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Connect the World
Kremlin: Trump's Talk of Weapons, Sanctions "Very Serious"; Family of American Killed in West Bank Calls for Justice; Mamdani's Primary Win Shakes Up Democratic Party; Crypto Industry Expecting Big Wins from Congress after Pouring Millions into 2024 U.S. Election; Trump to Unveil Sweeping $70B Investment Package in AI, Energy. Aired 9-9:45a ET
Aired July 15, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, a live look at the White House and Capitol Hill, where a recent report on the Epstein files
continues to rile MAGA Republicans and Democrats alike. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C., 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi from our Middle East
Broadcasting headquarters.
I'm Becky Anderson. This is "Connect the World". Also coming up, Moscow reacts to President Trump's sanctions threat as the U.S. pledges new arms
to Ukraine. And Mr. Trump expected to announce new AI and energy investments today in Pennsylvania. The stock market in New York opens about
30 minutes from now.
Investors will be keeping a keen eye on those headlines. Plus, futures markets reacting somewhat to the main U.S. inflation data that came out 30
minutes ago, a rise in the consumer price index in line with what analysts had expected. The markets mixed on the open according to the futures
market.
Back there to see what actually happens in reality in 30 minutes from now. U.S. President Donald Trump's latest moves to end Russia's war on Ukraine,
drawing mixed reactions in Moscow. Mr. Trump announcing a plan to sell U.S. weapons to NATO countries who would in turn send them to Ukraine as he
meets NATO Secretary General.
But he also threatened 100 percent tariffs on Russia and sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if a peace deal isn't reached in 50 days.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today dismissed the tariff threat as quote, theatrical ultimatum, saying that Russia doesn't care.
Russia may be more concerned about the American patriot missile systems destined to end up in Ukraine, which Kyiv needs to counter Russian drone
and missile attacks. The Kremlin spokesperson today calling Trump's comments on arms and sanctions very serious.
Mr. Trump told the BBC that he is frustrated with Vladimir Putin, but not ready to give up on his efforts to get the Russian President to end the
war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you done with him? I mean, I know that sounds a simplistic thing.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No, I'm not done, but I'm disappointed in him. But I'm not done with him, but I'm
disappointed in him. I thought we had a deal done four times and then you go home and you see just attacked a nursing home or something in Kyiv.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TRUMP: I said, what the hell was that all about?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you trust him?
TRUMP: I trust almost nobody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: CNN's Chief International Security Correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, with us this hour from London. You and I spoke this time yesterday,
when we were keenly awaiting an announcement from Donald Trump that he had touted as big news on Ukraine. I just want to briefly get your assessment
of what we have had in the past 24 hours before we talk about your analysis piece today, which I really want our viewers, to get a handle on.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, this is certainly by no means the biggest announcement Trump could
have made. In fact, I think it falls far short of some of the more strident sanctions.
Firstly, let's remember that we've had multiple deadlines laid down by Donald Trump in the past six months since he's been in office for peace in
Russia, and the Kremlin has essentially let those expire. So, it's hard to see necessarily, that they'll take this latest deadline of 50 days until a
deal before secondary sanctions against those buying Russian energy supplies.
And necessarily, Moscow will take this particular deadline seriously. Remember too that the authorization of patriot intercept missiles and their
batteries and possibly other weaponry too, is essentially removing the restrictions the Trump Administration has put on after the Biden
Administration for things that could be sent to Ukraine.
So, we're kind of seeing Kyiv getting back to normal with a different sponsor in the form of Europe, rather than the United States, to the place
where they were just in January, but it's also a sea change in how Trump is viewing this war. You heard him there talking about a disappointment with
Putin.
He stopped just short of calling him an assassin. Said, OK, he's a tough guy, maybe not an assassin. And also recalled a sort of telling moment of
his time in the White House where he got off the phone with Vladimir Putin. I paraphrase here, said he had a really nice conversation, and then the
First Lady, Melania Trump, seems to have wandered in and said yes, but he's been bombing Ukraine again overnight.
