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First, let me be clear, I've had a somewhat combative history with Roger [1], but the man does not deserve to be in prison. The US Government's contention that a non-citizen can be guilty of tax evasion is just laughable on its face.
That said, there are a whole lot of lies and half-truths in that interview. First, Roger still seems to be giving himself credit for Bitcoin's early success. Yes, he promoted it a lot on different platforms, and indeed he was known as "Bitcoin Jesus" for a bit for his almost incessant proselytizing. But he wasn't the reason for Bitcoin's success and it was this belief that led him to say "I made Bitcoin what it is today and I'll do the same with Bitcoin Cash." Years of languishing BCH price (literally the same price as it was 2017 and that's not taking inflation into account) hasn't humbled the guy one bit.
He also shilled a lot of different altcoins, mostly focused around privacy. One of his goals on the show seems to have been to pump his bags and for him, it's probably not very different than his early Bitcoin advocacy. He's still a classic altcoin promoter and despite his utter lack of success the last 7 years, he continues down this path.
But the most egregious lie is this idea that his new book is the reason why everything is happening to him, implying that he has something so important to say that the US government must shut him down. The suggestion is that somehow Bitcoin was taken over by the US government and that they needed to suppress his book for the sake of government policy.
The lie wouldn't be so egregious if he sincerely believed it. But I don't think that's the case. Why? Because he still owns Bitcoin. The man is a salesman first, and his public pronouncements are almost always spin to get other people to buy what he's selling.
Personally, I don't think his arguments were compelling and he kept saying "cryptocurrency" which grated on my ears, but who knows how many people will be convinced by him? But then again, I always thought CSW was a fraud, but there were a surprising number of people that fell for his claims (including Ver, at least for a time).
Regardless, I don't think this presages some sort of Roger Ver comeback as he's been irrelevant for a long time. Yes, he may go to prison and become something like a celebrity cause, and he certainly has enough money to promote his suffering. And yea, he may get some fame from being something like political prisoner of the deep state. But it won't make his opinions any more palatable because they're demonstrably dumb.
He seems to me a guy who talks and talks shit. He doesn't care about the selection of words and what he's talking about. This is a video from 2018 where he was blaming governments to do like an individual. Wtf!
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I was about to make a post about this interview.
I think he is coming from the right place. He wants freedom money. It is interesting that companies were accepting Bitcoin and now they don’t. However, I believe that companies will start accepting it more and more. Of course the government and the 3 letter agencies want to shut it down or at least control it. It goes in the face of control. It seems like their propaganda worked quite well over the past 13 years. But people will find out the truth eventually.
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I mostly agree, but it's at least worth entertaining the possibility that the US government was motivated by his support of self custody, considering its close ties to Saylor and the ETF industry, and BlackRock in particular. The timing is at least suspicious. I certainly agree he should not be prosecuted.
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13 sats \ 0 replies \ @ca 10 Dec
I do think it is about the book.
Anyone who becomes a public figure around Bitcoin gets massively scrutinised.
If it wasn't for the latest book, he would have stayed low key and officials would have not know about him. I do believe the book and the timing of its release + arrest, after so many years, is not coincidental.
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Thanks for making this post. I'm still catching up on about lot of the history surrounding bitcoin. I watched that interview and I just kept thinking that a lot of what he was saying didn't sound right.
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I thought it was a bit weird that he gave up his citizenship. Seems like he was running away from something. I felt like I didnt get the full story, just what he was pushing.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @iguano 11h
just let roger behind. he wanted to kill what we love, who cares what happens to him.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cascdr 17h
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Roger who?
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I feel like he's not complete douche - just kinda went on the wrong path/chain... and is in need of help (wish he wasn't still pushing big blocks though). His analogy of prison currency to "crypto" has definitely had me thinking about it all day too.
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I watched the entire interview. I rolled my eyes when he started shilling altcoins and complaining Bitcoin is slow and expensive. Such an overused and untrue argument. Give me a break. He’s smarter than that which is why I was just left confused at the true motive of this interview. Was it to promote his book? His website? Both? I tend to agree with OP that he’s a natural salesman and is willing to sell anything especially at the expense of his current misfortune.
