So the number is steadily heading up. As I write this, Bitcoin is around $51,500 USD per coin and yet so many people are still not aware of what Bitcoin means to the world. We still have ‘TradFi’ macro bro commentators who don’t get it, instead viewing it as some Keynesian animal spirits thing, or worse, they have shitcoin bags to pump instead.
The Bitcoin ETFs have steadily been accumulating Bitcoin on net. The early comments about Bitcoin ETFs being a failure (from a fiat ETF perspective) have now been completely rebutted. Last week the 10 bitcoin ETFs netted $2.3B, and IBIT (Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF) alone was #2.
Generally, with Bitcoin ETFs taking up around $400M worth of Bitcoin off the market every day, it seems a matter of time before we see more explosive price action as the cycle heats up.
Now into some podcast summaries for the week:
Is Everything Good For Bitcoin? With Christian Keroles SLP549
I realise that some people may be getting bored of the Spam/Ordinals debate, but this chat Christian and I had did push that forward a little bit. We spoke about Bitcoin Spam, monetary maximalism and on antifragility.
So while we perhaps slightly disagree on “What is Good for Bitcoin”, perhaps CK’s answer here is that even though individual Bitcoiners can get attacked, or things might be temporarily bad for Bitcoin, in the longer term, Bitcoin is antifragile and grows in response. Antifragility is when a system increases in capability to thrive as a result of stressors, shocks, or attacks.
I did comment that there is a human cost to this, for example developers getting tired out and stopping after the fall out of 2017, or people being threatened with costly law suits by CSW (by the way, it looks like this threat is finally waning based on the current suit in the UK).
In the end, I still view inscriptions, BRC-20 and Stamps as spam, with BRC-20 and Stamps being particularly bad. However, I’m not personally going to attempt to filter because I don’t believe it will work. In the end though, I think there are bigger fish to fry, such as government attacks on Bitcoin, which leads me into the next podcast episode.
Dispelling False Narratives About Bitcoin with Daniel Batten SLP550
In this chat with Daniel Batten, we walk through some of the major false climate narratives on Bitcoin:
Anti Bitcoin articles and media are often operating based on out of date or downright debunked modelling of Bitcoin’s global mining network. For example, the breakdown of hashrate across countries, which if out of date can make it look like the network is using more fossil fuel energy than it really is. (I’m pro fossil fuel energy personally, but believe we can still make arguments on an “even on your own terms” basis).
The extremely misleading nature of “Per Transaction” methodology applied by dishonest commentators on Bitcoin mining’s impact. This has been debunked time and time again, since 2018. You can also see the debate I hosted between Digiconomist and Ben Gagnon from Bitfarms.
For those who do accept the ‘sustainability’ frame, it should also be noted that there are various ways in which Bitcoin mining can be very helpful: it can use energy that isn’t on the grid at all, it can help stabilize grids through demand response services and be the first offtaker for ‘renewable’ suppliers.
Bitcoin’s use of PoW is often misrepresented as ideological intransigence, when actually it is a technological necessity. Bitcoin’s PoW is what enables it to be a decentralised and open system.
Attacks on Bitcoin mining are happening not just in the USA, but also in Europe. We discuss why and how some European bureaucrats in the ECB and ESMA are going after Bitcoin. You can see Daniel’s submission to ESMA here. See also my earlier episode with Lyudmyla and Bota here.
So whether you’re like me and see wind and solar as government subsidised boondoggles, or whether you actually believe in wind and solar - you can see there are many falsehoods being spread about Bitcoin’s impact. It is in the interest of all Bitcoin HODLers and industry participants to speak out against these lies. So do listen to and share this podcast, and share some of Daniel’s articles to help dispel the lies. As we discuss at the end of that podcast, it is also about how you engage with people even in casual settings, like at a dinner party or BBQ - and how you are able to be open and have a real conversation to help dispel falsehoods.
Sponsors and upcoming conferences:
If you want to stack sats and learn about Bitcoin, check out Swan Bitcoin. My link here gets you $10 of free sats when you start stacking with Swan.
The best bitcoin hardware devices are available at Coinkite.com - I use the Coldcard as part of various setups I have. Get a discount on your Coldcards using code LIVERA.
Mempool.space is an invaluable tool for targeting your bitcoin transaction fees and searching things. They’ve got a transaction accelerator waitlist that you can sign up for here.
Are you interested in lowering your tax offshore legally, having a plan B citizenship or residence? My sponsor NomadCapitalist.com can help create a wholistic plan for you.
BitBlockBoom April 11th-14th 2024 in Dallas, Texas - code LIVERA
BTC Prague June 13-15th 2024 in Prague, Czech Republic - code LIVERA
See you in the citadels!