WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.480 I think that truly what's going to happen as digital 2 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:06.200 asset space starts to merge with the traditional financial players, 3 00:00:06.200 --> 00:00:08.679 as you're going to see a revolution take place as 4 00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:15.519 it pertains to just our financial lives generally as consumers. 5 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:20.320 This episode is brought to you by Treasure. Treasure makes 6 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:23.960 beautifully crafted hardware wallets that allow you to easily and 7 00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:27.079 safely store your crypto assets. Treasure has been in the 8 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.039 game for a very long time, since twenty thirteen. They 9 00:00:30.039 --> 00:00:33.920 were the pioneers of hardware wallets and the seed phrase setup, 10 00:00:34.119 --> 00:00:37.000 and their hardware wallets are open source. In fact, my 11 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:40.880 favorite is the Treasure Save five. 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So if 23 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:17.560 you'd like to learn more, visit the link in the description. 24 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:21.319 Hey everybody, Tony here. We are down at Station three 25 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:24.480 in New York's Financial District, and my guest today is 26 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:28.200 Bo Hines, who's the executive director of the Presidential Council 27 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:31.359 of Advisors for Digital Assets. Bo. Great to have you. 28 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:32.959 It's great to be here. Thanks for having me. 29 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.680 Bo. You are on the forefront working with David Sachson, 30 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:40.599 the President, on crypto policy and different initiatives. I have 31 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:43.120 lots of questions for you, but i'd love to start 32 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:45.120 with your background. Where'd you grow up? What did you 33 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:46.200 want to be when you're growing up? 34 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:47.480 Oh, that's a good question. 35 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:48.840 No one's asked me that over the course in the 36 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:51.640 last two months, and all honesty. So I grew up 37 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:54.519 in Cherrow at, North Carolina to an entrepreneurial family. My 38 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:57.480 parents actually grew up as farmers in rural Indiana. My 39 00:01:57.560 --> 00:01:59.120 dad grew up in the northern part of the state 40 00:01:59.319 --> 00:02:01.400 and my mom grew up in the southern part of Indiana. 41 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:04.959 But he started a licensing pro company in which they 42 00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:07.599 consolidated a lot of the NASCAR licenses which brought him 43 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:10.439 originally to North Carolina. So I like to claim I'm 44 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:12.719 the only true born North Carolinian in my family. My 45 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:16.360 sister was also born in Indianapolis. So you know, I 46 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:18.599 think that just coming from a family with the entrepreneurial 47 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:21.639 spirit really shaped who I was and what I wanted 48 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:24.199 to do. But with that being said, I did the 49 00:02:24.199 --> 00:02:28.240 two things I think that my dad probably wasn't as 50 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:30.759 fond of, which is one becoming a lawyer and to 51 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:33.479 a politician, a non practicing lawyer. 52 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:33.840 I should say. 53 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:37.039 But in the grand scheme of things, you know, very 54 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:39.639 close knit family. We all live very close by. 55 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:41.520 I actually live in the same neighborhood as my parents 56 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:42.120 in Charlotte. 57 00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:42.479 Oh wow. 58 00:02:42.520 --> 00:02:44.400 And that's really helpful as I have a six and 59 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:46.599 a half month old now my wife and I do 60 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:51.639 little Robert Theodore. But you know, I think that for me, 61 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:54.879 I'd always been fascinated just by how the business world, 62 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:58.759 you know, intertwined with politicians and regulators and how government 63 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:01.080 could really you know, play instrumental role in creating an 64 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:04.560 environment which would allow people to thrive and or stifle innovation. 65 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:08.039 And I think that in this space, obviously with digital assets. 66 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:12.000 We've seen a government regime that has stifled innovation in 67 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:13.840 the space for quite some time, really over the last 68 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:17.360 decade and a half, moreover under the Biden under the 69 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:20.479 Biden regulatory regime specifically in the last four years, we've seen, 70 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:22.919 you know, folks in this industry be victims of lawfare 71 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:26.879 and just unfair regulation practices generally. And so that's something 72 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:30.919 that you know, we're extremely excited to fix under leadership 73 00:03:30.919 --> 00:03:33.439 of President Trump and our AI and cryptos are David Sachs. 