And clearly that is an insight into Trump's evolving thinking. Does it flip back again towards Kremlin sympathy? We don't know.
[09:05:00]
But important not to downplay the fact that, for the first time, Trump is saying that they need to arm Ukraine in its defense, and this could happen
fast.
ANDERSON: Nick, thank you. I'm sorry, I was thinking that we were going to hear some more sound there. Thank you. I'm going to leave it at that. I'm
going to get you back next hour. Nick's analysis piece on CNN Digital. Looks to the fact that while Ukraine is embracing Donald Trump's
announcement on weapons, lack of immediate sanctions against Russia causing a sting in Kyiv.
And more on that, in Nick's digital piece, as I say, on CNN Digital. Well, America throwing its weight and cash behind artificial intelligence. In the
coming hours, President Trump set to announce a $70 billion investment package focused on AI and energy. That announcement is expected at the
Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation summit in Pittsburgh, today.
The White House says the initiative will create thousands of jobs. CNN's Business Writer Clare Duffy, live from New York. What do we know about this
package? What does it tell us about the U.S. is future AI ambitions, Clare?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yeah. Becky, well, this makes sense, because Donald Trump has really made investing in artificial intelligence a
key focus of his first his term here, and especially investing in AI infrastructure, things like data centers and the energy resources that are
needed to power those energy hungry data centers.
That has been a key focus for him, because it's really seen as essential to ensuring the U.S. is leadership position globally as we move into the AI
era. So, this $70 billion investment is expected to go towards those kinds of investments. As you said, the White House says this will create
thousands of new jobs in Pennsylvania.
And we don't know exactly who is going to be involved in making this investment, but it could be any number of major companies based on who is
on the list of attendees for this event today. You've got the President of BlackRock, CEO of the Chipmaker ARM, CEO of Amazon web services, CEO of
ExxonMobil, CEO of AI firm Anthropic, and the Chief Investment Officer at Alphabet, Google's parent company.
So, we do expect that it could be a mixture of those companies who are contributing to this investment, given the scale here, $70 billion, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yeah, it's very difficult to know exactly what's going to come out of it, but let's just provide some context here. One of the first
announcements that Donald Trump made was about investment in data centers, some half a trillion dollars, he said, would be invested by significant
players around the world.
And he was flanked by some of the tech Titans as he made those announcements. And once again, on his trip to this part of the world, to
Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, to Qatar and to the UAE, once again touting the opportunity that the U.S. provides on AI and crypto, it has to be said as
well. Just how much? How much does Donald Trump believe that this is the future, this Geotech story?
DUFFY: Yeah, it really is a key priority for him. That Stargate Project you mentioned that was OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank that plan to invest $500
billion in AI infrastructure and data centers in the United States. That was one of his first major investment announcements in terms of this focus
on growing U.S. investments, U.S. infrastructure, that was a key priority for him.
Announced from the White House. This investment today, I think will be along the same lines, and it's interesting, too. Pennsylvania makes a lot
of sense as a location to be growing this kind of investment, because this is a place where companies, tech companies, have already been looking.
I mean, we've seen Microsoft investing in the reopening of Three Mile Island nuclear reactor to power its AI data center. So, this is a place
where the tech companies have already been looking at these kinds of investments. And so, it's interesting that the White House now is really
getting on board as well.
ANDERSON: Yeah, that's really important insight on the state. Thank you for that. Right, President Trump has been unable to quiet his base as the drama
surrounding the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein spiral. Sources tell CNN that Trump has privately urged his team to let the whole story die, but his
MAGA base, it seems, simply refusing to let it go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Make some noise if you care about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He promised them. So, he needs to do it. No matter who's on them. We need to release the Epstein files.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they're going to maybe give us pieces and maybe not the whole thing. And think that that's going to suffice. And I
don't think people are going to be quiet about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: What was a big event over the weekend in Florida.
