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Episode 1203 of Bitcoin And . . . is LIVE!

Topics for today:

• Strategy Made Money in Q3!
• France Hates its Citizenry
• Brazil Hates its Citizenry
• Bankman Wants OUT!

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Today's Articles:

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/10/31/strategy-eyes-global-credit-expansion-with-focus-on-international-markets

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/11/04/strategy-introduces-a-euro-denominated-preferred-stock-stream-following-q3-earnings

https://decrypt.co/347193/bitcoin-miners-iren-cipher-rise-billion-dollar-microsoft-amazon

https://cointelegraph.com/news/french-mps-ok-measure-tax-crypto-holdings-unproductive-wealth

https://atlas21.com/brazil-considers-30-tax-on-undeclared-cryptocurrencies/

https://www.theblock.co/post/377558/former-ftx-ceo-sam-bankman-fried-returns-to-court-seeking-new-trial-after-ftx-fraud-conviction

https://atlas21.com/united-states-seeks-maximum-sentence-for-samourai-wallet-developers/

https://bitcoinnews.com/adoption/scott-bessent-praises-bitcoin/

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/lava-raises-200m-for-bitcoin-backed-line-of-credit-announces-new-borrow-rates-starting-at-5

https://cointelegraph.com/news/116m-balancer-hack-insiders-sophisticated-hacker-months-preparation

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[00:00:02] David Bennett:

It is 08:40AM   Pacific   Standard Time. Finally, we've got the the time change, which I think is evil incarnate, but that's another rant altogether.   It is   the November   4   already 2025,   and this is episode 11 o three   of Bitcoin. And we're gonna talk about Michael Saylor just a little bit.   I I was surprised.   Earnings came out for MicroStrategy or or, well, strategy, and I was I was surprised.   There there actually may be   a light at the end of the strategy   tunnel.   Then we're gonna talk a little bit about iron and this   entire   money   circle jerk going on between all the FAANG companies   and the outlying reaches such as Bitcoin mining and AI   infrastructure. We'll we'll I promise we'll get to that. France is just stupid   at this point.  

And, of course, as always,   it is not the French people.   It is the government.   All governments are stupid.   All the people that live underneath those governments,   they're okay.   It just for the love of God,   just do something about your freaking French government, man. It's just it's disgusting.   And Brazil, yeah, we'll talk about it. They're not exactly,   not exactly   turning the other direction. I'm I'm kinda surprised about this one as well. And then   Sam Bankman fried.   It's like this guy won't he's like a   what what do they call that?   Like a bad penny. He always turns up. Well, he's turned up again.  

Then we're gonna talk about the samurai wallet developers,   Scott Bessent.   Lava   is the company that we're gonna talk a little bit about. And then the balancer hack, just   because that's where I normally put   shitcoin bad news.   Shitcoin bad news   goes to the back of the show as a reminder.   A,   don't shitcoin.   B,   here's why you don't shitcoin.   First up, CoinDesk,   and it's written by James Van Stratten.   Strategy Eyes global credit expansion with a focus on international   markets.   They're branching out, babies.   Michael Saylor's Bitcoin Treasury Company strategy   is exploring   credit security opportunities   in   international jurisdictions   as part of its goal to become the dominant global credit   issuer.  

I told you.   I told you this was going to happen. Not just going international,   but the issuer   of credit   needed to be on the table as a model of revenue generation for strategy.   Quote,   we are also actively laying the groundwork for credit securities in international   jurisdictions,   positioning   strategy to become   a dominant credit issuer   globally,   said Fong Li, president and CEO.   This move underscores strategy's ambition to expand its financial footprint   beyond The United States and position itself as a leader in other markets for Bitcoin backed and digital asset backed credit instruments.   Strategy reported operating and net income for q three of $3,900,000,000   and $2,900,000,000,   respectively.  

These compare to the losses   of 432,600,000.0   and $340,200,000   for the same quarter   one year ago.   So now earnings per share was in the $8.42   range compared to the $1.72   range   in 2024.   Let's pause and just digest this for a little bit just so you understand what what it was that I was trying to get at when I said that earnings came out and I was surprised.   Strategy actually made money.   For the first time   in quite a long time, did they post   not only   actual positive revenue,   but substantial   revenue. I mean, $3,900,000,000   for the quarter   is not bad.  

Dude, it is it is not bad.   Net income of $2,900,000,000   is not bad,   considering   the conversion that strategy has just gone through over the last four years   where they've essentially bought a shitload of Bitcoin,   put it on their balance sheet, and essentially   ejected most of their old school   software development and service   regime.   However,   as I told you a couple of weeks ago, they've launched this new   AI business strategy suite of software,   and it looks like people have been buying it as far as I can tell because they, I don't know, actually made money compared to some very serious losses   over the last, you know, couple of handfuls of quarters.  

So   maybe   with the addition of actual positive revenue earnings   coming alongside the Bitcoin on their balance sheet, although, as we all know,   shit's going south yesterday and today and the day before and the day before that. It's I I know. I get it. It's it sucks. There's no other way to put it. But as far as strategy is concerned,   they've actually   crossed back over the Rubicon to a place where they can make money   instead of just issuing debt instrumentation.   This is a critical juncture for strategy and the rest of these Bitcoin strategy or Bitcoin,   what do they call it, treasury strategies. Okay? So it's happening.  

Y'all just hold on   because, you know, maybe, just maybe,   strategy will will show the way   one more time.   Again, not a strategy fan. I'm just saying I see a change. Anyway,   for the last nine months of 2025,   Strategy's operating income was $12,000,000,000   compared to a loss of 800,000,000   one year earlier, while net income rose   to 8,600,000,000.0   from $500,000,000   loss, and earnings per share have surged to $27.71   from negative $2.71   per share. The company has 689,000,000   in annual dividend and interest obligations comprising   $522,000,000   from cumulative preferreds,   like Strife and Strike and the STRC   debt instrument,   and a $125,000,000   from noncumulative   STRIDE or STRD.  

