
In the January 24, 2025, episode of Weekly Business News, hosts Ryan Alford and Chris Hansen cover current events with a mix of humor and insight. They start with a light chat about the unexpected cold snap in Miami and Greenville, SC, before diving into Donald Trump’s recent inauguration and the launch of "Trump Coin." The hosts explore its potential impact on the cryptocurrency market and ethical concerns. Other topics include TikTok’s recent downtime and how the banking industry is adapting to cryptocurrency trends. With a blend of political commentary, business insights, and personal stories, this episode offers a dynamic take on today’s top headlines.
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Ryan Alford
This is right about now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. We are the number one business show on the planet with over 1 million downloads a month. Taking the BS out of business for over 6 years in over 400 episodes. You ready to start snapping necks and cashing checks? Well, it starts right about now.
Ryan
What's up, guys? Welcome to write About Now. It is Friday, January 24, 2025. It's our weekly business news of the week. Ryan and Chris coming to you from Miami and Greenville, South Carolina. What's up, Chris?
Chris Hansen
Just trying to stay warm down here, brother.
Ryan
Warm.
Chris Hansen
I'm, I know. I'm sitting thinking we're in like, the southern part of the US and it's like 50.
Ryan
Dude, it was, it was 17 degrees in Greenville, South Carolina on Wednesday. You guys get a high of 30. Like, what's that? We aren't used to that. I don't know. Look, I don't have a coat for that. Yeah, yeah, we did. It snowed, like, they called for all the snow last week, and then we got like a nice half an inch late yesterday afternoon. It just got kind of out of nowhere.
Chris Hansen
I saw 8 inches in Pensacola, Florida today.
Ryan
Is that a record?
Chris Hansen
Yeah, it is. It's crazy.
Ryan
Global warming.
Chris Hansen
Yeah.
Ryan
And somebody's gonna see me. Oh, that's not how it works. The fact that it's actually getting colder where it's not supposed to is sign of global warming. I know, Whatever. So, yeah, he's out there. Whatever it is. It was cold here in South Carolina. Still cold, man. I, I, you know, I'm starting to long for that spring and summer. But, you know, I will say this. Chris and I are stepping it up today. Know, we're usually fairly casual. I said, chris, let's, let's show what we're about today. You know, got a little. I wore a button down. I don't think on the show maybe ever. Chris is rocking black. I got white. Ebony and ivory. Yes.
Chris Hansen
Yin yang.
Ryan
I know. Looking sharp. Looking sharp. Talking about the business, giving you the business.
Chris Hansen
I'm feeling like I need a new setup here. Like a desk, a little more professional, you know?
Ryan
I don't know. I said we're still the business casual. That'd be a good name for a podcast.
Chris Hansen
Being one of those walking desks would be perfect.
Ryan
Yeah, exactly, exactly. Here we are, the walking desk studio. But I hope everyone's doing great. We have Trump, who got inaugurated on Monday, and a lot of it's affected all, all the news because there's so much business stuff. I tell you what, this guy's not messing around more. I don't know, things enacted in, in four days than I'm. I think Biden got done four years or at least, I don't know, four quarters. So just flying around, flying around, can't keep up with the headlines. It's like, AI, this crypto that we.
Chris Hansen
Got, the Trump coin, cease fire in Gaza. It's like, oh, a lot of, A lot of changes very quickly happening, you.
Ryan
Know, I know this is what it's supposed to look like, you know. Yeah, peace on earth and activity and, hey, and the American way forward, you know, unity forward, gearing people together, getting tech together now. And all they want to do is pan the. Oh, is the rich getting richer? No, but you need all these people to make shit happen. They make opportunities and jobs happen and all that. It does trickle down, folks. Not saying that's the only way. I'm not always saying it's top down, but I'm saying top down does work when you need to get activity moving and you need all the politics and bullshit out of the way. So, so far, I like what I'm seeing. You don't have to like everything, but lots of good stuff. You know, I will say it is a fine line with the Trump coin. Like, he's in office and he. Look, I love, I love him for it and also raise my eyebrow to him, you know, like for the same thing. He's. He's in the public eye. He kind of, he gets free press every day. As a person, you know, removing the presidency from it that you and I and no one else gets because he's the President of the United States and he was voted in. But, you know, launching a business venture, the. The Trump coin, I don't know all the financials behind it, but I would assume it just goes. I think he owns 80% of it. Him and. Him and Melania. It. It does go. That's convenient. Like, right?
