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- [00:00]
Adriana
Aging is a natural process as we all know, and I for one don't mind embracing it. But I will tell you one part of aging that I don't care for. It's the symptoms that stem from changing hormones, especially as you get older to perimenopause and menopause. That's why we want to tell you about Happy Mammoth's Hormone Harmony. Happy Mammoth, the company that created Hormone Harmony, is dedicated to making women's lives easier. And that means using only science backed ingredients that have been proven to work for women. They make no compromise when it comes to quality and it shows. For a limited time you can get 15% off on your entire first order at Happy Mammoth. Just use the code HappyMe at checkout. When you're starting off with something new, it seems like your to do list keeps growing. Finding the right tool helps. And that tool is Shopify. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of US e commerce. And best yet, Shopify is your commerce expert with world class expertise in everything from managing inventory to international shipping. If you're ready to sell, you're ready for Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial at shopify.com retail. Go to shopify.com retail if your dog.
- [01:04]
Ben
Could talk, they'd beg for Ollie. The full body tail wag, the excited little hops, the big goofy grin. That's the Ollie effect. Ollie delivers clean, fresh nutrition in five drool worthy flavors even for the pickiest eaters. Made in US Kitchens with high quality human grade ingredients, Ollie's food contains no fillers, no preservatives, just real food. Just fill out Ollie's 32nd quiz and they'll create a customized meal plan based on your pup's weight activity level. Dogs deserve the best and that means fresh, healthy food. Head to ollie.com healthypup Tell them about your dog and use code HEALTHYPUP to get 60% off your welcome kit when you subscribe today. Plus they offer a happiness guarantee on the first box, so if you're not completely satisfied, you'll get your money back. That's O l l I e.com HealthyPup and enter code HEALTHYPUP to get 60% off your first box. From executive producer Isaac Saul, this is Tangle.
- [02:18]
Will Kavak
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening and welcome to the Tangle Podcast, a place where you get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking and a little bit of our take. I am your substitute host today, Senior editor Will Kavak and I'm filling in for Isaac while he's at a speaking engagement in Pennsylvania this morning. It's a really cool opportunity for him to talk about Tangle, some of the work that we're doing, our mission, the awesome community that we've built here. So he'll be back tomorrow. He can fill you in on that then. But for now, I'm going to be jumping into the host chair to talk about our main story, which is cryptocurrency and the crypto legislation considered by Congress last. There were three bills that passed the House. One of them, the Genius act, was passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Trump on Friday. So we're going to be breaking down the implications of each of those, explaining what they do, how they could impact the crypto sector and finance in the US More broadly. Isaac has a really interesting nuanced take on this from some personal experience that he has in cryptocurrency, so I think you'll appreciate his perspective there. Before we dive into the main topic, just wanted to flag that we've had a lot of really cool contributions from across the Tangle team in the past few weeks, specifically some great Friday pieces. Last month, our editorial fellow, Hunter Casperson wrote A Deep Dive on Genetic modification. A few weeks ago, editor at large Camille Foster authored an essay on America's racial reckoning. And last Friday, managing editor Ari Weitzman contributed an exploration of how the latest climate models differ with the public's understanding of climate change. And of course, we had Isaac's five Things He Got Wrong About Trump piece from a couple weeks ago, which drove a huge amount of engagement and criticism and feedback and some praise. And we took that response and we said what if we flipped it and had Isaac write about five Things he thinks he's gotten right so far in Trump's term, which was a very requested follow up from readers and listeners. So we're going to do just that. This Friday, Isaac will be penning five Things I Got right so Far. And if you are not a premium listener and want to be able to hear this edition and Friday editions like the ones we've published in the past month and ones we're going to be publishing in the future, make sure to upgrade your membership ahead of Friday so you don't miss the piece. You can do that from the membership page on our website, retangled.com, and you'll also get access to our full archives, the complete Tangle Sunday Edition, and a lot more. All right, with that said, let's dive into today's topic on crypto and the Genius Act. I'll pass it over to John to read the introduction to the topic, what the left and right are saying, and then I'll be back to read Isaac's take and the reader question. All right, John, over to you. Foreign.
