Bitcoiners,

Things are crazy in the world of macro. De-dollarization is on everyone's minds, and if the OPEC cuts push oil prices further, it could add entire percentage points to the CPI. Many factors could affect the USD-BTC exchange rate, such as disinflation slowing and China reopening.

The Fed, however, is hesitant to raise interest rates due to banking fragility. The central bank must decide if the banking system can handle additional pressures if it raises rates further.

Current market expectations for the terminal rate are between 5.1% and 5.25%, but new pressures might push it higher. If OPEC cuts significantly impact inflation expectations, the Fed may make another 50 BPS move, further destabilizing financial markets.

Amid complex market conditions driven by closed-door decisions, opting into bitcoin today allows anyone to hedge the macro madness with clarity and security.

NEWS

De-dollarization

Amongst other nondollar global currency deals, China and Brazil have agreed to settle trades in their native currencies rather than using U.S. dollars, marking another blow to the dollar's central role in global trade. Analysts point to the United States' use of its currency as a weapon of economic warfare and its erratic monetary and fiscal policy regimes as the root cause for the shifts.

While the dollar will likely remain a dominant currency for some time, de-dollarization will continue, leading to more expensive debt service for the U.S. and potentially higher inflation and taxes for American citizens in the long run. 

Looking ahead:

Nations have not settled on a replacement for the world's leading fiat currency. It might take global leaders years to recognize that a politically neutral monetary network with a credible, independent, verifiable monetary policy already exists: Got bitcoin?

OPEC

This weekend OPEC+ stunned global markets and leaders by agreeing to cut oil output by 1.2 million barrels daily. The announcement was met with disapproval from the Biden administration, which depleted oil reserves from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an attempt to lower gas prices before elections this fall.

Where is this going?

It remains to be seen whether the OPEC+ cuts are an attempt to increase prices in anticipation of decreased demand or if the cartel is seeking to ramp up inflationary pressures in the United States. Either way, the cuts present another challenge to monetary policymakers' fight against domestic inflation.

BITCOIN ADOPTION CONTINUES

Bitcoin entrepreneurs launch Noones, a messaging app that facilitates peer-to-peer trades with a bitcoin wallet and a peer-to-peer marketplace.

Mutiny Wallet, led by previous Voltage R&D employees, raises over $300,000 in preseed funding to build a web-first privacy-focused bitcoin wallet.

Bitcoin ordinal inscriptions continue to surge in popularity, with over 500,000 recorded as of March 21, 2023.

Ralph Lauren partners with BitPay to accept bitcoin payments at its new store in Miami.

Bloggers discover a copy of the bitcoin white paper in every copy of MacOS shipped since 2017.

MicroStrategy adds another 1,045 bitcoin to the company's balance sheet, bringing its total holdings to 140,000 bitcoins.

Bugatti and Asprey announce a new bitcoin inscriptions collection, using ordinals to inscribe limited-edition artwork on the bitcoin blockchain.

HOW BITCOIN WORKS

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

Bitcoin is foundational

A sound foundation is the most critical feature of any longstanding structure or technology. 

Along those lines, bitcoin is a foundational new technology that has the potential to revolutionize countless industries and platforms – not just monetary systems. 

Just as the internet has enabled the creation of countless new applications and services previously unimaginable, bitcoin will do the same. In the 1990s, "internet companies" were commonplace. Now, every company is an internet company.

Some day soon, every company will be a bitcoin company.

We already see the beginnings of this entrepreneurial revolution today.

Thundr games is building bitcoin-focused video games. NOSTR, a new decentralized social media protocol, integrated bitcoin lighting payments into its infrastructure. Not to be outdone, fashion companies are using ordinals to inscribe unique artwork onto the bitcoin blockchain.

To many, bitcoin's non-monetary uses might seem puzzling. Why not use any number of the "web3" or "crypto" protocols?

The answer is simple: No other protocol has a stronger foundation than bitcoin. It might not be "flashy" or full of token pumps, but because bitcoin sticks to the basics, entrepreneurs can build on top of it to create powerful, robust experiences that will last well into the future.

We can't predict what entrepreneurs will come up with next, but we know it is the perfect foundation for future explosions of creativity.

As companies (like Coinbits) continue to explore and develop the Bitcoin Network's capabilities, we will see a wealth of new applications and technologies emerge that will change how we live, work, and do business.

Ready to get started with bitcoin? Coinbits is the best option. It's fast, safe, and free to create your account.

COIN CHECK

What is the name of the cryptographic hash function used in bitcoin mining?

1. MD5

2. SHA-21 Million

3. MD4

4. SHA-256

Check your answer at the end of the page.

FROM THE MEME POOL

BITCOIN ROUNDUP PODCAST

If you love our newsletter, you’ll love our podcast, too.

ANSWER

4. SHA-256

   The cryptographic hash function used in bitcoin mining is SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit). This hash function takes input data of any size and produces a fixed-size output of 256 bits, which is used to secure and validate transactions on the network.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.