Convertible bonds total $8,200,000,000   in notional value with a blended interest rate of 0.421%,   translating   to about $35,000,000   in annual interest, and 39%   of that debt is in the money while the 2029   and 02/1930   coupon   tranches   remain out of the money by about $5,000,000,000   until their 2028 put dates. These notes collectively have a market value of $10,600,000,000.   CEO, Fong Li, reaffirmed the goal of having no convertible debt by 2029,   a point noted by S and P in strategies credit rating, while executive chairman Michael Saylor highlighted the company's multiple to net asset value or MNAV   sitting at around 1.25,   its weakest level since the start of 2024.  

Saylor puts this compression   to a number of factors such as maturing Bitcoin market   with reduced volatility, the success of iBit, and the growing influence of derivatives,   which dampens volatility, though Saylor expects digital credit expansion   via the preferred equities to lift MNAV over time.   Strategy has raised $20,000,000,000   year to date across six different securities,   nearly matching the 22,600,000,000   raised in 2024.   On the regulatory side,   the firm clarified that under treasury and IRS interim guidance issued September 30,   it does not expect to be subject to the corporate alternative   minimum tax on unrealized Bitcoin gains. For the second consecutive quarter, strategy is qualified for potential inclusion in the S and P 500.  

MicroStrategy shares are up 6% premarket,   trading at $270   per share. So there you go.   Strategy's not out of the game.   Whether you love them or hate them, strategy's not out of the game,   and those,   revenue numbers look pretty good considering the past, I'm gonna say, two years.   It hasn't well, at least a year and a half hasn't looked all that great.   And then we come to the Bitcoin miner named Iron   or Iron, however you wanna pronounce it.   Bitcoin miners Iron,   CipherRise,   and multibillion dollar Microsoft and Amazon deals. Yay. Matt DeSalvo, tell us more from Decrypt.   Iron stock rocketed up after the former Bitcoin miner and data center company said it had inked a $9,700,000,000   deal with Microsoft in the latest transaction   between a magnificent seven firm and crypto infrastructure   provider.  

Sydney, Australia based Airon, which has pivoted to AI cloud computing, shot up nearly $73   per share.   Wow. Oh, sorry. Shot up to nearly $73   per share Monday morning. New York time, a nearly 21%   rise. Iron has since settled at $67.30.   The deal will allow Microsoft to access   NVIDIA's   GB 300   GPUs as it presses ahead with its AI ambitions,   Microsoft   stock also rose on the news. Quote, this agreement not only validates Iron's or Iron's position as a trusted provider of AI cloud services, but also opens access to new customer segments   among global hyperscalers,   said their CEO.  

The news came as Bitcoin miner Cipher Mining on Monday   announced an approximately $5,500,000,000   fifteen year lease agreement with   Amazon Web Services to provide turnkey space and power for AI workloads.   Cipher will deliver 300 megawatts of capacity in 2026,   including both air and liquid cooling to the racks.   Nasdaq listed Cipher's stock rose on that news. It was recently trading about 22%   higher.   Top tech companies are making deals with data center firms in a bid   to snap up compute.   As demand for AI increases,   Cypher in September signed a ten year,   roughly $3,000,000,000   high performance computing collocation   agreement with FluidStack, and that was backed by Google.  

Google also, in August, said it was upping its stake in Bitcoin miner, Terra Wolf, by providing an incremental $1,400,000,000   backstop   to support project related debt financing, bringing its total stake to 3,200,000,000.0.   In the actual Bitcoin mining world, companies use   warehouses full of computers to process transactions on the crypto network. Yada yada yada yada. And then for some reason, we start talking about the Bitcoin price, which is, as we know, down.   So   this is part of that giant   pallet of money that's being circle jerked around all the FAANG companies.   And on the periphery   are all these AI compute companies   and Bitcoin mining companies who are converting   to AI compute.  

And it does make me wonder.   Because, like, you know, Microsoft is, you know, using this money that they got from   Nvidia to basically buy stuff from Nvidia.   And the circle jerk is much larger than that. There's, like, 15 companies, maybe even 20   or 25.   And it looks to a lot of people, including me, that this is, in fact, the exact same amount of money that's basically being traded around,   and every company is able to put that number on their balance sheet.   So I wonder   if these peripheral connections to AI, cloud compute,   Bitcoin mining centers, and all this stuff is some kind of possible pressure release valve   when this scheme,   and it is a scheme,   blows up in their face where they can point and say, no, it was all their fault. That's where the money went. Look at those guys. Yeah. Look at Iron, and look at, you know, the Terra Wolf, and look at all these other because they're oh, it's all the Bitcoin miners, which is what they'll say, even though most of them are basically   AI compute providers now.  

So I don't know that that you know, I don't know that for a fact,   but it does make me wonder. So   you watch this space because, you know, quote, more to come.   But not from France. Well,   yeah. Actually, there is more to come from France. It's not just this stupidity we're about to get into. I'm absolutely certain that the French stupidity will carry on   well into next year. So from Jesse Coughlin, Cointelegraph,   French members of parliament   advance a measure to tax crypto as, quote,   unproductive wealth.   We've heard this before,   but from other countries.  

Now it's France.   And all those other countries, by the way, are all part of the European Union, so   do with that one what you will. Lawmakers in France have voted to advance an amendment in the country's tax laws that would impose levies on unproductive   wealth,   including some types of property   and, of course, crypto holdings. Centrist MP Jean Paul Matte   filed the amendment on October 22 with members of the National Assembly, the country's lower house,   passing the amendment with a vote of a 163   to a 150   late on Friday with the backing of, of course,   socialist   and far right   MPs. And I'm not sure how they define far right in France.  

It doesn't sound like something that would be voted for by the, quote, unquote, far right over here on United States. But the measure   will still have to survive the remainder of the parliamentary process as lawmakers look to pass a budget for 2026   and will have to pass through the senate before it becomes law.   Betay's, or if that's how you pronounce his name,   summary of the amendment said   that the current real estate wealth tax law was economically inconsistent   as it excludes   unproductive goods from its plate,   such as gold,   coins,   classic cars,   yachts, and works of art.  

