The
bitcoin
“halving”
is
almost
upon
us.
This
technical
event,
written
in
bitcoin’s
code,
happens
every
four
years.
In
simple
terms,
it
is
when
the
rewards
for
bitcoin
miners
are
cut
in
half.
This
reduces
the
pace
at
which
new
bitcoins
enter
the
market.
Since
there
will
ever
only
be
21
million
bitcoins,
the
halving
serves
to
create
more
scarcity.
In
the
past,
halving
has
preceded
massive
rises
in
bitcoin
prices
to
new
all-time
highs.
But
this
time,
things
are
different.
Bitcoin
has
already
hit
a
new
record
high,
before
the
halving
has
taken
place.
That’s
because
the
approval
of
spot
bitcoin
exchange-trade
funds
has
excited
the
market
and
brought
in
lots
of
demand
for
the
cryptocurrency.
In
the
latest
episode
of
CNBC
Tech’s “Beyond
the
Valley” podcast
—
which
you
can
listen
to
above
—
Tom
Chitty
and
I
discuss what
exactly
the
halving
is
and
how
this
latest
bitcoin
cycle
is
different
from
the
past.
If
you
have
any
thoughts
on
this
or
previous
episodes,
please
email
us
at beyondthevalley@cnbc.com.
You
can
subscribe
to
“Beyond
the
Valley”
by
clicking
the
links
below
to
your
chosen
platform:
Here
is
a
transcript
of
the
episode
of
“Beyond
the
Valley”
released
on
Apr.
11,
2024.
It
has
been
edited
for
clarity.
Tom
Chitty
The
halving
will
soon
be
upon
us,
not
some
medieval
ritual.
The
halving
which
happens
every
four
years
is
when
the
rewards
for
mining
bitcoin
are
cut
in
half,
which
should
reduce
supply
and
increase
demand
for
the
cryptocurrency.
Arjun
has
been
at
Paris
Blockchain
Week,
Europe’s
biggest
blockchain
and
digital
assets
event
to
find
out
why
the
halving
is
so
important,
what
it
will
mean
for
the
price
of
bitcoin
and
how
this
halving
cycle
may
be
different
to
before.
And
we’ll
also
get
the
latest
on
the
future
of
crypto
exchange
Binance.
And
finally,
whether
Ethereum
is
the
next
cryptocurrency
after
bitcoin
to
be
granted
an
ETF.
So
how
was
Paris?
Arjun
Kharpal
Paris
was
very
nice.
Had
a
delightful
Parisian
beer
while
I
was
there.
Tom
Chitty
I
knew
you’re
gonna
start
with
either
food
or
drink.
Arjun
Kharpal
It
was
whirlwind,
you
know,
we
sort
of
got
in
Eurostar.
I
love
the
Eurostar.
Nice
little
handy
journey.
No,
no
sort
of,
you
know,
airport
situation.
Tom
Chitty
If
you
want
to
email
us
then
the
email
address
is
beyondthevalley@cnbc.com.
And
of
course,
we
will
read
them
out
on
the
show.
But
before
we
discuss
our
main
story,
we’ve
got
to
hear
Arjun’s
stat
of
the
week,
which
is…
Arjun
Kharpal
Which
is
13,777.
Tom
Chitty
13,777B.
Okay,
now,
if
you’d
like
to
keep
up
to
date
on
the
world
of
tech,
then
the
best
place
to
start
is
the
Beyond
the
Valley
weekly
newsletter
packed
with
the
best
international
tech
stories
from
CNBC,
you
can
subscribe
by
heading
to
CNBC.com/beyond-the-valley,
click
on
the
subscribe
button,
and
it
will
drop
in
your
inbox
every
Friday.
So
back
to
our
main
story,
the
bitcoin
halving
Arjun
for
someone
that’s
never
heard
of
it.
What
is
it?
Arjun
Kharpal
The
halving
or
the
halvening,
as
others
call
it.
Tom
Chitty
That’s
so
weird.
Halvening
sounds
even
more
medieval?
