WEBVTT - The Mark Moss Show Feb 16, 2022 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.559 Hey, everyone, Welcome to another episode of The Mark Moss 0:00:02.560 --> 0:00:04.920 Show where we talk about bitcoin and we talk about 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:09.719 cryptocurrencies and the decentralized revolution that is happening right now, 0:00:09.800 --> 0:00:11.760 right before our eyes. Now, I try to bring you 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.040 everything that you need to understand this. I try to 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:17.600 bring you the education so you can really understand what's 0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:19.400 going on. I try to bring you the latest breaking news, 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:20.880 and of course I bring you some of the best 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:23.680 and brightest guests in the space so you can get 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:27.480 some different perspectives. Now, you know, trying to understand this 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:29.720 is difficult, and when you don't understand it right, what 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:33.880 happens is um usually bad things. You can get lucky, 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:36.159 but bad things. Right. So for example, if you don't 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:40.240 understand it enough, maybe you under allocate towards it, Maybe 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:43.960 you over allocate towards it. Maybe um, you don't understand it, 0:00:43.960 --> 0:00:46.240 and so then you get shaken out of your position early, 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:49.440 for example. And so you really need to understand it 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:52.120 and so you can you know, get the right positions 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:54.280 eyes and learn how to hold it and one of 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:56.240 you know, there's a lot of things. Actually spent a 0:00:56.280 --> 0:01:00.080 few weeks um going through all the different fund if 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:03.000 you're uncertainty doubt headlines are the big objections that we 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:05.920 hear about bitcoin. Um. One of the ones I didn't 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:08.200 address because it's a bigger topic that I wanted to 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:11.480 cover at depth is one of the ones that I 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:18.080 hear all the time of bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme? Now, um, 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:21.160 what is a Ponzi scheme? Um? Really? What does that 0:01:21.160 --> 0:01:22.880 really mean? What do they mean when they say bitcoins 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:27.200 like a Ponzi scheme? Um? And why is bitcoin? Is 0:01:27.240 --> 0:01:29.680 bitcoin pons game? Yes or no? So I want to 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:31.680 I want to explain this in a way that's easy 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:37.040 to understand, hopefully educational. Well, it's definitely educational, hopefully entertainment um. 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:38.280 And really, I think this is gonna give you a 0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:41.080 lot bigger perspective. And if you um think that bitcoin 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:42.520 will be a Ponti scheme, it maybe give you a 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:44.920 whole different perspective on this. And if you already are 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:46.959 a bitcoin advocate, that I'm gonna give you the information 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:49.720 you need to answer this question when you hear it 0:01:49.800 --> 0:01:52.520 from someone else. Now, Um, I hear this all the time. 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:56.080 I've heard it compared to the tulip mania, you know, 0:01:56.080 --> 0:01:59.240 the Dutch two mania, but really this Ponzi scheme and 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:02.640 the Fine Fancial Times is uh the ft dot com. 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:06.120 It's a big financial news news publication. They came out 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:09.960 with a article and they said why bitcoin is worse 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:14.160 than a mad Off style Ponzi scheme? So what does 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:16.840 that even mean? There's a lot to this lot to 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:18.840 unpack here, and I want to kind of break this down. 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:22.240 So let's address this first of all. Like I said, 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:25.960 it's a big it's a big claim. So first the 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:30.000 thing we have to do is what is a Ponzi scheme? Like, 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:32.079 what does that even mean? Right? So let's let's let's 0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:33.839 take on that topic. First of all, Like I said, 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:36.799 this is gonna be entertaining and it's gonna be educational. 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:39.680 But if we go directly to the U S. Securities 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:43.120 and Exchange Commission, the SEC, which is supposedly out there 0:02:43.160 --> 0:02:45.200 to protect us. And I say supposedly because I don't 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.680 know if they are, um, but I'm gonna takenna give 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:50.640 you a quote directly from the SEC which says, quote, 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:54.480 a Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing 0:02:54.560 --> 0:02:59.360 investors with funds collected from new investors. Ponzi scheme organizers 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:02.280 often promised investor money and generate high returns with little 0:03:02.400 --> 0:03:05.200 or no risk, But in many many Ponzi schemes, the 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:08.520 fraudsters do not invest the money. Instead, they use it 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:11.800 to pay those who invested earlier, and may keep some 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:16.840 for themselves with little or no legitimate earnings. Ponzi schemes 0:03:16.840 --> 0:03:19.560 require a constant flow of new money to survive. When 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:22.200 it becomes hard to recruit new investors or when large 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:26.320 numbers of existing investors cash out, these schemes