The following transcript was created using artificial intelligence. There will be some grammatical errors below. 

00:00:02:22 – 00:00:17:10

Richard Carthon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Crypto Current, your host here Richard Carthon, and today I got a really special guest that has been in the Crypto space for a while, actually has their own content, a really cool one with a unique twist called Cigars and Crypto. We have Dante. How are you doing today? 

00:00:17:27 – 00:00:19:25

Dante Noir: I’m well, sir. How are you? 

00:00:19:27 – 00:00:33:18

Richard Carthon: Man, I’m doing great. I saw you back on Twitter is how I first discovered you. Listened to a couple episodes, I was like, Man, this would be a really cool cat to come bring on the show. Glad I was able to get you. But before we dive in, let’s get some background on you. Let everyone know, you know, who you are. 

00:00:34:11 – 00:01:16:04

Dante Noir: Sure. Well, my name is Dante. I am the host and owner of the Cigars and Crypto podcast. I am a cigar aficionado and a devout Cryptocurrency hodler. I am a Bitcoiner. I’ve been in this space since 2014, got in initially as a miner, kind of transitioned away from that when difficulty increased and my miner wasn’t producing a profit anymore. So, I hodled for a few years and in 2017 I came back into the space. That’s when I found Crypto Twitter and realized, Hey I still have like Crypto and like these wallets and I wonder what it’s worth. And I was like, Whoa. 

00:01:16:29 – 00:01:17:14

Richard Carthon: Right?

00:01:17:16 – 00:01:27:17

Dante Noir: So, after that I just kind of really just dove into the space, started the podcast about two and a half years ago. And I’ve just been running with it ever since. 

00:01:28:09 – 00:01:56:11

Richard Carthon: That’s amazing, man. Well, the fact that you’re able to get in pretty early, being a miner, also being a hodler big, big thing, also being a hardcore Bitcoiner, I’m sure we can dive into that as well because I enjoy those conversations. But as you got back in it and you looked at all of your wallets, you realized, Wow, like I still have a lot of this Crypto. At what point when you went and discovered there is a Crypto Twitter, you’re like, all right, I now want to create a podcast, I now want to, like, tell people about this. Like, tell me about that transition. 

00:01:58:03 – 00:02:49:04

Dante Noir: There were a lot of people that I found on Crypto Twitter, very few of them wanted to give me resources to do my own research. I would reach out to people, they would either ignore me or they would be like, just figure it out. Then I reached out to a Guy on Twitter, his name is Mansa Godson. Shout out to Mansa. And he said, “Hey, if you’re serious about this, what you need to do is you need to go here, you need to go there, sign up for this, learn about that, and then come back to me if you have any questions.” And that’s how I fell down the rabbit hole. When I got to the bottom of the rabbit hole and I realized, Wow, there’s a lot that I need to learn and I said, “What’s the easiest way to learn something or to get an answer to a question?” And it’s simply to ask someone. 

00:02:50:05 – 00:03:32:02

Dante Noir: So I said, “Well, if people are ignoring my DMs or ignoring my tweets, how do I just ask someone a question?” So, I started a podcast. I have a background in radio, so I figured, well, I’ll just ask questions. So, I just started inviting people on my show and then I would just ask all the questions that I want answers for and they just started freely giving them to me. And here I am, 156 episodes later and I’m still asking questions and I’m still learning every day. And I never, ever, ever assume that I know something. I always assume that I don’t know. And I’m always asking deeper and pointed questions of people. So, that’s how I got to that point. 

00:03:32:20 – 00:04:02:19

Richard Carthon: Man, that’s amazing. One of the things that we speak on a lot here is about following your curiosity. And, you know, we started this show about two and a half years ago as well, and I literally ran into the same issue where, you know, this was early 2018, so we’re at the top of the bubble when everything started going down in Crypto space. And all the educational pieces, well, things that are out there about Crypto and Blockchain were either here’s how you get rich quick or here’s a bunch of this highly technical stuff that I don’t understand that no one can explain to me. And then when you find someone who actually knows what they’re talking about, they don’t have time for you. 