Chris Hansen
It's. It's interesting because up until this point, we've had a lot of, you know, kind of celebrities and musicians and stuff try to do their own coins, and none of them really work or they're kind of. And I get it to a degree. Part of. It's more of a community builder, like, collect your car or something. Right? Trump is like the king of merch, dude. And this is really just like another level of merch in a way, you know? Yeah, totally community in another way. And honestly, I'm shocked it took this long. There's been some coins Related to him, but not directly.
Ryan
But does it give you heartburn at all that he launches it? So it's so beneficial to his personal bottom line. He launches it the day before he's inaugurated.
Chris Hansen
I don't have a problem with it personally, because as a crypto guy with some friends about this yesterday, because we were all kind of had the same conversation, like, is this bad taste? And a lot of people got turned off more when the Melania coin dropped, the Baron coin, where they're like, all right, Trump's won, but now you're kind of trying to just cash in on everyone.
Ryan
Right.
Chris Hansen
However, as a whole, I'll tell you, my dad called me last night, oh, Trump launched a coin. My dad doesn't know anything about crypto, so I'm happy with just the awareness it brought to crypto as a whole. And that's where I think Trump is smart. I think there's more to this than just. I don't think Trump's just trying to make a quick buck. Don't get me wrong, they made a lot of money, but I think there's more to this than just the meme coin. I think this is a, a great marketing play to get a lot of people talking about crypto and looking into it.
Ryan
Yeah, I, look, I can, if I'm going to wear the sleeve of kind of taking the bullshit out and talking all sides a little bit, even if I've, you know, my personal beliefs tend to slant one. I can understand a little bit of. A lot of raised eye a little. I just think, I do think it does open opportunity up for people to get into Bitcoin, because you can ride the wave of whatever his coin does, too. And so he may own it and it is benefiting him directly, but it is sort of serving the purpose of the policy. It's. It's a fine line. And I could, and I wouldn't, you know, if someone came in to do a debate, I don't know, I could. How long I could fight them off on their side of having issue with this on some level. But I can also personally see the upside, you know, more universally like you.
Chris Hansen
And put it this way, I'd rather have him do this than have our Congress and our people in the Senate insider trading that are voting and creating laws just to benefit their portfolios. Right. I think there's more foul play in that because Trump coin isn't related on government contracts or who gets this contract or where we're going to develop this, where those are the decisions made in the Congress and Senate on these committees.
Ryan
Right, yeah.
Chris Hansen
Where you're directly influencing based on your stock portfolio. Whether Trump owns Trump Coin or I own it, it's irrelevant kind of because it really is just novelty in a way. Right. I could see him saying okay now.
Ryan
Yeah. But I mean, but if, you know, let's go down that road. Like I hear what you're saying but like four, okay. He comes out four years his fam. Let's just say it holds the value. It says on paper now it's like $50 billion. Like we all know that'll probably go down or whatever. But when he comes out of office, his in his family never comes, you know, serves office again. And Donald Trump Jr. And his sons. And his sons. And his sons have legacy financial support from that Coin launching because he was president and the popularity that it had that I think that's where the heartburn comes in for people. Right?
Chris Hansen
Yeah. But I would, I would challenge people. I mean the man's been a billionaire prior like yeah. He's opened new hotels since he was president and no one kind of said anything about that. You know what I mean? And that would require more nefarious activity as far as using your influence to get into certain countries, into contracts, whatever.
Ryan
I think we can all just admit that, that he gets some leeways that very few before him ever have because of that fact. And I'll say this, and I'm going to just, you know, we're opinion. So whatever we've been doing with the types of people that are non business people that are political creatures their entire lives and have no business experience, would you rather that there be a touch of reality and a businessman, you know, maybe using that influence to help others and himself? Or would you rather keep doing what we do, putting in lifelong politicians that make nothing happen, that talk in circles that never align people in business and in government. So which one would you rather have? And so no currency. Yeah.