Pausing just to remind you that these are all being looked at.   They want a piece of all of it. If you own it,   it's considered unproductive wealth. Let's say I had a $100,000   antique Lalique crystal vase   that would actually fall under this. Even though   even though   maybe I got it because my dad died and it was part of the estate,   now I have it   and all it I don't actually have this thing. I I don't know if there's a piece of a leak worth a 100,000, but just pretend.   Now it sits on my shelf as a reminder of my father's life.   They want a piece of it,   and they want a piece of it every year.  

These people are fucking ghouls.   The   the oh, well, they're just people. You know what? No. No. They're not. They're really not.   This kind of thing I mean, I can excuse some other things, but this kind of thing is pure theft. It is a shakedown   of   mammoth   mafioso   proportion, and it's got to be stopped.   And the only people that can do it in France   are the people of France. Get   gussy up your panties, people.   Stop this shit. This is gonna it's gonna kill you. Anyway, he claimed that this new tax, and this is Bete,   would   encourage productive   investment   as the current system did not account for assets that could contribute to the dynamism   of the French economy.  

The summary notes   that unproductive goods would no longer be exempt under the law, and taxable assets   have been expanded to include nonproductive   real estate properties, such as precious objects, as I explained, and planes, as well as digital assets.   Only those with unproductive wealth exceeding €2,000,000   will be taxed,   rising   from the threshold of €1,300,000   under current laws.   The tax rate is also changed, charging a flat rate of 1% on taxable assets over the $2,000,000   or €2,000,000   threshold.   The current real estate wealth tax is progressive ranging from no tax on assets below €800,000   and jumping to 1.5   when you hit above €10,000,000.  

The amendment to include digital assets has seemingly disappointed local crypto enthusiasts,   Eric LaVache, if that's how you pronounce it, the cofounder of crypto wallet maker, Ledger, said on Saturday that the amendment punishes   all savers   who wish   to financially anchor themselves to gold and Bitcoin in order to protect their future. Quote, the political message   is clear. Crypto is equated with the unproductive reserve,   not useful to the real economy. This is a major   ideological   error,   but revealing of a fiscal shift,   punishing the holding of value outside of the Fiat monetary system. They don't have control over art and yachts   yet. It's coming.  

Stated   that French crypto holders may be compelled to sell their assets to pay the tax if they have no other liquid assets and expressed concern that the €2,000,000   threshold   could be substantially   lowered, quote,   there is a or there is certainly still a legislative process   for this to be included in the 2026   budget, but the probability of it coming into effect on January 1   remains   strong.   So let those words echo. If you're listening to me in France,   there is a strong   possibility   that if you own a yacht   that is valued at 201   you're €201,000,000,   that you're going to have to pay a tax   of 1%   on the value of that yacht   every single year. And if somehow or another,   the value of that yacht actually appreciates, and it most likely won't, it's a depreciating   asset, but just   pretend.  

Then you're gonna pay a 1% tax   on that,   and you're gonna do it every single year.   Every single year.   You know what this might do to the,   what we would call it, the art industry?   All of a sudden, we might see a   landmark   issue where art that has been valued in multimillion   dollar valuations   somehow suddenly   plummet   magically in value.   I wonder I wonder why that would occur. Okay.   So   sometimes you gotta cook.   Sometimes you gotta use butter. You don't always have to use butter.   You can use something like butter that is actually made from butter,   and sometimes it's better than butter. It's great ghee. My friend, [email protected],   that's g h ee is how you spell ghee. And [email protected]   makes   the most   wonderful   ghee. I'm telling you, it's clarified butter, and it's made by simmering butter to remove all the rest of the water, all the rest of the milk solids, and any other impurities.  

And you get a golden,   lactose free oil with a nutty flavor and a very high smoking point.   Unlike regular butter, ghee is shelf stable and versatile.   Shelf stable means   you don't   have to refrigerate it   even after it's been opened.   Now if you are gonna keep the ghee around and you've used it, like, a jar of this, like, once   and you haven't refrigerated it for six months,   it   there could be issues.   But if you never open it, that shit will stay on your shelf for years until you start deciding to use it. We use so much of it that when we open one, we don't worry about putting it in the fridge because within, like, a month, it's all gonna be gone.   Get yours today.  

Buy it in Bitcoin because if you're not   selling your goods and services for Bitcoin, you're not in the circle p. It's where I bring plebs with goods and services just like you to plebs just like you who wish to buy those goods and services and buy them in Bitcoin.   Greatghee.com   has the best ghee in the business. Go to greatghee.com,   say, Bitcoin and in the coupon code   to get yourself a little bit of a discount, but it basically lets Great Gi know that I made a sale for him. And with the value for value advertising model that the Circle p is, he will be able to make a determination   how much that sale was worth, and then he will get me on the other side   with some Satoshis.  

Now Brazil. Let's go down south.   Brazil considers a   30%   tax on undeclared   cryptocurrency.   Everybody wants their peace.   That's the problem with criminals.   They, for some reason, think they are entitled   to something they did not earn.   And it's not just France. It's not just the rest of the European Union. It's not just The UK. It's not just The United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and god knows anywhere else that I can   rattle off my tongue. No. No. No. It's this shits in Brazil and and other   portions of Latin America.   But they are preparing to   change the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies with a new legislative proposal.  

The government has introduced a bill that would allow citizens to declare previously hidden digital assets to tax authorities and paying a 30%   charge.   30%. They want a third of it. They didn't earn it.   They did nothing to attain that wealth, but, by God, they want a third of it.   Again,   ghouls   and people who should not be treated   as human beings. I'm sorry. That's the way it is. I look at these people and I say, you know what? You're not a human being. I don't know what you are, but   I'm not going to actually give you   any of the compassion   or emotion   or   technical or non tech technical treatments that I would provide a fellow human being.  

