WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:12.839 Welcome back to the Thinking Crypto Podcasts. You're home for cryptocurrency news and interviews. 2 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:15.599 If you are new here, please hit that subscribe button as well as 3 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.440 the thumbs up button and leave a common below. If you're listening on a 4 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:22.640 podcast platform such as Spotify or Apple, please leave a five star rating and 5 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:26.120 review. It supports the podcast and it doesn't cost you anything. Well, 6 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:29.120 folks, let's start by taking a look at the price of bitcoin. Bitcoin 7 00:00:29.239 --> 00:00:34.359 currently near sixty five thousand dollars still consolidating. We may see a lot of 8 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:41.439 sideways action bouncing between sixty and sixty six thousand dollars, or Bitcoin could continue 9 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:45.960 going down, maybe to that fifty seven thousand dollars support level before it starts 10 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:50.079 to bounce and go upwards. Nevertheless, we're still on track to go to 11 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:53.200 new all time highs because we are in a bull market. We are any 12 00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:57.600 up trend when in doubt zoom out. Some important things to note is that 13 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:02.799 the fear and greed index for bitcoin is at a greed level at seventy three. 14 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:04.760 This may need to cool down a bit and maybe go to the neutral 15 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:08.959 level. Not necessarily go to fear, but more of neutral. Right in 16 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:12.920 the middle at a fifty, but no guarantee that it has to do that. 17 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:18.280 But I personally think, given my experience being here in the market and 18 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:22.439 seeing different market cycles, I think we need to get to a neutral standpoint 19 00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:25.920 of around fifty to fifty five or even sixty. Just get out of this 20 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:29.760 greed zone. Let things cool down, and we continue to see there's a 21 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:34.120 lot of outflows some GBTC The selling continues, folks here. On Thursday, 22 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:41.359 gbtcs saw three hundred and fifty nine million dollars in outflows, leading to ninety 23 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:46.159 four million dollars in outflows for the entire fund group. Some of the ETFs 24 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:49.120 as well, the spot ETFs from the big Wall Street players saw outflows. 25 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:53.599 And this is important to note that the ETFs, while they do bring a 26 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:59.400 good amount of capital flowing into the market, many of these ETFs and portfolio 27 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:04.159 managers aren't going to rebalance the portfolios. So you're going to see some sellofs 28 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:07.439 right. I'm not saying they're going to dump everything, obviously, but there 29 00:02:07.520 --> 00:02:13.039 will be rebalancing at as you have a larger pool of investors, and especially 30 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:16.080 with rias and these folks, they're going to look to rebalance the entire portfolio. 31 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:20.120 So something to keep in mind. And this is why you want to 32 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:24.680 have your plan. What prices are you taking profits at? Because the bull 33 00:02:24.759 --> 00:02:29.280 market doesn't last forever. We don't keep going up forever. There will be 34 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:32.680 the return of the bear market. Right. I still think we have another 35 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:37.879 year to go. Possibly we could see the blow off top this year or 36 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:40.840 early twenty twenty five. We'll see what happens. But just have your plan 37 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:44.919 and know what your cash out plan will be. Let's take a look at 38 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:49.560 what are the top trending tokens on social media here. This data is brought 39 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:52.879 to you by Sentiment and if you'd like to get a premium account for Sentiment, 40 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:55.159 sign up with the link in the description. You can get a discount 41 00:02:55.159 --> 00:03:00.280 by using the code thinking Crypto. Now. The first coin is Badger Badger 42 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:06.520 dow with high positive sentiment here. Coming in number two is the mean coin 43 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:12.719 doge Coin, although its positive sentiment is not that high compared to its negative. 44 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:17.039 Positive is at forty seven percent, negative sentiment just at thirty four percent. 45 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:23.439 Now bitcoin cash coming in at number three. Surprisingly, Let's see why 46 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:28.960 is bitcoin cash trending here? Bitcoin cash has been discussed in the context of 47 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:32.479 its performance compared to Bitcoin and light coin, as well as its community dynamics 48 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:37.240 and potential feature development. So it seems folks are a little negative because of 49 00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:40.199 the price action not being up to par. Because here it's positive sentiment is 50 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:45.639 at forty four point seventy two percent, it's negative at forty one point nineteen 51 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:50.400 percent, so not that much of a difference there. Ethereum comes in at 52 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:54.639 number four with high positive sentiment. You get Ample fourth. I don't know 53 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:58.439 what this project is, but it comes in at six. Then you have 54 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:04.159 fracts share which is FXS, and USDT Tether on Avalanche is trading, so 55 00:04:04.199 --> 00:04:10.240 it looks like USDT is doing something on the Avalanche blockchain. Pendle on Ethereum, 56 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:13.639 I don't know what Pendle is, but it's trending at number eight and 57 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:18.199 it has a high positive sentiment. Quant qnt that comes in at number nine 58 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:23.920 with high positive sentiment as well, and then you have tokemac network or the 59 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:28.279 ton token that comes in at number ten. So those are your top trending 60 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:30.720 tokens and their sentiments. Not a big news of the day, which is 61 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:36.920 the EU committees approve a ban on anonymous crypto transactions via hosted wallets. The 62 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:45.720 recent anti money laundering legislation imposes certain limits for cash transactions and anonymous cryptocurrency payments. 