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Episode 1223 of Bitcoin And . . . is LIVE!

Topics for today: 

• Larry Finks on Himself
• Sign Samouri Pardon Petition
• Connecticut Boots Kalshi et. al.
• Charles Schwab Now on Deck!
• Reform UK Gets Record Donation 

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Today's Articles:

 
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/blackrock-ceo-says-he-was-wrong-about-btc

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-policy-institute-samourai-pardon

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/12/04/citadel-challenges-defi-framework-in-letter-to-sec-sparking-industry-outrage

https://decrypt.co/350874/connecticut-kalshi-robinhood-crypto-com-halt-unlicensed-online-gambling

https://www.theblock.co/post/381324/strategy-sell-its-bitcoin-bitwise-cio

https://atlas21.com/charles-schwab-to-launch-bitcoin-and-ether-trading-in-2026/

https://cointelegraph.com/news/reform-uk-record-crypto-donation-christopher-harborne

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/polymarket-rolls-out-us-app

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[00:00:02] David Bennett:

It is 09:44AM   Pacific Standard Time. It is the December   2025,   and this is episode   twelve twenty three of Bitcoin and BlackRock.   BlackRock's Larry Fink has   completely   switched his tone.   That will be first up for today's news that you can use about Bitcoin and more. And then we got   a call for samurai   pardon.   And there's a petition out there. I'll tell you all about it. You can go sign it. I the u the URL to the story that contains the URL   to the petition will be in the show notes.   So go sign it.   We need these guys out. This is has become ridiculous. It's been ridiculous for the entirety of this time.   This shit needs to stop. And then   Citadel   Citadel Securities is urging this   the the Securities and Exchange Commission   about DeFi.  

And rightly so, because as DeFi stands right now, it is nothing but this massive grift slash   Ponzi scheme, and it's completely unsafe, and it's   never been safe.   And people keep   keep piling into it.   Every once in a while, institutions,   government and otherwise,   have a tendency sometimes every once in a while to   get something right,   I believe that in this particular case, they are exactly right. You need to stay away from decentralized   finance   until it actually becomes   something that looks like decentralized finance   and not a way to steal all of your money   and let the founders go off and sip mai tais on a beach somewhere.  

Strategy is not going to sell its Bitcoin.   Well, that's according to somebody else. That's not directly from Saylor.   This is from the Bitwise   CIO. So we'll see what he has to say. And then Charles Schwab   getting into the game.   I'm telling you, the Domino's,   this is where you see the rack of dominoes on the floor   start falling in rapidity.   Then   Reform UK, I was talking about this yesterday.   Reform UK gets $12,000,000   in an election donation.   We'll bring it to you and and and marry it up with what we were talking about yesterday. I this is so funny.   And then and then   Bitcoin and crypto prediction platform, Polymarket,   there's an app for that.  

So if you wanted a quick way to gamble and lose all your money and be in the poor house and get your ass divorced and have the kids taken away from you because you're just that   stupid   because you're gambling,   well, PolyMarkets   got the app just for you. But let's let's run back over to the front.   BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says he was wrong   about Bitcoin.   And he reveals a big shift   in his view. Micah Zimmerman from Bitcoin magazine starts us off today. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has shifted his perspective on Bitcoin, and he openly acknowledged the change.   Speaking at the NYT   deal book summit on Wednesday, Fink stated   that he now sees potential in Bitcoin.  

I gotta pause.   You didn't see potential in Bitcoin when you launched the ETF?   So you just launched these products, so you don't care if they have whatever, dude. Fink was once a vocal critic   who famously labeled Bitcoin as an index for money laundering.   Well, today, Fink described Bitcoin   as an asset of fear.   Not too much more terribly helpful there, mister Fink. He was elaborating that investors frequently purchase it in response to concerns about financial security, geopolitical instability,   or the ongoing debasement of traditional assets caused by growing deficits.   I might add money printing to that. Quote,   if you bought it for a trade,   it's a very volatile asset. You're going to have to be really good at market timing,   which most people aren't.  

If you're buying it as a hedge against all your hope,   then   it has a meaningful impact on a portfolio.   The other big problem of Bitcoin is it's still heavily influenced by leveraged   players, Fink said.   Fink, speaking alongside   Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, noted that market movements like recent 20 to 25%   drawdown in Bitcoin   often reflect broader events such as trade agreements with China or potential settlements in Ukraine.   Despite all of this,   Fink still suggested it can serve as   meaningful portfolio   insurance for those holding it as a hedge   rather than for short term trading.  

Fink emphasized that his perspective has evolved throughout the years of client interactions   and discussions with policymakers calling his change of heart a very glaring public example of the need to reassess   one's strong opinions.   Meanwhile, BlackRock, the $13,500,000,000,000   asset manager Fink helped build, now offers several crypto products, including a major Bitcoin ETF marking a stark   contrast to his earlier skepticisms.   Quote, there is no chance   that Bitcoin goes to zero, said mister Armstrong,   who sat beside Fink.   Fink also shared an optimistic view for the asset, quote, I see a big, large use case for Bitcoin, he said.  

This I'm sorry, but this kinda smacks at somebody who still doesn't get it.   Let's finish this off. Back in October, BlackRock said they were developing technology to tokenize   a wide range of asset, including real estate, equities, and bonds.   Fink said at the time that global digital wallets held over $4,500,000,000,000   across crypto, stablecoins,   and tokenized assets. He noted much of this capital was outside of The US presenting opportunities to reach new investors.   Fink said tokenization   could allow crypto entrants to access traditional long term products like retirement funds.   He described Bitcoin and crypto as serving a similar purpose to gold.  

I'm sorry. That's the end of the article, but this man just he still doesn't get it.   And   this is this is why I really wanted to bring you this particular   story today. It's not really as much that Fink is   starting to, quote, unquote, come around because   I I think he already came around.   I think he basically stopped looking at Bitcoin as an asset or an index for money laundering and actually said, no. There's some value here.   But he still hasn't discovered what that value is.   This is Larry Fink.   He's not an idiot. He's never been an idiot.   He's probably   very, you know, very bright. I'm absolutely certain of it because he is a billionaire.  