[09:10:00]
All of this comes after his only Attorney General, Pam Bondi released a memo last week stating it had found no evidence that Epstein was murdered
or that he even had a client list. Well joining us now from Washington CNN's Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent, Paula Reid.
The backlash comes after years of Trump and his loyalists pushing Epstein conspiracy theories. Paula, let's just remind our viewers, have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: A lot of people think that he was killed. He knew a lot on a lot of people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was killed, I think.
TRUMP: I'd be inclined to do the Epstein. I'd have no problem with it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list that is an important thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not ever going to let this story go because of what I heard from a source about Bill Clinton on a plane with Jeffrey Epstein.
I'm not letting it go ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the Deputy Chief of the FBI has threatened to resign, and some of Trump's most loyal supporters are calling for Pam Bondi to step
down. What do you make of all of this? And are there legal repercussions to not releasing the entirety of what U.S. authorities have on Epstein at this
point?
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There are no legal repercussions. We were talking about the nation's top law enforcement
official, the attorney general. It's up to her if she wants to release any additional information. But there are enormous as we're seeing political
consequences.
Because what's unusual about this controversy is the blowback is coming from the president's own supporters as a result of what his own attorney
general promised. She promised that she was going to release more, then she withdrew that promise, and this really seems to have some legs.
This is something that has plagued the attorney general the entire time she has been in office, she can tweet about pretty much anything, and you'll
see in the replies, Trump supporters just asking where the Epstein files? When are we going to find out about Epstein? This is really a priority for
them now, politically for the attorney general, things are looking good for her in that the president has made it clear.
He is going to stand by her through this, but in doing that, he's endorsing how she's handled that, that means he owns this just as much as she does.
ANDERSON: Yeah, fascinating. Good to have you. Thank you. Still come. The family of a 20-year-old American man killed by Israeli settlers in the West
Bank is speaking out and demanding justice. That story is just ahead. Plus, Andrew Cuomo makes a comeback in the race to be New York City's next mayor
after losing the Democratic primary. More after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: The family of a Palestinian-American man killed in the West Bank is demanding justice. 20-year-old, Sayf Musallet was born and raised in
Florida. Witnesses report that he was beaten to death by Israeli settlers. CNN's Jeremy Diamond spoke with his father, who is demanding that the U.S.
investigate his son's death.
[09:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the back of an ambulance, Sayf Musallet's aunt says one final goodbye. She is far from
alone. Hundreds in this West Bank town have come to honor the American son who was deeply rooted in his Palestinian community.
Sayf was killed on Friday, just two weeks before his 21st birthday, beaten to death by Israeli settlers, according to his family. Those settlers also
shot and killed another Palestinian man in the same attack, according to eyewitnesses. It is a senseless, yet all too common outcome in the West
Bank.
DIAMOND: Today, it is an American citizen being put to rest here. But over the course of the last 20 months of this war, nearly a 1000 Palestinians
have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the United Nations. But today, Sayf Musallet's family is demanding an American
investigation into his death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want justice.
DIAMOND (voice-over): His father, Kamel, was home in Florida, where he runs an ice cream shop with his son, when he got the call that Sayf had been
attacked by settlers.
KAMEL MUSALLET, SAYF MUSALLET'S FATHER: You never think that it's your son or anything that who's this happening to? And then I got word that it was
my son. He was hit. He was beaten. He lost conscience, but nobody could get to him. Ambulance couldn't come in. Why? Because the IDF restricted that,
the IDF blocked that.
DIAMOND: So, you hold the Israeli military?
MUSALLET: I hold the Israeli military just as responsible as the settlers and the American government for not doing anything about this.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The State Department said it is aware of Sayf's death, but declined to comment further on calls for an investigation.
Israeli authorities say they are investigating but have not made any arrests. For two months now, Palestinians here say Israeli settlers have
been encroaching on their land and terrorizing Palestinians who try and access it.
This was the scene on Friday as Sayf and other Palestinians tried to reach their farmland. Hafez Abdel Jabbar said he saw settlers chase after a man
he would later learn was Sayf.
