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What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

Peter McCormack

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With What Bitcoin Did, host Peter McCormack talks to experts in the world of Bitcoin, economics and politics. From developers to investors, journalists to authors, you will learn about everything in the world of Bitcoin.

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The 1 Bitcoin Trump Bet with American HODL & Phil Geiger

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

06/30/20 • -1 min

“Pete, if me and you watch the election together and Trump wins, I’m going to feel this weird mix of feelings because I will have just taken 5 grand of you... but I’m also going to be pretty fucking worried because I think we’re going to immediately see riots.”
— American HODL

Location: Zoom
Date: Tuesday 23rd July
Company/Project: N/A & Unchained Capital
Role: N/A & Director of Product Marketing

Throughout 2019, President Trump's re-election campaign looked to be on steady ground, but 2020 has been a very different story.

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, countries across the world have gone into lockdown. However, Trump, Fox News and a large number of key Republicans initially played down the risk of the pandemic, and Trump has faced fierce criticism for his lack of decisive action. The US has been the most severely affected country, with around one quarter of all recorded infections and deaths.

During this same period, the killing of George Floyd sent shockwaves across America. Millions took to the streets to protest police brutality and to campaign for Black Lives Matter. Many of these protests quickly turned violent and, again, Trump was criticised for his lack of decisive action and leadership, epitomised when he retreated to his bunker rather than addressing the nation.

The pandemic and protests have opened up the election race, and while Trump has furiously Tweeted, Joe Biden has mostly retreated from public view. Support for Trump appears to be dropping, and most recently, Trump's rally in Tulsa was only attended by 6,200 people in attendance, in a building with a 19,000 capacity.

While 2020 has been mostly negative for Trump's re-election campaign, he does have fiercely loyal supporters, and while the polls indicate Biden has a clear lead, this will likely be another close election.

I tweeted that I would bet anyone $5,000 in Bitcoin that Trump would lose. American Hodl (@hodl_american) took me up on the bet. Phil Geiger, from Unchained Capital, agreed to arbiter the debt, holding the 3rd key in a multisig wallet we set up using Unchained Capital's Caravan product.

In this interview, Hodl, Phil and I discuss the bet, US politics, if the current economic and social situation is positive or negative for Trump, populism, voter suppression and the election race.

This episode’s sponsors:

Kraken - The best place to buy, sell & trade Bitcoin
BlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial services
Sportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts Bitcoin
Casa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.

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WBD237 Show Notes: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/the-1-bitcoin-trump-bet-with-american-hodl-phil-geiger

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06/30/20 • -1 min

Bitcoin UX & Marketing with Dan Held

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

06/26/20 • -1 min

“We each have independent narratives, in terms of how we talk about Bitcoin, but we’re each part of the same team and I think we all agree that our objective here is to convert as many people to Bitcoin as possible.”
— Dan Held

Location: Zoom
Date: Friday, 19th June
Company/Project: Kraken
Role: Director of Business Development

The very early believers in Bitcoin tended to fall into two camps, the Libertarians who were drawn to the censorship resistance & self-sovereignty of Bitcoin and the tech-savvy developers who saw a new experimental technology that was the first to truly offer a distributed & decentralised digital money.

As Bitcoin has gained in value, it too has grown to appeal to audiences that don’t necessarily fit into these two camps. Fewer tech-savvy people have come to Bitcoin for ‘number go up’ more than the censorship resistance and decentralisation.

For these people, coming into Bitcoin can be hostile and confusing. The community is understandably frosty to those not willing to learn about the importance of holding their own keys, protecting their privacy and being self-sovereign and the software can be confusing and unintuitive.

For newcomers running a node is difficult, holding your private keys daunting and interacting with the community scary. So, improving both the UX and marketing of Bitcoin is key to attracting less technical people to the space.

In this interview, I talk to Dan Held the Director of Business Development at Kraken. We discuss the importance of easy user experience, how Bitcoin can be a daunting experience, if newcomers should hold their private keys and why marketing matters.

This episode’s sponsors:

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WBD236 Show Notes: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/bitcoin-ux-marketing-with-dan-held

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If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:

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06/26/20 • -1 min

The Myth of Deflation with Jeff Booth

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

06/23/20 • -1 min

“We have grown up in a different world, we’ve been programmed that deflation is a bad thing.”
— Jeff Booth

Location: Zoom
Date: Friday, 19th June
Role: Entrepreneur & Author

In an inflationary Keynesian economic system, governments target low inflation to ensure a healthy economy and steady growth; however, inflation functions as a hidden tax on savings. Inflation also leads to a drop in purchasing power which drives the incentive to spend and invest rather than save.

