Is bitcoin a solution in search of a problem? To critics, bitcoin serves no purpose. We already have money.

That said, can our money be improved? Money is not just how we pay for things. It is an invention that lifted humanity from darkness, allowing us to transact and store value.

Just like the invention of language, the invention of money improved people's ability to interact socially. Today, money facilitates almost all economic transactions on the planet.

Like our phones, cars, and other technologies, there's nothing about money that requires it be issued and controlled by governments. In fact, almost all money in human history has been non-government money.

Bitcoin is really just an upgrade to the technology of money. If bitcoin is not better money, it is useless, and that would prove the naysayers correct. If that were the case, it would have been abandoned in short order.

However, rather than being abandoned, bitcoin is being adopted by more people every day. That's because bitcoin is a technological breakthrough. It provides a secure payment network, a fixed supply of monetary units (preventing dilution), and mathematically perfect verifiability.

While dollars only have value because the government says so, bitcoin's value comes from its superior technology – which is why it will win.

News‍‍

🧨 5,000 day anniversary of the genesis bitcoin block

On January 3, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first bitcoin block. The newspaper headline "Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks" is in the first block's code. Since, Bitcoin has generated block after block, supporting a new global, incorruptible, and fixed monetary network.

🏦 Wall Street giants launch digital asset exchange

Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Citadel Securities, some of the largest asset managers in the world, recently partnered to create EDX Markets, an exchange for digital assets. The firms seek to bring transaction fees to a comparable level with legacy finance instruments like ETFs. When asked why he left traditional finance for crypto, EDX CEO Jamil Nazarali stated, "the energy in the ecosystem was a draw."

‍⛓ SWIFT tests blockchain

The global financial payments system is piloting a blockchain project with FinTech company Symbiont. The project aims to test blockchain use cases for "significant corporate events" such as mergers or dividend payments.

‍🤦🏻 Starbucks buys the hype, jumps into "Web3"

Starbucks announced a new program "powered by Web3 technology" to 'give power back to the users in the form of ownership.' The experience utilizes a loyalty program built on an NFT platform. However, it's unclear how access to a token or security administered and controlled by a third-party company provides new power or ownership to users. Actual ownership can only be achieved in a decentralized network, as the readers of this newsletter already know ;).

‍🧯 The merge takes place this week

After years of back and forth, Ethereum is transitioning to a proof of stake consensus mechanism this week. The merge is underway at the time of this writing, beginning shortly after midnight on Thursday morning. As proponents celebrate the future reduction in energy consumption, detractors warn of weakened security and increased centralization.

‍👀 Bank of America releases shocking report on US Bonds

The largest bank in America expressed concern about declining liquidity in the US Treasury market. The bank warned a debt crisis could be more significant than the 2007 housing bubble. As treasuries fail to garner buyers while issuance increases, the US government will default if the Fed doesn't step in (again). Former hedge fund manager turned bitcoin strategist Greg Foss called the release the most significant report of 2022. "All paths lead to bitcoin," Foss said.

BITCOIN ADOPTION CONTINUES

Fidelity plans to offer bitcoin to all of their retail investors. ‍

‍Linux Foundation announces plans to develop an open-source infrastructure to create interoperability and compatibility among different digital wallet providers.‍

‍New York Giant Running Back and prominent bitcoiner Saquon Barkley had a standout game in NFL Week One, leading the giants to victory. ‍

‍Microstrategy filed to sell $500 million in stock and use the proceeds to buy more bitcoin. The software firm is the largest corporate holder of bitcoin and holds nearly 130,000 BTC. ‍‍

‍Russia is currently setting up rules for cross-border digital asset payments after initially being against them.  ‍

China returned to the top 10 countries in bitcoin and digital asset adoption despite a nationwide ban on companies offering bitcoin services.

HOW BITCOIN WORKS

Learn one key idea about bitcoin each week. This week: Bitcoin is equal opportunity.‍

Bitcoin’s inception is magical.

When Satoshi Nakamoto mined the genesis block nearly 14 years ago, they rendered the 50 bitcoin earned from the first block reward unspendable.

In doing so, Satoshi set an example: bitcoin would be distributed fairly, without pre-mined coins going to preferred members, including themselves.

Six days later, Satoshi released bitcoin's code to the world.

Bitcoin's distribution contrasts with Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Before its initial coin offering (ICO), Ethereum insiders enjoyed a 70% pre-mine.

The distribution of bitcoin also differs from the central bank model. Under our current monetary system, bailouts are the norm, justified under the guise of maintaining financial stability. Those closest to the money printer benefit while the rest suffer. In economics, this is referred to as Cantillon Effects, after the french economist Richard Cantillon.

Unlike fiat money and other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin’s issuance is transparent and fair. Network participants know the number of coins that will exist today, tomorrow, and so on.

Each participant has an equal chance to sacrifice energy in exchange for the opportunity to mine a future block and earn the new bitcoin that comes with it.

No pre-issued bitcoin goes to insiders, and no monetary units are arbitrarily printed.

Bitcoin's supply schedule is fixed and known, protecting network participants from the effects of dilution and centralized money issuance.

With bitcoin, bailouts, subsidies, and pre-mined coins are a thing of the past.

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COIN CHECK

What is currently the smallest unit of bitcoin? How many new bitcoin enter the market daily?

1. About 900

2. About 21 million

3. 10-20

4. 100

Check your answer at the end of the page.

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ANSWER

1. About 900.

   The current block reward yields 6.25BTC for verifying a new block. New blocks are created roughly every 10 minutes, and approximately 900 new bitcoin are currently released into the market daily. The supply schedule will continue until the next halving cycle in 2024 when roughly 450 new bitcoin per day will be released.

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