Haralabos Voulgaris on owning Bitcoin and the value of self sovereignty

UpOnly: Chats with Crypto Experts

Links

• Haralabob Twitter

Show Partner

This episode is presented by FTX. Trade on an awesome mobile interface fee-free, and still get all the great portfolio tracking features you know and love: https://uponly.tv/ftx

Show Notes

Betting

– Big betters work hard to conceal how and where they are betting

– You don’t just roll up to MGM and place huge bets usually

– You do it through a bot that places bets on different websites instead

– Then hope they pay out lol

– Got rugged heavy in 2009 for like 7 figures then the guy made off to Panama or wherever

– Books will refuse really good gamblers, but will accept “fish” as long as they sign that they aren’t addicted lol

Crypto

– First saw it on Wired magazine when Bitcoin was around $1

– Didn’t jump in at first

– Started using Bitcoin in 2012 to get paid

– Ledger: “Did the process in how you thought about gambling transfer over to crypto?”

– Hara: “Yes I think the fact it was governed by math”

– Could insulate yourself from idiotic government policies and ideologies

– Gotta think about how the dollar gets manipulated since Bitcoin will remain constant

– Hara thinks at some point people will decide to increase the supply of Bitcoin

– This is a flaming hot take sir – I respect it

– We’re gonna be old bags of dust and these kids are just gonna be living in the metaverse

– It is so native and built into these kids

– Ledger: “We’re just gonna go away its gonna be like the blow off top of humanity”

Metaverse

– Cobie: “How do you think about NFTs?”

– Hara likes 2017 era NFTs

– Loves CryptoPunks – all about the narrative and the story

– Likes the old stuff, some of the new stuff is just super out there

– More of a Bitcoin maximalist even though Hara finds Bitcoin Maximalism super toxic

Bitcoin Maxis

– A lot of them might’ve gotten burnt in 2017 and now just think everything is a scam

– Calling anything that isn’t Bitcoin is a shitcoin means that mentally there is something wrong with you

– Cobie: “Part of the toxic maxis is that they missed out, then they join a cult and they have friends now and chant the same words and chant shitcoins and say “Udi you’re wrong!” and then go somewhere else”

– Hara: “The bullish case for me is when nations put Bitcoin on their balance sheet – they aren’t gonna put Ethereum or Solana on there”

Next Steps

– Ledger: “What’s next in your life?”

Hara: “I think its about sovereignty”

– Has always been an individual, wants to be protected instead of looking for gains

– Crypto is the #1 way to preserver your wealth

– Goal before was always to buy a basketball team (need about $1B) but once he got close he was like “idk i don’t really wanna sell my Bitcoin for a basketball team” lolllll

Basketball and NFTs

– Ledger: “How’s it feel to see these guys getting into NFTs? Does that worry you about where we are in the cycle?”

– Not at all

– Thinks that’s not indicative of a top, we are nowhere even close to euphoria

– People are out here protesting racism and other things

– Thinks people might/ should be protesting the dollar, is surprised its not bigger yet

– Hara likes the penguins! LFG

– Hasn’t bought NFTs in a long time

– These athletes aren’t buying punks cause they’re always looking for a deal!

Twitter NFT Integration

– Cobie: “How is this going to go down with the furies”

– Ledger doesn’t get why these are so controversial

– Hara wants to create an NFT project for all these furies

– Ledger: “They already exist they’re called FLUFs – I can give you a good deal on some if you want”

– *Cobie and Hara making fun of FLUFs

– Ledger: “Y’all just aren’t gonna make it”

Constitution DAO

– Hara didn’t do it, didn’t get it

– Thought it woulda been cool to get in then like burn it

– Ledger: “That’s a really good way to get regulators to pay attention to crypto” lol

Forks

– People trade on FOMO so hard

– Like there’s some random ass ohm fork people ape into

– ETH can get myspaced, all of this stuff can probably get replaced

– Bitcoin can never get replaced

– Bitcoin Diamond and Gold and Cash and all that stuff just no chance at all

The Flippening

– If ETH gets to like 0.08 I’m probably a net seller of ETH

– I don’t like to say ahead of time because its so hard to know the context for the move

– It probably signals a time to be cautious even when people are dancing in the streets

Chat Questions

Sports world guys we need?

– Steven A Smith

– NFTs are the gateway drug of crypto

Anon account?

– No

Bitcoin volcano bond?

– Interesting, can just buy El Salvador bond or Bitcoin though, don’t need this although it is cool and interesting

– Saylor will end with fireworks either way

*The Winklevoss are the only people to ever refuse coming on UpOnly. What an outrageous decision.

If you’re 25 with 100k what do you do?

– Would do crypto, trying to build something, tracking different wallets

– Prob not Bitcoin would do something more aggressive, L2s, track engagement, wouldn’t do leverage

FINAL ALPHA

– Hara: “Success = responsibility. Think about what is truly valuable and finite which is your time. Be mindful of your time and what you want to accomplish.”

Notes by Kevin

Music by GiovanniPickle