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Episode 1224 of Bitcoin And . . . is LIVE!

Topics for today: 

• 21Capital to Debut on NASDAQ
• EU States to Hand Over Last Sovereignty
• IMF Remains Terrified of Stablecoins
• Intellectual Property . . . Now With Blockchain!

Circle P:

 
Bitcoin Beans takes proof of work from the mine to your mug. Regeneratively grown Colombian cacao, hand selected by farmers paid in Bitcoin, lab tested for purity, and priced in sats. This is whole-bean cacao, not candy. It is proof-of-work you can taste.
 
https://www.bitcoinbeans.co/

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Today's Articles:

 
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/jack-mallers-twenty-one-capital-wins-approval-for-cep-merger-poised-for-public-debut-on-nasdaq

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/12/05/eu-seeks-to-transfer-crypto-oversight-to-bloc-s-securities-and-markets-authority

https://decrypt.co/351078/morning-minute-the-cftc-just-approved-u-s-spot-crypto-trading

https://atlas21.com/stablecoins-could-erode-central-bank-control-says-imf/

https://cointelegraph.com/news/licensing-to-earn-protocol-turns-intellectual-property-rights-into-rwas

https://www.theblock.co/post/381442/jpmorgan-strategy-bitcoin-price-outlook

https://bitcoinnews.com/p/ex-sec-chair-bitcoin-is-different-from-other-crypto

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/vtb-to-open-russias-first-bank-run-bitcoin

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[00:00:02] David Bennett:

It is 09:03AM   Pacific Standard Time. It's the December   2025.   This is episode   twelve twenty four of Bitcoin, and Jack Mallers and twenty one Capital seems to be going to Nasdaq.   That'll be our first story of the day. It's the Bitcoin and podcast. Dude, it's all the news that you can use and more about Bitcoin and the macro   environment around which it sits.   And the European   Union has some say on where Bitcoin sits because it's part of the macroeconomic   environment,   And they're gonna do something that we know they shouldn't do, but we all know why they're going to do it. I will tell you all about it. The CFTC   seems to have approved spot crypto trading.  

We'll dig into that one. And we're also gonna dig into the IMF.   Yeah. The IMF is   is twitching with fear. Just even though Lagarde   doesn't work there anymore, she's the European Central Bank person,   she used to be head of the IMF. And just I just picture her   at a podium in her fake orange tan, and nobody ever calls her orange woman, by the way. But she's got just as bad looking skin as Trump does when it comes to Cheeto   color, right?   Yeah. I just picture her standing in front of a a podium with one eye just twitching,   completely unable to say anything   because   they don't know what to do.  

So they're grabbing at straws,   and that will be the story that I deliver to you right before we run the numbers. Then we're gonna run over to talk about,   LTE,   licensing   to earn.   You thought you thought I had a couple of things to say about intellectual property rights, but, well, holy Nelly.   We probably haven't got nothing yet out of me when it comes to how   how this thing's being turned into just a shit show with a whole bunch of clowns, you know, entertaining us, running around it. JPMorgan   will be next up.   Strategy's resilience   is what they're gonna be talking about.  

So does it mean that they think strategy is resilient,   has been resilient,   will be resilient,   or is it something else?   We'll find out together.   And   we have words from Gary Gensler,   like the ghost of SEC   past, bro, opening his mouth and saying stuff about Bitcoin   and its relationship   to well, I'll tell you about it. And then we're gonna finish up with Russia. But first,   Jack Mallers,   twenty one Capital   wins approval for CEP merger   and is now poised for   public debut   on the Nasdaq Bitcoin magazine written by Juan Gault.   Twenty one Capital, led by CEO Jack Mallers and Kantor Equity Partners Incorporated,   the CEP part of this,   announced on the December 3 that their shareholders   approved the combination of the two businesses, meaning   that twenty one Capital   is set to go public   very soon.  

The vote is expected to have received   a lot of attention from retail shareholders   as the maller   as the mallers.   I love it.   Okay. Let's do that again because it it caught me by surprise.   The vote is expected to have received a lot of attention from retail shareholders   as The Mallers   announced it on their podcast   to more than 43,000   subscribers   and their x   with half a million followers. The vote took place at the extraordinary   general meeting of CEP shareholders,   who approved   who approved   the previously announced proposed business combination between the parties as well as the as all other proposals related   to the business combination. Quote,   The final voting results for the meeting will be included in a current report on form eight ks to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by CEP.  

Subject to the satisfaction of the other closing conditions   described in the CEP's definitive proxy statement and twenty one's final prospectus.   The consummation of the related transaction should take place in the coming days, leading to twenty one Capital Incorporated   and its class a common stock   common stock. Let's see. Hold on.   Oh, sorry. I just I I something shiny passed in front of my head, and I'm like a bird, man. It's like, oh my god. I got a message. I'm sorry to interrupt you. So   let's do that again.   Twenty one's final prospectus. The consummation   of the related transactions   should take place in the coming days, leading to twenty one Capital Incorporated   and its class a common stock to start trading   on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol x x I   on 12/09/2025.  

The company is expected to exit its quiet period   after this point and make a series of announcements about the future of the business.   XXI   did announce earlier this year that it had received investment from Tether and SoftBank,   leading to the purchase of 42,000   Bitcoin,   which will position it as one of the largest public owners of the asset and is expected to unlock   new financial services offers   for Strike customers, which is Jack's growing   Bitcoin financial service app and Cash App competitor.   Sure. I guess on paper, their Cash App and Strike are competitors,   but I'm pretty sure that Jack Mallers and Jack Dorsey have a pretty,   a pretty warm relationship business wise. I I don't think they're trying to snipe each other. So   let's let's just say   that the competition is probably,   like, extending a hand in warm regards,   between the two jacks.  

I love how they called them the the Mallers.   That's freaking awesome. Alright. So twenty one Capital going public,   as part of the CEP, the Cantor Fitzgerald thing.   Will they buy? Is is this the right environment?   You know, we we've we've seen another 3% drop in Bitcoin price today.   I'm not sure exactly how that occurred.   And what I'm what I'm thinking is that we had some inflation   report numbers come out today,   and, honestly, they didn't look bad.   I mean, I they they released at 7AM my time. So what was that? Ten?   Was that seven?  