74 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:35.479 We feel like we're well in our way of doing that. 75 00:03:35.960 --> 00:03:39.280 Yeah, what a complete change, a complete one to eighty 76 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:42.520 from what was happening over the past four years. As 77 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:46.479 someone who is interviewing entrepreneurs and innovators and people were 78 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:49.360 just looking to build technology and they didn't have any 79 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:52.960 political agenda, but they were getting attacked politically from different angles. 80 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:55.319 And it's just night and day compared. 81 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:57.759 To what was going Sure, yeah, yeah. 82 00:03:57.240 --> 00:03:59.520 Now I wanted to go back to your background because 83 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:02.240 I read that you played football and tell us a 84 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:05.479 bit about that. And also if the universe had changed 85 00:04:05.479 --> 00:04:08.080 your path, where you know with NFL team, would you 86 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:09.000 want to play. 87 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:11.439 For oh Man. Well, you know, football is a big 88 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:13.199 part of my life growing up. My dad played. 89 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:16.480 He had a brief stint with the Detroit Lions, which 90 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:19.160 you know that became my team, which was a very 91 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:22.160 painful childhood for most of my life as a Detroit 92 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:25.079 Lions football fan. I remember the own sixteen years and 93 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:26.759 it's great to see how they've they've turned the ship 94 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:29.560 around there. But my dad was a football coach to 95 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:31.839 me my entire life growing up, coaching all the way 96 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:35.040 through high school. And you know, I had the opportunity 97 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:37.240 to play football in North Carolnta State on scholarship, and 98 00:04:37.959 --> 00:04:40.199 I took that opportunity. It had a you know, a 99 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:43.759 very successful freshman campaign there as a receiver, and it 100 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:46.240 made it easier. I had a phenomenal quarterback in Jacoby 101 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:49.920 Brissett who's still playing the NFL today. But you know, 102 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:53.519 I think that really it shaped me in many ways. 103 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:56.759 One is, you know, just being able to pursue things 104 00:04:57.160 --> 00:04:59.399 that are difficult. You know, being a college athlete, it's 105 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:02.680 not easy, especially at that level. And I have a 106 00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:04.720 immense amount of respect for all the you know, men 107 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:05.519 and women that that. 108 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:07.480 Engage in athletics at the collegiate level. 109 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:11.160 I had the opportunity to also play at Yale for 110 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:13.240 two years after I was at NC State, and that's 111 00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:15.600 where I ended up graduating. Unfortunately, I had a few 112 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:16.920 injuries and I was up there and I kind of 113 00:05:16.920 --> 00:05:19.000 felt like, you know, it was time to change directions 114 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:20.759 a little bit. But you know, if I had to 115 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:23.079 pick an NFL team to play for, I'd have to 116 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:24.720 say the Lions. And I have to go back to 117 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:28.079 my roots here for a second. But you know, I 118 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:31.360 really enjoyed my experience just just playing the sport. I 119 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:33.680 mean it just you're able to build just a sense 120 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:35.839 of camaraderie, learn how to work with a team, do 121 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:37.439 things that are challenging with other people. 122 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:38.199 Uh. 123 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:40.040 And I think that, you know, you can use a 124 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:42.160 lot of those same principles and apply those two to 125 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:43.399 anything you're doing in life. 126 00:05:43.639 --> 00:05:46.040 Is that what kind of made you go into politics 127 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:48.560 because you have to work for the people essentially. 128 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:48.759 For sure. 129 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:50.920 I think one thing that's unique about you know, college 130 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:53.319 athletics generally is in a locker room, you have people 131 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:56.319 that come from all different diverse backgrounds and walks of life, 132 00:05:56.759 --> 00:05:58.920 and you have to figure out how to how to 133 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:02.000 you know, become friends with these folks, learn what their 134 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:04.879 stories are, what their perspectives are, and really just work 135 00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:07.160 together as one unit. And I think that, you know, 136 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:09.160 if we could do more of that in politics, would 137 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:12.120 be a lot better off as a country. But I 138 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:15.079 think in this perspective with Digilast's what's fun about this 139 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:17.800 is that you know, this is something this is something 140 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:20.879 that's extremely bipartisan. You know, it's so important for our 141 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:24.279 country to be at the forefront of digital technological innovation 142 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:26.399 and you know, really the leader of the globe in 143 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:30.160 the space as we attempt to revolutionize the financial marketplace forever. 