State of the Union—John Pitts joins CoinGeek Weekly Livestream

On this week’s episode of the CoinGeek Weekly Livestream, John ‘Jack’ Pitts joined Kurt Wuckert Jr. to talk about the current state of the United States, the strategic Bitcoin reserve, the Trump family’s new American Bitcoin mining venture, and much more.

Welcome John Pitts

John Pitts needs no introduction to BSVers: he’s the founder of SLictionary and Pi01, a Wall Street veteran, and a regular at BSV conferences. Pitts has been on the CoinGeek Weekly Livestream a few times before and keenly understands economics, equities, and macroeconomics.

The BitMEX pardon and madness in Washington

Wuckert begins by asking Pitts how he feels about what’s happening in Washington, D.C., right now. He points to the BitMEX pardons as something he feels has crossed the line into unnecessarily crazy.

Pitts agrees that it’s frustrating. He still believes Bitcoin is bigger than artificial intelligence (AI) or any other technology trend, and seeing scammers and criminals who have done so much damage to the industry pardoned is maddening. The ‘crypto’ industry reminds him of the dot-com era; there’s so much fraud, and the pumps and dumps are rife.

Speaking of pump and dumps, Wuckert says watching guys like Howard Lutnick (linked to Tether) and David Sacks engage in this behavior is concerning. Unlike Silk Road boss Ross Ulbricht, who was young, naive, and probably never intended for things to get so out of control, these guys know better and are in positions of real power. He asks Pitts if the U.S. is in real trouble with them at the helm and what things might look like in two or three years.

Pitts responds that he judges governments by what they can pass permanently. For example, in Donald Trump’s last term, he put several Supreme Court Justices on the bench, and whatever one thinks of that, it is a fundamental, long-term change to the country. However, this time, he has only passed one thing (the deportation of foreign criminals), and while that’s positive, there’s so much more he could be focused on. Almost everything else Trump has done so far has been questionable, he says.

Thoughts on the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

Pitts believes that, fundamentally, the Biden government turned against digital currencies after the Sam Bankman-Fried fiasco. Trump capitalized on that politically, knowing people would remember the crazy pumps during his time in power as COVID stimulus checks and fiscal stimulus rolled out.

Zooming out, Pitts paraphrases Ayn Rand: when good, productive people are punished, and slimy criminals are rewarded, your country is on the verge of revolution. Unlike other philosophers, Rand realized that the solution to such a system is for everyone to leave. The solution will be a total collapse followed by a new system. “We’re headed off a cliff, but that’s a good thing in some ways,” he says.

American Bitcoin mining and the parable of the talents

Wuckert asks Pitts for his thoughts on Eric and Donald Trump Jr.’s announcement that they’ll enter the Bitcoin mining business. Pitts views it as yet another grift. Even if the capital they raise gets spent, they’ll just sell their shares when the time is right.

With gold, silver, and precious metals doing well, Wuckert wonders if Peter Schiff will have the last laugh. Pitts points to the parable of the talents in the bible: real value and work are long-lasting and are where the fun is at. Wuckert agrees, saying with dismay that only a few people he knows are interested in building real businesses that create value; most just want to get rich from speculating on stocks, coins, and property.

To hear more about the latest updates with SLictionary, Pitts’ advice for success, and what GorillaPool is excited about, check out the episode here.

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