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Episode 1125 of Bitcoin And . . . is LIVE!

Topics for today:

• Judge Advances Celsius’ $4B Tether Lawsuit
• UK Pension Funds Embrace Bitcoin Exposure
• Figma Reveals $70M in BTC ETF
• Arizona Governor Vetoes Crypto Reserve Bill
• Deutsche Bank-Backed Stablecoin Earns EU Green Light

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Articles:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/celsius-tether-lawsuit-4b-bitcoin-sale
https://decrypt.co/328193/uk-pension-firm-sees-growing-interest-in-bitcoin-exposure
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/figma-reveals-70m-bitcoin-etf-holdings-plans-to-buy-30m-more
https://cointelegraph.com/news/arizona-governor-vetoes-seized-crypto-stockpile-bill
https://cointelegraph.com/news/connecticut-governor-signs-bill-law-prohibiting-crypto-government
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-squeezes-shorts-in-108k-spike-us-jobs-drop-most-in-2-years

• https://www.cnbc.com/futures-and-commodities/
• https://dashboard.clarkmoody.com/
• https://mempool.space/
• https://www.bitcoinandshow.com/
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https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/07/02/deutsche-bank-s-dws-galaxy-flow-traders-venture-introduces-german-regulated-stablecoin
https://atlas21.com/bank-of-korea-suspends-cbdc-project-as-won-backed-stablecoins-gain-momentum/
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/thesis-acquires-lolli-to-expand-bitcoin-rewards-ecosystem
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/wallet-of-satoshi-partners-with-spark-to-offer-self-custodial-bitcoin-lightning-experience

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[00:00:02] David Bennett:

It is 08:47AM   Pacific Daylight Time. It is the July   2025.   This is episode eleven twenty five   of Bitcoin, and we got lots to cover today. We got a Celsius lawsuit that has been allowed to move forward.   That one's gonna be against Tether.   It looks like the knives are out. It's be maybe the night of the long knives. Who knows? And then we got a UK pension firm that is seeing growing interest in Bitcoin,   and I think that the following is going to be the most interesting. We're gonna talk about Figma. And if you don't know what Figma is, you will, in a moment,   Arizona and Connecticut decide to commit suicide.  

It's just gonna be awesome for them.   Deutsche Bank is back in the news. I talked about him yesterday   on a completely different subject.   But now Deutsche Bank is back in the news with something completely different,   and the Bank of Korea has suspended   their CBDC   project.   I can't imagine why. What could possibly   cause a country to abandon   their crappy   crappy   surveillance coin?   You can probably guess.   And then   Lolli. If you don't know what Lolli is, you will by the end of the show.   They've been around for a long time, and it looks like they got bought out.   Does that make them a sellout?  

I don't know. We'll we'll we'll talk about it. And Wallet and Satoshi is going to round us out. But first,   let's get into the news that is the news that you can use. Judge Lits Celsius'   $4,000,000,000   Bitcoin lawsuit against Tether   move forward. Amen Hasquinas or Haskshanas   has this one for Cointelegraph.   A US bankruptcy bankruptcy   judge ruled   that Celsius Network's   multibillion   dollar lawsuit against Tether   can proceed.   Denying, in part, Tether's attempt to dismiss claims that it improperly   liquidated   Celsius'   Bitcoin collateral during the crypto lenders collapse.  

According to court documents filed in New York on Monday,   Celsius alleges   that Tether executed   a fire sale   of over 39,500   Bitcoin in June of twenty twenty two   applying the proceeds against Celsius'   $812,000,000   debt without following agreed upon procedures.   Celsius claims   Tether's actions   breached their lending agreement,   violated   good faith and fair dealing under British Virgin   Islands   law, and   constituted fraudulent and preferential transfers avoidable under The US bankruptcy code.   The complaint centers on a margin call Tether issued as Bitcoin prices plunged.   Celsius argues   that Tether sold its collateral before a ten hour waiting period, liquidating the Bitcoin at an average price of $20,656   which was well below market levels,   and later   transferring the assets to its own Bitfinex account.  

I don't know. It just sounds like they made a margin call to me. But, anyway,   the filing alleges that Tether's liquidation   cost Celsius over $4,000,000,000   worth of Bitcoin at current prices.   Well, maybe you shouldn't have been defrauding all of your customers.   I'm just saying.   Celsius further claims that Tether's actions involved US based communications,   personnel,   and financial   oh, sorry. Personal and financial accounts   establishing sufficient ties for US jurisdiction despite Tether's incorporation   in the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong.   The judge   agreed   Celsius made a plausible case that the transfers and alleged misconduct   were domestic in nature,   rejecting Tether's arguments   that the claim represents an impermissible   extra   extraterritorial application   of United States'   state's bankruptcy   law. In August of twenty twenty four, Tether sought to dismiss the lawsuit   entirely,   claiming   that The US Court lacked jurisdiction   and that Celsius's   allegations   failed to state valid claims.  

While the court dismissed some counts, it allowed Celsius's   key breach of contract,   fraudulent transfer,   and preference claims to proceed. And those are the most harsh, by the way.   Celsius, once among crypto's largest lenders, officially   exited bankruptcy January   2024   after an eighteen month restructuring process, and the company is now in the process of repaying its creditors.   In June,   Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said that the company has no plans to go public.   Ardoino responded to speculation about a potential Tether IPO, dismissing the idea even as observers suggested that a public offering could value the stablecoin giant   at over $500,000,000,000   larger than corporations like Costco   and Coca Cola.  

Wow. Calling   a 15   or rather a fifth 500 good lord. $515,000,000,000   valuation, a beautiful number.   Arduinos suggested it might even undervalue   Tether considering its sizable Bitcoin and gold reserves.   Meanwhile,   Tether continues to expand its Bitcoin footprint becoming the majority owner of Jack Mallers twenty one Capital,   now the world's third largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Tether recently transferred nearly 37,230   BTC worth about $4,000,000,000   to addresses tied to that platform.   That's, I guess, a little aside for this story.   I think   that this is knives out on Tether from The United States judicial   standpoint.  