144 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:34.000 So both take us behind a curtain. What's it been 145 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:37.040 like working with David Sachs and the President? And it 146 00:06:37.079 --> 00:06:39.120 maybe take us what does your day to day look 147 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:40.079 like and what are you working on? 148 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:42.480 Well, you know, first and foremost, I have to say 149 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:45.800 that David is an unbelievably brilliant human being. And obviously 150 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:49.480 he's demonstrated his immense success in the private sector, in 151 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:51.480 the VC world and all the projects that he's been 152 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:54.959 a part of. But we're just, you know, unbelievably thankful 153 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:56.399 to have him in the White House. And I think 154 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:58.399 the President made a phenomenal choice as it relates to 155 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.720 someone that could deal with both crypto and AI, as 156 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:04.439 he you know, understands both spaces truly in and out. 157 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:06.680 But he's he's just phenomenal to work with. 158 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:06.879 You know. 159 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:08.560 He takes a lot of the same principles that I 160 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:11.560 described in terms of working with teams and developing folks 161 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:13.480 and putting them in the right positions that you see 162 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:16.839 in athletics, right, But that's just a testament to his 163 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:19.920 leadership skills, whether it be in the business community or now, 164 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:22.839 you know, with these political principles applied, I don't see 165 00:07:22.839 --> 00:07:25.959 it being any different. He's just he's we work handing 166 00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:28.439 glove together on all of these issues as it relates 167 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:31.600 to crypto, and you know, I can't say enough good 168 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:34.120 things about him just as a person and the leadership 169 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:35.040 qualities that he has. 170 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:37.959 How did you find yourself in this role? How did 171 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:41.399 you meet David first? Or the president first? How dup happening? 172 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:43.720 Yeah? So, actually, I'll I'll go back a little bit. 173 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:46.839 So my during my college or my college freshman football 174 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:50.160 campaign and thence he stayed actually played in the Bitcoin Bowl, 175 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:54.040 which sparked my interest in cryptocurrency. I ended up buying 176 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.480 my first bitcoin shortly thereafter and became a pretty avid 177 00:07:57.480 --> 00:08:00.319 trader across multiple ecosystems back when it was a lot 178 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:04.720 less uh kuth uh, to say the least. And you know, 179 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:07.040 certainly have empathy for the folks in the industry that 180 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:10.120 have dealt with, you know, the battles amongst institutional players 181 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:12.399 that didn't understand the space for a long time, and 182 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:16.240 I saw that even from just a retail perspective. But 183 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:19.319 you know, I ended up graduating from MEO. I went 184 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:21.519 to law school at Wake Forest, and I had the 185 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:25.040 privilege of learning from Professor Hawk, who taught blockchain internet 186 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:28.959 law there, and you know, really enjoyed those topics, and obviously, 187 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:31.399 being a participant from the retail side, I just had 188 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:34.000 a keen interest on learning more about the space and 189 00:08:34.039 --> 00:08:36.320 stayed in tune with all the regulatory battles that were 190 00:08:36.360 --> 00:08:39.440 going on. But I ended up running for Congress while 191 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:41.919 I was in law school, and I won the nomination 192 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:45.519 and a very contentious seat. You know, this was like, 193 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:49.840 I think, a Biden plus point six district as basically 194 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:52.799 as purple as you can get, and ended up losing 195 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:55.360 my race unfortunately, but learned a lot in that process 196 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:58.120 and just really loved, you know, the community aspect of 197 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:00.559 it all again, like getting getting able to learn people's 198 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:02.720 stories and hear from them, figure out who people are 199 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:04.639 and what they're doing inside of your community, which is 200 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:07.120 something that really drove me. And so I stayed in 201 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:10.120 tune with the political process and ended up starting a 202 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:12.399 strategic growth equity firm with two other partners, one of 203 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:15.039 which is my father. But you know, we were more 204 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:17.559 in the tried by side of things. We look for 205 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:20.080 companies in the data, tech and marketing space and we 206 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:22.879 ended up servicing you know, super PACs and PR firms 207 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:25.799 and a lot of different political verticals. And so I 208 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:27.240 was able just to stay in touch with what was 209 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:29.200 happening on the political side along with what was happening 210 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:32.080 in this space. And you know, the President endorsed me 211 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:35.279 in my first congressional race, so I had that connection there. 