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Episode 1219 of Bitcoin And . . . is LIVE! 

Topics for today: 

• All Out Attack on Bitcoin . . . Again
• Spain to Tax Crypto at 47%
• ECB Warns on Stablecoins . . . Again
• Robinhood Goes Full Degen
• 1.2 Million Thais Hosed by Sam Altman

Circle P:

 
Bitcoin Beans. This is Colombian whole-bean cacao grown by permaculture farmers who actually live on the land and get paid in Bitcoin. Every batch is hand selected, lab tested for heavy metals, and priced in sats so you watch the price of your cacao fall over time on a Bitcoin Standard. Two main offerings, La Reserva de Santander and El Clasico de la Sierra Nevada, both silky, nourishing, and born from real proof-of-work farming. If you want to channel your sats back into healthy soil and trees, Bitcoin Beans is proof-of-work you can drink.
 
https://www.bitcoinbeans.co/

https://primal.net/BitcoinBeans

 

Today's Articles:

 
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/texas-buys-5m-of-spot-bitcoin-etf

https://atlas21.com/blackrock-investors-see-bitcoin-as-digital-gold-not-a-payment-tool/

https://cointelegraph.com/news/spain-crypto-tax-proposal-bitcoin-risk-system

https://www.theblock.co/post/380562/tether-usdt-stability-score-weak-sp-reserves-cant-absorb-bitcoin-drop

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/11/26/robinhood-makes-prediction-market-push-with-purchase-of-former-ftx-platform-ledgerx

https://decrypt.co/350133/cathie-woods-ark-invest-buys-google-coinbase-circle-bitcoin-etf-shares

https://atlas21.com/new-ecb-warning-stablecoins-could-threaten-financial-stability/

https://cointelegraph.com/news/thailand-demand-sam-altman-world-delete-1-2-million-iris-scans

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[00:00:02] David Bennett:

It is 10AM   on the dot Pacific Standard Time. It is the November   2025.   This is episode   twelve nineteen   of Bitcoin, and Texas technically doesn't buy any Bitcoin at all, and I'll tell you all about that one. I promise you. We've got more news than that.   We're gonna talk a little bit about BlackRock investors   or rather what   BlackRock investors   see   Bitcoin   as being   I don't know. I guess they took a survey or something like that. But then we're gonna drift on over the Atlantic to Spain   where communism   has never left that country. Anybody who thinks that communism left Spain, like, you know, when   the there there was a civil war a long time ago, there was, like, like, a Franco and all those guys. Yeah.  

Communism never left that country.   It's just disguised as massive taxes, and it looks like they're singling out Bitcoin.   I'm starting to see a worldwide trend here starting with JPMorgan.   There's some other things that are going on, by the way.   We're we're gonna drift on over to Tether here in a second, but this Spanish business   is locking in directly with this JPMorgan   business   and this whole, you know, MSCI   that I talked about yesterday,   delisting   strategy.   JPMorgan   basically given Jack Mallers,   CEO of Strike the boot from his personal bank accounts, and now we've got the Spain business that we'll get into.   But then   the S and P   is going after Tether,   USDT,   the stablecoin.  

Will will tell you about it. This looks very coordinated to me. It really does.   But, you know, it it is what it is, and   it won't matter.   Blocks will still be confirmed.   Transactions will still be validated.   My node will still play a part in that entire thing,   so don't you worry your pretty little head about any of that. Oh, oh, it looks like, CoinDesk decide decided that it just wanted to reverify my entire account.   So I let me do this. Come on. You can do it.   Let me make sure that it even got to the to the correct   story.  

Oh, and it didn't. It's wants me to talk about pig butchering.   Oh my god.   This is this is absolutely ridiculous.   Okay. Hold on. I've got I've got it here to say I've got it here for a second.   We gotta do this one   because now it's all messed up. Now it oh my god. Coin dust sucks. Hold on.   There we go. Back to it. We're, gonna look at what Cathie Wood is looking at because she's   this woman changes up her portfolio, like, all the time. So she's changed it up yet one more time, so we'll we're gonna look and see what that what that actually is.   And then Robinhood. Yeah. Robinhood, we're gonna talk a little bit about it.  

It looks like it looks like they may be trying to jump into the,   Polymarket   slash Kalshi prediction market game,   and they're gonna use a property that they pulled off of the old FTX,   bankruptcy. So that should be interesting.   Then then then then then.   The ECB has   a new warning   about stablecoins   and the financial stability   that it could threaten.   So,   again,   can you spell   coordinated   effort   against   everything that they cannot control? Maybe maybe what happened?   Why we're seeing JPMorgan,   S and P,   MSCI,   ECB,   Spain, and and, like, this is all just today, man.   This is all just today and yesterday.  

Get sort of getting together and launching an attack in the same direction is maybe just maybe there's something some kind of report was given to the globalists   that   the regular folks, the regular pleb on the street was not privy to,   and maybe it suggests that they're so far behind   that there's no way that they can catch up. And, therefore,   they're gonna have to buy some time again, and they're gonna do that maybe through   regulatory   malfeasance,   but we'll have to see. And then Thailand is actually the only thing that I've got here. It Seems that that is actually going after the right person.   They want to, they wanna get Sam Altman to stop doing what he's doing and delete what he's already done, at least for the citizenry of Thailand. But let's  

[00:04:53] Unknown:

let's   run back over to the land of   heat,   cattle,   and barbecue.   My home state   of Texas  

[00:05:05] David Bennett:

has become the first US state to buy $5,000,000   worth of BlackRock's   spot   Bitcoin   ETF.   And this is kinda interesting   because, technically,   they're not buying Bitcoin. But in depending on how you look at it, technically,   Texas has become the first state to actually put Bitcoin   on the balance sheet   as a US state.   And even though it's only $5,000,000, it's kind of a big deal. Micah Zimmerman has more from Bitcoin magazine.   On November 20,   Texas became the first United States state   to buy Bitcoin for its strategic reserve, acquiring   $5,000,000   worth   at $87,000   per Bitcoin according to Lee Bratcher,   president of the Texas Blockchain Council. The purchase was made through BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin trust while the state finalizes   plans   for self custody. Let's pause right there.  