- [05:10]
John Law
Thanks Will, and welcome everybody. Here are your quick hits for today. First up, the Israeli military expanded its ground operations in central Gaza, raiding a World Health Organization building and ordering residents of the city of Deir el Bala to evacuate. Israel had previously avoided operations in the area out of concern that Hamas was holding hostages in the city. Number two, the Trump administration released approximately 240,000 pages of records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. Which had been sealed since 1977. Number three, the Department of Defense ordered 700 marines to leave Los Angeles approximately one month after they were deployed to the city in June to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement's deportation operations amid protests. Number four, a district judge sentenced former Louisville police officer Brett Hankinson to 33 months in prison for violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in her home in a police raid in 2020. The judge rejected a last minute request by the Justice Department to give Hankinson a one day sentence. At number five, a district judge appeared skeptical that the Trump administration followed proper processes in canceling $2.2 billion in federal research funding for HAR. President Trump is also taking a victory lap today, signing into law the first ever major federal cryptocurrency legislation. It was passed by the House yesterday in the Senate earlier this week with broad bipartisan support. The so called Genius act has been a key priority for the President, once a crypto skeptic who now bills himself as the most pro crypto commander in chief in history, and whose family business is building an expanding cryptocurrency empire, even launching a meme coin earlier this year. This bill regulates just one specific kind of digital currency called stablecoins, aimed at making them more accessible and more mainstream. On Friday, President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US stablecoins, or Genius act, the United States first major cryptocurrency legislation. The new law establishes a legal category and regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency whose value is tied to a reference asset like the price of gold or the US Dollar. As a result, banks, non banks and credit unions will be able to participate in the stablecoin market and issue their own digital currencies. At a signing ceremony on Friday, President Donald Trump said The bill creates a clear and simple regulatory framework to establish and unleash the immense promise of dollar backed stablecoins. This could have been perhaps the greatest revolution in financial technology since the birth of the Internet. In addition to the Genius act, the House voted on Thursday to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity act or Clarity act to further regulate digital assets and the Anti CBDC Surveillance State act to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing its own central bank digital currency. The Senate is now considering both bills for context. On July 3, the House Committee on Financial Services Chairman and Republican House leadership announced the week of July 14 would be crypto Week, in which the chamber would consider all three cryptocurrency bills in an effort to pass the nation's first significant legislation on the sector. Trump criticized crypto during his first term, but changed course during the 2024 campaign and launched his own cryptocurrency shortly before his inauguration in June. The Senate passed the Genius Act 68 to 30. On Thursday, the House voted 308 to 122 to pass the Genius act, with all but 12 Republicans in 102 Democrats voted in favor, while 110 voted against. The Clarity act and the Anti CBDC Surveillance State act passed the chamber with smaller margins, 294 to 134 and 219 to 210 respectively. Earlier in the week, votes on the bill were significantly delayed after a group of conservative House Freedom Caucus members blocked a procedural vote to begin debate on several bills. For approximately nine hours, the holdouts sought to link the Anti CBDC Surveillance State act with the other two bills out of concern that the Senate would otherwise only pass the Genius and Clarity Acts, arguing that the third bill was critical to addressing privacy concerns over the federal government's regulation of digital assets. House leadership eventually reached a deal with the members by promising the anti CBDC bill would be linked to the Congress's annual Defense Policy bill. While the Genius act passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support, some Democrats criticized the bill over concerns that it represented a conflict of interest for President Trump. The Genius act will accelerate Trump's corruption by supercharging the size of the stablecoin market and the reach and profitability of Trump's USD 1 Senator Elizabeth Warren said in May, for the first time in American history, this bill will make our President Donald Trump the regulator of his own financial product. Today we'll share views on the legislation from the right, left and finance industry and then Isaac's tape.