HAFEZ ABDEL JABBAR, FATHER OF MAN KILLED IN 2024: They ran up the hill. They caught Muslim they started beating him with sticks.
DIAMOND (voice-over): By the time he reached Sayf's body, he was already dead. As we head to the location where Sayf's body was retrieved, a white
vehicle suddenly appears behind us.
DIAMOND: We have a group of settlers who are now following us in their vehicle. They put their masks on as well, which is a concerning indication.
DIAMOND (voice-over): At an intersection, the settlers get out and try to pelt our vehicle, we managed to approach a nearby Israeli border police
vehicle, and the settlers turn around. But minutes after the border police head out to search for the settlers, we are ambushed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, drive. Keep driving.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The masked men smashed the rear windshield of our car, but we managed to speed off unharmed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no. They -- they turned.
DIAMOND (voice-over): It is just a small window into the reality here.
JABBAR: For what it took us five more seconds, we all would have been beating with --
DIAMOND: -- you --
JABBAR: Yes, sir.
DIAMOND: But your son was also killed.
JABBAR: In January 2024 by a settler, simply just being their barbecue.
DIAMOND: What does that feel like to have to constantly try and tell the world what's happening?
JABBAR: You scream into the whole world, and the whole world is watching. Simply silent, seeing all these mothers put their sons that they worked so
hard to raise them up for 20 years, and you pick them up, and you put them in the ground, under the sky. And the silence, go on and on and on.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN Sinjil, the occupied West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And Jeremy has written about this experience with more on the family's calls to the IDF and to the world head to CNN Digital for that.
Well, Andrew Cuomo is fighting to stay in the New York mayoral race, announcing that he will run as an independent after losing the Democratic
primary to Zohran Mamdani by double digits.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW CUOMO, INDEPENDENT NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Hello. I'm Andrew Cuomo. And unless you've been living under a rock. You probably know that
the Democratic primary did not go the way I had hoped. The fight to save our city isn't over. Only 13 percent of New Yorkers voted in the June
primary. The general election is in November, and I am in it to win it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:20:00]
ANDERSON: Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist who shocked the country with his grassroots movement responded to that video on X with a link to
his own campaign at an event later that day, he dismissed concerns about Cuomo reentering the race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZOHRAN MAMDANI, DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR NEW YORK MAYOR: I think he's struggling to come to terms with what Tuesday meant. We spent an entire
campaign being told that it was inevitable for Andrew Cuomo to become the next mayor. And he believed that himself. And what we saw was New Yorkers
hunger for a new kind of politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: David Sirota is the Founder and the Editor of "The Lever", a redefended investigative news outlet heavily focused on corruption in
American politics. He's also served as a Speechwriter on Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign in 2020. David, it's good to have you.
Thank you for joining us. I want -- just first get your sense, a sense from you, what you make of Cuomo's new pitch to voters?
DAVID SIROTA, FOUNDER AND EDITOR OF "THE LEVER": My take is that Andrew Cuomo hasn't really read the room. Andrew Cuomo doesn't really realize
what's going on. But I also think there's something deeper here, which is that clearly, the powers that be in New York City are unhappy with the
Democratic primary result.
The Democratic Party leadership is unhappy with the Democratic primary results, and they are trying to get their way. I think the freak out over
Zohran Mamdani's win is not just about his policy proposals freak out from the effectively the oligarchy. It's that, this is the first time in
anyone's memory that a candidate ran in a Democratic primary in a major race.
And was able to win that race without the permission of and the money of the oligarchy in that city and in really, in this country, that has gotten
very used to just deciding political outcomes and elections. In other words, the freak out over Mamdani's win and expressed essentially through
Andrew Cuomo candidacy, is the voters actually picked somebody that the oligarchy didn't want.
ANDERSON: Yeah, the turnout was very low. That was that certainly one argument from Cuomo. Let's have a look at some of Mamdani's proposed
policies. I wonder whether, given that the turnout was low, whether Cuomo can appeal to more moderate or independent voters who agree, or can at
least see the argument of Mamdani's critics who call this, a socialist agenda, and that's the term that's being used, as, you know, in a very
negative way.
