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2219: Bitcoin Country Becomes a Global Hub — The Max & Stacy Effect
00:57:19
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- [00:01]
JV
Hey, y'. All.
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Odoo Advertiser
As a growing family, my husband and I love game night. Especially when it's Wayfair edition.
- [00:06]
JV
Let's do it. You gotta name as many Wayfair furniture and decor categories as you can. Ready? Go.
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Odoo Advertiser
Sofas, bar stools, beds, ottomans, outdoor seating, bookshelves, kitchen tables, garden sheds, uh, mid century modern lamps.
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Poet
Time.
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JV
Nice. You got nine out of a lot. Not too bad. Keep practicing by visiting Wayfair.com which can shop every style for every home. Way fair.
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Poet
Every style, every home.
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JV
Welcome, bitcoin fam, to the number one bitcoin pod. I just got back from El Salvador right back in Puerto Rico. I'm going to give you the big event recap of my experience in bitcoin country. Also big news on the day strategy just made the biggest bitcoin purchase since July of last year, adding 1.125 billion worth of Bitcoin to their stack. Also, Samson Ma tips Elon saying he'll go hard into bitcoin this year in 2026. Also big news, YouTube rival Rumble partners with tether. They officially launched the bitcoin crypto payments wallet for creators. Good news. I just set that mofo up right before the live stream. Let's go. Also, Kaiser's in the headlines. Max asserts bitcoin alone offers absolute settlement. I'll be breaking that down for you as well as this fantastic article which was just published after the Max and Stacy invitational by Dario. I'll be sharing it with you. It goes along the lines of El Salvador solidifies its role as bitco bitcoin business hub with the Max and stacy Golf Invitational 2026. You already know I'll be sharing all about the Max and Stacy effect. Also my recap of my personal experience. You know, boots on the ground there with the BNA fam. All this plus so much more right here in today's show. As you already know, I'm your host, JV. It's January 12, 2025. I just picked up the fed chair, Nipinator. I didn't see him in eight days. And it's good to have the fed chair back. It's not the same without the nip. So show some love for the nip. And yeah, I just got back in Puerto Rico late, late last night or you can say early this morning around midnight. And I have a lot to share, a lot that we experienced in that week, especially the three, three core days of the event. So from El Zante to the Alencanto Country Club. So we're going to be discussing the Max and Stacy effect and so much more. And then I'll recap my entire experience after we get through with the news. So first and foremost, let's kick it off with our market watch as we do each and every day. Pulling up coin360. It's a beautiful site. Bulk of the market back in the green. Bitcoin up 1.22%. Trading just shy of 92,000. A big gainer on the day XMR, which is Monero. Yesterday I saw it pump 25%. Right now it's up still roughly 17%. Even ETH is in the green on the day alongside XRP, Salana and BNB. Checking out coinmarketcap.com Current crypto market cap back on the rise. It's currently 3.08 trillion. Bitcoin market cap back on the rise as well. $1.83 trillion. Checking out top 100 crypto gainers past 24 hours story leading the pack, followed by Monero and My X and then Cash. So out of the top four, two are privacy coins. Go figure. And check it out, the crypto bubbles. I'm actually going to skip the crypto bubbles. We're going to go to the Crypto Greed and Fear index. Today it's a 27 in fear. Yesterday a 29. Last week at 26. So what I recognize here, we're no longer in extreme fear, which we were stuck in the bulk of the fourth quarter of 2025. New year, new time, new all time highs. Incoming. Send it. And currently we're on block height number 932. 7. And you can exchange one fiat monopoly dollar for one 90 sats. So you know precisely what to do. You pick up the sats, put down the gas, pick up some bitcoin caps from a man, Sergio. All right, Bitcoin caps.net you should be able to see on your screen. This is a trading view via Coinbase, obviously the largest crypto exchange in the us. There's a, there's the one hour chart. You're going to notice obviously there's always a lot of volatilities up and down, but overall we're, you know, we're going up, back down, up, and we haven't went all the way back down again. Let's see if we can hold. Currently at 917 at the time of the live stream, no particular targets, but we are above the main moving averages. So it's a good sign we're not stuck in the 80s no more. Thank God. Checking out the four hour. You're also going to notice a big green candle, it looks like three days ago. And then we continued yesterday with another green candle. And today thus far, or at least in the past four hours I should say this is the four hour chart. There is a itty bitty red candle on display, but yeah, and it's 4:25pm here in Puerto Rico, which I believe going on 3:30 then in New York, uh, the daily chart. Here's the silver lining. Yesterday and today in the green. Nice respectable candles and bullish momentum overall. We've climbed out of the despair of the 80s. You know, scrolling out, checking out the weekly also for this week, I know the new week just kicked off yesterday, but we are in the green thus far. Last week we did close in the red. Then the week prior to that we did get a significant close in the green. And checking out the monthly, you're going to notice January thus far, bullish for 2026, great way to kick off the year. But as you know, the previous three months of the fourth quarter of 2025 were very lackluster. Collectively we lost close to 40% of the price action taken us from the 10. What was it, 126 all time high was October 20th. I'm sorry, that was. Hm. October 6th. Yeah. So October 6th we hit the all time high of the 121, 263 