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Episode 1211 of Bitcoin And . . . is LIVE! 

Topics for today: 

• Saylor Swears He's Buying BTC
• Bankers Blocking Sony's Ambition
• CFO Steals $35M From Company - Loses All
• Bitcoin is The Schelling Point

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Today's Articles:

 
https://cointelegraph.com/news/alibaba-jumps-on-deposit-tokens-amid-china-s-stablecoin-crackdown

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/11/14/saylor-says-strategy-buying-bitcoin-shooting-down-rumors-of-sales

https://decrypt.co/348659/community-bankers-ask-occ-to-block-sonys-crypto-bank-ambitions

https://decrypt.co/348693/cfo-convicted-losing-35-million-crypto-side-hustle

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-aligns-all-political-parties-btc-policy-analysis

https://atlas21.com/emory-university-doubles-its-bitcoin-investment-52-million-in-grayscale-etf/

https://www.theblock.co/post/378869/bernstein-figure-upside-q3-beat

https://decrypt.co/348648/judge-denies-apple-openai-dismiss-elon-musks-antitrust-lawsuit

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[00:00:02] David Bennett:

It is 09:50AM   Pacific Standard Time. It is the fourteenth day in November twenty twenty five, and this is episode twelve eleven   of Bitcoin. And we're gonna just we're gonna dispense with all the pleasantries.   There's no no introduction. You're here for the news you can use and there's no reason not to get right down to brass taxes   or   brass deposit tokens.   Yay. I told you this was this this is shaping up to be a thing.   Like, you know, we kinda didn't really   we kinda really didn't,   see stable coins,   growing to where they actually are today   when Tether first started doing it. It was a novelty. It was it was simply a coin that people, you know, degen gamblers could use on exchanges to lose their life savings   most of the time. Some people actually made a shit ton of money doing that, but   98%   of people probably lost their children's college funds or their marriages or god only knows what else   because, yeah, degen gambling is not good. But now we have this thing called deposit tokens, and I've told you about them a couple of times,   and it looks like they're coming up. And I think we should probably keep an eye on that space, not because you want to invest in them, just so you know what the hell they are   and how the hell it might impact Bitcoin,   the economy, and you. And this one is written by Adrian Zmunsky from Cointelegraph.  

Alibaba   weighs deposit token as China clamps down on stable coins.   Okay. So there's there's always a pressure release valve, people.   Always.   You you try to close a window and a door opens. I swear to God. And it's like nobody seen it. We've been modern humans for   millennia   at this point, and we still just don't freaking get it. But the cross border e commerce arm   of Chinese tech behemoth Alibaba is working on a deposit token   amid Mainland China's crackdown on stablecoins according to CNBC.   Kao Zhang, Alibaba's   president, told CNBC in a Friday report that the tech giant   plans to use stablecoin   like   technology   to streamline overseas transactions.  

The model under consideration is a deposit token, which is a blockchain based instrument that represents a direct claim on a commercial bank deposit   and is treated as a regulated liability   of the issuing bank.   Traditional stablecoins, which these tokens   closely resemble,   are issued by private entities and backed by assets to maintain their value.   The report follows JPM Morgan Chase   reportedly rolling out its deposit token   to institutional clients earlier this week, pausing to say, and I brought you that news. So you should be well aware of that.   The news also follows reports   that Chinese technology giants, including Ant Group and jd.com,   suspended plans to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong after regulators in Beijing   expressed,   shall we say,   displeasure   with the plans?  

It almost sounds like   ancient Japan where you had to go apologize   to the emperor. And if you know what that entailed,   then you know where I'm coming from. Anyway,   the report   was just the latest of many suggesting the May that mainland   Chinese authorities appear dead set   on preventing a stablecoin industry   from arising in the country.   In July, both Ant Group and JD expressed interest in participating in Hong Kong's pilot stablecoin program   or launching tokenized financial products such as digital bonds.   Similarly,   HSBC   and the world's largest bank by total assets,   the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China,   were reported to share these Hong Kong stablecoin ambitions   in early September. But later that September,   a now removed report by Chinese financial outlet,   Kaksen,   or Caixen, or   is probably how it's more pronounced,   exclaimed or claimed that Chinese firms operating in Hong Kong may be forced to withdraw from cryptocurrencies   and cryptocurrency related activities.  

According to the report, policymakers would also impose restrictions on mainland companies' investments in crypto and cryptocurrency exchanges.   In early August, Chinese authorities reportedly instructed   local firms to cease publishing research   and holding seminars related to stablecoins,   citing concerns that stablecoins could be exploited as a tool for fraudulent activities. Yeah. Like sucking power out of the communist Chinese party, but whatever. Still,   China   is not entirely devoid of stablecoin ties. In late July,   Chinese blockchain   conflicts   announced a third version of its public network and introduced a new stablecoin backed by offshore   Chinese yuan. Still, the stablecoin aims to serve offshore   Chinese entities and countries involved in China's Belt and Road initiative,   not the Mainland.  

In late September, a regulated stablecoin tied to the international version of the Chinese yuan launched.   Still,   this product was also intended for foreign exchange markets and was launched at the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong, signaling a similar target market.   A recent analysis suggested   that we should not expect Chinese stablecoins to be allowed to circulate   in Mainland China.   Joshua Chu, co chair of the Hong Kong Web three Association, said, quote,   China is   unlikely   to issue stable coins   onshore.   That's the end of the article,   and that's gonna be the end of China,   or at least China as we know it. They're they're just not gonna I mean, sure.  