SIROTA: Yeah. Well, look, I certainly think that, that's the theory of Andrew Cuomo is general election candidacy. I mean, I think it's important
to remember that the Democratic leadership, including people like Andrew Cuomo, have demanded that when the Democratic primary results come in, in
races across the country that the Democratic Party unified behind the nominee, the candidate that was picked by Democratic voters.
Suddenly, when a candidate who is not oligarch approved, not approved by the Democratic leadership. Suddenly that whole idea that the Democratic
Party should unify behind who Democratic voters chose. Suddenly that idea is now off the table or not anywhere to be found.
And I think that's very revealing. I think what it says is that the Democratic Party leadership is not entirely comfortable with what we call
democracy, with voters choosing who they want their nominee to be, if their nominee is not approved by the powers that be.
ANDERSON: One former candidate for Governor in Georgia, Stacey Abrams, picked up on the rent issue that Mamdani has been stumping on,
acknowledging what real world problems mean for voters. Just let's have a listen to part of her conversation with my colleague Laura Coates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: He's not being fully embraced by the Democratic establishment. He is a self-described Democratic Socialist. Do you think
that contributes to why some Democrats are reluctant to support him?
STACEY ABRAMS, FORMER GEORGIA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Voters are less concerned about labels. They're concerned about values. And my focus is on
what values is he bringing to the table. He is bringing the value that we have to listen versus lecture. He's bringing the value that affordability
matters, that you cannot ask someone to worry about the $10 word autocracy when they can't afford the four-letter word rent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:25:00]
ANDERSON: And that is a fundamental issue, isn't it, for all Democrats trying to win voters over through policy, not fear, but the policies are
pretty lacking at present. Who do you think is better equipped in this general election to do that? Is it Cuomo or is it Mamdani, ultimately, do
you believe?
SIROTA: Let's take a look at New York City for a second. In New York City, one in four people are living in poverty. One in 24 people are
millionaires. There is clearly an inequality problem and an affordability problem. And Andrew Cuomo, who was governor for 2.5 terms was part of
creating and allowing that affordability crisis to happen in that city when he was governor.
So, I think when you look at what Zohran Mamdani is proposing, running on basic ideas like limiting rent increases, like free transportation for the
working class. It's a relatively modest set of proposals. It's -- they're good proposals, affordability proposals, but the freak out again, I go back
to why is everybody -- why are the oligarchs really freaking out?
And I think this is again about political control. It's not that Mamdani's agenda is kind of is radical. It's that the oligarchy in that city, and
they really in this country, have gotten so used to spending as much money as they feel is necessary to win elections, up and down the ballot, to buy
elections, and this is the first time in anyone's memory that they weren't able to do that.
And I think the freak out is, is that they fear. They fear that Democratic voters in primaries are not simply going to do what the powers that be
want, that there is something else going on here, that essentially, the people who have gotten used to controlling political outcomes no longer
have as much control anymore.
ANDERSON: Yeah, and you've written that Mamdani is at the heart of the battle for the future of the Democratic Party is coming. Interesting
journey ahead. Thank you very much indeed. Always good to have you, David, pleasure.
SIROTA: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
ANDERSON: Well ahead on "Connect the World" is China's GDP saw unexpected growth in Q2 pressure still remains as Beijing looks for a deal with
Washington. And its crypto week on Capitol Hill will explain why major bills that are set to become law will be a huge boon to the crypto
industry, after it plowed millions of dollars into electing Trump and pro crypto lawmakers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
ANDERSON: Now welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You are watching "Connect the World". Time here 05:30, time in New York 09:30 and
change. And a look at the live market indices in New York. It is the start of the trading day there, Tuesday, the 15th of July.
And investors gaging new economic data out just a short time ago. U.S. inflation up 0.3 percent in June. That pushes annual inflation 2.7 percent
this wasn't unexpected. As the impact of higher tariffs begins to take root in the U.S. economy, and these markets are pretty mixed.