Arjun
Kharpal
I
don’t
know,
I
just
go
with
halving.
It’s
easy
to
pronounce.
But
you
have
to
go
back
to
bitcoin
and
the
way
it
functions,
there
will
only
ever
be
21
million
bitcoin
in
existence.
And
the
way
that
Bitcoin
is
effectively
created
is
this
public
ledger
of
activity.
And
transactions
need
to
be
validated
in
order
to
sort
of
go
through.
And
this
validation
process
is
done
by
what’s
known
as
miners,
could
be
you
and
I,
probably
not
you
and
I
though,
but
it
could
be
you
and
I
are
running
very
specialized
high
power
machines,
computers
that
are
able
to
solve
very
complex
cryptographic
mathematical
puzzles,
in
order
to
validate
a
bitcoin
transaction.
And
when
they
do
validate
a
transaction,
they’re
competing
with
other
miners
to
do
so
when
they
when
they
do
validate
a
transaction,
they’re
rewarded
for
their
efforts
in
bitcoin.
Every
four
years
written
in
bitcoin’s
code
is
the
halving
in
which
those
rewards
the
miners
get
are
slashed
in
half.
The
idea
then
is
that
the
…
amount
of
new
bitcoin
created
is
cut
in
half.
And
so
it
slows
down
the
supply
of
bitcoin
onto
the
market.
It
keeps
a
lid
on
on
inflation
in
the
bitcoin
space.
And
that’s,
that’s
the
whole
idea
of
it.
Tom
Chitty
So
if
I
go
and
buy
bitcoin,
the
bitcoin
I
buy
is
fresh
bitcoin
that’s
been
mined,
not
someone
who’s
selling
bitcoin
is
that
right?
Arjun
Kharpal
The
likelihood
is
if
you
buy
bitcoin,
if
we
go
on
an
exchange
and
buy
bitcoin,
we’re
selling
bitcoin
that’s
in
existence
already.
That
bitcoin
may
have
come
into
circulation,
when
the
miners
were
rewarded
with
it,
and
then
sold
it
at
some
point
and
is
entered
into
the
sort
of
buy
and
sell
market.
But
that’s
effectively
what
it
is.
Tom
Chitty
Why
is
it
so
important,
then?
Have
we
seen
historically
huge
price
rises
off
the
back
of
it?
Arjun
Kharpal
So
it’s
important
because
I
think
a
lot
of
enthusiasts
of
bitcoin
just
from
a
pure
technological
level,
love
the
idea.
So,
often,
people
who
are
proponents
proponents
of
bitcoin
will
say,
well,
if
you
look
at
currencies
like
the
U.S.
dollar
or
something
else,
you
know,
those
can
U.S.
dollar
can
be
printed,
ad
infinitum,
you
know,
central
bank
control
the
supply,
and
you
know,
they
can
print
more
money
effectively.
Yeah,
quantitive
easing
is
one
is
one
way
of
doing
that,
and
that
devalues
the
dollar,
or
it
devalues
the
currency.
And
so
what
they
say
is,
well,
with
the
halving,
you
know,
bitcoin
will
not
be
devalued.
There’s
only
a
limited,
finite
supply
and
no
central
bank
in
the
world
can
overturn
that.
There’s
no
central
entity
that
controls
bitcoin.
And
so
from
a
from
an
ideological
from
a
technological
point
of
view.
That’s
what
the
bitcoin
enthusiasts
like.
Now,
from
the
price
and
market
point
of
view
that’s
a
different
story.
So
when
people
talk
about
bitcoin
price,
you’ll
often
hear
him
talk
about
the
bitcoin
cycle.
And
it’s
this
sort
of
four
year
cycle
that
happens.
And
often,
the
new
bull
run,
which
has
begun,
starts
or
begins
just
before
the
halving
takes
place.
And
after
halving
a
few
months
later,
bitcoin
in
hits
a
new
all
time
high.
That
is
the
typical
cycle.