00:04:02:27 – 00:04:36:06

Richard Carthon: So, I wanted to be able to create that content in that way, to be able to have digestible information, but to talk to leaders in the space. And it sounds like you did something very similar and that’s amazing. Kudos to you for getting that and for following your curiosity. And I still do my best to do the same. You know, and with that, having done 156 episodes, I’m sure you’ve spoken to a lot of remarkable people and learned a lot. Are there any notable interviews that you’ve done, whether you want to name drop people or not, or if you just have nuggets that like once you heard it for the first time, it stuck with you and actually altered your approach to Crypto. 

00:04:38:20 – 00:05:08:09

Dante Noir: Wow. See, I don’t want to name drop because there are some people that I obviously don’t remember them, not that I don’t remember them, but the episodes I don’t necessarily remember. But I have had folks like Jimmy Song and Jameson Lopp on my show and completely blow my mind about Cryptocurrency. I’ve had folks like Bagsy on my show who really piqued my interest as it pertains to trading. 

00:05:09:08 – 00:05:49:25

Dante Noir: And because I’m a cigar guy, I’ve had some really great cigar folks on my show that teach me about what it is to be a cigar smoker, and the cigar culture and how to really get the most out of it. So, everyone who comes on my show, I learn from and I reach out to them specifically to learn from them, but I think those are the two folks that I may have learned the most from. I have some folks that are coming out over the next couple of weeks that are, you know, amazing as well, but I think those are the two biggest ones right now that really stand out to me in terms of a learning experience with them. 

00:05:50:16 – 00:06:26:04

Richard Carthon: For sure. And with those two learning experiences, what would you say were something like the bigger nuggets? So, for example, you know, I’ve had a ton of amazing people on my show, but you brought up Bitcoin. An old episode that I had was with Yan Pritzker, who’s the CTO of Swan Bitcoin, and he was the first person to make me realize that there is no reason why I shouldn’t be holding Bitcoin, that I shouldn’t be dollar cost averaging and consistently purchasing Bitcoin, because before then I was, I’m still not a Bitcoin maximalists, but like, I was like, you know, even at the time when Bitcoin was around 10,000, I was like, Oh, I can’t buy a full Bitcoin, like it doesn’t really make sense. 

00:06:26:06 – 00:06:46:17

Richard Carthon: Let me go after some of these altcoins that I can at least purchase some, but he changed my mind and I actually use their platform and other stuff and like, I will always remember that because I feel like that was a big turning point in my own, like, Crypto journey. So again, with the two people that you just brought up, you know, what were some of those, like nuggets that like, stuck out to you? 

00:06:49:14 – 00:07:02:05

Dante Noir: I think Jimmy helped me to understand why I have been moving towards Bitcoin maximalism. I won’t say that I am a maximalist, I always tell people I’m a capitalist.

00:07:02:07 – 00:07:03:03

Richard Carthon: Heard that. 

00:07:03:19 – 00:07:51:20

Dante Noir: But he helped me to understand why I’ve been moving in that direction, how this combination of events, both good and bad, are moving me towards something simpler than the path that I was taking before. And Jameson, really helped me to understand the principles behind Bitcoin and why it’s important and the need to have security and what being your own bank really means and those things really kind of resonated with me. And it actually took me some time to get those episodes out because like I said before, they’re learning experiences for me, so, I’ll listen to an episode three, four, maybe five times and I take notes.

00:07:52:01 – 00:07:52:16

Richard Carthon: Yeah.

00:07:52:18 – 00:07:56:02

Dante Noir: On the episode before I even start editing and put it out for other people to hear.

00:07:56:04 – 00:07:56:19

Richard Carthon: Yeah.

00:07:56:21 – 00:07:58:19

Dante Noir: So, that meant the most to me. 

00:07:59:08 – 00:08:30:18

Richard Carthon: That’s amazing, man. And interesting that you bring up like, listening to episodes kind of learn from it as well. Like, every episode that I do, I go back and revisit it and listen to it because there are nuggets. And like, even when you’re having a conversation, yeah you’re taking bits and pieces away, but there’s always when you go back and listen to something, there’s something new that you might have not have fully gathered or in the moment at that time, you weren’t ready to receive that information. But a couple of, you know, days, weeks, whatever, later, after you’ve learned a little bit more, now you fully understand what they were trying to share with you, right? 