You, my friend, are persona non grata.   That's the way that these people need to be treated in every aspect of their lives.   Whether they're asked questions by the media or they're confronted by citizenry,   they need to be treated as if they are not actually human   so that they can really start feeling deep within their bones   just how evil they have become.   The legislative proposal   contained in bill four fifty eight slash 21 was approved by the Brazilian National Congress on October 29 and now awaits a final vote in the senate.   If passed, it will introduce the special regime for asset update and regularization,   which is actually spelled   almost like reap.  

It's rearp,   r e a r p, and it looks so much like reap   that all I can think about it is that they're really trying to tell you what they're gonna do. They're going to reap what you have sown. They're going to take your property. They're gonna take your money.   And they're not gonna ask permission, and they're not gonna say thank you. They're gonna have the attitude of, I deserve this.   Scumbags. Investors who decide to comply will face a total rate of 30%   split equally between tax and administrative penalties.   The tax will apply to the value of assets as of 12/31/2024,   so they're gonna backdate it. The digital asset sector in Brazil is experiencing growth, strong growth.  

According to a recent Chainalysis report, transaction volumes in the country   reached 1,700,000,000,000.0   Brazilian rials between mid twenty twenty four   and mid twenty twenty five. That is a 110%   increase   on a twelve month period.   Stablecoins are the main driver of the growth used for international remittances, commercial payments, and corporate transactions.   In this growth context, the government views the new tax as a dual tool.   On one hand, it provides regulatory clarity, but on the other, it represents an opportunity   to increase national revenue.  

You mean an opportunity   to steal   from you   blind without any ramifications   or repercussions   whatsoever.   If I tried to do that to a fellow citizen on the street, that's called theft and I'd be arrested, and then I'd be convicted, and I would go to jail. But these fucking people,   they just don't care   anymore.   As long as there's a law,   that's fine. They'll take whatever   you have.   However, their proposal is not universally supported.   Gee, you think? Opposition lawmakers accuse the government of reintroducing   tax measures   that had previously been rejected.  

Politicians   such as Sostenes   Cavalcante   and Gibson Marquez   have called the initiative a government expedient   to raise taxes and tax revenue   while supporters argue it is necessary to strengthen the state budget for 2026.   How about you start managing money better?   Why not do that?   Probably impossible. Let's run the numbers.   Energy sector is mixed. We got Brent North Sea oil down point 59%   to $64.51   a barrel. West Texas Intermediate is down point six to sixty and sixty seven cents.   Natural gas doing its thing, being the hedge, point 87%   to the upside now at $4.30.  

Gasoline is up point 4%   to a buck 95, and Murbin crude   is down point 7% to $66.82.   Shiny metal rocks having just as much of a bad day as Bitcoin is. Palladium is down one and a half. Gold is down point 8% to under 4,000   again.   Early this morning, it had topped 4,000, but now no. Not sorry for you.   3,979   an ounce. Platinum is down 1.4. Silver is down a point. Copper is down   2.15%.   Ag is mostly in the red this morning. Biggest winner is cocoa,   point 85% to the upside. The biggest loser appears to be sugar.   Yep. Sugar, 2.7   to the downside. Live cattle having a bad day again.  

1.38%   to the downside. Lean hogs down a half. Feeder cattle down one and one half.   Equities aren't doing well either today. It's like, basically, everybody's just shitting the bed. S and P is down point 75%.   Nasdaq down one and a third. Dow is down a third of a point, and the S and P Mini is down one full half of one full point. A $101,340   brings us scathingly close   to under a $2,000,000,000,000   market cap, which I don't like. It is standing right now at $2,020,000,000,000.   We can only purchase 25.5   ounces of shiny metal rocks with our one Bitcoin of which there are 19,944,204.29   of.  

Average fees per block are low,   0.02   BTC taken in fees on a per block basis.   There's about 30 blocks carrying 54,000   unconfirmed transactions.   High priorities get you in at 2 Satoshis per v byte. Low priorities get you in at one.   Still Zed Hash territory for the hash rate on the Bitcoin network. It's all the security you can use and more.   1.11   Zed Hash's per second. So there you go for a nice row of sticks.   From   demon possessed   AI, which was last Friday's   episode of Bitcoin and I got Psyduck six   I'm sorry. Seven six two   side act.  

Tulips with 12 o two says, I love the payment versus savings argument   because both sides are trying to tell the most disagreeable   cohort   on the planet what to do with their money.   Like Sailor telling Bitcoiners never to sell their Bitcoin, but proceeding to buy billions of the shit himself.   Who is going to sell it to you, Mike?   I love the news because,   yeah, absolutely everything is absurd and funny.   The c z buying a pardon,   SBF asking for one, actually more like begging for one there, tulips.   Politicians abusing the system and almost everybody I know in real life   walking with a smile,   trying to be good, and living a happy life.  

The world as we know it is just tulips,   and it is going   to zero.   Psyduck with another 762   says   Psyduck.   God's death with two thirty seven. Thank you, sir. No, thank you. Wartime with a 133   says, I don't know. I can't read the freaking emoji. I think it's a ghost.   I think he's saying boo.   And then let's see. What else we got? Jay with 20 1 100 sats. Alright. SBF is never getting out. Happy white paper day.   PS, my name is currently a joke. You can ignore all the other stuff after Jay. Okay. I I I I get you, pal. I get you. Nah. Naka's eighteen   with 210   says,   hashtag   live aloha.  

Pies with one twenty one says,   emojis I can't read.   And that looks like it's it, man. That's the weather report.   Welcome to part two of the news that you can use. Former FTX   chief executive officer Sam Bankman Fried returns to court   seeking a brand spanking new trial after FTX fraud conviction Sarah Wynne from the block.   Jailed   former FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried's case is back in court as he looks to get a redo after being found guilty   two years ago on multiple fraud charges.   Bankman Fried filed an appeal in September   2024   and asked for a new trial. And at the time, a lawyer representing the former executive criticized   New York judge Lewis Kaplan's handling of the case and said Bankman Fried should not have been blocked from introducing certain evidence.  