63 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:48.480 So not great news. Let's break this down and you know, world 64 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:53.839 governments, we've been talking about it. World governments are not banning crypto, 65 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:56.959 but they're going to put the guardrails in place, they're going to tax it, 66 00:04:57.399 --> 00:05:00.639 and we do have to figure out all the regulation. It is still 67 00:05:00.680 --> 00:05:03.480 early. Look, the EU passed the Mica bill. You also have the 68 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:09.680 UK passed crypto legislation, and we know folks like Elizabeth Warren want to implement 69 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:13.040 things like this in the United States. Now. I think there's a balance 70 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.800 here because on one hand, I understand that governments need to protect people. 71 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:21.959 We don't want bad actors using this technology to do nefarious things. But we 72 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:28.720 don't want draconian rules and laws which kills and stifles innovations and our freedoms. 73 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:30.399 Right, So there is a balance, and I think there's a lot of 74 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:34.000 dialogue that's needed. The industry needs to work closely with the government. So 75 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:42.240 a majority of the European Parliament's lead committees have approved a ban on cryptocurrency transactions 76 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:46.519 of any value made through hosted crypto wallets. This comes amid the European Council 77 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:54.160 and Parliament provisionally agreeing to expand parts of the European Union's Anti Money Laundering AML 78 00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:59.839 and counter Terrorists Financing laws to cover the cryptocurrency market. According to an ex 79 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:04.639 host by Patrick Bryer, a member of the European Parliament Pirate Party of Germany, 80 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:11.040 a majority of the EU Parliament's led committees approve the new AML laws on 81 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:15.519 March nineteenth. Breyer is one of only two members who voted against the ban 82 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:24.079 on anonymous crypto payments. Gunnar Beck of Alternative Fear Dushlin or Alternative for Germany 83 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:30.519 also voted against the band. The ban applies specifically to hosted or custodial crypto 84 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:35.079 wallets offered by third party service providers such as centralized exchanges. The new AML 85 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:42.160 legislation applies certain limits for cash transactions and anonymous cryptocurrency payments. Under the new 86 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:47.399 rules, anonymous cash payments over three thousand euros will be banned in commercial transactions, 87 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:54.639 and cash payments over ten thousand euros will be completely banned in business transactions. 88 00:06:54.680 --> 00:07:00.600 So it seems this is primarily for centralized exchanges. You don't know how 89 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:05.000 they reinforce this or defy and decentralized exchanges. Let's continue here to see if 90 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:10.600 you can get more details. The new legislation is expected to be fully operational 91 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:15.360 within three years from its entry into force. However, Dylan used this an 92 00:07:15.399 --> 00:07:20.959 Ireland based law firm expects the legislation to become fully operational earlier. Many cryptocurrency 93 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:27.879 networks function without permission lest environments, allowing anyone to create a cryptographic private key 94 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:32.959 and granting unrestricted anonymous entry into the system a fundamental principle of crypto. In 95 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:39.680 a press release after the lead committees approve the legislation, Briyer outline why he 96 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:45.279 opposed the bill, saying it compromises economic independence and financial privacy. He said 97 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:50.240 he considers the ability to transact anonymously a fundamental right. The crypto community has 98 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:56.279 had a mixed response to the euse regulatory measures. Some believe the new AML 99 00:07:56.439 --> 00:08:01.920 laws are necessary, while others fear they may infringe on privacy and restrict economic 100 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:07.720 activity. Daniel Lodi Truster, host of the Sound Money Bitcoin podcast, underscored 101 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:13.519 the practical hurdles and consequences of their recent legislation. He outlined the impact on 102 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:18.240 donations and broader implications for cryptocurrency use within the EU, and express concerns over 103 00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:24.800 the stifling effects the rules have. So this is not fully in place entirely 104 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:30.279 right, there's a three year window, but it has some legs here, 105 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.039 so we have to push back on this. We'll see what some of the 106 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:39.759 industry advocacy groups and lawyers and legal experts come in and say. But I 107 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:43.320 think we have to find a balance. I understand the concern from the governments, 108 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:48.120 right. Look, I don't want some terrorists or somebody doing something that 109 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:50.080 they shouldn't. But also, like I said, we