That said, it doesn't mean that you automatically   necessarily,   quote unquote, get something   or understand it   simply because you're smart.   That's not the way the world works.   You have to really dive into something. You can be dumb as a post.   And if you dive into something long enough,   you'll get it. You'll understand it because it's more about desire   as much as it is about being able to have the capacity to understand, you know, sentences and words and grammar and numbers and shit like that. It really boils down to, do you have the desire   to understand a thing? Because if you do,   by god, you will end up understanding that thing whether or not you're an autistic screecher   or some kind of highfalutin   university president.  

I'm just I'm just putting that out there. Fink doesn't understand Bitcoin.   And the the here's the here's the thing that I really want to,   really want to,   what am I trying to say? I wanna center on this.   Fink described Bitcoin as an asset   of   fear.   This is not true.   And it locks in perfectly with a well known tweeter   that's been tweeting that Bitcoin is a lie. And I I can't remember. Is it Jason something?   It's not it's not the dude that wrote the book, Software. It's not that Jason. It's some other Jason guy. And he's been making the rounds because he said something obviously stupid.   He clearly doesn't get Bitcoin, but he got a lot of traction on the tweet. So my first advice is stop doing that. Stop giving these people attention.  

The second thing is is what he said   was that he wrote a whole piece,   an entire blog post   that was not just Bitcoin is a lie and Bitcoin is gonna fail and all the the usual fud we hear.   He centered his argument   that, quote,   Bitcoin   is for enemies.   And then he went on to say, just look at the Bitcoin maximalist.   That's what they call it.   They say that all the time. Bitcoin is for enemies.   Here is a man that clearly doesn't understand what that message actually means.   He thinks, and he wrote about it at length in his blog post,   that Bitcoin is a negative   because   Bitcoin   is for enemies.  

Not just the Bitcoin maximalists say that,   but if he's when he says he's just looking at that label saying Bitcoin is for enemies, enemies equals bad. Therefore, Bitcoin equals bad.   This is the most shortsighted view. And here we have Larry Fink,   who clearly doesn't need a blog to make money.   This is a man who's got more money than God.   He's looking at Bitcoin as an asset of fear.   These negative connotations   do not help.   One,   Bitcoin is certainly not an asset of fear.   But the line that Bitcoin is for enemies,   that is true.  

And it's not negative.   It is simply a stated fact of the universe.   Anybody can buy Bitcoin.   We might look at Larry Fink as the very enemy of Bitcoin, yet he's able to buy a whole shitload of it, and he has,   for all of his customers that want a piece of it.   But many people   look at iBit and this whole BlackRock Larry Fink Bitcoin trust   fund thing, whatever you wanna call it, this ETF,   as clearly the enemy. And yet you,   I, and nobody else in the world   can do a damn thing about it, unless, of course, the United States government makes it completely illegal for BlackRock to hold it. Then BlackRock will probably open up a subsidiary somewhere else in some other country, domicile it over there, and then they will buy Bitcoin.   So   good luck with all of that making it illegal bullshit.  

Bitcoin is for enemies.   It is not a negative,   yet this is the kind of FUD that we are dealing with. This is somebody who's reaching back into as far back into the past as he possibly can to find anything   that will help him   assuage his sadness for not buying Bitcoin at $11   a coin. And I didn't buy it at $11 a coin either.   So there you go. I mean and I'm not crying about it. But the Bitcoin Policy Institute,   they are   crying. They are crying for a samurai pardon as their petition tops 3,200   signatures.   Christina Combin was writing for Cointelegraph   calls for a presidential pardon for samurai wallet developers,   Keone Rodriguez   and William Lonergan,   are swelling   with Bitcoin advocates and policy groups urging US president Donald Trump to intervene before the pair are due to report to prison next year. Rodriguez and Hill were sentenced in November to five and four years in prison respectively   after pleading guilty to conspire   conspiring   to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.  

Under a plea deal, each admitted only to conspiring to run an unlicensed money transmitting business   with the laundering charge dropped.   Both are due to report into prison in early January twenty twenty six unless a pardon can be secured. High profile figures in the Bitcoin community have voiced their support for pardons, including   veteran broadcaster and Bitcoin advocate, Mike or Mike, Max Keiser, Bitcoin media entrepreneur, Marty Bent, and host of the Bitcoin podcast, Walker America.   The Bitcoin Policy Institute's Jack Shapiro made a case for a full pardon, arguing that the samurai case misapplies   federal money transmission laws to noncustodial   software.  

On December 2, the Bitcoin Policy Institute published a detailed case in favor of pardoning the samurai developers,   arguing that the prosecution was based on a misapplication of federal money transmission law, and   that non custodial tools fall outside   of the BSA's   money transmitter framework.   In BPI's view,   treating the samurai developers as money transmitters erases the long standing legal distinction between software publishers   and financial intermediaries.   The institute   further warns that allowing the convictions to stand   risks chilling innovation in privacy preserving Bitcoin tools in The United States,   pausing to say it'll chill a lot more than that.  

It will chill a lot more than that.   Because nobody will know. If I write this particular piece of code and somebody uses it somewhere else, am I gonna go to jail for it? There's all manner of problems here, ladies and gentlemen. But continuing on,   from BPI's   perspective,   quote, a pardon would correct a clear misapplication of federal law,   protect the integrity of long standing distinctions in financial regulation, and reaffirm   that publishing noncustodial   software is not and should not become   a criminal act.   The petition to pardon the samurai developers   had acquired more than 3,200 signatures at the time of writing with support from the Bitcoin community and beyond.  

Walker America posted on December 2,   quote, president Trump should pardon the samurai wallet developers. If real Donald Trump, and that's his Twitter handle,   truly wants America to be the Bitcoin capital of the world, then our government   must not unjustly incarcerate Bitcoin developers while turning a blind eye to big bankers' crimes,   end quote.   Max Keiser tagged Eric Trump on November 8, writing, Eric, time to step it up, as the samurai case reached the inner circle of Trump world influencers.   The Libertarian Party of Oregon   also weighed in with support for a pardon and freedom of expression,   arguing that code   is speech.  

