Eskom, a South African electricity public utility, is exploring plans to sell excess daytime electricity to Bitcoin mining companies as rooftop solar installations reduce grid demand during daylight hours.
Speaking at the Biznews Conference 2026 in Hermanus, Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati said the utility is evaluating ways to monetize surplus power generated during the middle of the day, according to local reporting.
South Africa’s rapid adoption of rooftop solar systems has begun to reshape the country’s electricity demand profile. Many households and businesses now generate their own power during daylight hours, leaving Eskom with unused capacity once solar panels begin producing electricity.
Nyati said the pattern is increasingly predictable.
Demand spikes in the early morning as households prepare for work and businesses open. As solar generation ramps up later in the day, grid demand falls, leaving Eskom with surplus electricity.
Eskom is looking at creative ways and means of using that capacity. One option under review is offering discounted electricity to Bitcoin mining companies operating in South Africa. The sector runs large data centers that perform energy-intensive computations to secure the Bitcoin network.
Nyati said industries such as Bitcoin mining are contributing to rising global electricity demand. He said that the technology did not exist two decades ago but now represents a growing source of power consumption.
Selling excess electricity to miners could allow Eskom to generate revenue from power that might otherwise go unused during solar-heavy hours.
South African Bitcoin mining opportunities
The idea also builds on earlier comments from Eskom chief executive Dan Marokane, who said the state-owned utility is examining opportunities tied to Bitcoin mining, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and large-scale data centers.
Those sectors require large, continuous electricity supplies and could provide new demand for Eskom’s generation fleet.
Nyati framed the initiative as part of a broader strategy to adapt to structural changes in South Africa’s electricity market.
The country’s power sector is opening to private investment, allowing independent companies to build generation capacity and compete in electricity distribution. At the same time, rising rooftop solar adoption is shifting demand away from the national grid.
Nyati said Eskom must adapt to remain viable in a more competitive environment.
Alongside new revenue strategies, Eskom is pursuing cost reductions. Nyati said the utility plans to eliminate about R112 billion in expenses over the next five years.
Reducing those costs could help lower electricity prices for households and energy-intensive industries such as mining and smelting.
Despite the changes in the energy landscape, Nyati said South Africa still needs a strong national utility.
He argued that Eskom’s coal and nuclear power stations provide the base-load electricity required to support industrial growth and economic development.
The proposal to supply discounted electricity to Bitcoin miners reflects how utilities are beginning to treat flexible energy consumers as tools for balancing supply and demand in an evolving power system.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/South-African-Eskom-Considering-Discount-Power-for-Bitcoin-Miners-as-Solar-Creates-Surplus-Yv10Ih.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-13 17:02:202026-03-13 17:02:20South African Eskom Considering Discount Power for Bitcoin Miners as Solar Creates Surplus
The Bitcoin price has outperformed gold, silver, and major U.S. equity indexes since the outbreak of the Iran–Israel conflict escalation 2026, climbing above $73,000 even as oil surged and expectations for near-term interest rate cuts faded.
Market data shows Bitcoin price rising about 8% since the first strikes against Iran, reaching a one-month high above $73,000. The move placed the digital asset ahead of several traditional safe-haven and risk assets during a period of geopolitical stress.
Gold declined during the same stretch, falling roughly 3% from levels seen before the conflict began. Silver dropped more than 10%, sliding from above $90 to around $82. U.S. equities also weakened, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each down between 1% and 2%.
The divergence came as global markets responded to a surge in energy prices. Crude oil climbed close to 20%, breaking above $100 per barrel for the first time in nearly four years as tensions threatened supply routes across the Middle East.
These conditions often pressure crypto markets because higher oil prices and tighter financial conditions raise inflation concerns and reduce risk appetite across global portfolios.
The bitcoin price followed that pattern at first.
In the hours after the conflict began, the asset dropped sharply as traders cut exposure across crypto derivatives markets. Roughly $300 million in leveraged positions were liquidated during the initial weekend selloff. Bitcoin briefly fell toward the mid-$63,000 range as uncertainty spread through global markets.
The selloff matched Bitcoin’s historical behavior during geopolitical shocks, where it often trades in line with other high-beta assets during the first wave of risk reduction.
The market response changed during the following week.
Bitcoin price recovery
Instead of remaining near those lows while energy prices climbed, Bitcoin price recovered steadily and broke back above the $70,000 level. The rebound left it outperforming metals and equities during the same window despite the challenging macro backdrop.
Derivatives data via Bitcoin Magazine Pro shows that part of the recovery followed a reset in market leverage. After the liquidation event cleared large speculative positions, traders began rebuilding exposure.
Open interest across major exchanges climbed back to roughly 88,000 BTC. The increase signals renewed participation without reaching extreme leverage levels that often precede sharp corrections.
Institutional demand also contributed to the rebound.
