In this sponsored episode of The Bad Crypto Podcast, Joel and Travis welcome back Markus Levin, co-founder of XYO Network, a project first featured on the show back in the ICO days of 2018. Unlike many projects from that era, XYO is still building.

The conversation centers on a huge problem in both crypto and AI: digital systems are often blind to the real world. Smart contracts, AI agents, apps, and autonomous systems can process data, but they do not automatically know whether that data is true, where it came from, or whether someone tampered with it.

That is where XYO comes in.

Markus explains how XYO has evolved from a proof-of-location network into what the team describes as a truth layer for real-world data. Using devices, mobile phones, sensors, NFC tags, cryptographic proofs, and its own data-focused Layer 1 blockchain, XYO is working to verify events, actions, assets, and real-world information so AI systems and blockchain applications can operate with greater certainty.

Joel, Travis, and Markus also dig into the COIN app, which allows users to earn rewards for contributing real-world data, and the broader XYO ecosystem, including the XYO token, XL1 token, proof of origin, zero-knowledge privacy protections, and the newly announced AI infrastructure verification partnership with Setter Labs.

The big idea: as AI becomes more powerful, the question may not be whether a model can generate an answer. The question is whether it can prove where that answer came from.

Topics Covered

• Why AI agents and smart contracts are still “blind” to the physical world
• How XYO began as a proof-of-location project in 2018
• Why GPS and location data can be spoofed
• The role of blockchain in verifying real-world events
• What “proof of origin” means and why it matters
• How XYO collects and verifies real-world data
• Why bad data may be one of AI’s biggest problems
• How verified data could reduce AI hallucinations
• The COIN app and how users can earn rewards for data collection
• XYO’s Layer 1 blockchain and the XL1 token
• The difference between XYO, XL1, COIN, and other ecosystem assets
• How zero-knowledge proofs help preserve privacy
• Why decentralized physical infrastructure networks may become increasingly important
• How XYO is moving into AI infrastructure and AI agent verification
• The new XYO AI SDK and what developers can build with it
• Why long-term survival matters in crypto
• Joel’s reminder that sponsored projects must still pass Bad Crypto vetting

Featured Guest

Markus Levin
Co-founder of XYO Network

Links Mentioned

XYO Network: https://xyo.network
COIN App: https://coinapp.co
Build with XYO: https://xyo.network/build
Partnership inquiries: [email protected]

Disclosure

This is a sponsored episode of The Bad Crypto Podcast. Joel and Travis were compensated to feature XYO Network, but the project passed their vetting process before being brought to the Bad Crypto audience.

Support the show: https://badcryptopodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI video has officially gone off the hook, off the chain, and possibly off the planet.

In Episode 808 of The Bad Crypto Podcast, Joel Comm and Travis Wright are back in their original human form to explore just how crazy AI video creation has become. Travis shows off the latest evolution of his long-running Cornytopia project, including consistent AI-generated characters, animated scenes, and the kind of visual storytelling that used to require a full studio, a production crew, and a painful budget.

The guys also break down how Travis created a cinematic AI video for Multibank.io, including how he used tools like Google Flow, ChatGPT image generation, character reference sheets, storyboard prompting, and AI video models to build something in days that an agency said would take weeks.

Also in this episode:

Joel shares the latest on his upcoming book, AI Made Simple: Artificial Intelligence for Everyday Life, coming December 1, 2026 from Morgan James Publishing. The mission is simple: help everyday people, especially those who feel intimidated by AI, gain the confidence to actually use it.

Pre-order the book at:
https://AIMadeSimpleBook.com

And because this is still The Bad Crypto Podcast, Joel and Travis also check in on Bitcoin, Ethereum, the crypto markets, and the ongoing weirdness of where all this may be headed.

This one is highly visual, so yes, you really may want to watch instead of just listen.

http://youtube.com/badcryptopodcast

Subscribe, like, comment, and stay bad.

Support the show: https://badcryptopodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bitcoin has blasted past $81,000, but somehow that is not even the wildest story in crypto this week.

In Episode 807 of The Bad Crypto Podcast, Joel Comm and Travis Wright break down a massive week where Bitcoin ETF inflows surged, Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin stack grew to nearly 4% of the total supply, Google committed up to $40 billion toward Anthropic, and AI agents began crossing into territory once reserved for humans: opening accounts, making payments, and deploying software.

The boys also dig into the explosive growth of tokenized real-world assets, including Treasuries, gold, and stocks moving on-chain, plus the looming May 21st deadline for the Clarity Act and what it could mean for XRP and the broader crypto market.

