Speaker 1: Hey everyone, Welcome into the Thinking Crypto podcast. You're home
Speaker 1: for cryptocurrency news and interviews. I'm your host, Tony Edward.
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Speaker 1: Quickly touching on the price of bitcoin. Bitcoin currently trading
Speaker 1: just below seventy one thousand dollars, so we're not seeing
Speaker 1: any type of big movements. As we reported yesterday, there
Speaker 1: was a big bounce back up after a dump over
Speaker 1: the weekend because of President Trump tweeting some positive things
Speaker 1: about the Iran war situation. But it's tbd if this
Speaker 1: relief rally has lost its momentum and we're about to
Speaker 1: roll over, or there's still the possibility of us moving
Speaker 1: up to around eighty K, eighty one, possibly eighty five
Speaker 1: K before a ultimate rollover, which I think to lower
Speaker 1: lows such as a fifty between fifty two to fifty
Speaker 1: five K. I think that's where bitcoin finds the bottom.
Speaker 1: Now I could be wrong. There's no certainties here we're
Speaker 1: talking probabilities, but I'm thinking based on the Fibonacci levels
Speaker 1: in addition to the market being extremely over sold and
Speaker 1: where we touch the levels that we touch in previous
Speaker 1: bear markets. So we're gonna have to wait and see.
Speaker 1: But that is personally what I'm looking at, and I'll
Speaker 1: be taking some profits on Bitcoin if it does go
Speaker 1: above eighty thousand dollars, and then we're going to see
Speaker 1: some alls start to follow. Something we do have to
Speaker 1: keep an eye on is that there seems to be
Speaker 1: a liquidity crisis that it's brewing. You know, over the
Speaker 1: past couple of weeks, I reported about black Rock as
Speaker 1: well as Apollo pausing withdrawals on their private credit fund.
Speaker 1: Well Ares as well Aries another firm has added a
Speaker 1: limit on withdrawals from its ten point seven billion dollar
Speaker 1: private credit fund. So you have the biggest firm it's
Speaker 1: having these issues. So it goes without saying that we're
Speaker 1: not in great economic conditions right now. There's a lot
Speaker 1: of uncertainty in the world with the Iran situation plus
Speaker 1: gas prices, there's a lot of economic issues going on,
Speaker 1: so we are starting to see cracks in the system
Speaker 1: now I'm not a doomer. I'm not saying the whole
Speaker 1: world is going to collapse or anything like that. The
Speaker 1: point is what I'm trying to highlight here is that
Speaker 1: we may see further downside, there could be something that breaks,
Speaker 1: which often is a big catalyst for the FED to
Speaker 1: step in with QWI on steroids. We are currently doing
Speaker 1: qi but it's not at the levels we've seen in
Speaker 1: the past. But I do believe what Trump's new fetch
Speaker 1: are coming in May, and then if something breaks, they're
Speaker 1: going to fire up the money printer and they're going
Speaker 1: to print like crazy. It's the only solution they have,
Speaker 1: and that's going to drive asset prices higher. But it
Speaker 1: takes time for those things that happen. And I'm not
Speaker 1: guaranteeing anything that something's going to break, but I'm reporting
Speaker 1: the facts that these companies are all of a sudden
Speaker 1: limiting withdrawals on their private credit fund. And to see
Speaker 1: the likes of black Rock, especially the world's largest asset manager,
Speaker 1: having to do that, then you have these other firms
Speaker 1: doing it. So something is not looking too good here.
Speaker 1: So just keep this in the back of your mind.
Speaker 1: You know, there's often some catalysts and the narratives and
Speaker 1: things like that where things break and then emergencies step
Speaker 1: in by the FED, and I think we all know
Speaker 1: what will be the result of that situation where they're
Speaker 1: going to have to print much more. But regardless, we
Speaker 1: are seeing crypto getting adoption and there's a lot of
Speaker 1: buying of crypto assets happening. So look at this hosts plus,
Speaker 1: a one hundred and five billion dollars Australian pension fund
Speaker 1: is exploring bitcoin and crypto access to its two million members.