tend to 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:31.400 collapse end quote. So that's directly from the SEC. So basically, 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:34.440 what they're saying is that they are saying, Hey, you know, 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:38.240 giving your money, I'm gonna invested. I'm making whatever and uh, 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:41.400 and I'm gonna keep I'm gonna pay these investors. As 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:43.800 long as I'm able to keep sucking in new people, 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:47.080 I can keep paying the old ones out. I keep 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:50.360 eight percent. That's a pretty good deal. Um. But of 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:52.800 course I'm not really investing. I'm not really making anything, 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:55.960 but everybody thinks I am. Now. Ponzi schemes were named 0:03:55.960 --> 0:04:00.240 after Charles Ponzi, who duped investors in the nineteen ease 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:04.440 with a posted stamp speculation scheme. All right, So we 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:07.800 want to break this down, all right. So first, ponzi 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:11.320 scheme organizers promised to invest your money and generate high 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:14.480 returns with no risk. Um. So that's that's a big 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:17.360 piece of it, all right. So they go further on 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:19.839 in the sec piece. Um, a couple other things that 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.320 they list as red flags. So if you're this is 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:26.040 the sec warning you so quote. Many ponzi schemes share 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:31.080 common characteristics. Look for these warning signs. One high returns 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:34.279 with little or no risk. Every investment carries some degree 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:38.120 of risk, and investment yields yielding higher returns typically involve 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:41.919 more risk. Be highly suspicious of any guaranteed investment opportunity. 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:47.800 So okay, that's one. Another sign overly consistent returns. So 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:50.000 they say investments tend to go up and down over time, 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:53.200 So be skeptical about an investment that regularly generates positive 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:57.520 returns regardless of overall market conditions. Um, they say that 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:02.160 it's uh. They also another red flag is secretive complex strategies. 0:05:02.480 --> 0:05:05.240 They say, to avoid investments if you don't understand them 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:09.640 and can't get complete information about them. Um. They say 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:13.359 that they there's issues with paperwork, an account statement errors, 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:15.880 maybe a sign that funds are not being invested as promised. 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:20.279 And then finally they say difficulty receiving payments. Be suspicious 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:23.159 if you don't receive a payment or have difficulty cashing out. 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:26.720 Ponzi scheme promoters sometimes try to prevent participants from cashing 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:30.920 out by offering even higher returns for stay input. So 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:34.600 that is uh good, some good red flags. Hopefully guys 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:37.440 took advantage, took note of that. If you see any 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:40.640 of those red flags, be careful. But now let's take 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:44.280 that and let's compare those warning signs, those attributes, and 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:47.880 let's see if Bitcoin has any of those. Okay, so 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:51.680 before we before I compare bitcoin point to point by 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:55.479 the to that list, Um, let's first just take a 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:57.400 look at how bitcoin was launched. A lot of people 0:05:57.400 --> 0:06:00.000 may not know this. So in in August of two 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:03.640 thousand and eight, somebody identifying themselves as Sotoshi Nakamoto created 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:07.400 bitcoin dot org. Two months later, October two eight, so 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:12.640 Toshi released what's called the Bitcoin White Paper, and that 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:14.640 that's basically the document explaining how the tech, how the 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:16.680 tech would work, and what the solution was, how the 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:19.680 how he solved what's known as the double spending problem. 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:22.160 The problem with digital goods is that if you send 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:24.560 me a song or a photo or a video, I 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:26.640 can make a copy of it on my computer. And 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:28.159 if I send you the video, how do you know 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:30.599 if I don't still have a copy on my computer. UM. 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:33.640 So he solved the double spending problem. That's the big 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:37.600 revolutionary thing that bitcoin solved. UM that there's only one 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:42.400 bitcoin and it can't be copied or double spent. UM. 