Episode 44: Did the SEC Just Save Crypto… Or Trap It?

0:12

All right, everyone. Welcome back to the show. This is JR. Here we are uh picking

0:17

up Social Ledger report. There’s been quite a few developments this week with

0:21

the macro, the politics in Washington and kind of just everything tackling

0:28

crypto in different ends that we just need to cover it unlike last week’s or

0:33

what was it a few weeks episode. Um we actually talk more about AI than

0:37

anything cryptoreated. So it was kind of interesting. Um but no, we’re back to

0:41

crypto this week. Um before we continue, make sure you like to this make sure if

0:45

you like this video, give it a like if you like it. Dislike it if you dislike

0:48

it. If you want to watch more of this content, check us out on YouTube,

0:53

Spotify, Apple Podcast. We’re live pretty much everywhere. So, for this

0:58

week, we have quite a few stories happening. First and foremost, Bitcoin

1:03

had a pretty big week. It went from the low 60s to almost 80,000. So, that’s

1:10

kind of a big deal for like a few days or it was a little bit over a week, but

1:14

you know, you know what I mean. Um, at the same time all of this is happening,

1:18

the US government made three crypto-related moves. We’ll cover every

1:22

single one of them. Treasury stepped in to the bond market. The SEC proposed a

1:27

new set of crypto rules and Trump met with crypto leaders at the White House.

1:31

We’ll cover that as well. Um, just kind of give you the synopsis and what are

1:36

some potential developments for all of this. Granted, these these news are um a

1:40

little bit old as of when this video will come out. Um the big question

1:44

however is whether Bitcoin moved because of these announcements or whether

1:50

traders are simply used to them as a reason to buy. Like anything that is

1:54

happening that is bullish for crypto. Are they going to simply put their money

1:57

there or is it because we’re so screwed with like the dollar that people are

2:02

hedging with the with Bitcoin? Because I mean that’s already happened before with

2:06

like gold and stuff. So let’s first look at Bitcoin. Uh Bitcoin. Let me share my

2:12

screen for this. So, if we look at Bitcoin, well, this is for today, but if

2:17

I look at it for like a month, I mean, you can tell this is a very crazy chart.

2:21

Like, um, just a few days before last week, it was sitting at the low 60s

2:28

even. And then Wednesday, August 19 is when, um, they released the announcement

2:34

for the the bond buybacks, which is all related. And then it just moonshot it

2:40

from there like man 18% really. And then if you look in the five

2:46

dates it’s sitting like right under 12%. So yeah I mean it moonshoted almost 20%

2:52

almost. And if you compare this what is it doing this? And if you compare this

2:58

to S&P 500 in the last five days or even the last month, I mean in the last month

3:03

it’s been doing pretty well, but only recently, especially if you look at

3:08

August 19, it started tanking. Like it’s not good for the dollar. Now granted,

3:14

the S&P is doing pretty well. I feel like it’s all related to the AI bubble.

3:18

like anything AI that is still keeping us from going into a a great depression.

3:25

Um people who have the money their money on the on on the S&P ETFs or on the

3:31

stock market, they’re not doing as bad. So this is very symbolic because

3:36

obviously the S&P and the stock market has been doing really well recently, but

3:40

then it kind of flipped where we’re starting to see more of a trajection for

3:43

Bitcoin. So if you held Bitcoin, you you’re doing pretty well right now. So

3:47

always stack a bit Bitcoin is what I tell my friends and what I do. So um not

3:51

financial advice but you should look into that. So,

3:56

Bitcoin changed, you know, Bitcoin went up. But the other thing is the US

4:00

Treasury announced on Wednesday that it would increase its bond buybacks, which

4:04

in simple terms, it means the government is offering to buy more older government