It seems that Texas seems to know what the hell they're doing. Of course, then again, most of   the really high quality Bitcoiners have migrated   either to Texas   in the Austin area, Central Texas, or over to Nashville, Tennessee.   And between those two,   you got some really fine minds. That it doesn't mean that there's not people in Washington DC and New York City that that also know what the hell they're doing. I'm just saying that the majority of these people,   especially when it comes to, like, mining and policy stuff,   really did migrate to Texas. So   it does not surprise me that the governor of Texas has anybody he wants to talk to about this stuff within,   oh, I don't know, just a couple of blocks walk from The United well, from the Texas capital. So   it's not surprising.  

But it's nice that what they're telling him,   the governor of Texas, and well, actually, it's more like the   the administration governor's administration of Texas, is that they need to self custody this.   BlackRock   has enabled   a way   to be able to get that Bitcoin out of those shares   and directly take control of the Bitcoin. I don't think that's for retail. May maybe one of these days, it will be. But at the institutional level, I think this is all live.   So Texas wants to actually own the Bitcoin,   but it looks like they were like, dude, at $87,000   a coin, we probably shouldn't wait much longer.  

Boom. They pull the trigger.   They use BlackRock as the intermediary.   They wait a few you know, wait a while and figure out how they're gonna actually self custody the stuff. And then Texas, the state of, in representation of the citizenry of the state of Texas,   wants to take control of that Bitcoin directly and self custody it.   This is really good news.   The move, continuing on, signals   growing state level interest in Bitcoin as a reserve asset.   Texas has previously explored   strategic Bitcoin legislation   last year wanting to create a Bitcoin reserve without using taxpayer funds.  

Then in June,   the Texas governor signed that legislation into law   creating the state strategic Bitcoin reserve.   Institutional investors are increasingly following suit. Harvard University Endowment   recently tripled its iBit holdings to $442,800,000,   making it the university's largest publicly disclosed investment.   Emory University and Abu Dhabi's Al Warda investments have also significantly increased Bitcoin ETF exposure.   Bitcoin's price is currently trading near 87,500,   30% below its all time high, and Lee Bratcher was the first to disclose the news of Texas' purchase.   Quote,   Texas will eventually   self custody the Bitcoin, Bratcher said. But while that RFP process takes place, this initial allocation was made with BlackRock's   iBit ETF. So pausing to say that RFP, from what I'm the way that I'm reading this,   stands for request for proposals.  

So it sounds like they've put out a request for proposals   for companies who want to teach them how to self custody this stuff or the best way or provide them the gear to self custody with. That is actually out,   and that is a normal   operating procedure   for most governmental, whether county, city, state, United States federal government, what have you. That's standard operating procedure. They're not just gonna go do it. They want somebody to basically hold their hand and and   and get have somebody to blame if something goes wrong, honestly. But   continuing   on, Bratcher is the president and founder of the Texas Blockchain Council, an industry associated with over 100 member companies and hundreds of individuals promoting Texas as a hub for Bitcoin and blockchain innovation.  

He actively championed the state's Bitcoin reserve legislation working on the ground to guide it through the state senate.   In the legislation explored last year, Texas state representative Giovanni   Caprijilione,   god dang, filed a bill   to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the state. The legislation proposed that the state buy and hold Bitcoin as a strategic asset,   store it in cold storage for at least five years,   allow resident donations, and enable state agencies to accept and convert cryptocurrencies to Bitcoin.   It also mandated transparency through yearly audits and reports modeled after a federal proposal by Donald Trump and senator Lummis.  

The bill mirrored the growing global interest of Bitcoin. And earlier this month, New Hampshire became the first government worldwide to approve a $100,000,000   Bitcoin backed municipal bond.   The state's business finance authority authorized the conduit bond,   allowing private companies to borrow against over collateralized Bitcoin held in custody   with repayment risk resting solely on that collateral.   Borrowers   must post roughly 160   of the bond's value in Bitcoin,   and automated liquidation protects bondholders if values drop.   Fees and any BTC appreciation will fund the state's Bitcoin economic development fund. This move follows   New Hampshire's   and Arizona's   earlier creation of strategic Bitcoin reserves.  

But as far and that's the end of the article. As far as I know, New Hampshire and Arizona   hasn't actually done anything with their strategic reserves, much like the United States government except for touting how much stolen property that they actually own in in   in Bitcoin. It's just it's sad. But   as far as I know,   Texas will go down in history as the first   state,   in The United States at least,   to purchase,   possess,   and self custody Bitcoin.   And that's a much bigger deal than I think anybody's gonna give it credit for because it's happening   underneath   the fog of war.  

Right? We've got all these problems going on, whether it's macroeconomic   or just this   brand fresh brand spanking new fresh war on Bitcoin that we seem to be witnessing here,   it's gonna go under the radar.   People are gonna be more concerned with issuing   FUD statements about how Bitcoin is dead for the four hundred and eighty seventh time   instead of looking at Texas going, uh-oh.   What do they know that we don't?   Maybe investors   for BlackRock see a different story.   Atlas21.com   has this one. BlackRock   says,   investors see Bitcoin as digital gold and not a payment tool.   Bitcoin as digital gold continues to dominate the narrative for institutional investors leaving ambitions   of using it as a global payment system in the background.  

This perspective was shared by Robbie Michnik,   head of digital assets at BlackRock, in an interview on November 20 where he outlined the priorities   of major asset managers.   Michnick explained that clients   of top management firms are not betting on Bitcoin as a future payment infrastructure. Quote, I think for us   and for most of our clients today,   they're not really underwriting to that global payment network case, the BlackRock executive said. He did not categorically rule out that Bitcoin could eventually be used for payments.   I'm pausing right now to say, I use it for payments right now. So,   yes,   Bitcoin is, in fact,   used for payments.  

