‘I can feel myself being a dick’ — Hall of Flame – Cointelegraph Magazine

What Bitcoin Did podcaster Peter McCormack admits that he has a “weird relationship with Twitter,” as he believes it “brings out the worst in people.”

He’s worked hard to build up more than half a million followers to promote his show but still isn’t sure that Twitter is a “net positive” because it “elevates a lot of stupidity” out of people. And he includes himself in that assessment.

“I can feel myself being a dick to other people [on Twitter]. Like, I criticize it and then realize I’m a hypocrite for doing it myself,” he says.

He’s more of a fan of podcasting, though, and his insightful interviews with A-list guests, such as MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood and analyst Lyn Alden, have seen him amass 1 million listeners a month.

Also read: ‘The wealthiest time of my life was the most miserable’: Peter McCormack

McCormack fell into podcasting by “pure accident” after spending two decades in digital marketing, as well as a stint running his own agency. He got the itch for it while listening to health guru Rich Roll’s podcast and decided he “wanted to have” the same job. 

McCormack slid into Roll’s DMs and managed to score some free coaching out of it.

“I went to an event of his, and he said to stay in touch if you’re ever in LA. So, I was in LA, [and messaged him], ‘Well hi, I am here. How do I do this podcast thing?’ And he mentored me.”

McCormack’s hustling paid off in spades with What Bitcoin Did growing to become one of the best-known Bitcoin podcasts in the entire industry. The enormous success he’s enjoyed brought on “all kinds of pressure,” as he’s now an employer responsible for a small business. 

“There are now seven people that work on this podcast — I don’t want to fuck this up. That’s seven salaries that are relying on this,” he says.

McCormack is fast becoming responsible for parts of his humble hometown of Bedford.

With a population just shy of 200,000, this small U.K. town has made its mark on the global Bitcoin map, all because McCormack decided to buy the local football club in 2021.

McCormack renamed the club to “Real Bedford FC,” and fans can pay for merchandise, tickets and drinks with Bitcoin. He bought the local watering hole in Bedford, too.

According to McCormack, his brother believes he is treating “Bedford like a Monopoly board,” slowly buying up the town. But that’s not how he sees it.

“I think it is more that I want my town to do well, and I want the people of my town to do well. I’ve traveled the world doing this podcast, and now I want to build businesses in my hometown and support my hometown.”

What led to Twitter fame?

McCormack doesn’t believe there is “any secret” to building a following on Twitter, other than just working your “bollocks off.”

“I just worked very hard over the last six years and was as open-minded as I can in regards to Bitcoin and politics,” he says. This paid off in 2021 when he was invited to meet with El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, to discuss Bitcoin.

So, on balance, he can see that Twitter has both good and bad elements. “It’s good for promoting the football club and things I’m working on — it’s also a pain in the arse as well,” he says.

What type of content can you expect?

McCormack explains that his Twitter content is mainly “Bitcoin and football” and makes it clear that he’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

“If you’re into Bitcoin and you like football, it totally works. The whole thing works. But if you don’t like football, I think the football is actually a net negative to what I’m doing. They’re like, I don’t give a fuck about this football stuff.”

A died-in-the-wool Bitcoiner, he regrets ever dabbling in other cryptocurrencies.

“Bitcoin is the only one I care about; I don’t need to pay attention to all this other shit,” he says.

McCormack is an interesting character politically, however, as he can’t be neatly boxed into the left or right side of the political spectrum. For him, he takes each issue on its merits.

“I personally try to not be ideologically trapped. I don’t care if you have a conservative or progressive opinion. If I agree, I agree with it. If I don’t, I don’t.”

Twitter Beefs:

Captain Beef: Richard Heart

McCormack recently got sent “a bag of shit in the post” with a message claiming “Peter McCormack and Eric Wall are scammers.”

He blames “Richard Heart and his fucking Hex morons,” admitting that he hasn’t shied away from his thoughts on Heart and his HEX project in the past.

“I’m not a fan of what he does […] I get a lot of shit from them, and now I get literal shit.”

McCormack reveals that his son, who is responsible for collecting the mail from his office, was the unfortunate one who had to open the package, leaving him quite shaken by the ordeal.

“I get sent some cool things sometimes. My son didn’t know what this [bag of shit] meant. He said this isn’t cool, what else can they send you?”

What content do you enjoy?

McCormack isn’t afraid to admit he “likes the memes” from time to time.

He is also a big fan of economist Lyn Alden’s “macro stuff,” as well as Human Rights Foundation chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein.

Future outlook:

McCormack is down on CBDCs, which he thinks “are bullshit, dystopian surveillance tech for mass control.”

He reckons that “regulators need to stop fucking interfering with lives [and getting] in the way of work.”

As for forecasting Bitcoin’s price, McCormack doesn’t typically make bold predictions. 

In fact, he is quite the opposite.

When asked about Bitcoin’s price direction in the next 12 months, McCormack’s response resembles that of a seasoned politician: “Up, down, or sideways […] you’re not getting that from me!”

“Bitcoin will eventually recover; we will do another lap around the Bitcoin Monopoly Board.”

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Ciaran Lyons

Ciaran Lyons is an Australian crypto journalist. He’s also a standup comedian and has been a radio and TV presenter on Triple J, SBS and The Project.