The Peter McCormack Show

Location: Remote Date: Tuesday 28th December Project: Tales from the Crypt, the Rabbit Hole Recap Role: Co-host, host Twelve months ago, we felt 2020 had been a defining year for Bitcoin, yet it pales into insignificance compared to what bitcoin has done in 2021. Microstrategy, Elon Musk, El Salvador, China, the list goes on. And now we have a football club run on the Bitcoin standard! Each event was surprising and seismic. And yet, we end the year feeling like the price has tracked sideways (albeit with the characteristic volatility). Now, the year ends with some red lines being drawn by powerful players on either side of the Web3 debate. It's time to take stock, review what just happened and what is in store for 2022. To round off 2021, I talk to Matt Odell, co-host of Tales From the Crypt and host of the Citadel Dispatch. We discuss everything in Bitcoin in 2021, from the Bitcoin podcast space, price action, Elon Musk, El Salvador, Web3 and a Bitcoin Football Club.

Location: New York Date: Wednesday 8th December Project: lynalden.com Role: Macroeconomist These are strange times. The US Dollar's established role as the global reserve currency is under threat from competing powers, most notably China. However, at the same time, Bitcoin, a nascent and denigrated decentralized digital asset, has grown so rapidly it is now being seriously considered as a potential competitor to all nation-state currencies. The dominant international role of the US Dollar wasn't inevitable; it was the result of deliberate and coordinated efforts to ensure it replaced gold as the backstop for global economic activity. These measures have had relatively short term benefits for some powerful groups within society but at the expense of the cohesion of the US nation-state and geopolitical freedoms. Inevitably "all pegs break", and thus, due to various factors, the US dollar is coming under increasing pressure: declining international interest in taking on US debt; increasing geopolitical competition; and domestic fatigue with the unequal societal consequences of having monetary dominance. Yet, instead of a new nation-state currency replacing the US Dollar, Bitcoin has the potential to be a viable hard money replacement. The currencies of the world are in flux. In this interview, I talk to macroeconomist and investment strategist Lyn Alden. We discuss currency wars, positive and negative consequences for the US having a global reserve currency, the consolidation of global currencies and whether Bitcoin can become an alternative reserve currency.

Location: Remote Date: Thursday 23rd December Companies: Hypersheet Role: Co-Founder 2021 has been a year like no other in Bitcoin. The market has matured dramatically with increased institutional interest following the Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy playbook, El Salvador driving nation-state adoption and more sophisticated market instruments with the launch of two US-based Bitcoin futures ETFs. The maturing of the market seems to have broken the typical 4-year cycle around the halving. No longer are we seeing huge parabolic run ups and massive +80% sell-offs. Instead, we have had much more complex price action throughout the year. After hitting mid-$60,000s in May, we had a 50% correction followed by months of consolidation before another run-up and a new all-time high in November. Now, at the end of 2021, the bitcoin price is ~$50,000, and while it is still the same price as it was in February, so much has changed. So if the traditional market cycles are broken and we are entering a new, more mature period for Bitcoin, what will 2022 bring? In this interview, I talk to Willy Woo, an on-chain analyst and Co-Founder of Hypersheet. We discuss how the price action in 2021, what to expect in 2022 & beyond and how the market has matured.

Location: New York Date: Thursday 9th December Companies: Galaxy Digital; Hut 8 Mining Role: Head of Mining; CEO Satoshi's white paper introduced the principle of bitcoin mining as both an incentive for creating new blocks, as a means to distribute coins into circulation, and as a means of encouraging nodes to remain honest. Mining is, therefore, the bedrock for Bitcoin. Yet, it is poorly understood even by the most experienced Bitcoiners. The manufacturing of mining hardware is currently dominated by a Chinese duopoly, which in turn depend upon just two Asian semiconductor companies. Whilst the market for mining hardware is more decentralised, a sizable proportion of ownership is in private hands. Thus, it is hard to get reliable data on the size of the market in terms of hashpower, machine units, and mining costs. Combined with bitcoins volatility, this significant uncertainty makes the financing of Bitcoin mining a complex market. Added to this are the difficulties caused by trade tariffs on Chinese goods and the current drama of ubiquitous supply chain issues affecting chip supplies and freight logistics. Finally, mining companies are in the firing line over perceived environmental impacts. Yet, despite all of these headwinds, Bitcoin mining is a thriving business in both the United States and Canada. Investment is at an all-time high, innovation is driving operations to maximise the hash rate, and the wider world is waking up to how it supports the energy grid and rural communities. In this interview, I talk to Amanda Fabiano, Head of Mining at Galaxy Digital and Jaime Leverton, CEO Hut 8 Mining. We discuss the current ASIC and mining markets, running operations in an uncertain industry during uncertain times, ESG FUD and the future of mining.

Location: New York Date: Sunday 5th December Project: Ethereum Role: Core Developer The Proof of Work (PoW) consensus protocol is under relentless attack. Earlier this month The House of Representatives held a hearing on digital assets. Rashida Tlaib dismissively questioned Proof of Work PoW, quoting erroneous Bitcoin transaction energy cost data. In response Stellar's CEO Denelle Dixon implicitly agreed PoW was energy intensive, and that "we all need to focus on minimizing the energy consumption as much as possible". The next day Ripple's co-founder Chairman Chris Larsen published a medium article that stated "Bitcoin's code needs to be changed to a low energy consensus algorithm like those used by nearly all other major crypto protocols." Last week CNBC interviewed the CEOs of 2 wealth management firms. One stated the following: "Bitcoin operates on PoW: that's the older technology, it's slower, it's really a drain on energy. Proof of Stake (PoS) is the newer system, it's where I'd want my money going. It's less energy intensive. It's faster. It's more secure." In potentially the biggest change to any blockchain ever implemented, Ethereum is planning to move from PoW to PoS. PoS has been argued by its proponents (most notably Vitalik Buterin) to not only be less energy intensive than PoW, but to also provide significantly much cheaper security, and greater decentralization. But, the arguments dismissing PoW and recommending PoS are fundamentally flawed. In this interview, I talk to the former Ethereum Core Developer Lane Rettig, who now works as a core developer for Spacemesh. We discuss the history and logic behind PoW, the drivers for developing new consensus protocols, how PoS is set to work within Ethereum, and the significant flaws and risks this proposed change entails.