Yeah. 10:00 eastern time.   The numbers dropped, and, honestly, it kinda suggested that there may be a 25   basis cut   at the Federal Reserve December meeting,   and yet we had a 3.7%   price drop almost immediately after the news was released. So I'm not exactly sure   what happened, but, you know, we have I mean, this is just one in a long   series of of price drops that we've seen,   and it all boils down to, well, you know, the macroeconomic   environment, but also the digital asset treasury play, it seems to be losing steam. And I never liked that play in the first place, but it it was there. It's still there. You know? It was it was gaining a head of steam, and now   so, you know, the question remains,   is this the time for twenty one Capital to hit the market?  

And it it kinda is because they've been playing in this for a while.   They can't control the macro environment around them. They certainly can't control the Bitcoin price.   So what the only thing left is is to see what the the stock performance is   once it starts trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and we can expect that   December 9.   Let's go across the pond to the European Union where the EU   seeks to transfer   all crypto oversight   to the European Union bloc's securities   and market authority.   Yeah.   What could possibly go wrong here? Jamie Crowley from CoinDesk is writing, the European Commission, the executive arm   of the European Union,   has   proposed ending   individual countries' supervision   of cryptocurrency   companies and transferring that responsibility   to the bloc's markets regulator as part of a measure to fully integrate   EU financial markets. So let's just pause   and have a moment of silence to the death of sovereignty.  

They they I mean, for a for a little while, in the form of cryptocurrency,   and I I hate saying the word too, but it's the truth. In the form of cryptocurrency,   the European Union members   at least had that bit of sovereignty. After all the rest of it had been stripped away, and make no mistake,   Spain is no longer Spain, France is no longer France.   You know, anybody what just name your European   Union country.   They are not that country anymore.   Maybe they will be again,   but their sovereignty   has been completely absconded with, and yet they had this one this one little door that was still open for them, and that has now been slammed shut by the people of the European Union.   They're no longer going to let anybody make any decisions on their own when it comes to this particular industry.  

I can't imagine why, can you? Let's continue.   The commission wants to address the discrepancies that results   from differing supervisory approaches among the 27 member states   and transfer oversight to European Securities and Market Authority, the ESMA,   as per a Thursday statement.   The proposals need to be negotiated with and approved by the European Parliament and European Council.   Yeah. I'll bet they just rubber stamped that shit. The move follows reports of concerns that despite the aim of achieving a unified crypto regulatory environment under the markets and crypto asset regulation,   individual countries were diverging   too much   from ESMA's   liking.  

Oh, Jesus.   Uniting   oversight of crypto and other financial services under   a single body will be more effective, it said, quote,   EU financial markets remain significantly fragmented,   small, and lack of competitiveness,   missing   out on potential   economies of scale   and efficiency   gains, the commission said. I'm gonna highlight that and see if I can come back to it. Regulators in individual countries such as France's AMF,   Austria's FMA, and Italy's Comsab   raised concerns and asked   ESMA to make tighter control or to take tighter control of Micah in September.   They begged for it. Regulate me harder, daddy.  

Put a collar on me.   Make me walk around on all fours.   Degrade me in a way that you will only find in the most fucking hardcore porn. These people are pathetic.   Italy, you're pathetic. France, you're pathetic.   Austria,   you're pathetic.   You are pathetic people that want to be collared, want to be leashed, want to be led, want to be told what to do, and it's honestly quite frankly fucking disgusting.   What is wrong with you?   What the hell is wrong with you? Let's you know what? Let's let's go back to this this this whole thing that I said I wanted to come back to. I wanna address this shit right freaking now.   Quote, EU financial markets remain   fragmented,   small and lack of competitiveness,   missing out on potential economies of scale and, wait for it,   efficiency gains.  

I wanna link this and lock it in directly to one of the most horrific   things that you will ever see, at least in The United States, and that's a feedlot.   Do I hate beef? Hell no.   Do I hate the cattle industry?   Hell no.   Do I love the thought of ruminants walking across grass and eating it and pooping out all kinds of good stuff?   I absolutely do. Do I think and want,   people to eat the most highly densely,   highly nutritious   food ever in the form of red beef?   Hell, yes.   But a feedlot is one of the most evil things you will ever see. It is bad for people. It is bad for the animals.   It's bad for that particular   microclimate   because of all the poop. Instead of spreading it over hundreds and thousands of acres,   It's all concentrated,   and it's really, really bad when you concentrate waste in one single place. You know, love is like manure. It's no good unless you spread it around a little bit.  

And   this was all due to efficiency   gains.   Humans have this   innate freaking need   to be the most efficient   ever   even when that efficiency crosses   natural boundaries.   And we crossed way across a natural boundary when we figured out how to do   confined animal feeding operations, also known as CAFOs, also known as a cattle feedlot.   And the same shit is here when they say, you're lacking   efficiency   gains.   What's wrong with fragmentation?   What's wrong with local flavors   of regulation?   What's wrong with I mean, at this point,   we are we are well on our way to having a a a singular food source for humans, and it's probably gonna be labeled Purina Soylent Green.  

Everybody eats the exact same thing   three times a day,   every day from the time they're born to the time they die because, by God, that's efficiency.   Right? That that that efficiency,   we need that efficiency.   This this is what's I guarantee you this is what's wrong with the world.   You will say, no. It's actually the broken money. Ask yourself, why did the money get broke?   What attitude was underneath   all of this shit?   Why do we have strip malls? Because the money's broke. What broke the money?   What attitude   in humanity   allowed the money to break?  