Speaker 1: So across the globe we are seeing the on rams
Speaker 1: being built for access into this crypto ASCID class and
Speaker 1: you know the fact that they're doing this now where
Speaker 1: they're going to be able to accumulate the lows and
Speaker 1: then we all know how works right the bull market.
Speaker 1: Some of these funds will take profits, as you know
Speaker 1: many folks do. So this is where you want to
Speaker 1: be on the side of smart money. You know, right
Speaker 1: now with the market being down, now is when you
Speaker 1: want to start to look at accumulating, right having some
Speaker 1: sort of dollar cost averaging strategy. So let me give
Speaker 1: you some more details. The fund, which manages around one
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty billion Australian dollars or one hundred and
Speaker 1: five billion dollars is looking at adding crypto options through
Speaker 1: its self directed plan Choice Plus. This plan allows members
Speaker 1: to manage a small part of their retirement savings on
Speaker 1: their own. As per the report, this currently makes up
Speaker 1: about one percent of the fund's total assets. While the
Speaker 1: proposal is awaiting regulatory approval, host plus could start offering
Speaker 1: crypto exposure as early as next financial year. The fund
Speaker 1: is still reviewing details, including consumer protections and the structure
Speaker 1: of the offerings. Chief Investment Officer Sam Cecilia stated, there's
Speaker 1: certainly a demand from some of our members who write
Speaker 1: in and say why can't I have access to cryptocurrency.
Speaker 1: So this of course is not unique to host plus
Speaker 1: or Australia. It is happening across the globe. So this
Speaker 1: is why I'm so bullish. And as you have more
Speaker 1: clarity and regulations being put into place, it will allow
Speaker 1: more capital to come into the market. So really incredible stuff, now, folks.
Speaker 1: Today was a huge day for tokenization news. So first up,
Speaker 1: the New York Stock Exchange taps Securitized to build its
Speaker 1: tokenized stock platform. So we know the future of finance
Speaker 1: is tokenization. They're going to put all assets on the blockchain.
Speaker 1: As we've talked a blot about over the years, well securitize.
Speaker 1: Many of you know, they were leading the charge with
Speaker 1: tokenization going back to twenty eighteen. I remember interviewing one
Speaker 1: of the founders, Jamie Finn, at World Cryptocon in Las Vegas,
Speaker 1: and they were just a startup ack then very small,
Speaker 1: and now they've grown into this incredible company that helped
Speaker 1: Blackrock to launch their token is is money market fund
Speaker 1: and Blackrock even invested in them. Now the New York
Speaker 1: Stock Exchange is using them. So amazing how far these
Speaker 1: firms have come. But again this is the future. So
Speaker 1: the New York Stock Exchange has tapped Blackrock back tokenization
Speaker 1: specialist Securitizes to help design its token is securities platform. Securitize,
Speaker 1: an sec register transfer agent, is expected to be among
Speaker 1: the first to mint token is stocks and ETFs on
Speaker 1: the platform, pending regulatory approval. The move underscores a broader
Speaker 1: push by the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAC to
Speaker 1: move stock trading onto blockchain rails offering around the clock
Speaker 1: trading and near instant settlement. Folks it's happening. It is happening.
Speaker 1: Don't let the price action the bear market distract you.