In any regard, sounds like a shitty situation to be in and I can’t help but believe he’s trying to made an example of yet again by the U.S. government.
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It's a psyop to, hopefully, call attention to the role of intelligence agencies in Bitcoin.
Roger has no chance of going to jail particularly now post election, else he wouldn't be talking.
I was glad to see him go off the rails shitcoining and undermining his narrative of what is the real Bitcoin, makes the intel agency accusations a very obvious "limited hangout" and should elucidate anyone curious as to why Bitcoin is unique.
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Based and Jimmy pilled.
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Seems like he really let the "Bitcoin Jesus" thing go to his head. He's got both a major martyr complex and a God complex going on.
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His narrative goes in favour of the deep state.
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It's really hard to have much sympathy for him, even if, as you say, the guy doesn't deserve prison.
Maybe a Biden pardon is incoming?
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i wasn't around for the historicals... could you please comment on the claim in his interview that there were shadowy characters coming around convincing people that small blocks were the thing?
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He was/is a big blocker, lost that fight a long time ago, and continues pathetically trying to spin it off as if Bitcoin was compromised by some conspiracy. In truth it was him and other big block collaborators that attempted to compromise the Bitcoin protocol. When they failed, after the UASF, he spent huge amounts to promote their shitcoin BCH as the real Bitcoin, by buying Bitcoin.com and r/BTC and using them for anti-Bitcoin disinformation, etc. Listening to this interview was laughable at best, infuriating at worst, as he's clearly still hard at work spreading lies about Bitcoin. Based on his track record I wouldn't be surprised if he's bull shitting about the supposed charges against him by the government.
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It does make sense though (having watched part of the interview...) why there are so few places to spend Bitcoin?
We all want Bitcoin to face every and all competition, but face that competition fairly. Free to spend, free to save, free to transact no questions asked and Roger highlighted this in regard to capital gains taxes - which make the accounting for daily small transactions difficult. Right?
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No. In this early phase of Bitcoin, there is little incentive for merchants to accept it as holders don't want to spend it much because it's ngu tech; also anyone who chooses to pay capital gains tax on it is a fool. Once it reaches mass adoption, the volatility will decrease, it will be used more as a medium of exchange, and governments will be forced to treat it as a currency, if they want to continue imposing their sales tax.
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I hope you're right. Sometimes I feel like Bitcoin is just 'too late' and since the 'medium of exchange' hasn't happened... it never will.
Bitcoin's fees have been elevated relative to a few years ago and most of the blocks are full of... basically spam - runes, brc20s, just junk. And those txs are paying 10s of thousands of sats to move... hundreds of sats it's completely uneconomical.
I believe it will end eventually because it makes no economic sense (runes, nfts, memecoins none of them do) but it will take time. I also believe that peer to peer or B2B usage of Bitcoin will take place... but it will also take time for people to become educated about it. I hope it takes place eventually. It's hard to find anywhere that people are willing to accept Bitcoin for good/services.
I remember going to businesses over a year ago that supposedly 'took Bitcoin' and the employee either didn't know how to process it or just didn't care enough to try.
At this rate maybe 1% of the people will have 90% of the Bitcoin... only because the other 99% are too lazy to learn about it or too closeminded
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There's quite a few businesses online that take it now. What I do is buy gift cards on bitrefill. For larger purchases, depending on market cycle, spending some sats can make sense. Retailers accepting those GC have no idea Bitcoin was involved, many you can spend in store.
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In the interview between Roger Ver and Tucker Carlson, Roger Ver, often known as "Bitcoin Jesus" for his early advocacy of Bitcoin, likely discussed various aspects of cryptocurrency, including its potential to revolutionize finance and its challenges. Tucker Carlson, known for his probing interview style, might have asked tough questions about the regulatory environment, market volatility, and the future of cryptocurrencies.
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