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:44.480 In addition to that, a couple months later, January of 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:47.600 two thousand nine, s Tosi published the initial software, the 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:51.440 Bitcoin Code Software UM. In the Genesiens Genesis block, the 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:54.480 first block of the blockchain UM, there was no spendable 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:58.360 bitcoin there UM, and he provided a timestamped article headlining 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:01.760 which I love. It was an article headline about bank 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:05.599 baillouts from the Times of London, and I love that 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:07.520 he put that in there. He said, the Chancellor is 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:10.440 on the brink of another bailout. And the reason why 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:12.120 they put that is because that was at the time 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:14.960 of the two thousand eight bank baillouts. It was the 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:18.000 time with the great financial crash, and so he basically 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:21.120 stamped it saying that this is made as a response 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:23.760 to that, because you are bailing out these banks, We're 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:26.400 going to create our own monetary system, is what he said. Um. 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:29.280 From there, it took a few days to finish mind 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:32.960 in the block Um. There was really nothing going on 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:36.280 in there. UM. And then and then there are some 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:39.240 other people that got involved. How Finny started publicly tweeting 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:42.280 about bitcoin. He was running software. UM, so Toshi was 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:44.120 running at him and soci and how Finny, we're sending 0:07:44.120 --> 0:07:47.920 bitcoins back and forth to each other. UM. Basically, the 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:49.960 point that I'm making here is that this was done 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:54.360 out in the open on the public um message boards. 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:58.560 There was other people involved, how Finny, We had Nick Sabo, 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:02.480 Adam back. They were all getting involved in this. They 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:04.360 were all aware of it. They were all mining bitcoin. 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:07.480 So this was not done in the in the dark. 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:10.800 This was not done. Um, you know, not, this was 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:13.680 not done and the forest lead a lot of well 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:17.000 pretty much, I think all the other cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:19.520 were done with what's called a pre mind. And so 0:08:19.600 --> 0:08:22.520 when the founders created their token, they created a bunch 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:25.680 for themselves. So they printed, you know, a hundred million 0:08:25.720 --> 0:08:27.560 tokens for themselves, and then they gave away a little bit. 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:31.960 Typically they would keep anywhere from typically about thirty to 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:34.560 sometimes as much as seventy of the tokens they created. 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:36.840 The founders would keep that for themselves. But with Bitcoin, 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:39.360 that that wasn't that wasn't done. As a matter of fact, 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:43.480 he publicly put it out to everybody long before ever 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:45.640 ever mining any on its own. As a matter of fact, 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:47.959 the coins that's to Totian not Commoto mind, have never 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:52.280 been moved, and so there was no pre mind in that. Now. Um, 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:54.280 now that you understand that, let's dig into a little 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.320 bit about these red flags and kind of dispute some 0:08:57.360 --> 0:08:59.719 of these one by one by one. Now, by the way, 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:01.160 if you're just tune in, you're listening to the Mark 0:09:01.240 --> 0:09:05.760 Mass Show. We're talking about bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and the decentralized 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:10.880 revolution that's happening. Uh, specifically, I'm talking about bitcoin being 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:13.320 a ponzi scheme. Is it is it a ponzi or 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:16.439 is it not? Well, we're breaking down what a ponzi is, 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:18.920 and I gave you the warning flags and we're gonna 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:22.000 look at some of those in comparison to bitcoin. Um, again, 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:24.959 you're listening to the Markma Show, talking about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:29.240 giving you the education that you need to thrive and 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:32.240 succeed through this crypto revolution. I'll be back with more 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:34.320 on this in a second. Don't go away, all right, 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:36.400 Welcome back here, listening to the mark Ma Show. We're 0:09:36.400 --> 0:09:40.000 talking about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and the decentralized revolution that's 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:42.920 happening right now. And specifically, before the break, I was 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:46.360 talking about bitcoin being a ponzi scheme? Is it a 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:48.199 ponzi scheme? Is it not a ponzi scheme? What does 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:51.079 a ponzi scheme even mean? Well, I read you the 0:09:51.120 --> 0:09:54.319 definition from the SEC of what a ponzi scheme is, 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:57.320 and I read you a list of red flags they 0:09:57.320 --> 0:10:00.080 said ponzi schemes have and what you should be watching 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:02.040 out for. So what I want to do now is 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:05.000 let's compare Bitcoin to the red flags of a ponzi 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:07.960 scheme and let's see if that works out. So the 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:11.720 first thing, as they said that investment returns were they 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:16.439 they promised um high returns with little or no risk. 