I I wish that they would clean up the language here a little bit because, yes, Bitcoin is used for payments. Is it the majority of payments? No. Is it used for payments? Yes.   Figure out the math, guys. It's not that fucking hard.   The executive then emphasized that significant technological progress would be needed for such a shift that for it to happen.   Quote, there's a lot that needs to happen in terms of Bitcoin scaling, lightning, and otherwise to make that possible, he explained.   However, Michnick acknowledged that digital assets are already transforming the value transfer sector through stablecoins. Quote, stablecoins   do have massive product market fit as a payment instrument   as a way of moving value around efficiently, he said. According to the BlackRock executive, stablecoins are set to expand well beyond trading at DeFi reaching retail remittances, cross border corporate flows, and even capital market settlements.  

Michnik added   that Bitcoin could find use in retail remittances, but reiterated that even this scenario remains speculative for now.   Okay. That's the end of the article. So what we've got here is we've got a BlackRock executive who doesn't seem to understand that this Bitcoin for payments is already a thing.   Is he wrong about stablecoins? No.   Is he wrong that more people are using stablecoins for payment systems,   than Bitcoin? No. He's he's actually not.   What he's what all these people never tell you is that what they'll tell you is that stablecoins are better than Bitcoin.   No. And here's why.  

Stablecoins are pegged to fiat currency.   As more fiat currency is produced,   and it always is,   then more stablecoins   have to be minted   because it has to be able to peg   one to one   to whatever fiat unit. In Tether's case, it's the dollar. Right? Or Circle's case, it's the United States dollar.   The they print more dollars, more Circle, and more Tether gets printed.   They're they'll they will never ever ever   have a wholehearted discussion with anybody that they're talking to about the nature of inflation   and how it is a hidden tax on your savings,   your wealth,   anything that you own.  

They don't ever wanna talk about that.   I think, again, we've got this this dude out of BlackRock   is serving his purpose   in casting a little bit of FUD. It's just a little bit more grease for the war machine   that is JPMorgan,   MSCI,   country of Spain, and whoever else that that is starting to engage   in this newest battleground   worldwide against Bitcoin.   I know it sounds it it sounds hyperbolic. It's not.   Trust me. I smell it.   I smell it. Let's go to Spain.   Let's talk about these idiots.   At least the government. I'm sure I'm I've never I I've met many Spanish people. I've never been to Spain, but I've met many Spanish people. They are fine.   Because most citizens of most countries   all around the world are actually just fine. It's not them you need to worry about.  

It's   all of our apathies   that have allowed the worst sorts of people   to represent the rest of us around the world to each other. That that's who we worry about. But   in this case, it's Spain's junior ruling party   who has proposed a 47%   crypto tax   in, quote,   attack against Bitcoin.   Amen. Hasquinas   has it from Cointelegraph.   Spain's Sumar parliamentary group has introduced   amendments   to reform three major tax laws affecting cryptocurrencies, including the general tax law,   the income tax law, and the inheritance   and gift tax law   according to local media.  

Jeez.   These people want you poor.   God. Don't move to Spain.   The proposal would change how crypto profits are tax shifting gains from nonfinancial   instruments,   instrument assets into the general income tax bracket, which would raise the top rate   to 47%   instead of the current 30%   savings rate.   Wait. What?   So they're just flat out saying that they're gonna tax your savings at 30%.   Current 30%   savings rate.   While setting a flat 30% tax for corporate holders according to a Tuesday report from Crypto Noticias.   SUMR   is a left wing political alliance that holds 26   of the 350   seats in Spain's congress of deputies as early as 2024.  

It is also a junior partner in the governing coalition with the socialist   party. So there you go.   The plan by the left wing political platform would also require the National Securities Market Commission to create   a visual, quote,   risk traffic light system for cryptocurrencies   to be displayed on investor platforms.   Do you remember pausing to say do you remember the years after nine eleven   when all the news agencies would tell you what the terrorist   threat level was?   Yeah. This is the exact same shit. It's it these these are mechanisms   designed to scare the piss out of the public   to keep them in line.  

It's not about securing them. It's not about they these people caring about our safety.   It's literally about using one more thing   to scare us into an early grave. I swear to god these people need to be tarred and feathered.   Another controversial element is the proposal   to classify all cryptocurrencies   as attachable assets   eligible for seizure.   Yay.   Lawyer Chris Karascosa   said on x   that, well, this is unenforceable,   especially for tokens like Tether's USDT, which cannot be held by regulated custodians   under MICA rules.   So   what they're proposing   actually goes against   Mica   legislation, which is for the entirety of Europe.  

Remember?   Mica, m I c a, it's like, whatever in crypto   something in crypto assets   legislation.   We we have I've talked about it on several occasions.   And yet they're proposing something that goes directly against or or it would it would provide for an infrastructure that the Mica basically disregards as possible.   I   love these people. They're they just they don't it's like they don't do   they don't do any   any research whatsoever.   In in fact, Chris Karakosa   has has kinda broken it down. He says,   let's break down why half of these don't make the slightest sense.   Regarding point number one, seizing cryptos, not Mica.  

The Sumer Group doesn't understand a thing. The article on the feasibility of assets was already reformed back in the day by people with far more expertise.   A subsection   j   was established that already included cryptos covered by Micah.   Now Sumer wants to add the caveat   and those not covered by Micah.   Gentlemen, cryptos not regulated by Mica cannot be custodied by a central provider with authorization.   Therefore,   they can never be seized.   For example, Tether.   It is not covered by Mica, and therefore, it's not an asset that the CASP   can custody legally.  