It has to be said on the open with the DOW just ticking back into negative territory. China's GDP saw better than expected growth for the second
quarter. The 5.2 percent expansion comes in the face of an ongoing trade war, excuse me, with the U.S. where tariffs reach 145 percent on Chinese
goods at one point.
China's economy heavily reliant on exports, meaning even a double-digit levy causes issues. Shipments of Chinese smartphones dropped by 4 percent
for example, in quarter two. Domestically, China faces several structural challenges. Youth unemployment remains high, while the country, excuse me,
faces a property crisis.
Donald Trump may be focusing on AI today, but is the other tech industry of interest. Crypto also in the spotlight. Bitcoin hit an all-time high
yesterday, above $120,000. You see it now, and it is around about 117.5 down, nearly 2 percent, that's been a significant rally of late.
Republican lawmakers are holding a crypto week in Congress, a push to bring the crypto industry into the financial mainstream, with three key bills.
The Genius Act, which would create the first ever federal regulatory framework for what are known as stable coins.
Those are a type of cryptocurrency designed to keep a constant value, usually pegged one to one with the U.S. dollar. The Clarity Act, which
would classify most crypto tokens as commodities rather than securities, making it a regulated investable class, and an act prohibiting the Federal
Reserve from issuing its own digital currency.
I'll bring in Shelly Palmer. He's the CEO of the Palmer Group and Author of "Blockchain - Cryptocurrency, NFTs and Smart Contracts". Good to have you,
sir. I know you'll keep a keen eye on what's going on in Pennsylvania today. That's a -- AI summit. The Trump Administration sort of lumps AI and
crypto together, and it's a big crypto week, as I have suggested, these bills considered a major win for the industry.
Just break down what we know about how this legislation might impact the crypto industry, and whether in your mind or to your mind, these are a good
thing.
SHELLY PALMER, AUTHOR OF "BLOCKCHAIN -- CRYPTOCURRENCY, NFTS & SMART CONTRACTS: Well, let's break them down, good thing or bad thing that's in
the eyes of the beholder. I think it's a good thing, but other people may not. Let's take these in a backwards order, CBDC, Central Bank Digital
Currencies.
This is the ability of a central bank from a country to issue a currency that is basically the country's surveillance mechanism. If you were to own
a CBDC, the government would have a very keen understanding of your finances. And people were afraid of that, and people talked about having
the United States issue CBDCs.
A while ago, this act would prohibit that, which I think makes everybody a lot calmer, that we're not going to have a government currency, and the
government is not going to be in your checkbook. The Clarity Act is very important in that it's going to help us understand who regulates what? What
is the SEC's domain and what is the CFTC's domain?
Because we want to make sure as investors, who's going to regulate and what class of token and what class of currency is going to be regulated, and by
whom?
[09:35:00]
And then the Genius Act, I think maybe the one of the most important in that it's going to lay the playing field, if you will, for crypto to
simplify this as best as I can. It's going to lay the groundwork for crypto to become as powerful an investment vehicle as it is going to be allowed to
become.
Now, why is it at 120,000 yesterday and 117,000 today, which is up quite a few points from a few weeks ago, was bubbling around 100,000 for the
longest time. Supply and demand, let me look, a lot of money has gone institutionally, into ETFs and what have you. But there are only ever going
to be 21 million Bitcoins.
There are some people who are looking at the macroeconomic reality and saying, Bitcoin may be like and I hate this phrase, digital gold. I think
I'm going to go put my money there, because it'll be safer. I'm not a believer in that theory. But look, the proof is in the price of the
Bitcoin.
When I say there's only ever going to be 21 million Bitcoins. There are 19.96 ish million Bitcoins that have been created, leaving about a million
and change 1.04 million Bitcoins left to be created in the world over the next few years. And so, this is going to it gets harder. As you know, those
of you who follow Bitcoin, it gets harder every time.