4:08

debt to help calm the bond market because um obviously with the war in

4:12

Iran, I mean, the Department of War is the most funded department in the US uh

4:19

government and sitting at over trillion dollars in their budget. and Pete Pete

4:23

Hexet, you know, the director or the secretary was saying uh I think a week

4:28

or two ago that man, we need more guns. We’re running out of money. We’re

4:32

running out of war, out of ammo. That’s kind of crazy. It’s not exactly good for

4:36

the for the dollar, obviously. But my point is is we’re not doing well in that

4:41

war. You know, it’s not only impacting the dollar, but it’s also impacting with

4:45

ripple effects that we’ll uncover here today. um the yen, the China, you know,

4:51

the straight of horm being closed, that’s like 20% of the world’s um oil

4:56

supply going in every day, 20% of it. So, yeah, I mean, it’s going to have

4:59

some ripple effects, including the dollar losing its power. Um

5:04

but the point is is because the dollar is not doing well, we need to offset

5:09

some of our losses like with our bonds. So, when the bond market come down,

5:13

interest rates fell, which is good. you know you that means you can put more

5:17

money into other places rather than paying interest and that give investors

5:20

more confidence because you can buy things like stocks, gold and bitcoin. So

5:24

you know this is traditionally really good news whenever um interest fall. So

5:30

I don’t expect you know the S&P or or the markets to collapse. In fact this is

5:35

all bullish which is part of the reason why Bitcoin pumped in my opinion. So

5:40

let’s look at this post. All right. So, this is from Bitcoin News on

5:46

Twitter. Quote, “US Treasury doubles long-term debt buybacks after yields hit

5:52

multi-deade highs.” I’m not going to go throughout this post. If you’re watching

5:55

this on YouTube, you can look at it. If not, we’ll add the links here on the

5:59

description if you want to look at it on YouTube. But basically, it kind of just

6:03

echoing what I just said. Um but to be more explicit, the US Treasury unexpect

6:09

unexpectedly announced it will at least double the size of its liquidity support

6:12

buybacks for 10 to 30year government depth, increasing the maximum from 2

6:17

billion to at least 4 billion per operating per operation beginning

6:21

September 9th. So this was announced on Wednesday and this is going to take

6:25

effect in September 9th. So, we could possibly start to see more um ripple

6:29

effects with the markets. Um like people are putting more of their money into,

6:33

you know, stocks, ETFs, you name it. The move comes after the 30-year-old,

6:40

excuse me, the 30-year yield. That’s such a

6:45

that’s such a mixture there. Anyways, um a 30-year yield surged to roughly 5.34%.

6:51

It’s the highest level since 2007, which is kind of interesting. Um but the

6:55

important here the important numbers here are simple. It basically means

6:59

Treasury is increasing these buybacks from two to four billion at a time. The

7:04

new amounts begin on September 9th. This is not a Federal Reserve uh situation

7:09

where they’re printing money. But traders in my opinion saw it is a sign

7:14

of government that the government is willing to step in when markets become

7:17

unstable which you know I think that’s really a good thing. So let’s look at

7:22

another story here. This is a much longer post, but this is from Raul Giam.

7:29

You can read this post. Again, I’m not going to read it, but in my opinion,

7:32

this is a very well put together, very lengthy post being more um on the

7:37

technical side, how these things are involving um evolving. So, highly

7:41

recommended to read it. But the main takeaways here is that this person is

7:46

arguing that the amount of money is not the main story. um meaning like the

7:50

amount that is being taken into effect from 2 to 4 billion is not like the main

7:55

thing you should look at. The biggest story in instead that the Treasury does

8:00

not want long-term interest rates rising out of control because investors or I’m

8:06

sorry um well he kind of breaks it over here but uh basically investors

8:12

interpreted this as good news for Bitcoin and for other investments which

8:15

again I’ve been saying that but um uh I guess let me see if I can find his u

8:20

main point. So um I mean you can read it all if you want but uh he quotes here

8:26

with a long end now potentially anchored the steepening of the curve should come

8:31

from war who will probably deliver his part of the grand bargain between the

8:36

fed and the treasury. All of this is excuse me all of this is to fund the

8:41

hypers scale capex along with government debt for the first time since the GFC

8:46

both public and private debt as of percentage of GDP are growing and both

8:51

are vital. So he’s saying like again we’re just trying to pay off our debt

8:56

like that’s kind of like the main story not the 2 to four billion which it makes

9:00

sense. Um so here’s an opposing view. This is a

9:05

post from Peter Schiff and this is like an opposing view on Bitcoin as a whole.