It's the same attitude   that goes behind CAFOs. It's the same attitude that these assholes say, you're missing out on potential economies of scale and efficiency gains. Fuck the efficiencies.   We don't need to be more fucking efficient.   We're efficiencing   ourselves out of the door.   We're no longer humans. There's no difference between any of us. We might as well be in a museum   of humanity at this point.   We've lost we're losing   everything. We're losing everything it means   to be different   between each other, between groups of people.   It's   the this   notion of efficiency,   it's not that you should never try to be efficient. It's that there is a way that you can be so efficient that you've crossed   natural boundaries   and that that efficiency,   those gains that you will keep getting   will start eating into other things because the universe abhors a vacuum.  

What you do to one thing   will necessarily not only affect another thing that you can't even see at the moment, but will probably   consume its energy   to make that efficiency gain, except it's so far away   that the people getting the gains don't ever see what they're losing on the other end.   This notion   of taking this last vestige of sovereignty away from the 27 member   EU states   is   abhorrent,   and it's not going to end well.   Nothing that they've done has ended well. This shit's gotta stop.   Let's continue with the very last paragraph.   ESMA   is the EU's closest equivalent to the Securities and Exchange Commission in The US.  

However,   ESMA's   role is more   one of coordination   rather than direct supervision wielded by the SEC.   The move to integrate financial markets and transfer direct supervisory   competencies   might be seen as a step toward making the regulator   closer to an EU   SEC   equivalent. Well, of course.   Right now, there what that paragraph is saying is that at at the moment,   the people that are being handed the keys to the Bitcoin kingdom in the EU   are just   a coordination   type of group.   They will end up calling the shots.   If you can get out of the EU,   I I'd highly recommend   I I would consider it because the it's just gonna it's like the largest homeowners association in the world right now.  

And pretty soon, everybody will not be allowed to have any color on their homes,   and they will all have the exact same mailboxes,   and their lawns must be kept to   exactly one quarter inch in height. And anything else will result in fines.   Let's move on to the, well, the CFTC   approving   US spot crypto trading. This is written by Tyler Warner from decrypt.co.   The CFTC   has formally approved spot crypto trading on CFTC   regulated exchanges,   a first   in The United States.   Newly approved rules allow CFTC   registered exchanges to list Bitcoin and Shitcoin number one markets.   And   Bitnomial   is expected to be the very first venue to launch under the new framework. Until now,   spot crypto trading in The United States has lived in a regulatory gray zone.  

It was supervised indirectly but never explicitly   approved.   This is the first time that the CFTC   has authorized   a federally regulated   spot market,   and it comes in a Hallmark week that included Vanguard   and Charles Schwab opening their own doors to spot crypto ETF   trading.   Quote, for the first time ever spot, crypto can trade on CFTC   registered exchanges   that have been the gold standard for nearly one hundred years   with the customer protections and market integrity that Americans   deserve.   CFTC   chair Carolyn Pham said,   The United States now has the beginnings of a fully regulated spot crypto market, something institutions have been waiting for   for years.  

Well, probably not years. They were laughing at us for quite a few years.   I think it's only been the last two years that they've been waiting, but, yeah, two is plural, so I guess it fits. So, anyway,   at the same time, retail investors at Charles Schwab in Vanguard,   two of the largest brokerages in the country,   now have the ability to buy crypto ETFs with the click of just a few buttons.   This is what has been accomplished in the past few months. One, a new regulated trading venue for institutions, and two,   a new distribution channel for retail.  

It's never been easier to enter the crypto market than it is right now, God forbid. Just buy Bitcoin, people.   Now we will see who indeed enters   and who all of this plumbing is being built for.   Okay. So that's all we really need to know about this. But in in the context of this downward slide that we've been getting in the price of Bitcoin and and and all the shitcoins are just by god, talk about getting hammered.   They're just, oh, I hope they're all unrecoverable,   but no. It's like Jesus said, the the dipshits will always be with you.   And I don't mean the poor. I actually mean the the people that think Sol is is a a real project that is gonna do something.  

Oh, it was a d five. Yeah. It works in d five, which is also a scam mechanic too, but, you know, you you you get where I'm coming from.   It makes me wonder.   If the crash   of Bitcoin's price from 126,000   to I think we were at 88,000   just a few minutes ago,   when you look at it in the long term, right, over the past few weeks since October 10,   I wonder if that's not engineered because they knew the people engineering it, the they,   knew that these announcements from Charles Schwab and Vanguard were coming   and that   what what what we just read that the CFTC   has approved   spot crypto trading.  

Because, like, think about it that way.   If Charles Schwab and Vanguard and the CFTC   all this week. That's what I mean, these three things dropped just this week.   This hasn't been going on for, like, the last three weeks. This this is just this week. Charles Schwab announced yesterday, Vanguard the day before that, CFTC   this morning.   So   what happens to Bitcoin price   if we're approaching a $126,000?   We we're not seeing the downside slide to 30 you know, down 35%,   and then this shit this news drops.   Along with the fact that we now have an elevated chance of a 25,   basis point cut from the Federal Reserve this month.  

What do you think happens to the Bitcoin price?   This shit runs, dude.   You gotta suck some wind out of its sails because you've been   sitting there making fun of people for so long that you missed the boat. And now you know this news is gonna drop, you better do something quick, pal.   You better figure out a way. You better call some people, get them on the phone, and say, we will loan you billions of dollars to short this shit so that we can have an entry position that makes sense for our clients and our customers.   I guarantee you   that that is on the table as a possibility as to what's been going on as of late. I don't think it was just the digital asset treasury companies   losing a little bit of steam. I don't think it was just the MNAV   going down a little bit on those companies. I don't think   it was just the Japanese government bonds   hitting an all time yield or well, a a an all time well, an all time yield,   for the last, you know, thirty years or so. I don't think it was the just the yen carry trade. I think a whole lot of shit   was out there, but I also think that there was some machinations on the backside because   they saw   these,   in particular,   these three news pieces dropping   all in the same week because that shit would have been rocket fuel   had there not been a negative sentiment   fear   in the fear index at all time highs   that would buffer   that sentiment.  

