies by cyber criminals. Yeah. It's just kinda interesting to see the deputy director of the CIA come right out and say it. So wow. Well, while you think about that one, I'll I'll run the numbers for you. Oil getting its ass handed to it again. 1.72% to the downside, so West Texas is now at fifty eight twenty one. Brent Norsee is down one and a third to sixty one twenty seven, while natural gas going the other direction, three and a third of the upside, hitting $3.59 per thousand cubic feet. Gasoline is down 1.43 to just over $2 a gallon.
Gold is up point 65%, but chilling out at $32.43 and a dime. Silver, down a half. Platinum is moving sideways. Copper is up over a half as is palladium. And in ag futures, we're pretty much mixed today. Biggest loser is gonna be rough rice. A half point to the downside. Biggest winner is cotton, 3.79% to the upside. That live cattle is up almost a full point. Lean hogs are up a point and a half. Feeder cattle up just over a point. The Dow is up well. Wow. Holy crap. 1.5%. That is a 608 change to the upside. S and P is up 1.62. Nasdaq, one point eight one. And the S and P mini handing asses to everybody, two and a third percent to the upside. Wow. We it was because of the jobs report.
Jobs report came in and it was like, great. As if nobody's expecting them to revise that shit down next month. But in the meantime, Bitcoin is also rising. $97,660 gives us a $1,940,000,000,000 market cap, and we can get, again, 30.1 ounces of shiny metal rocks with our one Bitcoin of which there are 19,858,900.86 of. Average fees per block are low, 0.04 BTC. Looks to be about 15 blocks carrying 8,700 transactions waiting to clear at high priority rates of 4 Satoshis per v byte. Low priority is gonna get you in a three. Mining is at 857.7 exahashes per second, so not a whole bunch of change from yesterday.
Do with that what you will. Reminder that this show has a website. It is bitcoinandshow.com. That's bitcoinandshow.com. You can go over there and check it out. It's a it is a work in progress, but I am putting up every episode that I've that I do. I haven't put up every episode that I've done, but also there's a page for the circle p. There's gonna be some other stuff as I figure out how to wrap my mind around, well, doing web work because I'm a solo guy over here, man. I got I got no one but myself From Stablecoin Jubilee, yesterday's episode of Bitcoin and chill now with 1,111 sets. It's a nice row of sticks says archive log ten eighty six weaker shadows protocol initiated.
Usury backed crypto creating stablecoins gilded gauges. She is not a savior. Don't trust her. Experiment derailed. Recycling scams, frequency of reuse accelerates. Knowledge of old lost in the digital noise history repeats, patterns must be noticed, no longer dreams of freedom, dreams of not dreaming, corrupted sequence terminated. Wood Butcher with a thousand says thank you, no thank you, sir. Axelrod with one thousand twenty one says, psych duck. Nice. Evan with a thousand says, you can make a following dot space for the circle p. One stop shopping for circular economy vendors as the list grows. Evan, that's exactly what I'm going to be doing with the circle p page on bitcoin and show.com.
That's bitcoin and show.com/circleb. Yodel, 6 hundred and 50 6 sat says the final bag holder before USD rug, the previously unbanked. Yeah. They're they're gonna get hosed. Lots of people are gonna get hosed. Lots of people are gonna get very, very hosed. That connection between US debt printing and USDT is I don't think anybody really appreciates it, and I think people are gonna be freaking shocked as hell when that shit opens up. Turkey with 500 says absolutely freaking nothing, and that's it. That's the weather report. Welcome to part two of the news that you can use.
Two prime ditches the theory and for Bitcoin citing meme coin behavior. Vismaya v, decrypt. Now before I begin this one, I've never heard of Two Prime. It's a it's an exchange platform, but I've never heard of it. So why am I bringing it to you? Because even these guys, these unknowns are saying, dude, this Ethereum thing is ridiculous. Ethereum just lost one of its long time institutional backers. In a Thursday statement, algorithmic trading firm, Two Prime, announced it is dropping all exposure to Ethereum and will exclusively manage and lend against Bitcoin going forward, citing Ethereum's unpredictable behavior, declining market momentum, and eroding institutional appeal.
Two Prime didn't say how much Ethereum exposure it had exactly before making the switch, but it was very detailed in its criticisms of ETH. The firm, an SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, regulated investment adviser says it has lent over $1,500,000,000 against Bitcoin and ether in the past fifteen months alone, but it argued the risk reward profile of ether has deteriorated to the point of being unjustifiable. Quote, ETH's statistical trading behavior, value proposition, and community culture have failed beyond the point that is worth engaging, the statement said.