And
the
idea
is
that,
well,
if
the
supply
of
bitcoin
is
becoming
more
finite,
it
is
becoming
rarer,
just
like
gold,
or
like
precious
metal
or
something,
you
know,
that’s
becoming
rarer
then
the
price
would
go
higher.
And
that’s
the
kind
of
thinking
behind
it.
Tom
Chitty
Yeah
I
was
talking
to
one
crypto
enthusiast
about
it.
And
he
said,
that’s
what
makes
bitcoin
special,
everything
else
is
sort
of,
you
know,
other
cryptos
follow
a
similar
technology.
But
it’s
the,
it’s
the
fact
that,
you
know,
there
is
a
limited
supply,
and
our
currencies
are
constantly
being
devalued
through
inflation
through
printing
of
money,
people
see
that
as
well.
If
I
get
my
hands
on
some
bitcoin,
there’s
no
chance
that
there’s
going
to
be
more
created,
you
know,
this,
it
will
hold
its
value.
Or
at
least
that’s
what
they
think.
Arjun
Kharpal
That
from
a
from
a
tech
and
ideological
point
of
view.
That’s
that’s
really
what
so
many
of
the
enthusiasts
and
proponents
love
about
it.
Tom
Chitty
Let’s
talk
a
little
bit
about
why
this
cycle
is
a
little
bit
different
then.
It’s
to
do
with
the
ETF
that
happened
a
few
months
ago,
right?
Arjun
Kharpal
Yeah,
that’s
right.
So
Bitcoin
hit
an
all
time
high,
a
new
all
time
high
before
the
halving
took
place.
A
lot
of
that
was
because
we,
you
know,
we
have
spoken
about
the
ETF
in
a
past
episode,
the
spot
ETF
approvals
in
the
U.S.,
which
has
increased
investor
access
to
bitcoin.
But
it
also
means
that
the
issuers
of
those
ETFs
need
to
buy
bitcoin
to
underpin
the
ETF.
So
there’s
been
a
ton
of
demand
and
inflows
of
money
into
these
ETFs
to
support
that,
those
issuers
are
going
to
have
to
go
out
and
buy
bitcoin
that’s
really
helped
the
price
and
excitement
about
that,
the
fact
that
to
so
many
bitcoin
has
gone
mainstream.
It
is
part
of
why
we
saw
the
all
time
high.
Now
you’ve
got
the
halving
in
the
mix.
What
is
that
going
to
do
to
the
market
now?
You
mentioned
I
was
at
Paris
Blockchain
Week.
In
there,
I
had
a
very
rare
interview
with
the
new
Binance
CEO,
Richard
Tang.
We
sat
down
in
the
Binance
offices,
and
I
asked
him
a
little
bit
about
this
market
cycle,
and
how
it’s
different.
Richard
Teng
So
if
you
asked
me
last
year
me
last
year,
I
have
a
certain
price
point
for
bitcoin.
I
will
say
that
it
exceeded
my
expectation,
especially
so
early
on.
But
this
cycle
is
a
bit
different
from
past
cycles.
I
mean,
you
have
been
involved
in
crypto
so
you
know,
crypto
normally
goes
through
four
year
cycle,
right?
Price
movement
cycle,
which
coincides
with
the
halving,
which
is
going
to
take
place
in
about
9
days
time
for
bitcoin.
It
is
normally
after
about
six
months
after
halving
that
you
see
a
new
all
time
high
in
terms
of
prices,
but
this
time
around,
it
happens
even
before
the
halving
right,
which
is
why
it’s
unique
in
terms
of
market
cycle,
and
one
of
the
key
reasons
is
really
the
introduction
of
the
ETF.
How
you
are
bringing
so
many
new
users,
new
liquidity?
Arjun
Kharpal
So
Richard
Teng,
sort
of
saying
very
similar
things,
you
know,
the
ETFs
has
pulled
forward
demand.
He’s
very
bullish,
because
not
only
have
you
got
that,
then
you’ve
got
the
halving
now,
and
so
that
could
propel
prices
further.
He
said,
initially,
last
year,
he
thought
bitcoin
would
hit
something
like
$80,000
this
year.
