Got a small business? Finito can handle your bookkeeping and save you time and money. Get one month free, a $499 value, when you sign up using this link. No commitment.

BITCOIN BOX SCORE

Exchange Rate: $68,950
Market Capitalization: $1.36T
Hash Rate (90 days): 567.3 EH/s
Transactions (30 days): 10,684,265
Network Fees (day): 8 sat/vB
Bitcoin Dominance: 54.22%

What do these numbers mean?

Pro-freedom politicians and activists, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Ron DeSantis, and Donald Trump, have expressed opposition to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)

And yet, CBDCs are coming whether we like them or not.

The United States won't let other nations create blockchain-based payment networks that leave the dollar in the dust. And it won’t allow adversaries like China to tout its model as technologically superior.

Today's public policy is driven by power, not nuanced research papers produced by think tanks. Just as they pursue industrial policies that strengthen the state’s grip on the economy, the regime will introduce a CBDC. They must, because to hold power they need to shore up the American ability to manipulate global markets – regardless of the negative consequences for personal freedom of everyday people in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Given the recent rapid advancement of money technology, standing athwart history and yelling Stop (however well-intentioned) is unproductive. Government money protocols will continue to be developed, and continue to centralize power over the economy.

What matters more than opposing CBDCs is understanding the forces propelling them forward, and finding an alternative that moves with these forces, not against them.

NEWS

Federal judge rules against Custodia Bank

A federal judge ruled against Wyoming-based Custodia Bank in its lawsuit challenging the Federal Reserve's rejection of its application for a master account, stating that federal law does not obligate the Fed to grant access to its master account system to every eligible depository institution. This decision aligns with the Federal Reserve's belief in its discretion in such matters, despite Custodia Bank's well-founded argument that the Fed's board unlawfully directed the rejection.

The system protects itself.

The judge in the case wrote that unless the Fed has such discretion, "one can readily foresee a 'race to the bottom' among states and politicians to attract business by reducing state chartering burdens through lax legislation, allowing minimally regulated institutions to gain ready access to the central bank's balances and Federal Reserve services." 

Curiously, the Fed has never approved a full reserve bank, like Custodia or the "Narrow Bank", which would hold all customer deposits rather then lend them out. Cynical observers might wonder whether banks who want to do this are being prevented from doing so because, if customers voted with their money that they want banks to do less lending, there would be less debt in the system, and less opportunity for financialization and market manipulation by the powers that be.

Tether keeps stacking bitcoin

Tether, a leading stablecoin issuer, expanded its bitcoin holdings by acquiring 8,888 BTC worth approximately $600 million. This development was noticed by people watching the bitcoin blockchain rather than coming from an official announcement. Tether’s latest bitcoin acquisition is part of its plan to allocate up to 15% of its quarterly profits to bitcoin, underscaring its growing influence and commitment to diversifying its reserves.

🛢️Biden administration cancels SPR refill

The Biden administration canceled its plans to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which was drawn down significantly in 2022 in an attempt to lower prices ahead of the midterm elections. The Department of Energy changed its plans and declined to purchase approximately three million barrels of oil, citing market conditions. Critics argue this decision, influenced by oil prices surpassing the administration's purchasing target, jeopardizes national security and contributes to higher costs for Americans, reflecting broader criticisms of the administration's energy policies amidst geopolitical tensions.

Central planning doesn't work. Who would've thought?

Lyn Alden captures the dilemma nicely with a chart:

🤯 GAO: Improper payments total $236 billion this year

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that the federal government made $236 billion in improper payments last year, with a significant portion of these errors being overpayments across various agencies. This issue, exacerbated by insufficient reporting from some agencies, highlights a persistent problem, particularly concentrated in five key programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Despite some programs reducing error rates through improved controls, the magnitude of improper payments significantly exceeds the annual budgets of entire departments like the Justice Department and the State Department, underscoring the financial impact of these errors on government spending.

A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you’re talking monopoly money.

Though shocking, some claim the GAO reports underestimate the actual figures. It would be nice if there were actual accountability instead of just reporting the amount of annual waste and then moving on.

BITCOIN ADOPTION CONTINUES

Coinbase, partnering with Lightspark, will integrate the Lightning Network to offer its users instant and cost-effective bitcoin transactions.

Mi Primer Bitcoin launched an updated Bitcoin Diploma for 2024, aiming to expand global, impartial bitcoin education, building on its successes in El Salvador and beyond with open-source materials and community-led translations.

Genesis Digital Assets (GDA) announced a strategic expansion in West Texas by securing 36 MW of power from the Tarbush data center, increasing its hashing capacity by 1 EH/s through a partnership with Lonestar Dream

Tether donated $100,000 to the BTCPay Server Foundation, reinforcing its support for the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) movement and its commitment to enhancing digital payment technologies.

Arkon Energy has ordered 27,700 new-generation bitcoin mining machines from Bitmain, signaling a shift towards self-mining and aiming to enhance efficiency in its Texas and Ohio data centers.

HOW BITCOIN WORKS

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

Bitcoin is truth.

Bitcoin, in its essence, represents an unwavering commitment to money as truth. Its fixed supply and immutable ledger contrast the inflationary tendencies of fiat currencies, which erode value and trust over time.

Importantly, anyone can verify the transactions flowing through the Bitcoin Network using a computer running free software – something unimaginable for government money networks. The principles of transparency and truth are absent from the fiat-based financial and monetary architecture, where truth is accessible by the privileged few, or buried under layers of bureaucracy.

Is the truth that bitcoin provides enough to build a flourishing civilization? No, but it brings us closer.

Bitcoin advances truth to the forefront of money & economics, and the beauty that comes with it, but bitcoin is part of a system of thought that seeks to reinvigorate values like beauty and truth in many ways. Jeff Deist describes this well:

We win by serving truth, but also beauty. We cannot separate the two or have one without the other.

We win by placing economics squarely at the vital center of understanding all human social cooperation, a discipline that helps us understand the beauty of that cooperation and the ugliness of state power.

We win with a focus on the long term, not the short run.

We win by building better elites and better institutions.

We win by going out unapologetically and forcefully into the world.

Did you see the British SAS soldiers at the aforementioned Queen's funeral? Their motto is: Who Dares Wins. The future belongs to confident people. Let that be us.

The Bitcoin Adviser simplifies the process of moving your coins off exchanges safely and securely. Get one month free when you sign up with this link!

COIN CHECK

How much of the world’s aggregate wealth is stored in bitcoin today?

1. 2%

2. 0.5%

3. 0.1%

4. 3%

Check your answer at the end of the page.

FROM THE MEME POOL

Follow us on Twitter for more fresh content

ANSWER

3. Approximately 0.1% of the world’s aggregate wealth is stored in bitcoin.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.