Chris Hansen
They didn't do this in the dark. Right. You know, yeah.
Ryan
Most of us happening behind the dark, the, you know, Joe Biden is probably a billionaire himself or 100 millionaire.
Chris Hansen
Right.
Ryan
And I don't know, I don't have faxes. But I'm just saying I'm not stupid and I'm cynical and. But you know, but everything else that was claimed about his son and everything else has come out to be true. So let's just go down that road.
Chris Hansen
I'd rather have my president make his money off of a coin, a meme coin than doing backdoor handshake Deals with China. Right?
Ryan
Yeah.
Chris Hansen
Giving advantages to our adversaries.
Ryan
Yeah. So it is an interesting thing. He's, he's enacted his ability to leverage his name, image and likeness while in president. It's like the equivalent of a college athlete, you know, in school that now gets to take advantage. You know, they're seemingly paid, you know, with scholarship to go to school, but we all know they're making billions of dollars on their backs. So now they can take advantage of their name, image of likeness while they're playing football. This is just Trump's nil play.
Chris Hansen
It's like when he sold Red ties and Macy's under the Trump brand. It was like he's had his name on anything you can ever imagine. Just to.
Ryan
Oh, he's a great. I mean one of the best marketers of all time, truly.
Chris Hansen
Like talk about personal branding. He.
Ryan
Oh God. I mean maga, you know, take away all the, the freaking, you know, tyranny and like all the, the, you know, white supremacy garbage of maga.
Chris Hansen
Right.
Ryan
Like, think of how much, what, what impact does MAGA had on the economy? Just on merchandise, dude.
Chris Hansen
A ton. That was something. He.
Ryan
How many Etsy, how many Etsy sellers would be underwater right now if MAGA hadn't launched?
Chris Hansen
And he gave people that ability. He let people use his name and likeness to make money.
Ryan
Yeah, I don't think he's chasing down people selling MAGA stuff. He also understands brand. That's what, you know, letting it, letting it spread.
Chris Hansen
Hey, all press is good press, right?
Ryan
Yeah, exactly. So meme coins are out. Ethics concerns. Very dangerous.
Chris Hansen
Is 7.78 billion as of right now, FYI just is what it's 7.78 billion right now is the market cap.
Ryan
How's it doing the coin itself?
Chris Hansen
The coin right now is trading at $38.01.
Ryan
$38.
Chris Hansen
Yeah, it's.
Ryan
What did it start at?
Chris Hansen
Zero.
Ryan
But what was it like Monday?
Chris Hansen
Put it this way. Okay. The last. It's went up 1,140% the last week.
Ryan
Yes.
Chris Hansen
So it went from as far as I can see $7 to 38. But I think there's a part of the chart I can't see where it was probably like 0.01, but it definitely ripped Inauguration Day, you know, obviously dipped out. Now it's kind of balancing out or between like the 35, $45 mark. So. But, and I heard people talking, is this going to crash? So made a good point. If you look at Trump's stock, right. A lot of that stock is also Built on his brand, not necessarily assets, so.
Ryan
That's right. And you've said almost all business now is speculation, you know, like, speculative. Yeah. Pays be known and literally.
Chris Hansen
Literally, you know.
Ryan
Yeah. Trump's official quote. My new official Trump meme is here. It's time to celebrate everything we stand for. Winning. Oh, it reminds me a little.
Chris Hansen
What?
Ryan
Charlie. Charlie Sheen winning. Isn't that his thing? I don't know if he won or not. Where is that guy? He stopped. He must have stopped drinking.
Chris Hansen
Yeah, he must have stopped to drink.
Ryan
In the crack because he just isn't out there anymore. Batter's health's bad.
Chris Hansen
Hope he's doing well.
Ryan
I do too. Kind of misses antics.
Chris Hansen
I know.
Ryan
So this is how the news works. This is why I probably move into, like, three days a week with the business news. Giving you the business. The TikTok kind of came and went. The ban. Since we last, like, we would have reported that TikTok is down, but we're now able to report it back up. That's how the news cycles work.