They can say, yeah. No no stablecoins allowed in China.   And and it will work. And they will not have stablecoins in China, and what will happen?   And, again, this this isn't me saying go out and buy tether. I'm actually not telling anybody to go buy stable coins.   I mean, do you do you need tether to do something?   Then okay. I guess. But, I mean, it's not an investment vehicle. You're just literally holding dollars.   Right?   Because it's backed by United States debt and Circle is too.   But we just print more money.   And by doing so, we're printing more debt instruments   and   Tether buys those debt instruments and then produce more Tether,   which does it it it's a complete and direct coupling   of the inflation of the US dollar to the inflation of Tether. You're not escaping inflation   with a stable coin.  

That is not a stable coin's purpose.   And anybody who tells you differently either doesn't know what the hell they're talking about or just straight up lying to you because they want you know, they have their own stable coin, and they want you to buy it so they can rug pull your ass. That is not what's happening.   So when I talk about stable coins, please do not confuse me with somebody who's pushing a shit coin.   These things are not going to go away.   So we really need to understand their function if they're going to live alongside all of us in this new and wonderful world that we call,   I don't know, rug pull central and whatever.  

My point is   China can do whatever the hell China does or wants to do.   But if they think that they're not going to be impacted by the rest of the world's adoption of stablecoin   for digital   online   money like transactions,   then they're fooling themselves.   They are absolutely   freaking fooling themselves, and they're going to be caught with their britches down   around their ankles, and god only knows what happens after that. And I don't wanna think about it. I wanna move on.   I really do. Because   MicroStrategy,   Saylor has made an announcement considering that we're   we were now officially in a bear market. We are below we've got a 20% pullback   from all time highs.  

Will it last? I don't know. That's not my job. I'm just saying everybody's   freaking out again. It's not like we haven't been here   many   times.   And really,   just take several deep breaths if you're freaking out. Michael Saylor says that strategy is still aggressively accumulating Bitcoin   and that there's, quote, no truth to the rumor.   And I'm hoping that Helene Braun from CoinDesk will tell us what that rumor   is.   Ignore the noise, says strategy   executive chairman, Michael Saylor.   With Bitcoin and strategy stock continuing their steep slides, Sailor in a Friday morning CNBC appearance said his company remains committed   to its BTC accumulation strategy, quote,   we are buying Bitcoin.  

We'll report   our next buys on Monday morning, Saylor   said, adding that the company is accelerating its purchases as he hinted that recent activity on the firm's wallets   will show aggressive accumulation. That remark comes after online speculation earlier on Friday,   suggesting   strategy had been selling Bitcoin as Bitcoin and micro or strategy both tumbled.   The rumors stemmed from an on chain data showing BTC moving out of the company controlled wallets.   Shortly following the CNBC appearance,   Saylor took to x saying, quote, there is no truth to this rumor.   As for the plunge in Bitcoin and what's next, Saylor, per usual, advised   frightened,   investor hold on. I screwed that up. As for the plunge in Bitcoin and what's next,   Sailor, as per usual, advised frightened investors to zoom out, noting Bitcoin was stuck in a range of 55,000   to 65,000   only a bit more than one year ago.  

Even after the recent plunge,   Bitcoin at $95,000   today is still showing a pretty good return, quote,   we've put in a pretty strong base of support around here, said Sailor, who added he's comfortable   BTC   could rally, you know, rally from these levels.   Strategy, however, is lower by 4% early Friday, and it has now hit below the 200 per share number,   now down nearly 35%   year to date. And Bitcoin is off its worst levels, but still   5.8%   down over the past twenty four hours   at 96,200   for investors.   The rumors   weren't far fetched.   Strategy now holds more than 64 no. 641,000   BTC,   still worth 22,500,000,000.0,   while the company's market cap has fallen below that value.  

Now the gap has pushed strategy's market to net value or MNAV below one,   a metric that suggests the stock may be undervalued.   In that light, selling some Bitcoin to stabilize the company   might seem rational.   That's and they leave it that way, which I I pooed.   Shame on you, CoinDesk, for leaving the last sentence   in a fearful environment,   one   of fear.   See, the   I I like to pause and and and make commentary on the actual news stories that I read and the structure in which they're written. We   Staylor said   okay. And he's he this isn't secondhand. He said this on CNBC   in an interview. It's recorded. Does it mean he's not lying?  

I don't know.   But chances are really good   that it's harder for somebody to lie, in sailors position rather, to actually bold face lie on TV than if he were to write an ex post. Does that mean that it doesn't happen? Of course, it happens.   Have you seen politicians?   There are their lips moving on TV? Well, then they're lying to you.   That's politicians.   And I'm not saying that it doesn't happen with business people. They lie too. Saylor might be lying through his teeth. I'm just saying that it's less likely   than   somebody saying, I heard Saylor say, or I saw a note written, or blah blah blah blah blah. So according to Saylor, they're not selling that they are aggressively buying Bitcoin, and that   number will appear on Monday. And we'll find out on Monday what the hell's going on. But the last sentence here,   in that light,   selling some Bitcoin to stabilize the company   might seem rational.  

And that's the end of the article?   In my opinion, that's a little bit unethical. And I think it's a little bit more of a of a an eye catching thing, maybe to grope   people into reading more of of, CoinDesk stories. I don't know. But I I find it   kind of reprehensible behavior. I I don't think that journalists should be acting in such a way. I'm just saying. K?   Now onto decrypt,   where community bankers ask the OCC,   the office of the comptroller of the currency,   to block   Sony's crypto bank ambitions.   Okay. So Vismaya v is writing this one.   The independent Community Bankers of America,   a national trade association   representing   small banks in The United States,   has asked regulators to block Sony Bank's bid for a National Trust charter to issue   stablecoins.  

