

S16 E46: Val Venis on Bitcoin, Liberty & Wrestling
Sep 30, 2025
04:32:43
Back in 2013, former WWE Intercontinental Champion Val Venis bought 24 bitcoins for $80 each. Today, he is a big advocate for freedom, privacy, and the right to benefit from the product of your own labor without extortion.
In this episode, we talk about libertarianism, his love for private internet money, and his WWE stories.
Time stamps:
00:00:00 - Intro: Val Venis Entrance & Attitude Era Reflections
00:01:51 - Hello Biological Ladies: Modern PC Culture & Twitter Feuds
00:02:46 - Wrestling Eras: From Attitude to Ruthless Aggression & PG Shift
00:03:30 - Political Outspokenness: Why No Hall of Fame Yet?
00:04:35 - Importance of Politics: Social & Financial Impacts on Society
00:05:13 - Val Venis Character: Porn Star Gimmick Ahead of Its Time
00:05:36 - Right to Censor Storyline: Mocking the PTC & Censorship Trends
00:09:51 - Libertarian Roots: Pro-Free Speech Evolution in Wrestling
00:10:03 - Early Political Views: From Socialist Leanings to Awakening
00:11:32 - Tax Trauma at 17: First Encounter with Government Overreach
00:15:13 - Taxation as Immoral: Due Process Failures & Slanted Courts
00:18:45 - Wikipedia Misrepresentation: Beyond Cannabis Advocacy
00:20:02 - Cannabis as Rebellion: Fighting Malum Prohibitum Laws
00:24:24 - Privacy Coins & Freedom: Using Cannabis to Push Liberty
00:30:05 - Slanted Courts & Tyranny: Presumptions Over Facts in Taxation
00:33:30 - Discovering Bitcoin: From Federal Reserve Critique to White Paper
00:35:12 - Money as Bankers' Tool: Inflation as Value Theft via Fiat
00:38:00 - Bitcoin's Appeal: Decentralized, Fixed Supply & Cryptography
00:41:47 - Pizza Purchase Milestone: Bootstrapping Bitcoin to Fiat
00:43:57 - First Bitcoin Buy: 24 BTC in 2013 at ~$80 Each
00:47:48 - Bitcoin as Speculation vs. Fiat Alternative
00:49:38 - Wrestling & Bitcoin Parallels: Value Creation & Sovereignty
01:20:00 - Monero & Privacy: Evading Surveillance in Transactions
01:45:00 - Roger Ver Case: Libertarian Views on Tax Evasion & Justice
02:10:00 - Wrestling Highlights: Val Venis in Video Games & Stats
02:48:00 - Mount Rushmore: Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, The Rock
03:00:00 - Chris Benoit's Legacy: Wrestling Prowess Despite Tragedy
03:15:00 - Shawn Michaels Character Shift: From Annoying to Faithful
03:30:00 - Undertaker's Success: Vince's Protection & Longevity
03:45:00 - Triple H: Business Savvy Over In-Ring Dominance
04:00:00 - Hall of Fame Hopes: Focus on Liberty Over Induction
04:10:00 - One Last Match: vs. Cody Rhodes for Cancel Culture Feud
04:18:07 - Induction Choice: Vince McMahon or Vince Russo
04:20:19 - Bridging Communities: Bitcoin in Wrestling & Fan Demands
04:25:40 - Storyline Ideas: Libertarian Manager & Bitcoin Matches
04:30:20 - Closing: Social Media, Zcash Wallet Setup & Privacy Push