The matter is now in front of the US Court of Appeals for the second circuit   on Tuesday morning to decide the next steps. Bankman Fried was found guilty. Yes. We know. We don't have to go through it. Samson Enser,   a partner at Cahill Gordon and Rheindell LLP and former federal prosecutor said,   Bankman Fried's defense faces a steep uphill battle, but said, listening to the arguments and tone of the questioning from the circuit judges will be telling, quote,   of the arguments raised by SBF,   the most interesting and significant to me is whether the trial court erred in limiting the evidence in support of his alleged, quote, presence of counsel defense   that SBF   was permitted to tell the jury about and whether any such error was harmless or would warrant a retrial, Inzer said in an email to the block. Bankman Fried's lawyers had previously argued that the former CEO acted in good faith   in relaying or relying on his attorneys   at the exchange.  

Howard Fisher,   partner at Moses and Singer LLP, said appellate courts usually give district court judges   considerable   flexibility in how they conduct trials.   Fisher was also previously senior trial counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission, quote,   unless there are multiple errors which, taken together,   deprive the defendant of a fair trial,   they will strain to uphold the behavior of the trial judge.   It is not likely that the circuit court will reverse   based on the trial judge's conduct   nor comments,   Fisher said in an emailed statement.  

If questions are sparse during the hearing and the judges only ask pro form a questions, the original decision will likely be upheld.   Quote, the attitude of the panel will also be an indication, although not determinative.   Do they treat the issue raised by Bankman Fried seriously,   or do they indicate by their tone   that they do not,   end quote. And that's what Fisher said. So what's next?   Fisher said the court will issue an opinion over the course of the next several months.   Months.   If there is no appeal, Bankman Fried's parents, Joseph and Barbara, will push harder for a pardon, Fisher said,   pausing to say, that should be backdoored right now.  

Okay. I don't wanna be pardoned. He doesn't deserve a pardon. But if I was his parents, I wouldn't be waiting. I would be, like, I would be all over the pardon.   Waiting until the result of this is freaking stupid.   Okay? That's just that's just me being logical and practical, I guess. But whatever. His parents are looking to get their son a pardon from Trump following other attempts to pardon high profile crypto figures,   the best known being   CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao. However,   Bankman Fried's pardon, chances   seem slim.  

He was one of the largest donors to the Biden campaign in 2020.   He donated $5,200,000   to defeat Trump at the time.   Ahead of his hearing, Bankman Fried was active on x. On September 30, he wrote in a 15 page document,   15 pages   to say   that Alameda Research and FTX were, quote, never insolvent,   and that customer funds could have been repaid in full shortly   after their twenty twenty two liquidity crisis.   Sam, that is not how this works.   It doesn't   hindsight   has always been 2020,   and that is exactly why bankruptcies proceed the way they proceed.   Whatever you had at the time that this shit went down is what you had. You were insolvent.  

Coming back two years later and saying, if you would just waited, like, a half a year   for all this shit to go down, we would have been able to pay everybody back. They didn't know that at the time, and I guarantee you, but all the people in that bankruptcy were like, what if we did wait?   But that's   not the way the procedure works.   They have a protocol.   It is tight.   It is known.   It is proven.   It's what they do.   This shit this kid, I'm sorry,   not a human.   Not human.   Entirely   to what do they call it?   Narcissistic   to be walking the planet with actual good   wholesome human   beings that are just trying to get their shit together and put a smile on their face and love their kids.  

But, no, We gotta share our air and space with these fucking miscreants all the goddamn time, and I'm honestly kinda sick of it. I really am.   Just trying to do my best. You guys are just trying to do your best, and here we just basically see this   flaunting of wealth by some of the most   miscreant   individuals   ever to rise from the slime and filth.   United States is seeking the maximum sentence   for the samurai wallet developers.   They want them to go to hell.   I thought it was supposed to be a pro crypto administration, but I guess not. Atlas21.com   says,   according to the rage,   the United States Department of Justice has requested the maximum   sentence of five years imprisonment   for Keone Rodriguez and William Hill, the creators of Samurai Wallet, who plead guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission service earlier earlier this year.  

According to the prosecution, the developers did not simply provide a privacy tool used indirectly by criminals, but deliberately   solicited criminal activity   by designing   the service   specifically for money laundering.   The defense has instead requested that the sentence be limited to time already served in detention.   The prosecution's memorandum states that the developers facilitated the laundering of at least $237,000,000   from drug trafficking,   dark net marketplaces,   computer intrusions, fraud, murder for hire schemes, and, of course, the ever loved and present child pornography site.   The allegations related   to murder for hire and child porn   had never actually been mentioned previously.  

Yeah. They they do that at the federal level, dude. They introduce new terminology after you thought everything was said and done. But, no, here we   are, wrap it in child porn, and let's let's let's let's run with it. Quote, the defendant's crimes are not based on a regulatory gap,   but on the unequivocal desire, intent, and actions taken to help criminals launder money and evade sanctions through samurai wallet.   That's what the indictment reads. The charge of conspiracy to evade sanctions,   which also carried a maximum sentence of twenty years, was dropped, thank god, in exchange for the developer's   plea of guilty.  

Yeah. I probably would have done that too. The prosecution argues that samurai wallets very design.   Now listen to these words very carefully.   I design something.   I have a like, let's say I'm a designer. I design a thing.   Right? I I look at it and I see a particular design,   but that's not going to translate. My intent   in the design   does not translate to anybody else. Why?   Because they're not inside my head.   They don't know what my intentions were. They don't know how I view the thing I designed.   Somebody else could go, I cannot believe you just designed a sculpture   of child pornography.  