And
he
goes,
I’m
gonna
probably
go
past
that
now.
Tom
Chitty
So
he’s
actually
even
more
bullish.
Arjun
Kharpal
That’s
right,
because
not
only
have
you
now
got
that
ETF
demand,
you’ve
now
got
halving.
It’s
going
to
be
interesting.
We
haven’t
seen
a
cycle
like
this
before.
Has
that
demand
just
been
pulled
forward
because
of
the
ETF?
Or
is
it
going
to
be
the
ETF
now
plus
the
traditional
impact
of
the
halving.
That
remains
to
be
seen.
Tom
Chitty
Whilst
you
were
in
Paris,
you
chatted
to
a
lot
of
crypto
enthusiasts.
What
was
some
of
the
more
outlandish
price
predictions?
Was
there
anyone
that
was
bearish?
Was
anyone
saying
well,
I
expect
it
to
go
down?
Arjun
Kharpal
Now
it
was
a
party,
Tom,
it’s
just
a
party.
It
is
only
going
up
apparently,
according
to
the
crypto
community.
As
a
side
note,
it’s
very
hard.
It’s
a
very
divisive
asset
class,
isn’t
it?
Crypto.
You
know
there’s
often
people
who
like
sort
of
despise
it,
or
people
absolutely
love
it.
And
there’s
nothing
bad
to
say
about
it.
It’s
very
hard
to
find
someone
in
the
middle.
Tom
Chitty
That’s
you
and
I.
Arjun
Kharpal
One
of
the
only
comparable
things
I
can
think
of
is
Tesla
stock.
You
either
got
people
who
love
it,
nothing
bad
about
it,
it
is
the
future,
or
people
will
just
think
it’s
just
another
car
company.
Fascinating.
Anyway,
that’s
what
makes
a
market,
I
guess.
But
no,
there
have
been
outlandish
price
predictions
this
year
$100,000,
$150,000,
I’ve
heard.
So
those
are
some
on
the
top
end
levels
of
predictions
for
this
year.
Tom
Chitty
When
you’re
speaking
to
these
crypto
enthusiasts
and
you’re
a
little
bit
playing
devil’s
advocate,
and
just
a
little
bit
more
temperate
with
your,
you
know,
questions
and
challenging
their
assertions
of
you
know,
this
is
the
best
thing
since
sliced
bread.
What’s
the
reaction?
Is
it
is
it
quite,
not
aggressive,
but
is
it
quite,
you
know,
on
the
front
foot
when
they
hear
any
challenges?
Arjun
Kharpal
It’s
definitely
on
the
front
foot.
I
think
it’s
definitely
like,
you
know,
they’re
up
for
the
challenge.
But
they’re
definitely
on
the
front
foot.
And
they
want
to
talk
up.
There’s
lots
of
pros
of
it
that
they
see
specifically
and
they
want
to
talk
about
it.
Tom
Chitty
And
they’ve
probably
spent
years
being
told
that
they’re,
you
know,
that
they’re
crazy
and
what
they’re
investing
in
is
worthless,
I
assume
anyway.
Okay.
Speaking
of
Binance,
let’s
let’s
talk
a
little
bit
more
about
that
crypto
exchange.
Been
in
the
news
a
lot
in
the
past
12
months.
Give
us
a
little
bit
of
background
as
to
why
this
interview
is
kind
of
pretty
important,
bit
of
an
exclusive
there.
Give
us
a
little
bit
background
on
by
Binance.
Arjun
Kharpal
Binance
is
one
of
the
world’s
largest
cryptocurrency
exchanges.
It’s
got
a
huge
number
of
users,
huge
number
of
assets.
But
last
year,
it
was
part
of
a
lawsuit
with
the
Department
of
Justice
in
the
U.S.
The
result
of
that
was
that
its
former
CEO
Changpeng
Zhao,
CZ,
we’ve
spoken
about
Binance
before
on
one
of
the
episodes.
He
pleaded
guilty
to
criminal
charges
levied
by
the
DOJ
and
Binance
settled
with
the
DOJ
for
$4.3
billion.