Location: Washington D.C. Date: Wednesday 1st December Project: Inter Miami Role: Professional Footballer Ever since Russell Okung's famous "Pay me in Bitcoin" tweet, the trend for professional athletes taking their salary in Bitcoin has been on the rise. Russell teamed up with Strike to take payment in Bitcoin. Earlier this year, Odell Beckham Jr revealed he would take his salary in Bitcoin thanks to Cash App, and most recently, Kieran Gibbs announced his intention to take half his salary in Bitcoin with the help of XBTO. Kieran Gibbs is an ex-England international who built his career playing for Arsenal. He now plays in the MLS with David Beckham's new franchise Inter Miami. In this interview, I talk to Kieran Gibbs, and we discuss his journey down the Bitcoin rabbit hole, his decision to take his paycheque in Bitcoin, as well as his playing career and move to the MLS.

Location: Washington D.C. Date: Saturday 4th December Project: American Economic Liberties Project & Coin Center Role: Director of Research & Research Director 2021 has been a monumental year for Bitcoin for many reasons. As a result, Bitcoin has matured in the minds of casual observers: it is now seriously viewed as a viable alternative to other forms of money. Whilst this is a validation for proponents, such a situation is like a fever dream for those who believe in the primacy of the state. China has banned private digital assets. The IMF is concerned about the impact of digital assets on financial stability. On Wednesday, the lead economist at the IMF stated that urgent international coordination is required to implement regulation. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has echoed these comments. There are also concerns from more vocal advocates for democracy. Such people argue there is no such thing as deregulation: someone is always making the rules. The decision is whether such rules are made within the purview of collective agreement, or by unelected and unaccountable powers. This community thinks Bitcoin undermines the state and thereby democracy. Bitcoin is rightly or wrongly associated with an anarcho capitalist ideology. Yet, the Bitcoin community is a broad church. There is a growing sense that a silent majority who still believe in government, but also see Bitcoin as a powerful check on centralised control. They view Bitcoin as second amendment rights for money. In this interview, I talk to Matt Stoller: author of 'Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy', about his recent newsletter post 'Cryptocurrencies: A Necessary Scam?'. To make the case for Bitcoin I am joined by Coin Center's Peter Van Valkenburgh. We discuss the issue of power consolidation, the current crisis with democracy, and the monopoly of money.

Location: Washington D.C. Date: Sunday 5th December Project: Bitcoin Today Coalition Role: Leadership & Advisory Board Studies have shown that education improves decision-making ability, that's not a great surprise. The real breakthrough in the latter part of the 20th century was the identification that educational efforts in adults are best directed at correcting for cognitive bias: our subconscious subjective version of reality that can lead us to making irrational decisions. This issue is widely apparent in the modern world dominated by disruptive technology seeking to undo long established but ineffective human developed systems. That such systems are controlled by power structures dominated by an older generation makes this issue more acute. This is perhaps the greatest risk for Bitcoin: blind or willful ignorance leads to irrational decision making at the level of the state. That is where organisations such as the 'Bitcoin Today Coalition' come in. It is an interest group representing Bitcoin holders and the wider Bitcoin industry. One of its core aims is to increase Bitcoin literacy within America's legislative and regulatory bodies. In this interview, I talk to 2 leaders of the Bitcoin Today Coalition: CJ Wilson and Amanda Cavaleri. We discuss educating the political class on Bitcoin and how it can make a strong America through strengthening energy grids, revitalizing rural economies, and giving those on the bottom economic rung equal access to a financial system.

Location: Miami Date: Wednesday 1st December Organization: City of Miami Role: Mayor of Miami It is a common refrain that politics is in crisis. Polarization is producing deadlock. Election cycles mean big decisions are kicked down the road. A lack of term limits in congress results in a generation of out of touch leaders. But there is hope. A new cohort of energised and informed political leaders willing to tackle systemic issues are coming to the fore. Emblematic of this shift is the Mayor for the City of Miami Francis X. Suarez. Galvanised by dealing with the impact of the 2007 financial crisis on municipal government, Mayor Suarez recognized that executive power means creating the conditions for prosperity: sound fiscal discipline, attractive tax codes, and a government that supports entrepreneurship. Mayor Suarez also knows that leadership is key in an uncertain and changing world. He understands how Bitcoin is leading a change to resolve broken human systems through code. Providing a vision of a Bitcoin led future aims to give Miami's citizens a new sense of economic hope and trust, both for themselves and the generations to follow. In this interview, I talk with Mayor Francis Suarez about leading the City of Miami. We discuss the political system, the role of a Mayor, and running a successful city. Further we talk about how Bitcoin re-energises capitalist systems, the benefits of Bitcoin mining, and MiamiCoin.

Location: Miami Date: Thursday 2nd December Company: Validus Power Corp Role: Bitcoin Strategist Credit is central to the modern capitalist system. This makes bonds the most important financial contract in the world, significantly more important than equities. So, when credit markets get sick, all other markets suffer. Bonds have performed well for nearly two generations. However, the market looks like it's about to turn. Yields are being suppressed by unprecedented government purchase schemes. This has to end, and when it does, yields will increase, prices will drop, and debt will become more costly for governments. The demand side effects are just as damaging. Pension funds are mandated to make significant bond purchases (usually representing 40% of a portfolio). Low bond yields in a high inflation environment result in increased liabilities for pension funds. Rising yields are obviously better, but not for those holding bonds dropping in value. Is it time for pension funds to be allowed to add bitcoin to their portfolios? In this interview, I talk with Bitcoin Strategist Greg Foss about how government bond markets are being manipulated through quantitative easing and how this will soon have to end. We further discuss what this means for equities and pensions and the potential for investors to seek refuge in bitcoin.

Location: Miami Date: Wednesday 1st December Role: Market Analyst Studying history helps us paint a detailed picture of where we stand today. But, our modern society is complex; it is shaped by the interplay between political, social, cultural, technological, and financial spheres. So, understanding our world requires gaining a knowledge of a range of histories. When one gains a full appreciation of the past, patterns can be identified. Sometimes, extraordinary patterns in society can emerge. We're on the cusp of a cyclical convergence that happens only once every 250 years. The last time this happened democracy was born and the world changed forever. We're again at such a moment, where momentous change is upon us. But the future is unclear, and this time the cycles could break. We could be on a path to an authoritarian future it may be impossible to return from. So could Bitcoin be the innovation upon which the fate of humanity depends? In this interview, I talk to the serial entrepreneur and market analyst Mark Moss. We discuss the rare confluence of multiple societal cycles, the pendulum of individualism and collectivism, and how Bitcoin could disrupt it all.

