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BITCOIN BOX SCORE

Exchange Rate: $67,230
Market Capitalization: $1.33T
Hash Rate (90 days): 646.1 EH/s
Transactions (30 days): 18,116,991
Network Fees (economy): 6 sat/vB
Bitcoin Dominance: 58.88%

What do these numbers mean?

Many once dismissed bitcoin as a tool for criminals and money launderers. Some misguided people still do. However, when bitcoin was first invented, skepticism and misunderstanding significantly overshadowed its potential – something true of most revolutionary technologies. Fast forward 15 years, and the narrative has shifted.

Some publicly traded companies, led by MicroStrategy, have accumulated massive amounts of bitcoin on their balance sheets as part of a sound money strategy. These companies have not only outperformed the S&P 500 but also demonstrated that embracing bitcoin as a treasury asset confers a strategic advantage.

For decades, savers have relied on stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets to store value, mainly because fiat currencies are inherently inflationary, which means they cannot preserve value over time. Now, institutions are waking up to the reality that bitcoin offers a digital, flexible store of value over the long term with very low maintenance costs. This realization is blossoming into a widespread awakening that promises to disrupt investment markets worth hundreds of trillions of dollars.

As of this writing, bitcoin's market capitalization is around $1.3 trillion, which is less than one-tenth of gold's market cap. Even while being one of the best-performing assets this year, significant upside remains as institutions realize bitcoin's potential.

Millions of retail (individual) savers already use bitcoin to protect their wealth. The current wave of institutional adoption is the beginning of a fundamental transformation of corporate finance.

NEWS

📉 World Liberty Financial flops

President Trump's much-anticipated World Liberty Financial (WLF) altcoin project stumbled out of the gate, with its WLFI token sale raising only about $9 million, clocking in at just 3% of its $300 million fundraising target. Despite the Trump family's involvement – Donald Trump as "Chief Crypto Advocate" and his sons Eric, Barron, and Donald Jr. as "Web3 Ambassadors" – the launch failed to gain traction.

The token sale went live earlier this week and was marred by website crashes and technical glitches. If anything, the debacle demonstrates that even Trump can't “turn sh*t into Shinola,” as the saying goes.

In other Trump news

Though mainstream polls show an even race, Trump's odds of taking back the presidency have dramatically improved in betting markets. His bitcoin platform is significantly better than that of VP Harris. Hopefully his dalliance with crypto will teach him and his sons the lesson that many bitcoiners themselves have also had to learn – that bitcoin is money, and everything else is credit.

🟠 Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream announces $210 million raise

Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream successfully raised $210 million in a convertible note financing round led by bitcoin venture firm Fulgur Ventures. The fresh capital will be used to accelerate the adoption and development of Blockstream's layer-two technologies, expand its mining operations, and bolster its bitcoin treasury holdings.

Blockstream is known for its work on layer-two solutions like the Liquid Network and the Lightning Network which enable bitcoin to scale and take on new capabilities.

Why it matters

This sizeable funding round underscores growing confidence in bitcoin's investability and the critical role of infrastructure development in its global adoption. Expect exciting developments ahead!

🤡 Ripple prepares to launch RLUSD stablecoin

Ripple Labs is gearing up to launch its dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD. The company has partnered with exchanges like Bitstamp, Bitso, Bullish, and Uphold for initial distribution, while Keyrock and B2C2 will act as market makers. Former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair and ex-Centre CEO David Puth have joined Ripple's advisory board to strengthen its stablecoin initiative.

According to Ripple Labs President Monica Long, RLUSD is "operationally ready" and awaiting approval from the New York Department of Financial Services.

So, XRP doesn’t have a use case after all?

For years, Ripple promoted its token XRP as the token that would be used for a global settlement network to replace the SWIFT system and the U.S. dollar. By launching a dollar-backed stablecoin, Ripple is essentially admitting defeat and trying to preserve its business by entering the stablecoin market, which has proven attractive due to the dollar's status as the "least bad" fiat currency. Like all altcoin projects, the hype about XRP now appears to have been a mirage.

👨‍⚖️ TD Bank fined $3 billion for AML violations

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that TD Bank has pleaded guilty to charges related to money laundering and will pay a record $3 billion in penalties to various financial regulators. Despite the massive fine, none of the bank's executives are facing jail time yet. The Department of Justice noted that investigations targeting individuals at TD Bank are "continuing aggressively," indicating that more charges could be forthcoming.