A
lot
of
what
the
DOJ
had
alleged
was
around
things
like
not
enough
controls
for
anti-money
laundering
or
knowing
your
customer
and
various
other
allegations.
So
long
list.
Then
the
new
CEO
came
in
just
months
into
the
job
now,
Richard
Teng,
and
he
was
a
former
regulator
in
Abu
Dhabi,
so
he’s
come
from
this
regulatory
background.
And
it’s
his
task
now
to
clean
up
this
company.
And
I
sat
down
with
him
I
think
we
spoke
for
about
20-25
minutes,
about
some
of
those
allegations
about
what
he’s
planning
to
do.
The
biggest,
one
of
the
biggest
things
the
DOJ
talked
about
with
Binance
was
its
culture
and
said
CZ,
the
former
CEO
had
this
culture
where
it
was
better
to
ask
for
forgiveness
later
than
ask
for
permission.
And
so
I
spoke
to
Richard
Teng
about
this
and
said:
How
do
you
go
about
changing
the
culture?
Richard
Teng
So
in
those
very
early
stages
of
development,
again,
rules
are
nascent
early
stage
of
development,
there’s
no
clarity
on
that.
Binance
was
operating
in
a
certain
fashion.
But
we
have
moved
past
that,
as
the
company
moves
into
greater
maturity,
we
are
looking
at
sustainability,
the
direction
of
travel,
now
is
very
clear,
towards
much
more
compliance,
which
is
why
we’re
building
up
a
very
robust
compliance
program
with
very
good
talent.
Arjun
Kharpal
So
his
argument
was,
you
know,
a
lot
of
what
the
DOJ
was
alleging
was
past
behavior,
you
know,
from
the
early
days,
was
a
startup
culture,
growth,
amongst
sort
of
everything,
and
now
the
company
is
maturing,
they
are
working
with
regulators,
and
there’s
a
lot
more
that
they
need
to
do
to
mature.
I
think
one
of
his
biggest
challenges
is
really
going
to
be
about
there’s
still
a
lot
of
the
old
guard
left
at
Binance.
And
how
do
they
react
to
this
change?
Will
he
get
them
on
board?
That
can
be
quite
a
big
question
as
well.
Tom
Chitty
I
think
it’s
interesting
startups
are,
by
their
very
nature
need
to
push
the
boundaries,
but
can
often
get
caught
out
when
it
comes
to
behavior
and
practices,
best
practices.
Arjun
Kharpal
And
a
lot
in
the
the
crypto
industry
will
argue,
well,
you
know,
we
don’t
have
the
regulation
in
place.
It
is
hard
for
us
to
know
what
we
can
and
can’t
do.
Tom
Chitty
Yeah
and
they
have
Arjun
Kharpal
That’s
the
flip
side
of
this
argument.
Tom
Chitty
And
just
from
your
discussions
Does,
does
it
sound
like
that,
are
they
confident
that
that
will
happen?
Arjun
Kharpal
In
the
U.S.,
the
crypto
industry
is
just
fed
up
with
the
U.S.,
there’s
no
regulation
anywhere.
The
SEC
is
so
anti-crypto
and
they’re
always
like
the
U.S.
is
so
behind
that’s
one
of
the
things
I
heard
on
the
ground,
the
U.S.
is
so
behind.
You
know
other
jurisdictions
are
already
taking
a
lead
when
it
comes
to
trying
to
establish
an
environment
in
which
some
of
these
crypto,
blockchain,
Web3,
whatever
companies
can
operate.
Tom
Chitty
Let’s
talk
a
little
bit
about
ETFs.
We
mentioned
it
earlier
in
the
episode
but
after
the
bitcoin
ETF
there
was
huge
fanfare
and
excitement
that
you
know,
a
cryptocurrency
had
got
an
ETF,
an
exchange
traded
fund,
if
you
didn’t
know
what
that
stands
for.
There
was
also
talk
about
who’s
next
which
cryptocurrency
will
get
an
ETF
next.