In a letter sent last week to the office of the comptroller of the currency, the group warned,   the Japanese financial giant is exploiting regulatory loopholes to bypass traditional banking oversight.   The ICBA   called Sony Bank's application for its proposed subsidiary   called Connectia Trust   an impermissible   reinterpretation   of federal law that could for seeably lead to consumer confusion   and consumer harm   in the event of insolvency.   Pausing to say, what does that sound like?   Oh, my god. Won't somebody think of the children?   It's the same argument.  

Oh my god. Won't somebody protect the consumer?   I call bullshit.   They're scared. That's what's going on. Sony Bank in October,   to establish Connecteo, which would issue dollar peg stablecoins   and maintain reserve assets as well as provide digital asset custody services.   Okay. Well, the application joins a growing list that includes Coinbase, crypto.com,   Circle, Ripple Bridge, which is Stripe's stablecoin arm, and Paxos.   All of them are seeking federal charters as the Stablecoin market surges past $311,000,000,000   following the passage of the Genius Act in July. The ICBA says Conecte a Stablecoin shares many features with bank deposits,   electronic transfers, point of sale spending, and 1 to $1 redemption,   yet would avoid federal deposit insurance and community reinvestment act requirements   that apply to traditional banks. Quote,   this approach appears designed by Sony Bank to receive the benefits of a United States bank charter without becoming subject to the full scope   of United States bank regulations,   Mickey Marshall, the ICBA's   vice president and regulatory counsel wrote.  

The letter questions whether ConnecTIA qualifies for bank holding company act   exemptions   limited to institutions that operate solely in a trust or a fiduciary   capacity, noting   that trust banks lose that status   if they allow deposits   withdrawalable   by check or similar means for payment to any other third party.   Connecke has plan to engage in the business of banking and activities incidental to the business of banking permissible   for a national bank   appears to lay the groundwork for issuing debit cards, and that would violate statutory restrictions, the association noted.   The group also questioned Sony Group's,   corporations   roughly 20% stake in Sony Financial Group, Connecke's parents, saying that it warrants further investigation of whether   a controlling influence exists that would trigger bank holding   company regulation.  

The ICBA   also cautioned that the OCC   hasn't resolved an uninsured National Bank   since 1933   and lacks the expertise   to manage a complex crypto collapse,   warning that a single failure   in key reassembly   or system migration could result in permanent loss of access to billions   in customer   assets. God, they are really playing the fear card on that one.   The opposition comes amid similar objections.   The group filed against Coinbase's trust charter application earlier this month,   prompting Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Gruel to accuse lobbyist of trying to dig   regulatory   moats rather than protect consumers.  

Caden   Stadelman,   chief technology officer at Komodo Platform, told Decrypt the banking lobby's concerns over Connectia are, quote,   overstated   and driven by big bank interests.   The risks to consumers of stablecoins are being exaggerated in the name of protectionism   by big banks of their dominance in western finance,   stablecoins decentralized   money and helps decrease   reliance on incumbent banks, end quote.   Regulators   should foster innovation while enforcing sensible rules like the Genius Act, he said, arguing that stablecoins   serve unbanked populations   and can minimize bank run risks   through on chain transparency.  

Do not trust stablecoins and do not also,   by the way, trust the banks that don't want stablecoins.   This you know, honestly,   I hope they fight themselves   in in the coliseum   on the coliseum floor to the death while we cheer on   in our bread and circus over here. Right?   As long as they pull the steam out of each other, then they're that means they're worried about each other and they're not worried about Bitcoin.   Again, and I've said this a lot, and I used to talk about it a lot more.   This is the kind of shit that acts as what's called ablative armor to Bitcoin.   As long as they're wasting their ordinance   shelling each other,   Bitcoin is relatively kind of left alone.  

So just   be aware. Right? The the this shit's going on. Now in that story,   the guy makes a couple of points.   There I mean,   from a regulatory standpoint,   if Sony is transgressing those regulations,   then the ICBA   or whatever it's called   has a right to call foul, and that's what they're doing. But I also tend to agree with the other guy saying, well, some of these fears are overblown.   It doesn't really matter because this is an act of fear.   They know what's coming. They can't stop it. And now   they're probably   having a moment of grief in the banking industry that they spent so long   laughing at Bitcoin   and Bitcoiners   that they didn't   spend a single minute   researching the ecosystem.  

They they were like, they would would just hide behind   the the apron   of Jamie Dimon,   who is basically their you know, the one of the biggest guys that you can stand behind while he's saying Bitcoin sucks and it's rat poison and and it needs to be stopped. And they were like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, mommy. Yeah. You tell them, mommy. And instead of you know, by doing that, what they weren't doing was getting out from behind the apron   and looking into this shit themselves   so that they could have repositioned themselves or at least been in a position   to reposition themselves rather quickly   than doing everything they can. Now they have to waste all their money and all their energy and all their time   trying to stall   stablecoins   while they get their own ready. And they should have been doing that shit seven years ago. It's their fault.  

I am not shedding one bloody tear. But what I am gonna do is later on today, I'm gonna cook a steak and I'm gonna start it with great ghee at greatghee.com.   Ghee, that's g h e e. What the hell is ghee from greatghee.com?   Well, it's clarified butter. And it's made by simmering butter to remove the water, all the milk solids, and any other impurities   leaving behind a golden lactose free oil with a nutty flavor and a very high smoking temperature.   Unlike regular butter, ghee   is shelf stable. That means it doesn't need refrigeration.   Although, I wouldn't open a can of this and let it and then keep it on the counter for, like, nine months.  

