Rabbit Hole Recap: Week of 2021.03.22
3/25/2021 · 151 min · transcript via mlx
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Key topics
— Tesla accepting Bitcoin & holding: Tesla announced it will accept Bitcoin as payment and hold it on its balance sheet rather than converting to fiat, eliminating need for intermediaries like BitPay and validating the self-hosted node model for merchants.
— Podcasting 2.0 & Breeze integration: Breeze platform now supports podcasting 2.0 with Lightning payments, enabling direct value streaming from listeners to content creators via RSS feeds and opening new monetization models.
— Microsoft Ion identity on Bitcoin mainnet: Microsoft launched Ion, a decentralized identity layer anchored to Bitcoin, addressing deep fake authentication and establishing digital signatures as foundational to trustworthy media and documents.
— Miami Mayor Suarez driving Bitcoin adoption: Miami secured a $7M naming rights deal with FTX (split $5M to the city), signaling competitive municipal strategy to attract Bitcoin businesses and talent through favorable regulation.
— FATF enhanced KYC guidelines targeting P2P: Financial Action Task Force published aggressive regulatory guidance attempting to restrict peer-to-peer Bitcoin transactions and self-custody, targeting Lightning wallets and decentralized services.
— Fidelity files Bitcoin ETF; Coinbase fined for Litecoin manipulation: Fidelity filed "Wise Origin" Bitcoin ETF (named as homage to Satoshi); separately, CFTC fined Coinbase $6.5M for employee wash trading on Litecoin in 2016.
Market & price signals
— Bitcoin trading at $52,000 (also referenced as $57K on real exchanges); market cap below $1 trillion at $970.5 billion.
— 15.7% below all-time high as of recording.
— Lightning network public capacity: Up 700% in USD terms year-over-year despite flat Bitcoin capacity; shows efficiency gains per satoshi locked in channels.
— Samurai Whirlpool liquidity pool: Approaching 2,000 BTC ($104.3M in utility), less gameable metric than volume in low-fee environments.
— GBTC discount: Widened to negative 14% earlier in session, later tightened to negative 9.9%; Barry Silbert and DCG backstopping insufficient to close gap despite open-market purchases.
— Difficulty adjustment: Next estimated upward adjustment April 1st (+8.2%) as blocks arriving 46 seconds faster than 10-minute target.
Actionable insights
— Self-custody remains superior: Avoid Bitcoin ETFs and GBTC; use self-directed IRA solutions (KeyKeeperIRA.com partnered with Unchained Capital) to maintain key control and avoid custodial risk and fees.
— Monitor FATF compliance creep: Expect regulators to pressure Lightning liquidity providers (Breeze, Phoenix) and self-custody platforms on KYC; run your own full node and Lightning node for sovereign transaction capability regardless of regulatory headwinds.
— Champion open monetary competition: Bitcoin wins on free-market merit through network effects, security, and distribution—support alternative implementations (JoinMarket, Wasabi, Samurai), run your own infrastructure, and reject narrative that Bitcoin should be banned from competing.
Episode sponsorships
Paid placements mentioned in this episode. BTC Pods is not sponsored by or affiliated with these advertisers. Links are included so you can find offers mentioned on the show.
— Cash App lets you buy, sell, send, and receive Bitcoin with integrated Lightning Network payments for fast, cheap transactions and automatic DCA stacking with zero fees on buys over $2,000; withdraw on-chain or to Lightning 24/7 to your own node or hardware wallet. For a limited time, new Cash App customers can get $21 added to their balance by using code TFTC10 when you sign up, and send at least $5 to a friend in the first two weeks; terms apply. Bitcoin services by Block, Inc. See Bitcoin disclosures at https://cash.app/legal/podcast.
— Unchained Capital holds Bitcoin in collaborative custody (you hold two keys, they hold one) and offers Bitcoin loans, IRAs, and inheritance solutions; go to https://unchained.com/tftc/ and use code TFTC10 at checkout for 10% off a new multi-sig vault.
— Hodl Hodl's Lend platform is a new non-custodial Bitcoin-backed lending product available to U.S. users, allowing peer-to-peer lending and borrowing between users globally, anonymously, and on your own terms. You create a multi-sig escrow and retain one key throughout; your collateral always remains locked in that escrow. Create your offers and set your own terms at https://lend.hodlhodl.com.
— Braiins are leaders in the mining industry, running Slush Pool, creating firmware to make miners more profitable (Braiins OS+), and building out Stratum V2 to help further decentralize mining and make Bitcoin more robust. Check out their insights.braiins.com/profitability-calculator at https://braiins.com/.