And he's referring to a ninth circuit court of appeals case that allowed   cryptography   to actually   be   used and not classified   as a munition.   That's a whole that's a whole deal that happened in the early nineties.   The backdrop or I'm sorry. Assuming   since assuming office, Trump has built a notable track record of issuing crypto adjacent pardons, including high profile clemency for Silk Road founder, Ross Ulbricht, and Binance founder, Changpeng Zhao.   Well, that backdrop has led some in the Bitcoin community to question the optics   of how pardons are being deployed.  

A billionaire exchange founder involved in a sprawling compliance scandal receives a pardon while two open source wallet developers serve four and five year terms?   Quote, the perceived corruption associated with the CZ pardon will look even worse if the samurai wallet devs aren't pardoned for similar charges. I love how they're doing this. How much of World Liberty Financial's USD 1 stablecoin does one need to hold   to receive a pardon?   Bitcoin researcher Kyle Torpey commented. Yeah. Good for you, pal. The clock is ticking, though, and advocates say what happens in the coming weeks will say as much about the future of privacy focused Bitcoin development   in The US as it does about the fate of the two coders that are heading for prison. Alright. So that's the end of the article.  

I want to center in on this.   Quote,   this is Kyle Torpy   commenting.   The perceived corruption associated with the CZ pardon will look even worse if the samurai wallet developers aren't pardoned for similar charges.   How much World Liberty Financial's USD 1 stablecoin does one need to hold to receive   a pardon.   This   is a   classic   classic maneuver.   And,   for what it's being used for,   I'm I'm on board.   Fuck them. I'm screw them. Yes. Absolutely.   Put the tinge of corruption   in front of the candlelight   and shine it directly on the Trump administration.   That's not that I hate Trump.  

That's not it.   If if I get what I want   and I use a tool that doesn't hurt anybody,   I'm going to use it. And this is a tool.   This is a narrative that's being spun up by Kyle that's saying,   if you don't do this,   we will know   you were doing some corrupt bullshit behind the scenes with Changpeng Zhao and Binance.   We will know it   100%.   There won't be any question left.   This puts at least tries   to put pressure on the Trump administration   to get what we want. And, again,   I'm all for it. Let her rip. Let's   fucking   go.   Let's go over to Citadel Citadel though. Citadel challenges,   DeFi framework in a letter to the SEC, sparking   industry   outrage. Oh, the hawk, the humanity.  

Oh my god.   Oliver   Knight. Oh, let's cry through it together with CoinDesk.   Lacitadel Securities urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission to take a cautious approach towards decentralized finance,   arguing   that certain systems dealing in tokenized US equities may resemble   regulated market infrastructure and should be evaluated accordingly.   The crypto industry took to social media to express its outrage   after the December 2 letter   submitted as part of the consultation   on how federal securities laws should apply to crypto trading platforms became public.   The SEC   widely viewed as   skeptical of the crypto sector under former chair Gary Gensler,   has taken a more conciliatory   conciliatory   approach since president Donald Trump's return to the White House. Under Gensler,   The agency argued that most, if not all, digital assets   fell under existing securities laws.  

His tenure set the tone for the more confrontational   regulatory landscape, particularly   towards DeFi.   In its letter, Citadel said many automated protocols bring together buyers and sellers in ways   comparable to traditional exchanges   even if the mechanics rely on smart contracts rather than centralized   operators.   As these systems can execute trades using preset rules, Citadel argued   they may satisfy definitions tied to exchanges   or broker dealers, particularly when they facilitate transactions in security linked products.   Citadel also said any regulatory relief should come only after a clear examination of investor protection implications,   warning   that inconsistent   oversight across tokenized and traditional markets could lead to gaps in transparency and compliance.  

The crypto community erupted. Oh my god. They erupted y'all.   That'll fix it. The the crypto community erupted on social media. Uniswap creator Hayden Adams criticized the submission,   saying it effectively sought to treat open source developers as if they were centralized intermediaries.   Pause.   What were we just saying about   narrative   spin?   In this case, he's using narrative spin to effectively   hurt the people that want to get into decentralized finance because that's all that shit does right now. It's hack after hack after hack, rug pull after rug pull after rug pull. And here, this shithead,   Hayden Adams,   is doing the exact same thing that Kyle Porpy was doing with narrative spin, except this time it would hurt people.  

It effectively   sought to treat open source developers as if they were centralized intermediaries.   In this particular case,   it yes. I know. It's slippery slope. I don't care.   Stop stealing from people,   and maybe I won't be so adamant as to why and how DeFi is nothing but a scam   landscape.   Meticulously   constructed   to do one thing and one thing only, and that's take   your   money.   But he Hayden Adams isn't done. He also pushed back on Citadel's   claim that DeFi cannot guarantee fair access, arguing that permissionless protocols   expand   rather than restrict participation.  

Crypto policy expert, BlockProf   added, quote,   Citadel just declared war on project crypto. Oh my god.   It's it's been project crypto all this time, y'all. It's it's a moonshot, I guess. Taking up arguments made by Gensler in his failed attempt to regulate DeFi and attacking the points made by commissioner Hester Pierce in her dissent.   The opposition letters will be   extensive.   Stay tuned. Oh my god. You're going to write strongly worded letters.   Well, Hayden, I'm sorry for you, but you exist   in a fog of absolute   and utter   scam   tomfoolery.  

It's tomfoolery.   It's all that shit is. Alright. Greatghee@greatghee.com.   Go get your ghee. What is ghee?   Dude, it's clarified butter, and it's made from   100%   grass fed   cows.   So how's it made? Check it out, man.   Ghee or clarified butter is made by simmering butter to remove water,   milk solids, and impurities, leaving behind a golden lactose free oil with a nutty flavor and high smoke point, which is around 485   degrees Fahrenheit. That's hot, y'all. And for my European guys, that's 252   degrees c.   Unlike regular butter, ghee is shelf stable and versatile for cooking. Shelf stable is the important part.   You can only keep butter out on the counter for so long before it's gonna go bad because the the fat in the butter is gonna oxidize.  