Chris Hansen
You don't record every 18 hours when it was down and back up.
Ryan
So, yeah, it's like, almost like, why I'm scared to talk about a headline because, like, the mo. The news cycle so fast. You gotta talk deeper than one article because this shit's happened. Like, oh, okay, Tick Tock is down. Oh, my God. Chris, what do you think about it? Well, now it's back up.
Chris Hansen
We barely got Attack Reaction videos before it was back up again.
Ryan
Yeah.
Chris Hansen
Crying videos. And.
Ryan
And I still. The. What's funny is the Instagram algorithm will send you stuff that they think you're interested in, even if it's like a week or five days, you know, like, it sends you old and new stuff. I'm getting the. You know, all the guys that respond to everything where they play a video or the news behind them. I'm still getting the ones where, you know, they're talking about how TikTok's gone down. And, like, I'm like, well, this is. This didn't age well.
Chris Hansen
No, it's quick.
Ryan
It was quick. And now back up.
Chris Hansen
I was worried about it because they had Cap Cut down too, the editing app, and that's like my bread and butter baby.
Ryan
And I was like, oh, yeah, I can't have that. Cap Cat good down.
Chris Hansen
I know. I was kind of like, you know, I don't care about Tick Tock that much. You and I aren't really huge on Tick Tock.
Ryan
No.
Chris Hansen
And then when Cap Cut got pulled, I was like, oh, no, I'm gonna have to learn a whole new software. And that got brought up. That launched again yesterday too. I guess that's tied in with Tick Tock somehow.
Ryan
Yeah. Chinese owning all the stuff, getting all your data, Chris, all your, you know, you cutting all those videos together. What kind of videos you cutting? Damn Chinese. They got that evidence on you?
Chris Hansen
My workout videos and my cooking promotion videos. They figured me out. They know how to get to this guy.
Ryan
Yep. They got to you. But, yeah, Trump re. I gave him like a 60 day. It. There's talk about it getting bought. I. I saw, you know, several people making plays and saw Le. Kevin O'Leary or one of those. One of the guys make it a play.
Chris Hansen
Kevin O'Leary from Shark Tank?
Ryan
Yep.
Chris Hansen
Yeah.
Ryan
Perplexity. Have you played with the Perplexity on your app? Like the, the browser? No, it's a. I, you know, I've tried to use it. It's. It's interesting, but it's not taking over Google for me yet. But supposedly they, they were suggesting a merge. They've got a lot of backing, Bezos, a lot of the big guys. But Kevin O'Leary reportedly offered 20 billion in cash for Tick Tock. But, but Billy, I mean, the way billions just get thrown around now, it's like millions, like, you know, 15, 20 years ago.
Chris Hansen
Yep.
Ryan
And, you know, people use that, those words a lot. That's a lot of damn money.
Chris Hansen
It's a lot of O's.
Ryan
Yep. I think they're going to end up having to sell this thing. I think, I don't think Trump's going to allow them to just status quo. I mean, I think he's giving them 60 more days and then he's going to do what Trump does and he's going to follow through, be like, all right, you're not. Because I think ByteDance was holding out that maybe this would just go away. Let's be honest. They don't want to sell.
Chris Hansen
We talked about it like probably seven months ago, you know.
Ryan
Yeah.
Chris Hansen
And I know offline, we had talked about even like, Tick Tock shop. Is that something we should be getting involved in? And even I kind of, a lot of guys I know in it were like, no, nothing's going to happen. And I think people really have been just kind of, oh, out of sight, out of mind. And then, boom, the rug pulled out from under him.
Ryan
Yeah. I think ByteDance just thought, oh, Biden's not going to do what he says he's going to do. And then Biden really Have to, because it so conveniently, you know, happens right when Trump comes in. So Trump goes, all right, you're on my watch now. You got 60 days. So I think they'll end up selling or at least partnering or doing something. I don't think Trump's gonna just let it stay status quo.
Chris Hansen
No. Yeah.
Ryan
I mean, and I don't think they should. I mean, nobody wants World War three and China and the US at odds, but they. They are an adversary on some level. It just is what it is.