I   I   I have made several   on several occasions, I've made the argument   that Tether is going to be The United States'   go to   to transfer debt that is created in The United States to the rest of the world, and Circle   is going to be their domestic stablecoin   partner. So why on earth would The United States   do this?   I kinda think that it's a semblance of to make it look like,   that they're really, you know,   that they're really not looking at Tether the way that I think that they're looking at Tether, like they're a partner to float United States debt to to the rest of the world. I think it's like I honestly kind of think it's just   I kinda think it's a play.  

Like, it's set dressing.   Like, it's, oh, we couldn't possibly,   you know, just go through with with with our plan to float a whole bunch of debt through Tether to the rest of the world because they're not incorporated in The United States.   So I know. We'll make it say we'll make it look like we're we're, you know, we're really gonna be coming down hard on them.   I I kinda think that that's what it is because Tether is the one place in the world, it's the one company in the world that would allow   The United States to transfer   enormous amounts of freshly printed debt instrumentation   outside The United States.  

Now that said,   Circle is definitely vying   for position in the stablecoin market. There's there's just no two ways about it. And Jeremy Allaire and his little band of merry miscreants   are not stupid.   They're conniving,   they're crafty,   they're fairly sinister,   and they're well positioned to actually do something like that. So it would not surprise me whatsoever   if they aren't going to work the leverage   on their side of The United States judicial system to do everything that they can to hurt Tether, and honestly, I don't think it's going to work.   If we get into the particulars of this particular well, if we get into the particulars of this case, this Celsius   again you know, Celsius versus Tether,   I honestly don't think that Celsius   really has a leg to stand on   unless   it can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt two things,   that the ten hour deadline   was in fact   part of the deal,   and everybody signed that deal, and nobody can escape the fact that everybody signed that deal,   and   Tether pulled the trigger prematurely and sold   all the Bitcoin before that ten hour   deadline.  

We don't know. We're not part of Discovery. We're not part of the lawyer teams where we'd have no idea   what that agreement actually looks like,   and we don't know   if Tether actually   breached that agreement. If here's the here's the thing, though. If they did breach the agreement   and they have to pony up $4,000,000,000,   which I don't think even if they are found guilty, I don't think they're gonna have to pony up $4,000,000,000   because Tether   would only be on the hook for what damages was done   at the time of the sale. At least that's that's my take on it. Nobody knew at the time nobody had a crystal ball at the time to tell them that we were gonna be looking at a $105,000   Bitcoin right now.  

So I don't think that they'd be on the hook for the 4 for the for the full $4,000,000,000.   That's a lot of f's in there.   Even if they were, guess what?   They they can do that.   Tether made $13,000,000,000   with 200 people last year. That was net revenue.   Not gross.   That was net revenue.   $13,000,000,000.   They've got they're sitting on more money than they really know what to do with.   I also agree with Palo Ardoino.   Palo   Ardoino. I am having some difficulty speaking this morning. Sorry, y'all.   I think that Tether probably is   more valuable than Coca Cola at this point.  

I think it probably is more valuable than a lot of $500,000,000,000   companies.   It's not that I like them, but I also don't hate them. I'm rather new honestly, I'm rather neutral on them except that it's a fascinating story.   From that standpoint, I love the story.   But we've got yet other fish to fry,   And these fish are much older   from Decrypt and Connor   Sefton.   UK pension firm   sees growing interest in Bitcoin exposure,   A financial firm that enabled a UK pension fund to put Bitcoin on its balance sheet told Decrypt that it's seeing growing interest from other clients.   Arash Nasri,   a senior investment consultant at Cartwright Pension Trusts,   also revealed that wider industry reaction has been surprisingly positive.  

The company helped an unnamed British client make a 3% allocation   to the world's largest cryptocurrency in November of twenty twenty four.   And according to Nasri,   it secured a 60%   return on investment in under twelve months. That's almost unheard of, guys.   Cartwright has now launched its first ever annual Bitcoin review, which it which is designed to raise awareness within the institutional community.   When asked whether the pioneering pension fund would consider increasing its BTC allocation moving forward, Nasri said, quote,   if Bitcoin continues to produce the returns we anticipate, the decision will more likely be when should we trim,   end quote.  

He added that discussions are ongoing with several other clients about following suit, but it's crucial for pension funds to be fully informed about how Bitcoin works   and gradually build up an allocation with a long term outlook.   Stressing that Cartwright doesn't have any, quote, skin in the game, Nasri stressed, quote, we are independent advisers   who have built a deep understanding of the potential impact of Bitcoin in coming years on individuals,   companies,   asset owners, and governments. We see it as our fiduciary   duty   to investors   to raise awareness.  

The investment consultant admitted that there has been pushback from some skeptics within the British pensions industry saying, quote, a common retort   has been that Bitcoin's price is too volatile.   This is disappointing to hear as our industry   should be experts in portfolio   construction   and position sizing. He also spoke   spoke out against a lack of willingness   for many in our industry to learn about an emerging form of money and a new technology which could,   parenthesis, will, in our view, in parenthesis, be hugely impactful   to an investment portfolio and future returns.  

Nasri then told Decrypt that Cartwright   hasn't just been encountering growing interest from pension schemes.   Corporations   are beginning to learn how Bitcoin can be used for twenty four seven cross border transactions   and help as a reserve asset while charities are increasingly seeing it as another source for donations.   Nonetheless, he stressed that Bitcoin might not be suitable for everyone. Quote, Bitcoin in a portfolio is not appropriate   where the investment time horizon is short,   but that still leaves hundreds of defined benefit schemes,   all defined contribution schemes, and most charities and companies   that should be having a serious conversation   about it, he said.  