- [10:41]
Isaac Saul
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- [11:47]
Sally
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- [13:17]
John Law
All right, first up, let's start with what the right is saying. The Right supports the bill, arguing it will offer everyday Americans new financial opportunities. Some say the Senate's vote on the Clarity act will determine how impactful the Genius act is. In the Washington Examiner, Steve Cordes called the Genius act key to protecting your wallet and preserving the dollar. The Genius act will produce safe, legal digital dollars called stablecoins, that are tied one to one to the real US Dollar. It will keep America's money strong and competitive with the currencies of adversarial nations such as China. Right now, trillions of dollars flow across borders every day. More and more of this is happening digitally. If America doesn't lead in this space, someone else will and we might not like the results, quartas said. China understands this. That's why its own stablecoin law takes effect in August. If the dollar loses its edge, everyday Americans will be the first to suffer. When the world stops using the dollar as the standard for trade and finance, it risks weakening America's purchasing power, fueling inflation and raising the price of just about everything, korditz wrote. The bill doesn't hand the reins to Washington bureaucrats or the Federal Reserve. Instead, it encourages private companies backed by American money and American law to produce these much needed digital assets. This is exactly the kind of solution conservatives should rally behind. In the Dispatch, Alex Demas and Charles Hillou said the bill's passage represents a major milestone for crypto regulation for the crypto industry. The passage of the Genius act is a major milestone on the path to legitimization and a broader adoption of digital currency among both consumers and traditional financial institutions, demas and Hilly wrote. In the wake of the collapse of the crypto exchange ftx, the Biden administration took a combative stance toward the crypto industry, opting to prosecute large crypto firms for fraud and securities violations rather than encourage legislative action. Still, Congress has made progress on the issue despite concerns about Trump's ties to it. The bipartisan Genius act signals a change in how the industry will be regulated moving forward away from reactive prosecution and toward proactive legislation. Stablecoin legislation is a major milestone, but it's also only the first step down a long and complicated regulatory road for the crypto industry. The main event moving forward will be the Clarity Act, a market structure bill designed to regulate the broader crypto ecosystem, demas and Hilly wrote. Under current law, there is no clear guidance on when a digital asset is a security and when it is a commodity, meaning the industry faces widespread uncertainty as to which agency regulates products and and what compliance entails. The Clarity act seeks to establish the rules of the road and clarify the SEC's and CFTC's roles in regulating digital assets. All right, that is it for what the right is saying. Which brings us to what the left is saying. The left is skeptical of the bill's value, suggesting that it fails to address key concerns about integrating crypto into traditional financial markets markets. Others criticize House Republicans for acquiescing to Trump's will despite principled objections to the legislation. In Bloomberg, Alison Schrager wrote, regulating stablecoins will take a Genius act and this isn't it. While there is a need for some regulation, as some retailers are considering issuing their own stablecoins, mainstreaming the cryptocurrency is hardly a genius move, Schrager said. Crypto coin issuers are very similar to the banks in the 1830s, which also issued their own currencies and were regulated by the states in a similar spirit. Under the Genius act, companies that issue less than $10 billion worth of coins would also be regulated by the states, while the Federal Reserve would regulate bigger issuers. The thing about the 1830s from a financial standpoint is that they were very chaotic. Constant oversight was necessary because any hint of currency devaluation created bank runs and failures. States had different standards and several under regulated their local banks, creating a lack of confidence in the system, schrager wrote. Mainstreaming stablecoins also poses risks to the financial system. Stablecoin issuers are already becoming a major source of demand for U.S. treasuries. Tether purchased more than $33 billion of them last year and now owns more than Germany. If the market takes off, some banks estimate stablecoin issuers could be a captive buyer for trillions of dollars in Treasuries. In the American Prospect, David Dayan suggested Crypto week revealed the ditto had Congress. For a moment, it looked like Crypto Week was poised to become the national punchline that Infrastructure Week was in Trump's first term. For two straight days, Freedom Caucus members blocked the rule for debate in the House that set up votes on the three bills. Dayen said leaders of the House committees with jurisdiction over crypto wanted to put their stamp on these bills and even bundled them together into one big crypto package. But Senate leaders warned this would mean nothing would pass, and the House leadership backed up their colleagues in the other chamber. That meant that the Freedom Caucus's priority, the anti CBDC bill, could be abandoned in the ping ponging between