Location: Miami Date: Tuesday 30th November Company: Swan Bitcoin Role: Director of Marketing "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." This quote, credited to Mark Twain, is a good TD;LR for The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy by William Strauss and Neil Howe. In this seminal book, they theorize that American history can be subdivided into four recurring generational periods, which culminate in a crisis at the end of 80-90 year cycles. It is argued that we're in the middle of a fourth turning crisis, an era of destruction when institutions are dismantled and rebuilt. In the year since I first spoke to Brandon Quittem about The Fourth Turning, economic and geopolitical events have further fuelled this belief. US global hegemony is waning, concern is growing that factional tensions in the US could escalate, there is increasing grass-root tension across the world countries over state-mandated pandemic controls. In the meantime, as economic indicators flash red, trust in politicians and central bankers is rapidly eroding. So are we witnessing the evolution of the fourth turning amidst the rise of Bitcoin? In this interview, I talk to Brandon Quittem, a writer and advisor for Swan Bitcoin. We discuss what we can learn from previous turnings, Bitcoin's role as a life raft in these uncertain times, and whether Bitcoin could fundamentally end these cycles.

Location: Miami Date: Tuesday 30th November Company: Castle Island Ventures Role: Partner What to some may have seemed wild conjecture last year, has now become real. A major public company and a nation state are now operating under a Bitcoin Standard. But, as the digital asset matures, so do the discussions and consideration of Bitcoin in terms of its role within society. With growing regulatory scrutiny in the US, what are the specific regulatory risks for Bitcoin? How should we acknowledge US political support and opposition? What is Bitcoin's role as competition to the state's monopoly on money? How does it facilitate alternatives to sovereign currencies, and how will currency failures in a world with Bitcoin manifest themselves? All these questions feed into the fundamental debate now manifesting itself within the Bitcoin community: will hyperbitcoinisation occur? Does it need to occur? Can Bitcoin successfully thrive as a societal good in tandem with Fiat currencies and central banks? In this interview, I talk to Nic Carter, Partner at Castle Island Ventures and co-founder and Chairman of Coin Metrics. We discuss Bitcoin's maturing role within the evolving US and global economy, and it's role in relationship to stable coins, gold, and the US dollar.

Location: Miami Date: Monday 29th November Company: Microstrategy Role: CEO In August 2020, MicroStrategy commenced with the bold defensive move to invest significant treasury assets in Bitcoin in response to inflationary pressures. Since then, MicroStrategy has strategically enhanced their holdings to become the largest corporate owner of Bitcoin and just last week announced an additional $414 million purchase. The strategy has been led by CEO Michael Saylor. As a developer of enterprise software, Saylor has long espoused digital transformation. Bitcoin is part of that process, digitising the last major building blocks of the analogue society: property, energy, and money. Whilst this first wave of corporate adoption is entrepreneurial in spirit, the advantages of corporate adoption are clear. Yet, despite a glut of Bitcoin miners maximising their Bitcoin hodling, MicroStrategy hasn't been followed by a wave of institutions following suit. Such inertia is predicated on a range of impediments that may fall away in the next few years. In this interview, I talk to Michael Saylor, the CEO of MicroStrategy. We discuss the evolution of their Bitcoin strategy, technological disintermediation, and Bitcoin as a foundational societal technology.

Location: Remote Date: Sunday 28th November Project: tomerstrolight.medium.com Role: Writer The modern capitalist system is based on centralised and hierarchical structures of control. Bitcoin is a divergent innovation, structured to be decentralised. Progress is made through consensus, which forgoes the need to know or trust any of the parties involved. This can be an anathema to some people who are introduced to Bitcoin. They can not conceptualise how such a system can operate. This is partly because there has not been a great history of decentralised governance systems in modern societies. Part of the issue may also be how people conceptualise Bitcoin. Trying to frame it around man-made systems may be a fool's errand. Is it better to compare it to less understood yet ubiquitous biological systems, specifically the human brain? In this interview, I talk to Bitcoin writer Tomer Strolight. We discuss how Bitcoin is analogous to the human brain, the organisation of decentralised systems, and the emergent nature of consciousness.

Location: Remote Date: Thursday 25th November Project: Hypersheet Role: Co-Founder Comparisons between the 2017 & 2020/2021 bull markets are commonplace, and for a good reason. The 2016 halving kicked off a huge run and the first instance of wider retail getting involved in the Bitcoin market. 2020's halving was one catalyst for the current bull run. However, this time, the market participants are very different. Michael Saylor helped change the way institutions approach bitcoin, and a slew of other companies followed in his footsteps. Then, most notably, El Salvador became the first nation-state to make Bitcoin legal tender. Mainstream bitcoin investment has been a defining event of 2021. Further, this year has witnessed much more complex market activity: ETFs, shorting, and debt leveraged long positions. As a result, stakeholders have also had to assimilate a rapid increase in market-shifting news. This past month has been no exception, culminating in Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, announcing his country's 'Bitcoin Bond'. In this interview, I talk to on-chain analyst and long-time friend of the show, Willy Woo. We discuss price forecasts, El Salvador's 'Bitcoin Bond', political attacks on Bitcoin, macro events, and comparisons to Ethereum.

Location: Remote Date: Wednesday 25th November Project: Plebnet The benefits of the Lightning Network are clear for all to see. By taking transactions off-chain, you can settle almost instantly for a tiny fee while retaining better privacy than with an on-chain transaction. The Lightning Network is paramount to Bitcoin's scaling, and it is growing at a rapid pace, but while the Lightning Network is thriving, for new users it can still be a daunting experience. When running a Lightning node, you need to consider things like opening and closing channels, channel size, rebalancing and liquidity. Luckily, Plebnet is here to help. Starting out as a small group of people looking to educate and onboard Bitcoiners to Lightning, they have grown into a community of over 5,000 members and over 1,100 nodes. In this interview, I talk to American HODL, P, and D++. We discuss the importance of the Lightning Network, the challenges of onboarding people and the growth of Plebnet.