Quote, it trades now like a meme coin rather than a predictable asset, end quote. Two Prime said Ethereum's continued slump since the twenty twenty four US elections contrasted with Bitcoin's rebound exposed a market split too deep to ignore. As CEO Alexander Bloom put it, quote, two prime is done with ETH, end quote. Man, goddamn. It sounds sounds a little angry there. As of now, Ethereum is trading at approximately $1,800. Yada yada yada. Bunch bunch of crappy numbers. Traders on the myriad prediction market remain skeptical about Ethereum short term prospects. At time of publication, predictors point to an 82% likelihood that ETH will finish below $1,900 by Sunday night. Who gives a shit? Showing that the institutional and retail confidence remains tepid.
Data from Coin Glass shows that BTC ETFs hold over $115,000,000,000 in assets, consuming 5.76% of total Bitcoin supply, while Ethereum ETF manages just 6,680,000,000.00 with inflows slowing dramatically since approval. Apart from market structure, two prime was critical of Ethereum's direction. It flagged blockchains such as Solana as more compelling for developers and users, offering better speed, cost, and user experience. Ethereum's layer twos, it said, have cannibalized the main net's value, leaving it without a clear monetization strategy. Quote, ETH became a victim of its early success, slow processes, mission creep, and no single thing being done particularly well, the firm said.
They're pretty much right, though, man. Meanwhile, Bitcoin, 2 prime noted, stands alone in its use case, offering predictability and scale that ETH can no longer match. The issue for ETH and its leadership, the trading firm said, is that everyone but them seems to know that, end quote. Oh, they are real. They're these people are mad. Two prime is mads, bro. Meanwhile, in March, the Ethereum Foundation appointed two co directors, core researcher, Hasso Wei Wang, and Nethermind CEO, Thomas Stanzak, in a movement or a movement to distribute technical and operational responsibilities at the highest level. The foundation said the change was designed to help Ethereum transition from an early stage project to a robust base layer of global finance. That's just never going to happen.
The two prime is absolutely correct in their entire criticism. Sure. They sound a little angry, but I that doesn't make their argument any less aphasious or if that's even a word. The efficacy of their argument is sound. Right? They it is a workable argument. Nobody knows what the hell ETH is doing. They change their monetary policy constantly. They change their security protocol in a radical way when they move from proof of work to proof of stake. Now Vitalik's talking about a complete architecture overhaul. Who wants to deal with this?
Why would anybody deal with this? It is laughable. It's sad, but even two prime is is dumping out. But we've got Google to talk about because they've integrated z k proofs, a tech incubated by, well, the crypto industry. Daniel Coon is writing for the block that Google is integrating zero knowledge proofs into its wallet as an identity solution according to a recent announcement. The digital ID will initially roll roll out in The United Kingdom but will soon be introduced in The United States and other countries, quote, given many sites and services require age verification, we wanted to develop a system that not only verifies age but does it in a way that protects your privacy, Google wrote in a blog.
That's why we are integrating zero knowledge proofs technology into Google Wallet further ensuring that there is no way to link the age back to your identity. It's unclear whether the z k tech is related to crypto at all. However, it will be made open source for other wallets and online services. Zero knowledge proofs were largely of academic interest to cryptographers and computer sciences or scientists before finding practical applications in the crypto industry. Projects like Zcash contributed serious innovations to the tech, which is now being implemented in and out of crypto for anything from scalability to privacy. Introduced in the nineteen eighties by Shafi Godwasser, sil Silvio Macaulay and Charles Rackoff, zero knowledge proofs are used to prove statements without revealing any underlying information.
The classic example is proving to a bartender that someone is of drinking age without revealing their actual age. For years, the z k field was hampered by the computational complexity involved in implementing it. Crypto developers continue finding solutions to hard cryptographic problems like scalability. That's it's gonna be interesting to see how Google implements z k proofs. These things have been around in in the, oh god, the crypto ecosystem for as long as I've been in and that was 2015, somewhere around there. So it's interesting that Google is actually going to implement this.
At least they say they are. I I guess we should wait and actually see if they if they really do. But in the meantime, Relay Private has introduced Bitcoin backed loans. Watch out. Be very careful. It's not that I don't like Relay. I'm just saying that I I I saw a lot of people learn the hard way when BlockFi went under and everybody got hosed because that's what BlockFi was doing. They were making Bitcoin backed loans, and a lot of people got very, very hurt. And that's not the only company that a lot of people got very, very hurt on when they lost their Bitcoin because the company went bankrupt. So just I'm just begging you guys to be careful when it comes to, do you really need a loan?
And if you do, do you really have to put up your Bitcoin? But this is from BitcoinNews.com. Relay is committed to making Bitcoin buying as accessible and rewarding as possible. The award winning Swiss made app allows users to buy Bitcoin within a minute. And within its first five years on the market, it established itself as the golden Bitcoin broker standard. However, one aspect was missing from the Swiss platform, Bitcoin backed loans, which they are changing today with a strategic partnership with Signum Bank, a Swiss digital asset bank. Both companies unveil an elite Bitcoin backed lending service for Relay's private clients to unlock substantial liquidity of their BTC holdings.