I'm just saying. But it makes me hungry for chocolate. Chocolate, I can get my chocolate of Bitcoin beans. That's bitcoinbeans.co,   not com.   Bitcoinbeans.co.   They are the newest   addition   to the family of   Circle p vendors. Circle p is where I bring plebs with goods and services just like you to plebs just like you who want to buy those goods and services. But you're gonna buy it at Bitcoin because if you're not selling it at Bitcoin,   well, brother,   you ain't in the circle p. Bitcoin beans,   invest in your health like you invest in Bitcoin.   Cacao   is a nutrient dense superfood.  

It's rich in magnesium,   rich in antioxidants,   and theobromine   for natural energy and mood support. We craft   one pound blocks   of 100%   pure cacao   grown regeneratively   in Colombia   and paid for in Bitcoin.   No chemicals,   no fiat,   no middlemen,   just real food sourced with integrity   and exchanged   through proof   of work. Bitcoin beans, go get your one pound block. They work in blocks just like   Bitcoin does. Right? Or is it one block after another? In fact, their, block the the boxing that they use,   is stamped with the block number   with the block number   when that particular, I guess, batch. I'm not gonna say, you know, because it would be really difficult to say, hey. I put this I put this block in, you know, block of chocolate in this box and look at the at the mempool. No. That's just too much work. I am sure that they're just doing it by the batch. But one pound blocks of some of the most gorgeous chocolate I have ever seen. I'm they're shipping me a a sample so that I can actually taste it, but there's there's some pictures that I've seen.  

And since I I literally am a chocoholic,   I know my chocolate.   I do. There's one of the things that I know how to do is how to judge chocolate.   Some of these pictures   at least suggest this is probably some of the finest chocolate you will ever have.   Bitcoinbeans.co.   Go to bitcoinbeans.co.   Make sure you use a coupon code. So wherever you can put it when you buy it on the invoice,   use Bitcoin. And   I think that there's a I I   I forgot to prep it. I think there's a discount. I'm not sure.   Right now, just use Bitcoin and when you buy from bitcoinbeans.co,   Because that will let the owner know that I made a sale for him here on the Circle p, and he will be able to get me back on the flip side   with some Satoshis   because this is the only place you will hear value for value advertising.  

Not all of these plebs have the money for an advertising campaign.   The Circle p is here for them.   I do not charge upfront fees at all for advertising for the people who I think have a really good product.   If I make a sale for them, good.   If if they decide that it was worth something, awesome. If they give me SATs   on the other side of the sale,   icing on the cake. But the Circle P is here to service the plebs that are just trying to start something they love,   to start something new,   to do something else   that could make them money, make them a living, make give them joy,   give them happiness.  

That's why the circle p exists.   Go to bitcoinbeans.co.   That's bitcoinbeans.co.   Make sure you use coupon code bitcoin and   so that they know.   By the way, theobromine,   one of the one of the principal active ingredients in chocolate and one of the things that makes chocolate chocolate,   Theo means god.   It it's literally   food   of the gods.   The   the Latin American attachment to chocolate   is   mythic   in proportion, and there's a reason   for that.   If you just thought chocolate was, oh, it's just bad for you and it's just a candy,   it's not candy.  

We think of chocolate completely wrong in this country because   we put too much goddamn sugar in it. We've turned it into candy.   It's not candy.   Chocolate   is not only food,   it's food of the gods, and it's good for your soul. Bitcoinbeans.co.   Go there right now. Bitcoin beans dot c 0. Pay for one pound of chocolate in Bitcoin.   Onto stablecoins   could erode central bank control. Oh my god, winds   the IMF,   atlas21.com,   writing,   as noted   by the International Monetary Fund in a recent report, stablecoins offer an opportunity to expand access to financial services for millions,   but they could also undermine the authority   of central banks.  

Really?   Who gave you that authority?   That authority comes from the people.   It really does.   And once we realize that and take our authority back,   as long as our apathy reigns,   then these central banks will think that they have the authority.   It's really our authority.   Question is, are we just gonna be continue to be chicken shits?   Anyway, the 56 page document published December 4 by the International Organization   highlights   currency substitution as one of the main risks associated with spread of stablecoins.   This phenomenon could gradually compromise   the financial   independence of many states,   the IMF cried.  

The institution emphasized   that the use of stablecoins denominated in foreign currencies, especially in cross border transactions,   could trigger currency substitution dynamics   and potentially undermine the sovereignty   of national   authorities,   not of nations.   Notice that that language,   not of nations,   but the sovereignty   of national   authorities,   particularly   when noncustodial wallets are used, when a significant portion of economic activity shifts from the national currency to digital alternatives,   central banks lose effectiveness in managing domestic liquidity and settling interest rates.   The Global Financial Institution   argued that.  

Well, I'm sorry that you're arguing that.   It's time for us to rise up, people.   The report also notes that if foreign currency stablecoins gain traction through payment services, local solutions such as central bank digital currencies could struggle to compete.   Good. I hope you fucking die. The organization found that regions such as Africa, The Middle East, Latin America,   and The Caribbean   are seeing significant growth in stablecoin adoption compared to traditional foreign currency deposits,   instruments that central banks use to influence,   use to influence monetary policy.  

I told you   to look at Latin America,   The Middle East, and Africa.   If they had been listening to my show four years ago, they would have heard the same message. They're just now figuring it out.   These people are so fucking slow. It's pathetic.   To safeguard   to safeguard   the National Monetary Independence. The International Monetary Fund recommends that governments implement regulations preventing digital assets from being recognized as official currency or legal tender for that matter. Such recognition would compel people to accept digital assets as a form of payment, the institution stated,   pausing to say this.  

You see your death before you,   and I could not be more   pleased.   Okay. In November, the European Central Bank published an article highlighting the risks associated with dollar denominated stablecoins,   emphasizing   how they could absorb   resources   from the traditional financial system. Quote, significant growth in stablecoins   could cause retail deposit outflows, diminishing   an important source of funding for banks and leaving them with more volatile funding overall,   the European Central Bank stated.   Again,   you see your death before you, and I could not be more pleased.   Let's run the   numbers.  