212 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:38.039 But you know, after you know, his his mandate of 213 00:09:38.080 --> 00:09:41.919 a victory. In this past November, I found myself down 214 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:43.559 in Transition and we were talking about what are we're 215 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:45.360 going to do with digital assets. We know how important 216 00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:47.039 this is for our country, we know it's a priority 217 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:49.720 for the president. You know, this kind of just naturally 218 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:52.399 came together. So David and I started talking about, you know, 219 00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:54.159 what our plan would look like to make the United 220 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:55.559 States the crypto capital. 221 00:09:55.320 --> 00:09:57.639 Of the world and to usher in the golden age 222 00:09:57.639 --> 00:10:00.159 for digital assets. And I feel like we're well our 223 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:01.000 way of doing that though. 224 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:03.559 So do you see this industry in addition to other 225 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:06.200 industries there's AI, robotics and things that are on the rise, 226 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:10.200 but being a big driver of wealth creation, job creation 227 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:12.639 kind of what the Internet did for us, right with Google, 228 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:15.720 your Googles, your Amazons, and the rest is history there. 229 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:17.759 Oh, I think absolutely. 230 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:20.399 I think that truly what's going to happen as digital 231 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:24.120 asset space starts to merge with the traditional financial players, 232 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:26.600 as you're going to see a revolution take place as 233 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:30.600 it pertains to just our financial lives generally as consumers. 234 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:33.120 And we're talk about stable coins and you know what 235 00:10:33.159 --> 00:10:34.919 that's going to do to payment rails in terms of 236 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:38.000 making things more expeditious. You know, you can get even 237 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:40.360 farther and more broad when you start talking about just security, 238 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:44.159 tokenization generally and the way that things can move. You know, 239 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:46.360 I think that I was asked about this this morning 240 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:48.440 at a conference that I spoke at you know, will 241 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:50.919 my son see the same financial system. 242 00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:52.679 That that I grew up in? And the answer to 243 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:53.600 that is absolutely not. 244 00:10:53.879 --> 00:10:56.120 And you know that's a credit to really what this 245 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:58.000 industry has done over the course of the last decade 246 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:01.320 in the midst of headwinds. Now we have tailwinds, and 247 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:03.840 I think we have the ability to make monumental changes, 248 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:05.399 but it's going to be you know, we have a 249 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:07.320 very unique opportunity in time to do that, and I 250 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.639 think that we need to capitalize on it and move 251 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:12.720 very quickly, which I think the President and David both recognize, 252 00:11:12.759 --> 00:11:14.080 and that's why we're pushing so hard. 253 00:11:14.840 --> 00:11:16.799 I heard President Trump, I think it was at the 254 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:19.519 White House Crypto summit. He said he wants Congress to 255 00:11:19.559 --> 00:11:22.399 have the market structure and stable coin bills on his 256 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:26.679 desk before the August recess. Is that possible? You think 257 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:28.279 Congress can move and get this done. 258 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:29.720 It's more than possible. 259 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:31.360 I think it would be, you know, just a derelict 260 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:33.720 of duty from my perspective in my office if we 261 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:36.159 don't get both of those things on his desk before 262 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:38.759 August recess. And you know what, I'm super thankful for 263 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:40.600 the leadership that we have in both chambers on the 264 00:11:40.679 --> 00:11:43.080 Hill right now as well, because I think that was 265 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:45.159 something that was missed on a lot of folks, just 266 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:48.159 you know, an industry and beyond was when they came 267 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:51.000 together with David and announced the by camera Working Group 268 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:53.039 on Digital Assets between the chambers at the beginning of 269 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:55.440 this Congress. I think that was just a monumental step 270 00:11:56.200 --> 00:11:59.600 towards really this industry maturing and being recognized as the 271 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:03.399 legitimate player that it is in financial systems more generally. 