BlackRock & the Bitcoin Signal with Preston Pysh & Matt Odell Live

 
 

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“If plan A fails and we can’t make tools that are convenient but also freedom-oriented, then freedom degrades to a point where people get burned so much that they finally wake up to it and start trying to improve their own situation.”
— Matt Odell

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Preston Pysh is a co-founder of The Investor Podcast Network, and Matt Odell is host of Citadel Dispatch, co-host of Rabbit Hole Recap, managing partner at Ten31 and co-founder of OpenSats and Bitcoin Park. In this interview, we discuss Bitcoin’s impact on privacy, freedom, and the financial system. We also talk about the impact and risks of BlackRock’s involvement in Bitcoin, the challenges faced by energy companies adopting Bitcoin, and Bitcoin’s potential to massively reorganize wealth.

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This is another What Bitcoin Did live show, this time held in Bitcoin Park in Nashville, with two heavyweights of the Bitcoin community: Preston Pysh and Matt Odell. As ever for a live show, we used the opportunity to cover a range of topics. But, the show focused on two main issues: the perennial concern about whether enough users recognize the critical need for privacy to maintain freedom in the digital age; and a new concern regarding BlackRock’s impact on Bitcoin.

There are significant risks associated with centralized control and surveillance by governments and corporations, but, the iterative eroding of rights means that these systemic risks are often underappreciated. Most people prioritize convenience and are not actively seeking out privacy-oriented tools. To avoid a dystopian future with limited freedom people need to be empowered with both education and user-friendly tools.

Further, the lead in promoting and facilitating privacy lies with individuals outside of established multinational tech platforms; grassroots adoption of freedom tech is key to the success of this mission. The oligarchs who control large tech platforms, whilst promoting principles predicated on freedom of expression, actually prioritize the massive collection of data and control. Having a trustless system means just that: we shouldn’t need to rely on the word of any one person.

The concern about BlackRock’s proposed Bitcoin ETF also covers the concern regarding privacy and centralised control. In essence, will BlackRock’s involvement increase adoption and strengthen Bitcoin, or, will the reliance on a centralised company to hold a large concentration of paper promises weaken Bitcoin? BlackRock’s power will spread interest in Bitcoin, but will also certainly erode the ongoing push for self-custody.

Further, are concerns about BlackRock dominating Bitcoin and forcing a hard fork overstated? Certainly, BlackRock could exert influence on Bitcoin, particularly from a regulatory standpoint. But, Bitcoin is resistant to change, and, there is already a significantly strong and cohesive community of hodlers. A major legacy financial institution trying to exert its influence on Bitcoin could yet be Bitcoin’s biggest and most important battle.

TIMESTAMPS

00:01:16: Introducing Matt
00:02:11: State capture and the importance of freedom tech
00:15:34: BlackRock ETF, and the need to self-custody
00:25:49: BlackRock pushing freedom Bitcoin FUD
00:29:59: Introducing Preston
00:35:30: TradFi reaction to BlackRock
00:45:15: Monopoly board economics
00:53:23: Debt spiral, inflation, and a deflationary period
01:05:41: Q&A with Matt and Preston
01:06:42: Q1: Co-opting Bitcoin companies
01:15:27: Q2: Presidential candidates
01:18:46: Q3: Bitcoin price manipulation
01:28:22: Q4: Self-custody and self-education
01:37:23: Q5: New Bitcoin companies, and Bitcoin in sport
01:46:49: Q6: Future Bitcoin wealth distribution
01:52:42: Q7: Potential for future hard forks
02:05:17: Final comments

 

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SHOW NOTES

PodcastPeter McCormack