Crypto, AI, and traditional finance are no longer separate stories. They are becoming one very strange, very powerful story.

Welcome to the future. Stay bad.

Support the show: https://badcryptopodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Joel and Travis handed the producer role to AI and let it choose the top 10 stories in crypto. Surprisingly, the machine delivered.

Episode 806 covers Kraken’s direct access to Fed payment rails, the growing push toward tokenized stocks, the stalled progress of the U.S. Bitcoin reserve, the latest Trump meme coin pump, and why stablecoins may be becoming the true financial infrastructure story of crypto.

They also dig into Bitcoin outperforming gold during wartime, how banks are trying to protect their turf as stablecoin legislation moves forward, and why the next phase of adoption may have less to do with hype and more to do with rails, regulation, and real-world use.

It’s a fast-moving roundup of the biggest crypto stories of the week, with analysis, sarcasm, and a few detours only Bad Crypto could make work.

Show notes at http://badco.in/806

Stay bad! 

Support the show: https://badcryptopodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the internet stopped waiting for you… and started working for you?

In this episode, Joel and Travis show the real AI tools, agents, and systems they’re building right now — from automated news engines and live signal feeds to content publishing systems, games, voice clones, and blockchain-powered experiments.

This is why we think Web 4.0 has arrived.

We break down:

• Why Web 4.0 means the web is now building itself

• How AI agents are researching, writing, coding, and running workflows

• Travis’ AI-powered war news site and custom news anchor

• Joel’s automated content engine for WorldVillage

• Baseball Sudoku built with AI

• New Blockchain Heroes videos and a working game prototype built in hours

• Why the “idea person” is now more powerful than ever

• How fast this technology is moving — and why most people still have no idea what’s coming

The tools are getting better.
The agents are getting smarter.
And the people who learn how to use them now are going to have a serious advantage.

This is not theory.
This is what we’re actually building.

Watch, get inspired, and then go build something.

Show notes and links:
http://badco.in/805

If you’re experimenting with AI agents, tools, or automations, tell us what you’re building in the comments.

Stay bad.

#AI #Web4 #OpenClaw #ClaudeCode #Automation #BadCryptoPodcast #WorldVillage #BlockchainHeroes

Support the show: https://badcryptopodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if your AI assistant could negotiate your next car purchase, trade prediction markets, manage your inbox, and research crypto… while you sleep?

This week we break down the insane rise of ClaudeBot → Moltbot → OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent that rocketed past 200,000 GitHub stars and sparked a massive wave of autonomous agents almost overnight.

But of course, crypto had to crypto.

Along the way, the project triggered a triple rebrand, a $16M scam token spun up by opportunists, and a security mess that unfolded in real time as attackers hunted for poorly-secured instances and exposed keys.

We also get into the bigger picture: as AI agents start doing real work for people (and eventually paying bills, trading, and moving value), crypto becomes the natural payment rail. Permissionless. Programmable. Always on. Which is exciting… and also a whole new playground for scammers.

We cover what happened, why it matters, and what you should do if you’re experimenting with agents: lock it down, separate machines/accounts, protect your keys, and don’t chase random tokens.

Show notes and links: http://badco.in/804

Leave a comment with the best OpenClaw tutorial you’ve found — we’ll dig in.

Support the show: https://badcryptopodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two years ago, quantum computing was a “someday problem.”

Now NVIDIA is lobbying Congress. Ethereum is funding post-quantum research. Coinbase has launched a Quantum Advisory Board.

So the question isn’t theoretical anymore.

What happens to Bitcoin when quantum computers become powerful enough to crack today’s cryptography?

In Episode 803, we sit down with Christopher Steven Smith, CEO and co-founder of Quantus, a quantum-secure Layer 1 blockchain built using NIST-backed post-quantum cryptography.

We cover:

• What quantum computing actually is (without melting your brain)
• How qubits differ from classical bits
• Why elliptic curve cryptography may be vulnerable
• Whether Bitcoin can realistically fork to quantum resistance
• The risk to old wallets (including Satoshi’s coins)
• Post-quantum signatures like Dilithium
• Reversible transactions and whether they break crypto ethos
• Whether the “digital gold” narrative was a strategic mistake

Is quantum an overhyped sci-fi scare tactic?

Or is it the next existential threat nobody is pricing in?

This is a sponsored episode. As always, we disclose that upfront. We took the interview because the topic is real, timely, and worth exploring.

Welcome to the future of cryptography.

Or the end of it.

Support the show: https://badcryptopodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everything is fine… weeks where everyone is definitely not fine.