CNBC   Futures and Commodities is here to tell you what you need to know.   Energy is booming this morning.   Brent Norsee is up over a point to $63.92   a barrel. West Texas Intermediate just at a point,   breaking the $60   plane for the first time in weeks, it seems. $60.25.   Natural gas,   holy crap.   We've got a polar vortex that's drifting down from the Arctic here in The United States. The news has been reporting that anyway.   And natural gas is reacting accordingly.   It is up seven and one woah. It just popped to 7.4%,   $5.43   per thousand cubic feet. Ladies and gentlemen,   that is about half   of natural gas's all time high peak.  

Half.   Merban crude   is point 86,   percent to the upside, and gasoline is up point 7% to a buck 84 a gallon.   Shiny Metal Rocks having a good day as well. Palladium up a point, but gold is basically sideways   0.08%   to the upside. That's $4,245   and 5 dimes. Platinum is barely moving, but still in the green. Silver is up 2.7%,   just below $60.   Copper is up one and a third.   Ag is mostly in the red today, except for our good friend, chocolate. You remember chocolate? I just talked all about chocolate. It is up 3.97%   this morning. Everything else is in the red, and the biggest loser for all of those guys is coffee. Coffee not doing well against chocolate. And coffee and chocolate make one hell of a good combination.  

One and a third percent to the downside for the poison as being. Live cattle up a quarter, lean hogs up one.   Feeder cattle is up a quarter as well. S and P is up point 1%.   Nasdaq is up a quarter. The Dow is up point 11%,   and the S and P Mini is barely moved 0.01%   to the upside.   And now I'm looking at $88,970.   We're back to a $1,780,000,000,000   market cap. We can only get 21   ounces of shiny metal rocks with our one Bitcoin, of which there are 19,957,741.79   of. An average fees per block are, well, average   0.03   BTC taking the fees on a per block basis.  

It looks like, I don't know, 29 blocks carrying 58,000   unconfirmed transactions waiting to clear at four sats per vbyte.   Low priority is costing one.   Hash rate is down a little bit. We're at 1.02   zeta hashes per second. I've got enough of a graph on mempool dot space to say   definitively   that there is   a decline   in hash rate, but yet we are still at 1.02   zeta hashes   per second.   We could be at point we could we could be at 500 x of hashes per second, and it still wouldn't phase me, Other than the fact that it means a whole bunch of miners are kicking out. But   we are seeing   we are seeing some minor capitulation   as far as hash rate is concerned.  

I did see a report somewhere this morning that said that miners seem to be selling a little bit more as of late. I don't know. We'll we'll you know? It's a long game, y'all. We'll we'll have to to stay to the end.   From Chuck e Schwab, yesterday's episode of Bitcoin and I got 100 sats from Nikaz 18 says, live low   Spitball Marksman   with $21.70   sats says, Great show.   Nick Dos,   with $1.15   says, Cheers. Cheers right back at you. Pies with $1.21   sats and a whole bunch of   emojis I can't read, and you know why. Jason High with 200   says, why was the mushroom oh, no. That was from yesterday. So I only got I only got a few boostograms this morning. Come on, guys. Step it up. I'm starving over here. Somebody's gotta feed my chicken wing addiction.  

That's the weather report.   Welcome to part two of the news that you can use   licensing   to earn.   Man, this this is this is probably gonna send me on a rant.   If I do get into one, my apologies before it even starts, but Ayes   Karaman   from Cointelegraph   has this headline.   Licensing   to earn protocol turns intellectual   property rights   into real world assets.   Again, I ask before we proceed, what could possibly go wrong?   Wow.   BeatSwap,   a full stack infrastructure that brings intellectual   property rights on chain,   recently launched its first platform.   Royalties   are how artists and creators live off their work. But what should flow like a steady stream often turns into a trickle by the time it reaches them. Intellectual property or IP   makes its way to the audience through intermediaries   and traditional markets at each step. A cut is taken   under long contracts with dense legal language that are difficult for creators to track or compare By the time payments make their rounds, much of the value their work generated has already slipped elsewhere,   buried in splits and figures the creator never sees in full. Such a system has its downsides for consumers as well.  

Web three platform,   BeatSwap, presents a blockchain based solution, yeehaw, that removes   the middlemen   from the process and puts both creators and audience in the driver's seat of the creator economy.   Okay. Right now, I wanna say one thing.   Bitcoin, Nostra, and podcasting two point o.   And, yes, you'll go, what about video? Dude,   just consider, like, all recorded media, both audio and video,   underneath the umbrella of podcasting two point o, and   just go with it. Okay? Just trust me. Just go with it. Yes. You can split hairs.   But when I say podcasting two point o, I mean all of that.  

Audio only.   Video only. Pictures.   Memes.   I   like whole   videos, whatever whatever you can think of songs.   We've already been doing this shit with Nostr   and and and p two p value.   I do it with with,   oh, god,   value value for value advertising.   I do it the the this whole podcast is based on value for value. If you get value out of it, you give me boostograms   or find some other way to to help fund the show.   Right? We're already doing this. I don't need my intellectual property represented for me on a fucking blockchain. This is ridiculous   already. We already   have everything that we need to do this.  

This is just a layer of abstraction   that is not helping anybody   do anything.   But BeatSwap,   being the full stack web three infrastructure that it is, allows creators to register and tokenize   IP rights through its   RWA   launcher architecture.   These real world asset,   or rather real world assets   enable owners to receive royalties from the tokenized work without any intermediary involved. And again, I say we already have this.   Unlike nonfungible tokens, a widespread method for tokenizing intellectual property,   I or rather,   RWA   is real world assets, can be fractionalized.  

Well, this means both the creator and the fans can have a stake in the IP and gain a right to its appreciation and revenue stream.   Alongside the royalties paid out in USDT   or Tether,   participants also receive some other shitcoin,   the ecosystem's   native token. I guess that's the BTX they're talking about. It's a shitcoin.   Though the licensing to earn mechanism or through the licensing to earn mechanism,   adding an additional layer of rewards   and an and I'm saying an additional layer of stupid.   BeatSwap utilizes   decentralized   physical network   or d pin infrastructures   to track usage data and takes monthly snapshots to determine distributions.  