don't want to stifle 110 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:54.720 innovation and trample people's rights. And look, I know here in the United 111 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:58.600 States, this would be something very hard for them to implement in the EU. 112 00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:01.480 I'm not sure if many people are paying attention to. You know, 113 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:05.799 here in the United States, we got the US Constitution, so and there's 114 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.759 three aspects of the government where there's checks and balances. So we'll have to 115 00:09:09.799 --> 00:09:13.799 wait and see. But this is not a good sign that they're coming out 116 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:16.639 and doing this. I don't know if they spoke to the crypto industry and 117 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:20.480 folks who are in the EU about this, So we'll have to wait till 118 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:24.000 we get more details. I would love to hear companies in the EU if 119 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:28.840 they weigh in on this, if they spoke to the industry, but probably 120 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:31.480 not. All right, let's move ahead. We got some funding news for 121 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:35.919 the crypto market. I love to see this news because it shows who's investing 122 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:41.600 money, where they're putting that money, whether it's coins and projects or companies 123 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:45.720 building the infrastructure of the market. So we've been seeing a ton of etheroreum 124 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:48.480 Layer twos popping up, right, There's so many now, you know, 125 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:52.320 Coinbase has its own called Base and it's actually doing well. There's Polygon, 126 00:09:54.320 --> 00:10:00.399 Arbitram, many others well. The Layer two infrastructure startup Expresso announce a twenty 127 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:05.360 eight million dollars in Series B funding led by a sixteen Z crypto on Thursday. 128 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:11.000 Various Layer two related firms participated, including Polygons, Starkware, and Arbitrum 129 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:16.240 developer off Chain Labs. Espresso is largely known for building a shared sequencer for 130 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:22.159 layer twos, where rollups can order and process transactions via a shared marketplace rather 131 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:28.720 than in their own execution environments. This could theoretically make Layer twos more interoperable, 132 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:33.759 though the program is still in test net, so that's interesting. The 133 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:39.080 funding follows thirty two million dollars Espresso rais led by Graylock Partners and Electric Capital. 134 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:43.639 In twenty twenty two. Now Morph raised twenty million dollars in seed funding 135 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:48.799 led by Dragonfly, co founded by Cecilia Shoosh. I'm saying that right. 136 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:56.720 Formerly of Derivatives Exchange, femax and azeem Con previously at geit coin, Morph 137 00:10:56.840 --> 00:11:01.840 brands itself as a consumer centric blockchain. Pantera, Foresight Ventures and the Spartan 138 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:07.960 Group are among those investors in the Layer two, which is also in testnet. 139 00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:13.000 The developer behind privacy focused Layer two ten ten short for the Encrypted Network, 140 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:18.120 raised nine million dollars led by R three. The block reported Rails came 141 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:22.759 out of stealth with a six point two million dollars in seed funding this week 142 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:28.720 for a self custody focused perpetuals exchange. The round saw participation from Slow Ventures, 143 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:33.919 Round three Capital, CMCC Global, and quant Stamp. Two of the 144 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:41.399 project's three co founders previously held leadership positions at the LGBTQ dating app Grinder, 145 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:50.080 interesting institution focused derivatives infrastructures startup Keemet also announced five million dollars in funding led 146 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:58.759 by Further Ventures. Other notable fundraises included zero knowledge infrastructure developer Sectynth announced a 147 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:03.519 fifty five million dollars Series A led by Paradigm Limited Partners at a sixteen Z 148 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:09.279 will be available to invest in the VC's crypto seed and venture verticals through a 149 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:16.399 general fund and recent is raising called Multiplexer Railrole Asset tokenizations. Startup Mantro raised 150 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:24.679 eleven million dollars led by Mina based Showrook Partners and finally, sonar Verse secured 151 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:28.879 seven million dollars in funding led by block Tower Capital for an on chain data 152 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:33.519 platform aimed at institutional investors. So, folks, the capital keeps coming in. 153 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:37.759 So if you've got a great idea, you're an entrepreneur and innovator, 154 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:41.879 this is the time put that pitch deck together and go out there to these 155 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:45.840 investors and see what you can get done. Now, we've got some interesting 156 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:50.679 news here around Swift. So that's the current banking messaging system which has been 157 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.879 around for a long time, outdated, slow, no instant settlement, but 158 00:12:54.960 --> 00:13:00.600 they have been embracing blockchain since you know, crypto has been the rise. 159 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:05.000 Companies like Ripple have called them out right that payments are too slow and the 160 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:09.919 future of payments is on the blockchain. They have done work with chain link 161 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:13.200 and so forth while we got news here. SWIFT proposes a role for itself 162 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:20.559 in a tokenized feature on a unified ledger. But the technology you already have 163 