BITCOIN BOX SCORE

Exchange Rate: $89,820
Market Capitalization: $1.79T
Hash Rate (90 days): 1,060.4 EH/s
Transactions (30 days): 12,790,404
Network Fees (economy): 1 sat/vB
Bitcoin Dominance: 59.87%

What do these numbers mean?

"Bitcoin is a viable solution to the most significant issues in the world and it emerged precisely when it was needed," writes Epoch VC's Eric Yakes in the introduction to the 2026 Bitcoin Ecosystem Report. "Often, I am overwhelmed with the feeling that the bitcoin ecosystem was made for me as it aligns so precisely with my personal curiosities and values. The reality is that bitcoin is just technology, and many have a similar intuition as mine for completely different reasons."

Yakes expresses something countless bitcoiners feel once they grasp the implications and begin viewing the world through the lens of what becomes possible under a hard money standard.

Consider oil. Does it make sense to price the world's most critical commodity in a volatile paper currency whose supply is decided by unelected bureaucrats? Under the gold standard, oil prices were driven by supply and demand. Since abandoning gold, oil prices have whipsawed under the “petrodollar system,” where global cartels and powerful nation states collude to manipulate prices that should be determined by the free market.

With artificial intelligence driving unprecedented energy demand, measuring costs in a neutral asset immune to elite manipulation would benefit consumers enormously. Real estate faces similar distortions that would be alleviated by a bitcoin standard.

As more people recognize bitcoin as Yakes describes it – a viable solution to pressing global problems – they will begin applying it as such. The world grows increasingly complex and technological. Upgrading our money accordingly will unlock the prosperous future many imagine.

Delaware Life partners with BlackRock to offer bitcoin exposure through annuities

Delaware Life Insurance Company became the first insurance carrier to offer bitcoin exposure through a fixed index annuity, adding BlackRock's U.S. Equity Balanced Risk 12% Index to its portfolio. The index blends traditional U.S. equities with bitcoin exposure, primarily through BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), which manages nearly $76 billion in assets.

Insurance meets bitcoin by design

Insurers operate on decade-long time horizons, some spanning centuries, making prudent capital allocation decisions that must weather economic cycles. Bitcoin's fixed supply and censorship-resistant properties align with these institutional practices. Expect more collaboration between insurance and bitcoin companies as actuaries recognize bitcoin's role in reducing long-duration risk in diversified portfolios.

Coinbase CEO spars with French central banker over bitcoin independence at Davos

French central bank Governor François Villeroy de Galhau told a World Economic Forum panel he trusts "independent central banks with a democratic mandate" more than bitcoin, prompting Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to counter that bitcoin has no issuer and is therefore more independent than any central bank. Armstrong argued bitcoin's fixed supply provides accountability against deficit spending, describing competition between bitcoin and fiat currencies as healthy for monetary systems.

Bitcoin offers superior independence by design

Central banks claim independence while coordinating policy with fiscal authorities and bailing out politically connected institutions. Bitcoin operates under immutable rules enforced by distributed consensus, with no committee able to alter its monetary policy. When Armstrong says bitcoin is more independent, he is stating a mathematical reality. When Villeroy de Galhau says sovereigns must maintain their independence by issuing currency, he is making an orthogonal, political argument.

Steak 'n Shake adds $10 million in bitcoin exposure, will pay hourly workers bitcoin bonus

Restaurant chain Steak 'n Shake announced it added $10 million in bitcoin exposure eight months after beginning to accept bitcoin payments, crediting the move with driving dramatic same-store sales increases. The company maintains a bitcoin reserve by holding all bitcoin payments received from food and drink sales rather than immediately converting to dollars.

Starting March 1st, Steak 'n Shake will pay hourly employees at company-operated locations a bitcoin bonus of $0.21 per hour worked, with rewards vesting after two years through a partnership with bitcoin rewards app Fold.

Alternative bitcoin treasury model emerges

While most corporate bitcoin adopters rely on capital markets by issuing equity or debt to fund bitcoin purchases, Steak 'n Shake is converting operating profits directly into bitcoin because management believes it is a superior store of value. This profit-to-bitcoin model demonstrates conviction that bitcoin preserves purchasing power better than holding dollars on the balance sheet. Paying employees in bitcoin extends this philosophy to compensation, aligning workers and shareholders around long-term bitcoin appreciation.

NYSE develops tokenized securities platform for 24/7 trading

The New York Stock Exchange announced it is developing a platform for on-chain trading and settlement of tokenized U.S. equities and ETFs, supporting round-the-clock trading, fractional shares, and immediate settlement using blockchain infrastructure. The system combines the NYSE's Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based post-trade infrastructure and will support stablecoin-based funding and multiple blockchains for settlement.