And
there’s
been
discussion
that
Ethereum
could
potentially
be
the
next
cryptocurrency.
What
was
the
news
on
the
ground
in
Paris
about
that?
Arjun
Kharpal
One
of
the
world’s
biggest
cryptocurrencies
ether
runs,
you
know,
basically
is
the
token
that
is
associated
with
the
Ethereum
blockchain.
We’ll
do
a
bit
more
on
blockchains
one
day,
I
think.
But
imagine
Ethereum
is
sort
of,
something
you
can
build
apps
on,
effectively,
like
an
operating
system
that
you
can
build
apps
on.
Those
apps,
perhaps
might
be
using
ether
tokens,
for
example.
So
there’s
a
lot
of
excitement
around
Ethereum,
and
the
technology
and
then
ether.
So
yeah,
if
you
can
give
people
access
to
ether
via
an
ETF
again,
it
could
be
seen
as
another
big
win
something
that
can
bring
a
lot
of
money
into
ether.
Now,
you
know,
I
was,
I
was
talking
to
actually
some
of
the
issuers
of
the
bitcoin
ETFs
on
the
ground
at
Paris
Blockhain
Week
about
their
views
on
whether
the
SEC
will
pass
an
ether
ETF,
if
any
wants
to
know
it’s
them,
they
have
to
work
with
the
regulators.
So
I
caught
up
with
Jan
van
Eck,
the
CEO
of
VanEck
and
VanEck
is
one
of
the
issuers
of
the
bitcoin
ETF.
I
also
caught
up
with
Jean-Marie
Mognetti,
the
CEO
of
Coinshares.
Again
Coinshares
via
an
acquisition
it
did
in
the
U.S.
issues
one
of
the
Bitcoin
ETFs
in
the
U.S.
Jan
van
Eck,
in
particular,
his
company
VanEck,
has
also
filed
for
an
application
for
an
ether
ETF.
So
I
asked
the
both
of
them
starting
with
Mr.
van
Eck,
what
are
the
chances
of
the
SEC
approving
an
ether
ETF
in
this
upcoming
deadline
that’s
soon
in
May.
Jan
Van
Eck
We
and
Ark,
Cathy
wood
are
kind
of
the
first
in
line
for
May,
I
guess,
to
probably
be
rejected.
Arjun
Kharpal
So
you’re
not
expecting
the
SEC
to
approve
those?
Jan
Van
Eck
No,
no.
I
mean,
the
way
the
legal
process
goes
is
the
regulators
will
give
you
comments
on
your
application.
And
that
happened
for
weeks
and
weeks
before
the
Bitcoin
ETFs.
And
right
now,
pins
are
dropping
as
far
as
Ethereum
is
concerned.
Jean-Marie
Mognetti
Look,
I
think
our
view
is
very
similar
to
Jan.
I
don’t
see
anything
being
approved
this
side
of
the
year,
I
think
the
SEC
put
a
very
clear
lead
in
the
sign
between,
you
know,
what
is
proof
of
work,
proof
of
stake
and
proof
of
stake
is
one
step
too
complicated
right
now
to
get
an
approval
before
the
election
cycle.
Arjun
Kharpal
Both
of
them
there
basically
saying
no
chance.
I
thought
it
was
interesting
from
Jan
van
Eck,
he
was
saying,
well,
usually
in
these
things,
we
have
lots
of
meetings
with
the
SEC
around
these
ETFs,
etc.
And
he
said
it’s
just
pin
drops,
its
nothing
at
the
moment.
So
that
May
deadline
towards
the
end
of
May
is
when
the
SEC
supposed
to
reject
or
approve
some
of
these
ETFs,
they
feel
pretty
confident
that’s
just
not
going
to
happen.
And
so
poured
a
lot
of
cold
water
on
that,
and
it’s
something
that
the
market
has
been
excited
about.
The
problem
with
ether,
in
the
SEC’s
view,
is
there’s
a
whole
debate
on
whether
ether
or
cryptocurrencies,
certain
cryptocurrencies,
is
a
security
or
not
security,
and
that
brings
them
into
certain
regulatory
jurisdictions.