So here we have this company   who advises   pension funds on what to buy. And   Cartwright, that's the name of this company,   advised an unknown   British pension fund   to put 3%   of all of their shit into Bitcoin. And lo and behold, inside of twelve months, they had a 60 percent return on that 3%,   which probably completely destroyed the rest of the portfolio,   at least in in terms of performance.   So what does that pension company do moving forward?   They're probably kind of freaking out, honestly. You would think that I would say, well, they're going to clearly buy more Bitcoin. No. Probably not.   They're probably going to sit on what they have, and it's probably going to continuously destroy,   in terms of performance, the rest of their portfolio.  

But the good news is is that there's a bunch of other companies that are saying, hey.   We want some of that.   We want some of that, and it's not just other pension funds. It's charities that are asking questions. It's corporations that are asking questions.   Cartwright   looks like they may end up being   a a very   well positioned company for consulting   just on Bitcoin and digital assets going into the future.   But you know who else is moving into the future? And this is this is the one that that I'm I'm honestly   I don't know why I'm so excited about this one, but I just am. And it's probably because I spent ten years in a room full   of web developers and all of them   all of them at one point or another. Hell, even my wife.  

Hell, even my son   has been playing with Figma.   Now what what is what is Figma? It's a design software,   and most of the people that I see using Figma   use it to design   what the front end application on an iPhone or an Android or a website   is gonna look like. It doesn't build the thing. It just helps people look at where where should buttons be placed on this iPhone app. And it allow it it allows you to visually design what that thing is going to look like so that you can just start showing it to people and say, you know, do you like where this button is? Figma,   turns   out, is one of the   go to   software design packages that has ever been built.  

Everybody,   not everybody, but so many people   that are doing   software   and application construction,   so many of those people use Figma. It's almost as if it's just   it's just part it's a standard in your toolkit.   And Figma has just revealed   that they own $70,000,000   of the Bitcoin ETFs   and plan to buy $30,000,000   more. Yes. I know. They're not holding it themselves,   but, hey, it's a step in the right direction for Figma. Oscar Perez out of Bitcoin Magazine tell us more.   Design platform Figma revealed in a new SEC filing that it owns $70,000,000   in Bitcoin ETFs   and was approved to buy 30,000,000 more.  

The disclosure came as part of Figma's s one filing released alongside its bid to go public.   Figma held $78,800,000   in a Bitcoin exchange traded fund as of no rather 12/31/2024   categorized as a level one asset.   As of 03/31/2025,   the value declined to 69,500,000.0,   which included   in its $1,500,000,000   total of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. Quote, we have an investment in a Bitcoin exchange traded fund, said the filing document.   The fair value of this investment was 69,500,000.0   as of 03/31/2025.   Changes in the fair value of this exchange traded fund are impacted by the volatility of Bitcoin and changes in general economic conditions,   among other factors.  

On 03/03/2024,   the board of directors approved an investment of $55,000,000   into   a Bitcoin exchange traded fund investment operated by Bitwise.   So they didn't go for BlackRock.   They went to Bitwise.   This and that's really important.   Bitwise, if if I remember correctly, it's Bitwise   that gives   a standing 10%   of their earnings   to Open Sats   as charitable contribution for the development of Bitcoin and other freedom   open   freedom oriented free and open source software projects.   BlackRock does not. Most of the other ETFs do not. Bitwise   does.  

And that's why it's really interesting that Figma chose Bitwise   for their investment   holder anyway. Quote,   the investment is classified as an equity security within marketable securities for the periods presented.   On May 2025, the company's board approved an additional 30,000,000   investment in Bitcoin   following the approval Figma purchased $30,000,000   worth of the stablecoin   USDC   with plans to convert it into Bitcoin at a later date.   The filing notes the ETF's volatility but also states   no credit losses   have been recorded on the asset.   Sigma re reported   $23,800,000   in unrealized   gains from equity investments for the year ending 12/31/2024   and 300,000.0   quarter 01/2024.  

However, it recognized a $9,300,000   of unrealized losses in the first quarter of this year.   Interest income from cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaled 63,700,000.0   in 2024   and 15,500,000.0   in the first quarter of this year. So it looks to me like they have   $78,800,000   in a in a Bitcoin exchange traded fund, and then that dropped to 69,500,000.0.   Oh, boo hoo. Because they bought it for $55,000,000,   so they are still making out like bandits.   And they are just about to throw $30,000,000   more. And the fact   that Figma   has absolutely   nothing to do at all with Bitcoin or cryptocurrency   in any development   way   other than the fact that developers prob like, I'm I'm sure   j b fifty five, the creator of Domus, which is a Nostra client, I I guarantee you he uses Figma.  

I guarantee you the developers   all over Nostra use Figma. I guarantee you the developers all over the world use Figma. And   while some of them are using it to maybe build the front ends of Bitcoin wallets,   Figma itself has nothing to do with cryptocurrency   other than the fact that now we know they own a shit ton of it.   And Figma is nothing to shake a stick at.   That's one of the reasons why I'm so excited. I'm so excited I'm drooling on myself, and I might need a nice bar of soap to get it off. You can get your soaps at soapminer.com.   It's handmade   tallow soap, ladies and gentlemen. It's got almost nothing in it   except all the things that make up good soap. For instance,   let's see. The rough cut tallow,   soap bar is,   five ounces,   dollars 7.  

It has the following ingredients.   100%   pure grass fed beef tallow,   sodium hydroxide,   otherwise known as   lye, and distilled water.   Is that clean enough for you?   Is that devoid of of of parabens enough for you? Is that devoid of red food dye number five and blue lake number six artificial colorings? Is it is that devoid   enough of the bullshit for you? Because I'm not sure   if you can actually make soap with anything less than fat,   lye, and water.   This soap lasts forever. I got a family of four. It took weeks   for us to get through this single five ounce bar of rough cut talus soap,   and SoapMiner takes Bitcoin.  