Speaker 1: These firms are building. They know what's coming. I keep
Speaker 1: telling you guys. You know two three years ago Larry
Speaker 1: Fink gave the mandate saying tokenizations the future of finance,
Speaker 1: and all these Wall Street firms, investment firms, bang stock
Speaker 1: exchanges are all headed in the same direction. Here is
Speaker 1: another example. Invesco joins tokenization race as it takes over
Speaker 1: Superstate's nine hundred million dollar on chain fund. The two
Speaker 1: point two trillion dollar asset manager is stepping into the
Speaker 1: rapidly growing tokenized treasury market, joining global financial behemits like
Speaker 1: black Rock and Franklin Templeton. So the fund will be
Speaker 1: renamed the Invesco Short Duration US Government Securities Fund in
Speaker 1: the second quarter of twenty twenty six. With its token
Speaker 1: structure and super States plumbing, the twelve billion dollar tokenized
Speaker 1: US treasury market is gaining traction for offering near instant
Speaker 1: settlements and around the clock trading, attracting global asset managers
Speaker 1: such as black Rock and Franklin Templeton. By the way, guys, tomorrow,
Speaker 1: I'll be publishing my interview with the head of Digital
Speaker 1: Assets at Franklin Templeton, Roger Bastin. So you don't want
Speaker 1: to miss that because I go through the details of
Speaker 1: why is Franklin Templeton doing what they're doing, talking about
Speaker 1: their tokenization strategy and much more. It's a really great conversation.
Speaker 1: So you don't want to miss that. That interview is
Speaker 1: going to be published in the morning. So incredible, incredible,
Speaker 1: what is happening here? And remember you want to look
Speaker 1: at which blockchains are they building on and make sure
Speaker 1: you have those tokens in your portfolio. Not financial advices.
Speaker 1: Obviously you know do your research, but I'm just saying
Speaker 1: in principle, if you were investing, you want to look
Speaker 1: for the blockchains that are getting the adoption and the
Speaker 1: building on them. Here's another example of institutions building so
Speaker 1: BMO the Bank of Montreal introduces tokenized cash and deposit
Speaker 1: platform with CMA Group and Google Cloud. Look at who's
Speaker 1: participating here, folks. This is a very interesting one. So
Speaker 1: this is the first bank to offer CME groups tokenized
Speaker 1: cash solution on Google Cloud Universal Ledger. It says here
Speaker 1: enhance digital financial infrastructure modernizes twenty four to seven instant settlement,
Speaker 1: enabling clients to move value continuously for margin, collaterable and
Speaker 1: settlement workflows. Establishes the groundwork for tokenized deposits that support
Speaker 1: broader payment and treasury use cases. So one of the
Speaker 1: things you're going to see in addition to stable coins
Speaker 1: is tokenized deposits. That is what's being built by many
Speaker 1: of these banks. You know, as far as the ledger,
Speaker 1: it says here Google's Cloud Universal Ledger, this is a
Speaker 1: permission chain. So we've often talked about it's going to
Speaker 1: be a hybrid approach. These companies are going to have
Speaker 1: their private permission chain where no one can access it
Speaker 1: unless you're in partnership with them, and you know kind
Speaker 1: of what the BMO and CMA group and Google Cloud
Speaker 1: are doing. But what we're seeing is many of them
Speaker 1: now have to bridge to public chains to get settlement
Speaker 1: and liquidity. So it will be a hybrid approach for
Speaker 1: many of these institutions. They'll have their public chain items,
Speaker 1: they'll have their private chain items, but nevertheless, it's all
Speaker 1: blockchain rails, right. There's a reason they're upgrading. Even if
Speaker 1: they're not building on a public chain, they have to
Speaker 1: get on board. This is the future. I've been saying
Speaker 1: for NonStop. The future, capital markets, economies, and governments will
Speaker 1: all run on blockchain rails. So we are just seeing
Speaker 1: incredible building and collaboration happening here. So very very interesting stuff, folks.
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Speaker 1: Big news coming out from Tethers. So tether hires a
Speaker 1: big four firm for a full audit of its USDT reserves.
Speaker 1: Now they talked about doing this for about six months
Speaker 1: or so, or even more than that, so it's great
Speaker 1: that they've finally gone through that prosus of selecting a
Speaker 1: big four firm, so that it's probably ey PwC, KPMG, Deloitte.
Speaker 1: I believe those are the top four. So this is
Speaker 1: really great and this is something people have been calling for.