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:21.280 So with bitcoin, there's no investment returns promised. So Toshi 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:24.160 never promised any investment returns. Let let alone, any high 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:28.880 investment returns, never promoted any consistent investment returns UM. As 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:30.680 a matter of fact, bitcoin was known for the first 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:34.800 decade of his existence of being extremely highly volatile speculation UM. 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:37.760 The online writings from Sotoshi still exists because it was 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:39.680 launched through message boards, and so we can still see 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.640 what he said, and he barely ever talked about any 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:44.840 financial gain at all. As a matter of fact, he 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:48.920 mostly only wrote about technical aspects. He talked about freedom, 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:52.000 he talked about the problems of the modern banking system 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:54.560 and things like that, but he never talked about, you know, 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:57.280 making a bunch of money from that. And so I 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:00.280 think that's a big key to differentiate a couple things 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:02.079 that he said. One of the quotes that I love 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:05.000 that he said. Now, of course I'm educated on bitcoin 0:11:05.000 --> 0:11:08.480 and cryptocurrencies, but what what um he said? A couple 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:11.760 of things. He said, Uh, it might make sense just 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:15.560 to get some in case it catches on. That's what 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:17.640 he said. So he didn't say, hey, you should buy it. 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:19.080 You can make a bunch of money, Hey you should 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:21.040 buy it. Your guaranteed to make a bunch of money. Hey, 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:23.040 you're guaranteed to get higher returns. He didn't say that. 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:25.440 He said it might make sense to get some just 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.120 in case it catches on. And that's what I tell people. 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:31.160 If you're skeptical about bitcoin. Um at this point, I 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:32.600 don't know how you could be. But if you are, 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:35.600 that's okay. You're new to it, I understand, but hey, 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:38.320 it might make sense to get some just in case 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:42.440 it catches on. That's what he said. Um, let's see 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:46.240 a couple other things here. Um. Okay, So the second one, Um, 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:49.040 the second red flag that they that they warned us 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:53.000 of was that they they that a ponzi scheme uses 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:58.640 secretive and complex strategies. Okay, well, bitcoin is open source. 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:02.400 Open sources the opposite of secrecy. Now, I talk a 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:05.200 lot about the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is the 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:08.840 opposite of open source. The Federal Reserve is secret. As 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:10.760 a matter of fact, in a previous segment, I was 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:13.720 talking about the Federal Reserve and how a Freedom of 0:12:13.760 --> 0:12:17.200 Information Act request was filed against them and they are 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:21.440 denying the request, which I don't even know how that's legal. Uh, 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:25.280 it's the opposite of open source. So ponzi schemes rely 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:28.439 on secrecy. If the investors understood that an investment they 0:12:28.480 --> 0:12:31.160 owned was actually a Ponzi scheme, then of course they 0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:33.719 would try to pull their money out immediately. Right, it's 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:38.679 the secrecy um. The secrecy prevents the market from appropriately 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:42.760 pricing the investment until the secret gets found out. So 0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:46.160 one of the most famous examples of the Ponzi scheme 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:49.199 was Burnie made Off and investors in Bernie made Off 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:52.600 scheme thought they owned a variety of assets, but in reality, 0:12:53.000 --> 0:12:56.120 the earlier investors outflows were just being paid back from 0:12:56.200 --> 0:12:59.559 new investor inflows, so it wasn't actually money being made 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:02.560 from the investments. The investments list on their statements were 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:05.400 all fake and for any of those clients it would 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:08.800 be nearly impossible to verify that they're fake, Like, how 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:10.640 could they do that? Right, They didn't have access to it. 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:15.200 There was secrecy. Bitcoin is the opposite though, right. Bitcoin 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:18.640 works the opposite on an opposite set of principles. It's 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:22.839 a distributed piece of open source software that requires a 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:26.040 majority consensus to change. Every line of code is known. 