and then we corrected all the way down to 80 in the fourth quarter just like that. And now we're looking to recover those losses and get back to price discovery where prelo biddy belongs. Let's get right into Mr. Sailor. This was the big news of the day. Strategy makes the biggest bitcoin purchase since July of 2025, adding 1.25 billion worth. BTZ. That's right. They just added 13,627bitcoin to the balance sheet last week, spending 1.25 billion as it continues accumulating bitties earlier in the year. The purchase marks the company's biggest bitcoin buy since July. In a Form 9K filing with the US SEC, the company disclosed Monday that his bitcoin stash reached a total of 687,000, fast approaching 700,000 acquired at an aggregate cost of almost $52 billion. The latest batch of the bitties was bought at an average price of 91,500 per coin, well above the Strategy total average cost basis, which is only 75,000. The latest acquisition reinforces Strategy's position as the world's largest corporate holder of bitcoin and signals that its accumulation strategy remains unchanged even as the prices hover near the recent highs. And here's the strategy Flex on X strategy acquired 13,627 bitties for 1.25 billion at 91, 500 per coin as of January 11, 2026. We huddle 687, 410 Bitcoin acquired for 51 point million at 75, 3, 53 per BTC. Clearly they're in the pole position as the largest corporate holder. The only company that owns more or should say holds more through Custodian Coinbase is BlackRock. They probably have between 7, 800, 000, possibly even 900000 now. I haven't got like an updated number from them, but also in the fourth quarter there were more outflows than inflows, so those numbers may have been impacted naturally. So keep that in mind. But Equity Issuance continues Bitcoin buys if you're wondering how they do it, according to the filing, the latest purchases were funded using strategies at the market equity programs, primarily through the sales of the MSTR common stock as well as STRC variable rate Series A perpetual stretch Prefer Stock Strategy says it raised 1.25 billion in net proceeds which were then deployed to acquire a Coco Max Bitcoin January 5 to January Sunday, the company said it reported aggregate average buy price included all the fees and expenses associated with the transactions. The company still retains substantial issuance capacity across the common and prefer stock programs, highlighting how access to equity market remains one of the core strategies for their accumulation. The latest purchase follows the company's first bitcoin buy this year. Remember previous buys they were doing their cash reserves, you know. So it purchased 1283 for 116 million in gen 5th, which is pretty insignificant compared to the billion dollar buy. But hey, it's still a DCA, is it not? The disclosure coincided with the company reporting 17 billion in unrealized losses on his bitcoin holdings during the fourth quarter of last year as prices fell over 20 late last year. But despite the paper losses, the company continued to issue equity, maintaining their cash reserves to secure dividends and outstanding obligations. This approach signaled long term conviction on his Bitcoin thesis. The company's consistency and its bitcoin strategy pushed the normalization of the Bitcoin centric Treasuries amongst public companies. According to the Bitcoin treasuries, public companies now hold a combined total of over 1.1 million BTC and anytime JVCs2 ones together, that's a divine 1111 omen. You know, I think 1.1 million incoming send it price action that is in fiat of course the fiat cash trash. You know the five hour stream will go down in history. I know that was phenomenal. But anyways next story. Yo, this is actually pretty cool. I mean if Elon fully embraced bitcoin it'd be a game changer but lowkey I'm a little skeptical but Samson says he's going to go hard in 2026 and you already know I want to talk to Samson. So yeah, check it. January founder Samson Mount has made billionaire investor Tesla CEO Mr. Elon will aggressively buy or move into Bitcoin in 2026. It was one of five bold Bitcoin predictions from MA for 2026. Coming off a year where several bitcoin forecasts from prominent crypto execs missed the mark. He wrote Elon goes hard into the bitty. Let's actually check the proof of work here on the post. Here's his prediction. Samson's predictions for 2026. This is read post worthy Samson 1.33 million. Well definitely a little more bullish than I am predicting 1.1 million but I'll take the 1.33 if you know what I'm saying. He's also referencing the Omega candle which is a hundred thousand price increase on the daily chart. And at least one country launches bitcoin bonds. Let's see if it's El Salvador. Elon Musk goes hard into the biddy and again it's a big deal because he's the most influential person on the planet. And MSTR to 5, 000. Wow that's bullish. Obviously I don't know the MSTR price right now. I believe the all time high was around 500. In that ballpark it's probably sitting between 2 and 300. Someone verify that in the chat. And he also says bitcoin outperforms metals. I got to agree with that. You know Peter Schiff had a great year in 2025. It's true. Gold and silver both outperformed the pretty little bitty going off forever Laura. But guess what that was last year. This year I do think bitcoin will greatly outpace the precious metals. Let me know your thoughts on that. Musk has shown his support for crypto over the years but has raised yeah dogecoin concerns around bitcoin's environmental risk which was fud. Hence I don't trust the guy. Tesla stopped taking bitcoin payments in May 2021 due to environmental concerns which was just orchestrated fudge not cool, Elon. The following year, July of 2022, electric vehicle manufacturer revealed that it sold 75 of its bitcoin holdings. Sounds like a Germany type move. I mean who does that kind of stuff? I don't get it, but it makes sense. If you know what I know, bitcoin may reach seven figure territory. I gotta agree with that prediction. I mean that's obviously my bull scenario for this bull cycle, but it's possible. So just like Jim Carrey and dumb and dumber.