That's why it was placed among   or placed almost last in the list of feasibility when the article was modified.   This modification   makes no sense. It's unenforceable,   and it adds no value. On the contrary,   it complicates   the life of the CASPs   who are the ones who ultimately   had to execute the seizure orders. Okay.   Listen to that.   It doesn't add value. On the contrary, it complicates the life of the CASPs.   When did you hear almost the exact same language?   Yesterday  

[00:22:33] Unknown:

on this show.   Yesterday on this show, we were talking about  

[00:22:38] David Bennett:

one of these thing   one of these legislations that are coming through that also   makes no sense   and creates problems. We're and I was we were basically talking about the MSCI.   We're this guy that that was kinda analyzing what MSCI wants to do with strategy and the other digital asset treasuries.   He basically said the exact same thing. He said, hey. This adds this adds nothing. This doesn't really do anything for anybody.   But what it does do is complicate the life of Micah or,   MSCI   as well as all the companies   who would hold digital assets on their balance sheet, and he gave very, you know, many, many reasons.  

This is the same shit. So what's going on here?   Did we have a first round of all of these people in all these positions of power do,   some research   and flat ass get everything wrong?   Didn't see   anything,   didn't really understand   anything that they actually saw,   thought they did,   put a pen to to a piece of paper and wrote stuff down, and then it becomes law or regulation   or legislation   or whatever, and then boom, they figure out that they did it wrong. Is it possible   that that's what we're looking at here?   I do.   Continuing on, critics call it an attack on Bitcoin.  

In a post on x, economist and tax adviser Jose Antonio Bravo McDowell   denounced the amendments as useless attacks against Bitcoin, arguing that the measures misunderstand   how decentralized   assets work.   He noted that Bitcoin held in self custody cannot be seized or monitored in the same way as traditional financial assets. And the only thing   these measures achieve is to make its holders residing in Spain think about fleeing   when BTC rises so high that they no longer care what politicians say.   That's an interesting take. Meanwhile, tax inspectors,   Juan Faust and Jose Maria   Gentile,   have recently suggested creating a special, more favorable tax regime specifically for Bitcoin.  

Their proposal actually allows taxpayers to separate wallets and apply   either first in, first out, or weighted average methods with value adjustments when moving assets between wallets to prevent tax gaming.   Spain's tax agency has been warning crypto holders about taxes for years, sending 328,000   warning notices   for taxes on crypto for the year 2022   fiscal year in 2023,   followed by 620,000   similar notices   a year later.   Wow. These are these are just shakedown letter letters.   And then while Spain considers increasing attacks on crypto gains, Japan's financial services agency is also pushing for a tax reform   that would dramatically   reduce   the burden on crypto investors.  

Instead of taxing crypto earnings as   miscellaneous   income at rates that can reach 55%,   Japan aims to apply a flat 20% capital gains tax, and I told you all about that not terribly long ago.   These people, I think I think   I think I'm right. I think they got it all wrong.   I think they looked at it. I think they listened to a bunch of shitcoiners.   I don't think the shitcoiners and anybody that that was, you know, hired to to instruct these people how to write legislation knew what the hell that they were doing. They didn't know their ass for a hole in the ground, And now all these people are looking back at all this legislation that they worked so hard to pass through as as either law or regulation,   and they're like, damn, we really   fucked this up.  

How are we gonna fix this   without having to re legislate? And that's why you're getting all these critics who are looking at actions being taken over the last few days and saying, this doesn't make any sense. In fact, it   proves more of a burden   on all these other parties than it does either fix anything   or have some kind of positive   net benefit on the other end.  

[00:26:47] Unknown:

It   honestly,   I I  

[00:26:51] David Bennett:

I'm beyond giving a shit.   But I got a new Circle p vendor.   Check it out.   Circle p is the part of the show where I bring vendors   and plebs   that are just like you with goods and services   to plebs just like you who want to buy said goods and services and buy it in Bitcoin, because if you're not selling it in Bitcoin, you are not in the circle p.   Introducing   today   bitcoinbeans.co.   That's bitcoinbeans.co.   No. Not coffee.   Chocolate.   Really, really good looking chocolate, by the way. In fact, I got a little piece here, a a little blurb that I've written written up about the the   sort of the the shorts very, very, very short story behind Bitcoin beans.  

This is a Colombian   whole bean cacao grown by permaculture farmers who actually live on the land, and they get paid in Bitcoin.   Every batch   is hand selected,   lab tested for heavy metals, and priced in sets   so you watch the price of your chocolate fall over time on a Bitcoin standard. We have two main offerings, La Reserva   de Santander   and El Classico   de la Sierra Nevada,   both silky,   nourishing, and born from real proof of work farming.   If you want to channel your sats back into healthy soil and trees,   Bitcoin beans   is proof of work that you can drink   if you melt it down and make hot chocolate out of it because these things come in one pound bars, A one pound bar of chocolate.  

It's like I don't know. It's almost like they're treating it like gold. These things come in a really pretty box too. Now it's expensive chocolate. You're getting this from you're getting this from down south, guys.   You're you're getting this for you're they're not making this in The United States.   No. No. No. No. No. No. No.   No. But they do have these two chocolates. Now the law reserve of chocolate   is 100%   cacao,   as is the El Classico. The difference is   the reserve is from a different bean, from a different, chocolate bean from a different region,   and right now they are out of all of it. However,   for 54,652   sets, you can get one pound of handmade   permaculture   grown,   100%  

[00:29:20] Unknown:

cacao   in a really pretty box. Okay.  

[00:29:25] David Bennett:

Let's be truthful. I have not actually eaten any of this chocolate yet.   They've just they've essentially just come online.   The the owner wants to send me a sample,   and I'm definitely gonna get, you know, get a sample of it so that I can tell you how it looks. But I'm look I'm a chocolate freak.   I look at chocolate. I've been all over this website, which is bitcoinbeans.co,   by the way. Bitcoinbeans.co.   Go to bitcoinbeans.co,   and take a look at these pictures.   I can just tell by the pictures,   this is a very high quality chocolate.   It's it's like and, like I said, I am a chocolate freak. I love this stuff.  