0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:29.760 There's no central authority that can change it. And you know, 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:31.400 one of the things that we say with bitcoin is 0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:34.680 don't trust but rather verify. And so what that means 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:37.840 is that because the code is open source, because I 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:41.439 can run the bitcoin software on my own, anybody, anybody 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:43.520 can just freely download it and run on a on 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.080 an old laptop if you want, you can use that 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:48.960 to audit the entire blockchain. You can use it to 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:52.880 odor the UM, to audit the entire monetary supply. It 0:13:52.960 --> 0:13:55.599 doesn't rely on a website. There's no data center, and 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:58.520 there's no corporate structure. There's none of that. And because 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:01.360 of this, there's no issue with the paperwork, right, there's 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:04.440 no difficulty receiving payments. As as the SEC told us, 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:08.000 there was red flags about now you know, there's of 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:12.040 course there's bad actors that would you know, associate with 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.160 this with the with the ecosystem. Let's say, UM, you 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:18.280 know people rely on others to hold their private keys, 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:21.200 for example, and those people holding private keys, the custodians 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.800 could be bad, they could do things like that. UM. 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:27.120 But the but the bitcoin software isn't isn't bad. The 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:32.040 bitcoin software doesn't trick people. It's open source. UM. Another 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:36.880 thing is that UM back to that, as I was 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:39.680 kind of saying before about the mining UM, there was 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:42.760 no there was no pre mind there and so um 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:46.400 so Toshi didn't really never got any of his any 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:49.120 of his coins of the mind. But usually you know, 0:14:49.160 --> 0:14:51.720 so bitcoin was launched and open in a fair way 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:55.080 when it was launched, But as I said, most cryptocurrencies 0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:57.760 don't follow those principles. So like with Ethereum. For example, 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:00.920 ethereums the number two cryptocurrency by market app and the 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:06.280 Ethereum developers provided seventy two million tokens to themselves and 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:10.200 their investors prior to any being available to be owned 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:13.440 by the broader public. So that's about half of the 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:17.720 current token supply of Ethereum, So before anybody could get 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:21.280 it half, about about half seventy two million tokens were 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:24.760 given to themselves and their investors. Ripple x RP, on 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:26.800 the other hand, is even worse. Now, if you're an 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:29.120 x RP fan, um plug, your ear is not gonna 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:32.880 like to hear this. But Ripple Labs pre mind one 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:37.120 hundred billion XRP tokens with the majority being owned by 0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:40.200 Ripple Labs, and then what they did is they gradually 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:43.120 begin selling the rest to the public, but they still 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:46.720 hold the majority. Now, of course, they're currently being accused 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:50.400 by the sec of selling unregistered securities. And we've yet 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:54.160 to see how that plays out. But with bitcoin, the 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:58.800 founder gave himself no advantage to mining bitcoin. He started 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:01.160 talking about it, he started even the software oute long 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:05.400 before mining was ever done. Um, So lots of people 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:07.080 had the same opportunity to mine at the same time. 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:09.440 And he's never even cashed his coins in anyway, and 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:12.640 so that makes it the cleanest approach. The other thing 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:16.440 is that there's no leader, right. So bitcoin is really 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:21.120 interesting because there's no centralized leadership. So totian not comot 0:16:21.160 --> 0:16:23.280 to a person or a group of people, but you know, 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:27.360 a group of people potentially, Um, they disappeared, So there's 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:31.200 no leader there. Um. And so I think when you 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:33.640 break that down point by point, you see that it 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:38.600 doesn't really trigger any of these red flags. Um. There's 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:42.400 you know, again they're not unregistered investments or unlice. It's sellers. 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:47.520 If if there was maybe any um red flag to 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:49.760 be raised potentially and not not about a ponzi but 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:55.560 about but but about a security, um, is that you know, 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:58.480 I mean you're selling assets, um, But it doesn't mean 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:00.760 that just because it's an asset that could be maybe 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:03.160 potentially a security doesn't mean it's a ponzi. Right, So 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:06.359 it doesn't mean that. Now let's look at something else. 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:10.960 Let's look at um a broader definition of a ponzi. Right. So, 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:13.399 I think I've proven that bitcoin is not a ponzi 0:17:13.480 --> 0:17:17.040 based off of the SEC's definition and the SEC's red flags. 