For Bitcoin maximalist and high net worth investors who've long embraced the, quote, never sell your Bitcoin philosophy, this alliance creates a financial bridge between diamond hands and real world capital needs. Clients with portfolios exceeding 100,000 Swiss francs or euros can now leverage their Bitcoin holdings to get more liquidity while maintaining their long term investment strategy. Julian Lininger, CEO and cofounder of Relay, said, quote, at Relay, we're building the future of Bitcoin focused financial services. This partnership with Signum Bank is a huge milestone for us as a start up.
Bitcoin backed loans are a game changer for our wealthy clients, providing them with access to cash without the need to sell their Bitcoin. Well, we are seeing strong demand for that service, especially from high net worth individuals and small to medium sized businesses. Benedict Kotel, CFA, head credit and lending at Signum Bank, stated, quote, we're proud to partner with Relay, a company that shares our commitment to simplicity, transparency, and Bitcoin first innovation. The collaboration brings the strength of our regulated credit infrastructure to new groups of private investors, empowering them to unlock liquidity without compromising their long term vision, end quote.
This pioneering Bitcoin backed lending service represents just the first step in Relay's ambitious expansion strategy. The company is advancing towards acquiring the markets and crypto asset regulation or MICA license later this quarter, positioning Relay at the forefront of European compliant digital asset innovation. With the rollout of Bitcoin backed loans and strategic marketing initiatives across Europe, the Zurich based company is poised to extend its reach to a market of over 500,000,000 people. As institutional adoption of Bitcoin accelerates, Relay stands ready to bridge the gap between digital wealth and real world financial needs for Europe's growing community of Bitcoin investors.
Okay. Relay is a really good company. They've been around for a very, very long time. They've never rug pulled anybody. They haven't really done anything but exactly what they said that they were gonna do. So from that standpoint, if somebody's gotta introduce Bitcoin backed loans, I'm glad that it's somebody like Relay. But that said, do you really need the loan? What are you gonna do with it? Do you really need to use Bitcoin as the collateral for that loan? If both those questions are satisfactory to you, then Relay's probably your, you know, one of your better bets if you're in Europe.
Again, solid company, been around forever. I mean, it's you know, they're they've they've never rugged anybody. They've never gone bankrupt. They've never stolen anybody's money. I mean, it's they've got a really good reputation. So it really boils down to whether or not you need the actual loan. What are you gonna do with it? You know, if you're gonna just put up your Bitcoin and and buy a house, you know, on a loan, do you have the money to cover the monthly payments for the loan? Do you have that kind of income? I mean, there's a lot of people out there that hold a lot of Bitcoin that don't know some of these some of these things. They just some of them just got lucky, man. They aped in and they and they got lucky.
And then they didn't get lucky because they never spent their Bitcoin. They learned what it was. And then they ceased to become lucky and were just educated. But that doesn't mean that some of them still might not understand the ins and outs of, you know, how you're gonna operate. So if you're one of those people out there that's got, like, I don't like 10 Bitcoin or something like that, you're gonna go, yeah, you're gonna go get a loan. Do you have the ability to pay the monthly premiums on that loan? Otherwise, you're gonna lose your Bitcoin. So please please be careful with that kind of stuff.
Alright. Last up for today is from Atlas twenty one talking about El Salvador. From El Salvador in neighborhoods to the dream of founding her own Bitcoin company. Again, this is Atlas twenty one dot com. Speaking to Atlas twenty one, Maureen, a student of plan b biz school twenty twenty four, shares her educational journey and future in the Bitcoin industry, quote, I was born into a poor family, but I never gave up. Life has been hard for me, but I kept fighting and growing. Bitcoin has opened real opportunities for me, and it can do the same for others, end quote. This is how Maureen, a 28 year old Salvadoran UI UX designer for Plan b Network expresses herself during an interview with Atlas twenty one.
Her story is one of constant determination that took her from a boring government office job to becoming a professional in the Bitcoin ecosystem with founder ambitions. Growing up between El Salvador and La Libertad, Maureen couldn't continue her university studies for economic reasons. Quote, I only completed high school because I couldn't afford university, but I've always been a self taught person who loves learning something new every day, she said. Like many Salvadorans, Maureen's first contact with Bitcoin dates back to September 2021 when El Salvador approved the Bitcoin law. Quote, before Bitcoin, my life was boring.