- [12:43]
Odoo Advertiser
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- [13:43]
JV
So you're saying there's a chance? Hell yeah, why not? Mal told the magazine in June of 2025, I guess Bitcoin magazine that Bitcoin may reach 1 million in 2025, if not 2026. So obviously we missed the mark for 2025 but 2026 is yet to be determined. Now previously pointed to the nation state adoption as major catalyst and that can trigger an exponential surge of the bitcoin price. And In September of 2025, Mao said an increasing number of the countries are preparing to ramp up bitcoin adoption. I think we're on the tail end of gradually and then we're at the beginning phases of suddenly. And he's also notorious for saying it's going to all happen in a violent upheaval. Like everyone, Lisa expects it. Bitcoin just starts a ripping like a new Scotty Pippen. And he isn't too focused on reflecting on his 2025 predictions. However, he responded to another use past. How many of your 202025 predictions did you hit? Let's not dwell in the past, never look back, only forward respect. Now, here's the deal. None of us are prophets. And no matter who your favorite influencer is, if his name is not Fed Chair Nipinator, Satoshi or Edgar Casey, he can't see into the future. So predictions are fun. It's where do you think the price may go? Have fun with it, right? And just because someone is wrong or once or twice doesn't mean they're always going to be wrong. One of my favorite quotes from Max is like, I only had to be right one time. He started talking about bitcoin and promoting it to his audience via the Kaiser Report alongside Stacy Herbert. Going all the way back To December of 2010, Bitcoin was 23 cents per coin. And just because he got that prediction right, all other predictions are irrelevant. I mean, you only got to get right on bitcoin one time. And that's why you are all here too. You saw the writing on the wall, you stacked your bitties and you were right. And here we are. The rest is history. Sayonara, Chamara. Nice to know you other executives are more conservative. It's true. Not everyone thinks bitcoin is heading to millions of dollars per coin this cycle. Arthur Hayes and Tom Lee say bitcoin can reach 250 and that was a prediction they had for the end of 2025. Clearly we did not hit that. And clearly they're going to remain bullish because we're firm believer in the extended cycle. But you already know, Mao also predicted MSTR reaching 5,000. That's a 3,000% increase. Wow. So MSTR is only trading at $157 right now. That's mind boggling to me. So if he is right, then MSTR is going to have a hell of a year. He predicts the shark here. Oh my God, the shark is here. Special interruption. We have a shark in the building. Literally. What's going on? Sharky shark. Do you want to perform for us? Do a dance? Do a little performance? That's our special shark. Nipinator supposed to protect me from the sharks. But look at Nipinator keeping them nipping out there. Next up, YouTube rival Rumble Partners with Tether to launch the Bitcoin crypto payments wallet for the creators. And this is what I was talking about earlier. I just downloaded mine right before the live stream is now fully activated, baby. And you can now literally tip in btc. So I got to give massive shout out to Rumble Chris Pavski as well as Tether. You know, Tether CEO Paolo and them doing big things out there. So yeah, video sharing platform Rumble is partnering with Tether Done deal to launch the wallet. Done deal. You can download it right now at the the App Store fam. Enabling direct payments to creators and other digital assets going to the company. The wallet, called the Rumble Wallet, is integrated directly into the Rumble platform. So it literally connects to your Rumble account. It's pretty cool. And allows users to tip creators using Bitcoin or Tether usdt, stablecoin and Tether Gold, which is backed by physical gold. The wallet is non custodial, meaning users retain control of their private keys rather than relying on centralized intermediary. And when you set it up, it's going to ask you to Write down your 12 word seed phrase. Write that down somewhere safe. Don't put it somewhere digitally on a computer or something like that. Just make note of that. Also, Rumble says the wallet is built using the Tether Wallet development kit, marking the first commercial deployment of the toolkit. The integration design to allow platforms to support crypto payments while keeping asset custody with individual users rather than the platform itself. So as we say Nacho keys. Nacho cheese. Well, they are smart enough to allow us to maintain full control and own and control are private keys. So if you use their wallet, it's just like having your own hot wallet anywhere else where you own and control the keys. No one can take that away from you, which is obviously pretty good. The wallet also supports the fiat on and off ramps through the partnership with crypto payment provider the Moon Pay, enabling users to convert traditional payment methods into supported digital assets. So that means you could then convert your dollars, or Fiat, I would assume, into Bitcoin. Even cooler, Rumble positions the wallet as part of the broader effort to provide alternative monetization tools for creators. And yeah, take that screw tube. You know, I don't even like saying the name. Tether CEO Paolo says the partnership combines digital payments creator monetization at scale with the Rumble CEO framing the launch as a step towards reducing reliance on traditional financial intermediaries. This is a big deal and part of the reason why Rumble is the future and Rumble is the place to be. And support Rumble. They support free speech and guess what? They support Bitcoin. They support Bitcoin content creators. They have their own wallet. No brainer, you know. All right, here we go. Next story. I noticed Max in the headlines and I love when Max is in the headlines. Max Kaiser asserts Bitcoin alone offers absolute settlement. That's right. The transaction is the settlement. That's what separates Bitcoin apart from all the other. So Max emphasizes Bitcoin's unique capability to clear final settlements without needing permission from any external entity. In his statement Kaiser's highlights the Bitcoin distinct advantage offering decentralized autonomous financial transaction system. Here's the the proof of work. Here's a tweet in which he wrote but first I'm gonna read this post this guy Biden the name of David wrote in which Max responded to it as repost David wrote Venezuela just proved the Bitcoin bull case and no one is paying attention. Maduro used tether to move 80 of Venezuela's oil reserve. Billions in sand sanctions evasion settled on Tron since wow 2020. Then the US made a phone call. Tether froze the wallets. Game over. Everyone's focus on the arrest. The real story of the lesson every finance minister on earth just learned in real time. Stable coins are a leash, not an escape. If someone can freeze it, it isn't money. It doesn't solve sovereignty. And that goes on here and actually makes some good points. USDT is dollar plummeting without swift faster, cheaper sells the CEO. Yeah if you compare Bitcoin to stable coin you always got to go with the Bitcoin fam. This is why USDT adoption exploded. 71 year old grandmothers and cara costs pay their HOA fees and tether now. But useful doesn't equal sovereign the entire value proposition for sanctions evasion just got publicly falsified. Now to the game theory. Your Iran, Russia, any country hedging against dollar weaponization. You just watch Venezuela's crypto solution get shut off like a light switch. Where do you put the reserves? USDT compromise the Chinese Yuan political strings gold. Try settling 500 million across borders in 10 minutes. CBDCs same kill switch government branding. That's exactly one asset that's clear. There's only one asset that's clear from final settlement without asking for permission. 