Speaker 1: And I think you know, I've been on record, guys,
Speaker 1: I think many of you know on record saying for
Speaker 1: years in the early days, I don't believe Tether's books
Speaker 1: were in order. I think there was problems, right, I've
Speaker 1: been on record saying that, But people still continue with
Speaker 1: that fud. But not anymore. I think their books are
Speaker 1: in a better place. They've writed this ship. I've interviewed
Speaker 1: many people from Tether talking about this. In addition, you
Speaker 1: know Cancer Fitzgeral, Howard Lutnik who now works with the
Speaker 1: Trump administration. They did a audit saying, hey, they have
Speaker 1: the capital of the reserves in place, and Canter even
Speaker 1: invested in Tether, right, So I think all the necessary
Speaker 1: pieces are there. Plus Tether has been working with regulators
Speaker 1: and much more. You know, even their CEO, Paolo was
Speaker 1: at the White House crypto hearings and things like that.
Speaker 1: So you know, you're still going to see people spread
Speaker 1: fud because it's easy to say, yeah, you know, Teller,
Speaker 1: I want to share it, tell and it's like, yeah,
Speaker 1: they've been putting out attestations, you can go see it
Speaker 1: on their website. People still ignore that, and now they're
Speaker 1: gonna have a big form accounting firm. But you're gonna
Speaker 1: still see the fudsters who sometimes are paid, you know,
Speaker 1: to spread food. In addition, you know people who are
Speaker 1: anti bitcoin so to speed, they think going after Tether
Speaker 1: will hurt Bitcoin when Tether's used to you know, trade
Speaker 1: other all coins like xrps, a lot of etherorem and
Speaker 1: much more. Right so, people who just don't understand, they're
Speaker 1: not educated about it, and sometimes they listen to the
Speaker 1: wrong influencers who tell them just just feelings and emotions,
Speaker 1: right vibes versus hey, what are the facts? So Tether
Speaker 1: has hired a Big four accounting firm to conduct its
Speaker 1: first full financial statement audit of reserves backing it's one
Speaker 1: hundred and eighty four billion dollar USDT stable coin. The company,
Speaker 1: which has previously released only periodic attest stations, said the
Speaker 1: audit will involve a detailed view of its assets, liabilities
Speaker 1: and controls and reporting systems. Tether did not name the firm,
Speaker 1: but said it was chosen through a competitive process amid
Speaker 1: long standing criticism and scrutiny over whether USDT is fully
Speaker 1: backed one to one by liquid reserves. So hopefully we
Speaker 1: can see that report by midyear. I'm sure, it's going
Speaker 1: to take a while for these firms to do their thing.
Speaker 1: I'm curious which firm, but you know, if it's one
Speaker 1: of the big four for like I said, KPMG, Deloitte, PWCEY,
Speaker 1: things like that, So we shall see. But this is
Speaker 1: very good, guys, this is very good. Solana Foundation taps MasterCard,
Speaker 1: Western Union, world Pay for institutional developer platform. Many of
Speaker 1: you may have caught my interview with Western Union's head
Speaker 1: of Digital Assets most recently, and they're building their stable
Speaker 1: corn and Solana. So Solan's getting a lot of adoption
Speaker 1: and they're partnering with the right institutions. So the new
Speaker 1: Solana developer platform, let's enterprise is build tokenized assets, stable
Speaker 1: coins and payment flows via APIs with AI integrations from
Speaker 1: open Ai and Anthropic. Early adoption by MasterCard, Western Union
Speaker 1: and world Pay highlights growing institutional push toward blockchain based
Speaker 1: settlement and payments. So this is really great. I think
Speaker 1: it was yesterday's episode we're to talk about the Salona
Speaker 1: Foundation looking to build in more privacy elements because that's
Speaker 1: what institutions want. So folks of Solana doing a lot
Speaker 1: of work here. This is really great and big partners, MasterCard,
Speaker 1: Western Union will pay and much more. Okay, moving ahead,
Speaker 1: Digital asset manager Parafy raises one hundred and twenty five
Speaker 1: million dollars four new venture fund So funds are continuing
Speaker 1: to raise capital to invest in crypto despite the bear market.
