The Coin Bureau Podcast: Crypto Without the Hype

It feels like Season One of FTX: Trouble in Paradise has drawn to a close. SBF narrowly avoided jail thanks to a last-minute $250 million bond and is now chilling at home with his parents. Season Two will see him fighting for his freedom in court as his former friends, colleagues and lovers queue up to spill the beans. Everyone just wants to get the lightest sentence possible. SBF’s next court appearance is scheduled for the 3rd of January, so it won’t be long before Season Two is up and running. In the meantime however, it feels like a good opportunity to pause and try to make sense of what has happened in the last few weeks. How on earth was it possible for this disaster to happen? When did everything start going wrong? And, how did a bunch of maths geeks who clearly weren’t very good traders manage to mislead the whole industry for so long? To answer these questions and many others, I got together with Ram Ahluwalia, the co-founder and CEO of Lumida - an investment advisory firm that focuses on digital assets. Ram has worked in finance for most of his career and has a level of knowledge and experience that few can match. He recently published some intriguing threads on Twitter that delved into the FTX/Alameda debacle and, having read them, I knew I had to talk with him in depth. In our discussion we drilled down into Ram’s thoughts on the disaster and why he believes it was a long time coming - longer perhaps than many people believe. He also talked through some of the mysteries of high finance that seem to have helped thwart SBF and his cronies and explained how those who were able to play the game better were able to profit at FTX and Alameda’s expense. This was a fascinating conversation to have and I’m grateful to Ram for taking the time to talk to me. A few developments - including the arrest and extradition of SBF - have taken place since we talked, but what we discuss here is still hugely relevant to the situation and how things may play out in the coming months. Follow Ram on Twitter: @ramahluwahlia Follow Lumida on Twitter: @lumidawealth or visit https://www.lumida.co/ We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s time to check in again with our friends at the Federal Reserve, whose every move is being scrutinised by investors everywhere for signs of what might be on their minds. Are they going to keep raising interest rates as aggressively as they have been in previous months? Will they slow the pace, or maybe even ease off the rate rises completely? The decisions made inside Fed HQ have huge ramifications for the US economy and beyond. We recently got a glimpse inside the Fed’s thinking with the release of the minutes of its latest meeting, which was held just before Jerome and co decided to hike rates by yet another 75 basis points last month. So, have a listen to our analysis of the minutes and what they might mean for the crypto market and beyond. It may have been hard to focus on much besides the FTX disaster in recent weeks, but the rest of the world doesn’t stand still when crypto has one of its periodic meltdowns. Next up, you’ll hear about some of the catalysts that could yet drive the bear market down to new lows. Many are speculating that we may be at or near the bottom by now and it certainly feels like that sometimes. Problem is, there are still a number of factors that need to be considered and hurdles to be overcome before the path to higher prices is revealed. From retail investors finally throwing in the towel, to miners giving up the ghost and energy prices going through the roof, there’s still lots to watch out for. With luck, the bottom is already in and 2023 will be a year of growing gains, but then again, luck seems to have been in pretty short supply of late. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s back to FTX this week sadly, as the exchange’s collapse continues to dominate the crypto headlines. Today, you’ll hear about the company’s recent bankruptcy filing, which revealed just how terribly it and its sister company Alameda Research were being run behind the scenes, by people who were unfit to be running anything bigger than a lemonade stand. The filing makes for some pretty extraordinary reading and reveals just how much work needs to be done to try and clear up the mess that Sam Bankman-Fried and his idiotic colleagues left in their wake. This clearing up will take a long time and that means it will take an even longer time for anyone to get their money back - assuming enough money can be found, that is. Have a listen to get the lowdown. Another consequence of the FTX fiasco is that other crypto exchanges are rushing to provide proof of reserves or PoR. This is designed to reassure their users that they do indeed have enough crypto on hand to honour any and all withdrawals, should they be required to. After FTX, people want to know they’re using an exchange which is solvent and can prove itself to be so, hence why the second part of today’s episode is also well worth your time. This is a look at what proof of reserves actually means and to what extent the top exchanges out there are providing it. There’s also the question to consider of whether the time for decentralised exchanges may be nigh. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