Location: Remote Date: Monday 22nd November Project: lynalden.com Role: Macroeconomist In the last month alone, Bitcoin has hit all-time high prices, Bitcoin on exchanges has hit multi-year lows, and El Salvador announced a $1 billion Bitcoin bond to fund the development of a Bitcoin city. At the same time, economic signals have started to flash red. Inflation is on the rise: it's hit 6.2% in the US and is rising at the fastest rate in decades. Traditionally strong bond markets are under pressure and currencies in some parts of the world show signs of distress. The dichotomy is that whilst some search for safe havens, with the lack of a positive yielding bond market, many are looking to riskier assets. The economic conditions for bitcoin to become a recognised international gold-like reserve asset are upon us. The scope and scale of bitcoin adoption suggest that major players are literally buying into this narrative. In this interview, I talk to macroeconomist and investment strategist Lyn Alden. We discuss the lack of yield in bond markets, El Salvador's bitcoin bonds, inflation and the direction and role of the Fed.

Location: London Date: Friday 19th November Project: Compass Mining Role: Founder & CEO Proof of Work is the bedrock of Bitcoin. It provides the network security but is not immune to attack. One attack vector is a collusion of miners who gain a significant amount of the hashrate could theoretically block transactions and reorganise the blockchain. This is known as a 51% attack. While this is known as a 51% attack, it would likely require significantly more than 51% of hashpower to pull off this attack. However, in 2014 GHash.io were able to attain 55% of the hashrate, but fortunately, they were willing to assist the community in overcoming this potential weakness. For a number of years, China housed a large amount of the hashpower, but their seemingly reckless geopolitical decision to willingly allow for 'the great mining migration' to occur earlier this year, saved the community from another dangerous consolidation of mining power. Compass Mining recognised this fragility, but also a business opportunity in being able to become a recognised and trusted facilitator of retail mining, with the mission to "support the decentralised growth of hashrate and strengthen network security by helping more people, learn, explore and mine bitcoin." To that end, they provide and support retail access to mining infrastructure while hardware ownership remains in the hands of individuals. In this interview, I talk to the Founder and CEO of Compass Mining, Whit Gibbs, about their rapid success, the associated growing pains they're overcoming, and the technical details of connecting retail mining with physical hardware and power markets.

Location: Remotely Date: Tuesday 16th November Project: Human Rights Foundation & ShapeShift Role: Chief Strategy Officer & CEO, Founder The schism between Bitcoin maximalists, and those who champion altcoins, is a feature of the ecosystem. The arguments are well worn. However, the history of the debate has largely been regarded as toxic. Maximalists tend to believe that, at best, 'altcoins' are inferior iterations of Bitcoin that involve a compromise, usually greater centralization in favour of larger transaction capacity. The compounding issue is that the majority of these tokens are scams, efforts to rug pull ignorant retail investors. Either way, altcoins are neither aligned to, nor on a trajectory to align with, Bitcoin. Altcoin advocates point to the rapid innovation happening in the space, where the TradFi is being disrupted in real-time. This is whilst the promise of Bitcoin being a foundational layer for DeFi remains just that, a promise. In this interview, I discuss the ideological differences between Bitcoin and altcoins with Erik Voorhees & Alex Gladstein. We discuss the importance of Bitcoin, monetary policies, the political science of blockchains, and consensus & coercion.

Location: London Date: Tuesday 9th November Project: Bitcoin Magazine Role: Print Editor-In-Chief When I first visited El Salvador, towards the end of 2019, Michael Petersen was in the early stages of implementing his vision of a local bitcoin economy in the coastal village of El Zonte. What started as a small-scale experiment has become a transformative initiative and a key driver in the country's adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender. On 7th June 2021, El Salvador passed the Bitcoin Law, with an ambitious plan to replicate El Zonte nationwide and make Bitcoin a central part of El Salvador's economy. Nayib Bukele, the Salvadoran President, mandated an ambitious 3-month deadline to implement the Law. And, despite the complete lack of both public and private infrastructure, on 7th September 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender. In this interview, I talk to journalist and Print Editor-In-Chief at Bitcoin Magazine, Aaron Van Wirdum. We discuss the implementation of the Bitcoin law, what has changed in El Salvador and which nation-states might follow in their footsteps.

Location: Remotely Date: Thursday 11th November Project: anitaposch.com Role: Author, Podcaster, Educator It's easy to forget that those who have acquired Bitcoin are still early adopters, with the enthusiasm and courage to have found the appropriate resources needed to investigate this still nascent and mysterious creation. However, the key to the next wave of Bitcoin adoption, encompassing a wider cross section of society, is education specifically tailored to the needs of later adopters. For these people Bitcoin is surrounded in myths and impenetrable concepts. This is precisely the goal of Anita Posch's new book (L)earn Bitcoin. It provides both the why, and the how, and is written for those to whom Bitcoin is a vague alien technology. Most importantly, the book provides guidance on how to take those initial steps to build confidence, and critically, safely buy and store bitcoin. Anita is also well known for being a leading Bitcoin educator in parts of the world for which sovereign wealth is literally life changing. In particular, Anita has travelled throughout Africa, teaching people with limited resources how to acquire and use Bitcoin. She is particularly focused on supporting vulnerable groups of women around the world for whom denial of sovereign wealth is culturally or even legally condoned. In this interview I talk to fellow Bitcoin podcaster, author, advocate, and educator Anita Posch. Anita explains how Bitcoin provides emancipation from financial patriarchy at both the individual level and nation state level. We also talked about Anita's educational work in Africa, the importance of building bridges and trust with communities in developing nations.