9:09

He basically says that um well to read it uh for those tuning in through audio,

9:15

Bitcoin’s rally above 72,000 is a fake out, not a breakout. The Treasury

9:20

buyback announcement caught markets by surprise. Bitcoin investors have long

9:24

believed a return to easy money will be the catalyst for gold and Bitcoin to

9:28

soar, which is true. like everyone is waiting for you know one the Bitcoin

9:33

cycle two hedging more against the dollar because the dollar keeps losing

9:37

its value and they are only half right sell Bitcoin buy gold so he’s saying uh

9:43

sell sell Bitcoin so let’s look at some of the comments because crypto Twitter’s

9:47

probably not going to like this fake out is shift’s default setting not a market

9:52

read this guy probably broke this with um AI I can tell right away gold did the

9:58

moving today spot uh 5% u to 4,300 or almost 4,400 two week run intact easy

10:06

money lands in the chart the actual print. So yeah, I mean this guy use

10:10

people don’t use AI to write some of these comments. Just think for yourself.

10:14

Um I mean people are kind of like mixed. I can tell like Galaxy My Bitcoin says I

10:20

think you mean 73,000 73,000 Peter but to be fair you’ll be spouting the same

10:25

nonsense when we’re at 730,000 for Bitcoin. So yeah, I mean some people are

10:30

just just love to hate for the just hate for the love of the game, I guess. Um

10:35

but the takeaway here with Peter Schiff in my opinion is that he agrees that the

10:39

Treasury announcement did help the markets which the consol consolidated um

10:45

point here. But he thinks Bitcoin rally will fade because I mean people have

10:50

been saying that for a long time. But um he might be thinking like this is I

10:56

don’t know him very well like what his past views are but you know to me he

11:00

seems like somebody who doesn’t want doesn’t believe in Bitcoin um for

11:05

whatever reason but um that’s his reason why he thinks it will fade. His argument

11:10

is that gold will benefit more because it is a longer history as protection

11:15

against inflation or like hedging against the dollar basically and

11:18

government government debt as a whole. But I think this is gives us a a really

11:23

good debate because we’re now talking, hey, Bitcoin versus gold. Um, where

11:30

should I put my money? Not whether the Treasury announcement mattered really

11:34

because I mean I mean it matters, but I guess that’s just not his argument. Um,

11:41

let’s see. I think I ex I think I already covered this at Nauseium, but

11:47

I guess I have a few questions for you guys. So, do you think, and maybe you

11:52

can answer here in the description, do you think that the government the

11:56

government’s announcement truly changed the markets or do you think it simply

12:00

gave people an excuse to start buying again? Like,

12:05

like, are people just looking for a reason to start putting their money

12:08

because we’re all kind of just trying to trade in a good market? Are we just

12:13

trying to, you know, I mean, we’re always trying to make money, but I think

12:16

everyone is getting tired of everything being so expensive that the moment

12:19

something no newsworthy of of, you know, interest

12:25

falling or the market recovering, people are eager to start trading for the most

12:29

part. So, that’s where I’m that’s where I’m coming from at least.