Deflation, the opposite to inflation, is when the price of a basket of goods and services drops. Unlike inflation, deflation means the purchasing power of your savings increase over time and therefore, incentivises saving as opposed to spending.

Many traditional economists see deflation as dangerous as people will reduce spend with an expectation of products becoming cheaper, but this leads to an economy based on growth at any cost. Jeff Booth, author of The Price of Tomorrow: Why deflation is the Key to an Abundant Future presents an alternative argument.

In this interview, I talk to Jeff Booth, and we discuss the current economic & social situation, how an inflationary system has caused inequality & division and how Bitcoin & deflation can fix this.

This episode’s sponsors:
Kraken - The best place to buy, sell & trade Bitcoin
BlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial services
Sportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts Bitcoin
Casa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security.

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WBD235 Show Notes: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/the-myth-of-deflation-with-jeff-booth

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If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:

Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute

Leave a review on iTunes

Share the show and episodes with your friends and family

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Follow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium

06/23/20 • -1 min

Is Apple Abusing its Monopoly Power? With David Heinemeier Hansson

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

06/21/20 • -1 min

“If Apple chooses in their soul and absolute power to squash us now, there is literally nothing we can do but take it.”
— David Heinemeier Hansson

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Location: Zoom
Date: Wednesday, 17th June
Project: Basecamp
Role: Founder & CTO

New concerns have been raised around Apple's business model after the company rejected future updates for Basecamp's newly launched email app Hey. Apple initially approved the app, but then put it on hold — meaning Basecamp couldn't submit any updates or bug fixes until it added an option for users to subscribe to Hey's service through an in-app purchase.

Basecamp has disputed this decision, saying it shouldn't be forced to allow users to sign up for Hey through in-app purchase, subjecting then to Apple's 30% tax on its subscription fee.

HEY's predicament has highlighted inconsistencies in Apple's policy execution, having allowed other apps with similar business models to exist in the App Store without mandatory in-app subscriptions. They have also made exemptions for streaming applications and rivals; Amazon and Netflix.

The case has raised questions about how Apple is operating and whether it's exercising an anti-competitive advantage over services from third-party developers.

HEY's fight comes as the company is already facing two EU antitrust investigations after Spotify and other firms filed similar complaints to those raised by Basecamp.

In this bonus episode, I talk to Basecamp Founder & CTO, David Hansson. We discuss Apple’s threats to remove their email app HEY from the App Store and Apple’s monopolistic business model.

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WBD234 Show Notes: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/is-apple-abusing-its-monopoly-power-with-david-heinemeier-hansson

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If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:

Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute

Leave a review on iTunes

Share the show and episodes with your friends and family

Subscribe to the newsletter on my

06/21/20 • -1 min

Next Level Bitcoin Privacy with Alex Gladstein & Chris Belcher

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

06/19/20 • -1 min

“The evolution of Bitcoin privacy has gone from creating doubt, to hopefully, in the future, making it impossible to link coins to a person. That is the key.”
— Alex Gladstein

Location: Zoom
Date: Tuesday 16th June
Project: Human Rights Foundation & Bitcoin Developer
Role: Chief Strategy Officer & Independent Developer

Privacy is a fundamental human right, and with society migrating away from physical to digital cash, we are losing one of the remaining ways to transact privately.

Bitcoin is an entirely public ledger, in that every transaction is broadcast to everyone running the Bitcoin software. Anyone can view these transactions, but there are ways to obfuscate your spends and make it more difficult, or even close to impossible to follow the trail of transactions.

Currently, the most widely used method for adding privacy to bitcoin is to use CoinJoin services like Wasabi or Samourai. These wallets allow you to add your UTXOs to a transaction along with numerous other participants. Coinjoin can significantly increase anonymity, depending on the number of other participants.

Originally put forward by Greg Maxwell in 2013, Coinswap is a somewhat different method of anonymising your footprint on the Bitcoin network. Chris Belcher recently took the idea and put together a proposal and has received funding from the Human Rights Foundation to develop it.

In this interview, I talk to Bitcoin developer Chris Belcher and Alex Gladstein, the Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation. We discuss financial privacy as a human right, Bitcoin privacy, financing devs and Chris’ work on Coinswap.

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WBD233 Show Notes: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/next-level-bitcoin-privacy-with-alex-gladstein-chris-belcher

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If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:

Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute

Leave a review on iTunes

Share the show and episodes with your friends and family

Subscribe to the newsletter on my website...