U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded strong inflows during the week. Data from ETF trackers shows the funds attracted about $586 million, marking one of the largest inflow weeks of the year.
The flows represent a steady source of demand entering the market even as geopolitical tensions intensified and inflation concerns returned.
Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, said the behavior of ETF investors has remained stable during periods of volatility.
Speaking on CNBC, Mitchnick said ETF flows show a long-term accumulation pattern even during large price declines in Bitcoin price.
He said the investor base across financial advisors, institutions, and direct retail buyers has taken a steady approach to the asset, with many participants using price weakness to add exposure.
He also pointed to the performance of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), which continued attracting inflows despite a sharp drop in Bitcoin’s price from its previous peak.
Mitchnick said IBIT ranked among the largest ETF inflows globally during 2025 even while the underlying asset declined, highlighting sustained demand from long-term investors.
NEW: $14 trillion BlackRock says Bitcoin ETF investors are “long term buy and hold fundamental type investors” and flows are positive
The growth of spot ETFs has expanded Bitcoin’s investor base and deepened market liquidity compared with earlier geopolitical episodes. Institutional capital can now enter the market through regulated products that trade alongside equities.
For now, Bitcoin’s performance during the conflict has reinforced its status as a liquid macro asset that reacts to both global market forces and crypto-native demand.
While oil, inflation expectations, and central bank policy continue to shape the backdrop, the digital asset has managed to recover faster than many traditional benchmarks during one of the most volatile geopolitical episodes of the year.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin price is trading at $72,941.
Strategy appears to have purchased more than 4,000 bitcoin on Thursday, according to estimates derived from real-time trading data and community tracking dashboards monitoring the firm’s preferred equity sales.
Data from STRC.live and market trackers suggests the purchases were funded through heavy issuance of the company’s Variable Rate Series A Preferred Stock (STRC), a perpetual preferred instrument that Strategy has increasingly used to raise capital for bitcoin accumulation.
By end of day in New York, trading activity implied the firm had already raised enough capital to acquire more than 4,000 BTC, marking the largest single-day bitcoin purchase funded through STRC since the instrument launched.
The surge follows unusually strong activity earlier in the week. On March 10, STRC recorded a record $409 million in daily trading volume while maintaining roughly 3% 30-day volatility and a one-month volume-weighted average price near $99.78.
On-chain indicators and community monitoring suggested that day’s activity funded the purchase of more than 2,000 BTC, already one of the largest one-day accumulations tied to the instrument.
Thursday’s pace easily surpassed that figure.
Strategy, already the largest public corporate holder of bitcoin, has increasingly leaned on its preferred equity program to finance additional acquisitions.
Earlier this year the company amended its at-the-market (ATM) program, allowing multiple agents to sell STRC shares simultaneously. The change increased liquidity in the instrument and made it easier for Strategy to raise large amounts of capital quickly, with proceeds directed toward bitcoin purchases.
Real-time dashboards tracking STRC trading attempt to estimate how many shares Strategy itself is issuing versus secondary market trades.
Because the company previously indicated it may sell shares when the price trades above its $100 stated amount, analysts can approximate capital raised when trading occurs above that threshold.
A recent SEC filing disclosed that the company purchased 17,994 BTC between March 2 and March 8 for approximately $1.28 billion. That acquisition lifted the firm’s total holdings to about 738,731 BTC, representing roughly 3.5% of bitcoin’s circulating supply.
The filing showed the purchase was funded through a combination of $377.1 million in STRC sales and $899.5 million raised through common stock issuance.
Based on those figures, STRC accounted for about 29.5% of the funding for that five-day accumulation period, equivalent to roughly 5,300 BTC acquired through preferred share sales.
If Thursday’s estimates prove accurate, the day’s purchases alone could exceed the average daily bitcoin acquisition pace seen during that earlier buying window.
The data remains unofficial. Strategy typically confirms purchases later through SEC filings or public disclosures.
BREAKING: Michael Saylor’s Strategy is now estimated to have accumulated 4,038 BTC today via STRC
STRC acts as a bridge between traditional income investors and Strategy’s Bitcoin-focused balance sheet. Income investors typically seek steady payouts, while Strategy’s large Bitcoin holdings bring long-term upside along with short-term price swings. The preferred stock helps connect these two profiles.
The security is structured to keep demand near its $100 par value while paying a monthly dividend that yields about 11.5% annually. In effect, it converts the economics of a Bitcoin treasury into a format that appeals to fixed-income investors who prioritize regular income.
Strong liquidity and relatively low volatility suggest that the investor base is shifting toward income-focused capital. That shift can help stabilize trading activity compared with instruments driven mainly by speculation.
These early results point to product-market fit. Rather than relying on marketing or hype, the structure appears to meet a clear demand among investors seeking yield tied to Bitcoin exposure.