Location: New York Date: Friday 29th October Project: loomered.com This year's Bitcoin 2021 conference was the biggest event in Bitcoin's history, with over 12,000 people coming together in Miami. I was there to host one of the most hotly anticipated events called 'Banking the Unbanked' which saw my friend Alex Gladstein interview Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Jack didn't disappoint when he began by stating "Bitcoin changes everything… I don't think there's anything more important to work on in my lifetime." Yet, the session is perhaps best known for the fact that activist Laura Loomer came to the stage and heckled Jack. Laura wanted a conversation with Jack about censorship, in light of the fact she has been banned from Twitter (amongst other platforms and services such as Facebook, Uber and PayPal). She was encouraged to leave, but before she did I promised to hear her out at a more appropriate time, so here we are. Whatever you think of Laura, 'deplatforming' is one of the most contentious issues in society today. It cuts to the heart of the debate around free speech and American's first amendment rights. Should we have limits on speech? Or is 'hate speech' misapplied to muzzle acceptable discourse? Who decides on what is acceptable or not? And can private organisations remove voices from their platforms when they have become the world's town square? Laura has tested these arguments in the courts by suing Twitter, Apple, Facebook, and Twitter. In this interview I talk to far-right political activist Laura Loomer. We discuss racism and religious discrimination, debanking and deplatforming, and the limits of free speech.

Location: New York Date: Friday 29th October Project: Forward Party Role: Leader Nearly two-thirds of Americans want to vote for someone outside of the current two main parties. The current duopoly is limiting competition in the space for ideas, and worse, it's actively promoting the polarisation of society. Yet, voting for a third-party candidate isn't a choice most voters get, and even when they do, it risks being deemed a wasted vote by a media that frames election results as an existential risk to the nation. The underlying concern is that the current political system is getting in the way of solving the biggest problems at a time when the economy and society is changing in fundamental ways. But whilst most people can see that our politics and media are dysfunctional, they also feel impotent. Andrew Yang is one of those rare individuals who has decided to actively try and change the system, despite the odds being stacked against change being driven by an outsider. However, he's already shown he can do the heavy lifting: he made a meaningful mark on the 2020 Presidential election despite not being part of the political establishment or having had a celebrity platform. In this interview, I talk to Andrew, author of 'The War on Normal People' (2018), 'Forward' (2021), and leader of the Forward Party, about his 2020 Presidential run and his current mission to bring about genuine political competition. We then discuss what such competition would enable: reasoned debate about big ideas such as Universal Basic Income, health reform, and Bitcoin.

Location: Los Angeles Date: Sunday 17th October Company: Freelance Role: Writer The internet democratised the dissemination of information. From news to social discourse, anyone with access to the internet can broadcast their thoughts to the world. With the growth of the internet and social media, the news business model entirely shifted. No longer could newspapers rely on physical sales. Instead, ad revenue and clicks became the meaningful metric. Social media and clickbait articles, along with partisan organisations, have created a massively polarising media landscape. The news is now more politicised than ever. This has led to social media becoming a feed of unverified news, and tech companies have taken it upon themselves to curate that news and decide what you should and shouldn't see. In this interview, I talk to freelance writer Katherine Brodsky. We discuss free speech and censorship, the politicisation of news and the problems with banning misinformation.

Location: New York Date: Wednesday 27th October Company: Kraken & Bitcoin Magazine Role: Editor The role of Bitcoin maximalism is a hugely divisive topic. As a decentralised network, Bitcoin has no leaders or spokespeople to counter false information or fend off an attack. In the absence of leaders, bitcoiners from all over have become an important immune system for the network. They protect the protocol from bad actors, false narratives and prevent anyone from gaining too much influence over the network. This has proved highly effective and has been key throughout the history of Bitcoin. Most notably during the scaling wars that culminated in 2017. However, for all the good toxic maximalism has done, it can, at times, go too far. But in a world headed to hyperbitcoinisation, is Bitcoin maximalism an important ethical stand to take? In this interview, I talk to Pete Rizzo, the Editor at Kraken & Bitcoin Magazine. We discuss the ethics of bitcoin maximalism, its role in protecting bitcoin, and the path to hyperbitcoinisation.

Location: New York Date: Wednesday 27th October Company: Equity Management Associates Role: Investment Manager Bitcoin is decentralised sound money whose supply cannot be arbitrarily expanded. It's a system where no one has an advantage or disproportionate control. The ability to increase the supply of money is a very powerful tool to wield. Through monetary policy, orthodox economists aim to promote growth and mitigate crises. However, the Austrian school of economics explains instead that central banks create the environment for crises in the first place. In the Great Financial Crisis, trillions of dollars were printed to bail out failing banking institutions and stimulate the economy. Instead of repercussions, many bankers received millions in bonuses. While credit markets rebounded, many average Americans lost their homes, their jobs and received no bailouts. So can Bitcoin help by aligning incentives in society? And what will happen to gold? In this interview, I talk to Investment Manager and Austrian Economist Lawrence Lepard. We discuss sound money as a moral issue, the monetary role of gold, and why bitcoin is the most important invention in history.

Location: Remotely Date: Wednesday 20th October Project: Human Rights Foundation, American Security Project Role: Chief Strategy Officer, Adjunct Senior Fellow Palestine is a country ravaged by 4 wars in 15 years. However, military conflict is only part of the economic challenges the country faces. There is monetary warfare being waged against its citizens. Crucial services that people in most developing countries take for granted, like simply transferring money, are almost impossible. It's exacerbated by economic policies that have left Palestinians dependent on the outside world. Can Bitcoin allow the people to peacefully fight back against arduous barriers and capital controls? In this interview, I talk to Alex Gladstein and Fadi Elsalameen. We discuss declining economic conditions in Palestine, the underlying monetary problems, and how Bitcoin can help.

Location: Remotely Date: Thursday 28th October Company: Hypersheet Role: Co-Founder In June, with the Bitcoin price in the low $30 thousands following a 50% drop, a number of technical analysts believed the top was in and that we were entering another prolonged bear market. However, the on-chain data told a different story and Willy Woo, amongst others, believed the bull market was still alive. The past few months have proved the case for the on-chain analysts. In October alone, the price of Bitcoin is up over 40%, and on the 20th, it broke over $66k, a new all-time high. The launch of the first US Bitcoin futures ETFs was a significant driver of this price rally, with futures ETFs facilitating access to deep pools of capital liquidity and risk-neutral trades. How will this impact the market, and what can we expect from phase 2 of the bull run? In this interview, I talk to an on-chain analyst and the co-founder of Hypersheet, Willy Woo. We discuss the impact of Bitcoin ETFs, the next stage of the bull market and the role of toxic maximalism.