00:08:30:23 – 00:09:01:04

Richard Carthon: And so, I found that to be like, really powerful as well. And so, I guess my next question I want to pose to you is, again, since you’ve been doing this for a while now, like, what are the types of interviews that you really enjoy/like, your audience enjoys? Like, is it the dynamic? Is it like the nuggets that they drop? Like, I think that what’s been very helpful for a lot of my listeners has been one, energy, kind of the story frame of understanding like who they are and like their company and what they’ve been doing, but then also like having it feel like a warm conversation. 

00:09:02:24 – 00:09:55:20

Dante Noir: I think for me, that’s the one thing that I seek out the most. I only have two set questions in my interviews: How did you get into Crypto and where do you see the future of Crypto? Everything else is just a reaction to things that they say to me. And my show format is primarily just a discussion. The same way you would walk up to someone in a conference and just have a discussion, Hey, how are you? My name is Dante, what’s your name? Who do you work for? What do you do? Did you have a good time while you’re here, those types of questions really resonate with my audience and I keep my format short. So, it’s very rare that I have an episode that’s more than 30 minutes and I did that because I listen to podcasts on my way to work. 

00:09:56:11 – 00:09:56:26

Richard Carthon: Right.

00:09:56:28 – 00:10:01:01

Dante Noir: And if your show is three or four hours long, I don’t want to have to take two days to go through it. 

00:10:01:13 – 00:10:01:28

Richard Carthon: Yeah.

00:10:02:00 – 00:10:21:11

Dante Noir: I want to be able to listen to it on my commute. I want to be able to listen to two on my commute each way, you know. And so, I keep my format short. And keeping it short. I found that just having discussions with people is really meaningful to my listeners. And I would hope that at some point my listeners become listeners, too, so.

00:10:21:13 – 00:10:39:15

Richard Carthon: For sure. No, I appreciate that. And, you know, on that, I can’t have you on the show without talking about cigars, right? So, I am just now getting in the space. Our CTO, Steven Miller, shout out to you who helped actually get you on the show, he is by far the cigar aficionado that I know in my life, right?

00:10:39:17 – 00:10:40:02

Dante Noir: Okay.

00:10:40:04 – 00:10:51:27

Richard Carthon: If you can impart some wisdom to people on the show who have always been curious about cigars or want to learn a little bit more, you know, what are some of those, like, base things that we could learn/like, initially get into as we learn about it? 

00:10:52:17 – 00:11:19:21

Dante Noir: Okay. There is something for everyone. There is no such thing as the best cigar. Cigar smoking is subjective and it’s unique to the individual. So the best cigars, the one that you’re smoking. I firmly believe that as you enter the space, don’t allow people to tell you that the most expensive cigar is the best cigar because it’s quite often not true. 

00:11:20:29 – 00:11:59:11

Dante Noir: Everyone’s palate is unique. So, the way you would experience a cigar when you clip the cap, sniff the foot, you cold draw, you get that experience of what the tobacco tastes like before you light it. When you toast the foot and you light the cigar and you draw from it like water through straw and you have that experience, you should be thinking nothing but relaxation because that’s what cigar smoking is. Great conversation. Bourbon, I’m a rum drinker, but if you’re a bourbon guy or girl, have some bourbon.

00:11:59:21 – 00:12:00:06

Richard Carthon: Yeah.

00:12:00:16 – 00:12:07:01

Dante Noir: Sit back, pair it with some nice music and just relax because that’s what cigar smoking is all about. 

00:12:07:20 – 00:12:22:10

Richard Carthon: I definitely appreciate that. And it’s interesting that you say it like that, because that was how Steven kind of portrayed it to me. And it’s supposed to be an experience, it’s supposed to be a relaxing moment. You’re not doing that like and then trying to, like, actively, proactively like, do something high energy, right? 

00:12:22:16 – 00:12:23:01

Dante Noir: Right.

00:12:23:03 – 00:12:42:09

Dante Noir: It’s a moment to step back and to relax and to engage and to enjoy the moment. So everyone listening, go back and re-listen to that, because I thought that was a really great explanation and definitely can tell your passion about cigars. So, thank you for sharing that. If, okay, one more quick question on cigars. If you had to pick one to a brand new newbie, what would be a good one to start? 