That's just dumb. Right? Plus, this stuff is so delicious   on everything that you cook.   Like,   if you're gonna cook if you're cooking unless you need the milk solids, like, if you're gonna make cookies, you probably want the milk solids in there. But if you're gonna, like, I don't know, cook a steak on a flat iron grill or something like that, dude, you cannot go wrong   with just a little bit of ghee on that on that steak as the oil base. It's it's it's absolutely fabulous.   Goes on everything. You just spread it on toast. It's it's when they say it's an oil at room temperature, it's actually a solid, but it melts very quickly, and it has a very high smoking temperature. It's very stable.   I love this stuff. Go to greatghee.com.  

That's greatghee,   ghee,.com.   Get yourself a big old jar of ghee and tell them that Bitcoin and sent you by using the coupon code Bitcoin and that lets Great Gi know that I made a sale for him here at the Circle p. It's open for businesses where I bring plebs with goods and services like you to plebs just like you who want to buy those goods and services. But you're gonna buy it in Bitcoin because if you're not selling it in Bitcoin, you ain't in the circle p. Greatg.com.   Go get you some right now. CFO   has been convicted for losing   $35,000,000   of company money   in his crypto side hustle.  

Yeah. Probably not a good idea.   Sander Lutz   from decrypt.co.   Lord have mercy. Washington man was convicted in a federal jury trial this week for taking tens of millions of dollars from the company that he worked for   and losing nearly all of it in a botched crypto play.   Again,   boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, Dominoon Heron,   don't do this. This This is gonna get you in trouble. You don't   shit coin.   Don't buy   time tops and bottoms.   This is how you get destroyed and like this poor dumbass gets so destroyed you end up in jail.   Nevin Shetty, who's only 41 years old,   was found guilty on Thursday on four count of four counts of wire fraud for taking and misusing $35,000,000   worth of funds from a private software company that he worked for as their chief financial officer.  

He's like c suite, dude, and he stole from his own company.   Though Shetty himself drafted a conservative investment policy for the start up, which called for its money to be invested only   in FDIC   insured treasury   and bank accounts, the executive soon secretly moved tens of millions of dollars of company funds   to a crypto platform   that he himself had developed.   He rolled his own   and took his company   the company he worked for his money   and put it into his   role own rolled exchange   or platform? Oh my god. This gets worse and worse and worse.   Shetty opted to transfer the funds to his crypto business weeks after receiving news that he would soon be let go   due to performance concerns according to federal prosecutors.  

Through his crypto platform called Hightower   Treasury,   Shetty invested the company's funds in a variety of high yield decentralized   finance lending protocols.   The plan worked well, at least initially.   During the very first weeks of the scheme in April   2022,   Shady generated over a $133,000   of profits for himself   and his business partner, who I guess has yet to be named.   But   then crypto winter came.   In early May twenty twenty two, the algorithmic stablecoin, Terra, collapsed,   instantly wiping out $60,000,000,000   in value and dragging the rest of the crypto market down with it. In the days that followed, Shady's $35,000,000   worth of crypto investments   plunged   towards worthlessness.  

By May   by 05/13/2022,   they had fallen to a value of   near zero.   Shortly after the funds were wiped out, Shetty told two of his colleagues at the software company what had happened.   He was promptly fired.   A Seattle jury convicted Shetty on four counts of wire fraud after a mere ten hours of deliberation.   The executive will be sentenced in February.   He faces up to 20   in prison.   He'll be out, you know, you know, shorter than that for good behavior,   but holy crap.   So you didn't even   you didn't even have the the good sense to   buy Bitcoin.  

Well, it wouldn't have mattered, he would have lost it. He would have lost his ass on that too because everything went down.   Don't do this kind of shit. And I'm not I'm even talking about just scale it back.   You're not working for a company.   You're not working with $35,000,000.   You're working with, like, a little bit of your paycheck or something like that or your own side hustle,   you know, money.   You   don't buy   shit in defi lending protocols and sushi swap and whatever.   Come on, man.   We've been through this before.   You buy   Bitcoin, you hold Bitcoin. Let's run the numbers.  

Woo hoo. CNBC futures and commodities. Let's see what kind of carnage is going on.   Brent North Sea   is up   by two and a quarter points to $64 and 4 dimes a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude is up two and a half percent,   finally back up above 60 to $60.16.   And the hedge that is natural gas   is down two and a half percent   just like clockwork,   $4.52   per thousand cubic feet. Gasoline is up 2.7   to just over $2 a gallon, and Murbin crude   is up 1.75   to $66.17.   Shiny metal rocks getting   their clocks cleaned.   Palladium down three and a half.   Gold down two and a half. Still above 40 or 4,000, but it's at 4,093.  

Platinum   getting   plunged 3%.   Silver over the cliff,   four and a quarter percent. Copper down 1%.   Almost all ag is in the red except for sugar, which is up 2.84%.   Biggest loser today looking to be   chocolate down 3.68%.   Live cattle, however,   point 15% to the upside. Lean hogs point up point eight six. No McRib for you.   Feeder cattle up one half.   The S and Ps in the green by point 14%.   Nasdaq up over a quarter, the Dow is down just under a half point, and the S and P Mini is crawling sideways slightly in the red, and $95,980.   It doesn't sound as much fun to say   any numbers below a 100,000, but that's where we are, and I'm not gonna cry about it. Why?  