In Episode 802, we dig into the crypto panic, the blood-in-the-streets charts, and the uncomfortable question nobody wants to say out loud:

Did the grown-ups finally show up to crypto… and ruin the party?

We talk institutional adoption (ETFs, custody, control), how the “gatekeepers and suits” might be working the same old playbook, and why crypto feels weirdly toxic right now.

Then we take a hard left into a truly bizarre rabbit hole: new Jeffrey Epstein-related emails, claims floating around about funding Bitcoin Core, and what the Brock Pierce connection might mean (or might not mean). We don’t pretend to have final answers—just the receipts we can point to, the debates happening publicly, and a healthy dose of skepticism.

And because we can’t help ourselves, we also go off-road into AI, Elon, robots, peptides, and… yes… “you spit in a thing, you 💩 in a thing.” You’re welcome.

Educationally unsettling. Extra sarcasm. Always weird.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:16 Panic in the markets + “did institutions ruin crypto?”
02:53 Market snapshot: blood in the streets
06:03 Institutional adoption vs. decentralization
07:53 Epstein files + what people are claiming
09:57 Travis explains the “mastermind” AI experiment
16:33 Brock Pierce emails + what’s known vs. speculation
20:36 AI as leverage: finishing 25 days of work in 6.5 hours
21:53 Elon, xAI/SpaceX talk, and where this all goes
24:18 Robots, health tech, and the future getting weird fast
26:20 “Spit in a thing / 💩 in a thing” (yes, really)

Links & ResourcesLINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

Epstein Files Drop!

DOJ Documents Reveal Who Really Built Bitcoin

Bruce Fenton Responds

Is Brock Pierce Behind Epsteins $3 Million Coinbase Investment?

SpaceX acquires xAI, plans to launch a massive satellite constellation to power it

Crypto Tax Audit

CoinGecko.com

bitcoinTreasuries.net

Bull Market Peak Signals

Want more of the “mastermind” clips?

Tell us in the comments. If you’re into it, we’ll drop more of those weird little time-travel audio segments in future episodes.

Contact

Email: [email protected]

DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only. Not financial advice. Do your own research and consult a professional before making any financial decisions.

#crypto #bitcoin #ethereum #epstein #blockchain #etf #AI #badcryptopodcast

Support the show: https://badcryptopodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tax season is back, and crypto reporting is getting a lot more… specific. We’re joined by returning guest Clinton Donnelly of CryptoTaxAudit to break down the biggest crypto tax changes affecting U.S. traders this year—what forms are coming, what the IRS will see, and the most common ways people accidentally trigger problems. If you’ve traded on U.S.-based exchanges, this episode is your wake-up call.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why crypto taxes are getting more complicated (and more visible)

• New 1099-DA reporting: what it is and what exchanges may report

• Why “proceeds vs. cost basis” matters (and where confusion hits)

• The Form 8949 change: crypto transactions being separated out

• The “match the proceeds” issue that can trigger nasty IRS letters

• New FIFO requirement by wallet/account (and why it can change your tax bill)

• Why audits can drag on for years (and what “audit-proofing” really means)

• Practical advice for staying compliant without losing your mind

The 3 big crypto tax changes Clinton highlights:

1. 1099-DA is here (for U.S.-based exchanges)

2. Crypto gets its own lane on Form 8949 (more visibility for the IRS)

3. FIFO by wallet/account becomes required (can reshape gains calculations)

Helpful link:

• Work with Clinton / CryptoTaxAudit: http://badco.in/tax

Support the show: https://badcryptopodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eight hundred episodes in, crypto doesn’t feel wild anymore — and that might be the biggest story of all.

In this milestone episode, Joel and Travis kick off 2026 by unpacking a market that refuses to behave like it used to. Bitcoin isn’t mooning, but it isn’t collapsing either. Institutions are quietly vacuuming up supply, ETFs keep stacking, and the once-predictable four-year cycle looks stretched, warped, or possibly broken altogether.

The conversation moves beyond charts into bigger territory: why Bitcoin drawdowns are getting shallower, why gold and silver are exploding alongside crypto, and what an increasingly unstable global economy means for hard assets. Along the way, the guys reflect on how manipulation hasn’t disappeared — it’s just become more sophisticated — and why retail panic matters less when corporations and funds are waiting on every dip.

Episode 800 also zooms out to the future. AI’s acceleration, the coming wealth transfer, the growing divide between those who adapt and those who don’t, and why the next decade may reward understanding what’s possible more than chasing the next tool or token.

No predictions. No moon math. Just perspective earned over nine years, hundreds of cycles, and a market that’s finally starting to act… different.

Support the show: https://badcryptopodcast.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.