Bitcoin stands apart from tokenized tradfi

The rush to tokenize existing securities on blockchains is an incremental improvement to financial infrastructure. But, bitcoin is veyr different because it’s not just new infrastructure, although it is that too – it’s a new form of money itself. While tokenized stocks offer faster settlement, bitcoin offers final settlement – something that only gold has been able to offer before.

Bank of America CEO warns $6 trillion could shift to stablecoins if interest payments allowed

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan stated that Treasury Department studies suggest up to $6 trillion in bank deposits, which would be roughly 30-35% of total U.S. commercial bank deposits, could migrate to stablecoins if Congress permits interest-bearing stablecoins. Banks are lobbying to restrict stablecoin yields, arguing that deposit outflows would force banks to rely on more expensive wholesale funding and reduce lending capacity.

Bitcoin challenges the entire banking stack

Banks fear losing control over who accesses yield and on what terms, weaponizing compliance and lobbying to preserve deposit monopolies through the same playbook used against money market funds and fintech charters. Stablecoins challenge commercial banks by enabling disintermediation. Bitcoin goes further, challenging both central banks themselves by letting individuals choose what type of money to save and spend (government paper or sound money). Stablecoins are the gateway drug.

BITCOIN ADOPTION CONTINUES

Michael Saylor's Strategy purchased 22,305 bitcoins for $2.13 billion at an average price of $95,284, bringing total holdings to 709,715 bitcoins worth approximately $53.92 billion.

Veteran investor Dan Tapiero predicts bitcoin will reach $180,000 in the current cycle, citing demand growth, falling interest rates, and global currency debasement from government AI infrastructure spending.

Arch, an institutional bitcoin lending platform that recently closed a $75 million CLO, joined as launch partner for "The Daily Stack," a daily bitcoin broadcast co-produced by Bitcoin News and 21 Rates.

Former Bank of England official Helen McCaw suggests bitcoin's immutable scarcity could make it a trusted safe haven asset during potential market chaos resulting from the government admitting it knows aliens exist. Yes, really.

Blockspace Media acquired bitcoin data analytics platform Bitcoin Layers as demand for bitcoin-specific data and analysis increases across institutional and retail audiences.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister announced plans to mine bitcoin through the country's sovereign wealth fund using hydropower from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System, which manages $16 billion for over 100,000 public workers, disclosed holding 17,900 Strategy shares worth $3.1 million for bitcoin exposure.

Real estate investment firm Cardone Capital purchased $10 million in bitcoin to enhance its real estate hybrid model, CEO Grant Cardone announced.

HOW BITCOIN WORKS

Learn one key idea about bitcoin each week. This week:

The great wealth transfer meets the bitcoin knowledge gap

Eighty-five percent of Americans are aware of bitcoin, but only six percent know about its 21 million fixed supply limit. This means roughly half of American bitcoin owners lack basic knowledge about what they own. As Epoch VC documents in the newly released 2026 Bitcoin Ecosystem Report discussed above, this knowledge gap creates extraordinary upside potential as education improves.

The demographics tell the story. Less than 5% of people over 65 own bitcoin. Gen X ownership sits between 5 and 10%. For Millennials, it’s 20 to 25%. Younger Americans understand bitcoin better and own it at dramatically higher rates than older generations.

This demographic divide collides with the largest wealth transfer in history. The "Great Wealth Transfer" will see $124 trillion pass to younger generations through 2048, with $105 trillion flowing directly to heirs. As Gen X and Millennials inherit this wealth, they will allocate significantly more to bitcoin than previous generations.

Epoch VC estimates inheritance-driven inflows could reach $92-185 billion in 2026 alone, growing to $1.2-2.3 trillion over the next decade and $3.8-7.7 trillion through 2048. These estimates cover only the United States, which represents 31% of global private wealth. Including the rest of the world multiplies these figures by over 3x.

The analysis may even understate the trend because it assumes current bitcoin knowledge and ownership rates remain constant. When the number of people who understand bitcoin’s scarcity moves from 6% up to 12%, then 25% and beyond, allocation would be expected to increase significantly. Bitcoin faces a multi-decade tailwind where demographic inevitability and monetary education compound simultaneously. The price implications are straightforward.

COIN CHECK

According to the 2026 Bitcoin Ecosystem Report, how many Americans know that bitcoin has a fixed supply?

A. 25%
B. 6%
C. 15%
D. 50%

Check your answer at the end of the page.

FROM THE MEME POOL

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ANSWER

Answer: B.

85% of Americans have heard of bitcoin, but only 6% know that there can only ever be 21 million bitcoins in existence.

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