?It’s the deep dark days of December—and suddenly Disney is cutting billion‑dollar checks to OpenAI, Mickey Mouse is roaming the metaverse, and Visa just quietly picked Solana as its stablecoin settlement rail. In this episode, Toner and BTC Ankarino break down why Bob Iger’s all‑in move on Sora might be the most important media decision of the decade, how user‑generated AI content is about to become Disney+ programming, and why exclusivity windows matter more than market prices.

From studios rediscovering vertical integration, to brands realizing they have to be media companies and banks, to Visa, Circle, and Solana building a new financial studio tower just in time for the holidays—this one connects IP, AI, crypto, payments, and power. Also: princess avatars, creator wallets, Beast coins, zero‑knowledge gift giving, and why the future looks a lot like the past… only faster.

Winter is here. The moat is being dug. Everyone’s paying attention now.

From Bitcoin life insurance and digital banks with no customers to MrBeast minting his own economy, it’s getting hard to tell the difference between Wall Street and YouTube. In this week’s episode, Toner and BTC Ankarino track the December madness—from 21Shares going public just for holding BTC, to Jared Kushner casually stepping into the Netflix-Paramount merger battlefield like a metaverse warlord. There’s a Beast Market coming, stablecoins are destabilizing nations, and suddenly, everyone’s a bank. Also: the IMF is freaking out, FTX is being rebooted, and war bets are getting settled with doctored maps. Stay for the vibe, leave with a new index to wish for this Christmas. Spring is coming.

Thanksgiving hits different when the pardons are symbolic—and the payouts are real. This week, Off the Record, On the Rocks dives deep into Michael Dell’s $1,000 baby bond for Gen Alpha, retail-facing prediction markets, and the full-on tokenization of trust. CZ gets his holiday pass, Kushner’s cutting side deals with Putin, and Truth Social becomes the CFTC’s unofficial narrative layer.

Meanwhile, Apple’s laying off retail staff as OpenAI lays claim to the next generation—rolling out AI tutors to Fairfax County and Cal State students in what may be the most polite power grab in American education. Truth is now a tradable asset, kids are born with fractional ownership in Uncle Donald’s America, and the real cold wallet is Fort Knox.