Yeah. It's like it it kinda needs to be, you know, refrigerated   longer term,   But ghee is different   because   it has all of the water   removed from it. It is a it becomes a very, very, very   inhospitable   environment for bacteria and fungi and   other possible critters that you don't want in your gut system   inhabiting. Right?   Honey's the same way. At 14%   moisture,   honey doesn't allow.   It does not allow for bacterial or fungal growth. Sure. I guess if you keep it around long enough and you expose it to the air, you know, several times to get all kinds of critters in there, yeah, I suppose   at one point or another, you could get some some nasty shit growing. But generally speaking,   the amount of of water that's in honey, and in this case, ghee, it doesn't allow for bacterial growth. This is why you don't have to refrigerate this stuff.  

You can just keep it on the counter, man. And it's great. It's great for cooking. It's great for put putting on steak. If you make Indian food, it's absolutely critical to have ghee. So get your ghee at greatghee.com.   That's greatghee.com,   and make sure you tell greatghee@greatghee.com   that that I sent you here. You buy something from great ghee, make sure you use the coupon code bitcoin and because that way it'll let great ghee over at greatghee.com   know   that I made a sale for him here on the circle p. It's where I bring plebs   with goods and services to you,   plebs that want to buy goods and services, but you wanna buy it in Bitcoin. So   if you're not selling your goods and services in Bitcoin, you're not in the Circle p.  

That's rule number one,   and you have to be a pleb. Right? You can't be a big old, you know, a big old corporation or something like that. That's what the Circle p is here for. So go get your ghee. Go getgreatghee.com.   Go getgreatghee.com.   Use Bitcoin and as a coupon code, and that way he will be able to, you know, throw me some sats on the other side.   On   to Connecticut,   where they've ordered Kalshi, Robinhood, and crypto.com   to halt   unlicensed   online   gambling.   Yeah. You know how I feel about gambling. Decrypt.co.   It's written by Vince De Aquino.  

Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection   has ordered robinhoodcrypto.com   and the prediction market cow sheet to halt operations   over what it has labeled as unlicensed   online sports gambling in the state. It I was wondering when this shit was going to happen   because that's what this is.   Oh, it's not gambling because I'm I'm I'm on a prediction market, and I'm predicting that the Colts will win. Oh, no. That's gambling, son. It's just that your bookie is digital. Whatever.   In a notice released on Wednesday,   the agency's gaming division said it issued cease and desist letters directing all three platforms to stop offering sports event contracts to Connecticut residents and allow local users to withdraw their funds.  

The department warned that noncompliance would trigger civil penalties and criminal sanctions   under state gaming and consumer protection laws.   Only licensed entities may offer sports wagering in the state of Connecticut. None of these entities possess such a license to offer wagering in our state, Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Brian t Caffarelli.   I'm gonna be I'm gonna be called a racist after I make my following comments.   Brian t Caffarelli   said in a statement, now here's the pause.   Caffarelli.  

Yeah. I don't mean to be racist, but mafia   gaming.   I mean, how many how many pieces do you have to put together before the puzzle becomes clear?   Gaming,   state gaming associations,   federal gaming, whatever.   This this is literally   literally   the first   entry point of organized crime   in The United States.   How to get the gaming license? Do you think all the you know, most of the casinos in Las Vegas when Las Vegas first, you know,   was born, do you think that they were all above board? No. Of course not.   Of course, it was all mafia. It was Chicago mafia. It was New York mafia. It was, I don't know, wherever mafia was, Kansas City mafia.   All of that shit.  

There has always been a massive tie between   organized crime, I e mafia,   and gaming commissions.   And we see it happening here. This is a shakedown.   That's what the this is. Give me your protection money.   So the next thing that will happen, I guarantee you, is that they will apply for licenses,   and there will be under the table dealings, and they will pay millions upon millions upon millions of dollars more than they should under the table in an illegal transaction   so that they will be able to procure   the gaming license from mister   kneecapper   Caffarelli.  

Anyway, quote, even if they did,   their contracts violate numerous other state laws and policies,   Caffarelli   added. The move deepens the national fight over whether app based prediction markets should be regulated as gambling products   under the state law or as derivatives under federal oversight.   Bringing Robinhood and crypto.com   into the same   conversation as Kalshi also signals that regulators are increasingly willing to treat on chain outcome based financial products as   sports betting.   Quote, as other courts have recognized, Kalshi is a regulated nationwide exchange for real world events, and it is subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction,   a company spokesperson told Decrypt.  

Kalshi services are, quote, very different   from what state regulated   sportsbooks and casinos offer their customers, they said,   noting that they have filed a lawsuit in federal court.   Roughly 74%   of the bets on Kalshi are for sports related markets according to a Dune Pass   dashboard.   The cease and desist order comes as these platforms continue to address issues related to gambling law and federal derivatives regulation.   Right before Thanksgiving last week, Calshi secured relief in Nevada after a federal judge ruled that Calshi could not be prosecuted   under the state's gambling statutes while it pursues a challenge against regulators.  

In October, a US federal court   denied crypto.com's   request for a preliminary injunction, and the platform agreed to suspend all sports event market operations in Nevada   while it appeals. Connecticut's   modern online gambling framework traces back to SB one four six introduced in the 2021   legislative session.   It authorized   online sports wagering,   online casino gaming,   online lottery sales, and online   keno   under a tightly controlled licensing structure.   The bill's language codified that only three master wagering license holders   could operate statewide,   the Mashinucket   Pequot tribal nation,   the Mohegan Tribe,   and the Connecticut Lottery Corp Connecticut Lottery Corporation.  