Chris Hansen
Yeah.
Ryan
And I'm not saying that the people are necessarily adversaries, but the governments definitely are, and the interests definitely don't align a lot at all. So we'll see where that goes. So all you TikTok lovers, just don't.
Chris Hansen
Start posting on Instagram.
Ryan
Yeah. Move over to the dull platform, I guess. I don't know. I just could. It's more just invested there. I'm on TikTok. I got the blue check. It's great. Thank you. Like, but it's like, you know, I just don't have time or the energy. You know, when the team gets a little. If I got one more person on the team, they. They would. TikTok would probably be on the list of, like, more than what we do now.
Chris Hansen
Yeah.
Ryan
But until then, you know, you guys can find us. Yeah.
Chris Hansen
Definitely not going to spend a lot of energy in it until we find out what's going on with this.
Ryan
Bank of America says the banking industry will embrace crypto. Congratulations. Way to wise up, buddy. In the department of no. Yeah. You got the president, all his people. He's got a meme coin out, man. What are you. What are you gonna do not support it? And I don't know. The banks I posted, we talked about last week. I got a little slot side eye with the banks right now.
Chris Hansen
And I believe we mentioned last week that the banks would be announcing that they would become custodians for crypto.
Ryan
Yes, we did. And here we are.
Chris Hansen
They're realizing money's changing and they still want to get their clip.
Ryan
Yeah. They want to get those record profits like they've been getting. And hey, how. They're. They're. They're devising plans as we speak in the how do we take it out of the customer's ass department is they're meeting right now. What's the acronym for that? H2A CA. How to, you know, take more money out of America's pockets. How many fees can we get on crypto? Someone. You know, there's someone in the fees department, concocting this right now, how many fees can we get on crypto and for what? Trans transaction fees. Late trade fee. A bit Bitcoin risk awareness fee. Yeah. I know what you're up to, you dirty banks.
Chris Hansen
You don't need a bank. You can use your own wallet.
Ryan
Yeah. But at a certain point, for business, it's taught it's tough, like, to not have a U. S. Bank. Not saying it's. I'm not saying you can't. A lot of people get away with it.
Chris Hansen
Yeah. I think for things like getting a mortgage. Right, right. I still got to play that game for now. Yeah. But it's going to be interesting to see this.
Ryan
It will be interesting, but I'm just glad the banking industry's coming along here. Always late to the game and early to the profits.
Chris Hansen
Welcome to the party.
Ryan
They're too busy counting their money from fourth quarter. There's record profits. What else is on your mind this week? You know, we've got. It's just Disney. Like I'm saying, it's dizzy. Dizzying. Trump's enactment. Like, you got the AI task force. You see this thing. So the big players on the stage coming out and basically 500 million billion, another B commitment here for these. In these data centers. This is a big. I think it's a bigger deal than it may be being made out to be. Like, it. I mean, like to have this. It doesn't sound sexy.
Chris Hansen
Yeah.
Ryan
But have it on our soil, which is what ultimately Trump is up to here. Needs to be on our soil, under our control, not relying on others. And it's not big because, Chris, we can't help the free world and others if we're relying on others to help the broader world. It's a mouthful, but I think you know what I'm saying, It's like, so this stuff needs to be on our turf and under our control so that we can make sure it's used both for our interests and for our allies. So I get it. I mean, everybody wants to talk about the cost and I get that, too. We'll see where that goes with overall costs and certain things and tariffs and all that. I hear you, but this is a big deal, especially with what's going on with AI and how important it's going to be, how it's going to dictate a lot of industry and things. So got 100 billion to start.
Chris Hansen
We need to invest in America because outsourcing clearly hasn't worked for us. We've lost our power.
Ryan
Yeah. Or lost a larger percentage than we should have.
Chris Hansen
Yeah.