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:24.200 to new use. Swift advised the world it had itself in mind. So 164 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:30.360 it's trying to stay relevant clearly right and embrace payments on the blockchain as well 165 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:33.200 as tokenization. But will they be able to do it, I'm not sure 166 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:37.039 because it's SWIFT is made up of banks, and like many of these banks 167 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:41.679 are very scared of being disrupted. And this is why you see Jamie Diamond 168 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:46.759 and these guys coming out and fighting it. So the Society for Worldwide Interbank 169 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:50.679 Financial Telecommunication SWIFT has been watching the development of fintech carefully with a focus on 170 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:56.360 its own future. After a variety of projects using new technologies, the pillar 171 00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:01.200 of the current international payments system has thrown its weight behind and a unified ledger 172 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:07.279 payment model. SWIFT looked in particular at tokenization and the shared Ledger model According 173 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:13.279 to a post on its website, common infrastructure could provide real time balance to 174 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:18.120 all participants in the shared ledger. It's said, that's not to say messaging 175 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:22.840 is unneeded. Swift was quick to add shared ledgers are not well suited to 176 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:28.039 carrying and storing high volumes of data due to the way data is synchronized across 177 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:31.240 parties and the computing power is required. This is where a messaging layer fits 178 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:37.000 in for transactions to be frictionless. Additional types of data also need to be 179 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:43.399 transferred to enable value added services such as AML compliance, sanctioned screening, trade 180 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:50.320 and accounts receivable reconciliation. It reconciliation, it continued. So, guys, 181 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:54.840 if you're wondering if crypto and blockchain, if you are still on the fence, 182 00:14:56.200 --> 00:15:01.480 is legit, and this technology is legit. Swift, right, this 183 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:07.720 banking payments messaging system that's been around for years, they now have to jump 184 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:09.559 on board and say, hey, yeah, we got to build this unified 185 00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:16.000 ledger, right, we gotta look at tokenization. It's amazing to see them 186 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:18.440 capitulate. And like I said, they've been working with chain link and doing 187 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:24.960 much much more. So there's not really any details on if it's a specific 188 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:28.960 blockchainer using and what it is. But let me continue here. Unified ledger 189 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:35.360 technology has been embraced by the International Monetary Fund and it's XC platform, and 190 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:41.559 by financial institutions participating in the regulated liability network. The Bank for International Settlements 191 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:46.960 has also endorsed this model, So you can definitely assume there's going to be 192 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.559 cbdc's part of this and how it's all going to run. But in twenty 193 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:54.840 two to two it teamed up with fintech firm sym Beyond in a pilot project 194 00:15:54.879 --> 00:16:00.240 to upgrade its information delivery to corporate clients through sym Beyond's block chain driven assembly 195 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:04.639 platform. So argued against the use of a unified ledger in a twenty twenty 196 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:10.720 three report in favor of Swift as a single point of access to different blockchain 197 00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:18.720 networks. Interesting, so maybe, just maybe we may see Swift capitulate partner 198 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:22.679 with all these different blockchains have interoperability. Where CBDCs are jumping across different blockchains, 199 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:27.159 right because we're gonna be in a multichain world, So maybe they can 200 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:33.440 save themselves here by integrating blockchain and cryptotech as well. So fascinating. What's 201 00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:37.519 happening. And when I see things like this, it makes me even more 202 00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:40.879 bullish on this market. I see the old guard who was, you know, 203 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:45.519 years ago poo pooing this crypto and blockchain now is like, yeah, 204 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:48.000 we gotta test, We've got to pilot, we got to tokenize, we 205 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:52.639 gotta we got to bring different blockchains together. Amazing, what's happening, folks. 206 00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:56.360 Super bullish on this asset class. All right, folks, that's the 207 00:16:56.440 --> 00:17:00.919 news. Don't forget to check out our sponsor, which is v chain, 208 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:07.119 which is one of the top layer one smart contract platforms for enterprises and vchain 209 00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:11.160 has been around for a while. They're working with BMWPWC, Walmart China. 210 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:18.240 They're working with Boston Consulting Group to build an amazing decentralized app ecosystem. They're 211 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:22.880 highly sustainable, great speed and security. And I'm a VET token holder in 212 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:26.519 full transparency, I have been holding this token twenty eighteen. I'm very bullish 213 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:30.440 on this project. That's why I have them as a sponsor. So if 214 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:32.599 you'd like to learn more about v chang, check out the link in the 215 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:36.559 description or go to vchain dot org. Thank you for watching and listening, 216 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:37.359 and I'll talk to you all later.