The statutory structure was later enacted by public act 21 dash 23, which formalized the tribal   state compact amendments   granting the tribe's   exclusive rights to online casino gaming and two of the three available statewide sports betting skins,   while assigning the third sports betting license to the state lottery.   Following the law's passage and the Department of the Interior's federal approval of the compact amendments, the Connecticut   Department of Consumer Protection issued detail   implementing regulations   February   2022. Okay. So they've only got three licenses.  

So they'd have to actually spin up a fourth license   for these guys,   and only one of them would be able to get it unless they were all collapsed together in the same company, and then, like, it's sort of like a it would be sort of like a tribe thing.   So there looks like there's not gonna be any kind of way that Kalshi can do this. So we'll   we'll have to see how this one plays out. How are the dealings going to proceed?   Is it gonna be like a are they gonna pose a is this is a regulatory question that remains unanswered, and therefore, we we don't really come in line under the state gaming structures?   We're more federal regulated.  

Or is it gonna be that they sue for a fourth   gaming license in the state of Connecticut alongside the two tribes in the state lottery commission?   We'll see how this turns out. Let let's run the numbers.   CNBC   Futures and Commodities and, woo doggy.   Energy is looking good today. Brent, North Sea is up one and a quarter percent to $63.44   a barrel.   West Texas Intermediate   is up one and a half to $59.86,   almost to 60.   Come on, man. Be the little train that could. Natural gas is acting as the hedge today. It's down point 58%,   but still damn near close to $5   a thousand cubic feet at $4.96.  

Gasoline is up a quarter of a point to a buck 83 a gallon. Murbin crude is up just over a point to $65   and 2 dimes a barrel.   Shiny metal rocks not doing well today except for gold,   which is up point   23%   to forty two forty two and three dimes. Palladium is down 1.6.   Platinum is down point three. Silver is down point or no. Actually, two full points to $57.45   an ounce, and copper is down   a half point. And then we got ag, which is mostly in the green today. Biggest winner is   it's rough rice. Two point o 2% to the upside.   Biggest loser is cotton, half point to the downside. Meanwhile, live cattle up almost a point. Yay.  

Lean hogs up one a row of sticks 1.11%   and feeder cattle up 1.36.   Indices,   meh.   S and P is down point zero two.   Yeah. Nasdaq is down a quarter. The Dow is down point zero six. It's a boring day. I think there's probably news. We're waiting for news. That's what that's what this feels like. Probably something to do with the Fed.   S and P Mini, however, is up point 6%.   And then we got Bitcoin, which is $92,350.   Okay.   Let's see here.   Oh, it's a $1,840,000,000,000   market cap. We can purchase 21.9   ounces of our favorite shiny metal rock with our one Bitcoin of which there are 19,957,382.41   of an average fees per block are well average.  

Point zero three.   BTC taken in fees on a per block basis is about 22 blocks carrying 52,000 unconfirmed transactions waiting to clear at high priority rates of two sets per v byte. Low priority is clocking in at 0.4   sats per v byte.   I finally   finally got a version of mempool.   Space that shows me the sub sat costs on transactions.   That's why I've been, you know,   saying one satoshi per v byte on the low side most of the times.   Let's see what's going on with hash rate. 1.05   zetahashes   per second.   That is   well, we've been in Zeta Hash territory for a very long time now.   All the way all through this crash,   both of them,   these   two draw downs starting October 10,   we were in Zedahash territory then.  

And throughout all of it, we have not seen a majority or even a partial   percentage   of hash rate for the Bitcoin network taken offline.   What do the miners know that the red rest of the FUDsters   either also know or don't know? And if they do know it, then they're just disregarding it. I'm just saying that's that's a pretty clean signal that the miners are   even though that they're clearly not getting as much money as they used to,   they seem fine to me.   Alright. So let's move on to I have gas,   yesterday's episode of Bitcoin. And I got Jason High with 200 says,   why was the mushroom the life of the party? He was a fun guy.  

You know, I I should have known.   Yeah. I know. I should have gotten it, and it completely went over my head.   That's what I get for doing shows in in the morning.   Just saying. Bitcoin for president with 500 says, love to this show.   Your Binance piece made my day. Thank you, and god bless you and your family. Oh, dude. That was so sweet of you. Keep reminding people to donate at the end of the show.   I think that will help give people a call to action.   Well, alright then.   I Bitcoin for president,   I appreciate that. I I truly, truly do.   Nikaz eighteen with a 100 says, live free, live aloha.  

Tulips with four k SAT says tulips.   My mother's hometown   is located in one of those garbage filled   Latin American countries I visited often   and decided to do the methane BTC mining stuff. La French and Netherlander   have a very tight product, which is like a cargo container,   almost plug and play that I was about to buy   with the municipality's   money. Thank god   two separate local gangs approached me to shake me down for their respective   cuts,   effectively killing the project before it even started.   It could have been later.   To say the least, I am never coming   back.  

The place is   and will remain   trash until those people are removed.   Every time one wants to fix something, one is reminded why it is tulips and why it is going to zero.   Tulips, I hate to hear that about your experience in Latin American countries.   And I'm not saying you're wrong. There's no way I could. The only Latin American country I've ever been to is Mexico and   really was just Mexico City and, of course, the Pyramids   because that's what all tourists do when you're on   you know, when when you go there. Right? Because you don't you don't really know anything about Mexico. You don't really know where to go. So, you know, and even then, Mexico City was, you know, in the eighties was kinda trashy. Although it was there it also had some real real beautiful spots in it, you know, for it too.   But, yeah,   Guatemala and the rest of these these Latin American countries,   That's why I'm really hopeful for Latin America,   especially as it continues to embrace Bitcoin,   is that it will find a way to dig its way out. El Salvador looks like it has.  

Have I been there to see witness firsthand? No.   But still,   I   I I get I get what you're saying. Oh, and I oh my god. Hold on. I I just I clicked on something that I shouldn't have clicked on, and now I've gotta let the thing reset. Alright. Here we go.   Britt Kearney with twenty one hundred says, thanks for the words.   You're welcome, sir.   Nick Dose with a 114   says cheers. Well, cheers right back to you. And let's see, pies with one twenty one with a whole bunch of emojis I can't read because, yes,   my windows is that old.   That's the weather report.  