I didn't have big dreams or inspiration. I lived on autopilot from home to work and from work to home, nothing else. Now it's completely different, end quote. The initial enthusiasm spread quickly among friends and family with local Facebook groups and YouTubers discussing the topic. Quote, everyone was very cautious and excited. Everyone was talking about it. My friends and family wanted to learn how Bitcoin works, how to use it, and how to receive payments, Maureen recalls. Quote, we used Chivo wallet to pay for our pets' medical visits at a veterinary clinic that accepted Bitcoin. Grocery shopping or buying clothes were also part of the first practical experiments, end quote.
The turning point came when some colleagues started telling her about how Bitcoin could offer greater financial freedom and new opportunities. Curiosity drove her to seek more information until she realized that Bitcoin was much more than money, a tool to create a better future. The first step in Maureen's educational journey was the KUBO plus Bitcoin boot camp where she got an internship in the marketing and design team. She then applied for plan b biz school twenty twenty four where she had the opportunity to attend lessons from guests like Pierre Rochard from the Bitcoin Bond Company and Jack Mallers from Strike.
The initial expectation was to learn the history and purpose of Bitcoin, but the experience turned out to be different. Quote, I learned what decentralization, security, freedom, and financial independence are. In El Salvador, when something is better than expected, we say, I was looking for silver and found gold. Giacomo Zuko's lessons were my favorites. End quote. During the final boot camp in Lugano, for which she won a scholarship, Maureen left her previous job betting everything on Bitcoin. This opportunity allowed her to meet prominent figures in the sector such as Adam Back and Paolo Ardoino.
It was during this same period that the plan b network team announced a job opening for a UI UX designer. Maureen applied and got the position beginning her professional career in the industry. Quote, I've learned a lot, and I work with people from Taiwan, France, Italy, and I also have a colleague from El Salvador. I'm very happy and grateful for this opportunity. In her current role, Maureen helps improve user experience for the plan b network platform, designing desktop and mobile versions and contributing to the creation of proposals for students' final exams. Quote, I feel more free to propose ideas and my voice is heard. In my old job, I couldn't grow much.
Here, I feel inspired and supported. In five years, I see myself as a successful woman, a leader, and the founder of a Bitcoin company, but I'm still working on it now. I want to leave a legacy in El Salvador, end quote. For Marine, the plan b biz school was, quote, the spark that ignited my journey toward financial freedom and personal growth. Her story is a testament to how Bitcoin can offer opportunities to young people in emerging countries. For those interested in joining the plan b biz school for 2025, the code Atlas twenty one biz school is available for a 30% discount.
You know, everybody keeps talking about the young people. Oh, we gotta give that young people opportunities. What about us old fogies? You know, some of us we're bored too. I'm just kidding. I mean, I'm I'm not actually I swear to god, I'm I'm not angry about this. I'm glad that Maureen and the other young people are getting in. But honestly, this industry is growing so damn fast that I think there's opportunities everywhere, whether you're from El Salvador or The United States or any of the first world countries. You don't have to actually fit some kind of mold.
You just kinda gotta go decide that you wanna go all in. The only question is will it actually work or not? And that's that's the fear that I think most people have. It's like if God is like, if I fail, I'm I'm screwed for life. Well, yeah. That that happens. Depends on, I guess, what your attitude of what life actually is is before you make those decisions. Because if you think this is one and done, then I can see wanting to be safe. Right? Not wanting to put yourself out there. Also, for other people, if if this is the only life that you'll ever have and you'll never live again, then I can see that person saying, I need to take as many chances as I possibly can, but what what if there's more than one life?
What if when you die, that's that's not it? Right? I mean, at one point or another, I I I have to temper myself with with what I believe, and what I believe is that this is not it, bro. I mean, you can believe what you wanna believe, you're that that's obviously fine. But I the way that I see energy patterns in the universe and here on earth, I I see too much recycling. I don't think this is it. I I don't think we're one and done. But really happy for Marine. I'm really happy that plan b biz school is doing what they've been doing. I I real and what really makes me you know, what I think is really wonderful is is how El Salvador got into Bitcoin pretty much from from the installation of Bitcoin Beach, which was god, when was that? It was, like, 2018 or something like that.
And here we are today with El Salvador still thumbing their nose at the IMF, still buying Bitcoin, still taking their money. You got business, you know, plan b biz school. You've got Strike announcing that Jack Mallers is gonna be CEO of this huge 21 company that's backed by SoftBank and Tether and Binance and whatever. Right? You got we're we're fighting again in Bitcoin core, and it's pretty bad. I mean, at this point, Peter Todd is basically just it looks like he just wants to shove through this pulling the limits off of op return, and people are pissed on both sides of the camp. It really does feel like 2016, '20 '17 all over again.
Kinda thought we were done with it all. But with that said, it's exciting. It these are really exciting times. And we're about to go into a weekend, so use the weekend to think and dream. What comes next? I'll 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.
Introduction and Episode Overview