Ryan
Stargate project. This is a very large investment in the future. That investment that affects all of humanity. Trump touts joint venture between SoftBank open AI and Oracle worth 500 bill billions. The three tech CEOs have joined and President Trump. Donald Trump's multi billion dollar artificial intelligence infrastructure project defended the venture as an investment that impacts all of humanity. President Trump unveiled a massive AI infrastructure project from the private sector. On the first full day of his second term in office, Trump announced that SoftBank OpenAI and Oracle had joined created Stargate to build data centers in the US for powering AI. I mean that's what all this is, computing power, large data centers, lots of power, energy and heat. You've been in, you're been in a data center, walked in place where like all the computers on like back servers.
Chris Hansen
It's hot.
Ryan
How much heat that puts out, it's crazy. You want to get close to the sun. That's close to it. You got fans going everywhere. There's data. What it takes to power these things. That's. They think mining crypto takes a lot. Damn.
Chris Hansen
I was going to say I've been in those and those are loud and hot crypto mining operations. A lot of energy.
Ryan
It's so funny. The modern, the modern mining, you know, used to be down in the depths of a pit. Now we're in sweaty, sweaty matrix. You know, the stories that come true, you know, the predictions that end up real. I just don't want to get plugged into like Matrix. I want to like, wake up and be in like a big vat of nasty jelly. Nickelodeon plasma, whatever that is. I don't, don't. I don't want my brain plugged into the data center. It's fascinating is what's cooking the rest of the week weekend for you, Chris. Any big plans?
Chris Hansen
I got a wedding this weekend.
Ryan
There you go.
Chris Hansen
Celebrating some love.
Ryan
Oh, old friends. Oh, nice. Don't do it. Wedding crashers. The. What a great. You gonna crash it? You know, like you've taken a date or anything?
Chris Hansen
No, I'm just going with all my.
Ryan
Old old friends from like Single Chris got. Hey, anyone listening? Single Chris. Hey, date day to the wedding, you know, got Miami got a nice dog. America's most eligible bachelor. We'll start right at the right about now. Bachelor show starring Chris Hansen. So I got you dressed up today, Chris.
Chris Hansen
You know, for the new segment.
Ryan
Bachelor Chris, we had Crypto Chris last week. Now it's Bachelor Chris.
Chris Hansen
Yeah.
Ryan
Oh, stay single while you can. Enjoy it. It comes for you. No, she doesn't listen. No, look, great. Marriage is great. Bad. Marriage is bad.
Chris Hansen
Lucky. I. I get both of those phone calls from my friends. I get the good ones and the bad ones. So I'm just sitting kind of.
Ryan
Yeah, right. You're right in the middle.
Chris Hansen
Therapist at this point, it feels like.
Ryan
Exactly. Well, we don't know what's going to be up. What Trump. One more week. We might have 27 things to talk about with one more week when Trump really rolls the sleeves up. Yeah.
Chris Hansen
Busy couple segments.
Ryan
Exactly. That's why we're rolling the sleeves up. We're taking the BS out of business. You're to find us ryanisright.com find highlight clips. All our sponsors including exponent X marks the spot for energy plant based nootropics. All the good stuff, none of the bad stuff. Official sponsor of right about now. They power us so we can power you. Appreciate Chris Hansen. Down in Miami. We're always here in Greenville. It's social house. My my cowork lounge. Come see us. Hey, best co working lounge bar. Hang out right on the swamp rabbit trail in the beautiful downtown Greenville. Come see it. Give me a shout out. I'm here. We got the studio. Come see us live. We appreciate you for making us number one. We'll see you next time on right about now.
Ryan Alford
This has been right about now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast network production. Visit ryanisright.com for full audio and video versions of the show or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities. Thanks for listening.
Podcast Title: Right About Now with Ryan Alford
Episode Title: Big Business: Trump off to Blazing Start - Trump Coin - AI Investments - Crypto Mainstream
Release Date: January 24, 2025
Host: Ryan Alford
Guests/Co-hosts: Chris Hansen
In this episode of Right About Now with Ryan Alford, hosted by Ryan Alford and co-hosted by Chris Hansen, the duo delves into the whirlwind of business developments following Donald Trump's recent inauguration. The discussion spans Trump’s latest ventures, the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency, the tumultuous state of TikTok, the banking industry's stance on crypto, and significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI). The hosts intertwine business insights with their characteristic Southern charm and witty banter, making complex topics both accessible and engaging.