the House and the Senate. So the Freedom Caucus held up the rule. But hours after this got going, it was over. The House agreed to link the anti CBDC bill to the National Defense Authorization Act, a perennial must pass package. But unlike virtually everything else in Congress, the NDAA goes through a conference committee where priorities often fall out, dan wrote. It's time to stop calling the Freedom Caucus hardliners. They fall over in a mild breeze and everyone knows it. The rest of the House Republicans got rolled as well. The Senate isn't very likely to take up their Clarity act and they had to eat the Senate's Genius act without changes. Alright, that is it for what the right and the left are saying. Which brings us to what the finance industry is saying. Some in the crypto industry say the bill is a great first step, but more legislation will eventually be needed. Others suggest the bill will improve the global financial system. In cointelegraph Bill Hughes said the Clarity act isn't perfect, but supported its passage. Some critics believe Clarity is nothing more than an early Christmas gift to the crypto industry. That is simply not true. Lawmakers have urged the crypto industry to walk the walk in the US not just talk the talk when it comes to regulation. At the same time, the blockchain industry has insisted on smartly tailored rules applying to disintermediated computer networks, Hughes wrote. Clarity meets both challenges and more as it sets up a high bar for decentralization and an aggressive timeline for projects to meet it. This is a good result. Clarity is not a sweetheart deal. There are some provisions with which the blockchain world categorically disagrees. For example, a recent draft does not permit blockchain developers to make software that facilitates peer to peer transactions in commodity futures and derivatives products. Those markets would remain intermediated, Hughes said. That would be a mistake, but one that can hopefully be fixed by an amendment or future policy efforts. No bill is perfect. This bill will have bad provisions regardless of how hard sponsors work on it, the payment staff wrote. The Genius act makes stablecoins business ready stablecoins were never meant to replace your credit card at the corner store. That's a nice story for crypto optimists, but it misses the real utility taking shape in the shadows of the global economy, where central banks wobble currencies, inflate and cross border wires take days. Stablecoins offer something more basic, a dollar global firms can actually use, the staff said. Stablecoins aren't exactly poised to upend Visa. It's tremendously unlikely that they could replace the dollar, but they might just change how global enterprises access, store and move that dollar especially in places where trust is scarce and banking is broken. Stablecoins aren't competing with existing payments infrastructure, they're integrating with it. Just as the Internet didn't replace telephones overnight but made it digital voice over ip, stablecoins digitize and modernize how value moves. Even if the user interface, Visa card or Apple pay stays the same, the staff wrote, still risks remain. Not all stablecoins are equal. Tether, for example, has long avoided full disclosure on its reserves. The Genius act will force clarity, at least for us issuers. Alright, let's pass it over to Will for Isaac's take.
- [21:57]
Will Kavak
Thanks, John. All right, here is Isaac's take. First, let me start off with the same disclosure that I gave in March when we wrote about the potential for a cryptocurrency reserve. In 2014, I was a journalist living paycheck to paycheck in Harlem when a friend tried to convince me to invest in Ethereum, one of the burgeoning cryptocurrencies at the time. I resisted until he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He matched my $1,000 with $1,000 of his own on the promise that if or when, according to him, my investment multiplied by 10, I take him on an all expenses paid trip to Europe. I trusted him and took the leap. A year later, our $2,000 was worth $120,000. The timing was perfect. I cashed out most of my cryptocurrency, bought some land in West Texas, invested the rest in the stock market, and relied heavily on it as a safety net. When I launched Tangle, cryptocurrency changed my life. It handed me the kind of wealth and head start I never would have gotten otherwise, not from work, family, or anything else. I'm incredibly lucky and grateful that this was my crypto experience, especially when so many other people have been scammed or taken advantage of. I share this both as a journalistic disclosure, as I still own cryptocurrency, and also to explain how my experience biases how I see many of these stories. In March, I explained why I thought the crypto reserve idea was very bad. It opened the door to cartoonish levels of corruption, it played favorites, it was hated by even the most optimistic crypto enthusiasts, and it was very clearly designed to benefit Trump and his family and his friends. Now, the Genius act has a very different design. Rather than invest the government into cryptocurrencies, the bill brings order to the market. It more directly reduces the uncertainty in this space, but creates a rule book for stablecoins and ensures that many cryptocurrencies will be backed by the US Dollar. In simple terms, this is the act that brings, well, clarity. However, it is going to have the same main effect that the Reserve would have had. It will juice the cryptocurrency market and make anyone holding cryptocurrency, myself included, a lot more money. In a lot of ways, the Genius Act's achievements are obviously good. The crypto industry spent four years begging President Biden and Congress to help them regulate the space and got basic hostility in return. The crypto company Coinbase literally sued the securities and Exchange Commission just to get clarity about what the rules were. This administration and this Congress are at least trying to provide that structure. Now hundreds of millions of people who own crypto across the world will benefit. 