And I'd be like, what are you talking about? It doesn't matter because they can because I can't be in their head.   Right?   This this notion of the intent of the design   is a   it's evil.   It should be thrown out as an argument.   It's it cannot be substantiated.   It is not   quantitative. And by that me I mean,   you can't put numbers to it.   You can't tell me what my intent was.   You don't know.   You don't have an fMRI   of my head and, I don't know, linked to some kind of fucking ape in the in the jungles that's translating the f r m I data for you so that you can say, oh, yeah. He was definitely intending to do this and this and this.   That's, again,   that's not how this works.  

See, this is this   all these people, whether they're financial   idiots,   tax regulatory   idiots,   justice idiots,   they're they're out of control. We our apathy have literally unlocked their gates, and we're letting them roam out of the zoo   all on their own   without any thoughts as to what they were going to eat. Our apathy was our apathy   was the opening of the cage.   Right? The the walls of the zoo,   whatever the opposite of apathy is,   the wall that whatever the opposite of apathy is was the walls of the zoo that kept the non humans at bay.   And through apathy, we've lit those bars and cages and locks and doors   erode into dust.  

And now   all the nonhumans   are walking around actual human beings and they're hungry   and they wanna eat.   Where do you think they're gonna get their meals from?   Anyway, the   prosecution continues by citing how the website boasted   that its ricochet functionality   could assist customers in further obscuring the link between deposits and withdrawals, describing it as a premium tool that adds extra steps of history to your transaction,   allowing customers to, quote, confuse blacklists   and protect themselves against unfair account closures   by third parties. I see nothing in there that says   basically allows money laundering.  

Now they know that that would be able to be done with their with their stuff. But, essentially,   when you're designing for privacy,   you're designing   all of privacy.   It's about privacy.   What you can do with that privacy is strictly up to the individuals.   It is not up to me to design something   to provide containment   in certain types of things that people might do.   That's impossible.   But a controversial element of the case concerns the fact that the prosecution sentencing memorandum   makes scant reference to the charge of conspiracy   to operate a unlicensed money transmission service, the only charge to which the developers have plead guilty.  

Despite the dismissal of charges for conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to evade sanctions,   the prosecution's   document relies almost entirely   on the assertion   that the developers   built samurai wallet to profit from money laundering and sanctions evasion going so far as to state that, quote,   Rodriguez and Hill were promoting   samurai to criminal   dark net users and not to mainstream cryptocurrency   users.   I remember being told several times   that samurai wallet was good, and I had no intention   of dark net or money laundering activities.   I am I'm the cryptocurrency   user these guys are saying they never sold to. They were they were marketing it directly to me.  

So that shit's just false. Anyway, the memorandum cites an exchange on x   between Rodriguez and a samurai user about censorship resistance.   Rodriguez referred to Bitcoin as black market money.   Rodriguez and Hill were not merely passive observers.   They wanted and intended criminals to use samurai to launder proceeds for crimes, and they advertised samurai accordingly,   citing pages of private messages and forum posts in which the developers referred to samurai as similar to a laundry service. Okay. That's   a little bit a little bit over the line there. Hill has since admitted to regretting our approach   to marketing the surface.  

Yeah. I'll bet. Yeah. They're going for the maximum   of this thing, boys and girls. Ladies and gentlemen, the maximum.   You can say what you want about samurai,   but,   honestly,   they   they really need to be able to get out. They've already been there for two and a half years.   It's it's time. It's it's over. It's done. If they do something again and they use the term laundry service, then maybe go revisit everything,   but it's   over. Let's go to Scott Bessett,   who's praising Bitcoin.   Says, quote, it never shuts down.   Bitcoin news, Alex Larry writing US Treasury secretary Scott Bessett marked the seventeenth birthday of the Bitcoin white paper in a way   that really sent shock waves to both the world of politics   and digital assets.  

He posted on x, praising the reliability of Bitcoin while tossing a little jab at senate democrats because of the ongoing shutdown. He says in the tweet,   seventeen years after the white paper, the Bitcoin network is still operational and more resilient than ever. Bitcoin never shuts down.   Senate Dems could learn something from that.   So he took Bitcoin   and turned it into a political bludgeon.   Let that sink in. He's not just praising Bitcoin. Actually,   he's more turning it into a political bludgeon than he is actually praising Bitcoin. Let's let's be very honest about what Besson just did.   Oh, sure. But he praised it. Not really.  

He praised it insofar as to sheathe the bludgeon   in some spiky,   you know, stuff like barb wrapping back barbed wire wire around your Louisville Slugger like that dude in that zombie series did. Right? That's what I'm talking about. That's the praise.   But a baseball bat is a baseball bat. Doesn't matter what it's ripped in or what it wrapped in. It hits you upside the head.   Son of a bitch hurt. Seventeen years after the Bitcoin white paper, it's still operational.   It never shuts down. The secretary's   message   came at a moment   when the US government has been shut down for over a month.  

And this left around 900,000   employees plus millions of working,   without getting paid.   Besson's point of comparison between the scarce digital assets uninterrupted   operation and the political chaos on Capitol Hill certainly got people's attention.   October 31 is, of course, the special day,   the anniversary of the dropping of the Bitcoin white paper in 2008.   Besson's post   turned that anniversary celebration into a broader and political economic statement.   His choice   to tag senate Democrats   underscored the partisan nature of Washington's feed funding deadlock, which has now become one of the longest shutdowns in US history.   While the post was short, its impact was immediate.  

Traders, analysts, and policymakers flooded x with reactions.   They saw it as a policy signal from the treasury.   That would be a mistake.   Do not make that assumption.   So watching somebody beat somebody's ass with a baseball bat right in front of you does not mean he wants to buy you lunch.   You actually may be the second person that he clubs to death with said baseball bat. Just saying. But James Lavish,   a director at Bitcoin treasury firm Strive, wrote, quote,   pay attention to the signals.   This   is a signal, end quote.   I guess. Many interpreted the statement as confirmation   that the Trump admin remains committed to digital assets following a series of comments   and policies in recent months. And then they kinda go on into a brief history of what's going on,   and we don't need it. Because everybody took this Bessent quote to heart and saying, see?  

