This week, ck and Ansel watched Fed Chair Powell present the semiannual monetary policy report to Congress and break down the highlights. We digested 5+ hours of content and distilled it into a 25 minute show. Enjoy. Segments Links to the entire testimony: Day one: https://youtu.be/7xAMAJ5ieKo Day two: https://youtu.be/6P0Z-CyX4Rk Please rate and share the podcast! You can find us @BitcoinMagazine on Twitter. Ansel Lindner on Twitter @AnselLindner Christian Keroles on Twitter @ck_SNARKs [SPONSOR...
Jun 25, 2020•24 min
Our guest this week is Charles Yang, head trader at Genesis Block out of Hong Kong. Genesis Block ( https://genesisblockhk.com ) is a leading OTC trading center in Asia, headquartered in Hong Kong and with operations throughout the region and additional physical locations in Thailand and Korea. It also operates the largest network of Bitcoin ATMs in the region, and its founders have their roots and continuing operations in bitcoin mining. As head of trading, Charles oversees Genesis Block’s OTC ...
Jun 23, 2020•1 hr 2 min
Aaron van Wirdum sits down with Bitcoin Core developer Jeremy Rubin to dig into the details of Check Template Verify and the benefits it offers to the Bitcoin network. Topics: What are covenants How check template verify enables new covenants in Bitcoin. How CTV adds congestion control features to Bitcoin. How CTV changes the Bitcoin fee market How CTV can improve lightning network onboarding. You can find us @BitcoinMagazine on Twitter. Aaron van Wirdum on Twitter @AaronvanW Jeremy Rubin on Twi...
Jun 22, 2020•55 min
This week, ck and Ansel sit down to discuss the history of the Fed backing up the market and ensuring that is does not fall AKA the “Fed Put”. Topics: What is the Fed put? Define a put option Updates on Europe Corona Virus cases increasing Crisis in Lebanon Huge Bitcoin 14% difficulty increase Bitcoin Options Volume growing Links: CME Volume increasing: https://www.coindesk.com/cme-bitcoin-options-market-grew-10x-in-the-past-month Italian Debt surging: https://www.wsj.com/articles/italian-debt-i...
Jun 19, 2020•43 min
Our guest this week is Mo Li (Molly), head of marketing at Hashkey Hub. We take a look at items that have been in the news coming out of China over the past week, and she shares her on the ground perspective. Topics: Covid update Mining industry trends coming out of the Chengdu mining summit Severe weather in Sichuan Mining manufacturer competitive landscape and recent developments Bitmain internal situation Bank account freezing related to USDT and BTC OTC usage...
Jun 18, 2020•21 min
On this special edition of the Bitcoin Magazine Podcast, Licensed Financial Advisor and Co-Founder of Platinum Trust Group, Bruce Mack, comes on to the podcast to educate bitcoiners on why they should leverage a specialized Trust to: eliminate your capital gains taxes LEGALLY; defer your income taxes in perpetuity; and protect your assets - and Bitcoin in particular - from judgments, liens, levies, government seizure, and even divorce! You can reach out to Bruce and the team at Platinum Trust at...
Jun 12, 2020•39 min
This week, ck and Ansel sit down to discuss unemployment around the world. Topics: Update on QE Activity from the FED and the ECB Stock markets rally globally The Robinhood hood effect China distancing itself from a CBDC Bitcoin stats Bearish on China, Greece, and Italy Bullish on Mexico Links: Fed balance sheet: https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst_recenttrends.htm Broad spectrum asset purchases: https://www.svb.com/de/blogs/eric-souza/alphabet-soup-the-federal-reserve-releases-an-...
Jun 11, 2020•43 min
Our guest this week is Igor Runets, founder and CEO of BitRiver (bitriver.farm), a large scale mining data center operator in Russia with over 100MW in the irkustk region of Siberia. Igor founded and ran a traditional data center business Servers.Global out of university focused on setting up cloud infrastructure in more difficult parts of the world for western clients and then found bitcoin while getting his MBA at Stanford and wend on from there to found BitRiver. We talk about his going full ...
Jun 09, 2020•57 min
This week, ck and Ansel sit down to discuss the eruption of social unrest stemming from the death of George Floyd. Topics: * Why are people angry * The financial undercurrents * Where Bitcoin fits in * What this can mean for the future
Jun 04, 2020•29 min
Our guest this week is Flex Yang, founder and CEO of Babel Finance ( babel.finance) out of Beijing and Hong Kong. Babel Finance provides crypto-backed loans, deposit services, financing, margin trading, and other derivatives services and has grown into one of the largest commercial crypto banks in Asia. With Babel Finance Flex is aiming to build the JP Morgan of Bitcoin, and initially attacked goal by focusing on lending and other financial services targeting Bitcoin miners in China. Prior to en...