Because I'm kinda numb.   I've seen it all before.   Every like, when we got up to 20,000 in 2017   and it plunged, I felt terrible.   And then and then it got up to even higher than that and then it plunged. And it was back at to, like, around 18,000 or something like that. And I felt terrible. And then it rose again and then it plunged and this time it was between 40 and 60,000 and I felt terrible.   I'm done feeling terrible.   I'm just I'm I'm just done. I'm I I can't tell if it's because I'm numb   or if I just don't have any more energy for it. But here's what I advise.   If you're new,   lean on the old timers.  

We've we've seen it so many times before.   We've developed a great amount of patience, and I gotta tell you,   patience is a virtue   for a reason.   You know, people always say that. Oh, well, just remember, patience is a virtue. Yeah. Really? Why? Well, there's a reason for that.   To remain   calm.   If you can quiet your nervous system   and be calm   and realize that you just got a shocking amount of news, it could be a job loss. It could be, I don't know, the price of Bitcoin.   You didn't immediately   perish.   You're still   not dead,   which means that you have options.  

Pity only those that die   instantly,   physically,   when they get handed   terrible news or news that they don't like, which   rarely, if ever, actually happens.   Patience is a virtue for a reason.   Embrace it.   And embrace the fact that we can only get 23.5   ounces of shiny metal rocks with our one Bitcoin of which there are 19,948,607.41   of an average fees per block or low,   0.02.   BTC taking in fees on a per block basis. It's about 35 blocks carrying 64,000   transactions   waiting to clear at high priority rates of one no. 2 Satoshis per vbyte. Low priorities   are one.  

Still Zeta Hash territory.   1.09.   We've actually had   an increase from yesterday's   1.08.   Zeta Hash is per second. It's all the protection for the Bitcoin network that you will need and more. And from Bambi's Firefight, yesterday's episode of Bitcoin and I got God's death with $2.37   sat says, thank you, sir. No. Thank you. Here and gone with a 100 says, Bitcoin under the two hundred day moving average. It's on   sale.   Time to smash.   Jason High with 500 says, thanks for the news we can use. You're welcome. Jubjub with 3,000 sats. Yeah, baby. Have some cheap sats.   I remember a time when that would have been $3,   but I digress.  

Bitcoin for president with 500 sets says, I love your show. I look forward to it daily. Thank you. No. Thank you.   And he actually he wrote that   because, I don't know, he listens to the show. Thank you, Bitcoin for president.   I certainly appreciate it. And I I hope you enjoy this show as well too for this, Friday.   Pies with one twenty one says thank you, sir. No. Thank you. And that's gonna do it for the weather report.   Welcome to part two of the news that you can use. Bitcoin can win US voters regardless   of political lean   according to a survey. Brand, Braden Lindria from Cointelegraph   starts us off in the second half here.  

Bitcoin can resonate with US voters   even across political divides according to a new analysis from the BTC Policy Institute   released on Thursday,   which shows that each party warms to Bitcoin   when it's seen as aligning with their core values.   Pausing because I want to say one phrase,   shelling point.   If I remember and my little neurons can rub together and keep a fire going in my mind, and I can remember what the hell's going on. I'll I'll try to say more about that later. But continuing,   BTC policy utilized data from a June 2025 survey conducted by The US based polling analytics platform,   Signal, spelled with a c y g,   Signal.  

It's actually I don't know. It's kinda cool. To model how Democrats,   Republicans, and Independents   respond   to specific Bitcoin   narratives.   Democrats were mostly attracted to Bitcoin's ability to enhance the financial freedom   and inclusion for underserved populations,   while both Republicans   as well as Independents   liked the stability   that Bitcoin mining   brings to the energy grid   and the right to transact without government interference.   Independents were, however, twice as likely to own Bitcoin as Republicans   and over five times more than Democrats.  

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies   have lately been seen as a means for financial innovation,   having been embraced by the Trump administration so far in 2025,   while it saw more cautious treatment under the previous administration. However,   it's worth noting that Bitcoin runs purely on math and code and has no affiliation with people,   companies, or political parties.   BTC policy   stated that Bitcoin friendly policymakers should educate their audiences   on how Bitcoin aligns with their core beliefs   rather than referring to it as an investment,   quote, advocacy initiatives should prioritize   value based messaging   over appeals to personal financial   gain.  

It said, Bitcoin's role in financial inclusion, protection from authoritarian   control, and sustainable   technology   or technological innovation could appeal   across party lines to reduce polarization   and improve bipartisan   support for measures such as strategic Bitcoin reserve.   Quote,   policy makers across the aisle can leverage these insights   to advance legislation   that appeals to voter shared values of financial freedom and democracy   with low risk   of alienating   their voter bases.   This is actually more key   than I think people would be giving this   this story credit for.  

I mentioned shelling point. If you don't know what that is, I'm not gonna say look it up. I'm just gonna give you a a mild primer   of it here, and I'm probably gonna screw this up.   Just bear with me.   If you had called a friend and said, hey, I'm gonna be in New York City. You live in New York City. We gotta meet up and go have a beer.   And I'll be there on Thursday, not sure what time yet.   Okay. So at least you got the day. Right? Thursday.   But   neither one of you know what time you're gonna go. And then   the phone gets cut off.   Right? You you something happens.  

You're mid flight.   You're mid flight and something happens. I don't know. Maybe it was an EMP. Maybe it was a alien invasion. Who gives a shit? But your plane lands at LaGuardia Airport, New York City, and you get out, but you have you didn't make plans to meet.   He knows or she knows that you're gonna be there on Thursday, and that's that day. You're you're you've landed at LaGuardia on Thursday.   Where do you go to meet your friend?   You find the shelling point. And many people would say, if you didn't if if the two of you only knew what day you were going to be in New York City, but you didn't know where to meet, you didn't know where to go, and you had no plans,   where do you think the most likely place that you would be able to find this other individual would be, especially if they knew that you were gonna be in New York City? And most of them say, at the clock at Grand Central Station.  