Launch and Purpose: The episode kicks off with an in-depth analysis of Donald Trump's launch of the "Trump Coin," a new meme cryptocurrency announced on the day before his inauguration. Ryan highlights the strategic timing and potential motivations behind this move.
Market Performance: Chris provides a snapshot of the coin's market performance, noting a staggering increase in value shortly after its release.
Ethical Considerations and Impact: The hosts debate the ethical implications of a sitting president launching a personal cryptocurrency venture. Ryan acknowledges the potential conflicts of interest but also recognizes the broader awareness it brings to crypto.
Notable Quote:
Service Outage and Recovery: The conversation shifts to the intermittent outages of TikTok and its implications for users and content creators. Ryan and Chris discuss the rapid changes and their personal reliance on related applications like CapCut.
Acquisition Attempts: The hosts touch upon Kevin O'Leary's reported interest in acquiring TikTok amid its uncertain status.
Future Implications: They speculate on the future of TikTok under potential new ownership and the broader impact on social media platforms.
Bank of America’s Endorsement: The episode highlights Bank of America's announcement that the banking industry is ready to embrace cryptocurrency, marking a significant shift in mainstream financial institutions' attitudes.
Custodianship and Profit Strategies: Chris and Ryan discuss the banks' plans to become custodians for crypto assets, emphasizing the banks' strategies to monetize this emerging market through various fees.
Notable Quote:
Stargate Project Unveiled: One of the episode's focal points is Trump’s announcement of the Stargate Project, a massive AI infrastructure initiative in collaboration with SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle. This venture aims to build large data centers in the U.S. to advance AI capabilities.
Infrastructure and Environmental Impact: The hosts delve into the technical aspects, including the energy consumption and environmental impact of such large-scale data centers.
Economic and Strategic Importance: Ryan emphasizes the strategic importance of keeping AI infrastructure within U.S. soil to maintain control and support national and allied interests.
Notable Quote:
Personal Anecdotes: Towards the end of the episode, Ryan and Chris interject personal stories, including Chris preparing for a wedding and Ryan teasing a new segment, adding a human touch to the business-heavy discussion.
Closing Remarks: The hosts conclude by reiterating their mission to “take the BS out of business,” promoting their website and sponsors, and thanking listeners for their support.
Trump's Bold Business Moves: Donald Trump's launch of Trump Coin signifies a strategic entry into the cryptocurrency market, blending personal branding with business ventures.
Cryptocurrency's Mainstreaming: With major financial institutions like Bank of America embracing crypto, the industry is witnessing significant shifts towards mainstream adoption.
AI Infrastructure Investments: The Stargate Project represents a pivotal investment in AI technology and infrastructure, underscoring the importance of maintaining technological sovereignty.
Social Media Dynamics: The ongoing instability of platforms like TikTok highlights the volatile nature of social media and its interconnectedness with global political dynamics.
Balancing Business and Personal Insights: Ryan and Chris effectively balance in-depth business analysis with personal anecdotes, making the content relatable and engaging.
Ryan Alford (03:01): "Trump is not messing around more. I don't know, things enacted in four days than I think Biden got done in four years..."
Chris Hansen (12:03): "They didn’t do this in the dark. [...] The coin right now is trading at $38.01."
Ryan Alford (07:12): "He may own it and it is benefiting him directly, but it is sort of serving the purpose of the policy."
Chris Hansen (05:25): "I think there’s more to this than just the meme coin. I think this is a great marketing play..."
Ryan Alford (22:05): "President Trump unveiled a massive AI infrastructure project from the private sector..."
Ryan Alford (23:55): "We need to invest in America because outsourcing clearly hasn’t worked for us."
Ryan Alford (27:53): "Find us ryanisright.com... Official sponsor of Right About Now."
This episode of Right About Now with Ryan Alford offers a comprehensive exploration of the intersection between politics and business, highlighting how presidential actions can influence market trends and technological advancements. Through insightful discussions and engaging dialogue, Ryan and Chris provide listeners with a nuanced understanding of current business dynamics.