Location: Remotely Date: Monday 25th October Company: lynalden.com Role: Macroeconomist Over the last 18 months, Bitcoin has had an astronomical rise, not just in price. It has gone from a niche asset driven by retail to being held on the balance sheet of some of the most forward-thinking corporations in the world. Not only that, El Salvador's groundbreaking legislation made Bitcoin legal tender. During this time, the fiat currency experiment looks to be coming apart at the seams. Over the last 18 months, more than $5 trillion dollars have been created in the US alone. This increasing supply of money is driving prices higher. CPI in the US is now at 5.4%, and while the FED continues to claim inflation will be transitory, this looks highly doubtful. How high will inflation go, and is bitcoin truly a hedge? In this interview, I talk to macroeconomist and investment strategist Lyn Alden. We discuss the rising commodities markets, if we are likely to see wide-scale hyperinflation and the pros & cons of Bitcoin futures ETFs.

Location: Los Angeles Date: Sunday 17th October Company: Luxor Technologies Role: CEO Proof-of-work mining is at the heart of the bitcoin network consensus, ordering transactions into blocks and providing security. Without a healthy mining ecosystem, the Bitcoin network is vulnerable. Earlier this year, China banned Bitcoin mining within the country. At that time, over 50% of the hashrate was said to be located in China. What followed was a huge drop in the hashrate as miners migrated out of the country. While, on the face of it, this could be seen as a negative, the outcome was a more decentralised hashrate and a smaller concentration of miners operating within an authoritarian country. In addition, stressed economic conditions have led to increasing uncertainty in the supply chains surrounding the fabrication of new ASIC mining equipment. So what is the state of the Bitcoin mining industry today? In this interview, I talk to Nick Hansen, CEO of Luxor Technologies. We discuss the resilience of the bitcoin network, mining pools and the global economics of ASIC supply chains.

Location: Los Angeles Date: Sunday 17th October Role: Teacher & Congressional Candidate Aarika Rhodes is an elementary school science teacher who is running for CA 30th Congressional District in 2022 for the Democratic Party. She is up against the anti-bitcoin and 12 term veteran Brad Sherman. Unlike Sherman, Aarika is pro-bitcoin whilst also remaining a proponent for more left-wing policies like universal basic income. While some believe that Bitcoin's conservative monetary policy leads to it being a more right-wing idea, Aarika is proving that it is an apolitical tool that does not discriminate. Bitcoin is not going away, and those that embrace it early will be the ones who benefit the most, no matter which side of the political aisle they fall on. In this interview, I talk to Democratic congressional candidate Aarika Rhodes. We discuss financial literacy and education, universal basic income, and broken incentives in our political system.

Location: Remotely Date: Monday 18th October Project: Charity: Water Role: Founder & CEO Non-profit organisations have used Bitcoin to accept donations for a long time. One of the most notable examples of this was Wikileaks in 2011. When Paypal, Mastercard and Visa, refused to accept donations due to political pressure, Wikileaks looked to Bitcoin as a permissionless and censorship-resistant alternative. Not only did this allow them to continue accepting donations, but they gained immensely from Bitcoin's astronomical price rise since then. Charity: Water is a charity battling the global water crisis with the mission to bring clean water to every person living without it. They have accepted Bitcoin donations since 2014, but until now, they have almost instantly converted to fiat currencies, missing out on the price appreciation. However, they have now set up a Bitcoin trust with the goal of collecting as many Bitcoin donations as possible. Ideally, this allows the trust to appreciate in value and in 2025, when they start putting the Bitcoin to work; they can hopefully help a much larger number of people. In this interview, I talk to the Founder and CEO of Charity: Water, Scott Harrison. We discuss his journey from nightclub promoter to founding the charity, their goal to bring clean water to every person living without it, and the role Bitcoin plays in this.

Location: Austin Date: Thursday 7th October Project: From Bars to Bitcoin Role: Author The power of a permissionless network means that people are able to participate from all walks of life by removing the ability for any individual to control your money. From billionaires on Wall Street, to street vendors in El Salvador, it is the fairest money the world has ever known. Bitcoin is for anyone. The path to bitcoin is different for everyone. While many of the early bitcoiners found it through libertarianism, now most come to Bitcoin, at least initially, to speculate. Justin Rhedrick's story, however, is not like most. After being released from prison for his role in a home invasion, longtime friend and author of Bitcoin & Black America, Isaiah Jackson, introduced Justin to Bitcoin. So how did he go from prisoner to bitcoiner? In this interview, I talk to Justin Rhedrick, the author of From Bars to Bitcoin. We discuss his imprisonment, the power of discipline, and how bitcoin helped him unlock success.

Location: Nashville Date: Wednesday 29th September Company: Valkyrie Investments Inc Role: Co-Founder Mainstream economists consider a benchmark rate of 1-3% price inflation optimal to promote consumption and economic growth. However, as prices rise, savers lose purchasing power, and asset holders increase their net worth. Over the last 18 months, more than $5 trillion dollars have been created in the US alone, and legislation that would spend over $3 trillion more is under consideration. This increasing supply of money is driving prices higher. Today, Consumer Price Inflation has sustained a 30-year high of over 5%, and it may be threatening to go higher. So what happens next, and how does Bitcoin fit in? In this interview I talk to Steven McClurg, Co-Founder of Valkyrie Investments. We discuss the problems of rising inflation, fragility in equities and bonds, and if Bitcoin can serve as a hedge.

Location: Austin, TX Date: Thursday 7th October Company: Forbes Role: Editor In 1971, Richard Nixon ended Bretton Woods, severing the entire global monetary system from its anchor, gold. Governments around the world have since been able to create new money and increase debt virtually without restriction. Fifty years later, and there's no political will to slow down spending. Instead, new money is created to pay for new spending, and the numbers involved get larger and larger. Governments can issue new currency to service their own debt, but the cycle of increasing deficit spending and monetary inflation may already be leading to spiralling debt and runaway prices with no obvious way out. In this interview, I talk to Avik Roy, Editor at Forbes. We discuss the growing problems with debt and inflation, healthcare, and central bank digital currencies.