21 units, no CEO, no freeze function, no phone number. This is the ad Bitcoin never had to buy the most desperate highest stakes capital on earth. Just learned there's only one door. Price doesn't reflect will. This is very powerful post in which Max responded There's exactly one asset that clears final settlement without asking permission from anyone. Quoting David from this post and he hit the nail on the head there, you know. So shout out Max Kaiser. Kaiser's emphasis on transformative nature the Bitcoin settlement aligns with his broader perspective on the crypto's influence and emerging markets. Notably illustrated by his forecast that bitcoiners in El Salvador could reach a hundred thousand. I mean, come on, Max Kaiser is way more bullish than that. But we all know a hundred thousand may return any day now. We're so, so close. Max's bull scenarios 2.2 million is short term prediction is 222, 000. And if you don't know now you know. But let's continue. We're going to dive into our feature story of the day as well as my recap. I'm going to share my whole experience. Nothing scripted. I'm just gonna recollect in the unconscious mind going back to my arrival and everything I experienced, raw and unfiltered, you know, that it's the only way to do it. We may get a nipinator indicator. Right now he's napping. But stay tuned. He may lick the log. The ultimate bull signal for the Omega candle and which was prophesied by science. All right, fam. Now for our feature story of the day. El Salvador solidified its role as a bitcoin business hub with the Max and stacy Golf Invitational 2026. I also want to give a massive shout out to the Bitcoin sports network for putting on such a phenomenal event and for inviting me to do the live streaming behind the scenes. That means a lot, of course. I'm a huge Max and Stacy fan and the experience I'll never forget. So shout out to the bitcoin sports network. Be sure to give them a follow. And Frida and Chris, you both are amazing. So yeah, this was actually an article published in an El Salvador news a source called Diario and I'm going to read you the English version. Here we go. The event concluded with an intense day of golf presentations, private meetings and live streams with JV that allowed foreign business leaders to forge connections and explore investment opportunities in El Salvador. The second and final day of the Max and Stacy Invitational confirmed El Salvador's position as a key meeting point for the global bitcoin and digital finance ecosystem. Beyond the sporting aspect, yesterday's agenda was marked by intense networking, high level presentations and private conversations amongst investors, executives and entrepreneurs who travel to the country with the explicit intention of exploring business opportunities. From early morning, attendees gathered at the Ellen Canto Country Club, which is top notch by the way, to participate in the main golf tournament in which they did and various teams comprised the business leaders, sponsors and sports figures competed. Among the most closely watched groups were those led by Wilbert Alvarado and Diego Olano, considered El Salvador's top ranked golfers, the Ringers as well as the Banco Azteca team which won last year. By the way, that is the team from Mexico Shout out Uncle Ricky which arrived as the defending champs after winning the tournament the previous edition. The atmosphere on the course combined with the sport competition with the strategic convos of the bitty each hole, low time preference between the shots, the walks, scenes of investors exchanging the cards of the business, scheduled follow up meetings, private conversations on the Bitcoin News Alerts podcast discussing potential real estate fintech, bitcoin backed loans, Bitcoin infrastructure projects commonplace. You know the format according to the organizers, precisely with the distinguishes the invitational from other large conferences. Business deals are forged in a relaxed and trusting environment. Bottom line is the place to be. Parallel to the tournament, the presentation program attracted a significant number of attendees to a series of talks focus on the future of Bitcoin investment as well as the regulation One of the most anticipated moments was the presentation by Gabriel Campa, head of the Digital assets over at Tower bank, who explained how traditional banking in the region is beginning to integrate with bitcoin platforms to serve clients demanding new financial instruments and be on the lookout for the first bitcoin bank. His presentation generated numerous questions and follow up meetings with business leaders interested in structuring projects that combine banking and digital payments from El Salvador. And on this this was actually the main sponsor that bank. You can see it right there. Kiji by Tower Bank. That's why it's plastered on all the hats. So shout out to them. Another presentation that generated significant interest was given by Whiz co founder of the Mempool Space who discussed the importance of data infrastructure and transparency and the Bitcoin network. He's the one who traveled in the chopper with Uncle Max and Jimmy Song to get an authentic Coco Max from Laita Kitchen. So shout out to Whiz. So yeah. His presence reinforced the idea that the country is not only attracting capital, but also the technical experts who support the functioning of the ecosystem. The academic program was rounded out by presentations from Jimmy Song, one of the most renowned developers and educators of the bitcoin world, and also Lena, creator of the Little Hodler and CMO of the BM Bean of Fire, both emphasizing financial literacy. She's doing big things. She has some initiative to help make I think it's 500 schools in El Salvador like topnotch. So they're doing big things. Shout out Lena Bitcoin culture and the need to train new generations capable of of operating innovating in the industry. A message that resonated particularly with the Salvadoran attendees and visitors who are evaluating long term projects from the country. And for many of the foreign entrepreneurs present, the second day was the highlight of the event. Throughout the afternoon, the rest areas, the clubhouse, the sponsor areas transformed into bustling hubs of information and informal networking where discussions range from real estate investments to opening up offices, funds and startups. And in El Salvador, with the conclusion of its 2026 edition, the tournament made it clear the country is no longer seen solely as a monetary experiment experiment, but increasingly robust platform for business development, foreign investment and international collaboration centered around Bitcoin and the digital economy. Shout out to it looks like Ke Ke Rive22 who created this article and it was translated by translating El Salvador, one of my favorite accounts to follow doing big things in Bitcoin country. If you're not following them, give them a follow. It's translating Es. And here you can see the proof of work. My boy Sergio out there on the course. I dig it and I love the new cap Sergio. And you can see it featured, you see the Max on the top right, you know, in the L Diario El Salvador publication. So that's major. Obviously Max and Stacy effect in full effect, first and foremost. So now that we've covered that, what I'm going to do next, I'm going to give you the unfiltered experience of me being there right off the top of the dome. Here's my recap of the event. I got there, I believe on a Tuesday, Taco Tuesday. And when I got there, the first person I saw was OG Bring facts. Shout out OG Bring facts. He doesn't really need an introduction if you're a part of our podcast because he's very active, one of the most, you know, BNA fan members here. But I ran it to him at