Welcome to part two of the news that you can use. No. Strategy is not going to sell its Bitcoin,   Bitwise   chief investment   officer believes. It's the CIO, so pretty sure. Oh, by the way, this is written by who? But none other than James Hunt   from the block.   Bitwise chief investment officer, Matt Hugan, pushed back against a growing narrative that strategy   could be compelled to sell its Bitcoin holdings, calling the premise, quote, just flat wrong   and arguing that neither index changes   nor market pressure creates any such requirement.   In a note to clients late on Wednesday titled, quote, no Virginia strategy is not going to sell its Bitcoin,   Hugan addressed two questions   he says have flooded his inbox.  

Whether strategy will be removed from MSCI index indexes   and whether such a move could force the firm to unwind its multibillion dollar Bitcoin position.   Huguen acknowledged that MSCI is actively considering excluding digital asset treasury companies from its investable indexes   with a decision due on January 15.   JPMorgan   recently estimated that such a removal could trigger up to a $2,800,000,000   of passive selling of strategy stock.   Heughan estimated that a 75%   chance   that strategy   gets booted. Oh, so heughan is thinking that they are gonna get rid of strategy out of the MSCI.   And, again, like I said yesterday,   it was just May   that MSCI   included   strategy into these indexes, and they only held 214,000   Bitcoin at the time. Now they hold exactly 650,000,   and now MSCI is going, you know what? We're changing our minds. How is this not a a   I I haven't I don't know. I don't know if there's a contract involved on all this or or how you how you would get listed on MSCI. I I don't know anything about it. So when I say the following,   and you know better than me, you know, give me a little bit of latitude. How's this not breach a fucking contract?  

How is this not   something that you would be able to take to the courts and sue the living shit out of Morgan Stanley?   How is this not a situation   where   harm to your investors   were caused by a third party's   indecision,   lack of leadership,   lack of continuity.   Can should I go on? Do you I mean, honestly, if you're gonna make a fucking decision,   make the decision and stick with it. You don't make a decision so you can change your mind   unless it's, you know, force majeure, like, for instance,   I'm going to go on vacation.   I get in the car. I drive halfway there and my car explodes.  

And then I make the decision that it's probably better if I go back home and fix this whole car exploding mess than continuing on to my vacation, which I wouldn't be able to enjoy because I'm fixing the car exploding mess. That's force majeure.   There's no force majeure here. There's no act of God   anywhere present.   What this is is   wishy washy,   crappy leadership,   indecision.   It's   and it honestly,   honestly, I could definitely see a class action lawsuit from the investors in strategy,   plus strategy themselves as a different party,   plus anybody else   who wants to get in on this shit, filing class action lawsuit against MSCI. Now, again, if you're a lawyer and you and you definitely know better than me,   if there's no such way   that that shit can happen,   I wanna know why. Not because I wanna argue with you. I just want the education.  

Because this seems important.   This seems like something that does real damage to just regular Joe shareholders,   and I'm I'm not tooting sailors horn. I'm just saying,   if   any company   gets included in MSCI   and then they get booted out a year later,   it and and that's gonna cause investors to lose money because a whole bunch of other shareholders might sell their shit.   How is this not damages?   That's kinda what I wanna know. I'm I'm sure I'm wrong. I'm just saying that that's just sort of the way that my mind's working right now. Continuing on.   Still,   Hougan said history suggests index inclusions and deletions   have far less impact than investors fear, noting that Strategy's addition to the Nasdaq 100 just last year required funds   to buy $2,100,000,000   of shares and its price barely moved.  

He added that Strategy's recent decline since October 10 is likely the market pricing and the possibility of removal and that he does not expect substantial swings either way. Now that one, I disagree with.   Strategy's   stock price is directly linked to   the mammoth pile of Bitcoin that they own. That is not in dispute. And when Bitcoin crashed on October   or October 10,   I fully expected not only   strategy to crash, but also Meta Planet and any other digital asset treasury as well as   I bid from BlackRock.   Anyway,   the larger concern among investors,   Hugan said, is that a removal could spark a downward spiral. MSCI   exclusion drives the stock lower. The share price drops well below net asset value, and strategy is forced to sell Bitcoin to stabilize   its financial position.  

Dugan argued this chain of reasoning is rather unfounded.   Even if the stock trades below NAV, quote, there is nothing about   MSTR's   price dropping below NAV that will force it to sell.   The company faces two obligations on its debt.   One,   interest payments of roughly $800,000,000   per year,   and two, the need to handle maturities as they arise, but neither   creates any imminent pressure.   On Monday, strategy disclosed that it had purchased yet another 130 BTC   to round out its holdings to exactly 650,000   Bitcoin.   Perhaps more interestingly,   the firm announced a new dollar US dollar reserve of 1,440,000,000.00,   and we have covered that at length.  

While strategy   has always referenced the possibility of Bitcoin sales in its regulatory filings,   cofounder Michael Saylor said well well, he was just more explicit during the firm's latest investor call about the scenario.   Quote,   there are skeptics   and cynics   that have been in the opinion that we couldn't or wouldn't or don't have   the will to sell Bitcoin in order to finance the dividends and that sometimes   because be and that sometimes becomes negative   short narrative,   I think it's important for us to dispel this notion.   Quote, not only   can the company sell Bitcoin in order to pay the dividends oh, here we go.  

The company can actually sell highly appreciated   Bitcoin,   pay the dividends, and then continuously   increase its Bitcoin holdings in Bitcoin every quarter forever,   Saylor added. So he's talking about selling and buying Bitcoin at the same time   over a longer time period. However,   strategy's dividend and interest payments are not a near term concern, Hougen said, with 1,400,000,000.0   in cash, enough to easily cover its commitments for a year and a half.   Meanwhile,   its first debt maturity doesn't even arrive until February   2027   and totals around $1,000,000,000,   which he characterized as chump change. Oh, good for you, sailor.  