Go to bitcoinbeans.co.   Somewhere in there is probably a way that you could put in a coupon code. He we haven't worked out any kind of deal. You're you're not gonna get any percentage off of your purchase of one pound of of handmade chocolate.   But if you put in the code Bitcoin and,   this guy will probably because he's he's   we've I mean, he knows who I am. I mean, we've been talking, so he he's he's he's aware of the situation.   Put in Bitcoin and somewhere   in your order,   and that will let   my guy know   that I made a sale of his like, at least a one pound bar of chocolate and that he will get me back on the other side with Satoshis if he feels that the sale sale was worth it. That's   honestly   how the Circle p works.  

I'm here   to do a couple things. It's to bring you the news, but it's also to help out the little guy that doesn't have an advertising budget. This is value for value advertising.   I don't have a contract with any of my vendors.   I haven't ever shaken hands with any of my vendors.   I don't charge them upfront   to, you know, any of my vendors to advertise on the show.   I do it because all of us need help. That's why the circle p is here, And I want to help   bitcoinbeans.co   become the leading chocolate supplier to all of my Bitcoin friends here in The United States. That's bitcoinbeans.co,   bitcoin beans, all one word, .co.  

Go get yourself some chocolate.   Tether's USDT   stability score has been cut to weak   as S and P says reserves can't absorb Bitcoin drop.   So at two   S and P   by the way, this is written by Kyle Baird from the block.   S and P Global Ratings downgraded its stability assessment of Tether's USDT   to five,   the weakest   level on its scale, citing a rise in riskier reserve assets and warning that the stable coin no longer has sufficient buffer to absorb a decline in Bitcoin's value.   The agency said Bitcoin now represents about 5.6%   of USDT in circulation,   more than roughly 3.9%   reserve buffer implied by Tether's latest third quarter attestation   published at the October.  

That means   a material drawdown in Bitcoin, especially if combined   with losses and other high risk holdings,   could leave USDT   undercollateralized,   the S and P said. Oh my god. Oh, the humanity.   Oh, like we've never been here before. Tether's riskier assets, which include Bitcoin, gold, secured loans, corporate bonds, and other investments, which would be   treasury   bonds, with limited disclosure, climbed to 24% of reserves as of September 30, which is up 17% from a year earlier.   S and P said those exposures, along with persistent gaps and transparency   around custodians,   counterparties, and asset composition   drove the revision further down from last year's constrained   score, which I guess was at four.  

A big portion of USDT's reserves is still held held in short term US treasuries   and other cash like assets, but S and P said   the way those reserves are structured   lacks basic investor protection seen in regulated markets,   such as, you know, keeping reserve assets separate from the company's own funds and allowing broad straightforward redemption access.   S and P did, however, note that the stability assessment   could improve,   oh, if Tether reduces exposure   to high risk assets and provides fuller disclosures about reserve composition   and the creditworthiness   of its banking and custody partners. Let's pause right here to say   S and P is in on the game.  

It's a full blown attack,   again,   by the heaviest hitters in all of the industries, which would be the finance industry because money touches everything,   here we are again.   It's like   we we really thought that getting orange man into office was going to cure all our woes. Nope.   It nope. Nope. And even even if he did, you know, even if Orange Man was trying as hard as he possibly could   to rectify all this bullshit, he he really wouldn't be able to.   He he doesn't preside   as president over JPMorgan.   He doesn't tell S and P what to do. He can't pick up the phone and say, call MSCI and say stop.   So really wouldn't have mattered, but we got ourselves into quite the pickle   from a mental situation by actually believing things were gonna get better. They're not. Continuing on, the agency is increasingly focused on Bitcoin linked liquidity risk across the sector.  

Last month, S and P assigned   the Michael Saylor chair Bitcoin Treasury Company strategy a b minus issuer credit rating.   Noting that its balance sheet is overwhelmingly   tied to Bitcoin and vulnerable to a sharp price drop, The speculative grade rating plays strategy in the same bucket of stablecoin issuer Sky Protocol   and reflected what S and P described as shared exposure to liquidity and market volatility shocks.   Despite the risks flagged by S and P, Tether remains by far   the dominant   US dollar peg stablecoin with a circulating supply   of $185,000,000,000.  

Its next largest competitor circle is down at around 75,000,000,000.  

[00:35:37] Unknown:

FUD.   It's just FUD.   We've heard this argument before,  

[00:35:43] David Bennett:

and all these assholes are bringing it up again because they see blood in the water   when Bitcoin goes from 126,000   down to, like, I don't know, what did we plumb, 82,000?   Then you've got every cockroach   under the sun crawling out from whatever rock they're crawling out of because the lights went out for a little bit.   So what's Bitcoin doing today?   I don't know. We'll find out. We'll run the numbers.   CNBC futures and commodities. I got Mervont crude up.   Wow. Three quarters of a point to $64.48.   Brittnorsy up a third to $62.71.   West Texas Intermediate up a half to $58.27.  

Natural gas, not hedging. It's also in the green, one and two thirds to the upside at $4.55   per thousand cubic feet. Gasoline is up two points   to a buck 89 a gallon.   Shiny metal rocks, all in the green. Palladium up 2%. Gold up point 6%   to   $4,165   and 7 dimes.   Platinum is up one and a quarter. Silver is up 3.7%,   $52.85   an ounce.   Copper is up two full points.   Most of ag is in the green today. The biggest winner is corn, 1.6%   to the upside. Biggest loser is coffee,   point 8% to the downside. Live cattle is up. Wow. Two   and three quarters point.  