Bessent understands Bitcoin.   Bessent loves Bitcoin.   Bessent even knows   the anniversary day of the Bitcoin white paper. And he knows exactly how many none of that shit.   None of that shit matters. That's not a fucking signal, ladies and gentlemen.   The only thing that you got signaled is that he's got a staffer that knows enough about this stuff so that he can compose a tweet   that Bessett probably didn't even write himself.   And I don't know, find something about Bitcoin not shutting down, that much I know,   drag out the particulars,   and then tag the senate dims and say, learn your lesson.  

That's that's that's what happened.   Alright. This isn't Bessette giving the nod to Bitcoin.   Everybody   calm down. Oh my god.   Meanwhile,   lava,   l a v a, that's right. Like, you know, molten lava raises   200,000,000   for Bitcoin   backed line of credit,   announces new borrowing rates starting at 5%.   Is this a loan company? We're gonna find out for Bitcoin Magazine.   It's written by Jean or Juan Gault.   Lava, a global platform for Bitcoin backed loans,   today announced a $200,000,000   funding round in the launch of a new product,   a Bitcoin   line of credit.  

Ah, the product offers similar functionality to securities backed loan or home equity line of credit, but users'   ability to flex   flexibly borrow against their Bitcoin as collateral without the monthly payments or term limits   common in the Bitcoin backed loans market today.   According to a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine,   the financing includes a combination of venture and debt capital and brings   two new high profile   angels on board.   Oh my god. Anthony Pompliano,   Bitcoin investor and entrepreneur as well as a guy named Eric Jackson,   an activist, a public markets investor, and a founder of EMJ Capital. Sorry. I meant activist public markets investor.  

He's one of these dipshits that go, you're not you're not ESG compliant, so I'm going to short your stock.   See? I'm doing good for humanity.   I'm an activist.   No. You're a billionaire.   You can afford to make stupid errors. It's not gonna affect how much steak you get to eat, you dipshit. Quote, I'm thrilled.   To be joining Lava as an investor, says Jackson,   Shizen   and his team   are world class, and they've been incredibly innovative on the product side. Not only   is their revolving line of credit a first in the industry,   but they've also managed to secure the lowest borrowing rates for their users, beating the rates of much older incumbents in the space. This is hands down the best product in the market, and lava is setting a new standard. Oh, it's a new standard for Bitcoin backed loans, end quote.  

As a result   of the new fundraising, Lava now offers what may be the lowest fixed interest rates available in the Bitcoin lending market starting at just 5%   for   year long durations. Quote, the interest rate will update yearly, and you can simply leave your line of credit open to refinance at a new rate if you want.   According to the announcement blog, law of his line of credit functions like a revolving account. Users can borrow, repay, and borrow again at any time with the interest rates only being marked for the amounts borrowed, not the total capacity of the loan. Quote,   we believe that this is the best possible borrowing experience for Bitcoin holders.  

You can get dollars instantly.   You don't have to worry about monthly payments or loan durations, and you can get access to the lowest fixed interest rates. This has been their most requested product, and it will be Lava's core focus moving forward, said   Chezin   Maridia,   the CEO.   Beyond the 5% fixed interest, the line of credit carries a capital charge equal to 2%   of the largest outstanding balance you have on your line of credit during the year   as explained in the FAQ. For example,   if the user's loan balance reaches $5,000   at some point throughout the borrowing period, the capital charge for the entire year is $100   bringing the total cost of the bitcoin backed loan to roughly 7%   yearly,   a rate that remains competitive   with the bitcoin backed loans on the market.  

As many companies   also have similar fees on top of their interest rates. Loans could be up to 50%   of the total USD value of the Bitcoin balance,   and the Lava app, a powerful and modern closed source self custody wallet, it's closed source. Watch out, guys. Most of the loan products and the USD payment rails could be accessed without personal information,   making Lava stand out among its competitors, placing it somewhere between pure DeFi   and more modern crypto   savvy financial institutions.   Lava also has a liquidation protection feature, which can draw from the Bitcoin balance deposited into the app and add it to the collateral account to protect users from liquidation   in the case of extreme price volatility   in Bitcoin.  

50%   loan to value is good. I mean, I don't know anything about lava. I don't know if all these guys are completely full of shit or not.   But   one thing that stands out through this entire thing, it's not the 2% capital, it's not the 5% loan, it's not the fact that it's a line of credit. I don't care about Anthony Pompliano being in on it. I don't care what Eric says.   It's the 50%   loan to value.   I gotta give them 1 Bitcoin   to get $50,000   worth of a line of credit.   That   that is a green flag.   That is a green flag.   Not a red flag. This is a green flag. It says   at least somebody somewhere gets it.  

Because there was there BlockFi did not have 50%.   They had much higher,   and people were getting liquidated   all the time out of BlockFi until they went belly up alongside their friend Sam Bankman Fried and that   girlfriend of his, Carolyn,   whatever her last name is,   with FTX and Alameda.   So   that one tidbit alone   lets me kinda breathe easy that maybe these guys aren't just complete idiots,   Unlike shitcoiners   who keep thinking they're going to beat Bitcoin   and then get hacked,   like the balancer hack, which Zoltan Vardai from Cointelegraph   tells us about. That hack   shows signs of a months long planning by a very skilled attacker.  

That's the headline. The on chain transactions of the exploiter   behind the $116,000,000   balancer hack   point to a sophisticated actor.   The decentralized exchange and automated market maker balancer   was exploited for a $116,000,000   on Monday.   That was yesterday.   Blockchain data shows the attacker carefully funded their account   using small   0.1   ether deposits   from cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash to avoid detection.   Conor Grogan, director at Coinbase,   said the exploiter had at least 100 ETH stored in Tornado Cash smart contracts   indicating possible links to previous hacks. Quote,   the hacker seems experienced.  