Location: Austin, TX Date: Friday 8th October Company: Independent, Multicoin Capital Role: Independent, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer In August, a bipartisan group of 69 senators passed a $1 trillion infrastructure package, including around $550 billion projected federal spending on roads, bridges, expanded broadband access and more. While this may seem irrelevant to Bitcoin, this 2000+ page document outlined how the government plans to fund the bill. Under the 'Other Provisions' section, the bill focused on the reporting requirement for "brokers" of digital assets and their definition. These reporting requirements are designed to extract a tax from users who misreport or underreport their taxes. This bill section caused a considerable backlash from bitcoiners as the proposed language is extensive and seems almost impossible to comply with. While bitcoiners were up in arms about the broker definition, lawyer Abe Sutherland says that the bill contains an overlooked "digital assets" provision that could become a far bigger issue, affecting almost every bitcoin user if it becomes law. In this interview, I talk to independent lawyer Abe Sutherland and Greg Xethalis, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Multicoin Capital, to discuss the onerous new reporting requirements hidden within the Infrastructure Bill.

Location: Nashville, TN Date: Thursday 30th September Company/project: The Investors Podcast & Great American Mining & TFTC Role: Host & Director of Business Development & Host 2021 has been a year of significant disruption. Trillions in deficit spending are ongoing. Many countries are experiencing the highest consumer inflation seen in decades, while assets and commodities prices have soared at a phenomenal rate. Meanwhile, China kicked half of Bitcoin's hashrate offline by instituting a country-wide ban on mining. However, the Bitcoin network has demonstrated its antifragility as thousands of ASIC machines migrate to other countries and come back online. While many Bitcoin naysayers have lambasted the energy use of Bitcoin's mining industry as being environmentally unfriendly, mining is driving more efficient use of low-cost, renewable, and otherwise wasted energy sources. In a world that is full of distortions, is Bitcoin the answer to society's problems? In this live interview, I talk to Preston Pysh, the host of The Investor Podcast, and Marty Bent from Tales From the Crypt and Great American Mining. We discuss rising inflation, why bitcoin mining is good for global energy use, and why bitcoin is this answer to many problems.

Location: New York Date: Monday 20th September Company: XBTO Humla Ventures Role: Managing Partner For millennia, technology has shaped society, and sometimes in giant leaps. Whether it's the invention of gunpowder or connecting our world with the internet, the result is civilisational transformation. Today, Bitcoin is still a nascent technology, yet it may already be a revolution of value in the digital age. Multiple industries that comprise tens of trillions of dollars may be on the precipice of massive disruption. So how will this financial transformation play out? In this interview, I talk to Greg Carson, a Managing Partner at XBTO Humla Ventures. We discuss how technology can reshape society, $20 trillion market disruptions, and Bitcoin's inevitable design.

Location: Remotely Date: Wednesday 29th September Company/project: Independent, Independent, Human Rights Foundation & Baillie Gifford Role: N/A, N/A, Chief Strategy Officer & Investment Manager The narrative around altcoins is constantly changing. However, one thing that remains consistent is that they almost always promise to 'improve upon Bitcoin' in one way or another. More often than not, this is improved layer one scalability, lower transaction costs or enhanced programmability. While many of these projects can offer faster and cheaper throughput and smart contracts, they come at the cost of the most fundamentally important aspects of Bitcoin; security, decentralisation and censorship resistance. Bitcoin maximalists often cite these reasons as to why all projects outside of Bitcoin are doomed to fail, but the market seems to think differently. Over short time frames, many of these altcoins can outperform Bitcoin and the opportunity to make quick gains draws in large amounts of retail investment regardless of premines, lack of product-market fit or whether a project is, in fact, meaningfully decentralised or not. Bitcoin is designed to be the hardest money the world has ever known and to demonetise the state. To achieve this, it moves slowly, protecting its core principles at all costs. In stark contrast to this, Altcoins operate on a model similar to Silicon Valley, move fast and break things. With growing concerns over a state-level regulatory crackdown on 'crypto', decentralisation is paramount. Bitcoin's decentralisation means it can survive almost any attack, but could altcoins survive without being meaningfully decentralised? In this interview, I talk to Allen Farrington, Crypto Cobain, Udi Wertheimer, and Alex Gladstein. We discuss tokens and securities, scalability vs decentralisation, nation-state resistance, and building on Bitcoin.

Location: New York Date: Sunday 19th September Project: Ethereum Role: Core Developer Ethereum was created to build upon Bitcoin's innovations and offer more functionality, and in 2015, Ethereum developers launched an ICO selling millions of ETH tokens, at the time worth over $18 million. Some of those funds, now worth nearly $1 billion, went to the Ethereum Foundation, which oversees the ongoing development and promotion of the Ethereum project. The foundation is a central entity that issues grants for relevant projects and employs core developers to work on the protocol. While the Ethereum ecosystem is thriving, questions remain about the technical roadmap, scalability, decentralisation of the network, and governance of the project itself. From changes in supply schedule and frequent hard forks, Ethereum governance is in stark contrast to the conservative, slow-moving and consistent nature of Bitcoin. So will the Ethereum project overcome the hurdles that lie ahead? Or is it doomed to fail? In this interview, I talk to Ethereum Core Developer Lane Rettig. We discuss the Ethereum foundation, why Lane quit, ethics, hypocrisy, decentralisation vs scalability, and building better institutions.

Location: Remotely Date: Thursday 23rd September Company: Hypersheet Role: Co-Founder Bitcoin's controlled supply schedule and the four-year halving has, historically, led to predictable and cyclical price action with huge bull runs and brutal bear markets. Throughout the 2020/2021 bull market, people have been trying to predict bitcoin's price by comparing it to the 2013 'double pump' and 2017's parabolic top. However, this time the market is different. With large corporations now acquiring Bitcoin for their treasuries, a nation-state adopting Bitcoin as legal tender and an ETF, in the United States, likely just around the corner, could it be the end of the four-year cycle? In this interview, I talk to an on-chain analyst and the co-founder of Hypersheet, Willy Woo. We discuss whether Bitcoin is maturing, platforms vs protocols, decentralisation, and freedom.