the airport upon exiting and he was renting a car. And so that was my first thing. Oh, but before that, funny thing, as soon as I stepped off the plane, you know, when you're walking out of the, you know, the terminal, it's like a very thin thing. You're just walking out, just getting off the plane. They had a canine Unit and the K9, in my opinion, sniffed out the Nipinator because I look at him, too cute. But you know, I just traveled to Florida a few weeks prior and his pheromones are probably all over the luggage. Long story short, the K9 sniffed out the Nipinator. So they checked my bags, probably for drugs because I just came from Panama because They don't have a one way from Puerto Rico, San Juan to San Salvador. So obviously the Central America hub there is Panama. So you take a two hour flight from Puerto Rico to Panama and I happen to have a four hour layover. But anyways I came from Panama to San Salvador. K9 sniffed me out the bag at least, but it was pretty easy. They just opened the bag and checked. I, I didn't even have any check in luggage, it was only a carry on. But I was cleared also at when you pass customs now there's no more fee. The first time I went last year, there was maybe an eight or nine dollar fee to enter the country. They did remove that a while back. So it's free to enter El Salvador. Very easy to get through customs. They just asked why are you here and where are you staying? I'm like I'm here for a big event and I'm staying at the Sheraton Presidential in San Salvador. They said have a great time, bada boom, bada bing, no line, very simple. So now that I got that out of the way, then I was going towards the exit. You know they have that section where they have picture of Bukele. It's very beautiful. So I was taking some proof of work, photos and videos, ran into facts and then fax was kind enough to drive me from the airport with him to the the hotel. Now here's something interesting. He wasn't sure how easy it would be to get around with Uber. That's why he rented the car. And I don't know what he had to pay for that, but I would assume with like insurance and it may have been $50 a day, but Uber from the airport, it's like 20 bucks or depending on the time of course, but it could be anywhere from probably 20 to $30. And there's plenty of Ubers. There's Ubers everywhere, so you don't have to rent a car. Number one. FYI if you're arriving in El Salvador to get around, Ubers are readily available. Also when I went from the Sheraton to El Encanto, it was as low as $8 and it's like a 30, sometimes 20, I'd say 30 to 40 minute drive, but it could be up to an hour. Could be even longer due to traffic. It all depends on the time. When you hit traffic hour things are slow. No different than Puerto Rico. But long story short, Uber is way cheaper in bitcoin country than Puerto Rico. True story. Before the event I went to the Amanda Serrano fight With Jake Paul, you know, and I took an uber that was 10 minutes from my house to the event. It was like $30. Now granted, it was like high time, you know, because I guess a lot of Ubers are being called, but 10 minute drive in Puerto Rico, 30 bucks, that's high. Whereas I can take a 40 minute trip for $8. So things are significantly cheaper, more affordable with a higher quality of life. That's one thing that stands out in El Salvador. Things are more affordable and you can live a higher quality of life because they have higher standards. Again, culinary. Every restaurant off the chain, Ubers are cheaper. Cost of living is just significantly cheaper than Puerto Rico. So anyways, we arrive at the our hotel, the Sheraton, and guess who we run into. This was a big deal to me because he's my favorite bitcoin rapper. And it's the one and only Robbie P. The rapper who created bitcoin slang, which I have played on this podcast unlimited times. And I'm going to continue to always play it because it's my favorite bitcoin song. And he just happened to be that evening at the same hotel we're staying. And here's the kicker. He had no clue that Max had an event. He was just out promoting, like doing the rounds, doing what he does, traveling to launch his album. And he wanted to launch it in bitcoin country. And he has a dedicated album coming out. It's going to be 13 tracks. I have one of the unreleased songs. We can play it in a little bit. But let me tell you the name of the album. It's going to be dropping this week. And you know, I can't wait because he's my favorite rapper. Let me make sure I get the name right here. Robbie P. The name of it is Dead Pirate Robbie. That's the album. Be on the lookout. That's him right here. Obviously. Bring facts with the dope Bitty jersey, Robbie P. In the middle. This was my last day when I was departing, just saying goodbye to the homies. But again, that album's gonna be fantastic. So, yeah, so we ran into Robbie and then Chandy showed up, which was amazing. We got to reconnect. It's been a long time since I got to see her. It was, I guess last time when you were in Puerto Rico at the the 100k party. And so Sergio came, picked us up and we all went out. But I don't believe Chandy went with us that night because she wanted to work on the video obviously for the big event and which I'm glad she did. And obviously it speaks for itself. You outdid yourself, Shandy. But we did go out that day. A Moonstone showed up as well. Another one of the BNA fam, all the way from Santa Barbara. And she was kind enough to. To give me a gift. Actually, two gifts. One of them I'm going to burn on the stream. I don't have it in front of me. I haven't unpacked yet. And also she gave me some awesome chopsticks for the kitchen. So thank you, Moonstone. But yeah. So, long story short, Sergio picked us up that evening and we went out to the historic district in S. Salvador. And Sergio shared a lot of the history. We were walking the streets, got to experience how safe it is. Obviously I got this experience last time being in San Salvador, but it was cool being with a new group of people, hearing new stories and see how things are developing so fast in the city. And then we went to an amazing restaurant. I shared with you the picture earlier of us having dinner. That was a fantastic place. It's just such a beautiful city. I love San Salvador. It's one of my favorite cities I've seen in El Salvador. So I had a great evening. We kicked it. And I think that might have been the same evening, evening we went out after. I don't know the names of the places, but Sergio knows everybody, so it's good to have him, you know, guiding us. He knows all the good spots to take us, but they had like live singing and we smoked some bitty cigars with the Broskis. Just had a great evening. It was great time. Low time preference, you already know. And that was basically my first day. Get in, connect with the fam, hang out around the hotel, which I recommend, by the way. And then we had a great evening in the historic district of San Salvador. Had a great dinner. It was a great first day, the next day and this. So that was Tuesday, right? Then the next day was Wednesday, and then that was a free day, meaning there was nothing scheduled specific for the event because the event kicked off with the introduction on Thursday at El Zante, you know, the holy mecca of bitcoin country. And of course, Max was there and Frida, Chris and Jimmy song. That was my first time there. But Wednesday, what did I do? Because now my mind's blank. I know we did something and I may be mixing up days because again, I'm just spitting from recollection here. And so much went down. It's almost like I'm in the twilight zone, right Now, But Wednesday was another epic day. I remember going to the mall would bring facts and having. I think it was sushi. Yeah, we had sushi. And I have a lot of stories to share, but one of them was there was a woman at that restaurant