FTX is still making the headlines and the contagion continues to spread. Companies and projects across the industry are reeling and much of the talk is about which could be the next domino to fall. Welcome to crypto winter. One project that many are concerned about is Solana, which was heavily backed by FTX and Alameda Research. SOL’s price has tumbled in the wake of FTX’s collapse as a result of this exposure, and the road ahead looks rocky. In the first part of today’s episode, you’ll hear a bit of background about Solana, as well as some significant developments it has undergone in recent months. You’ll also hear the details of its relationship with FTX and Alameda, as well as how the projects in its ecosystem are also under threat. Can Solana survive, or is the sun about to set on one of crypto’s biggest projects? Next up, something a little different. There’s enough bad news floating around the cryptoverse at the moment, so let’s take a look at a fascinating geopolitical issue instead. Africa is poised to become an economic powerhouse in the coming decades, thanks in large part to its high birth rate and abundance of natural resources. As populations across much of the rest of the world decline and grow steadily older, African nations are set to reap the benefits of having younger and more productive workforces. They’ll need them to get all those metals and minerals out of the ground. Other nations are slowly waking up to this fact, but Western ones are lagging behind. China however is well aware of Africa’s potential and has invested heavily across the continent in recent years. As a result, Chinese power and influence have increased, making it arguably the pre-eminent foreign power across much of Africa. But, as countries like Sri Lanka have found to their cost, Chinese money doesn’t necessarily come cheap. Defaulting on debts owed to the world’s second-largest economy can be ruinous and China hasn’t been shy of appropriating collateral in such situations. As African nations look to develop further in order to harness their future potential, is China the best business partner to have? Have a listen to our deep dive on this issue and see what you think. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crypto has been rocked over the last few days by the biggest disaster ever to hit the industry. While it has experienced its fair share of crises over its short history, the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research is the gravest challenge crypto has faced thus far and the true extent of the damage may not become apparent for some time. In today’s episode, Mike and Guy sit down to talk through what happened and what may come next. Many of the details are still unclear and new information is coming to light every day, so much of what’s discussed here will be focused on the background to this whole debacle. You’ll hear about the origins of Alameda Research and FTX, as well as the story of the man who founded them both and is ultimately responsible for their collapse. You’ll also hear about how concerns about Alameda started to bubble up at the beginning of November and how both it and the world’s second-largest crypto exchange were essentially brought down by a single tweet. We’ll update you with more information on this extraordinary, tragic story next week. New twists and turns occur daily, while rumour, speculation, vitriol and despair swirl around the crypto community. Make no mistake, this is crypto history unfolding before our eyes. We hope you enjoy the show. Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ok, you can probably guess what’s going to be covered today. The crypto industry is reeling from the collapse of the FTX exchange and everyone has questions. What happened? Who is responsible? How could such a disaster have been possible? Where next for crypto? And many, many others besides. So, in the first part of today’s episode, you’ll hear our initial assessment of what went down with FTX and get some crucial background info about the people and the entities involved. This is about much more than just an exchange going under - it’s about the continued fallout from Terra’s collapse earlier this year, systemic human failings, corruption, greed, incompetence and lies. It’s also about the failure of yet another centralised crypto company that seemed to have the world at its feet but, in retrospect, should never have had access to anyone’s money. FTX may be dominating the crypto headlines, but elsewhere the world continues to turn, regardless of the existential crisis gripping the industry. A good example of this is the Federal Reserve and its continued efforts to battle inflation. The Fed’s latest interest rate hike of 75 basis points feels like a long time ago now and the focus has turned to what its next one might look like. That’s why Jerome Powell’s most recent press conference that followed the FOMC meeting in early November was so consequential. His comments shed light on the Fed’s future plans and markets everywhere were paying close attention. So, in part two of today’s episode, you’ll hear what Jerome said, what it all means and why there’s still a lot of fire to walk through before we emerge into the light. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s turmoil in the crypto market at the moment and we’ll tackle what’s been going on with FTX next week when the picture will - we hope - be a bit clearer. But for this week’s episode, we have something a bit different to take everyone’s mind off all the bad news and instead focus on the future. Robin Schmidt is one of the most insanely creative minds in the crypto space. Following a successful career in film and TV production, he began pushing the boundaries of content creation as host of The Defiant - one of the best crypto channels out there. In two short years, Robin and his team produced some of the most extraordinary videos on DeFi and crypto that you could hope to see. Opinionated, funny, impeccably produced and - crucially - full of vital information, they are a must-watch on so many levels. But there’s a lot more to Robin than awesome film-making. His ideas and opinions on DeFi and web3 more broadly are some of the clearest and most insightful in the industry. While many both inside and outside of crypto remain cynical about the likes of the metaverse and NFTs, Robin is refreshingly optimistic about their potential. We were saddened to hear a few weeks ago that Robin was leaving The Defiant for pastures new. After becoming