That is a shelling point. That's where two people   that don't know each other or don't know much about each other or don't know certain things   about each other,   that's where they can find common ground. That's   another way to put what a shelling point is is a natural common ground   for either people that don't know each other or people that don't know certain things about each other. That's where we are with Bitcoin.   Bitcoin itself is a shelling point. It's been said that many, many times by many, many thinkers in the space,   but I'm saying it again. In this case, in the political divide, we've got Democrats, Independents, and Republicans.  

And all of them   can find   some common ground with Bitcoin.   We've lost in in the political structure in The United States. It is   it is worse it is the worst divide that I've ever seen in my entire life, and I've been around   long enough   where I've seen a lot of this shit, and I've never seen it this bad.   And it's been bad for ten years.   It was bad fifteen years ago.   It was getting bad twenty years ago.   It's unrecognizable   twenty five and thirty years ago.   You know, especially around twenty five years ago when nine eleven happened, and   Republicans and Independents and Democrats, you couldn't tell them apart.  

They all they were all running in the same direction towards Patriot Act, which sucks. It's not patriotic at all, but you get my drift.   They had their shelling point.   Right? But it's just in twenty five years,   not only has that   unity dissolved,   but we've got the biggest rift we've ever seen.   This analysis is suggesting   that there could be enough common ground   to bridge that gap.   I don't trust politicians as far as I can throw them. Personally, I think they should all be taken out in the street and tarred and feathered.   At least   at least for no other reason than to remind them who they work for. Maybe we'd even let them get cleaned up after parading them around the streets for a couple of days   and go back to their jobs and see if they actually change their tune.  

Not advocating for them to be killed or anything like that. I'm just saying,   this is what I was saying yesterday, our apathy just lets these freaks run wild. At one point or another, maybe they should be tarred and feathered. As a reminder, you are human,   you are vulnerable, you work for us.   You stop screwing with us, and we won't screw with you.   It's pretty fucking simple. But   with divides like this in the political spectrum,   it's not good for anybody.   Not good for anybody.   If Bitcoin can serve as a shelling point, a common meeting ground   for people that otherwise would have nothing in common with each other,   then bridges can be built and wounds can be healed.  

We've gotta remember what Bitcoin is here for. It's here for several reasons.   This is one of them.   Meanwhile,   over at Emory University,   they've doubled their Bitcoin investment   52,000,000   in the grayscale   ETF.   Atlas21.com   is telling us about it. Private   Emory University, which is located in Georgia, has expanded its exposure to Bitcoin   According to the 13 f filing submitted to the SEC November 13,   there's a lot of thirteens there, the university held over 1,000,000 shares of the grayscale   Bitcoin   mini trust as of September 30,   representing a value of approximately $52,000,000   at that date, which is much different than today. This marks a substantial increase compared   to just under 500,000   shares held at the end of the second quarter.  

The university's   journey with Bitcoin began October 2024,   when it first disclosed a stake in the Grayscale Trust valued at just over $15,000,000   at the time.   Meanwhile, its exposure to BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF remained unchanged   during the third quarter maintaining a value of around $290,000.   The endowment fund also made a new investment in the BlackRock shares Gold Trust,   holding nearly $79,000,000   by the end of the third quarter. Additionally, the fund   increased its stake stake in the exchange Coinbase,   now holding almost 4,500   shares valued at 1,200,000.0,   slightly up from 4,312   shares   the previous year.  

Endowment funds are long term investment vehicles created to support nonprofit organizations like universities,   hospitals, and religious institutions.   So Georgia based,   Emory University   going for broke over there. I'd it   it's interesting that Atlas twenty one didn't say how much money,   on paper that they're not worth anymore.   You know, they   again,   not telling bad news   is kinda was not that it's unethical. It's like, well, I was saying about that other story. You ended the story with a fear with a fear sentence. If you really wanted to actually do this right, then this Atlas 21 story should have said how much these investments are worth. But put it in the damn middle   of the story and don't end it oh, boy. Don't end the story with, oh, by the way,   Emory University lost their ass and you are too. Be fearful. Be very, very fearful. No. You just stick it in the middle and say, oh, okay. Just for journalistic integrity,   by the way, with the current, you know, the current downtrend   in   in Bitcoin and the rest of all this shit,   yeah, it's not worth that much anymore. It's worth this. But, you know, hey, look. They they increase their stuff and then have some commentary on it. I'm just saying they didn't say anything about the fact that it is probably not worth $52,000,000   because that was the number   on September 30, which was, what, fifteen days ago?  

I'm just saying.   Now I'm gonna say this.   Bernstein   sees 56%   upside   for figure   as tokenized   loan growth   fuels massive beat in the third quarter.   This is James Hunt riding for the block.   I'm bringing you this   as sort of a warning.   Like like I'm saying we should look at,   deposit   tokens   and make sure that we don't, you know,   one day wake up and it's like another stable coin thing where it's freaking huge and it's everywhere and you don't understand it and you're like, what the hell is going on? Yeah. Well, lending. Alright? Let's you know and and we've been through this game before with BlockFi and all the rest of that crap. Right? So let's keep an eye on what's going on here with Figure Technology Solutions delivering what analyst at research and brokerage firm, Bernstein, described as a massive beat in the third quarter driven by accelerating tokenized   loan growth.  