0:17:17.400 --> 0:17:19.800 But I want to look at a broader definition of 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:22.320 a pons because I believe that maybe there are some 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:25.880 similarities to the gold market or some other assets like that, 0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:28.360 And I think if you understand how the gold monetary 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:32.160 network works or the Fiat banking system works, you might 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:37.159 actually see this whole situation from an entirely different angle. Now, 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:38.920 by the way, you're listening to the Markmas Show, we're 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:42.040 talking about bitcoin, we're talking about cryptocurrencies, we're talking about 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:44.880 the decentralized revolution that we're going through. We're talking about 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:48.600 bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Well, bitcoin not being a ponzi scheme, 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:52.639 as it's been a huge many times before. When I 0:17:52.680 --> 0:17:54.120 come back, I want to talk about, like I said, 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:56.119 the broader definition of a ponzi and talk about the 0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:58.960 gold market, talking about the Fiat money system and the 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:02.000 stock market, and like I said, once you understand these 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.440 from this different angle. I think you'll see this from 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:08.080 a completely new light. You don't want to miss this. 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:10.840 You need to understand this. Listening to the Markmas Show, 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:13.440 I'll be right back. Don't go away, all right, Welcome back. 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:15.560 You're listening to the Markma Show and we're talking about 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:20.760 bitcoin and decentralized revolution, cryptocurrencies and all that stuff that's 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:23.359 going on right now. And specifically, before the break, I 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:26.639 was talking about bitcoin and uh, bitcoin being a ponzi scheme? 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:30.840 Is Bitcoin a ponzi? What is a ponzi? A lot 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:32.640 of times people throw these words around and they don't 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:34.760 ever really stop to think about what they are, what 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:37.080 they mean, And so I want to break that down. 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:41.080 We've been dissecting what the SEC said of ponzi was. Um, 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:44.200 we talked about the Bernie made Out scandal. I talked 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:46.760 about the red flags that the SEC gives you to 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:49.160 watch out and be careful if you may be involved 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:51.160 in a ponzi, and then we went point by point 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:53.560 and showed how bitcoin actually doesn't have any of those 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:56.200 red flags. UM. Now, what I want to talk about 0:18:56.240 --> 0:18:58.320 is is something bigger. I wanna talk about the broader 0:18:58.400 --> 0:19:02.040 definition of a ponzi because the narrow ponzi scheme, you know, 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:04.560 as I just made the case, it clearly doesn't apply 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:07.359 to bitcoin, um. And so what some people try to 0:19:07.359 --> 0:19:09.399 do is they use like a broader definition of a 0:19:09.440 --> 0:19:12.159 ponzi scheme to assert that bitcoin is one of them. 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:14.000 You have to be very careful, like I said, with 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:16.840 these words and definitions, especially in today's age, because we've 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:18.919 twisted all these words. So for example, let me give 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:23.040 you an example, UM, capitalism. Capitalism has almost become this 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:27.240 dirty word, and I've found myself starting to not use 0:19:27.280 --> 0:19:30.480 the word capitalism and instead used UM free markets because 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:33.120 free markets to sound different, and people think, no, capitalism 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:37.959 is capitalism led to slavery, and capitalism led to colonialism, 0:19:38.000 --> 0:19:44.680 and capitalism UM allows these greedy corporations to pollute the environments. Right, Okay, 0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:49.720 well we should inspect the word capitalism then, because UM, 0:19:49.840 --> 0:19:53.520 I don't believe that is capitalism. So capitalism is sure 0:19:54.160 --> 0:19:58.320 private property rights and UM me being able to manage 0:19:58.320 --> 0:20:00.000 and control my property rights and direct him as I 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:03.640 see fit. Now, UM, what people think is that capitalists 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:06.800 are only in the pursuit of profits, and that's it. 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:11.720 And so that's what leads to slavery and colonialism and etcetera. 0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:15.160 But that's not true. That's not totally true. So capitalism 0:20:15.320 --> 0:20:21.919 is the protection the priority of private property rights, private 0:20:21.920 --> 0:20:29.000 property rights. It's also voluntary exchange. And so my thoughts, 0:20:29.320 --> 0:20:34.439 my labor, my energy, it's my private property. That's my 0:20:34.480 --> 0:20:38.920 private property. My arm is my private property. Nobody can 0:20:39.000 --> 0:20:41.400 move my arm except for me. That's my private property. 0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:44.639 My energy is my private property. My my my my 0:20:44.720 --> 0:20:49.520 thinking capacity, my ideas, my creativity, that's my private property. 0:20:50.080 --> 0:20:53.720 And so if anybody were to, you know, hold me 0:20:53.800 --> 0:20:57.160 as a slave, for example, I don't think that would 0:20:57.160 --> 0:20:59.600 be protecting private property. As a matter of fact, I 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:04.119 think that would exactly contradict that. Another attribute of capitalism 0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:08.800 is voluntary exchange. If I'm a slave, that's not voluntary exchange. 0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:14.119 So you see, by omitting the key words that define 0:21:14.200 --> 0:21:17.320 what capitalism is, sure then you can say capitalism is 0:21:17.320 --> 0:21:20.520 colonialism if you're saying all capitalism ism is trying to 0:21:20.600 --> 0:21:21.840 be as greedy as you can and try and grow 0:21:21.880 --> 0:21:24.600 your capital. But that's not what it is. It's protecting 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:28.200