Jun 02, 2020•1 hr 5 min
With Ansel Lindner stepping in, we decided to rebrand the show as FED Watch. FED Watch is a Bitcoin Magazine podcast that focuses on Macroeconomics while acknowledging Bitcoin’s growing role in the future. This week, ck and Ansel sit down to discuss unemployment around the world. Topics: * Unemployment in America * Teasing out the active labor force participation * Unemployment globally * Cracks in China's Power * The transition to Bitcoin Please rate and share the podcast! You can find us @Bitc...
May 28, 2020•35 min
CK and new co-host Ansel Lindner discuss the recent ruling in German courts that deemed QE activity by the European Central Bank to be illegal. Topics: German courts said ECB's QE actions were illegal under German law EU law is supposed to trump German law German courts give ECB 90 days to stop QE Real risk of Euro break up Fun fact: European REPO is already separated by country Please rate and share the podcast! You can find us @BitcoinMagazine on Twitter. Ansel Lindner on Twitter @AnselLindner...
May 22, 2020•30 min
The millennial generation has now experienced 2 major downturns. How the macro environment has helped older generations unproportionally. How Housing and Education costs are holding millennials and Gen-Xers down. How older generations will not feel the pain of their decisions. Are we experiencing inflation or deflation? Please rate and share the podcast! You can find us @BitcoinMagazine on Twitter. Colin Harper on Twitter @AsILayHodling Christian Keroles on Twitter @ck_SNARKs [Guest] Andy Edstro...
May 15, 2020•35 min
WTF is Happening with the Fed!? - Is this Inflation? w/ Ansel Lindner - WTF 5 Colin Harper interview’s Ansel Lindner Bitcoiner and host of the Bitcoin and Markets podcast. Topics: The current global situation. Oil futures going negative. The difference between debt money, fiat money, and commodity money. What is the definition of inflation What is the definition of deflation. Ansel's strong dollar thesis. Please rate and share the podcast! You can find us @BitcoinMagazine on Twitter. Colin Harpe...
Apr 24, 2020•48 min
This week Colin sits down with Pascal Hügli, head of research at Schlossberg & Co about what is MMT. Topics: * Switzerland is not imposing harsh mandates on its people * What is Modern Monetary Theory * MMT VS Austrian Economics * Debt to infinity and beyond * Central Bank Currencies Coping with the current uncertainty Please rate and share the podcast! You can find us @BitcoinMagazine on Twitter. Colin Harper on Twitter @AsILayHodling Christian Keroles on Twitter @ck_SNARKs [Guest] Pascal H...
Apr 20, 2020•37 min
Colin Harper interview’s Nik Bhatia professor at USC, bitcoiner and researcher at OpenNode & Tantra Labs. Topics: What is QE? The Fed is buying everything! The Run on Everything The difference between an economic crisis and a financial crisis. What is LIBOR OIS. The Fed has ended price discovery. Bitcoin as the base money for the future Please rate and share the podcast! You can find us @BitcoinMagazine on Twitter. Colin Harper on Twitter @AsILayHodling Christian Keroles on Twitter @ck_SNARK...
Apr 10, 2020•37 min
Following the COVID19 crisis the US government and specifically the Federal Reserve have been incredibly quick to action. Bitcoin Magazine brings you this special in an attempt to explain what the federal reserve is doing and how it affects you. Topics: Foreign Repo activity Repo Explained Discussing MMT and the next stage in Keynesianism. Potential modifications of the Volker Rule. https://www.thebalance.com/volcker-rule-summary-3305905 When relief? Breaking down the CARES act. https://www.visu...
Apr 03, 2020•29 min
Following the COVID19 crisis the US government and specifically the Federal Reserve have been incredibly quick to action. Bitcoin Magazine brings you this special in an attempt to explain what the federal reserve is doing and how it affects you. Topics: -Fed setting up two new credit facilities where buyers on secondary market can take out loans -Fed will be buying their debt -Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility (PMCCF), Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF) and Term Asset-Back...
Mar 27, 2020•38 min
We're all quarantined! But don't worry, we're still bringing you the content you need in these critical (often boring) times. Sit back, relax, and enjoy our first quarantine episode. Colin Harper fills in for Peter Chawaga and is joined by Flip -- computer mastermind behind all things dot com over at Bitcoin Magazine. They discuss being quarantined, prepping, coin-mixing, the value of gold and other precious metals, and even their favorite quarantine recipes. Enjoy! Twitter Colin Harper - @AsILa...
Mar 18, 2020•28 min
“The legacy of our civilization is a state based on a hierarchical system of control and specialization of labor, which leads to all of the modern problems we have. To create a different kind of society, that's free, where people have liberty and natural wealth, the emerging field of cryptography offers us power." -Amir Taaki With markets around the world plunging into a downward spiral, now is a great time to revisit the original reasons why people started working on Bitcoin. Amir Taaki was one...