having sushi with her kids. And I think we ordered a local beer. But at that place, I wanted to have the local beer. I think they were sold out. So I think I end up drinking a Heineken. That was my first drink there. But long story short, facts paid for everyone in the restaurant. He's just like, you know, we got our bill. He's like, I'd like to pay for her. Her kit. And then I pay for everybody. And it was awesome. And I think it was less than $100, by the way, if I understand my recollection of my memory correct, you can't do that kind of thing here in Puerto Rico, at least for $100, because things are like at least three, four, five times more money. But just again. And this was in a very nice restaurant, once again, sushi spot in that mall right across the street from the. What is it called? Our hotel. Okay, now I remember what we did on Wednesday. We walked around locally around the hotel area. And another thing, police are different out there. They're actually respectful and genuinely kind. That's another thing you're going to experience when you visit Bitcoin country. They're just genuinely kind. Everyone's kind. And I'll give you two examples. One example, we had cigars, and we. We couldn't find the lighter. It's like, where do we find the lighter? We didn't know. We actually asked the. The police because there's some police with, you know, their gats on the streets, just making sure everything's safe. And then the police officer said, here's a lighter, and basically gave us a lighter to light our cigars. That would never happen in America. The police are not lighting your cigars for you and smiling and saying, good evening. You know, they're just strictly business. And another. Another proof of work. Chandy. And she scared us all. We thought she went to jail because she did, but she did it voluntarily. She went to a dentist her first day in that. I'm not making this up. She posted a video of it, if you don't believe me. Just FYI. So long story short, I'm chilling with Facts after an evening walking around, and we're like, where's Chandy? We'd think she'd message us by now. And it was around five or six o'. Clock. And we're like, we hope she doesn't go to jail. Or something crazy happens because we heard this crazy Vegas story. And then within two minutes, Chandy texts me on the WhatsApp, I just went to jail. We're like, what? It's like, what? But don't worry, I got myself out. And we're just like, what the is going on, Chandy? Long story short, she ended up fooling us, but she did really go to jail. She did a little skit. She volunteer. She went to the dentist, right, to get some dental work done because it's more affordable in El Salvador than in America. That's like half the price of what it would have cost her in Arkansas. So she saw a dentist as soon as she touched down. And then basically there was. I think there was a prison or a police station across the street. And again, the police are very kind. So she just asked, would you mind arresting me and putting me in a jail cell? I think it would make for great content. They're like, sure. And then she recorded it, got arrested and broke out of jail. And she documented the entire experience. That would never happen in America. They're not going to entertain you and help you create content. The police do not do that. So just a couple examples that are just completely odd that you only experience, you know, in El Salvador. So let's fast forward, let's keep it going. JV the first day of El Zante, where they kicked off the event. But it wasn't like the main event. It was more of just like the kickoff, the pre event, which was on the Thursday. So it was in that evening, my first time going to El Zante. It was a great experience, great vibes. Bitcoin is accepted there and it was founded Bitcoin beach by Roman and two others. I want to shout out Roman. I was actually playing right next to him at one of the poker tables. He's a great guy to connect with as well. But some of the. The highlights, the people are just friendly. They're like good people. No one has ulterior motives. No one's trying to steal your. No one's trying to stab you, you know, or rob you. It's just like good vibes and people from all over the world there. The real estate, I heard the prices have gone up a lot over the past few years because they're building so much and there's so much bitcoin adoption occurring. But the beach is beautiful. It's very popular for surfing and things of that nature. Nipinator is just looking all cute. But it was a great experience. That's where people spoke. Max gave a few words. There were, you know, coconuts. Everyone got a coconut as we got there. I took some footage of it. I don't know if you guys saw it or any of the pictures. I got to connect with Chris and Frida and then there was like a party. They had like, you know, music, they had an open bar. It was, you know, sponsored. One of the sponsors and I think we hung out. I don't know how many hours we hung out. But then we went and this was with Sergio and met a bunch of new friends and as well got introduced to. But we hung out that whole evening, had a great time. It was a great introduction to Bitcoin beach. And this was in the evening. So then the following day, the main event kicked off. And this was on Friday at the Ellen Canto Country Club. I got picked up super early. Early. Oh, and I almost forgot. We did a tour. That's what we did. On Wednesday, Sergio and Tony took us on this incredible tour across. We saw the ruins. We were with Brandon Martin, we're with our whole group. But Chandy again sacrificed that day to get that video done for us. But we saw the ancient ruins. Some local spots. Incredible. Probably my favorite restaurant I went to was in the mountains. It looked like Solvang, the city I used to live in California. The air was much cooler, but it was such an incredible. The food again, top notch. Everything amazing. That whole day was incredible. I took a lot of footage, of course, a lot of content. And then it was, you know, that I had to add that in because that was the missing day. On Wednesday we just toured all around, you know, all day from the morning to the evening. We didn't get. And then we watched the sports game at one of the bars. And I think it was called the. The Hoddle Wave. The Wave House or the Hoddle House. I'm sorry, I forget which one it is. But it was great. Miami won. So Sergio is very happy. He's a big Miami fan. And we got home pretty late that evening. And then again, moving forward now to Friday, the first day of the event at El Encanto. I got there, I saw Max. Max shot a video with me, like right away. I thought that was pretty cool. I immediately found the spot to set up the live stream that would be quiet where, you know, wouldn't be interrupted from the speakers. And then the first day. God bless you, Nipinator. Basically the golfers got to do a A practice run so they can get experience on the course. It's 18 holes and it's considered a very difficult course even for professionals. So they were busy maybe for eight hours doing their golfing thing. There was also a pickleball tournament that morning. Chandy missed it. So I know she had a ticket, but she didn't get to play in the pickleball. I kicked off a five hour live stream from like 12 to 4. 4 or 11 to 4, something like that. And then the poker tournament started. And by the way, that was the best live stream we've ever done because of the people, the BNA fam. The energy was just so incredible. I strongly encourage everyone go back and listen or watch that episode. If you missed it, I encourage you to watch it so you can see it for yourself. That was episode 2217. You'll find it on the rumble. You'll find that on the X. But you know, it's easier to find things on the Rumble. So yeah, did a five hour stream, then immediately went into poker. Here's my poker experience.