At a protracted a very specific time interval, the amount of Bitcoin rewards or the mining function halves, and so it gets more expensive and
more difficult to mine each additional Bitcoin over time. So, it's a scarce resource, and scarce resources are, you know, priced at supply and demand.
ANDERSON: Got it. So, this is a wider sort of look at the industry, rather than just Bitcoin, which most people know about. It's about stable coins
and about what you know, how the private sort of crypto industry will go mainstream effectively. The crypto industry really bankrolled Trump and the
Republicans in 2024, at least, to the tune of $245 million.
But you know, that's no small change, and it's likely to be been a lot higher than that. That was just what was declared. Critics call these bills
a giveaway to the crypto industry. This is an industry which the whole point of this industry was it, would not get regulated to a degree. Do you
buy that -- This is payback time at this point?
PALMER: -- It's really funny that you frame it that way. And there's a lot of different ways to look at this. The Genius Act which lays out how stable
coins will be regulated is very important. A stable coin should allow you to translate one kind of cryptocurrency into a U.S. dollar or some other
fiat currency.
So, in the case of the U.S. dollar, you want to make sure that if you're buying a stable coin that's pegged to the U.S. dollar, that there's really
$1 behind it, and this does allow you to go from a crypto market to a regular financial market. The Genius Act lays the groundwork for us to
actually do business.
Is the crypto industry getting in quotes, paid back for their campaign contributions. You'd have to ask a political expert about that. That's not
my field of expertise. What is my field of expertise, though, is the way that these markets are going to function, well regulated.
When I say it's funny, you mentioned the regulation. It shouldn't need regulation. The whole point of cryptocurrency was to get the man out of
your life. Bitcoin is born in 2008 out of the financial crisis, and the goal here is to remove all financial intermediaries and to give you an
opportunity to transact one to one in a trustless world. And what I mean by trustless is, you don't know the person on the other side.
ANDERSON: Right.
PALMER: You don't know who they are or what they are, and you're able to do a transaction that you feel is safe, and then there's no intermediary.
ANDERSON: Got it.
PALMER: You're not paying $35 for a wire transfer or doing a letter of credit or buying using a merchant bank. So that was the definition of
unregulated commerce, and here we are requiring regulation to do it. So, it's a little funny.
ANDERSON: Right. Yeah, it does. It seems quite ironic, doesn't it? Look very, very briefly this AI summit in Pennsylvania today, the Trump
Administration sort of lumped together AI and its investment and investments in artificial intelligence with this sort of new world of
digital assets.
What do you make of what we are -- what's building in Pennsylvania, and how that fits into the kind of wider Trump AI crypto strategy?
PALMER: So, look, I think it is obvious that the legislators are just thinking about innovation writ large. I don't think they're making a lot of
delineations. What's happening in Pennsylvania is critically important.
[09:40:00]
AI is a national security issue. We are in an absolute arms race worldwide for dominance in AI. We are doing extremely well as a country. The hotbed
of AI is San Francisco. But I have to tell you, China is doing great. You know, being a great mathematician is not limited to learning your math in
the United States and or working here.
So yeah, I think Washington is wise to spend time and energy here, where you got to applaud what's going on, the investment that's being made, and
more investment will have to be made. This is an incredibly expensive and important set of technologies, lumping crypto in.
I don't know whether that's smart or not smart, but ultimately, because they really are unrelated in every way. Crypto and AI don't have much to do
with one another. But what is important is that big investments, I should say, other than the compute clouds, which are very similar to compute a
Bitcoin and to compute AI, are the actual hardware is very similar.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
PALMER: But other than that, they really are unrelated. So, look, let's applaud the Trump Administration, where they need to be applauded. These
investments need to be made. And I'm very happy that the U.S. government is so pro-technology right now, because we've never needed a country an
overarching legislative agenda to be pro-technology than right now. It just needs to be that way.
ANDERSON: Got it. All right. Good to have you Shelly, always a pleasure. Thank you, and we will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You are watching "Connect the World". We will be back with more news in about 15 minutes. "World Sport" is up next.
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[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
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