12:33

Um, but a good segue from this is another reason why Bitcoin actually did

12:39

pretty well is because the SEC the SEC finally offers some more consolidated

12:44

crypto rules. So, okay, I’m done sharing my screen. Okay, great. So,

12:50

um, man, we’ve talked about the SEC for the last year since the inception of

12:54

this show, but, um, for years, basically, crypto companies have

12:58

complained that the SEC, um, punished them without clearly explaining the

13:03

rules. And this is pretty much what we saw being the norm with um, Gary Gensler

13:08

and the Biden era administration. But this week, the SEC proposed a new a new

13:12

rule called quoteunquote crypto um excuse me, regulation crypto assets. And

13:20

basically the idea is to give crypto companies a legal way to raise money

13:24

from the public. Say if you’re a small project, you could raise up to 5

13:28

million. If you’re a large project project, you could raise as much as 75

13:32

million if they provide more information in financial reports. So, kind of like

13:38

ICO, but I don’t know if you you’d be racing on ICO, but it’s kind of like the

13:42

same. Um, I want to say it’s looking like that’s kind of like the path

13:47

they’re taking. Not because or I guess what I’m trying to say is

13:52

like obviously an ICO is very different. Like you’re buying something, you’re

13:56

you’re allocating money into a token and you get uh percentage ownership into

14:01

that project, but um or voting rights even. But in this case, it’s just pure

14:06

raising purposes. Like, I’m sure an ICO could somehow play into this. But I

14:12

really just think that this is a great way to help help fund projects and

14:18

companies through crypto, which I think it could be a lead to ICOs now

14:25

that I think about it more and more. Um, so why don’t we share this post real

14:30

quick? This is from uh the SEC here on Twitter. It says, and this is as of

14:35

Tuesday, August 18th. Okay, that’s interesting. Um, sorry, I

14:42

just got a text. Let me read that again. So, this is from August 18 or Tuesday

14:47

this last week. And it says, quote unquote, today the SEC proposed new

14:50

rules regulation crypto assets that would create a clear and fit for purpose

14:55

framework for certain investments, contracts, and involving crypto assets.

14:58

So, this is kind of like this the sauce of it, what I’m saying. Um, again, my my

15:02

thoughts are this is important because the SEC is not proposing rules which

15:06

we’ve been missing even as again as we already know with Gary Gensler before it

15:11

was just very hard to do anything in crypto. Coinbase, MetaMask, UniS swap um

15:17

these reputable crypto companies in probably Binance if I’m being honest. I

15:22

don’t remember about Binance as much, but um all these regulated crypto

15:26

companies who had establishment here in the US, they were being um excuse me,

15:31

they were being sued to oblivion. It was just wasting their money and time. I

15:36

feel like we stagnated a little bit in innovation for crypto over the last

15:40

during that time really. Um because these were pointless wars. were uh this

15:45

was a pointless war against crypto like it pushed development offshore to UK,

15:51

Southeast Asia, Latam, America, Latam. So, you know, it was a pretty bad hit

15:57

for American companies uh trying to build on crypto. And I mean, I

16:03

personally think that’s probably the reason why crypto faded pretty quick

16:06

after like the NFT boom. I mean NFTTS were just very bad like the iteration

16:12

that people were using them for it was a very bad use case but crypto kind of

16:16

died really quick as soon as Chad came out you know everybody started doing

16:20

building on on AI so I mean AI is a lot more sticky and it’s very productive so

16:24

it makes sense but um I feel like we could have seen something different if

16:30

maybe legislations weren’t the previous SEC administration wasn’t as sharky with

16:36

just suing people for no So, this is kind of a big deal because we’ve already

16:40

seen and we’ve already covered the Genius Act that passed last year and

16:45

then this year we’ve seen the Clarity Act kind of like trying to pass but it’s

16:49

like sitting in oblivion. Not sure if it will or it won’t pass. So, that’s kind

16:53

of like the problem. But why don’t we talk about Paul Atkins? This is he is

17:01

the SEC chair and he and I believe he might be on the board on some crypto

17:06

companies. Quote, hear me now, quote me later, but I forget which ones. Um,

17:11

actually we can ask Grock for this. So, um, basically here this is the formal

17:17

announcement coming from the the main guy from the SEC essentially. So what I

17:22

want to ask Grock is in what companies does Paul Atkins

17:30

serve in the in the in the board or has stake in

17:38

because I remember reading this a while ago and I know it was a pretty big deal.

17:41

So, if you’re watching this on YouTube, if you’re tuning in on audio, you can’t

17:46

see, but I’m on Grock here with X trying to ask trying to ask like, “Hey, does

17:52

this guy have any positions on any cryptoreated companies?” Obviously, that

17:55

would be a big conflict of interest, but you know what? Um, this is going to

17:59

sound so bad, but personally, I care more about having the

18:06

opportunity for companies like mine or other developers to be able to create a

18:12

product that reaps the benefits of the technology

18:17

that is crypto and builds cool products that can actually help people. Um, it’s

18:22

a pretty big deal, you know, being able to send money without borders, without

18:26

high fees, without having to wait, you know, three to five business days for it

18:30

to settle because of the banking system, whether you’re sending money offshore or

18:35

within your friend here through cash app or something. Um, so anyways, uh, I feel

18:43

like Paul Atkins is kind of what we need essentially, even if he is serving as

18:48

the board of someone. So Grock says the current SEC chair Paul Atkins no longer

18:54

actively serves on corporate boards or holds major conflicting stakes as he

18:59

resigned from external positions and divested per ethics rule and his

19:04

confirmation commitments. So that’s actually a big deal. I was very wrong.