For corporate leaders considering Bitcoin treasury strategies, STRC offers a way to integrate Bitcoin into broader capital structures. It allows companies to draw funding from multiple investor groups while building a shared strategic reserve around the asset.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades near $70,000, while shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) are down about 0.75% on the day.
Corporate ownership of bitcoin has reached a new high in early 2026 as exchange-traded funds, multinational corporations, and private firms expand their exposure to the asset, according to the latest corporate adoption report from BitcoinTreasuries.net.
The data shows that institutional demand now forms a central pillar of the bitcoin market. Public companies, private firms, ETFs, and government-linked entities collectively hold a growing share of the circulating supply, with a small number of large buyers responsible for most accumulation.
The findings illustrate a shift in bitcoin’s ownership structure. Early adoption was driven by retail investors and technology enthusiasts. Today, large financial vehicles and corporate balance sheets shape the flow of capital into the asset.
A major force behind that transition has been the rise of spot BTC ETFs. These funds have accumulated substantial reserves since their introduction in major markets, offering investors exposure through regulated exchange-listed products rather than direct custody of the underlying asset.
Institutional allocators often prefer ETFs because they fit within traditional portfolio frameworks and comply with regulatory requirements. The result has been a steady inflow of capital into ETF products, tightening supply on exchanges and anchoring bitcoin within mainstream financial markets.
Alongside ETFs, a small group of public companies continues to dominate direct corporate ownership. The largest holders maintain treasuries measured in tens of thousands of bitcoin and treat the asset as a primary reserve rather than a speculative investment.
Strategy is dominating bitcoin treasury activity
The most prominent example remains Strategy, the software firm led by Michael Saylor. Strategy continued to expand its holdings during February, purchasing 5,075 BTC through a series of weekly acquisitions. That activity represented roughly 65% of all bitcoin added by corporate treasuries during the month.
Despite that buying, February delivered an unusual milestone for the sector. Corporate treasuries collectively added about 7,800 BTC but disposed of approximately 8,600 BTC, producing a net decline of roughly 800 BTC for the first time since standardized data tracking began, according to the report.
The setback appears limited when placed within a broader time frame. Corporate treasuries have added roughly 62,000 BTC so far in the first quarter of 2026, with most purchases occurring in January and early March. Strategy again accounted for a large share of those acquisitions, reinforcing its position as the dominant corporate holder.
Beyond direct purchases, the structure of corporate bitcoin finance is evolving. Companies linked to the sector now rely on preferred shares, convertible securities, and other forms of “digital credit” to fund acquisitions while offering investors high yields.
Among those products, several preferred share classes issued by Strategy and other firms offer yields well above traditional benchmarks. One floating-rate instrument linked to Strategy carries a credit spread of roughly 7.60 percentage points above three-month U.S. Treasury bills, according to research cited in the report.
In total, five digital credit instruments tied to bitcoin treasury strategies were projected to distribute about $435 million in dividends by the end of February.
Advocates argue that such financing tools allow companies to convert bitcoin’s long-term appreciation potential into steady income streams for investors. During a keynote presentation at the Bitcoin For Corporations 2026 conference, Saylor described the approach as an attempt to extract stable credit returns from bitcoin’s historically volatile price movements.
At the same time, smaller public companies have begun experimenting with BTC allocations, though their holdings remain modest compared with the largest corporate treasuries. Many firms treat BTC as a diversification asset or a signal of alignment with digital-asset markets rather than as a primary treasury reserve.
Private companies and family-controlled entities represent another important but opaque segment of the market. Public disclosure remains limited, yet available evidence suggests that several large private holders accumulated bitcoin over many years and maintain long-term positions outside the scrutiny faced by public companies.
Regional patterns also shape corporate adoption. Firms based in North America and parts of Europe show higher levels of exposure, reflecting more developed capital markets and regulatory frameworks for digital assets. In jurisdictions with unclear tax treatment or strict financial rules, companies often hesitate to hold bitcoin directly, according to the report.
Treasuries bought bitcoin 2.8× issuance
Another notable dynamic involves the relationship between corporate treasuries and the bitcoin supply itself. Since the April 2024 halving, companies tracked by BitcoinTreasuries.net have acquired BTC at a pace that frequently exceeds new mining output.
Across a survey of 94 weeks since the halving event, treasury companies accumulated bitcoin at about 2.8 times the rate at which new coins entered circulation through mining. Over a shorter window, Strategy alone acquired roughly 1.8 times the BTC produced by miners.
Those figures highlight how institutional demand can influence supply conditions in the market. When long-term holders absorb newly mined coins, the amount available for trading declines, which can amplify price movements during periods of rising demand.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pics-23-Gtp28Y.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-12 17:06:502026-03-12 17:06:50Corporate Bitcoin Holdings Hit Record High as Institutions Accumulate 2.8x Mining Supply: Report
Whale Pass holders for the Bitcoin Vegas 2026 conference get a 10% off the 3rd Annual Bitcoin Golf Championship as well! With code WHALE26 at checkout.