Tokenized   loan   growth. Tokenized loans, ladies and gentlemen. Make sure you don't miss this. Not because you need to invest in it or not because you need to take part of it. You just need to know that it's there.   And my gut feeling is is that   this is not as good of a deal as it's gonna be made out to be and could possibly cause problems in the future. So it's better to be aware of the there it is. The the Frank Herbert   logic from Dune.   The best way of avoiding a trap   is knowing of its existence.   It's good it's good advice. But on November 13,   FIGURE reported adjusted revenue of about a $156,000,000   in the third quarter.  

That exceeded consensus expectations   of around a 119,000,000   by 30%.   Meanwhile,   adjusted EBIT   so sorry.   EBITDA   reached approximately 86,000,000,   which was 60 percent above consensus estimates of roughly only 40 54,000,000.   This whole thing, this Figur Technology Solutions was founded by SoFi cofounder,   Mark Cagney.   FIGURE   has grown into the leading independent   non bank   home equity line of credit originator in The US going public   on the Nasdaq in September. Holy shit. Oh, god.   Why am I kinda puking   a   little   bit?   Think 2007,   2008,   2009.  

Let   me let me let me just read it again.   Figure   has grown into the leading   independent   non bank   home equity line of credit originator. They're making home equity loans.   Making   home equity loans in this housing market   Which we all know is   way overblown   and just one thing can happen   just like it did at the 2007   and getting into 2008.   And a whole   I don't like this. I don't like this one bit. Total loan originations   rose roughly 34%   quarter over quarter   to 2,500,000,000.0.   That's billion with a b led by approximately   $2,400,000,000   in home equity lines of credit. God. While HELOC originations   typically   show strong q three seasonality,   figures consumer   loan volumes were up around 70%   year over year   compared with roughly 4% growth across the broader HELOC industry, Bernstein analyst led by Gautam   Shugani   noted in a Friday report. Newer categories,   including   crypto backed loans, debt service coverage ratio loans, and small business loans also contributed around $80,000,000   in volume reflecting early early traction   outside the company's core   HELOC segments. So they're making   different loans   than home equity lines of credit.  

That's what HELOC means.   Partner originated and tokenized loans remain the centerpiece of Figurs model.   Accounting for 76%   of total loan volume in q three while Figur branded loans contributed   the remaining   24%.   The FIGURE Connect marketplace alone continued to expand its share, contributing about 46%   of all of its loan activity for the quarter,   and that's up from around 42%   in the second quarter.   Connect   volumes   rose to roughly $1,100,000,000,   up 48%   quarter over quarter.   FIGURE continues to follow its asset light model, positioning itself as a blockchain based platform   for loan origination   with tokenized partner channels making a strong contribution to the third quarter profitability the analysts   said, pausing.  

Blockchain.   Blockchain   based platform for loan origination   centered around home equity lines of credit in this housing market.   Are you shitting me?   I I feel I feel bad already for the people I don't know who I will find out later   has any kind of loan with these people.   God. Take rates   on partner branded and intermediated   loans increased,   by around 36 basis points to approximately 4.2%   in the third quarter.   The analyst also pointed to continued growth in Figurs   partner eco ecosystem members, which expanded from   a 170   to 246   active partners quarter over quarter. And at the same time, the number of marketplace participants on connect   rose from 27 to 33. However, they noted that despite   promising progress across figures   DeFi stack,   it has yet to contribute to revenue materially.  

Not even getting good money out of it. Bernstein reformed its outperform ratings in a $54   price target on figure stock, describing the firm as a   category   leading tokenization   platform for credit.   So to speak.   The target implies approximately 56%   upside   from Thursday's closing price of $34.59   per trading view.   FIGR   is currently up 4.2%   in pre market trading on Friday.   The analyst concluded that structural growth   in tokenized loan origination,   particularly   through Connect,   remains central to their long term thesis for FIGR while acknowledging that macro factors such as aggressive interest rate declines   and a private credit cycle slowdown   could influence future performance?  

Oh, I've, you know, it's very rare that I run across something that as I'm reading it,   what I'm reading about becomes more and more fragile in my eyes. And this song, bitch,   I don't know. It's like a glass jaw just waiting to be punched in the face.   Last up for the day,   judge denies Apple   and OpenAI's   bid   to dismiss Elon Musk's antitrust   lawsuit.   I'll bet they were hoping on that one. Vismayevi from Decrypt is writing,   a federal judge   denied   Apple and open AI's motions to dismiss Elon Musk's antitrust lawsuit on Thursday allowing X Corp   and   XAI's claim   of market monopolization   to proceed towards trial.  

So Elon Musk now has standing.   This is essentially what that says.   On Thursday, US District Court Judge Matt Pittman rejected both companies' attempts   to dismiss the case ruling that the allegations warrant   further examination   through summary judgment. Quote, this order should not be construed as a judgment   or a prejudgment   on the merits of this lit litigation, the ruling said.   The lawsuit, which was filed in August,   targets Apple's June 2024 decision to make ChatGPT   the exclusive   AI assistant   integrated into iOS.   Quote, this is a procedural step.  

The real impact now was where the facts will actually be tested,   Evan, Alex, Chandra, partner at Ignos   Law Alliance, told Decrypt. The case highlights an unresolved question globally about   how default AI integrations on dominant platforms should be treated under antitrust law with regulators still defining what the AI market even is, Chandra added.   X Corp and XAI's complaint seeks billions of dollars in damages,   alleging the exclusive   arrangement gives ChatGPT   access to, quote,   hundreds of millions of iPhones   while blocking competitors like xAI's   Grok chatbot.  