- [44:54]
Rap Artist
But first, Samagua like it's paper and shandy. Stacking BTC like caffeine in my canteen. Life is a game of chess that makes bitties the damn queen. Stacking BTC till they cancel me and I can't stream like biggie.
- [45:08]
JV
All right, Poker experience. I didn't know if I was gonna play or gift my ticket because I was live streaming. But to be truth, after five hours of that passionate of a live stream and five coco maxes in which each coco max has like two shots of espresso being a fire. So that's like ten shots of espresso. I was wired, but at the same time I was exhausted because we were doing so much and I didn't get a lot of sleep. But I decided let's just end the stream because it was. It was already legendary enough and play the poker being I had the ticket. It started with 10 tables, was sponsored by the, the, the local casino. They made custom tables that showed the bitcoin sports network. It was all next level. You know, they had the professional dealers there. They invited some beautiful women which facts was taking pictures with. But long story short, I was at one of the tables. I didn't do any of the rebuys. First hour, this was Texas no limit hold'. Em. The first hour, it was unlimited rebuys, meaning if you went all in and lost. Oh no, no biggie. I'll just rebuy back in which most people were doing JV used his original chip stack. I didn't want to re buy in and I didn't. And also there was one opportunity after a certain amount of time where you can buy another chip stack if you wanted which most people at my table did. So I kind of feel good that I competed for four hours on my original small chip stack. But you know what happens. People start getting wiped out at the tables. Then you combine tables and now you're with the big chip stackers who are the chip leaders from the other table. So you got to make some moves. So I was pretty surprised with my original stack to last four hours. I got to the third table of the the final three tables started with 10 and then they'd get knocked out. So I survived to then and I actually documented shout out facts for taking the video clip. Me going all in. I had pocket queens. I had to make a move because the chip stackers at the table had it looked like the Google building. 000 their chip stacks were insane. So I had to double up. You got to make a move because the the buy ins are doubling every 15 minutes. So I'm like I waited for a good hand. I'm patient. That's why I'm good at poker. And I finally got a really good hand and someone bet like big and I'm like all in. Yeah. I'm doubling up. And then four people called it. There were four people all in at this table. So it was a big deal. Towards the end. You know four hours deep. I had pocket queens. We all flipped our cards. Then on the flop was an ace and so a couple people caught aces. Then on the turn I think was another ace and then I think full houses were on board and I lost. So I got wrecked like a coin on a Sunday morning. But it was a lot of fun. And like I said I was sitting next to some really cool people including Roman, one of the founders Bitcoin beach doing big things and many other people I got to meet for the first time. But it was a great experience. I'm so glad I actually played and didn't give up the ticket because to me it was one of the highlights. I genuinely had a lot of fun. So there was a lot going on. There's obviously there's the the golfing. There's the pickleball and there was the cards. But I believe poker took it to the next level. So that was pretty much the first day. And then we stuck around a little later. That's where I met Jethro. The bitcoin podcast. Did a little interview for him that he's going to be premiering sometime in the next couple of weeks. We had some good conversations, got to chill with the BNA fam. It was amazing. I couldn't ask for more. Then the following day was the, basically day two, which was the last day of the event where the golf tournament actually took place. The first day was the practice run. So this was a big day for the golfers like Sergio, because it's like an all day experience and by the time you're done, you're gonna be exhausted. But I got to do the stream. But before I kicked off the stream, I got the invite from Stacy and Max to basically go to Bitcoin beach and be chauffeured by Stacy's personal bodyguard to capture footage of Max arriving with Jimmy on the chopper alongside Brandon Martin. So I linked up at El Zante again, this time during the day, which was nice to get to experience it in the day. And this was the craziest. This was actually probably the highlight for me because it was crazy and I didn't anticipate it. So Brandon and I were sitting on Bitcoin beach alongside Stacy's bodyguard. You know, helicopters coming in. Oh, it's Uncle Max. My first time being so close to a live helicopter. And, you know, so they landed on the beach. Kind of funny, someone on the beach, I was told later was like, you're not allowed to do this. We're gonna call the cops. But the guy we're with is the cops. You know, he's military. So it's kind of funny. It's like, no, we got permission to be here, you know. But anyways, they land right on the beach and then we capture the entire moment of them coming specifically to La Kahita in Bitcoin beach to get five cocoa Maxes to bring them back to the event because they were about to speak on stage. This was right before, you know, Jimmy Song and Max were going to go on stage stage. So they said, you know, if we had to go through the traffic, that could be an hour. So let's just take the chopper. Did just happen to be a chopper there. They take the chopper, you know, we document the entire experience in LA following them. But the craziest part of it all beside, you know, and it was hilarious. You can catch the entire thing because we documented it. And Brandon Martin, make sure you're following him. He created a thread in chronological order from everything so you can see all the videos and not miss anything. And I was filming the entire time. And he was filming and we shared each other's videos. So we have plenty of content on that. But long story short, after they took off, we were basically under the helicopter blades. It creates a sandstorm. Who would have thought? Helicopter on the beach. Glad I had my glasses on. I was recording but pretty much got sandblasted. But it was amazing. My last expression on my face on that video was wow, like what the did I just experience? It was almost surreal. Nipinator indicator. That's the indicator we've all been waiting on. But it was incredible. Then we got back to Ellen Kanto. Obviously I mix missed Max. Max and Jimmy speaking. Because I had to take the chauffeured, you know, vehicle while they're flying, you know, basically shortcutting the traffic. But it was an amazing experience. As soon as I got back, I set up the live stream and I