34% of crypto owners are 25 to 34 years old, according to the digital payments company AAA, which means a spike in cryptocurrency prices and some stability in the markets could create a new generation of wealth. The Genius act introduces some new protections into the market, such as requiring holders of stablecoins to keep money in safe reserve assets and ensuring stablecoin issuers observe some money laundering laws. The law has real enforceable provisions. It forbids stablecoin issuers from making false claims about their security, includes bankruptcy provisions to protect stablecoin holders, and requires the Department of Treasury to work with the financial crimes enforcement network FinCEN to issue hard regulation on crypto within three years. These are unambiguously helpful guardrails. However, the law's protections are overshadowed by its vulnerabilities. First, as Tulane professor Ryan Peters explained in an article in Payments Dive, nothing in the recently passed legislation provides sufficient measures to create more transparency and consumer protection. Instead, issuers of these stablecoins will be able to effectively function as banks, but without the same kind of security and assurances for consumers. Corey Frayer, the director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America, made a simple point about why the Genius act doesn't go nearly far enough. Frayer told NBC, quote, the reason you would never recommend your grandmother use a stablecoin is she would have to give away a dollar that's protected by the federal government and deposit insur and which comes with a ton of consumer protections and which pays interest in her banking account in exchange for a stablecoin that doesn't have any of those things. Second, the conflict of interest provision included in the Genius act only applies to members of Congress and senior executive branch officials, not the vice president or president. This is particularly relevant given President Trump is currently ballooning his wealth to the tune of $3.3 billion through cryptocurrencies. And as I've written previously, the Trump crypto push is one of the biggest presidential scandals I can remember, yet it gets a fraction of the attention it deserves. To highlight just one example, the Trump family is the majority owner of World Liberty Financial, a crypto startup co founded by Zach Witkoff, son of Trump's Middle east envoy Steve Witkoff. World Liberty Financial issued a new stablecoin called USD1 in March. That stablecoin is about to get way, way more valuable on the heels of this legislation. And not to mention it was already very conveniently selected by an Abu Dhabi investment firm for a $2 billion investment. Lastly, the other crypto bill recently passed in the House, the Clarity act, is even more worrisome. Its fate is still uncertain in the Senate, but if passed, it will allow cryptocurrencies to mature to a commodity stage where they will no longer be regulated by the sec, which is bound to create more bad behavior in the industry that already has plenty of it. Every contact I have in the cryptocurrency sector effectively told me that this is good for us in the sense that it will create less oversight in the long term. Now, I'm certainly happy the government is allowing some innovation in the space to flourish and defining clear rules without being too heavy handed. But this isn't 2017. Crypto is less an emerging industry than a space with a proven track record as a playground for fraud. Thieves and scammers are omnipresent, the landscape is choked by meme coins, and even though the government has finally provided guardrails, it's still not doing enough to protect consumers from these dangers, especially those desperate to make a quick buck or build up their savings. Any new legislation must introduce regulations that deal with these realities or a lot more people are going to get hurt. Unfortunately, I think this legislation ultimately falls short. Like any law, the Genius act is a decidedly mixed bag. It is a good step forward to regulate an industry that needs it and obviously isn't going anywhere. New opportunities to reduce payment fees or globalize the digital economy further abound. The value of digital currencies will spike and benefit a lot of people who hold crypto. So I'm glad for all of this. And I should say clearly that the crypto space broadly shouldn't be punished with too strict regulation because of its worst actors or because Trump is taking advantage of this moment for his own personal gain. Nor should it be punished for spending hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying Congress the same way every other industry does. But at the same time, if The treasury and FinCEN don't develop toothsome regulations, especially ones that could protect investors, the bill will function as a green light for some of the worst actors to get much richer, much more quickly, while taking advantage of a lot of people who don't understand cryptocurrencies or recognize the risks they present. Unfortunately, that is a lot of people.