00:12:46:24 – 00:12:53:11

Dante Noir: Wow, that’s a good question. Brand new, never smoked a cigar before? 

00:12:53:29 – 00:12:57:25

Richard Carthon: Yeah, or maybe had like one or two in their life. Don’t don’t really know anything. 

00:12:58:07 – 00:13:47:00

Dante Noir: Okay. Okay. If I had to pick a brand new cigar that I was going to give to someone, that cigar will probably be the CAO, Amazon Basin. They’re hard to find, but it is a fantastic, fantastic cigar. It has a delicious Brazilian rococo rapper, Nica binder and filler with some viso and seko in there and the cold draw on the cigar tastes like raisins or apricots. 

00:13:47:17 – 00:13:48:02

Richard Carthon: Okay.

00:13:48:04 – 00:14:26:19

Dante Noir: And when you toast the foot and you begin to smoke it, you get that fragrance in the room as you’re smoking the cigar. It is a very, very unique experience and because it doesn’t have a paper band on it, and the band of the cigar is tightly wound wrapper leaf, when you smoke the cigar to the band, you get this pop of flavor that’s just insane. So, if you’re looking at first time smoking, do your best to go find a CAO Amazon Basin or the CEO Amazon Fuma. You can’t go wrong. 

00:14:27:09 – 00:14:35:10

Richard Carthon: Amazing. I’m definitely going to look it up myself. Thank you for dropping that on us. Now to shift back into Crypto just for a second.

00:14:35:21 – 00:14:36:06

Dante Noir: Sure.

00:14:36:09 – 00:14:47:12

Richard Carthon: As we are looking at an exciting 2021, we’re having a fun time within a bull cycle, what are some things that you’re looking out for/has your attention right now in this space? 

00:14:53:07 – 00:15:09:19

Dante Noir: The number of institutional investors coming into the space really has my attention. I firmly believe that there will be very few buying opportunities below 45,000 on Bitcoin. I don’t give price action.

00:15:09:21 – 00:15:10:06

Richard Carthon: Right. 

00:15:10:08 – 00:15:23:09

Dante Noir: In quotes or stuff like that, but I think the days of finding Bitcoin at under maybe 40-45,000 are slim to none because institutions come into this space. They are real hodlers. 

00:15:24:03 – 00:15:26:25

Richard Carthon: Yeah. They’re not going to let drop and if they do they’re going to buy it immediately. 

00:15:27:03 – 00:15:39:12

Dante Noir: Exactly. And I just prefer to just dollar cost average. I own a media company that does voiceover work, commercial work, and I get paid in Bitcoin. 

00:15:40:17 – 00:15:48:16

Dante Noir: I also work for another Blockchain company in this space part time as a project manager and I get paid in Bitcoin. 

00:15:48:18 – 00:15:49:03

Richard Carthon: Smart. 

00:15:49:05 – 00:15:49:20

Richard Carthon: Smart.

00:15:49:22 – 00:15:59:15

Dante Noir: So, my goal right now is to accumulate as much Bitcoin as humanly possible. And if there’s any other way that I can earn Bitcoin I’m gonna do that too. 

00:15:59:29 – 00:16:00:14

Richard Carthon: Heard that. 

00:16:00:16 – 00:16:17:21

Dante Noir: So, I think the only thing that really has my attention is the number of institutional investors and corporations in this space and ways to kind of have Bitcoin come to me as opposed to me actively having to seek it out, so. 

00:16:18:06 – 00:16:36:00

Richard Carthon: For sure. I think that’s a smart way to do it. And, you know, there’s a lot of different NFL people that are starting to take their paychecks in Bitcoin. You have different cities that are letting you pay your taxes and get paychecks, like Miami in Bitcoin. So, this is definitely a trend worth looking into. 

00:16:36:02 – 00:17:00:06

Richard Carthon: And he said another magical word, dollar cost average, I talk about that all the time. That’s very important. Another really great way to make sure that you are consistently finding opportunities to get in the world of Crypto. But Dante, having been in this space for as long as you have, if you could take all the knowledge you have right now and go back to yourself when you first started, what are like, two to three things of wisdom you would impart to yourself? 