Constant on chain records allow all parties to gain a transparent view of how each work is used, how much revenue it generates,   and how royalty payments are shared. Yay. Yay.   The architecture that integrates the ecosystem's licensing system,   with the snapshot mechanism recently went live on o p b n b, a layer two solution built on BNB chain.   This licensing to earn framework distributes   these shitty ass BTX tokens   based on verified usage data.   How can I verify that?   This marks the first step toward BeatSwap becoming a fully decentralized marketplace for the creator economy.   Visibility is a major problem or concern that pushes creators to work with intermediaries,   And BeatSwap develops a Web three native solution to provide creators and artists with a place to showcase their work. The upcoming solution   called   Space   is a social media platform   because we can't come up with anything new   where creators can launch personalized   spaces   Does this sound like Myspace to you? It does to me It displays their licensed   IPs   Okay. Their licensed IPs. Who's licensed?  

Your license?   What are you getting off the top?   This is bullshit.   Nobody needs any of this, and it needs to die.   Alright. Enough of that. Let's get on to this one. JPMorgan   says strategy's resilience   is key   to Bitcoin's   price direction,   at least in the near term.   Yogiti   Khatri from The Block is writing this one.   Strategies   resilience matters more for Bitcoin's near term price outlook   than minor activity according to JPMorgan   analysts.   That's despite the fact that the world's largest Bitcoin holder has yet to sell any Bitcoin and what appears to be an increasing sell pressure   from Bitcoin miners. Remember I was saying that I had   found an article about that. Well, that's where that's coming from.  

Bitcoin's prices remained under pressure recently because of two factors.   According to the JPMorgan,   an analyst, anyway,   led by managing director, Nikalos,   there is no way I can pronounce his name. It's Greek, and it's very long, and I'm not going to pronounce it. So let's just call him Nicholas,   said in a Wednesday report.   Those factors include the recent decline in the Bitcoin network hash rate   and mining difficulty   and the developments around strategy. Let's pause here just to say there hasn't been that much of a decline   in the Bitcoin network hash rate.  

We got up to a row of sticks, 1.11   exahashes per se or a,   god.   What is it?   Whatever. The big one.   I can't remember. My brain's not working. You know what I mean. And then it's it's fallen to 0.01   or 0.02   this morning.   Well, guys, I mean, just weeks ago, was it, like, you know, 800 exahashes per second, and then it was 900 exahashes per second. And then we got into the oh, terahash. We got into the terahash range.   Was it terahash?   Oh, my god. Hold on for a second. This is driving me up the wall, and I gotta go check.   Oh my god.  

Do do do, I'm   almost there, I promise. Zeta Hash, not terash, Zeta Hash.   And now it's at 1.02   Zeta Hash per second. There's not that much decline, y'all.   So I think that's a little bit of a, I don't know, a little bit of a red herring. But Bitcoin's price has remained under pressure recently because of those factors according to these analysts. And the decline in hash rate mining difficulty reflects two forces.   China has reiterated   its ban on Bitcoin mining   after a surge in private mining activity and high cost miners outside China retreating as lower prices and elevated energy costs squeeze profitability.   Let's look at that China reiterating its ban on Bitcoin mining.  

What it was really reiterating   was was China's ban on   Bitcoin trading.   It was really about the trading. They   put mining in there just because they always did, but it wasn't a reiteration of the mining ban. It was that   we had they had a bunch of Chinese traders   that were really ramping up their trading in crypto cryptocurrency, and that's what pissed off the the People's Bank of China.   And so, clearly, the president of China followed suit, and the rest of the administration did too, and they've reiterated. But it wasn't centered around Bitcoin mining. It was about trading. Let's be very clear about that.   So   while ordinarily   a drop in hash rate boosts miner revenue,   the analyst said, quote, the Bitcoin price continues to hover below its production cost,   leading to sell pressure on the first and largest cryptocurrency.  

And this is where it gets funny.   The JPMorgan   analysts now estimate Bitcoin's production cost at $90,000   per,   which was down from $94,000   last month.   The updated estimate assumes electricity   at   5¢   per kilowatt hour with each one cent per kilowatt hour increase raising production cost by $18,000   for higher cost producers, the analyst estimates.   Let's pause one more time to call bullshit on this $90,000   per Bitcoin production number. It is not   costing   $90,000   per Bitcoin to mine a Bitcoin.   For some miners,   maybe.   For other miners,   definitely not.  

This is a bogus number.   Now what the true number is is very difficult to wrap for anybody to wrap their heads around, but it is way less   than $90,000   per Bitcoin.   So no, Virginia.   It is not true   that the Bitcoin mined and sold at $88,970   like the price is, you know, hovering around right now   is not going to incur a loss on your production of that same Bitcoin. That is not true. It's true for some,   a few,   probably a hand you know, maybe a couple.   But for the majority,   no. This is not true. This is what drives me crazy about these, quote, analysts at JPMorgan.   But they go on,   Quote, as profits get squeezed amid elevated electricity costs and lower Bitcoin price, certain high cost miners have been forced to sell Bitcoin in recent weeks according to JPMorgan's report.  

Even so, the analyst said miners are not the main driver of Bitcoin's next move.   Instead, they pointed to strategy   and their balance sheet and its ability to avoid selling Bitcoin.   Strategy's enterprise value to Bitcoin holdings ratio calculated as the combined market value of its debt,   preferreds, and equity   divided by the market value of its Bitcoin currently stands at 1.13.   That's the MNAV.   After declining sharply in the second half of this year, the analyst said,   the fact that it remains safely above one is, quote, encouraging   because it signals that strategy is unlikely to face pressure to sell Bitcoin to meet dividend or interest obligations. Quote, if this ratio stays above one and MicroStrategy can eventually avoid selling Bitcoin,   markets will likely be reassured and the worst for Bitcoin prices will likely be behind us, the analyst said.  