Mar 16, 2020•1 hr 34 min
Building on Bitcoin Magazine's Art of Bitcoin issue, Colin and Peter discuss the grassroots history of the Bitcoin logo, the power of artistic propaganda to convert precoiners and how Bitcoin's art world reflects the technology itself. The Art of Bitcoin Issue
Mar 11, 2020•16 min
What is Bitcoin? This question is constantly posed to us at Bitcoin Magazine. The truth is that the answer varies depending on who you ask. With the recent economic shock from the global spread of COVID19, now feels like the right time to revisit it. In this episode, Dave Hollerith talks with Yassine Elmandjra, crypto analyst at Ark Invest about whether or not Bitcoin does and should correlate to the stock market and global economy more broadly. Yassine doesn't claim to know what Bitcoin is, but...
Mar 09, 2020•1 hr 4 min
In this episode, Dave Hollerith interviews journalist and author, Brian Merchant, on a recent story he wrote about a darknet website that offers murder-for-hire services. Part hoax and part reality, Merchant's investigation into this scam marketplace led him into a world of white hat hackers, fake hitmen, murderous spouses and real-world victims. He explains that although this dark corner of the internet is essentially fake, it has drastically harmed the lives of innocent people and blurred the ...
Mar 02, 2020•51 min
From 2012 to 2014, Bitcoin Magazine produced 22 print issues covering the burgeoning technology, its budding culture and potential impact. This week, Colin and Peter revisit some of those stories with updates, reflections and new commentary. The Stories of Bitcoin Magazine Revisited: Where Mainstream Media Gets Bitcoin Wrong Despite Utility, Bitcoin Cannot Fix Venezuela Infographic: Compromised Bitcoin Exchange Events...
Feb 26, 2020•22 min
In this episode, Dave Hollerith speaks with Coinfloor's Obi Nwosu and Blockstack's Muneeb Ali, two leaders who have run companies in the community since 2013. Coinfloor is the U.k.'s largest cryptocurrency exchange while Blockstack is a developer platform and network trying to build a new internet. Though different in what types of product they offer, both companies are taking innovative and even perhaps opposing strategies for how they can and should successfully leverage Bitcoin. Obi Nwosu Int...
Feb 24, 2020•53 min
As the world's most robust open-source digital ledger, Bitcoin has encouraged several corporations to fund the development of tools that can be accessed and leveraged by anyone. In this week's episode, Colin and Peter discuss this intersection of corporate self-interest and technical altruism. Resources: For Square Crypto, the Way to Bitcoin Mass Adoption Is Open Source Microsoft's ION Is an Open-Source Bet on Bitcoin Infographic: Who Has Funded Bitcoin Core Development?...
Feb 19, 2020•25 min
“I’ve come to believe charity depends on finding those people who can truly execute on the ground, those real-life angels. Bitcoin is one of the best things for these people because they can work with it. They are completely transparent, they don’t have to go through any of the financial hoops. Most of all, they can convert it to anything, anywhere. It’s beautiful.” — Ray Youssef , CEO of Paxful While speculation and "hodling" are store of value qualities mainly used for bitcoin in North America...
Feb 17, 2020•50 min
In this week's episode, Colin and Peter evaluate Bitcoin's history as a technology that enables charitable giving. They discuss its effectiveness in response to natural disasters, the Bitcoin community's self-interested benevolence and the blockchain's prowess for facilitating a better kind of philanthropy. Resources: When Disaster Strikes Bitcoin Facilitates Organized Charity and Grassroots Giving The Potential and Reality of Bitcoin Charity Infographic - The Pineapple Fund's Unparalleled Impac...
Feb 12, 2020•24 min
“Everybody has a bias, the important thing is not to Grandstand about having no bias. We see this with internet privacy in general, the narrative is framed by saying, some criminals are using it so let’s make the privacy worse for 99% of users who are law-abiding. That's problematic because at some point it's going to fall into the wrong hands.” —Matt Odell Bitcoin is a tool for financial freedom, but not everyone who buys it understands that this means it also comes with more individual respons...
Feb 10, 2020•52 min
Maybe you've seen the memes: Bitcoiners are fantasizing about fortresses fit for complete self-sufficiency and impregnable bag protection. But what really goes into the perfect personal Bitcoin citadel? And what does it mean to imagine a future in which Bitcoiners are siphoned off from the rest of society? Colin Harper joins the show to dig deeper into his Bitcoin Magazine cover story "The 7 Safest Havens for Establishing Your Bitcoin Citadel." Resources: The 7 Safest Havens for Establishing You...
Feb 05, 2020•21 min
