Erik Voorhees: The Danger of Gov Bitcoin, ‘Gross’ Politics, and Losing 50,000 BTC to the SEC

Venice.ai founder Erik Voorhees joins "CoinDesk Spotlight" to discuss his prediction of a sovereign bond market collapse and the predominant role of bitcoin in that future. Voorhees explains why he is fundamentally against a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve, why crypto lobbying is "gross," and his thesis that cryptocurrency was actually built for AI agents. - This content should not be construed or relied upon as investment advice. It is for entertainment and general information purposes. - Break the cycle of exploitation. Break down the barriers to truth. Break into the next generation of privacy. Break Free. Free to scroll without being monetized. Free from censorship. Freedom without fear. We deserve more when it comes to privacy. Experience the next generation of blockchain that is private and inclusive by design. Break free with Midnight, visit midnight.network/break-free - Need liquidity without selling your crypto? Take out a ⁠⁠⁠Figure Crypto-Backed Loan⁠⁠⁠, allowing you to borrow against your BTC, ETH, or SOL with 12-month terms and no prepayment penalties. They have the lowest rates in the industry at 8.91%, allowing you to access instant cash or buy more Bitcoin without triggering a tax event. Unlock your crypto’s potential today at Figure! ⁠⁠⁠https://figuremarkets.co/coindesk⁠⁠ - Timestamps: 01:20 - Voorhees' First Memory of Money Mattering 04:00 - Discovering Bitcoin As a Solution to the Financial Crisis 06:13 - Could Bitcoin Replace Gold Completely? 07:17 - When Will There Be A Complete Financial Collapse? 10:47 - The Separation of Money and State 13:57 - Why Voorhees is Divided on Governments Holding Bitcoin 15:53 - Crypto Industry Engagement with Politicians Is "Gross" 19:49 - Voorhees' History with the SEC 21:48 - From Satoshi Dice to Prediction Markets 24:09 - What Does "Sufficiently Decentralized" Actually Mean? 27:35 - Ethereum's Trajectory 29:07 - Voorhees Predicts Base Will End Up the Predominant L2 32:01 - Sci-Fi and Technological Optimism 34:06 - Learnings from ShapeShift's DAO Structure 38:01 - Venice AI: Separation of Mind and State 40:24 - How Do We Avoid a Dystopian Future? 43:19 - How Venice AI Differs from ChatGPT and Gemini 47:46 - Unprogramming Human Instincts for Privacy 50:24 - The VVV Token 54:25 - Crypto is Built for AI Machines 56:56 - How He Lost 50K BTC Fighting The SEC - #cryptocurrency #digitalfinance #finance #bitcoin #crypto Subscribe to CoinDesk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CoinDesk?sub_confirmation=1 CoinDesk is the leading digital media, events and information services company for the crypto asset and blockchain technology community. Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/coindesk LinkedIn: https://www.din.com/company/coindesk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coindesk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoinDesk Newsletters: https://www.coindesk.com/newsletters CoinDesk Podcast Network: https://open.spotify.com/show/2jyIhkvAQhed8AWDZiPpSP Markets Daily Crypto Roundup: https://open.spotify.com/show/7sDXM8BlxsUqzL2IqmLqwE