Lean hogs up two and a half.   Feeder cattle are up two and three quarters point   as well. S and P is up point nine. Nasdaq is up just over one point. The Dow is up point 89%,   and the S and P Mini is up just over one point as well.   89,800.   It looks like at one point or another, we might have peaked right just over $90,000   a coin.   We're at a $1,790,000,000,000   market cap. We can purchase 21.5   ounces of shiny metal rocks with our one Bitcoin, of which there are 19,953,844.91   of.   Average fees per block are low, 0.02   BTC,   taking in fees on a per block basis.  

Seem to be about 28 blocks carrying 40,000 transactions,   waiting to confirm at high priority rates of one sat per v byte. Low priorities get you in at one as well.   Hash rate is still Zeta Hash.   1.06   Zeta Hash,   in fact, which is higher than yesterday's 1.04.   So we have, well, all the protection that we could possibly use and more on the Bitcoin network.   From crack dealers, yesterday's episode of Bitcoin and I got Perma Nerd with 210   sets says hi.   Okay. Well, hi there, Perma Nerd. Jason, hi, with 500 says, happy Thanksgiving.   I will be smoking a small turkey.  

Now here at Oak Grove.  

[00:38:49] Unknown:

Oak Grove, I cannot read this.  

[00:38:52] David Bennett:

I love you, man, but I cannot read this. It is not because it's vile or anything. It's just   I I don't know what's going on here because it looks like he's made, like, comments on several episodes all at once.   He's given me 10,247   sets, so I'm at least gonna read a couple of these.   Says from episode twelve twelve, bought some soap from SoapMiner, used one, and gave three away at the meetup. It was awesome. Also, the first deodorant since the lockdowns. Loved the stuff.   Soon, all the moneyed universities will follow suit or die.   From episode twelve thirteen, he says, bought some freeze dried fruit and looking forward to sharing it as well.  

Something like that is great for the kiddos when times get tougher even if they don't. Regarding El Salvador, I absolutely do not share your optimism for the safety of the head of state there.   Reid   confess   confessions or new oh, yeah. Read confessions   or newer confessions of an economic hitman if you want to see why the IMF   is so keen to loan government money and what they do when the terms aren't met. Yeah.   Okay. I do need to read that book.   Oak Grove, I I I promise you I will.   I do know that the IMF   desperately   wants to make the loans,   but knowing what we do know,   my question isn't that.  

My question is why would anybody put themselves in bed with the IMF?   Because we know they're scum.   We know that they are horrible,   tortured   souls   trapped in a human skin when they long to be the fucking lizard people that they are. My question is never why the IMF wants to make the loan.   That's easy.   My question is always,   why would you take one?   Those people suck. I'm serious. They suck.   Nick Dose with a 110 says cheers. Well, cheers, sir. And Pige with one twenty one. Thank you, sir. No thank you. That's the weather report.   Welcome to part two of the news that you can use.  

Robinhood makes prediction market push with purchase of former FTX platform,   LedgerX.   Will Caney is writing this one for CoinDesk.   Robinhood,   in conjunction with Jeff Yass, Susquehanna   International Group,   looking to boost its presence presence in the burgeoning prediction markets,   business, has agreed to buy 90% of MIAX   Derivatives   Exchange.   Hood shares are higher by 8.3%   in early Wednesday action following the overnight news.   MIAX   is the operator of CFTC   regulated derivatives exchange,   LedgerX,   which it acquired   from failed crypto exchange FTX   in 2023   for $50,000,000.  

MIAX   will remain 10% owner of LedgerX. Quote, the transaction announced today will provide   MIAX,   or I guess, Miacs,   with access   to the growing prediction markets   on an ex   expedited   basis, said Miac CEO Thomas Gallagher.   Wall Street broker Bernstein   said Robinhood's decision to enter prediction markets directly through a joint venture with Susquehanna signals   how central the business has become to the trading app's growth story.   Robinhood now drives more than half of Kalshi's trading volume and is pulling in over $300,000,000   in annual   recurring revenue from prediction markets fueled by 9,000,000,000 contracts traded by more than 1,000,000 users.  

You spelled degenerate gambling wrong, but whatever.   Analysts led by Gautam   wrote in the Wednesday report.   The analyst argued that by adding its own liquidity, Robinhood can broaden its product mix, lift volumes, and boost its take rate while still distributing Kalshi contracts alongside its own.   Pausing one more time, take rate.   You know who else has a take rate?   Vegas casinos.   The house   never loses   because the house   does math   and that's where they get the take rate.   This   is gambling   It's   degenerate   It has no place   for a healthy human   mind   moving their life   forward   Stop   gambling.  

It's fucking ridiculous.   It provides no benefit   at all.   You will eventually   lose more than you win.   That's all I'm gonna say about that one.   Bernstein also expects outperform   rated Coinbase to unveil its own prediction   markets product,   at its December 17 event. Though it remains unclear whether the exchange will act mainly as a distributor or build liquidity through a white label partner, PolyMarkets   newly secured   CFTC clearance to launch   intermediate markets   will further shake up the landscape, giving the international leader   a pathway to aggressively expand into US partnerships, the analyst noted.  

Prediction markets are evolving   into a two tier structure of liquidity venues and distributors   with platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket   needing access to larger retail audience   through brokers,   crypto exchanges,   and even blockchain   ecosystems   like Solana, the report said. Bernstein argued that Robinhood's 14,000,000   active traders, he spelled degenerative gamblers wrong again,   give it an unmatched demographic fit and the leverage to assert a bigger claim on the sector's revenue pool.   The broker reaffirmed its outperform rating on Robinhood shares at and a $160   price target.  

So   it's not enough  

[00:45:10] Unknown:

to gamble on the stock market, which is all it's become and has been for years.   No. No. No. No. Now we've gotta add just sports book.   And  

[00:45:21] David Bennett:

I know that there are people out there that listen, that love love to gamble,   and you don't understand why I have such a problem with it. I will say this,   I've never gambled.   Not not on not on something like Vegas. I've I've never bet, like, a 20 down on,   I don't know, like, a a Cowboys football game or something like that. I've I've just won't do it. The the closest that I've come to gambling   was when me and a buddy were basically got so good we got so good at pool that we were smoking every Tom, Dick, and Harry that that any swinging dick that came our way to the pool table, which we basically would own for as long as we wanted to own it,   they would want to bet us money.  