19:09

He is no longer he once was but he’s no longer on the boards or holds

19:15

um stakes on any company. So yeah, I mean this guy is the [ __ ] [ __ ] He is

19:21

the the [ __ ] for doing all of this. Like credit where credit is due. So anyways,

19:27

I’m going to play the video for him. We’ll do it at double speed.

19:31

>> I pledge to ensure that the United States remains the crypto capital of the

19:35

world. For too long, issuers and investors had to navigate an activist

19:38

SEC weaponized against this asset class. The result has been uncertainty and

19:41

inefficiency chasing crypto asset innovation.

19:43

>> This is probably too fast. I’m probably going to have to do 1.5. But yeah, he’s

19:47

talking about the reasons why he’s doing this and again just unveiling the news

19:52

>> outside of the United States. So today I’m excited to announce that the SEC is

19:56

taking the most historic step yet to modernize federal securities regulations

20:00

for crypto assets. The United States must and will lead. Our new rule

20:04

proposal regulation crypto assets will ensure that we do. Now let me be clear.

20:08

The SEC continues to support congressional work on the Clarity Act,

20:12

and we expect to see the bill reach the president’s desk. Under our current

20:15

statutory authority, we are acting. The work before us is too important. The

20:19

commission’s March 2026 interpretation explained how a non-security crypto

20:24

asset may become subject to and how it may cease to be subject to an investment

20:28

contract, which is a security under law. Regulation crypto assets provides

20:31

issuers of those investment contracts with a clear path to comply with federal

20:35

securities laws within those parameters. Today’s proposal sits at the center of

20:39

this commission’s capital formation agenda and is essential to providing a

20:42

framework for crypto asset fundraising. It is the commission’s answer to the

20:46

question that has puzzled innovators since the birth of the blockchain. How

20:49

can I raise capital to develop a crypto asset while I am still working to

20:53

develop the network where it will be used. While Congress continues its

20:56

important work to advance crypto market structure legislation for the president

20:59

to sign, the world and our markets keep evolving. By moving forward with our

21:03

current statutory authority, we can help ensure that America remains the world’s

21:06

premier destination to innovate, to raise capital, and to build the next

21:10

generation of financial infrastructure.

21:12

>> So, I think he said it very eloquently and very nicely well said. Um, basically

21:16

like he’s trying to make this the capital the the capital to build crypto

21:20

in the world, which I’m wholeheartly down under the new proposal. Yes. the if

21:27

if the project is no longer controlled or dependent on one company or excuse me

21:31

um what I’m trying to say is basically his proposal is trying to answer major

21:37

questions which is can something begin as an investment but later become a

21:40

normal crypto asset under the SEC guidelines for securities under the

21:46

proposal the answer could be yes because it is no longer controlled or dependent

21:50

on one company or small team so that’s kind of like the synopsis

21:54

So, let’s let’s look at Winkl Boss uh

21:58

quoting this post saying, “This is historic regulation. Crypto assets will

22:02

allow crypto projects to raise money from the public with the proper

22:06

disclosures. All of this, excuse me, all of those silly bad faith arguments that

22:11

every crypto is a security are over. Builders will finally be able to build.

22:16

This is the way.” Which [ __ ] my guy also said very eloquently. Um,

22:24

I mean, we’re all developers. Like, this is a pretty big deal in my opinion as

22:28

well because, um, not long ago, Robin Hood um, unveiled a fund that is going

22:34

to back YC back companies. So, it’s giving retail investors access to the

22:40

opportunities that people who have the deeper pockets, who have the most who

22:44

are the most well-connected. They’re getting access to the same opportunities

22:47

that’s giving them access to a lot of upside capital. Because when you’re

22:51

investing in in one of the biggest accelerators in the world known as YC

22:56

that has a large success rate in producing unicorns,

23:01

there’s so much upside. You’re pretty much leaving money on the table by not

23:06

joining them, by not putting money into any single crypto or excuse me, any

23:10

single YC company. So for crypto, this would be the similar example as that.