If you're not taking Bitcoin for your goods and service, you're not in the circle p. The circle p is where I bring plebs just like you that have goods and services for sale to plebs just like you who want to buy those goods and services in Bitcoin.   Soap miner takes Bitcoin. Go to soapminer.com,   soapminer.com.   Get you a bar soap that's going to last your family for weeks   you cannot only get a rough cut tallow bar if you want it if you want   Earl Grey   tallow soap bars, he's got it. He's got goat's milk tallow. He's got lemongrass.   He's got orange clove. He's got redacted, which is a really cool soap. I I I'm   I should be getting mine at one point or another, but it's like not it's carbon,   pumice, lye,   beef tallow, and water. I I mean,   the the the other stuff that he's got is tea tree. He's got pine tar tallow soaps. He's got cedarwood. He's got peppermint. He's got lavender.  

The man is a one stop shop for soap. Go to soapminer.com,   and if you want 10% off, use the code Bitcoin. And because that tells SoapMiner   that I made a sale for him. And in the value for value advertising model, SoapMiner   then and only then pays me what he thinks that sale was worth to him. Let's move on to absolute and utter stupidity.   Arizona governor has vetoed the bill to stockpile   seized crypto, Martin Young from Cointelegraph.   The governor of Arizona has rejected   a bill that would have seen The United States state hold on to seize crypto assets in a fund.   Arizona governor Katie Hobbs vetoed house bill twenty three twenty four on Tuesday   stating in a letter that it disincentivizes   local enforcement from working with the state on digital asset forfeiture   by removing seized assets from local jurisdictions.  

It's a fucking mafia.   Amen.   As a street boss, you know, your highness,   our neighborhood over here, we were stealing that money fair and square. You just you as the big boss, you just taking it away from us. We don't wanna work the streets anymore for you, boss.   That that's exactly what this shit is. This is just street level mafia bullshit.   Anyway, the state's house voted the bill down during its third reading in May, but the senate revived it in a reconsideration   vote last month, and the measure was then passed by the house in a 34 to 22 vote on June.   The governor's veto could be overridden   with a two thirds vote by both the house and the senate, but that appears unlikely to happen unless some lawmakers switch their vote. The bill would have created a Bitcoin and digital assets reserve fund to manage any digital assets forfeited to the state.  

Katie Hobbs' veto letter from h b twenty three twenty four oh, I'm sorry. That god.   I totally   totally wronged on that one and read something I wasn't supposed to read. The bill stipulated that the first $300,000   worth of crypto in a criminal forfeiture   would go to the attorney general's office, and any amount over that would have been split fifty fifty or 50% with the AG and 25%   to the state general fund and 25%   to the new reserve fund.   Hobbs has voted other crypto bills   or vetoed other crypto bills that have made their way through the state's house and senate because in May,   if you remember and I told you about it, she vetoed senate bill ten twenty five, which would have created the Arizona strategic Bitcoin reserve and allowed the state treasurer to invest up to 10% in Bitcoin   saying cryptocurrencies   are, quote,   untested   investments. Yes. That you're so you're much smarter than the guys at BlackRock.  

Just you're just brilliant, Katie.   I'm surprised that you're not a trillionaire already. She also vetoed   senate bill thirteen seventy three, a strategic digital asset reserve bill that would have allowed the state to create a treasury from seized assets.   Three crypto bills. Three.   One, two, three bills have now been rejected by the Arizona governor, and only one has made it through.   Arizona house bill twenty seven forty nine   enacted in May,   amend state statutes to integrate crypto assets into Arizona's financial and unclaimed property frameworks by establishing   the Bitcoin and digital assets reserve fund, which is managed by the state treasurer.  

And then they start talking about all the other states   and we're gonna talk about one of the other states right now this is one of the states that decided to take a sig out of their holster and load one in the chamber and point it directly to their head   and pull that trigger. Connecticut   has approved a law   prohibiting   crypto use in government.   Yes. You're you're not allowed to use crypto in the government.   This is Cointelegraph.   It's written by Turner Wright.   Connecticut governor Ned Lamont   has signed a bill into law restricting the use of digital assets in state government, including the establishment of a cryptocurrency   reserve.  

On Monday, Lamont signed Connecticut House Bill seventy eighty two, which was previously approved by the state's House of Representatives   as well as the Senate.   The legislation specifically prohibits the state government from accepting or requiring payment in the form of virtual currency or   purchasing,   holding, investing in, or establishing   a crypto reserve.   The bill,   introduced in February by state rep Jason Duchette,   also establishes requirements for crypto money transmission licensees   in Connecticut.   The provisions barring the state government from accepting crypto or establishing a digital asset reserve take effect   on October.  

And legislation in the Connecticut state government marked a different path from that of several US states exploring the establishment of Bitcoin reserves.   Cointelegraph   reached out to Duschett for comment, but he hadn't said anything.   Brogan Law   founder Aaron Brogan told CoinTelegraph   in June that the bill was a reflection of the divide   between some Democrats and Republicans on digital assets,   likely because of the nationalized   debate with US president Donald Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry.   He said the bill would do nothing of substance. Quote,   this is signaling that Connecticut is symbolically   opposed to cryptocurrency   into all the states that have established Bitcoin reserves, said Brogan.  

And then they start talking about other United States states, but   we don't need to talk about that. We have numbers to run.   Futures and commodities. But first, Trump announces a Vietnam trade deal. He's slapping a 20% tariff   on Vietnam's imports to The United States.   Yay.   Oil. West Texas Intermediate is up 1.6%   to $66.52.   Brent Norsey up the same to $68.23.   Natural gas, however, is up almost two full points to $3.48   per thousand, and gasoline is up a quarter to $2 and a dime.   Gold and all of its shiny metal brethren are all in the green today.   Gold itself is up a quarter of a point to $33.57   and 3 dimes. Silver is up three quarters of a point. Platinum, however, swing in for the fences   just over 5% in the green. Copper is up two points. Palladium is up 4.75.  