- [29:38]
Isaac Saul
We'll be right back after this quick break.
- [29:43]
Adriana
When you're starting off with something new, it seems like your to do list keeps growing. Finding the right tool helps. And that tool is Shopify. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of US e commerce. And best yet, Shopify is your commerce expert with world class expertise in everything from managing inventory to international shipping. If you're ready to sell, you're ready for Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial at shopify.com retail. Go to shopify.com retail Bombas makes the.
- [30:13]
Ben
Most Comfortable socks, underwear and T Shirts Warning.
- [30:16]
John Law
Bombas are so absurdly comfortable you may.
- [30:18]
Adriana
Throw out all your other clothes. Sorry, do we legally have to say that? No, this is just how I talk.
- [30:23]
John Law
And I really love my Bombas.
- [30:24]
Ben
They do feel that good. And they do good too. One item purchased equals one item donated.
- [30:29]
John Law
To feel good and do good, go.
- [30:31]
Adriana
To bombas.com and use code audio for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O M b-s.com and use code audio at checkout.
- [30:47]
Will Kavak
All right, now for our reader question. This one comes from camp in Rapid City, South Dakota. It's obviously apparent our climate is changing and oceans are getting warmer. But is the cause atmospheric carbon emissions or core of the Earth emissions like the massive Hunga Tonga undersea volcano eruption from January 2022, after which there were all kinds of bizarre climate changes. Here's our response. One technique we used in our Friday edition on climate change was what our editor at large, Camille Foster calls Marley's Razor after the late Bob Marley, which states, I may have shot the sheriff, but I did not in fact shoot the deputy using Marley's razor. We can say that while one thing may indeed be true, it does not mean that something else it implies is also true. And we can use the sheriff deputy technique again here for this question. Here's the sheriff what's true, as several people wrote in to say in response to the addition, the Hunga Tonga volcano that erupted off the coast of Tonga in January of 2022 caused a massive change in the local environment. The Chinese Academy of Sciences said that local readings of atmospheric CO2 increased by 2 parts per million, the equivalent of a year's worth of global emissions. Furthermore, the national oceanic and Atmospheric Association NOAA found that the ozone layer above the volcano had massively depleted and that the volcano had released about 150 million tons of water vapor, the gas responsible for the most heating of any greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. However, here's the deputy what's not this massive eruption is not responsible for warming the planet. Even though Hunga, Tonga released a massive amount of carbon into the atmosphere for a single event on an annual global scale, it barely registered. Volcanologist Simon Karn estimated it released 2 to 5 million tons of CO2, and by comparison, humans emit roughly 36.8 million billion tons of CO2 every year, which is at least 73,600 times more. Additionally, even though water vapor is a powerful greenhouse gas, it is very short lived in the atmosphere and tends to dissipate quickly. And as we wrote on Friday, since atmospheric aerosols tend to reflect light away from the planet, volcanic eruptions often have a net cooling effect. Overall, researchers from Texas A&M UCLA, the Science and Technology Corporation in Maryland and NASA all found that the Hunga Tonga eruption caused very slight cooling overall in the Southern Hemisphere in 2022. In short, even though a single volcano emits a massive amount of CO2, the particulate matter it expels produces more cooling through reflection than heating through the greenhouse effect. And the net effect of volcanization on global emissions annually is not significant. All right, that is it for today's reader question. I'll send it back over to John to take us home. Have a great day.