23:16

Um, let’s see. We’ve talked about the SEC.

23:22

We’ve talked about the Winklevoss. Um, let’s show some criticism now on this

23:28

side of the story just because we love a little bit of u we love to critical

23:34

think and part of it is by viewing opposing sides. So, this is from better

23:39

markets. The SEC insists that its proposed crypto rules ensures that

23:43

investors are adequately protected yet the SEC is expect exempting crypto from

23:49

the very requirements that would protect investors. See the link below and it’s a

23:54

story. Um, I read this story and basically

24:01

Better Markets is arguing that crypto companies are receiving special

24:04

treatment from other companies that are non-cryptoreated,

24:08

which yes, it’s a concern that is very much worth bringing because it’s making

24:14

fundraising easier for them and could also make it easier for weak or

24:19

dishonest projects to take money from regular people, which is definitely

24:23

something to look into like do your research when you’re putting your money

24:26

on any company or any team. You got to do your research.

24:31

I mean, yes, people could potentially lose their money, but like anything can

24:34

happen really. Like, I mean, [ __ ] we’re going to bring up YC’s example. Um

24:42

there was this company that basically ended up coming they went to Forbes 30

24:48

under 30 and yeah I mean they were doing compliance but they didn’t they were

24:55

they were full of [ __ ] like they weren’t I got to look up the company sorry um

25:02

what is the company from believe it’s deal or it’s Delve that’s

25:08

Right. Okay. So, I’m talking about Delve. So,

25:13

something similar could happen because like this is from TechCrunch and Delve

25:18

has parted ways with Y Cominator because Delve was actually frauding a lot of

25:23

their process for um how they do compliance which is basically their

25:27

entire business model. So, similarly we could have something similar happening

25:32

for cryptoreated companies which again it’s a pretty big deal. Um that is the

25:36

argument is um you know if you’re a cryptoreated company you actually have

25:40

it easier to raise capital from retail or the public markets which I’m assuming

25:46

retail. Um this is where I’m thinking it could be an ICO opportunity but we’ll

25:50

cover more if those stories evolve. So I believe we have one more major

25:56

story we need to cover and kind of give some thoughts and that is the Trump um

26:01

let’s see it’s the White House and Trump bringing in all the crypto leaders and

26:06

well fin fintech leaders um into the White House and

26:12

was also talking about a possible Bitcoin purchase because um well it’s

26:17

for a few reasons. So, uh, the synopsis is Trump invited leaders from like

26:22

crypto companies like Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, Robin Hood, and other related

26:27

ones to the White House. This week, the meeting showed how much the political

26:31

relationship with crypto has changed because I mean,

26:35

obviously with Gary Gensler, they were outed. They were, you know, being

26:40

prosecuted for not following the law even though there was no law to follow.

26:44

Um and now you know they’re getting all this um treatment that we’ve needed

26:49

where well I don’t say we need it but they’re letting them do whatever they

26:56

want and it’s kind of similar what’s happening with AI companies like data

26:59

center regulation is very low regulation as a whole is very low just

27:04

to proof or just to let these companies build which I mean it could be seen both

27:10

as a good win a bad thing a good and a bad thing but for crypto in particular

27:14

like this is a much needed um opportunity because we’ve been oppressed

27:18

long for a long time. So now um this is a post from Brian um

27:27

Armstrong. Brian Armstrong here. So this is from Brian Armstrong where he said he

27:32

went to the White House. Um basically his point is that the SEC rules can

27:38

change under future president. Currently, a law passed by Congress

27:43

would be the harder to reverse. Basically, I mean, I’ll play the video

27:47

here in a moment, but basically that the current risk that we have after Trump is

27:51

that what if we have someone like Gary Gensler coming back and just changes all

27:54

the progress we’ve been making. We don’t want that. We should probably create

27:57

some much well rooted legislation that is passed by Congress so we prevent

28:06

future progress from being just erased is what he’s saying. So I’m going to

28:12

play the clip here.