hooked on his content, the thought of him not gracing our screens anymore was hard to bear. Fortunately, he’s got some exciting stuff up his sleeve and, even more fortunately, he was able to find some time to come on the podcast and talk to Guy about it. So, in this episode, Robin and Guy discuss how Robin got into crypto and where he’s heading next, as well as talking about the weirdness of being crypto YouTubers, the highs and lows of content creation, how the metaverse is set to change the world in ways we can’t yet imagine and much more besides. Robin on Twitter: @IamSuperMassive Robin’s new project: @we_are_basedaf / www.based-af.com The Defiant (still awesome, even without Robin): https://www.youtube.com/thedefiant If you want some of Robin’s finest work to get you started, then some of his Defiant videos on NFTs have to be seen to be believed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY9lM73ie0Q&t=636s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kjMbScb75Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv-Kl2R4Vj4 And the Ethereum merge video Robin discusses in the episode can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn1WlunVFts (warning, contains tomatoes) We hope you enjoy the show. Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s picks from our YouTube channel feature a look at the housing bubbles that are looking increasingly shaky in a number of countries and a little tale of what happened when Instagram fact-checked a meme I posted about CBDCs. A home of one’s own is a big deal for many people, especially in my native UK and elsewhere. This fact, coupled with years of near-zero interest rates, have meant that housing prices in many countries have been rising for a long time. The so-called ‘race for space’ triggered by the pandemic lockdowns only exacerbated this upward trend, but this may now be about to change. In short, inflation and the rising interest rates deployed against it mean that the era of cheap money is coming to an end. Mortgages are going to become more expensive, meaning fewer people are going to be buying homes. Rising prices mean many people will be less able to save for a deposit. And, as many current homeowners who aren’t on fixed-rate mortgages find themselves unable to make their monthly payments, they may be forced to sell. All of which will put heavy downward pressure on home prices. In countries like the UK, USA and Canada, where housing markets have long been overheated, this could spell yet more economic pain. Next up, find out what happened when a meme I recently posted on Instagram got fact-checked. The meme in question related to central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, which are going to become a reality for many countries very soon. The meme highlighted how the convenience of CDBCs will blind many to their failings and it seemed this fact was a little too close to the truth for some people’s liking. So, listen in and find out why what the meme says is in fact correct, and why it seemed to trigger the fact-checkers. Make no mistake, CBDCs pose an enormous threat to financial freedom and the more people who know about this, the better. They may be inevitable, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be resisted. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After being parted for over a month, Mike and Guy have managed to get together again to talk crypto once again. Thankfully, our editor has managed to cut out the very long and rambling catch-up chat they had and generally keep in the important stuff. Some waffle may remain though, so please exercise caution. Today’s topic is a crypto niche which has attracted a lot of attention recently and could prove to have staying power in the long run. Move to earn is incentivizes users to get active by rewarding them with crypto when they do so. The thinking being that, by getting up and taking exercise, you can not only improve your health, but your finances as well. So, join Mike and Guy as they break down what move to earn is all about, look at two of the biggest projects in this category of crypto project and ask whether the whole exercise is worth getting out of bed for. How does it all work and can you really earn some extra income just by being active? We hope you enjoy the show. Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike and Guy are reunited this Friday for another in-depth discussion with plenty of lame jokes thrown in, but before all that we have another couple of recent hits from our YouTube channel for you to enjoy. First up is a look at some recent recommendations for crypto regulations from Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF as he’s better known, the CEO of the FTX exchange. These were unleashed upon the world just a couple of weeks ago and the fallout from them has been pronounced. Put mildly, many in the industry were not happy with what he was proposing. To be fair, SBF was at pains to point out that these recommendations were intended to spark debate over how possible future regulations should look and they more than succeeded in doing just that. In the first part of today’s episode, we take a look at what exactly was proposed and whether or not SBF was on the right track. This is an important conversation to have because regulations are heading towards the crypto industry and anything that we can do to influence how they might look could make all the difference to crypto’s future. Then, that rarest of beasts these days, a new layer-one blockchain project to review. Aptos launched its mainnet a couple of weeks ago and its APT coin was listed on all major exchanges around the same time - this despite a lack of available tokenomics. Those were only published after APT had listed and this is unfortunately just one of many gripes we have with the project. There’s no denying that Aptos has some top tech and heavy investment backing it up, as well as an experienced team. But, the more we dug into the project, the less we found to like about it. So, have a listen to our review of it and, if it piques your interest, consider looking into Aptos for yourself too - because doing your own research is vital for anyone interested in learning more about crypto. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From our YouTube archive this week come two videos which lay bare many of the failings of the current financial system. The first is inflation - that pernicious force which is busy making lives harder for most people around the world. Most, but by no means all, because those at the very top of the pyramid ultimately benefit from the inflationary system the rest of us labour under. Believe it or not, but inflation is guilty of more than just rising prices and increasing living costs. It also drives many of the most troubling aspects of society, including war, environmental degradation, inequality and corruption, to name but a few. In the first part of today’s episode, you’ll hear how inflation furthers these evil ends and allows the wealthy and powerful to benefit, while everyone else foots the bill. Then, in part two, you’ll hear all about a new bill in Washington DC which aims to crack down on insider trading by US politicians and other government officials. This shady practice has been going on since time immemorial, and this isn’t the first bit of legislation to try and tackle it. However, as the economic climate deteriorates and public opinion hardens against such underhand practices, perhaps this could be the moment the folks on Capitol Hill are brought into line. Here’s everything you need to know about the extent of the insider trading that’s been going on and what’s being done to curb it. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week highlights from Coin Bureau’s YouTube channel focus on two critical macroeconomic issues - China and its stance on Taiwan and concerns around global oil prices. Both of these factors will be weighing on any investor’s portfolio in some way. You’ll almost certainly be aware of the fact that China has long coveted Taiwan and aims to unite the two countries - by force, if necessary. This dispute has rumbled on for decades, but tensions are currently higher than they have been for a long time. As Chinese president Xi Jinping consolidates his absolute power by securing a third term in office - meaning he is effectively president for life if he so chooses - the likelihood that China will make its move is becoming uncomfortably high. In the first part of today’s episode, we look at some of the main reasons as to why China could be on the brink of invading Taiwan. As US president Joe Biden has repeatedly pledged military support for Taiwan in such an eventuality, the stakes could not be higher for all three countries and the wider world. As we’ll see, there are many reasons why China could be readying for a strike and just as many reasons why such a move would have dire consequences for the world. Next up, we take a look at why oil prices are also something we should all be concerned about (there’s not much in the way of good news this week, sadly). The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries - OPEC - the powerful international cartel that sets global oil prices, recently decided to cut production by 2 million barrels a day, meaning the price of oil is set to climb. This obviously has serious consequences for the global economy. There’s also the uncomfortable fact that the US has recently tapped its Strategic Petroleum Reserve - SPR - to make up for the disruption to oil production caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This has helped to combat inflation caused by rising energy costs and insulate Americans from higher prices at the pump. But it also means that the US has decreasing amounts of oil in reserve for an emergency, such as, for instance, a war with China over Taiwan. So, find a safe spot behind the sofa and have a listen. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s time for some more hits from our YouTube channel to brighten your week. Today you’ll hear all about the recent mini financial crisis in the UK and our investigation into a company that could be poised to dominate the crypto industry. The UK has a new Prime Minister and a new Chancellor of the Exchequer and it’s safe to say they haven’t got off to the most auspicious of starts. Once parliament had reconvened following the period of mourning for the Queen, Chancellor Kwazi Kwarteng announced a so-called ‘mini budget’ that was focused on growth. The only problem was, this involved borrowing billions of pounds to not just cover soaring energy bills, but also to effectively fund a tax cut for the rich. The markets were unimpressed and the pound plunged. What was more disconcerting however was the state of the UK bond market. The yield on UK gilts (government bonds) shot up, while the price went the other way. As a result, it became much, much more expensive for the government to borrow money. It also meant that UK pension funds became dangerously exposed, all of which is explained in the first part of this episode. It’s a sorry tale and a bitter pill for us Brits to swallow. Then, in the second part of this episode, you’ll hear all about Circle, the company that is fast becoming one of the richest and most powerful forces in crypto. For those unfamiliar, Circle issues USDC, the second largest stablecoin by market cap. It also has some seriously heavyweight backing from the likes of BlackRock and Goldman Sachs. Circle has been around for a few years now and began life as a bitcoin-focused payments company before moving into the stablecoin sector. It is also due to go public later this year, which would make it only the second crypto company after Coinbase to take this massive step. Suffice to say, this is a company you need to be aware of. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike is away this week, but never fear because we’re lucky enough to have a guest joining us who is one of the wisest heads in the crypto space. Rob Wolff is the man behind Digital Asset News, one of the best crypto-focused YouTube channels out there. Rob is a seasoned investor and businessman, but also the sort of person who never rests on his laurels or stops being curious. As such, what he has to say about the crypto space, about investing and heck, about most things, is always worth hearing. So this week, Rob and I dialled in to talk about, well, a lot of things. We cover Rob’s fascinating career up to now and how he discovered crypto. We talk about his five rules for investing which everyone should know and how he’s learned from past mistakes to become wiser and more resilient. We also dive into the current state of the crypto market and where it could be heading. And that’s just for starters. Rob is one of crypto’s good guys. He’s bullish on the future of the industry, but doesn’t deal in hype or hopium. His philosophical approach to crypto, to investing and to life in general is just what’s needed in these difficult, uncertain times. A gentleman, a scholar and a damn nice guy into the bargain. Digital Asset News, Rob’s brilliant YouTube channel can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigitalAssetNewsDAN and you can follow him on Twitter at @NewsAsset. His website is an amazing source of FREE educational resources about crypto and can be found at https://danteachescrypto.com/ The book ‘This Time is Different’ that Rob mentions is also essential reading. https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691152646/this-time-is-different It was an absolute pleasure having Rob on the show and we hope he’ll come back and join us again soon. We hope you enjoy the show. Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two more selections from our YouTube channel today, in which we take a look at the latest efforts by EU politicians to regulate crypto in the Eurozone and delve deep into a 2019 report by BlackRock which seemed to predict much of what we’re seeing play out in fiscal and monetary policy-making today. We were lucky enough to get our hands on an advance copy of the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation or MiCA bill, which will be passed by the European parliament in the next few days. We were also fortunate to get to work with insider and expert Patrick Hansen on going through it all. When the bill was originally presented a few months ago, it contained some alarming suggestions that threatened to seriously hamper the growth and development of the European crypto industry. Since that time, we have awaited the revised bill with bated breath. Happily, much has changed during the revision period and it looks like Europe could become a trailblazer for regulatory clarity. There are still some concerns though and, in the first part of this episode, we break down what’s in the bill and give our assessment of what it all means for crypto in the EU and beyond. Next, we dig through a report published by asset-management behemoth BlackRock all the way back in 2019, as the world barrelled unwittingly towards the era of covid-19. What’s strange is that this report has since proved to be spookily accurate when it comes to how fiscal and monetary policies would take shape in the aftermath of a global crisis, such as was then on the horizon. There’s a lot to unpack in this report, but our breakdown of it is essential listening - especially when you consider that BlackRock is arguably more powerful than most national governments. How did the report’s authors know so much about the future? We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Poor Mike felt a bit down after the last time we spoke. Yes, the merge was a success, but the crypto market found its way back into the doldrums pretty quickly afterwards and looks like remaining there for quite some time to come. There are just too many factors weighing on all financial markets at this point in time and it’s hard not to feel a bit gloomy about it all. So, this week, we thought we’d try something different and turn to that ever-reliable source of news, nonsense, time-wasting and procrastination: Twitter. If you want to keep tabs on what’s going on in crypto, you need to monitor crypto Twitter - or CT, if you’re into the whole brevity thing. CT is, in short, where it all goes down. If you are going to immerse yourself in the world of CT, then Coinfessions (@coinfessions) is one account you need to follow. Billed as anonymous crypto confessions, it’s a place where people go to fess up to the crypto-related shenanigans they just have to get off their chests. Some of them make for uncomfortable reading, some are distressing, some are even uplifting. But, as entertaining and diverting as Coinfessions is, there are lessons to be learned from many of these tweets. So, let’s veer away from the horrors of global markets and dig into some confessions from the crypto space and see what they have to teach us. We hope you enjoy the show. Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For this week’s YouTube selection, we bring you an investigation into the practice of weather modification and a look at how various arms of the US government responded to President Biden’s executive order about cryptocurrency from earlier this year. It’s been a longstanding human aim to control the weather, but it’s only recently that we’ve taken a technological approach to fulfilling it. Prior to that, we simply entreated one god or another to do it for us, but now we’re learning to play god ourselves. From showmen in the early 20th century burning chemicals to stimulate rain to governments shooting clouds with lasers in the 21st, we’ve come a long way from sacrificing the odd goat or two. What’s particularly intriguing is that it appears as though these technologies we’ve developed are actually very effective. That opens the door to all sorts of possibilities, both benign and otherwise. Back in 1974, many countries pledged to refrain from modifying the weather for warlike purposes, but there are now suspicions that some are no longer abiding by these terms. Weather modification is a huge but seemingly underreported subject, so we thought we’d take a break from the gloom of the crypto markets to shed some light on it for you. Crypto concerns can’t be ignored for long though, because authorities in the United States appear to be gearing up for a big regulatory push against the industry. IN March this year, President Biden issued an executive order about cryptocurrency and the deadline for responses to it fell just a few weeks ago. The result is a report which reviews these responses and provides some important indications of what crypto regulations in the United States could one day look like. It’s required reading for anyone interested in crypto, whether US-based or otherwise, so we’ve summarised it for you in the second part of today’s episode. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After previewing Ethereum’s merge event last week, it’s time to look back on the big day and see where it’s left us. Is the post-merge world any different from the world of proof of work Ethereum? Happily the merge went to plan and there were no issues - the sense of relief was palpable. Less happily, the euphoria that followed the merge evaporated in the blink of an eye. The gloomy economic situation that the world economy finds itself in has not gone away and these pressures continue to press down hard on the crypto market. Not even one of the most seismic events in the history of computing could change that fact. So, there’s bad news and good news to be aware of. In the latter category, rising interest rates, untamed inflation, continuing geopolitical tensions and war are just a few that spring to mind. Crypto also faces its own unique threats. The SEC considers all cryptos bar Bitcoin’s BTC to be securities, while there are also concerns around proof of stake Ethereum’s vulnerability to regulatory capture and even protocol-level censorship. Worrying times. But, it’s not all bad. The investment case for ETH has been strengthened by the success of the merge and - long term - investors will look more favourably on it. The massive reduction in electricity usage, as well as ETH’s future as a deflationary asset, are both enormous positives. And, there are further improvements in the work, being undertaken by a team of developers who have more than proven their expertise. So, as the merge recedes in the rear-view mirror, why not join us for one last look back, before we turn our gaze once more to the future? It may look rough, but better times lie beyond the horizon. We hope you enjoy the show. Executive Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Sam Moult Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coming to you this week from our YouTube archive is a piece on Europe’s energy squeeze and a recent report which casts doubt on much of cryptocurrency’s trading volume. The war in Ukraine drags on, causing death, destruction and misery on a shocking scale. But the effects of Putin’s madness are being felt beyond the borders of Ukraine and Russia in many different ways. For Europe, it means a potentially long, cold and dark winter, as fossil fuel exports from Russia dwindle in the face of sanctions and a proposed price cap on Russian oil. A stand-off has ensued, with Russia turning off the gas taps and refusing to budge until sanctions are lifted, while Europe tries to stand firm and not let energy shortages weaken its resolve. In the first part of today’s episode, we look at what led to this situation and examine why it’s more precarious than many might think. We also look at some of the ways in which European countries are starting to take steps to try and limit the damage, all while winter gets closer with each passing day. Then, in the second part of the episode, we go through a recent report by Forbes which digs down in the trading volumes on cryptocurrency exchanges. It’s titled: ‘More Than Half Of All Bitcoin Trades Are Fake’ and is critical of much of the crypto industry. It was an interesting report to cover, containing much to disagree with, but also plenty of food for thought. Have a listen and see what you think. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As well as our bonus catch-up episode, we’re also bringing you our regular Wednesday edition of the podcast today. Two for the price of one. One of our most popular videos of late has been our look at the World Economic Forum’s dystopian vision of the future. This is built around the idea that ‘you’ll own nothing and be happy,’ something the folks at the WEF seem to believe is a good thing. Well, we beg to differ. In the first part of this episode, you’ll hear our assessment of the WEF’s plans, as well as a look at how its stakeholders are starting to implement all the ways they can stop us owning but keep us consuming. We also look back at where these ideas originated - it turns out that concepts like planned obsolescence have been around for a surprisingly long time. Next up, you’ll hear our update on Cardano, one of the biggest and most talked-about crypto projects going. All the recent talk has been of Ethereum’s upcoming merge, but Cardano has a big upgrade of its own coming up later this month, which will go a long way towards determining whether or not it will be able to challenge Ethereum’s dominance in the future. Here’s everything you need to know about where Cardano is right now. We hope you enjoy the show. Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown Editor: Semir Mutapcic Theme music composed by: Noel Brown See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.