They also highlighted Strategy's recent creation of a $1,440,000,000,   reserve saying that the fund would cover up to two years of dividend and interest payments. It's more like one and a half years, but whatever.   This reserve further reduces the likelihood of forced Bitcoin sales   in the foreseeable future, they said, helping stabilize Bitcoin's outlook.   Strategy recently slowed its accumulation of Bitcoin, including one week that may have passed without any new buys.   However, the firm is still building its treasury and announced earlier this week that we're that, well, that they are at 650,000   BTC.  

Markets are now watching   whether MSCI   will remove strategy and other digital asset treasury companies from its equity indices.   JPMorgan   said the impact would likely be asymmetric.   A removal decision would have limited downside, the analyst said, because the risk is already more than priced in. Since October 10,   when MSCI   first announced its consultation,   Strategy's share price fell 40% through December 2, underperforming Bitcoin by 20%   or roughly $18,000,000,000   in market value.   The scale of that underperformance   suggests that markets   have already priced in exclusion from MSCI and potentially from all major equity indices according to the analysts.  

Last month, the analyst estimated that MSCI   exclusion   would induce $2,800,000,000   in outflows from strategy and 8,800,000,000.0   if all other equity indices were to follow suit.   At the same time, strategy's cofounder and executive chairman, Michael Saylor, said, quote, index classification   doesn't define us.   Our strategy is long term. Our conviction in Bitcoin is unwavering,   end quote.   The analyst said,   MSCI's   pending January 15 decision will be important for for strategy   and for Bitcoin's trajectory, but reiterated that a negative decision would likely have limited additional downside by contrast.   If MSCI   keeps strategy   in its indices, the analyst said both strategy and Bitcoin will likely rebound strongly toward their pre October 10 levels   before what became the largest   crypto liquidation event in history.  

The analyst said if Bitcoin's price   falls below its revised production cost estimate of $90,000   and stays there for an extended period as it did in 2018, more miners would come under pressure, potentially pushing production cost estimates even lower.   Production cost has historically acted as the soft floor or the support   level according to the analyst.   Still, they reiterated Bitcoin's longer term upside. The their volatility   adjusted comparison of Bitcoin to gold continues to imply a theoretical Bitcoin price of close to 170,000,   suggesting significant appreciation over the next six to twelve months if market conditions stabilize.  

Bitcoin is currently trading at around 92,340.   Yeah. Yeah. No. Not not right now. We we already saw that. But you get the you get the gist.   So JPMorgan analysts out there are basically   doing a couple of things. One, they're getting the price of production wrong, and they're using it as FUD, or at least it's it's it's acting as FUD. And the second is they're pinning all of Bitcoin's hopes on Michael Saylor's strategy.   And that is a bullshit mechanic.   Bitcoin was here long before Michael Saylor even we even knew his name,   and it will be here long after   we forget his name. If we do forget it, I mean, you know, it's possible that he just stays in the game and and it ends up being a fixture. Who knows? It doesn't really matter either way.  

We got here all by ourselves.   We really didn't need strategy. We didn't really need BlackRock. We don't really need any of this bullshit.   The only thing that Bitcoin actually requires   is   ridiculous   amounts   of money printing   and terrible economic policies around the world. And, honey, I don't see that shit changing anytime   soon.   Let's move on to Gary Gensler and the ghost of SEC past.   X   SEC chair reiterates,   Bitcoin is different than other crypto.   Bitcoin news written by NEMA.   Former   SEC chairman Gary Gensler has once again emphasized   his view that most cryptocurrencies are risky risky.  

In a recent Bloomberg interview, he said Bitcoin is treated differently from other digital coins.   While Bitcoin is still volatile, he believes   it has more credibility as a stronger standing   compared to thousands of alternative tokens. Gensler explained that the crypto market is full of speculation   and described most tokens as highly speculative   volatile assets,   meaning prices   often move based on hype rather than any perceived real value.   He said Bitcoin is closer to a commodity   similar to gold. While most other tokens do not provide dividends,   earnings, or any regular returns, as he put it. Quote,   putting aside Bitcoin for a minute, all the thousands of other tokens,   not the stablecoins   that are backed by US dollars, but all the thousands of their tokens,   you have to ask yourself,   what's the fundamentals?  

What's underlying it? End quote. His message to investors was simple. Be careful   and understand the risks. He repeated that thousands of cryptocurrencies   have weak fundamentals,   and people should think carefully before investing. And he noted, quote, the investing public   just needs to be aware of those risks, end quote.   Bitcoin stands apart,   according to Gensler, because it has been more widely accepted and better understood by regulators   unlike most other assets in the digital asset industry.   Gensler's comments   came at a time of major change in the industry. One of the biggest developments was Vanguard reversing its long standing anti Bitcoin policy.  

The market reacted very quickly. Bitcoin jumped around 6%   as trading began, and trading volume in Bitcoin ETFs reportedly reached 1,000,000,000,   an event nicknamed   the Vanguard effect by Bloomberg analysts. Yeah. You're giving a little too much weight to their pal, but whatever.   Gensler noted   that, quote,   ever since   antiquity okay.   This sounds like a sophomore college   term paper.   Since the beginning of time,   since before history began.   You you don't start your papers that way, boys and girls. It's it's trite.   It's it's just garbage.  

But whatever.   Ever since antiquity,   finance goes towards   centralization.   Even when systems start out decentralized,   he said that it's not surprising that Bitcoin is slowly becoming part of the traditional financial system through ETFs similar to how investors can trade gold and silver through exchange traded funds. And some people believe   digital assets have become a political issue, especially with public attention involving,   my god, the Trump family.   But Gensler disagrees.   He said this is not about Democrats versus Republicans.   It is about fairness and transparency in financial markets. Quote, when you buy and sell a stock or a bond,   you want to get various information   and the same treatment as the big investors, he said. He argued that fair access to information is the fairness   that underpins   US capital markets, end quote.  