- [33:47]
John Law
Thanks, Will. Here's your under the Radar story for today, folks. On Thursday, a tank shell struck the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, killing three people and wounding 10 others. Israel said the strike was an accident and apologized, but the incident prompted rebukes from faith leaders across the globe. On Friday, Cardinal Pierre Battista Pizabala, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Theophilus iii, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, led a delegation to the compound to assist the rescue efforts at the church, which has provided aid and shelter for Christians and Muslims in Gaza during the Israel Hamas War. Furthermore, Pope Leo XIV spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone and reiterated the urgent need to protect places of worship and especially the faithful and all people in Palestine and Israel. According to the Holy See Press Office, the Hill has this story and there's a link in today's episode Description alright, next up is our numbers section. The approximate total market value of stablecoins in 2020 was $20 billion. In May of 2025 it was 246 billion. The approximate market value of Tether stablecoin is $161 billion, roughly 62% of the total stablecoin market. The approximate value of Circle's stablecoin is $64 billion, roughly 25% of the total stablecoin market. The estimated value of Donald Trump's personal cryptocurrency holdings as of June is $6.9 billion, according to a Bloomberg analysis. The estimated amount that Trump's cryptocurrency holdings have added to his net worth in recent months is $620 million. According to a February 2024 Pew Research poll, 17% of Americans say they have invested in, traded or used a cryptocurrency, and 63% of Americans say that they have little to no confidence that current ways to invest, trade or use cryptocurrencies are reliable and safe. And last but not least, our have a nice day story. Two people rode into harbor in Hilo, Hawaii late Sunday night, 53 year old UK Special Forces veteran Tim Cr and his 18 year old son Harrison. The two had just spent the last 48 days on the ocean, rowing from Sausalito, California on June 3rd and crossing 2,400 nautical miles. Tim and Harrison are the first father and son duo to row the Mid Pacific crossing and Harrison is now the youngest to do so. Next up for them launching a program to raise funds for veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries called rotary recovery. SFist has this story and there's a link in today's episode description. All right everybody, that is it for today's episode. As always, if you'd like to support our work, Please go to readtangle.com where you can sign up for a newsletter membership, podcast membership, or a bundled membership that gets you a discount on both. We'll be right back here tomorrow. For Isaac and the rest of the crew, this is John Law signing off. Have a great day, y'. All. Peace.
- [36:54]
Isaac Saul
Our Executive Editor and founder is me, Isaac Sowell, and our Executive Producer is John Lowell. Today's episode was edited and engineered by Dewey Thomas. Our editorial staff is led by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman with Senior Editor Will Kbach and Associate Editors Hunter Caspersen, Audrey Moorhead Bailey, Saul Lindsey Knuth, and Kendall White. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet75. To learn more about tangle and to sign up for a membership please visit our website at@retangle.com.
- [37:34]
John Law
Sally from Finance loves fly fishing. She used to spend her weekend surrounded by receipts. Then she switched her company to ramp. Now spend is all under control, all in one place. Her team submits their expenses with a text and she can close the books without all the busy work. So Sally's weekends are all her own, surrounded by fish, not receipts. Switch your business to ramp.com and love finance again.
- [38:04]
Ben
If your dog could talk, they'd beg for Ollie. The full body tail wag, the excited little hops, the big goofy grin. That's the Ollie effect. Ollie delivers clean, fresh nutrition in five drool worthy flavors even for the pickiest eaters. Made in US Kitchens with high quality human grade ingredients, Ollie's food contains no fillers, no preservatives, just real food. Just fill out Ollie's 32nd quiz and they'll create a customized meal plan based on your pup's weight, activity level and other health info. Dogs deserve the best and that means fresh, healthy food. Head to ollie.com healthypup tell them about your dog and use code healthypup to get 60% off your welcome kit when you subscribe today. Plus they offer a happiness guarantee on the first box so if you're not completely satisfied, you'll get your money back. That's O L L I-e.com HealthyPup and enter code HealthyPup to get 60% off your first box.
- [38:58]
John Law
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