Max Keiser discusses raising over US$1.5 million, who the number one basher of Bitcoin is, and why bankers’ arrests are needed if he becomes the economic advisor to the Mayor of London.

Max Keiser, host of the Keiser Report, and Simon Dixon, an ex-investment banker, have raised over US$1.5 million from 710 backers for 50% of their new venture capital fund Bitcoin Capital. The project on the equity crowdfunding platform BnkToTheFuture.com surpassed its funding goal by over a half a million dollars.

“Never confuse brains with a bull market we used to say on Wall St.” - Max Keiser

Cointelegraph: How do you plan to change investment in Bitcoin through Bitcoin Capital?

Max Keiser: Make it more accessible. Barry Silbert in New York with his Bitcoin Investment Trust (BIT) is leading the way on this. We've added crypto mining to the mix and offering daily dividends, which I think investors will like.

Current banks outdated

CT: Recently some listed financial institutions have turned to crowdfunding. Do you think crowdfunding will become a mainstream in finance and when do you think this will happen?

MK: Crowdfunding is a fintech innovation that brings huge economies of scale to the market. In the lending business, or 'p2p lending,' it makes the current banking equivalent look silly, bloated, costly, and horribly outdated.

I remember when I filed a patent for crowdfunding in 2000. The company that bought my company, Cantor Fitzgerald and NYC bank, thought so little of the potential of crowdfunding they didn't bother following up, and the patent application lapsed. It's probably worth over a billion or so - if they had recognized what I saw back then. Oh well. Never confuse brains with a bull market we used to say on Wall St.

CT: How do you think the blockchain and cryptocurrencies will change crowd funding?

MK: In the case of StartJOIN, we have a 50% pre-mined crypto coin StartCOIN that we give away to users and projects to spread the gospel of crypto. And as the eco-system of the site expands and the coin's value increases, our company's valuation increases due to the tens of millions of pre-mined coins on our balance sheet - giving us room to increase our valuation when we crowdfund equity using our partner site, BnkToTheFuture who, by the way, takes StartCOIN across all their equity investments.

Many of our users are now shareholders, project creators and StartCOIN holders and very happy with all three aspects of the financial eco-system we've created.

“The future of […] global banking is a universal currency reset against Gold along with a parallel universal adoption of cryptocurrencies.”

CT: Swiss pension funds are withdrawing cash from big banks that pay negative interest - and stack it in secret vaults. Is this the future of European banking?

MK: The future of European banking and global banking is a universal currency reset against Gold along with a parallel universal adoption of cryptocurrencies. We've seen a lot of banker suicides recently - that pace is likely to increase as the fiat bubble continues to implode.

CT: You plan to give investors dividends in bitcoins; how do think volatility will affect value in this aspect?

MK: Very little. It's similar to a bond coupon that remains constant regardless of the bond's price.

“When you annoy a world class entrepreneur like Kim Dotcom, prepare to get disintermediated out of existence.”

Ignore the governments

CT: What are your thoughts on the Freedom Act just signed by Obama, which gives lots of leeway for the NSA and other security services for mass eavesdropping? Where do you think it all going?

MK: Kim Dotcom in New Zealand just announced his MegaNet project; a 100% encrypted internet substitute. He plans on raising up to US$100 million for the project on BnkToTheFuture and yes, you will be able to buy into this venture using StartCOIN, (a very undervalued crypto, IMO).

Kim was the victim of prosecutorial overreach by the Obama administration who are being constantly prodded to act extrajudicially by the MPAA (who chased Aaron Swartz to his death). When you annoy a world class entrepreneur like Kim Dotcom, prepare to get disintermediated out of existence.

CT: Can the tech industry win over government in this respect?

MK: As long as the tech industry ignores governments they'll do fine. Like Steve Jobs, who started out as a hacker and ignored government regulations his entire career, same with Bill Gates, it all works out. Keep in mind governments are just another client.

“The number 1 Bitcoin basher is JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon and his lieutenant Blythe Masters, who are trying to buy time to come out with a proprietary Bitcoin competitor.”

CT: In your view, who is interested in bashing Bitcoin in the mainstream media? Like all those stories on ISIS funded by bitcoin, etc.

MK: The number 1 Bitcoin basher is JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon and his lieutenant Blythe Masters, who are trying to buy time to come out with a proprietary Bitcoin competitor. They'll fail.

“[T]his year we'll see [Bitcoin’s] proverbial hockey stick of exponential growth.”

CT: When do you expect bitcoin adoption to pick up and what do you see as the obstacles?

MK: Typically new technology like this explodes in terms of adoption rates after about seven years. Bitcoin's been out for about six years. So I'd say this year we'll see the proverbial hockey stick of exponential growth.

Clean the City

CT: There is word going round that you are likely to be the economic advisor to the Mayor of London if George Galloway is elected. What would be your first steps considering big banks and financial institutions and the City of London?

MK: George is keen to examine why the legal system in the UK, specifically London, failed to do their job and arrest bankers when they broke or are currently breaking the law. Job number one is to return the City to a system of obeying the rule of law and prosecute when necessary. He wants to be like Iceland and arrest the crooks.