 Welcome to Joel Asset News, the top stories in crypto and breaking down to bite-sized pieces. So today, just like the thumbnail suggests, I see there's a lot of pushback and that's between a lot of different organizations. That's between the banks, the regulators, and the retail investors and even countries. So today, we're going to take a real quick dive into what the heck is going on. So first up, the people of El Salvador are protesting against the Bitcoin bill. And hopefully, we can get some people that are actually in El Salvador to comment in the comment section, because this to me is a pretty interesting story. Also, we're going to take a look at Switzerland's largest bank, UBS, says clients have crypto-fomo. So some people might say this is negative, but I say this is actually good news because they realize that there is tremendous demand, which is what JPMorgan figured out. And for some reason, BlackRock just can't get it. On top of that, we're going to take a look at regulators and DeFi. As Texas is a third state this week to target blockbys, Bitcoin savings account, we're going to look as to why they are being targeted. And also, we're going to take a look at, I think this is one of my favorite ones, is that crypto investor sues IRS over tax enforcement rules. And things that he talks about make a ton of sense. And then finally, we're going to take a look at banks, sorry, Bitcoin ATMs are moving into circle cake convenience stores. This is good for me because there's a ton of them all around. And then finally, we're going to take a look at hacks as Rune has been hacked. And we're going to take a look at what the actual hacker said. So we'll take a look at all those things. But first, take a look at what's going on the market. So a lot of things going on today, a ton of stuff. So just real quick, we're looking at, it is the 22nd, I believe, 23rd, excuse me, Friday, days are all mixed up. Here's the market cap, 1.31 trillion. You're looking at Bitcoin being around $32,000 somewhere around there. Ethereum has dropped to 2000. So maybe actually, no, it's gone up a little bit. But still over one hour down, it's just sideways, everything sideways, a little bit down, a little bit up. And it's like we're in this constant battle. And that really brings me to my first point, which is El Salvador. And when I read this, you have to take things with a grain of salt and just take a look at and go, what's really going on behind the big picture? Not what fits my narrative or what fits your narrative, but really what is going on. So this just came out today. And here's what's going on. A left-wing movement, block de resistencia y rebel día popular, that organized the protest, presented a brief requesting the repeal of the Bitcoin law, saying that it was imposed by President Naya Bukele, without consulting the people, improvised and without technical studies. And it's a, maybe they have a point here, and maybe not, we'll just have to see. So to continue, the representatives who issued the statement argued that the new legislation would facilitate illegal activities, monetary chaos, and further damage the low and middle class. And when you take a look at this, these are the same talking points that you get from politicians. These are the same, these are the same talking points that you get from the IMF. These are the same talking points that you get from the banker. So I'm not going to lead anybody down any certain path. I'm just trying to give you the best information I can as it comes in. Then to finish up, while the organization argued that according to opinion polls, most of El Salvador citizens and the majority of businessmen disapprove of the law as it will have negative consequences on prices and income and only benefit the selected few. One of the deputies who supported the movement against the Bitcoin adoption stated at a press conference that nobody wants Bitcoin. And this is a small piece of what is going on. And it's just a press conference and I'm talking about how the same thing that was said here. So again, I'm not for sure if that is the big thing, because you have to remember that even though like these pictures right here, it shows that there are protests, that there are people. And look, I'm sure that there are people who don't want it because they don't, first of all, you don't understand it. And there was a good piece done by Vice where they asked this lady and she was a street vendor. They say, how do you like it so far? Because they're doing these pilot studies and she goes, well, she goes with Bitcoin, I have lost 50% or at this point it was like 30, 35% revenue from what it's based on for the US dollar because Bitcoin is volatile. And I don't think anybody can disagree with that. It is volatile. She said, but she goes, I can immediately transfer it over into US dollars. And that is just, you know, my prerogative. So look, anybody can use it, I think they can transfer it over. I think it's an extra step. But here's the thing that I keep thinking about. There's two ways this could go in all honesty. So the lighting network, let's see how it all works seemed like it's actually working out pretty well. We could see that Bitcoin does go up in the next two, three, four months. And that would be a big boom for that industry. Or it could just be moving sideways and we can go up and down, up and down. I don't think we're going to see much more of a decline. But again, nobody has a crystal ball, not even me. And I'm not no Stradamus. So I have no idea which way it could potentially go. But it's just very odd that the talking points are the exact same that we've seen in politician, bankers and IMF. And again, I don't want to leave anybody down that road. Maybe this is a legitimate thing. What I'd like to hear is from people from El Salvador or actually see a real survey from a massive amount of people, not just a sampling of like 50 to 100, heck even a thousand people. I want to see a large survey that says, you know what, we don't trust it. We don't want it. This is illegal. We want this out of here. Then I would say, okay, you have a point there, but I don't see that yet. Anyhow, let me know what you think about that in the comments section. But let's go on to our next piece, which again, when we're taking a look at the push and shove, you got to look at the banks. So, Switzerland largest bank UBS says clients have crypto-fomal. I'm going to read the story and I'm going to ask you not to laugh. So, UBS Switzerland largest bank says that clients are looking at different investment alternatives and there is a bit of a fear of missing out when it comes to cryptocurrency investments. That's true. This is what the CEO states. Clients are looking at different alternatives. They hear about crypto and there is a bit of fear of missing out FOMO as well. Totally true. And he elaborated this. They read it in the papers, but they also see the volatility. So, honestly, we advise with caution and we don't offer it actively. We feel the crypto itself is still an untested asset category. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Actually, that's actually pretty true. I mean, he's got a point. So, all those things, that's not the funny part. The thing is what he's saying here is that it is true what he says, but it's very interesting that we just saw a story about JP Morgan offering cryptocurrency, albeit through the grayscale trust. We've seen other banks get into it that are working with NY Dig, the small and medium-sized. We've seen BNY Mellon working closely with grayscale trust. So, when we take a look at this, sure, okay, I can see that whole thing. But what it proves to me again is the same that we've been talking about. Demand. It's not the bank's job to say, oh, okay, we're going to give what we think you want. It's the bank's job to offer the services and provide the services that people want. That's really what it comes down to. Now, people will say, well, you know, you got to protect them and all those things. Sure, that is very true. But is this any different from, I mean, the crazy stock market and the manipulation that's going on? Look, JP Morgan has got busted for spoofing precious metals. So, don't give me that. There's no manipulation. It's ridiculous. I don't see the difference, honestly. Correct me where I'm wrong in the comment section. Let's finish up here. The CEO also was asked this, do you have FOMO as a CEO that maybe you're going to miss out on a few millionaires and billionaires? And Hammers, Hommers, what are his names, said, no, I never have FOMO. He explained this, because I'm determined as to what I want to do and it's all about focus. There's always these things that you hear about that maybe this or maybe that. Right there. That sounds pretty much like a politician right before he gets busted for doing something stupid. So, when some people say, I never have FOMO, I never fall victim of this or I am a pillar of strength and granite in the face of opposition, they're full of it. Because I will tell you right now, I am not perfect. That's my wife. I don't think you are either. So, when a guy comes over here and says, I never have FOMO, I never have this, I'm perfect. You're full of it, man. You're so, I just got to throw that out there. And maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there are perfect people out there in the world, but when you say stuff like that, come on. And as good as I try to be, even when we talked about my exit strategy, I still messed up here and there. I didn't take as much as I should have off the table, but not perfect. So anyhow, these are the things that the banks are pushing back at. And I just found it odd because UBS talks about this. And they, which is, and this was today, the 23rd, but then you have stories like this, Natsulongo, JP Morgan and UBS plan to onboard active crypto strategies. So again, they warn you, but they're still going to onboard you. And then this was in direct opposition to what they said Natsulongo, which they advise, hey, you need to stay clear of cryptos because regulators will crack down. And I'm like, okay, sure. So again, I think there's a little bit given tug. Let me know what you think in the comments section. Let's move on to our next piece, which I think is the most interesting, one of the most interesting ones, BlockFi. So the great set of taxes, which I live in right now is the third state this week target BlockFi's Bitcoin savings accounts. What the heck is going on here? So state regulators have filed for a cease and desist against BlockFi and two of its subsidiaries BlockFi lending and BlockFi trading over an alleged sale of unregistered securities. My question is what securities they're talking about, which cryptocurrencies? Because what this sounds to me like at first, it sounds like a savings account. So there's not really securities here. But when they start to talk about, okay, BlockFi lending and BlockFi trading, maybe there's something here that they're offering. But as far as I know, BlockFi doesn't offer like any kind of derivatives or any kind of other types of synthetics as far as what Binance does. But to continue on, at issue is an investment product called the BlockFi interest account, okay, which promises high returns in exchange for banked crypto such as Bitcoin. New Jersey and Alabama were the first and second as far as cease and desist and now we have Texas joining in the fray. So really what it comes down to is this. What's going on with this, what they call it, BlockFi interest account? Because if you think about it, all the exchanges have that. You've got Coinbase earn, you've got that a Kraken, which well, I mean, that would be more of like along the lines of staking. But you have that on Gemini, you have that on Celsius, you have that on Voyager. Why is it only BlockFi? What's going on? So I reached out to Alex, Alex Masculi on the Alex Masculi show. And he is going to do a deep dive into that. And he's actually going to talk to Steve Erlich from Voyager. And he's going to get back to me on this one because he goes, it doesn't make much sense why they're doing this. There's a reason why they're pinpointing BlockFi and not everybody within it. There's something else going on behind the scenes. And I will find out. Let me know which thing in the comments section. Let's move on to our last two pieces where we talk about the IRS getting sued. So what's going on here? First of all, Joshua Jarrett, I don't know who you are, but I would like to have you on my show. You, sir, are a real hero. Joshua Jarrett, a crypto investor, has