He may it must may have a damn fine case here, y'all.   The lawsuit claims ChatGPT   controls at least 80% of the generative AI chatbot market, while Grok holds only a few percent despite superior capabilities.   I don't know about that. I don't know I don't know if Grok is superior. I have no idea that how to test that and no but I I don't   I this isn't actually said by anybody.   Oh,   okay. The lawsuit claims.   So the lawsuit claims that Grok has superior capabilities.   Oh, okay. Well, whatever. Musk's firm   also accuse   Apple of manipulating   App Store rankings to favor ChatGPT   while suppressing competitors.  

Despite Grok ranking second   in Apple's productivity category and x ranking first in news,   neither   appears in the prominent, quote, must have apps section   where ChatGPT   is featured.   Ishita Sharma,   managing partner at Fathom Legal, told Decrypt the case hinges on evidence of exclusion   versus efficiency,   whether rivals are truly blocked from Apple's iOS or if it's simply a competitive partnership in a nascent but fast moving market, end quote.   The defense will   argue that the arrangement may not be strictly exclusive contractually,   and that the integration delivers competitive efficiencies, Sharma added.  

Decrypt has reached out to Apple and expert comment. A spokesperson for OpenAI   told Decrypt that, quote, this case is consistent   with mister Musk's ongoing pattern of harassment,   and we look forward to proving this in court.   Yeah. Put a tie on that suit, speak. Musk cofounded OpenAI   in 2015 with Sam Altman,   Greg Brockman,   and Ilya Sethsgever,   but stepped down from its board in 2018 according to an announcement   that said his departure would eliminate a potential future conflict   as Tesla expanded its own AI work. And since then,   Musk has accused OpenAI of ditching openness   for a closed   profit driven arm of Microsoft and has sued repeatedly,   most notably a lawsuit over abandoning its founding mission   and a suit filed two months back alleging trade secret theft.  

Okay.   And this article itself was   updated to add a comment from OpenAI, so it comes in twice.   I don't know, man.   Musk may have a good argument because precedent has basically been, you know, was was kinda set,   you know, a while back with   Netscape   and the Microsoft   oh, I can't what was the name of the browser?   Was it Microsoft Explorer?   Was there browser on the Internet? And then we're talking in the not like, mid nineties,   '97,   maybe late nineties, '97, '98. Can't remember exactly where.   May have even been   no. It was about yeah. It was around there, I think, '97, '98, maybe.   What happened is that Netscape   sued Microsoft   because   Microsoft was bundling   their own   web browser   inside of the Windows operating system.  

Now,   Microsoft was told that it couldn't do that,   but it destroyed Netscape in the process.   There's precedent   that I think there's enough precedent here that Musk,   if he can prove it,   has a pretty good case.   And I did not and I'm not I really it's not that I don't like Musk. I just I don't think he's the super   kick ass engineer that everybody believes that he is. I I I mean, I think he's a capable manager.   That one, I am absolutely certain of. And I mean a capable   hiring manager. People who know how to hire people that can get shit done because, you know, he's not doing all this crap himself.   He's not designing the rocket ships and the engines and the cars and the batteries and the electrical systems   and the boring machines for his boring company. He's not doing any of that himself,   but he sure knows who to hire to get that shit done for him. So from that standpoint,   Musk is very much like Bill Gates.  

He knew who how to hire too.   And that's why Netscape   died. It absolutely   perished in the flames of the lawsuit that they brought against Microsoft   even though Microsoft was forced by the court   to debundle   its web browser from its operating system.   So technically, Netscape won, but they died in the process. It was a Pyrrhic victory.   So I'm not a fan of Elon, but   I don't think this is harassment simply because   he has a prior lawsuit   saying that OpenAI   is flubbing its founding mission statement, which it is.   OpenAI   was supposed to be   OpenAI.  

That's why it was named that.   Like, all the code was gonna be released. All the code was gonna be available on on, you know, public platforms. All the code what you it was all gonna be open and free open source software.   It was supposed to be false.   But   they decided not to do that.   And when Musk was part of the the founding members of OpenAI,   that's what he signed up for.   I I gotta give it to him.   I may not like him all that much.   And and even if he's, like, going well, I can get a couple of billion dollars over here because they really screwed that up. I don't really care if it's open or or if it's free and open source software. Don't give a shit. Don't care. But I got a clear end in the courts, and I'm gonna take it, and we're gonna come home with a boatload of money.   Even if that's true,   there's no way to actually prove it because you can't be in his mind. So all I've got is the fact that he's saying, hey.  

Hey. This all shit all this shit was supposed to be open.   And you went closed source, and now it's a for profit entity. That's not that's not how we structured this. I'm suing your ass for that.   And he he has standing in that case. He can do that.   He was part of the founding members.   I don't think that's harassment.   Like I said, I can't prove that he just wants money out of the deal. So, therefore, I've just gotta go with what he's doing with the the stuff that I can see. And what I can see is that he's filing a suit because   though OpenAI was extremely has been extremely inconsistent with their founding principles.  

Musk was part of that founding member board. He gets a say in that.   I I think that it's possible we may be looking at a settlement   because I don't think I don't think OpenAI and Apple and everybody else is is stupid enough to let this actually go to court. I expect a settlement,   and I expect Apple and and, OpenAI is gonna pony up, at least a few billion dollars apiece on that settlement.   We'll find out.   But until then, have a good weekend.   I'll see you on the other side.   This has been Bitcoin, and and I'm your host, David Bennett. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and hope to see you again real soon.   Have a great day.