28:15

>> President hosted a number of crypto CEOs and finance CEOs to talk about how we

28:19

make America the crypto capital of the world. His administration has put out

28:23

tons of improvements. Uh the Genius Act got passed into law. Chair Atkins and

28:26

Celig have already started publishing clear rules, but the big topic of

28:30

discussion was the Clarity Act, which is coming up for a vote uh full a full

28:34

Senate floor vote September 15th. It’s really important that that got floor

28:37

time scheduled amongst all the competing priorities. And there was a lot of

28:40

energy in the room to get it over to the finish line. Contact your legislators.

28:43

Go to standwithcao.org and let them know how important it is to get clear rules

28:47

in America and to vote yes on the Clarity Act September 15th. And thank

28:51

you to President Trump for hosting all of us.

28:53

>> So that’s pretty much it. So,

28:54

>> hey y’all. Brian Armstrong here.

28:56

>> I mean, it was a kind of a big deal. Uh, I’m going to see if I can find a clip

28:59

where, you know, it’s everyone in the White House uh talking. I was able to

29:04

find it. So, couple of things happened. So, one, yes, all the leaders were

29:08

talking about like just normal PR like, “Yeah, we’re very excited. This is the

29:11

legislation that we need.” You name it. Making Trump and the companies all look

29:15

good. Phenomenal. But um at one point during the interview or I

29:22

guess during the the press hearing at the White House with all of them uh a

29:28

reporter was asking Trump like, “Hey, um what what else is going to happen with

29:33

Bitcoin? Are you going to buy more Bitcoin? Are you going to continue to

29:35

build the treasury?” Let me see if I can find it.

29:39

Um here it is. So the question is, and I quote, “Does the administration have any

29:45

plans to accumulate sizable amounts of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies?” And

29:50

Trump said, “Certainly, it’s been talked about.”

29:53

>> Administration have any plans to accumulate sizable amounts of Bitcoin or

29:57

other crypto.

29:58

>> Well, it’s been talked about. I think I’d probably rely on Paul and the whole

30:02

group for that. He’ll make a decision. You guys will make a decision and you’ll

30:06

let me know. But certainly, it’s been talked about. It’s uh it’s taken a lot

30:10

of pressure off the dollar. It’s been very very good for the dollar. And I

30:15

think if you came in with recommendations, two of you, if you came

30:18

in with some recommendations, I would certainly listen. It seems to be a

30:22

pretty big subject.

30:22

>> Yep. So, Repand is the Winkle’s twins. Um I mean, they’re twins, so I can’t

30:27

recognize individually who it is, but um I do not recognize this person. Um I’ve

30:32

never seen him before. And then I know Brian Armstrong is on his left, or

30:36

excuse me, on his right. And um I’m not sure who is on his left. Well, anyways,

30:40

yeah. So, he he was basically saying like, “Hey, uh we’re we’ve already

30:44

talked about buying more Bitcoin, but he did not announce that the government was

30:48

buying Bitcoin.” He just say, “Yes, we’ve talked about it. Um we’re buying

30:51

sizable amounts.” So, you do what you will. Uh maybe some technicality like

30:56

that could be like, “Well, he didn’t really announce it. He was just

30:58

answering it.” But, I mean, him saying it could also be the announcement in of

31:02

itself. So, anyways, I digress. Um the

31:09

notice how he said sizable. Um it comes from the reporter but not from Trump. So

31:15

Trump’s actual answer is that the idea has been discussed but not the

31:20

intention. So that’s my point here. But um

31:26

this is from unusual wells. And one thing I wanted to cover here is how the

31:31

story changed online from this turn of events basically. So this is

31:38

Wednesday just the same day that all this was unveiled pretty much. So this

31:44

is from Unusual Wells. Highly highly recommend you follow them on Twitter.

31:48

They’re pretty massive, pretty big deal when it comes to insider trading. Um

31:52

Trump has said that the US government is considering plans to purchase and

31:56

accumulate accumulate sizable amounts of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. so

32:01

asked whether the administration plans to accumulate sizable amounts of Bitcoin

32:04

and the president did not rule it out tying the idea directly to the dollar’s

32:10

strength which is very interesting because the dollar has been doing really

32:14

bad and if we’re depending on it to be continue to be strong

32:19

that’s going to impact the amount that we can allocate into crypto that’s going

32:22

to impact the amount that well at least the government is going to accumulate

32:26

into put into crypto which having a treasury is going to be good against

32:30

debt and it’s a good way to hedge against the pretty much the debt really.