06/19/20 • -1 min

Bitcoin's Time is Now with Preston Pysh

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

06/16/20 • -1 min

“The thing that is creating this destruction, which is the decades-long of inflationary monetary policy, has actually sowed the seed of opportunity to counter it, and I think that counter is Bitcoin.”
— Preston Pysh

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Location: Zoom
Date: Friday 12th June
Project: The Investors Podcast
Role: Host

With the current global economic outlook and rise in social unrest, we are living in unprecedented times. The coronavirus pandemic, subsequent lockdowns and preventative measures put in place by governments around the world has led to many businesses closing or relying on bailouts, and jobless figures are amongst the highest since records began.

The killing of George Floyd at the hands of the police has seen protests against racial inequality have spread across the world. In the US, especially, these protests turned have turned into riots with looting, buildings burnt down and violent clashes.

During this time of uncertainty, the S&P500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have both climbed ~40% since the drop in March, seemingly proving that the markets can behave irrationally. Some analysts are pointing to dangerous signals that we are heading towards the collapse of currencies.

Are all of these combined events the perfect storm for Bitcoin?

In this interview, I talk to Preston Pysh, author, engineer & the host of The Investor Podcast. We discuss the global macroeconomy, deflation vs inflation and why now Bitcoin is more important than ever.

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WBD232 Show Notes: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/bitcoins-time-is-now-with-preston-pysh

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If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:

Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute

Leave a review on iTunes

Share the show and episodes with your friends and family

Subscribe to the newsletter on my website

Follow me on Twitter Personal |

06/16/20 • -1 min

Microsoft’s Bitcoin-Based Identity Tool with Daniel Buchner

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

06/12/20 • -1 min

“What we most care about is entering stuff in the most immutable, hardened record imaginable, and right now that’s Bitcoin.”
— Daniel Buchner

Location: Zoom
Date: Thursday 28th May
Project: Microsoft
Role: Head of Decentralised Identity

Social media is omnipresent with most all of us have a Twitter, Facebook or Google account, using them every day for both personal and business. We build connections, relationships and trust through them. However, these companies implement strict controls over the content on their platforms with shadowbanning and deplatforming growing.

The controls which they enforce on their platforms can have further-reaching consequences. As well as offering access via a standard email and password, most websites also provide the option to login via a Facebook, Twitter or Google account. If one of those services decides to deplatform you, then you could lose your account with any associated websites.

To solve this issue and improve on the nature of IDs, Microsoft has launched their Decentralised Identity program in which they offer users a decentralised personal identifier, which is under your control, using the most immutable and secure solution; Bitcoin.

In this interview, I talk to Daniel Buchner, Head of Decentralised Identity at Microsoft to discuss how a Bitcoin-based decentralised identity system works. We also talk about libertarianism, coronavirus and the protests over the death of George Floyd.

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WBD230 Show Notes: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/bitcoin-journalism-with-leigh-cuen

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If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:

Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute

Leave a review on iTunes

Share the show and episodes with your friends and family

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Follow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter P...

06/12/20 • -1 min

Bitcoin Journalism with Leigh Cuen

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

06/09/20 • -1 min

“When I say these things, the reactions I have had in the past that are most comparable, are when I was studying extremist groups.”
— Leigh Cuen

Location: Zoom
Date: Friday 5th June
Project: Coindesk
Role: Journalist

The role of a journalist is to question, educate and inform. A truly free press is a fundamental pillar of a free society, and unbiased and objective reporting is crucial in getting a broad understanding of any industry.

News corporations are now arguably more partisan and divided than ever before, highlighted by how Fox News and CNN have become partisan propaganda outlets. Fox News is pro-Trump and will defend him and his policies almost without exception; alternatively, CNN is pro-democrat and will question almost everything Trump and his administration do. Within Bitcoin, there can be a similar lack of objectivity and willingness to challenge the status quo critically.

The Bitcoin community are often referred to as its immune system, by being aggressive and vocal about anything that seemingly questions the direction or ethos of the network they protect it from coercion and negative outside influences. While this is mostly a useful stance in an industry that has more than its fair share of scammers and questionable projects, this can make the role of journalism within Bitcoin tricky to navigate.

Despite long and firmly held beliefs, Bitcoin evolves, as does the size of the user base and how they use Bitcoin. Journalists must challenge commonly held beliefs, even if these means hard criticism from Bitcoiners.

In this interview, I am joined by Leigh Cuen, a journalist and writer at Coindesk. We discuss the importance of journalism, Bitcoin as a peaceful revolution and the strict narratives that are held by Bitcoiners.