Across interviews and news reports,   Gensler's message stays the same.   Bitcoin stands apart, but the crypto market is still risky. He believes most tokens have weak fundamentals and depend too heavily on speculation and hype. Bitcoin may be the only exception in his view, but even that   remains volatile.   So from beyond   the   grave of the SEC chair, and, no, Gensler's not dead, but his chairmanship definitely is,   we get the same message.   Bitcoin is different.   And even   Gensler still says that.   And he's absolutely   correct. Now on to Russia,   where VTB pushes to open Russia's first bank run Bitcoin trading desk as Kremlin   moves to classify   mining   as an export.  

And that's the most important part about this particular piece from Bitcoin magazine written by Micah Zimmerman. Russia's second largest lender,   VTB,   is positioning itself to become the first major bank in the country to let customers trade Bitcoin and crypto directly.   Andrei Yatskov,   head of VTB's brokerage arm, told Russian outlet RBC that client demand for real crypto, not just derivative products, is rising sharply.   Quote, as we see it, real cryptocurrency will be available for purchase via our brokerage accounts, he said, according to DLN   News reporting.  

The move comes despite the fact that crypto trading remains unregulated in Russia. And for now, banks can only offer   crypto linked derivatives,   a permission granted earlier this year to VTB's   rival,   Sberbank,   and the Moscow Exchange, but momentum in Moscow has turned.   After years of pushing for a full ban,   the central bank has recently signaled it is ready to regulate crypto instead,   reflecting mounting pressure from lawmakers, ministries, and businesses eager for a legal framework and that   goody goody tax revenue.   VTB plans to test its trading platform with super qualified clients,   which are those that hold over $1,300,000   in assets or earning more than $649,000   per year.  

The   commercial banks now see themselves pray playing a central role in a future market of licensed crypto brokers and depositories.   Yatska said clear rules would definitely boost transparency and confirm VTB intends to participate   once regulations are finalized.   Crypto is already finding new footholds in Russia from cross border payments to rapidly expanding industrial mining sectors.   The   tide is turning.   VTB   aims   to launch full crypto trading services as early as 2026.   Earlier this year, the Bank of Russia reportedly starting allowing domestic banks to conduct limited crypto operations under tight regulatory   oversight. Quote, we hold conservative views   and think about how appropriate it is for the banking sector   to include cryptocurrency   in its assets,   said Vladimir   Chestskin,   the first deputy chairman.  

In the meantime, a senior Kremlin official is saying that Russia should treat crypto mining as a formal export sector,   arguing that large volumes   of mined Bitcoin   effectively leave the country's economy   even without crossing a physical border.   Speaking at the Russia Calling Investment Forum,   Maxim Orshkin,   chief deputy of staff to president Vladimir Putin, said crypto flows are enormous yet absence   or absent   from official statistics   despite influencing   the foreign exchange market and Russia's balance   of payments.   Russia's legalized   industrial crypto mining   in 2024   in Orshkin   described the sector as a new and under undervalued   export item that the state fails to properly measure. And because Russian firms increasingly settle import bills with cryptocurrency,   those transactions   should be counted in the nation's trade and currency calculations, he said.  

Industry executives   say the scale justifies the shift   Via Numerai Group CEO   Oleg Yezhenko   estimates Russian miners will produce tens of thousands of BTC this year. Sergey Bezdolov,   head of the Industrial Mining Association, put output at roughly   55,000   BTC in 2023   and thirty five thousand in 2024.   Regulators   have tightened oversight as this sector expands, and companies and sole proprietors must register with the federal tax service. Hosting providers are, tracked in a dedicated registry, and miners face corporate tax rates as high as 25%.   Household miners do remain exempt from registration   only if their power consumption stays under 6,000 kilowatts per month or I'm sorry, kilowatt hours per month.  

The push to formalize the industry comes as authorities crack down on illegal operations that siphon electricity or evade taxes,   losses officials say run into the millions.   But with Russia now the world's number two Bitcoin mining nation,   pressure is mounting for Moscow to integrate the fast growing sector into its national accounts.   So this is an interesting turn of events. And, again, it has nothing to do with   VTB,   you know, wanting to to trade crypto. This is more about   the fact that these people are looking at Bitcoin mining as an export,   and they're going to do it, by the way. This is this isn't just gonna be something like a flash in a pan and then we all forget all about it. They want those numbers.  

And,   honestly,   is the the question that I have now because of that, is The United States   looking at   Bitcoin production inside our borders   also as an export.   I have heard   nothing about it.   I've been doing the show for well over seven years,   and not once,   especially since,   you know, we started getting a little bit friendlier and, you know, especially in Texas,   where, you know, this becomes sort of like a mining hub for Bitcoin.   I haven't heard a a single word about whether or not we are considering Bitcoin as an export.   So   if we haven't,   then Russia's lead here might actually change the scope and nature   of how other sovereign nations   look at their Bitcoin mining infrastructure.  

Because, honestly,   I think that Russia's kinda onto something. I don't I'm not gonna say that it's positive, but I'm also not gonna say that it's negative. I'm just gonna say   that it seems to be an important number that seems to be   flying under the radar   for sovereign nations that are wishing to engage in this. And if they were actually running the numbers on what this means to their exports,   they might find themselves in a much better position to call shots   against other nations. So that's that's all I got for you this morning.   It is Friday, so I will not be coming to you over the weekend as normal.  

If you would, please boost the show. And if you can't do that, if you just don't have any money,   you know, give me a five star review on Apple,   podcast reviews because it really does help.   I mean, a lot of people say that it doesn't do a damn thing. They're wrong. It actually does. It engages algorithms. It does all it does all that stuff, and we may hate it,   love it, or be neutral about it. It is a thing, and I've I've I've gotta figure out a way to do that, and I can only rely upon you,   my listeners, to kinda help me out with that. And if you don't like I said, if you don't have any money, if you give me a little bit of your time, give me a five star review on Apple reviews. It really does boost the reach of this particular podcast, and I wanna see those numbers continue to rise.   I hope you have a wonderful weekend, 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.