Meanwhile,   Ag is mostly in the green today.   Biggest winner looks to be soybeans   one and a quarter to the upside. Biggest loser is   sugar.   One and a half to the downside. Meanwhile, live cattle   crab walking sideways in the red, lean hogs up what is that number?   A quarter percent, and feeder cattle are up point 18%.   Meanwhile, the Dow   is down a tenth of a point, but the S and P is up a quarter, Nasdaq is up a half, and the S and P Mini is up   a third of a point.   Moving on.   Oh, wait a minute. Wait. No. Actually, I no.   I'm sorry. I put this here for a reason.  

Before we do Clark Moody, let's talk about this one from William Suber, Cointelegraph.   Bitcoin squeezes shorts in a 108,000   spike as The United States   jobs report   drops most in two   years.   By the way, we are now at a 109,560.   You're gonna ask why is this important?   Just hang on because the jobs report is a deal. Alright. So   Bitcoin touched a 108,000   at the July   as a major miss   in United States employment   sparked volatility.   Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed Bitcoin up 2% on the day and gains accompanied a surprise reaction   in private sector payrolls data, which came in   33,000   lower in June to hit its lowest level since March of twenty twenty three.  

Estimates from management firm, Automatic Data Processing, which compiled the data in its national employment report,   has seen an increase of nearly   100,000,   quote,   though layoffs continue to be rare,   a hesitancy to hire and a reluctance to replace departing workers   led to job losses last month, ADP chief economist Nela Richardson   commented,   ahead   of US non farm payrolls data, which is due to be released July, crypto market commentators were optimistic.   Labor market weakness, they noted, increased the odds of Federal Reserve interest rates coming sooner   rather than later, a key source of liquidity injections for Bitcoin, altcoins,   and the raft that we know as risk assets. Quote, Fed rate cuts are becoming increasingly   likely in July.  

Andre Dragosz, European head of research at crypto asset manager   Bitwise wrote   in part of a response   on Twitter.   As Cointelegraph   continues to report, Fed officials resistance to rate cuts has spawned pushback from Washington, including   from Donald Trump himself who this week demanded that rates fall to 1%   or lower   oh my god   could you imagine a move from four and a half 4.25   to four and a half percent which is what we got right now   to fall all in one shot to 1%.   You wanna talk about $220,000   Bitcoin? That that would do it. Actually, that would probably go to a quarter million. Anyway,   the latest data from CME Group's FedWatch tool   shows market sentiment unchanged   by the ADP numbers with the Fed September meeting still the favorite   for the next cut being unveiled.  

Yeah. Don't hold your breath.   Don't hold your breath. We're gonna have to wait and see because   I talked about it yesterday.   Jerome Powell's got all the ammunition that he needs. Even with the weak jobs report, he still is sitting in the catbird seat   being able to tell Donald Trump to go sit and spin or pound sand or shove your thumb up your ass, whichever way you wanna go. He's got   he has the creds at this point to say, nope. We're not cutting.   And one single jobs report, in my opinion, is not enough   to change his mind,   but he may. You never know. Anyway, we got a we got Orange Coin at a 109,400.  

That is a $2,180,000,000,000   market cap, and we can get 32.6   ounces of shiny metal rocks with our one Bitcoin of which there are 19,886,316   of. And average fees per block are low,   0.03   BTC taking the fees on a per block basis.   There are all of two blocks   carrying 3,700   unconfirmed transactions waiting to clear at high priority rates of 3 Satoshis per vbyte.   Low priority is gonna get you in at one.   And mining has dropped a little bit. We're back down to 875.2   exahashes per second. Most likely, it's because the heat bubble just will not move. It's unrelenting.   And from what I understand, it moved from the Southeast and East Coast,   moved West into the Midwest,   and it looks like Texas is baking in the sun.  

That's the one part of Texas that I don't miss is the summers. I've always hated the summers.   I just I mean, it's like I I loved them as a kid because I was out of school and I and when you're a kid you don't notice the heat.   But when you're past the age of 25, you know, a 106 degrees feels pretty freaking awful.   It just does. Makes me wait for an easy breezy, which was the name of Bitcoin and yesterday's show,   Turkey with 5,000 said something.   He says the turkey has left the roost.   I'll be back next week. See you later, turkey. Safe travels.   Don't get baked.  

Okay. Well, progressively worse with five fifty five says, here's a little boosty boost to go alongside the other boosting boosters that have boosted many boosts.   Boost. Yodle with five eleven had something good to say earlier but forgot.   Hi, everybody.   FOMO chronic with three twenty has a couple of emojis.   God's death with 237   says, thankin' you, sir.   He actually spells it thanking you. Thanking you.   Thanking stine.   I might have to play with that a little bit. Anyway, that's that that that's the weather report.   Welcome to part two of the news that you can use,   and Deutsche Bank is back in the news.  

Deutsche Bank's DWS   Galaxy   Flowtrader's   venture to introduce German   regulated   stablecoin.   Yeah. There you go. Ian Allison's   got it for CoinDesk, a joint venture   between Deutsche Bank's,   asset management subsidiary, DWS,   Flowtraders,   and Galaxy   said that it will issue Germany's first regulated   euro denominated   stablecoin   after receiving an e money institution license from the Federal Financial Supervisory   Authority, also known as Boffin,   this week.   The all unity,   e u r a u,   Eura u. Eura   u.   Euro Euro.   Euro. The all Unity Euro. My god almighty, these names. The all Unity Euro stablecoin, which will comply with Europe's markets and crypto assets or MICA framework, was tested by the companies back in December of twenty twenty three. Wow.   Eiryu or Eiryu or whatever will be 100%   collateralized   and deliver institutional   grade transparency   through proof of reserves, oh, interesting, and regulatory reporting,   according to a release.  