This episode’s sponsors:
Kraken - The best place to buy, sell & trade Bitcoin
BlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial services
Sportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts Bitcoin

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WBD230 Show Notes: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/bitcoin-journalism-with-leigh-cuen

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If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:

Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute

Leave a review on iTunes

Share the show and episodes with your friends and family

Subscribe to the newsletter on my website

06/09/20 • -1 min

Bitcoin & Black America with Isaiah Jackson

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

06/05/20 • -1 min

“The plight of black people is not going to change, before, or after this unless we do something about it, economically.”
— Isaiah Jackson

Location: Zoom
Date: Wednesday 3rd June
Project: Bitcoin & Black America
Role: Author

On May 25th George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin. Police were called over allegations that George Floyd had used a counterfeit $20 bill. During the arrest, Chauvin restrained Floyd by placing his knee on his neck and pinning him to the ground, during this time Floyd was pleading with the officer repeatedly stating "I can't breathe".

After 8 minutes and 46 seconds and with paramedics on the scene, Chauvin finally took his knee off Floyd's neck, he was unresponsive and later pronounced dead.

Following Floyd's death, there have been widespread protests across America which have now spread to other countries. In several places in the US, these protests have been violent with looting, fires and large scale destruction.

While the black community is reeling at yet another death at the hands of a police officer, Isaiah Jackson, the author of Bitcoin & Black America suggests that building a black economy offers a way out of institutionalised racism.

In this interview, we discuss the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and riots, racism in the US, and how the black community can use Bitcoin.

This episode’s sponsors:
Kraken - The best place to buy, sell & trade Bitcoin
BlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial services
Sportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts Bitcoin

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WBD229 Show Notes: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/bitcoin-black-america-with-isaiah-jackson

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If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:

Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute

Leave a review on iTunes

Share the show and episodes with your friends and family

Subscribe to the newsletter on my website

Follow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram |

06/05/20 • -1 min

WTF is Going on in the Markets? With Raoul Pal, Caitlin Long & Travis Kling

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

07/03/20 • -1 min

“This isn’t going to be Trump’s problem, this isn’t going to be J. Powell’s problem, this isn’t Biden’s problem, this isn’t Mnuchin’s problem. It’s not going to be any of their problems, it’s going to be our problem.”
— Travis Kling

Location: Zoom
Date: Monday 29th June
Company/Project: Real Vision, Wyoming Blockchain Coalition, Ikigai Asset Management
Role: Co-Founder & CEO, Co-Founder, Chief Investment Officer

In late 2019 and early 2020, the global economy was showing signs of stress. Even before coronavirus, we saw the Fed having to step in and provide liquidity for the repo market and issuing rate cuts. But the rapid spread of coronavirus around the world and the resulting lockdowns has further exposed cracks in the global economy.

Stock markets experienced high volatility as the economic impact of businesses closing hit with Wall Street suffered its worst day since ‘Black Monday’ and oil prices going negative for the first time in history. Governments responded with unprecedented levels of quantitative easing, and some countries are now seeing their currencies collapsing.

Many analysts have suggested that rather than coronavirus being the cause of this economic downturn, it was instead the black swan event that acted as the pin that popped the bubble and the enormous debts that have been amounting for decades was a disaster waiting to happen.

Over the past year, I have spoken to several economists including Raoul Pal, Caitlin Long and Travis Kling, all of whom warned that a financial collapse is coming.

So, what is happening at the moment, what can we expect to see next, and how can we all prepare?

This interview is from a panel I recently hosted for Real Vision’s The Crypto Gathering, with Raoul Pal, Caitlin Long & Travis Kling. We discuss the early warning signs of systemic issues in the global macroeconomy, what might happen next and where Bitcoin fits into this.

This episode’s sponsors:

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WBD238 Show Notes: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/wtf-is-going-on-in-the-markets

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If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:

Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute

Leave a review on

07/03/20 • -1 min

FAQ

How many episodes does What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack have?

What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack currently has 360 episodes available.

What topics does What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack cover?

The podcast is about Investing, Podcasts, Technology and Business.

What is the most popular episode on What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack?

The episode title 'The 1 Bitcoin Trump Bet with American HODL & Phil Geiger' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack?

The average episode length on What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack is 65 minutes.

How often are episodes of What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack released?

Episodes of What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack are typically released every 2 days, 23 hours.

When was the first episode of What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack?

The first episode of What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack was released on Apr 27, 2019.

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