Ether’s
status
by
the
SEC
has
not
yet
been
determined,
it
is
still
up
in
limbo.
So
that’s
one
big
problem.
And
as
I
mentioned,
Gary
Gensler,
the
chair
of
the
SEC
said,
look,
just
because
we
let
bitcoin
ETF
happened,
doesn’t
mean
we’re
going
to
do
this
with
ether
too.
So
a
lot
of
headwinds,
I
think
for
an
ether
ETF
and
clearly
the
industry
those
who
are
actually
trying
to
get
those
to
pass
also
think
the
same.
Tom
Chitty
Anything
else
from
from
Paris
Blockchain
Week?
Arjun
Kharpal
I
actually
attended
an
AI
summit
the
day
before
Paris
Blockchain
Week
in
Paris.
Tom
Chitty
But
not
related
to
this
event?
Arjun
Kharpal
By
the
same
people.
But
that
was
quite
interesting.
And
I
caught
up
with
a
company
called
SambaNova.
They’re
like
an
Nvidia
competitor.
So
I
thought
that
was
quite
interesting.
But
yeah,
I
think
a
lot
of
the
chat
around
the
blockchain
industry
is,
you
know,
we’ve
spoken
a
lot
about
I
think,
you
know,
the
halving,
pricing
and
market,
but
a
lot
of
them
are
excited
about
some
of
the
applications
that
might
come
to
pass
on
some
of
these
blockchains.
And
over
the
next
year
or
two,
they
often
say
these
bull
markets
are
a
good
time
to
support
the
industry,
brings
money
into
the
industry,
perhaps
new
innovations
and
things
like
that.
We’ll
see
what
happens
this
year.
Tom
Chitty
It
sounds
like
yeah,
as
you
mentioned,
an
episode
on
blockchain
would
be
worthwhile.
Arjun
Kharpal
Yeah,
I
mean,
there’s
so
many
more
stories
to
dig
into
around
that
but
hopefully,
given
the
halving
soon
hopefully,
this
episode
has
given
a
bit
of
insight
into
that.
Tom
Chitty
Yeah,
dates
we
looking
at
18th
or
20th,
something
like
that.
Arjun
Kharpal
It
depends
when
that,
you
know
that
that
block
is
mined
effectively,
then
determines
when
the
halving
happens.
So
it’s
soon.
I
mean,
you
know,
whoever’s
listening
right
now
might
be
listening
as
the
halving
is
happening,
or
has
happened.
But
at
least
I
hope
it
has
given
a
bit
of
context
on
what
it’s
all
about.
Tom
Chitty
Fantastic.
All
right.
Let’s,
let’s
leave
that
there.
But
before
we
finish
the
episode,
we
have
of
course,
got
to
do
stat
of
the
week.
Arjun
Kharpal
13,777.
Last
week,
you
were
sort
of
wildly
wrong
on
it.
Tom
Chitty
Let’s
be
honest,
the
answer
was
or
at
least
the
question
was
a
little
random.
The
number
of
cryptocurrencies
in
the
world.
Arjun
Kharpal
Wow,
you
did
it.
Tom
Chitty
Did
I
get
it?
Arjun
Kharpal
Yeah.
Nailed
it.
Tom
Chitty
Oh,
no
way.
Arjun
Kharpal
Yeah,
I
know.
Are
you
googling?
Tom
Chitty
No,
I
genuinely
was
just
reading
through
the
script,
thinking.
Arjun
Kharpal
13,777
cryptocurrencies
in
existence.
How
crazy
is
that?
Tom
Chitty
That
is.
And
we
only
really
talked
about
you
know,
several
of
them.
Arjun
Kharpal
There’s
lots
of
coins
themed
around
cats,
around
dogs,
around
other
pets.
There’s
obviously
you
know,
the
main
coins
like
bitcoin.
There’s
stablecoins.
And
then
there’s
a
bunch
of
you
know,
what
people,
what
you
mentioned
earlier
meme
coins.