The token can be used for twenty four seven instant cross border settlements, seamless integration for related financial institutions, fintechs,   treasuries, and enterprise clients all across Europe and beyond, all Unity said.   The stablecoin joins a growing number of Euro peg tokens,   including those that have popped up since MICA took effect about a year ago. They include Circle's,   eurc,   and Society Generals'   EURCV   alongside MICA compliant dollar coins such as SocGen's   USD CV and Robinhood's   backed global dollar USDG.   Good lord.  

The acronym.   Speaking about securing an EMI license from Bofin, Alexander Hoeppner,   CEO of All Unity, said in a statement, quote, this license is not just a regulatory hurdle cleared. It's a foundational step towards building a truly secure, transparent, and compliant   digital cross border payment ecosystem for Europe and the global markets, end quote.   And that's it. So Deutsche   Bank, on the on the heels of yesterday's news of, you know, custodying Bitcoin for clients is now getting into this   is immediately jumping into the stable coin pool   with their subsidiary. It'll be an interesting play.  

And,   again,   you know, not not to beat a dead horse, but   the question becomes,   will Tether   will Tether bend the knee to MICA   and become MICA compliant and hold 60% of their reserves in European central banks   so that they can have Tether   as part of a MICA compliant stablecoin ecosystem in Europe?   I I actually hope not.   I really hope they don't. I hope they go after the rest of the world. Let's circle have The United States   and and and Europe   because the world is an awfully big place.   And the honestly,   there's more growth   outside   of the West   than there is inside the West.  

If you want to bet on horses, I wouldn't bet on the crippled one is all I'm saying.   I mean, you know, I gotta be truthful here.   Bank of Korea has suspended their own CBDC project as won backed stablecoins   gain momentum.   Atlas twenty one is gonna tell us all about it. The Bank of Korea has announced the temporary   suspension of its CBDC   project.   According to Yonhap News, the central bank recently informed   participating banks   in the Hanggang   sorry. Excuse me. The Hangang   CBDC   project of its decision to postpone   discussions   on the second phase of the digital currency testing.  

The pause comes less than three months after the pilot program's launch. So three months and they're already, like, going, dude, stablecoins.   Anyway, it involved a 100,000 citizens   using the CBDC   with local merchants and partnerships with the company's or the country's major banks.   The first phase of the pilot is expected to conclude by the end of this month. The Bank of Korea's decision coincides with growing interest in stablecoins pegged to the local currency.   Newly elected president Lee Jae myung   has pledged to legalize the issuance of won backed stablecoins,   which are currently banned,   and to foster a domestic market for these digital assets to help prevent capital flight.  

Min Byung Kyok,   a lawmaker   from the ruling party has who led digital asset policy during the presidential campaign,   has proposed legislation to establish a licensing framework and regulatory requirements   for potential stablecoin issuers.   Kakao and Naver,   South Korea's two largest   technology firms,   have filed trademark applications for stablecoins   via their mobile payment platforms. God, this is gonna get so weird so fast.   According to local sources,   eight of the country's top banks are reportedly planning a joint venture to issue a won back stablecoin.   Despite the CBDC's   project suspension,   the Bank of Korea has expressed a favorable stance towards won denominated stablecoins.  

Governor Lee Chang yong stated that he needs   rather, he sees a need for such assets   provided that adequate risk management measures are in place.   One factor behind the decision to suspend the CBDC   initiative   was the financial burden on participating   banks.   According to reports,   the pilot program imposed,   oh my god, significant costs on local institutions,   particularly   in the absence of a concrete implementation   plan.   On average,   each of the seven participating   banks spent 5,000,000,000   won, which is about $3,700,000   US,   on the project.  

You know what that means.   But even banks don't   don't they all they all know that they cannot compete   at on the technology   side.   They were doing these institutions,   they were doing well to try to keep up with, you know, Internet routings   and switches   and servers and server rooms and the air conditioning cost and buying power stuff. I mean, there there's a whole host of shit that goes on   behind the scenes when an institution   of any size   has to not only come into the computer age,   but remain there.   It takes an entire IT department.   Did you know that there was no such thing as an IT department in most companies   not more than thirty years ago?  

Literally,   thirty years ago, a great majority of companies,   if you include all of them, small to medium to large,   did not really jack around with IT.   You know, they have Bob in the corner office. Hey. Bob knows about computers.   That's not the way this shit works anymore. And these guys, I guarantee you, their IT departments are struggling   trying to keep up with   without even thinking about money,   without even thinking about Bitcoin or stable coins or CBDCs   or nothing like that yet. Right? They're they're doing well to keep their servers from catching on fire   and destroying customer data.  

They're making sure their email server is up. That   they're having problems.   I guarantee you there had there are groups of people that are exhausted trying to keep up with all this shit. And then you gotta go and and get new equipment, which means that you have to evaluate new equipment. Eval and and it it's a lot of strain.   And now   now you're asking them   to jump into CBDCs,   stablecoins,   and the world that we exist in. We built this fucking thing   while everybody was pointing at us and laughing, and now they can't keep up.   Governments   can't keep up.  

Lawmakers   can't keep up. The people that want to censor   both our money and our words   have no fucking hope of keeping up.   None of these people are prepared for what's coming.   None of them. And I'm here for it. Moving on to Thesis.   Thesis acquires Lolli, l o l l I,   to expand their Bitcoin rewards ecosystem.   Lolli, it was nice knowing   you. I've been with Lolli for a long time. I've I've had their their browser extension active in my browser for a long time. I was getting Bitcoin back on purchases   every time that they had a vendor that participated in their program, and now Thesis has bought them out.   Juan Gault, Bitcoin Magazine.  