00:17:04:03 – 00:17:44:14

Dante Noir: Don’t spend it. When I got into this space, the narrative that we have today of store of value was nonexistent. Bitcoin was money, so I would spend it. I would mine it and spend it. I would go to places like Overstock.com or Cheap Air, buy flights and hotels or it’s called NewEgg now, but it used to be another website name and was branded differently. And they accepted Bitcoin for like computer and computer parts purchases because I owned a computer business back in the day. I would not have spent a dime of that Bitcoin. 

00:17:45:11 – 00:18:22:09

Dante Noir: If I had all of the Bitcoin that I had mined and traded from when I got into the space in September of 2014, I’d be rich right now. I don’t have regrets about that, though, because along the way, I’ve met some really interesting people who’ve owned interesting businesses and accepted Bitcoin for goods and services. As a matter of fact, shout out to Lindus Dutch Pancake House in Aruba. I spent a lot of Bitcoin there. They are an amazing establishment. The food is great. So, if you ever find yourself in Aruba, check them out. 

00:18:23:15 – 00:18:24:00

Richard Carthon: Nice.

00:18:24:02 – 00:18:48:09

Dante Noir: The second thing is don’t get attracted to the bright, shiny object. I’ve been scammed out of Bitcoin by being attracted to bright, shiny objects in the form of ICOs, 2016, 2017 were rough years for me, as it pertained to Bitcoin because I was scammed out of stuff.

00:18:48:11 – 00:18:48:28

Richard Carthon: Wow.

00:18:49:00 – 00:19:28:02

Dante Noir: At that point, I had been, you know, cool with reading white papers and being able to spot out fakes, but there were some really well-written white papers that offered interesting use cases that I thought were novel and would be something and lost a ton of Bitcoin doing that. So, don’t be attracted to the bright, shiny object, stick with Bitcoin, stick with the things that you’re familiar with and educate yourself. Just jump in because the guy next door or your Uber driver or, you know, some guy on the bus or some guy who works, says, “Oh you need to buy this next thing, because it just could be absolutely amazing.” 

00:19:28:04 – 00:19:28:19

Richard Carthon: Right.

00:19:28:21 – 00:19:29:14

Dante Noir: Just stick with what you know.

00:19:29:24 – 00:19:32:08

Richard Carthon: To use a crypto term, it’s called aping.

00:19:32:10 – 00:19:32:25

Dante Noir: Yeah.

00:19:32:27 – 00:19:49:27

Richard Carthon: Buying without necessarily understanding anything about it, just jumping all over it. Go look up some of these Crypto terms, they’re really funny. But thank you so much for that, Dante. As we kind of wrap up this convo, I think you dropped a lot of really great, amazing things for us. But what is a final thought that you want to leave with the listeners today? 

00:19:52:22 – 00:20:32:27

Dante Noir: Every day is an opportunity to improve your future. Every day is an opportunity to do something different. Life is nothing but a series of decisions and experiences. And decide every day to buy Bitcoin and have good experiences with your family and your friends. Enjoy this time in our life because this will never be the same again. You’ll never be a part of another financial revolution where we are right now, we won’t live that long. So, enjoy it. 

00:20:33:16 – 00:20:34:01

Richard Carthon: Yeah.

00:20:34:03 – 00:20:34:18

Dante Noir: And that’s it for me. 

00:20:35:00 – 00:20:54:09

Richard Carthon: Man, that’s an amazing final thought. This is a special time and I’ve been saying that a lot recently. But this is truly a special time in history. And everyone that’s listening to this, you’re a part of the movement. So, definitely go check out Dante. What are some ways that people can learn more about you and your podcast and connect and find ways to keep engaging? 

00:20:55:12 – 00:21:10:24

Dante Noir: Well, you can follow me on Twitter @InvestNoir. I-N-V-E-S-T N-O-I-R or you can follow my show page on Twitter @CigarsandCrypto or visit me online at wwww.CigarsandCrypto.com. 

00:21:11:18 – 00:21:18:14

Richard Carthon: Perfect. Well again, Dante, thank you for spending some time with us. Everyone go make sure you check him out. And for everyone listening, Stay Crypto Current.