272 00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:05.759 You know, this is the first time that the chambers 273 00:12:05.799 --> 00:12:07.279 had come together and said we're going to make sure 274 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:09.919 that we pass meaningful legislation as it relates to this space, 275 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:12.879 and now they're moving expeditiously to do that. So, I 276 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:14.720 mean with stable coins, you saw that we had an 277 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:17.879 eighteen to six bipartisan vote out of the Senate Banking 278 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:20.200 Committee with the Genius Act. I mean, that's incredible to 279 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:22.480 see and it just shows you, you know, the will 280 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:24.440 that Congress has to get this stuff done. And then 281 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:27.519 obviously the House introduced their bill this past week and 282 00:12:27.559 --> 00:12:30.159 they're going up into markups this week there, so you know, 283 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:34.120 I feel like they're moving along expeditiously. As expeditiously as 284 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:36.039 we could have hoped. And you know, our job is 285 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:38.639 to just you know, continue to provide support and usher 286 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:41.159 that process along. But you know, I'm so confident in 287 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:42.840 the leaders that we have, whether it's Chairman Hill or 288 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:47.000 Chairman Scott, sub committee chair you know, Brian Style and 289 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:48.879 a lot of these other members have just done so 290 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:50.519 much for the space. And I'd be remiss not to 291 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:53.799 mention Senator Lummas as well and Senator Haggerty, who are 292 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:57.120 working diligently to make sure that the President's wishes are met. 293 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:00.799 Yeah. I just had a Congressman Style on and we 294 00:13:00.919 --> 00:13:03.039 talked a lot about the plans and getting that bill 295 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:05.759 in the House getting through because we got the market 296 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:08.559 structure last year fit twenty one, so things are moving, 297 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:11.200 which is great. I would love if you could take 298 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:14.080 us behind the curtain of wood President Trump. Obviously we've 299 00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:16.919 heard his statements publicly about digital assens and crypto. What 300 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:19.799 is he saying behind closed doors? You know? Is he 301 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:22.440 a fan of bitcoin? He's a fan of the theorem. 302 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:24.320 How does he? I know, he has a lot of 303 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:26.320 his plate, So I'm not by only being saying this 304 00:13:26.360 --> 00:13:28.519 is the top thing, but anything you can share there. 305 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:32.559 The President is a fan of American dominance, and I 306 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:35.200 can say that, you know, this space truly plays an 307 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:38.279 integral role in securing that, just in terms of US 308 00:13:38.360 --> 00:13:41.679 dour dominance through stables, right, and just in a sense 309 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:44.840 of what we can build with technology in this space 310 00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:47.279 as it relates to the financial system more generally. 311 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:48.399 And in order to. 312 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:51.240 Do that, we have to have clear regulatory authority established. 313 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:53.519 We need to show people what the actual rules are 314 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.759 so they can play playing the same game together. I mean, like, 315 00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:59.879 this is something that seems simple when you start to 316 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:02.559 talking about it in principle, but the reality is there's 317 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:04.080 a lot of moving parts to all of this. And 318 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:06.240 I think that you know, the Presiden's done a phenomenal 319 00:14:06.360 --> 00:14:08.919 job just pulling the right actors together in the room. 320 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:11.519 And then you know, the creation of this office. There's 321 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:13.840 never been an office in the White House fully dedicated 322 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:16.480 to the digital asset space, and that's a testament to 323 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.960 the President's leadership here as well. I think that one 324 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:21.919 thing that was missing here for quite some time is that, 325 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:23.840 you know, we kind of view ourselves as being an 326 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:27.720 administrator and or shirpa between interagency activity, White House policy 327 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:30.200 industry and the Hill, and our job is to make 328 00:14:30.200 --> 00:14:32.120 sure that everyone's singing from the same sheet of music, 329 00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:35.879 right And again, like that, that's the President's vision coming 330 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:38.159 to light about how we actually pushed the ball forward 331 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:40.320 as it pertains to this industry and get things done. 332 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:42.639 And I think it's proven to be very successful. I mean, 333 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:45.559 look how fast some of these interagency actors have moved. 