And both of us had agreed after we got really good, and we didn't mean to get so good. We just were playing pool all the time because it was fun.   But we got so good that when people started betting us money, we had an agreement. We were like, no. We are not taking money.   The only thing that we would bet on a pool table or on a pool game   was loser buys the round   of drinks.   Whatever you want. We were always drinking beer so that, you know, everybody got off easy with us.   And if we we and we would lose every once in a while and we would buy the round of drinks, but no money.   It was an absolute rule. And if if and there was a there was a time when we walked away from a table. It was getting late anyway, and we were thinking about going home. But somebody was adamant,   didn't wanna play for drinks. They wanted to play for cash money because that's the way the game's played, and we're like, have the table.  

See you.   That's   how I kind of approach gambling.   I have one friend who does go to Vegas. He's the only person I know that can do it right.   He's like, I take a thousand dollars. That's my gambling money. If I walk away with more money than I gambled,   that's gravy. If I lose it all over the week or three days that I'm in in Vegas,   that's fine too. What I will not do   is consider that thousand dollars as something that's important. It's fun money. I've earmarked it as fun money. That's what I'm gonna do with it. And if I lose it all, it's okay because I've already budgeted that in. But will what what he would never do   is go to the bank and withdraw more money. He knew exactly where his cutoff was. He's the only person that I've ever seen   actually understand what gambling   technically is and how it should be treated.  

Everybody else that I've ever seen,   they don't understand what gambling actually is. And it's a very, very dangerous thing to get into if you do not have the correct mindset.   And I do not have the correct mindset for it for it. I won't even go to Vegas. I literally don't give a shit. Cathie Wood probably goes to Vegas because she does quite a bunch of betting herself.   Cathie Wood's Ark Invest has loaded up on Google,   Coinbase,   Circle, and Bitcoin ETF shares.   This from Logan Hitchcock, decrypt.co.   ARK Invest continues to add shares of crypto related equities   and major tech stocks across its actively managed ETFs   highlighted by its Tuesday addition of more than a 174,000   shares of Google parent company Alphabet   valued at more than 56,000,000.  

Cathie Wood's investment management firm also added another 3,750,000.00   worth of shares in crypto exchange Coinbase,   $7,000,000   worth of the stablecoin issuer Circle, and nearly $2,000,000   worth of its own Bitcoin ETF, the ARC twenty one shares   Bitcoin ETF.   Its major Google acquisition comes just a week after the tech firm unveiled its most powerful AI model yet, Gemini three. The firm is also engaged in talks   with major cloud firms about purchasing its in house chips,   according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.   And then they go on and and talk about the analysis of Google and all that kind of stuff.  

What you really need to know here is that Cathie Wood   had been selling out of a bunch of crypto stuff, and now she's buying back in.   Could signal that she's that she well,   to me, it signals definitely that Cathie Wood   sees a bottom   or saw a bottom and said, okay. We start buying here.   Do I believe what Cathie Wood says? No. Why? She's human, and she could be wrong. I do not I'm I'm not gonna play that game. However, if you're   if you're looking,   if your soul needs to be sated by at least one person who seems to not fuck up all the time,   Cathie Wood would be it. She seems to be buying back into Bitcoin with the ETF, and she's buying her own dog food.  

That probably   means that she sees   at least she sees   a bottom to the market.   We don't know what the hell the European Central Bank sees, but they have issued a warning.   Stablecoins   could threaten financial stability.   Yes. We understand that they've been saying this a long for a long time. I've reported on it at least three times.   Let's see what this one says. Let's see if there's anything different out of Atlas 21. The ECB has published a report expressing concern   over the rapid expansion of the stablecoin market.   Having previously described them as confusing and vulnerable,   the Frankfurt based institution   highlights once more   the potential dangers associated with these particular digital assets according to the ECB document,   growing investor interest in recent global regulatory   developments   have pushed stablecoin capitalization to new records.  

This boom, the European Monetary Authority warns, could pose a potential threat to the stability of the   financial system.   The main weakness identified by the ECB concerns investor confidence.   Stablecoin's   primary vulnerability is that investors lose confidence that they can be redeemed at par.   This loss of faith can simultaneously trigger a run on a stablecoin and cause a depegging event,   end quote.   The key point   involves   the two largest stablecoins by capitalization,   Tether and Circle. These tokens are among the main holders   of US Treasury securities and have recently acquired massive amounts of short term treasuries.  

The ECB highlights that a redemption rush for these stablecoins   could force sales of those reserves with repercussions   of the functioning of US Treasury markets, pausing to say that's not Tether and Circle's problem.   That's   sovereign nations   fucking up the money in the first place. The whole reason we're here is because they destroyed the money twenty years ago, we're just now seeing the effects of it. So   it this is not Tether and Circle's problem.   Sure. What they say is true.   It could cause a depegging. It could cause a rush to the exits. And, yes, it could cause,   you know, Tether and Circle to sell their short term treasuries to cover a whole bunch of costs and whatnot or be able to cover the redemptions,   and that would definitely   cause problems in the financial market. But those are your own chickens coming home to roost. That's not Tether's fault. That's not Circle's fault. As much as I don't like Jeremy Allaire, it's not Circle's fault.  

That's   your fault.   You caused this problem.   This is all on you,   the ECB,   and the Federal Reserve,   and any of the smaller central banks around the world. But after the ECB and the Federal Reserve, there's not a whole lot left. Anyway, the ECB notes   or   rather hold on.   Yeah. Yeah. The ECB notes   that the financial stability   risks from stablecoins are limited within the Euro Area   since most of these tokens are pegged to US assets. Quote, moreover,   US dollar denominated stablecoins   dominate in the stablecoin market, limiting stablecoins interconnections   with Euro Area financial markets through their reserve assets, it noted.  