Speaker 1: I think you know this is actually the smart time
Speaker 1: to go invest. Right, you can get a company valuations
Speaker 1: at a lower value. Of course, right, you can go
Speaker 1: in and get more equity at lower price, plus two
Speaker 1: tokens at a lower price, So makes it completely makes sense.
Speaker 1: So crypto asset manager Parafy has raised one hundred and
Speaker 1: twenty five million dollars in March, where a new venture fund.
Speaker 1: Bloomberg reported separately, Parafy has raised three hundred and twenty
Speaker 1: five million dollars for its ongoing digital asset investment strategies
Speaker 1: since the beginning of twenty twenty five. Now, one of
Speaker 1: the things I've told you guys about over the years
Speaker 1: is you want to watch what these crypto venture firms
Speaker 1: hedge funds are doing. Where are they putting their money,
Speaker 1: And that's where you can do your research into the
Speaker 1: projects that they're doing. Because we know they buy tokens,
Speaker 1: they also invest in companies. So you want to look
Speaker 1: at the token projects you're investing in because those have
Speaker 1: the potential to do well. This is not the only
Speaker 1: factor you should look at, obviously, you want to look
Speaker 1: at who's behind the project, the tokenomics and much more.
Speaker 1: But this is one of the things I look at
Speaker 1: when I go to invest in tokens. I look at
Speaker 1: what these big guys are doing A sixteen Z parafy
Speaker 1: and much more, Dragonfly capital and so forth. And then
Speaker 1: I looked at take my bets if I think it.
Speaker 1: You know, the project has potential and it could do well.
Speaker 1: So these are things to think about. Right. You want
Speaker 1: to watch what these big money players are doing because
Speaker 1: they look the VC capital and liquidity. That's a big
Speaker 1: factor in driving price higher. Right, So just just remember that, guys,
Speaker 1: All right, Final news items, CFDC chief launches Innovation task
Speaker 1: Force focus on crypto framework. So we continue to see
Speaker 1: both the SEC and CFDC uh making huge, huge grounds
Speaker 1: here with building for crypto, providing guidance, setting up advisory groups,
Speaker 1: and having the dialogue. This is all all great stuff.
Speaker 1: So the CFDC is looking to embrace innovation in the
Speaker 1: regulatory approach to crypto and blockchain with the launch of
Speaker 1: a new Innovation task Force. According to a Tuesday notice,
Speaker 1: Chair Michael Seleake said that the task Force will work
Speaker 1: with the regulators Innovation Advisory Committee to create a framework
Speaker 1: focus on crypto, blockchain, AI and prediction markets. The effort
Speaker 1: will be led by Michael Passalaqua from Saying That right,
Speaker 1: who joined the CFTC as a senior advisor in January
Speaker 1: after working on crypto and blockchain issues and international law
Speaker 1: firms Citson, Thatcher and Bartlette. Here's a quote. The idea
Speaker 1: behind our Innovation Advisory task Force is really to create
Speaker 1: a space where innovators and builders can come in and
Speaker 1: talk to the staff. Mike see Leg, Chair of the CFTC,
Speaker 1: toll folks at the Digital Assets Summit in New York
Speaker 1: City on Tuesday. It's not just crypto, It's going to
Speaker 1: be prediction markets, crypto and AI. We think these three
Speaker 1: verticals are really important. So big stuff happening, folks, Very exciting,
Speaker 1: and of course we're waiting for the Clarity Act itself
Speaker 1: to pass. But the fact that the agencies are taking action,
Speaker 1: the ones who are the responsible for creating their rulemaking
Speaker 1: and giving you the details, plus making sure folks abide
Speaker 1: by the rules and laws. They are taking active steps here,
Speaker 1: so this is amazing. Folks. That's the news. Let me
Speaker 1: know what you think. Leave your thoughts and comments below,
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Speaker 1: all and I'll talk to you all later.