Thesis,   a Bitcoin focused venture studio,   announced its acquisition of Lolli, a Bitcoin rewards platform in a move   to integrate it with its broader ecosystem of companies such as Fold,   Mezzo,   and TBTC.   Jesus. They've got Fold too.   The announcement outlines plans to enhance consumer Bitcoin experiences through expanded rewards and brand new partnerships.   Wall E, founded in 2018,   claims to have rewarded   over 600,000   users with more than $20,000,000   worth of Bitcoin through shopping at 50,000   stores   and playing 1,000   plus mobile games.  

Wally's platform is designed to make Bitcoin accessible   by offering cash back and rewards for everyday activities.   Thesis,   operating since 2014,   has built Bitcoin native projects like Fold,   which recently became a publicly traded Bitcoin financial services company under the leadership of Matt Lugano, its CEO,   and Fold's cofounder.   Quote,   having competed alongside Lolli for years, I've admired their ability to onboard users through accessible and engaging experiences.   At Thesis, we believe Bitcoin's real growth is driven by everyday interactions,   shopping, gaming, spending,   not just investment portfolios,   said Lugano,   who will now lead Lolli's next phase. He added that Lolli's user base and rewards model align with its vision   of driving Bitcoin adoption through practical use cases.  

Lolli's founder and former CEO, Alex Adleman, added, quote,   we are excited to join forces with Thesis to power the next phase of Bitcoin adoption through rewards with Lolli.   Thesis brings both deep infrastructure expertise and a shared vision, enabling us to significantly enhance our platform,   end quote.   Thesis believes this acquisition will address fragmentation in the Bitcoin consumer experience   by uniting Lolli's rewards   with Fold's financial services and its broader ecosystem.   Thesis outlines several planned upgrades for Lolli under Lugano's leadership it intends   to enhance the arcade and daily stack features with more games, quests,   larger rewards.  

A new Lolli market is in development, which seeks to offer more brands,   higher cashback rates, and global accessibility.   Thesis   plans to introduce instant reward payouts later in 2025,   responding to user demand for faster redemptions.   Additionally,   Lolli will collaborate with Fold on an expanded gift card marketplace to increase earning opportunities.   For global reach, Lolli is now developing an international expansion strategy to bring Bitcoin rewards beyond The United States.   To support these changes,   Thesis plans to migrate Lolli to a more scalable infrastructure.  

The company claims that this will strengthen Lolli's ability to onboard new users and handle increased activity.   Thesis sees this acquisition as a step towards a circular Bitcoin economy where earning and spending Bitcoin are seamless.   It hopes that the integration of Lolli with Fold,   Mezzo, and TBTC   will close the gap between Bitcoin rewards and everyday use,   making adoption easier   for millions.   So this is actually a lot bigger news than than I initially thought.   Fold, Mezzo,   TBTC,   and now Lolli under the same umbrella and all working together if they can pull that off because it's hard to bring teams that   didn't build something together   together and have them actually work   together   for a common   mission   that they're all engaged in. It's it's difficult. It's it's a hard thing to do. However, if they pull this shit off,   thesis is gonna be is gonna be a large   it's gonna be a thing to contend with for other people.  

I honestly, I I I think this is good news. If they if they don't screw this up,   this could be fairly large.   Which brings us to the end of today's show. Wallet of Satoshi partners with Spark   to offer self custodial   Bitcoin lightning experience.   Wallet of Satoshi seems to be coming back.   Oh, baby.   Oscar Perez also for Bitcoin Magazine.   Today,   Spark has announced   a brand spanking new integration with Wallet of Satoshi, one of the largest Bitcoin Lightning wallets   to bring users   a truly   self custodial Lightning experience.   It's in beta according to a press release   sent to Bitcoin magazine. Quote, from the start, Spark   felt like the missing piece, stated Wallida Satoshi. Quote, it gave us the foundation to explore self custody   seriously,   abstracting away the complex parts of self custody so that we could stay focused on user experience.  

Being self custodial,   this will allow customers to have full control over their Bitcoin.   In November of twenty twenty four, Walletist Satoshi   removed its app from The United States Apple and Google app stores   for unspecified   reasons.   Although likely due to an unfavorable regulatory environment which   was environment, which was cracking down on lightning wallets at the time.   But now that the regulatory   landscape has changed in The United States, Wallet and Satoshi   stated this integration will unlock the ability to reenter   and serve The United States market.  

Wallet and Satoshi also faced limitations   when developing self self custodial Lightning Wallet, such as liquidity requirements,   node complexity,   channel management cost. It all made it difficult to build a truly self custodial l n wallet, but now   Spark has provided them a solution. Quote,   we built Spark specifically   to solve this exact problem, the company stated.   Spark abstracts away   all of the complexity   for wallets looking to implement Lightning.   You don't need to spin up channels   worry about routing,   pre funding liquidity,   or even think about managing nodes. Creating a lightning wallet on Spark takes less than six lines of code,   end quote. Wow.  

Spark stated that it will continue building out new features as the product evolves, and those interested in joining the beta can leave a comment on their ex post requesting to join.   On May,   Breeze and Spark partnered to launch a new implementation of the Breeze SDK   built on Spark's Bitcoin native layer two infrastructure.   The SDK supports l n URL, lightning addresses, real time mobile notifications,   and includes bindings for all major programming languages and frameworks.   The collaboration gave developers tools to add Bitcoin payment features to apps used for monetization   of social apps,   cross border remittances, and in game currencies.  