I'm glad your you and your three yachts are very happy together.   Anyway, chump change relative to the firm's roughly $60,000,000,000   of Bitcoin holdings. These factors, he said,   eliminate the premise that strategy is anywhere close to needing to liquidate its Bitcoin   to meet obligations   right now.   Hougan also dismissed the idea that insiders might push the company to sell its Bitcoin should its stock   continue to slide. Saylor controls 42% of strategy's voting shares, and he wrote, is unlikely to abandon his long held conviction.   Saylor, quote, didn't sell the last time strategy stock traded at a discount in 2022.  

You'd be hard pressed to fight a human being with more conviction on Bitcoin's long term value, end quote.   With Bitcoin trading at around 93 k,   about 25%   above strategy's average acquisition price of 74,000,   he said the bears,   quote, doom loop scenario collapses under scrutiny.   In closing, Hugan said crypto investors have legitimate issues to worry about, from slow progress on market structure legislation to the health of smaller digital asset treasury companies. But strategy's Bitcoin stack, he argued,   should not be one of them.  

The MSCI   outcome in his view is already largely reflected in the share price, and there's no plausible near term mechanism that would force it to sell its Bitcoin.   So there you go.   You like, that's just a data point.   Doesn't mean, oh, David read this story, so therefore, he was 100%   behind what Matt Hugan has said, and we're all safe. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying this is a data point for Matt Hugan, which   he's been around forever.   He does know certain things. Is he always right? Probably not.   Should you listen to him like it's gospel right now?   Probably not.  

So what's, you know,   what's   one to do in this scenario?   Buy Bitcoin, hold Bitcoin, just like Charles Schwab is gonna do   because they're launching Bitcoin trading in 2026.   Yes. That's right. Charles Schwab,   one of the   staples   of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Why? Because   it's retail.   It's for Joe on the street. It's for the plumber Joe. It's for the carpenter Joe. It's for the welder Joe. It's for, like, you know,   all the rest of us plebs. Atlas twenty one writing this one, Charles Schwab is preparing to enter the world of digital assets.   During the Reuters next conference in New York, CEO Rick Wurster announced that the company   will now introduce spot trading for Bitcoin and shitcoin number one in the 2026,   acknowledging that client demand has reached levels that cannot be ignored.  

Yeah. I'm telling you, man. Retail when retail yells loud enough,   you you you'll do whatever it is that they want you to do, but you you they gotta yell loud enough. The company has chosen a phased rollout rather than an immediate large scale implementation.   Wurster explained that the system will initially be tested by internal employees,   then extended to a select group of invited clients,   and only afterward made available to the broader user base, you know, the plebs.   The stated goal is to ensure the experience is stable and scalable before reaching millions of investors, and trading is not the only area of expansion for Schwab.   Wooster said the company is entering a phase where acquisitions could play a more significant role in its corporate strategy.  

Charles Schwab is open to acquiring companies that could strengthen its product offerings,   potentially including firms in the digital asset sector. Yeah. I fully expect that.   Provide   valuations   provided valuations are reasonable and the acquisition aligns with strategic objectives, that is. Worster clarified that no negotiations are currently underway, but the doors remain open.   Schwab's potential entry into Bitcoin spot trading has raised questions about fees.   Bloomberg's   Eric Balchunas   argued   that pricing policy will determine   how disruptive   Schwab will be.  

Considering the company already offers zero commission trading for stocks and ETFs, a competitive offering in the crypto sector,   will put pressure on exchanges that rely on transaction fees.   Balchunas suggested that fees below 50 basis points could force the industry to rethink margins,   especially with Bitcoin spot ETFs already providing exposure to tight spreads.   Charles Schwab on the way.   Another Bitcoin or,   domino falls,   and another one will fall after that. And it's gonna become more and more rapid. This is   this is what everybody was talking about   last year and the year before. Oh, they just get a little the institutions are coming.  

And then there was the argument, well, the institutions are already here. Yeah. And which I actually believed.   However, I think that they were here insofar as, okay,   we've stopped laughing.   We've stopped making fun of you.   We've now realized that we've wasted ten years that we could have devoted to wrapping our little minds around this whole Bitcoin thing,   and now we're we're here. We're at the gate. We're willing to learn. We're willing to at least try   all that shit. That's the way institutions   were showing up   for the most part.  

But now they really are here,   and they really are getting visible.   And it really is going to be a deluge.   I'm just that's my prediction. Alright. So   Ahmed Hasquin is from Cointelegraph   has the next story up. Crypto investor   gives Reform   UK,   political party that is,   a record $12,000,000   in election donations.   Actually, one single donation, by the way.   Let's get into this one.   United Kingdom political party Reform UK has received a record 9,000,000 British pounds   from early crypto investor Christopher Harborne. The sum is the largest single political gift ever made by a living person in Britain   and comes months   before local elections scheduled for May. The BBC reported on Thursday citing newly published figures from the electoral commission. Okay. So let's let's read that line again because it sounds fairly important.  

This is the largest single political gift   ever made by a living person in Britain,   ever   in the history   of Britain,   nobody has ever given a political party this much money who was still walking around breathing and fogging mirrors.   I think that that's important to note. Continuing,   Harborne, a British national now based in Thailand,   has a history of backing UK political campaigns. He previously donated to the conservatives under Boris Johnson   and to the Brexit party later rebranded as Reform UK during the twenty nineteen, twenty twenty cycle, per the report.   The donation breaks the previous individual record of $10,700,000   given by supermarket   heir, lord David Sainsbury,   to the liberal democrats in 2019.  

Harbourn,   a self described digital nomad, is also known for his crypto investments.   He holds a nearly 13%   stake in Tether. Holy   shit. I mean, not not 13% of the Tether   in circulation, 13% of the company   Tether.   Holy crap.   Dude,   hold hold   the supermarket   air,   Lord David Sainsbury. So Sainsbury supermarkets, I think I've actually heard that name before.   He's the air. He didn't create the the he didn't create the thing, but   since when did so we're just now finding out that this dude's got a 13%   stake in Tether?   Also seems rather important. Anyway,   the position linked   to was linked to compensation   tied to a 2016 hack at Bitfinex.  