334 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:47.720 And that goes back to the first Digital Assets CEO 335 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:49.919 the President signed on day three, which he created the 336 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:52.840 Internal Working Group, which is comprised of all the relevant 337 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:55.120 actors that touch anything you know, related to this space, 338 00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:58.440 just in terms of agencies and other White House offices, 339 00:14:59.159 --> 00:15:01.720 and that gives us really common ground to come together 340 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:04.039 and have conversations that are necessary to get to the 341 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:07.399 right outcomes. And part of my job too, and what 342 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:09.159 I've done over the course of the last few months 343 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:11.679 is just take on as many meetings with industry as 344 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:13.399 I possibly can. You know, I'm very keen on the 345 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:16.080 idea that industry does know best. I mean, these these 346 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.879 folks live, breathe, and sleep this every day and they've 347 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:20.960 you know, they've all faced a unique set of challenges, 348 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:23.360 whether they're glias in the space or whether they're startups. 349 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:26.240 You know, we want to hear from everybody that allows 350 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:30.360 us to basically garner information and translate that information to 351 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:34.080 something that's digestible and palatable for other folks to receive 352 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:35.840 that maybe don't interact with the space as much or 353 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:37.200 don't understand why, you know, this. 354 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:38.039 Is so important. 355 00:15:38.120 --> 00:15:41.360 And so we've really taken that upon ourselves in our 356 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:43.360 office to do that, and I think that we're you know, 357 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:45.720 so far we've been successful. 358 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:47.480 Oh for sure. Yeah, a lot of progress, made, a 359 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:49.960 lot of promises kept, which is which is really great. 360 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:52.720 Talk to us a bit about the stable coin aspect, 361 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:59.279 because geopolitically their bricks nations are looking to bypass the 362 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:04.039 US dollar US dollars the world reserve currency, and China 363 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:07.360 has been declining in its buying of treasury bonds, but 364 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:10.960 stable coin issuers are on the rise in holding those treasuries. 365 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:17.000 What role will US back dollar stable US dollar back 366 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:20.120 stable coins, excuse me play and help preserving the reserve 367 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:21.039 currency status. 368 00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:22.000 It's instrumental. 369 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:24.279 I think the reality that folks have to understand is 370 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:27.720 that actors in other countries or citizens of other nations 371 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:32.480 still want US hours right and stable coins provides a 372 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:35.039 pathway for them to achieve that, whether it's the hedge 373 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:38.480 against inflation in their own countries or just just to 374 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:43.440 feel financially secure enough with a dour system that is 375 00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:45.799 used throughout the rest of the globe. Right, so it 376 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:48.240 gives them the ability to engage in payments and services 377 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:51.360 that they might otherwise not have access to. So I mean, 378 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:53.320 I think that it plays a huge part of that 379 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:56.000 just in terms of securing US hour dominance for decades 380 00:16:56.039 --> 00:16:59.039 to come. You know, we'll get through the stable coin 381 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:02.799 legislation successful. I know that both chambers have introduced legislation. 382 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:06.039 I think they're about ninety percent similar. So I mean, 383 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:08.880 as we start working through this in conference or however 384 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:11.200 they decide to do it procedurally, I think that we'll 385 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:13.279 end up getting this on the President's desk in short 386 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:17.519 order and ensuring that everything that I've described can become a. 387 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:21.400 Reality for sure. Now, from a macro perspective, it feels 388 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:23.799 like we're living in the fourth Industrial Revolution and we've 389 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:27.880 had ones where the combustion engine, electricity, light bulb and 390 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:30.960 all these things came to fruition and it changed the world. Right, 391 00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:35.680 you go back to early nineteen hundreds, we have the Internet, AI, robotics, 392 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:38.519 and on top of the Internet, blockchain and crypto. Is 393 00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:40.920 the administration or the gum federal government as a whole 394 00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:43.039 looking at it that way, this is the start of 395 00:17:43.079 --> 00:17:45.720 the next industrial revolution and potential economic boom. 396 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:49.039 I mean, I certainly think that we are in our office, 397 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:52.160 and the administration is. The President certainly is, and that 398 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:54.319 you know, hence why he's set this up the way 399 00:17:54.359 --> 00:17:57.079 that he has. But I think that people don't really 400 00:17:57.119 --> 00:17:59.279 fully recognize yet the way this is going to impact 401 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:01.440