One day earlier,   Spark also partnered with Magic Eden to improve Bitcoin trading by addressing issues like slow transaction times,   high fees, and poor user experience, the integration introduced a native settlement system   aimed at making transactions faster and more cost effective without using bridges   or synthetic assets.   So   spark   is all over the place   and this is the second story where we're actually seeing a lot of partnerships starting to form again and   we see this I've I see this in cycles   in in the general Bitcoin cycles after   you know and I'm not going to say that this bull run is over I I actually   I don't want to say it either way I mean this is not all that important   But there are times during cycles where you get a bunch of of companies that kinda do similar things, and all of a sudden they kinda collapse into each other and form like a bigger thing. It's sort of like the event horizon of a black hole. You just need to lose a little bit of velocity to fall into   the black hole itself and become something different.  

And it looks like we are in that phase of the cycle again.   And   good. I mean well, I mean,   competition is always good, but   one of the ways that people regulate   competition is by either buying somebody or for forming a merger with somebody else.   It's not always about we have to be enemies.   It's not always about we have competing products that do the exact same thing so we're going to, I don't know, tell everybody on social media that you suck and we're great. But there's a lot of times when companies look at each other and go, you know,   you guys are really good at doing this.  

We're really good at doing this.   If we were to have a little party together,   we might find that we have a lot more to offer each other than being straight up competitors.   Sometimes that's good. Sometimes it's bad. And when it gets bad is when there's so much conglomeration   that you get, like, two companies that collapse into each other and then, you know, two other companies collapse into each other and then those two entities come together and what was four now becomes one and what was eight becomes one and   do the math. It becomes geometric.  

And then you start getting into things like behemoths,   like Coca Cola,   Johnson and Johnson.   That's this that happened.   That's how those companies   got where they are. That's why they're so big, and in my opinion, completely   unmanageable.   There's a reason why insects don't   become   giants.   I've I've talked about this before, but I I think it I think I should bring it up again.   There there is a   there's a sweet spot for everything   relative   not only to its size, but to its environment.   Its size is con size of a creature is connected to its environment for various reasons.   In the insect world, like when you were a kid or when some of us were kids, we saw dinosaur books.  

And if they were written before, I don't know, nineteen   nineteen   eighty,   sometimes they'd have a depiction of a giant dragonfly   that was like four foot long and, you know, weighed like 12 pounds or something like that. It's bullshit.   Insects cannot grow that big, and there's a reason why. They don't have lungs.   Blue whales and elephants   are maxing out a single creature's   size   specifications   when it comes to the environment on Earth, both terrestrial   and in the sea.   But they got lungs. They they've got beating hearts that pump oxygenated   blood like material around their tissues so that necrosis   or tissue death doesn't start happening.  

Right? There's active   maneuvering going on there. But in an insect   in an insect,   you can only get so big because there's no lungs   and there's no there there may be a kind of like a a like a little bit of a heartbeat kind of thing, but it's not not really. It's just   maybe there's a, like, a foe circulatory system, but not not like what we're talking about, like, with a human or a squirrel or an elephant.   Right?   All of but it still needs oxygen.   Alright? So   how the hell do do you make sure that you don't get cell death because you're starving cells of oxygen in something that doesn't have lungs   and almost no circulatory system whatsoever?  

Diffusion.   Gas diffusion.   An insect size   is mediated   not only by its shape   and the amount of surface area that it has as a relation   temperatures does it normally, you know, encounter? What pressure does it normally encounter? You know why you don't see insects at high altitudes?   Can't survive there.   They cannot survive there. There's not enough oxygen to diffuse through their   whatever their outside layer is   into the juicy body bits   that oxygenate all the cells of their body.   That's why you don't see mosquitoes pass, I don't know, what, like 10,000,   12,000 feet, whatever. There's a limit. Right? There's a limit to the smallest insect.  

And you'll and as you move up in altitude,   small it's the smaller and smaller insects where the larger and larger insects are able to exist,   you know, all the way down to sea level because there's enough pressure   to force oxygen   into the volume of the body.   I look at that   as a metaphor or a model that we should look at companies.   If the company gets too big   and it does not have good functional circulation,   in this case of information and possibly even cash flow, which is another type of information.   And it doesn't have,   like, a mechanical way to ingest   the gases that it needs needs. In this case, let's let's call it, again,   information   and   money,   right,   it's then it it's going to start faltering. It's going to start dying. And that's what I see happening with things like Unilever,   Johnson and Johnson, Coca Cola, PepsiCo,   the you know, basically, the food companies.  

Even the banking companies are getting so big that they that one side has literally no idea what the other side is doing. So you got JPMorgan   that sends sends different messages.   We love Bitcoin. Well, except Jamie Dimon comes out and says   the government's gonna shut Bitcoin down in ten years.   But   they offer Bitcoin services. It doesn't make any sense.   That's   not exactly   the the way that I'm thinking when when companies falter. Generally speaking, it's it usually starts in customer service,   I e terrible customer service. That's when you really know that a company is getting way too big   because customer service starts to become,   I don't know, like an add on and not a primary driver of the future of your business, which it is.  

If somebody's not happy with your service or product, you better fucking address it.   Otherwise, they're gonna go find somebody else. But when you're AT and T,   you don't have a whole lot of options, ladies and gentlemen. And even if you do   even if you do, AT and T has got such so much of the market.   They don't need to worry about their customer service as much as, I don't know, MCI would have had to or Sprint   has to now. And even they suck at it   because they're big enough to suck at it. So   what I'm getting at is that we're seeing the same kind of consolidation   that any other industry sees.  

It's that's a fight for efficiency, but in that fight for efficiency,   you start getting shitty customer service.   So if you're a Bitcoiner out there and you're looking at saying, hey, I loved Lolli. I loved Fold. And now they're what? Gonna be under one umbrella? If they start screwing up customer service, you need to be very loud   about how they're screwing up their customer service.   Otherwise,   we're gonna end up with the AT and T of Bitcoin,   and nobody   nobody wants that. I'll see you on the other side.  

[01:04:05] Unknown:

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.