Everyone loves a one stop shop. Coinbits Plus is the first subscription service for managing your bitcoin and cash in one place. 

With Coinbits Plus, you get more bitcoin for your money thanks to no transaction fees and very low spreads, in addition to features like Spending Insights, Peer-to-Peer Payments, Connected Wallets, Auto Sends, Target Orders, and Priority Support. You will even gain access to our Private Coinbits Plus Community – all for less than a Netflix subscription.

Check out Coinbits Plus with a free trial now 👉 https://my.coinbits.app/subscriptions

BITCOIN BOX SCORE

Exchange Rate: $84,360
Market Capitalization: $1.85T
Hash Rate (90 days): 796.1 EH/s
Transactions (30 days): 12,208,747
Network Fees (economy): 2 sat/vB
Bitcoin Dominance: 61.52%

What do these numbers mean?

"Pioneers like you will be able to improve our banking and payment system and promote greater privacy, safety, security and wealth for American consumers and businesses alike. You will unleash an explosion of economic growth," stated President Donald Trump in a statement addressing the Blockworks Digital Asset Summit yesterday.

The majority of media attention has been on tariffs, DOGE, government shutdowns – all part of the administration’s strategy to overwhelm the media battle space with such a voluminous amount of rhetoric and policy changes that it cannot keep up and struggles to shape the narrative.

At the risk of sounding repetitive week after week, it is hard not to recognize the momentum being built by political and financial elites. Last week, the President announced a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and the OCC reversed its hostile position on banks working with bitcoin. This week, President Trump addressed a bitcoin and crypto conference, and his son joined the board of advisors of one of the fastest-growing bitcoin companies in the world.

We have yet to see results. In the coming months, look for banks to begin offering bitcoin-based services, a full and credible audit of federal cryptocurrency holdings, and a bipartisan bitcoin bill in Congress – all signs that all of this good will is being converted into true, lasting change.

NEWS

Mar-a-Lago Accord unfolding in real time

Like Bretton Woods before it, the idea of Trump-led global monetary reset, being called even in mainstream media the "Mar-a-Lago Accord," is gaining momentum. The reset is unlikely to occur via telegraphed moves and photoshoots at the President's famous home, but the strategy is already in motion via tariffs, the creation of a U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund, and the demand for higher contributions from NATO allies. All of this is building up to a reduction of the debt burden, a weaker dollar, and lower interest rates.

Everything is good for bitcoin

This economic restructuring will impact global capital flows and asset valuations. With a weaker dollar and changing liquidity conditions on the horizon, bitcoin stands to benefit as a non-sovereign store of value that thrives during periods of uncertainty and currency devaluation.

Michael Saylor talks bitcoin on Fox News

In a wide-ranging Fox News interview with Lara Trump, Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor emphasized bitcoin's growing strategic importance in global finance. Initially skeptical, Saylor adopted bitcoin as "digital gold" during a time of crisis for his company in 2020. In the interview, he describes bitcoin as an incorruptible savings mechanism essential for individual and national financial security. Saylor praised President Trump's Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) initiative. The full clip is available below.

Tether Becomes Seventh Largest Buyer of U.S. Treasuries in 2024

Stablecoin issuer Tether emerged as the seventh largest foreign net buyer of U.S. Treasury securities in 2024, surpassing many nations including Canada, Mexico, and Germany. The company purchased a net $33.1 billion in Treasury securities.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and President Trump have emphasized the role of stablecoins in maintaining dollar supremacy amidst forces working in favor of de-dollarization. Tether is notably pro-bitcoin, using 15% of its net realized operating profits to stockpile BTC.

OCC ends reputation risk examinations

Last week, we covered the decision of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to allow federally regulated banks to engage in bitcoin custody, stablecoin development, and node operation without seeking prior approval.

This week, the agency made another pro-freedom move, announcing that it has ended examining financial institutions for reputation risk. Acting Comptroller Rodney E. Hood stated the agency would remove all references to reputation risk from its handbooks and guidance.

Banking freedom for innovation

The broader fintech industry has suffered from discriminatory banking relationships based on subjective reputation judgments. By focusing on objective risk criteria rather than reputation, the OCC is showing financial institutions that they can innovate without fear of retaliation.

BITCOIN ADOPTION CONTINUES

Brazil is advancing proposed legislation allowing workers to receive up to 50% of their salaries in bitcoin with various protections including market rate calculations and mandatory education about volatility risks.

Argentine Senate holds the nation's first bitcoin regulation conference organized by NGO Bitcoin Argentina, bringing together political advisors and lawmakers to discuss bitcoin's potential impact on the economy and appropriate regulatory frameworks.

Minnesota State Senator Jeremy Miller introduces "Minnesota Bitcoin Act" to allow state bitcoin investments, tax payments in bitcoin, bitcoin inclusion in retirement plans, and tax exemptions on bitcoin gains.

Xapo Bank launches bitcoin-backed loans up to $1 million with flexible repayment terms and conservative loan-to-value ratios, allowing holders of bitcoin to access liquidity without selling.

Pakistan plans to legalize bitcoin and establish a regulatory framework to attract foreign investment.

Bitwise launches a Bitcoin & Gold ETP in Europe, offering a dynamically allocated investment product that shifts between bitcoin and physical gold based on market conditions to maximize growth while minimizing volatility.

HOW BITCOIN WORKS

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

The Lightning Network is the future of payments

This week, Marty Bent wrote a terrific newsletter article, "The Lightning Network Will Replace Stripe, Visa and Mastercard," where he reminded readers of the network's benefits and predicted it would continue to win market share.

Marty is correct. The Lightning Network is experiencing remarkable growth. According to River's November 2024 data, transaction volume reached $286.5 million - a 266% increase from August 2023. This growth comes even as transaction count fluctuates, reflecting an evolution in spending behavior toward higher-value transfers.

Lightning's architecture is such that precise transaction metrics aren't possible to capture. River's estimates are derived by aggregating data from major nodes representing 79.4% of network capacity, adjusting for transaction overlap, and extrapolating to the full network.

Exchange deposits and withdrawals are what are principally driving Lightning adoption, accounting for at least two-thirds of total value routed. These transactions average over $100, which is significantly higher than micropayments for tipping or small purchases, the original intent of Lighting. This shift explains why transaction volume is growing faster than transaction count.

Interestingly, Lightning Network capacity has remained relatively flat in bitcoin terms since 2023, suggesting current capacity adequately handles transaction demand. This stability reflects professional channel management and improved routing efficiency, enabling higher throughput without capacity increases.

The network is experiencing a paradoxical evolution. Routing efficiency is improving but centralization is increasing. The top 10 nodes by capacity now control 84.6% of total network capacity, indicating a consolidation of infrastructure as routing services professionalize.

Lightning adoption will accelerate as bitcoin finds greater use as a medium of exchange and as on-chain transaction fees rise. The recent integration of stablecoins via Taproot Assets (December 2024) and Tether's USDT (January 2025) opens new possibilities that have yet to be exploited.

Since 2021, Layer 2 scaling projects on bitcoin have grown from 10 to 75, attracting $447 million in venture capital. Lightning is positioned to serve as the settlement layer between various scaling solutions including rollups, sidechains, and eCash mints, creating a robust foundation for bitcoin's expanding payment ecosystem.

COIN CHECK

Which company became the first publicly traded company to add bitcoin to its balance sheet in significant amounts?

1. MicroStrategy (now Strategy)

2. Tesla

3. Square (now Block)

4. PayPal

Check your answer at the end of the page.

FROM THE MEME POOL

Follow us on Twitter for more fresh content

ANSWER

1. MicroStrategy (now Strategy)

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.