32:35

Um I have this theory where I feel that it could be and maybe this is just me

32:42

putting in my tin foil hat and just really thinking about things. Shower

32:45

thoughts I guess. Um what if we’re intentionally crashing the

32:50

dollar because we’re trying to replace the dollar with some sort of uh

32:54

cryptocurrency for the dollar. like we already have USDC, USDT.

32:59

Um, which granted if we actually replace the dollar,

33:03

the USDC would collapse because it is backed by bonds. It the dollar the bonds

33:09

are supporting the dollar and we remove the dollar of the equation. We’re going

33:12

to need a new currency. So, this new currency could in my in theory in my

33:17

thoughts replace USDC. So, let me know what you guys think of that. That’s a

33:22

theory. That’s a thought that I’ve been bouncing around and I just wanted to get

33:25

your guys you guys thought on it. But anyways, going back to the topic unusual

33:30

whales again, highly recommend them. But what he was talking about what they were

33:35

talking about is initially during that press release um

33:40

Trump didn’t say yes, but now it’s changes the story that he said yes

33:43

because the sizable amount came from the report and not from Trump. But now we’re

33:50

we’re seeing that Trump is saying yes. Um because the government already has a

33:55

Bitcoin reserve and it’s made mostly from Bitcoin that was you know taken

34:00

from like the Silk Road or from criminal cases. But the new question is whether

34:04

it will actively whether they will actively acquire even more Bitcoin

34:09

because they haven’t sold as far as my understanding but or I think they have

34:12

sold. Actually I do not want to assume. Let’s go ahead and ask Grock real quick.

34:18

So, has, let me

34:23

just ask it through here on this thread. Has

34:29

the US Gov sold any Bitcoin? I’m pretty sure they

34:33

have, but I just don’t know the exact amount, any specific amount, if at all.

34:40

Yes, the US government has sold Bitcoin in the past, but not at least not in any

34:45

confirmed large-scale way since establishing the strategic Bitcoin

34:49

reserve in March 2025. So, it’s actually sold some since 2025, which is very

34:53

interesting. Um, before the policy change, the US Marshall Service and

34:57

other agencies routinely auctioned or sold seized or forfeaded forfeaded uh

35:03

bitcoins mainly from cases like Silk Road. Like I said, reliable estimates

35:08

put the total sold at roughly 195,000 bitcoins between 2014 and 2023,

35:16

generating between 300 $366 to $422 million. Well, I guess it would

35:23

be 366 million, but I mean, Bitcoin in 2014, it was extremely low. Um, and this

35:29

is all in proceeds. Notable examples include in June 2020, sorry, in June

35:34

2014, just under 30,000 bitcoins were sold to

35:39

Tim Draper for $19 million. So, that’s actually kind of a big deal. Multiple

35:44

batches in 2014 and 2015 totaling well over 100,000 bitcoins at a lower price

35:49

of $270 or $600 range. Later sales, including one in March 2023, of 9,861

35:56

bitcoins for 215 million. So, that’s Yeah. also Silk Road linked. So damn. Um

36:06

man, Ross Oberg just gave the US government a [ __ ] ton of Bitcoin. So

36:10

that’s kind of phenomenal. Um but I mean thankfully he’s already been let go of

36:14

prison. So that’s pretty much the end of the episode, guys. If you made it this

36:19

far and let us know what you think. You know, I appreciate you all for tuning

36:22

in. Basically, the TLDDR, if you’re still watching, was Treasury um the

36:28

Treasury this time around has helped calm the bond market. The SEC proposed a

36:33

legal path for crypto companies and the White House pushed Congress to act and

36:38

left the door open to acquire more acquire more Bitcoin. So, overall very

36:42

bullish week this has been for Bitcoin. Not financial advice. I’m putting more

36:46

money more of my money on Bitcoin. I would suggest you guys look into Bitcoin

36:51

more if you already haven’t. Again, not financial advice. just some guy on the

36:54

internet telling you, you know, look into Bitcoin. Learn more about it if you

36:58

already don’t. Anyways, that’s it for the show. See you next week.