Double standard?

This outcome mirrors a long-standing trend where banking executives avoid prison sentences even when their institutions are implicated in significant criminal activities. The outcome contrasts the DOJ's approach toward bitcoin and altcoin firms, where, in cases like Binance, the company and its CEO faced hefty fines and jail time for smaller offenses.

BITCOIN ADOPTION CONTINUES

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink declared bitcoin an "an asset class in itself," signaling its growing inclusion in institutional investment portfolios.

A Trump-allied PAC has raised $7.5 million in bitcoin contributions from industry leaders to support Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

Cryptosteel has introduced Seed12, an affordable and durable metal backup solution for securing bitcoin seed phrases and sensitive information.

BITMAIN launched the ANTMINER S21+ series of efficient bitcoin miners and showcased new products at Bitcoin Amsterdam.

Metaplanet shares jumped 16% after buying 107 Bitcoin, doubling its holdings to over 855 BTC.

HOW BITCOIN WORKS

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

What will be the impact of a regulated bitcoin options market in the U.S.?

Options are financial contracts that grant the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase or sell an asset at a predetermined price within a specific time frame. In the context of bitcoin, options allow investors to speculate on future price movements or hedge their existing positions against market volatility.

Globally, bitcoin options have been available on various international exchanges, enabling traders outside the U.S. to leverage these financial instruments. Offshore platforms like Deribit have been offering bitcoin options trading for years, allowing for significant market activity and liquidity in regions where such trading is permitted.

The recent approval for listing by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for options tied to a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) marks a shift in how market participants can use their bitcoin exposure in the United States.

Specifically, the SEC has approved options trading for BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (ticker symbol "IBIT") on the Nasdaq exchange. This move introduces regulated bitcoin options to the U.S. market, providing institutional investors and traders with new avenues for exposure to bitcoin's price movements.

The introduction of Bitcoin ETF options in the U.S. is anticipated to impact the market in several notable ways.

First, the availability of regulated options is likely to increase liquidity and market participation by attracting a wider range of institutional investors, potentially enhancing market depth and stability.

Additionally, options provide investors with effective hedging tools, allowing them to manage price volatility or speculate on future price movements with greater precision. This availability of options can encourage more sophisticated trading strategies, which might help stabilize bitcoin-to-fiat exchange rate fluctuations.

Moreover, options introduce a path for exponential growth in bitcoin’s synthetic notional value, meaning the total value of outstanding derivative contracts could grow significantly as market engagement deepens.

As options trading becomes more prominent, bitcoin’s volatility patterns may shift; options could either mitigate or amplify volatility depending on how they are utilized by market participants.

To learn more, check out this interview of Bitwise Asset Management’s Head of Alpha Strategies Jeff Park by Anthony Pompliano:

On The Bitcoin Standard Podcast, our own Dave Birnbaum talks about how Coinbits.app is using bitcoin to build an innovative operating system for money. Listen now: Spotify | YouTube | Apple | Fountain

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COIN CHECK

Which of the following statements best explains why publicly traded companies like MicroStrategy are incorporating Bitcoin into their balance sheets?

1. Bitcoin is a regulated asset that guarantees higher returns than the S&P 500.

2. Bitcoin offers a flexible, low-maintenance store of value, and its adoption as a treasury asset may provide a strategic advantage in an inflationary fiat environment.

3. Companies use Bitcoin mainly because it has a larger market capitalization than gold.

4. Institutions prefer Bitcoin to traditional assets like stocks and real estate because it has no volatility.

Check your answer at the end of the page.

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ANSWER

2. Bitcoin offers a flexible, low-maintenance store of value, and its adoption as a treasury asset may provide a strategic advantage in an inflationary fiat environment.

   To understand more about how this strategic advantage works, consider how MicroStrategy’s bitcoin strategy goes beyond simple asset holding; it actively leverages bitcoin’s volatility to drive strategic growth. By issuing convertible debt and using the proceeds to buy more bitcoin, the company increases its bitcoin per share. This setup attracts investor interest, which drives up MicroStrategy’s stock price, creating a feedback loop. The rise in bitcoin holdings per share also amplifies the stock’s volatility, which can drive options activity and further strengthen MicroStrategy’s position to capitalize on bitcoin’s appreciation. This cycle of strategic asset acquisition and market engagement highlights how bitcoin’s unique characteristics can redefine corporate finance.

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