Tom
Chitty
Memecoins.
Arjun
Kharpal
You
said
meme
coins?
Well,
I
thought
I
heard
memecoins.
But
memecoins.
Yeah,
memecoins.
Tom
Chitty
What
are
they?
Arjun
Kharpal
They’re
like
these
sort
of
jokey
coins.
Tom
Chitty
That
people
invest
in?
Arjun
Kharpal
People
invest
in
them.
Well,
sometimes
you’ll
see
like
a
meme
coin
up
like
200%
in
a
day
or
something
like
that.
It’s
a
thing.
Tom
Chitty
Speaking
of,
you
know,
price
rises.
I
watched
Dumb
Money.
Have
you
seen
that?
Arjun
Kharpal
No.
It’s
on
the
list.
Yeah.
On
the
list.
Tom
Chitty
Yeah.
A
lot
of
our
CNBC
colleagues
in
the
U.S.
make
an
appearance.
It’s
about
the
Gamestop
short
squeeze.
Arjun
Kharpal
The
meme
stocks.
They
were
called
meme
stocks.
That’s
why
I
think
you
know,
we’ve
got
memecoins.
Tom
Chitty
We
should
do
a
recommend
section
for
just
you
know,
tech.
Gaming.
Arjun
Kharpal
Tech,
gaming-related
literature,
films,
culture.
Tom
Chitty
Yeah.
Culture.
Arjun
Kharpal
General
culture.
Tom
Chitty
Highly
recommend.
Very
good.
Very
good
watch.
Remember,
you
can
email
us
at
beyondthevalley@cnbc.com.
Last
week
we
had,
we
had
the
flight
from
hell
story
that
you
gave
us
which
was
a
real
treat.
And
I
thought
we’d
read
a
reader
email
from
David
Hunt
in
direct
response
to
that
story.
David
says,
leaving
Chicago
we
encountered
a
thunderstorm
somewhere
over
Pennsylvania.
dark
dark
skies.
Hard
rain,
lightning.
We
hear
the
cracks.
We
see
the
lightning
the
plane
drops.
There’s
silence
among
the
passengers.
While
we
hold
our
breath,
a
boy
maybe
age
five
giggles
with
delight.
I’m
on
my
way
to
Elmira,
New
York
by
way
of
NYC,
New
York
City
where
we
encounter
freezing
rain.
While
delayed
on
the
tarmac,
we
go
through
several
rounds
of
de-icing
before
takeoff.
We’re
flying
directly
into
a
snowstorm,
were
rerouted
to
Syracuse.
The
snow
is
falling
so
heavily,
I
prepare
for
an
announced
overnight
stay.
Instead,
a
small
group
of
us
are
directed
to
a
passenger
van
for
a
white
out
drive
to
Elmira,
90
miles
away.
A
couple
of
hours
later,
at
about
2
a.m.
we
arrive
at
the
Elmira
airport
where
it’s
also
whiteout
conditions.
I
searched
for
my
van
parked
three
days
ago
now,
clear
the
snow,
while
it
snows
and
drive
myself
home
arriving
after
3
a.m.
Arjun
Kharpal
That’s
a
real
flight
from
hell
that.
Tom
Chitty
Poor
David.
But
thank
you,
thank
you
so
much
for
sharing
that.
I
suppose
his
flight
is,
you
know,
longer
and
more
arduous
and
slightly
scarier.
Yours
was
just
painful.
Arjun
Kharpal
Painful,
just
really
painful.
Yeah,
but
yeah,
we
won’t
relive
that
Paris
was
great
was
the
initial
point.
Tom
Chitty
If
in
doubt,
you
know,
Eurostar’s
another
option
to
fly.
That’s
it
for
this
episode.
But
before
we
go,
please
follow
and
subscribe
to
the
show.
Thank
you,
Arjun.
Arjun
Kharpal
Thank
you,
Tom.
Tom
Chitty
We’ll
be
back
next
week
for
another
episode
of
Beyond
the
Valley.
Goodbye.