filed suit against the IRS. He claims that taxing newly created tokens' income is in direct contradiction of over 100 years of U.S. tax law. My man. So like any property, cryptocurrency tokens, because just so we're clear, crypto is right now classified as property in the United States, not as a security, not as any kind of derivative or anything like that. It is classified as property, not as currency, not as a security, nothing like that. Just making sure. Okay. Like any property, income when they're received as payment or compensation, but these newly created tokens are like crops harvested by a farmer, which are not taxed until they are sold, which is very true. So all these things about like airdrops and when you get them, like the big one is like the flare airdrop or XRP, they're going to tax you on that. You haven't sold it. What the heck is going on? Jarrett and his attorneys argue that newly created crypto tokens are akin to a just completed painting and are not considered income until they are sold. Makes sense. And they warn that if people who harvest tokens of any digital currency are subject to taxation, they can move their operations to other countries with different tax codes. So look, I'm just going to say this, great job. Because this is how it should be. I never understood this law. I never understood it. It's almost like when Janet Yellen started to talk about, she wanted to start to consider taxing unrealized gains. I mean, you haven't sold anything, but you have any possession. So like, we should tax unrealized gains. So like your house, you haven't sold it yet, but it's unrealized gains. Your car, even though it's a depreciation, it could be an unrealized gains. All the stocks, all the bonds, all the cryptos, unrealized gains, which that fell flat, which was crazy. So now we have it here, like, what are you talking about? We're getting airdrops, you're taxing us an airdrop and we haven't even gotten any kind of income for that. What are you talking about? So this I'll be paying close attention to, we'll see what happens. Let me know what you think. I think this is great. Josh Jarrett, tip of the hat, sir. Good job. And finally, we'll talk about two positive, kind of positive, maybe. What's going on? Bitcoin ATMs to invade Circle K. And this again, demand. Bitcoin Depot is making a play for brick and mortar foot traffic through long term crypto ATM partnerships with Circle K. If you're not from the States, Circle K is a big gas station and convenience store. They're all over the place, especially here in the Southwest. They've got over 700 already live and they're aiming for 6,000 kiosks across North America before 2021 is done. That's five months. It's sure doable, I guess. So some people will say, why don't I like ATMs? And it's a big rip off. What else? It doesn't matter. You know what it is? It's marketing. That's all it is. When people hear about these stories about cryptocurrency and they hear about Dogecoin and Bitcoin and Ethereum and these forks and then there's these new exchange called bullish coming in, then JPMorgan's offering and then they see it. Basically, in their convenience stores, they're like, I don't know what this is, but that's just one more reminder. And just like in sales, you got to see things between seven to 10 times before you start to really get it or even want to buy it. So this is just, to me, just marketing. And I'm good with that. And then to finish up, the tie up comes as the crypto ATM industry continues to grow. Bitcoin depots own stats indicate the industry is up 155% year over year, not too shabby. So look, this is looking good for all of us. We'll see what happens. And I think it's great. And lastly, bad news. Rune, which I don't really know what that is. Rune was hacked. And here's the message from the hacker below. This is pretty gangster. From the hacker, you could have taken ETH, Bitcoin, L Y C, BNB and BEP 20. If waited, wanted to teach lesson, minimize damage, multiple critical issues, 10% bar bouncy would have prevented this, disable until audits are complete. Audits are not a nice to have. Do not rush code that controls nine figures. Mic drop. So look, I used to always get ticked off it. I hate spammers, but sometimes it seems like hackers really do play a pivotal role in this industry. They kind of just, they write the wrong, they're kind of like grandpa chaos or uncle chaos, where they just come in, destroy stuff a little bit, and then hopefully you can rebuild and make it better. So for this hacker, I mean, yeah, people lost their money. I'm not going to condone that. There's no way. However, I will say that is an interesting prospect that the hacker came out and said, this is why this is what's going on. You need to fix this and fix this now. So everybody who talks about these different certain projects that are like, are just taking too long, Cardano comes to mind, polka dot, some other ones that really avalanche, they take their time because they don't want to have people lose a bunch of money. And I know people will say, well, you know, these, these programs, they take way too long. Look, things take time. And again, like, I don't want to be flying in a 747. And then it just fall apart and the crash and then the engineers go, you know what, we probably should have fixed that first. But now we know what to fix. So it is one of those things. And that's it for today. So look, I know it's a lot of things to go over, but we're in a huge struggle. And no one said it was going to be easy. And it was going to be a long process. But I do believe that we're going to see some pretty massive influx and increases in the next couple of months, maybe towards the end of the year. And I think that long term investing is the way to be. And that's what I've been doing for the last four years, dollar cost averaging. All right. So look, thanks for sticking with me to the end. I appreciate it. If you liked that video, give it a thumbs up and a like. Also consider subscribing. A lot of things to talk about here are time sensitive. We're going to shoot on over to Dan Clips and do a live stream right now and talk about banks and really delve deep into the ETF situation. So check us out over there. And that's it for today. So thanks so much. I appreciate it. See you on the next one.