Well, nevertheless,   the rapidly growing use of these instrumentations   require   careful and continuous   monitoring the institution emphasizes.   Again, that's the end of the article. But just to reiterate,   this   is your fault, ECB.   This is your fault, Federal Reserve.   This   is your fault.   These are your chickens.   They will come home to roost upon your shoulders   and shit down your backs. If you've ever had a chicken sit on your shoulder for any length of time, you know what I'm talking about. This goes for parrots too. In either event,   this is not a tether problem. It's not a circle problem. This is not a stable coin problem.  

This   is the complete   and   utter destruction   of anything that could be considered   good   when it came to money   because it doesn't exist anymore.   That's why we are here.   We wouldn't even be here if you guys   hadn't have set the chickens out to free range.   Let's go to Thailand, take a break. Yeah. I don't know. Get a Mai Tai or something like that.   Thailand asks Sam Altman's world   to delete 1,200,000   iris scans over data risks.   Too late. I'm just gonna say it right now.   You're   too late.   Kelvin Parks, Cointelegraph,   tell me more. Authorities in Thailand have officially requested World,   a Sam Altman backed digital identity project, also known as Worldcoin, if you did not know, to suspend operations   and delete all user identification   data.  

You're   too late.   Thailand's economic and social development board, the country's strategic planning agency, has ordered World to delete iris scans of 1,200,000   local users   according to a statement.   The order detailed the World's   iris scanning in exchange for its World coin   token   violated Thailand's personal data protection act, which governs the collection use and disclosure of personal data. The suspension came weeks after the authorities raided   one of world's iris scanning locations in October   amid allegations of potential digital asset law violations.   World Thailand,   which is represented by TIDC   WorldVerse   per local reports, has paused local verifications according to a statement on x shared on Sunday.  

World has also removed Thailand from the list of available countries with orb locations. Quote,   this order   comes despite our compliance with local laws and regulations   and having presented information to regulators openly and transparently, the company said.   World Thailand emphasized that the   halt negatively   impacts millions of Thai users who have adopted the digital identity technology to help protect them from scams, identity theft, and AI driven fraud.   Bullshit. World is not protecting anybody from anything. It is a scam, pure and simple. People got duped   into   giving away  

[00:56:54] Unknown:

their personal identity that they can never get back   for a cheap,   printable   token.  

[00:57:01] David Bennett:

You know what Napoleon said about little bits of ribbon?   It was a quote that I remember,   and I'm talking about,   Napoleon Bonaparte, the the dude, the the French guy that kept getting in fucking trouble by, you know, attacking Russia and shit, although he was one hell of a commander.   He didn't win against Russia, but he was one hell of a commander. Anyway, he said that  

[00:57:24] Unknown:

men,   grown men,   will fight and die   for little bits   of colored ribbon.  

[00:57:38] David Bennett:

Let's let that sink in for you. Okay?   Quote,   we remain   committed to building a safer digital reality today and in the future for ties   and continue to engage constructively with relevant Thai authorities,   including m d m d e s p d p c on a path forward.   Cointelegraph   approached world developers,   tools for human or tools of humanity for comment regarding, but, nah, they didn't say nothing.   Since launching under its former name Worldcoin   in July   2023,   World has faced multiple regulatory challenges worldwide.   I don't give a shit. I honestly don't care. Nobody should be allowing this crap to come into their country   because it's too late.  

Once they have   your citizens'   iris scan,   there's no going back.   And cameras   like, the way that they're the way camera technology is   is getting,   it is not gonna surprise me if you can't scan somebody's iris from across the street.   Don't don't laugh   because you keep you know, and and I,   let's say we, we keep thinking of these cameras   as the way that we've always thought about cameras.   Right? With little lenses   and and it's got some zoom functions. But if when you zoom in too much, things get get funky. There's no possible way   that anybody would be able to see into somebody's, you know, to the to the back of the you know, to do an iris scan or or a retinal scan.  

Yeah. Both of those can actually fucking occur. Right?   We think it has to happen with a specialized lens of highest quality   from up close and personal,   but that distance and that quality,   that quality is gonna be able to be, you know, standard.   Right? Very high quality. Even in even in stuff like plastic lenses,   that quality, we don't have to worry about that. What we are gonna worry about is the fact that it doesn't have to be up close and personal anymore.   And the longer we go through time, the farther and farther away those cameras are gonna get. Will they even use lenses? Maybe they'll just be using, like, low level, like, laser scanners.   Who knows?  

It's not about it being a camera.   It's about something being   an imaging device.   I don't care how it images the thing,   but an image will be captured.   And if it can be captured in 1,200,000   ties, irises have already been captured, you're gonna be able to scan them from across the street.   But these guys have waited too long   to figure out that they got hosed.   So therefore,   now they're scrambling to get all of the data back. It's   too late.   Don't ever let anybody don't do never,   never let anybody scan your iris.   You go to the ophthalmologist or optometrist or whatever and they check your eye, and they they'll they will ask you, do you want us to do a a digital scan of your retina? Don't.   They can see your retina just fine. They don't need a picture of it. If there's a problem, they can see it where they are.  

Unless you get told that you need an iris scan because they need to send the digital data to a specialist because you do have something major wrong,   well, then that's on you to to you know?   You gotta make that decision for yourself. Nobody can make it for you. But if you don't feel comfortable   having your iris digitally scanned or your retina digitally scanned, then just   don't.   I don't know what else to say about that.   Tomorrow,   by the way, is Thanksgiving,   and I will not be producing a show on Thanksgiving Day.   I will definitely do everything that I can to come back on Friday,   But tomorrow,   that's for me, and it should also be for you. 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.