streamed. We did a two hour stream. We had bitcoin legend, bitcoin early adopter and developer Jimmy Song on there. Shared some hilarious OG stories about Max and Stacy. We also had Archie of the bitcoin archive, one of the biggest in the bitcoin space. Awesome man, doing big things. Check out his podcast. He highly recommended the Simon Dixon episode. I asked him if you know where to listen to one episode, what's your highest recommended one? He said the one with Simon Dixon. So you guys got to check that out. But he has like 1.8 million followers. Very humble, very approachable and he gave some of his time to us, you know, on the pod, which I'm always grateful for. So Archie shout out to him. Of course we had the BNA fam there. Everyone who showed up was on the pod. We had Pam Powers and her husband on here. I think the name is Tom. Correct me if I'm wrong, of course. Chandy 10 was being amazing as always. We had Moonstone on there. Bring facts always pouring out his heart and so many others. It's hard to keep track. Of course, Brandon Martin, Jethro, New bitty homies and the rest is history. Yo. It ended the event with live music and fireworks, which is a thing they did last year. And I mean, it's incredible. You come to bitcoin country for the biddy, you stay for the fireworks. That's the Max and Stacy experience. It's an experience of a lifetime. I'll never forget it. There's a reason I returned for the second annual. JV is like a Shaolin monk. I kind of do my own thing. It's very rare I attend any events. If you haven't noticed that. I just stream every day, but I don't do anything. As far as you know, I'm. I'm like a unicorn. You rarely see me, but you'll find me there because it's that good. And it should go to show you how great of a time I truly had and why you need to be at the third annual one. You know, you don't want to miss out on this. When you get opportunities like this, the connections you make, you know we're going to be friends for life. It's. I don't know what else to say, but overall, incredible experience. I'm sure there's a ton of things that happen in the interim I'm leaving out, which I'll remember another time. And I'll have stories to share for years to come and have so much content. It's amazing. Blown away bitcoin country. Incredible experience. If you're a bitcoiner, you have to visit for yourself, right? You got to check it out and experience it. And with that being shared, my rant on my recap is over. I'm gonna read comments and stick around for a little longer.
- [54:02]
Poet
Take me to the beach. Kaiser's gonna preach expanding the bitcoin reach. Max is on the leash. This isn't a vacation, it's a demonstration. Sun hit the green like a signal flare Orange lenses salt in the air Max hits the stage and the crowd leans in. He speaks with passion and conviction. He inspires adoption of the bit while flipping banker scripts. This isn't noise. This is our voice.
- [54:34]
JV
Yeah.
- [54:34]
Rap Artist
Fiat is blasphemy, profanity and insanity. God acting humanity Fiat priests preach lies manufactured gravity time chain on the rise Coded truth finality Bitty samurais cutting through depravity with cryptographic clarity I declare alchemy in El Salvador Stacking sets from my.
- [54:50]
Poet
Stacking bits from my breakfast Stacking bits like it's Tetris we are a different kind of army I g y It's.
- [54:58]
Rap Artist
The max and Stacy 2nd Annual Golf Invitational, El Salvador. Golfing, pickleball and beck calling we're rolling and living it Sound money only no suits, no strings Kaiser on the mic Feel the passion he brings Max.
- [55:15]
JV
Max.
- [55:17]
Rap Artist
Stacy.
- [55:17]
Poet
Stacy.
- [55:18]
JV
Boom, boom, boom Just buy it, just.
- [55:20]
Rap Artist
Do it we got that bitcoin swagger Proof of work, no slacking Together we are strengthened and we're firmly positioned like minded on a freedom mission Investing with with wisdom we're bullheaded rider dies with diamond hands and true grit Being a fire brew Coco Max in my grip Low time Preference train never see me slip swinging for the moon but we're patient with it.
- [55:42]
Poet
Bu Kel's aesthetics confidence tested Bitcoin still underestimated, still undefeated Give it time, it's been proven Pressure train code from survival to sovereignty Watch the nation explode Bitcoin offices transforming an economy like bosses do Judge it by the fruit watch the system grow Loots just tap in keep stacking them from San Salvador down to El Zante Wave signal.
- [56:04]
Rap Artist
Cuts through noise even pundits can't save Citadels and permaculture chest moves every move intentional Create compete by BTC Growth will be exponential no, we can see yeah, we do what we can Code is free speech Brick house built on the plan Sipping Coco Max in fact an actual well sipping Coco Max no tax municipality sipping coco max syntax McAfee didn't kill himself, they whacked them actually Satoshi achieved the unstoppable thing solved the double spend and showed the world there's no such thing as an impossible win Success of Boo Kelly the philosopher king Orange.
- [56:37]
Poet
Shades Orange made OG players new to the gamers innovative thinkers Bitcoin shades and bitcoin bling all all gathered with a BTC team mattress station what a pair 2 bitcoin OG spreading bitcoin news since 2000 Stacy said it first on air hey I trailblazers digital Oregon trail path makers Bitcoin strategy Bitcoin is your majesty we can just do things Bebo Stacy said we can. Look at that Renaissance 2.0. The fairway sound Money swings Golf balls humming off the TE Overwork in its trajectory Pickleballing like Tom Petty Free falling shot calling like huddle Gangsters balling patience position placement competition Poker room night life with royal flush wishes fifth level pity holding cheese already deep death traps exposed Engineer dependency paper wealth dissolves in synthetic liquidity Hard cap law restores trust and credibility Private keys unlock sovereign immunity Borderless freedom Digital divinity Volcano blocks force and.
- [57:45]
Rap Artist
Sacred stability Energy baptizing proof of work immutability Max spoke the truth with fearless audacity Stacy framed the proof of game theory perspicacity Bitcoin country rising from forced calamity El Salvador wrote the proof in reality from chains to choice reclaim sovereignty no IMF no suits, no monetary authority Law written in math Incorruptible integrity forged in the fire undeniable clarity what Max spoke loudly Stacy proved mathematically no banners.
- [58:14]
Poet
No flags, no debt to defend Just rules that don't bend and blocks that don't end.
- [58:27]
JV
And don't forget to check out bitcoinnewsalerts.net for the full premium experience with video and to participate in the live stream along with the Q and A. And I look forward to seeing you on tomorrow's episode. Hodl.
- [58:49]
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