Location: Remotely Date: Thursday 23rd September Company: Validus Power Corp, Swan Bitcoin Role: Bitcoin Strategist, Head of Institutional Investment Over the last week, markets worldwide were hit hard as fears continue to grow over the liquidity of Chinese property behemoth Evergrande. The S&P, Dow Jones and Nasdaq all suffered their worst days in months. Evergrande is China's second-largest and the world's most indebted real estate developer. It expanded rapidly by borrowing more than $300 billion. however, when new rules were introduced to control the amount owed by big large estate developers, Evergrande was forced to sell properties at a significant discount and is now struggling to pay its debts. In 2008, the Great Financial Crisis began with an insolvent institution which precipitated a credit panic across the global banking system. When markets are saturated with debt, a single event can turn into a contagion. Will Evergrande spark another financial meltdown, or will it prove to be too big to fail? In this interview, I talk to the Head of Institutional Investment at Swan Bitcoin and Bitcoin Strategist Greg Foss. We discuss the Evergrande insolvency, whether a debt crisis is looming, and why Bitcoin is the perfect hedge.

SHOW DESCRIPTION Location: Remotely Date: Thursday 23rd September Company: Strike Role: CEO For the past few decades, fintech companies have launched many proprietary payment systems for digital payments, leading to competing standards that have left markets disconnected and bifurcated. Bitcoin is a new open monetary system, and the Lightning Network introduces instant cash-like digital finality. Any platform or company can now plug into a global interoperable financial network that operates at the speed of light. Twitter has become the first social network to integrate Bitcoin as its native currency. So what will this mean for social media and content creators? In this interview, I talk to Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike. We discuss the launch of the Strike API, integrating Bitcoin with Twitter, and the accelerating network effects of Lightning.

Location: New York Date: Sunday 19th September Company: Griid Infrastructure Role: VP of Strategy Bitcoin mining requires energy expenditure as a fundamental pillar of the proof-of-work consensus mechanism. While bitcoin is considered energy-intensive by some, it is often misreported in the media, overlooking its importance and the positive benefits for humanity of having sound money. Similarly, while some criticise bitcoin mining as wasteful, there is ignorance regarding how mining companies are improving communities, the efficiency of the energy grid, and even the impact of energy use itself. So how is bitcoin mining a driving force for beneficial change? In this interview, I talk to Harry Sudock, Vice President of Strategy at Griid. We discuss how bitcoin mining works, mining as a force for good globally, and demonetising the political class.

Location: New York Date: Friday 17th September Role: Programmer & Data Scientist Since the early 1970s, society has seen an explosion of progress in the digital world. As per Moore's law, we've seen increasing computing power at decreasing costs, but at the same time, there has been a stagnation of progress in physical sciences and related technologies. This stagnation has caused problems for institutions and economic systems built around a paradigm of embedded growth. So what has caused this great stagnation? And can Bitcoin fix it? In this interview, I talk to programmer & data scientist Rob Hamilton. We discuss the embedded growth problem, stagnation leading to violence, and how bitcoin realigns natural progress.

Location: New York Date: Monday 13th September Role: Businessman & TV Personality Fundamental changes are emerging in the way capital is being allocated across many industries. Environmental policies are materialising not from lawmakers but from mandates that originate within companies and institutions. Trillions of dollars of institutional funds are beginning to see the potential of bitcoin in portfolio construction; however, only if concerns over the environmental impact of bitcoin mining can be overcome. But is respecting investment mandates a path to centralise the mining industry? Or will environmental compliance drive Bitcoin adoption another order of magnitude higher? In this interview, I talk to businessman and TV Personality Kevin O'Leary. We discuss institutional bitcoin allocation, ESG compliance, and the changing economic landscape.

Location: Remotely Date: Tuesday 7th September Project: Mauldin Economics Role: Analyst, Author In Ray Dalio's excellent video How The Economic Machine Works, he explains the concept of long-term debt cycles. This framework can shed light on where we have been economically, and where we might be going. With debt and spending soaring, and no sign of austerity, we may be approaching the conclusion of a long-term debt cycle. Whether you call it a cycle, or a "reset," in the end it means there may be some kind of great restructuring. The only thing that seems to be clear, is what we are doing today is not sustainable. So how can we get to the other side? And what do we have to be optimistic about? In this interview I talk to author and economic analyst John Mauldin. We discuss current labor shortages, crises and antifragility, and the looming global debt problem.

Location: Remotely Date: Friday 3rd September Company: Euro Pacific Asset Management & Validus Power Corp Role: CEO and Chief Global Strategist & Bitcoin Strategist Gold has been used as money for thousands of years, but once the US severed all remaining ties with the Gold Standard in 1971 and moved to our current fiat system, gold's use case shifted. Gold has become a safe haven, store of value, and insurance against what many gold bugs consider a broken fiat monetary system. Bitcoin is considered by many to be digital gold but is only 12 years old. Still, in that time, it has grown into a near trillion-dollar asset and is also a store of value but is decentralised and censorship-resistant. Many bitcoiners believe it is just a matter of time until bitcoin replaces gold as the world's primary store of value. Gold and bitcoin have some obvious similarities. They are both scarce assets and stores of value that offer an opt-out of government-issued fiat currencies. Likewise, gold bugs and bitcoiners share a similar mindset in their belief that the current fiat system is broken and we need a sound money alternative. For some, though, it isn't gold and bitcoin; it's gold vs bitcoin. Peter Schiff is firmly in this camp, and since 2012, he has regularly derided bitcoin, claiming that it has no intrinsic value and is eventually heading to zero. In this interview, I host a debate between gold bug Peter Schiff and Bitcoin Strategist Greg Foss. We discuss the value of bitcoin & gold, risk management & portfolio allocations and how bitcoin is helping oppressed people around the world.

Location: Remotely Date: Sunday 29th August Company: Blockstream Role: Co-Founder/CEO, CSO In 2017, thousands of ICOs flooded crypto markets. There was a lot of excitement around ICOs at the time, but they turned out to be largely scams and cash grabs, with most likely being illegal securities offerings. Blockstream is changing that by bringing to market regulated securities in tokenised form, and it's all being built on Bitcoin using the Liquid Network, creating some exciting new possibilities for capital allocation. Liquid is a federated sidechain built on top of Bitcoin, allowing assets like securities and NFTs to be issued and traded quickly, cheaply, and confidentially. So what is the potential for NFTs and tokenised securities built on Bitcoin layers? In this interview, I talk to Adam Back and Samson Mow, Blockstream's CEO & Chief Strategy Officer. We discuss the future of tokenised securities, practical NFT use cases, and decentralising hashpower ownership.