He said he holds no executive role at   the firm.   Last year, Harborne filed a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over a 2023   article that accused him of allegedly abetting   illegal activities at Tether and Bitfinex.   He said the media wrongly accused him of committing fraud,   laundering money, and financing terrorism.   The article claimed Bitfinex struggled to keep access to banking services in late twenty eighteen and turned to intermediaries   and shell companies citing internal documents.   Parts referencing Harborne were later removed. Alright? So the record donation comes. Now this is also important.   I was talking about this just yesterday.  

The record donation   comes   right as The UK is considering a ban on cryptocurrency   donations to political parties.   Yeah. So this one came in   just in time. The proposal is reportedly being discussed as part of a new elections bill aimed at strengthening trust in politics.   Good luck.   And tightening campaign financing rules. Again, good luck.   Reform UK this year became the first party to accept crypto donations. The party is leading in polls,   topping opinion polls at around 27%   nationally,   which is well ahead of Labour and the Conservative Party, both of which trail below 20%.   Oh, that's really interesting.  

So Reform UK   looks like they've got a major shot.   This is   this is really interesting. So we found out, like, a a couple of really good pieces of information here.   Sainsbury of the Sainsbury supermarket   kingdom is a 13%   stakeholder in Tether.   Nobody's ever donated this much to a political party, at least one that can still fog a mirror.   And that labor or not labor,   Reform UK is leading the polls with 27.   This is gonna be an interesting election over there in The UK. Alright. So last up for the day, Bitcoin and crypto prediction platform, Polymarket,   rolls out US app   after   CFTC   approval. Well, at least an app for The US. Alright. So there you go. Oh, by the way, this is out of Bitcoin Magazine, Micah Zimmerman writing Polymarket.  

The crypto based prediction market platform has officially launched a US focused app following approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.   The move   lifts nearly four years of restrictions preventing American users   from participating in its blockchain powered prediction markets. Initially available in the App Store   under the sports category,   the app allows US users to place bets,   you know, gamble   on sports events with plans to expand into other markets, including proposition bets and election   wagers.  

The app is opening access gradually,   inviting users from a previously established wait list,   though not all applicants have received invitations yet. Polymarket   bypassed the traditional multiyear CFTC registration process   by acquiring QCEX,   an already registered platform,   for a $112,000,000   in July, the company received a no action letter from the CFTC   allowing it to resume operations legally in The US   after its 2022   settlement   over unregistered   event contracts.   The Polymarket or I'm sorry. In November,   Polymarket   secured an amended order of designation from the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission,   allowing it to operate as an intermediated   trading platform under the full set of federal rules for The US exchanges.  

The approval enabled the platform to onboard brokerages and customers directly, allowing users   to trade through futures commission merchants   and access traditional custody reporting and market infrastructure.   To comply with the CFTC's   requirements, Polymarket upgraded its systems,   introducing   enhanced market surveillance,   supervision policies, clearing procedures, and part 16 regulatory reporting.   The platform remains   fully subject to the Commodity Exchange Act and other CFTC   regulations,   including self regulatory   obligations.  

The platform has been barred from operating in The US since 2022   after offering unregistered derivatives contracts.   So   now you can gamble on Polymarket in The United States with an app on your iPhone.   Don't.   Stop gambling.   I now, for as much as I say all that shit, I will also say this.   The one thing that Polymarket and Kalshi and stuff like that actually does do   that   really has come to the fore for me   is being able to take the temperature   on what a certain outcome   might be. Sort of a,   like, a a sorta kinda oracle   kinda thing.  

And I think that that has its uses,   but   actively betting on the outcome of a United States presidential election,   in my opinion,   is just is just   not something people should go do.   And, like but I would rather you do that   because you gotta, like, all kinds of information   to to square that up with. But   in football, baseball, basketball, like, basically sports book,   or or, god forbid, the the craps table in Vegas,   not quite as much not quite as much data to put together a cohesive picture   of what the outcome might likely be.   Alright? So I'm just saying gambling, I really do believe, is bad for your soul. Please, please, please don't do it. If you are going to gamble your money, instead, do this. Give it to the Bitcoin and show. I'm serious. Give me a huge boost to gram   or go go to go where's my page? Is, was it support.  

Hold on. Support.   Support dot f yeah. Here it is. Support.podcastho   or sorry, podcast.   Support.podhome.fm/bitcoin-andhyphen.   Support.podhome.fm/bitcoin-andhyphen.   You can support me in USD. Yeah. I know. I would rather have the Bitcoin. I get it.   But here's the deal.   Some people,   they don't wanna go through the hoops. They already maybe they can just click these donation amounts down here on support.podhome.fm,   forward slash Bitcoin. And and you got donate donation amounts of $3, $5, $10, and $20.   You can give me a message. You can tell me your name. It's optional. You don't have to.   If you're if you're spooked about doing that, then god forbid, don't don't give me your name, but you can leave me a message. And   if you are already set up to, like, you know, I don't know, got, like, a a credit card   or whatever that you wanna use and you don't wanna spend your Bitcoin,   this goes to Stripe.  

When Stripe cashes out, I've got it set to go to who?   Stripe.   What happens over at Strike, which is Jack Maller's company,   instantly converted to Bitcoin.   So even if you give me US dollars, you're actually just giving me Bitcoin   almost immediately.   Strike I gotta wait for the Stripe payout   in s t r I p e,   and then that goes to   s t r I k e. Stripe   goes to Strika.   And then I have to I have to wait on that. But the minute it hits strike, man, dude, it gets converted instantly to Bitcoin.   So   it's a win win situation. If you wanna support the show instead of going and gambling in Vegas,   then go to support.pothome.fm/bitcoin-andhyphen,   and I will see you on the other side.  

This has been Bitcoin and and I am your host, David Bennett. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and hope to see you again real soon.   Have a great day.