One, he seeded the account via the 100 ETH and 0.1   tornado cash deposits, no OPSEC leaks.   Since there was no recent 100 ETH tornado deposits,   likely,   that exploiter   had funds from previous exploits,   end quote.   Grogan noted that users rarely store such large sums and privacy mixers,   further suggesting the attackers   professionalism.   Maybe he just got lucky. Who knows? Anyway, Balancer offered the exploiter a 20% white hat bounty if the funds were returned   in full amount minus the reward by Wednesday.   Quote, our team is working with leading security researchers to understand the issue. Oh my god.   You built a system, it got hacked, and you're just now trying to understand   the issue, which means that you don't   understand   what you built.  

Remember what I was talking about with design   and the intentions behind the design?   Generally speaking, when I design something,   I really look at it.   I really look at it. Where where can this fail?   These people build these products,   and they have no idea how this shit works. That's   a red flag.   The balancer exploit was one of the the most sophisticated attacks we've seen this year according   to Dede Levid,   cofounder and CEO of blockchain security firm, Cyber's, quote, the attackers bypassed   access control layers to manipulate   asset balances directly,   a critical failure   in operational   governance   rather than core protocol logic. Yeah, dude. It's still the design of the system.  

Hey. Whatever, dude. Lavid   said that the attack demonstrates the static code audits are no longer sufficient. Oh, boy. Instead,   he called for continuous   real time monitoring to flag   suspicious flows before funds are drained.   The infamous North Korean Lazarus Group has been known for extensive preparations ahead of their biggest hacks. And according to blockchain   analytics firm, Chainalysis,   illicit activity tied to North Korean cyber actors sharply declined after 07/01/2024   despite a surge in attacks earlier that year.   The slowdown ahead of the Bybit hack signaled   that the state backed hacking group was, quote, regrouping   to select new targets according to Eric Jardine,   Chainalysis   cybercrime's   research lead. Quote, the slowdown that we observed   could have been a regrouping to select new targets, probe infrastructure,   or   it could have been leaked   or linked to those geopolitical   events. It took the Lazarus Group ten days to launder a 100% of the stolen Bybit funds through the decentralized   cross chain protocol, Thorchain,   Cointelegraph   reported on the force. So another hack, another $116,000,000   gone, another set of people who built a thing that they don't understand what they built. It goes on and on and on and on and on.  

It's just I mean, honestly, the whole damn thing is amazing. Hold on for a second. I wanna look at I I ran across something.   Oh, here. This.   Levid said the attack demonstrates that static code audits are no longer sufficient.   And here here's where you prick your ears up on this one. Instead,   he called for continuous   real time monitoring   to flag suspicious flows   before funds are drained.   Is it possible that this hack was done by possibly, I don't know, governmental agencies   so that they would have a reason   to surveil   everything?  

Is it possible that this isn't just some guy in his grandma's basement,   you know, with zits all over his face who just wants a shit ton of money? Is it possible   that they're basically building a, you know, an ironclad reason why everything   you know what? Screw it. This is why we Bitcoin.   You say whatever you put whatever regulation,   you gotta declare your Bitcoin. Good luck with that. I'm not gonna declare fucking shit.   I'm I mean, if I sell some, that I declare.   Where'd you find it? I don't know. I mean, it's it's a terrible argument. I'm gonna get in trouble for it, but somebody's gotta do something.   Somebody's gotta provide resistance. Otherwise,   all these nonhuman   entities   walking around in the street because our apathy and letting our guard down let them go   and not providing them any resistance whatsoever   is not helping.  

It's just it's just not helping. I mean, so   keep it all   keep it all together, people. I know that it's a bad day. It was a bad day yesterday.   It's a bad day right now. I get it. I really do.   Nothing is escaping this, though.   Cattle ranchers are just as pissed off as Bitcoiners, just as pissed off as people in the equity markets, just as pissed off as gold holders, just as there's nowhere safe.   You can't put your money   anywhere   except in   yourself,   building up your own skills.   Use it maybe maybe I don't know.   Use it to get meditation training. You know, spend money on on on a coach that can help you learn how to meditate. If that's not your bag, then use it to, you know, buy better food for yourself.  

Yeah. Use it to better yourself.   You are the best investment you will ever make. It's not the house. It's not a boat. It's not a plane. It's not a bar of gold. It's not even Bitcoin.   It really is yourself.   So in times where you look around and you say, there is nowhere I can put my money and this is one of those times, honey,   then maybe you should look inward.   Maybe you should look at yourself.   What can you do? What can you spend some of your money on instead of trying to figure out what stock is not going to shit the bed?   What if you spit that money on yourself? I'm not talking like a new suit.  

I'm not talking about   a new car.   I'm talking about something that will actually impart something permanent   to you,   something that you can carry with you   if all of your possessions   somehow disappear.   You're naked in a   field. You spent, I don't know, let's say a thousand dollars on something a year ago.   You're naked in a field. You have nothing.   But you have whatever it is that you spent that thousand dollars on. And, again,   let's not presume we're talking about memorizing a 24 word seed phrase in your head. Let's not talk about Bitcoin for just a fucking second and just look at yourself. What did you learn   that you now know how to do   no matter where you land   or what color clothes you put on when you finally decide that you're done being naked? Right? You see what I'm saying?  

What skill can you get that will better your life   for the rest of your life?   Because we are in that phase. I'm looking at around and I'm like going   and for me, other than Bitcoin, there's no place to put my money, but I'm also not a complete idiot. If I was putting money in Bitcoin at a $125,000,   I'm down on that.   Peter Schiff would say, see, you're finally getting it. No. I'm not getting it because I'm still buying Bitcoin.   It's like, you know, like, the long term play is just as important as the short medium term play. But the longest play that you can make   is asking yourself the question, when do I die?  

And before that day,   how do I make myself better? And what will that cost? And what will I gain?   That's the investment,   especially in times where   everything's in the red.   Think about the close your eyes. This is this is the exercise for you to go home with right after you listen to this.   Close your eyes. Just be quiet.   Right?   Just for a   second.   What's the first thought in your head about what you wanna learn?   Think about it. 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.