The announcement follows the 2nd Max & Stacy Invitational, which BSN organized in January at El Encanto Country Club in La Libertad, El Salvador, in partnership with Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert and sponsored by Ikigii (Towerbank).
The El Salvador event included a poker tournament sponsored by Casino Colonial and a poolside 19th Hole Challenge. Attendees included Mike Peterson, Dr. Jack Kruse, Texas Slim, Archie from The Bitcoin Archives, and Bitcoin educator Jimmy Song.
“Nothing is impossible for Chris and Frieda. It is almost magical how they nail it every single time,” said Max Keiser.
Keiser also said: “I love this event. It’s like an amusement park for Bitcoiners. Everybody is focused on having maximalist fun. Chris and Frieda are the wizards behind the scenes making it all come together.”
Patrick Lowry, CEO of Samara Asset Group, said: “BSN once again proves to be the best at bringing Bitcoiners from around the world together. My wife and I enjoyed golf, poker, and meeting Bitcoiners from around the world—we’ve already begun planning next year’s trip.”
The Las Vegas event will use a 2-person scramble format. It will include Bitcoin-themed hole activations, exclusive prizes, and the Bitcoin Kickoff Party at the clubhouse. Organizers expect more than 300 attendees, including founders, builders, investors, and creators. Bali Hai Golf Club is located minutes from the main conference venue.
Following the Las Vegas event, BSN plans to host an event in Canada and launch the World Bitcoin Poker Tour.
Tickets and sponsorships for the Las Vegas event are available at bitcoingolfchampionship.com. Details for the Canada event are at https://thebtcopen.com/.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Gemini_Generated_Image_33i94y33i94y33i9-AAD3Jg.webp6301200Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-12 14:29:002026-03-12 14:29:003rd Bitcoin Golf Championship Lands at Bali Hai Golf Club Before Bitcoin 2026 Vegas Conference
New research from Binance suggests the upcoming 2026 United States midterm elections could set the stage for a recovery in both Bitcoin and equities, even as markets face pressure from geopolitical tensions and rising energy prices.
In a report released this week, Binance Research found that risk assets have shown a consistent rebound after U.S. midterm election cycles. Historical data shows the S&P 500 has produced an average return of 19% in the 12 months following midterm elections, with no negative annual return recorded since 1939.
Bitcoin has shown an even stronger pattern in the limited number of cycles since its emergence as a liquid asset. In the three post-midterm years on record, the cryptocurrency delivered an average gain of 54%, according to the report.
“Once election outcomes are determined and uncertainty is resolved, markets have historically staged powerful rallies,” the report stated.
NEW: Binance report shows that following US midterm elections, “Bitcoin has rallied an average of 54% in all three post-midterm years on record.”
The research arrives about eight months before voters head to the polls on Nov. 3 to determine the composition of the 120th Congress. Historically, midterm election years have produced some of the most volatile periods in the four-year presidential cycle as investors adjust expectations around fiscal policy, regulation, and government spending.
Binance Research noted that midterm years have often brought meaningful drawdowns before the subsequent recovery. The S&P 500 has experienced an average peak-to-trough decline of about 16% during midterm election years, making it the weakest period in the presidential cycle.
Bitcoin has shown similar behavior in past cycles, though with greater volatility. The cryptocurrency posted sharp declines during the previous three midterm years on record, including a 56% drawdown in 2014, a 73% decline in 2018, and a 64% drop in 2022.
Despite those losses, each cycle was followed by a strong recovery once the election period passed, Binance wrote.
Bitcoin, oil, Iran, and macro events
Market participants say the historical pattern reflects the removal of political uncertainty once the balance of power in Washington becomes clear.
Fiscal policy expectations, regulatory agendas, and legislative priorities tend to stabilize after election outcomes are known, giving investors a clearer framework for positioning capital.
The report also touched on the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran as a central source of macro risk.
Disruptions tied to the conflict have pushed oil prices higher and raised concerns about supply flows through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important shipping corridors for global energy markets.
The energy shock has added pressure to risk assets across global markets, including Bitcoin. Binance analysts say sustained supply disruptions could keep oil prices elevated and weigh on investor sentiment.
Bitcoin has traded near the $70,000 level in recent sessions, with market structure showing repeated liquidity sweeps above and below key price ranges. Derivatives analysts say that pattern suggests traders are waiting for clearer signals from macro events before taking directional positions.
Despite near-term uncertainty, Binance Research argues that the historical record around U.S. midterm cycles offers a longer-term perspective for investors.
If the pattern holds, the months following the 2026 midterm elections could provide one of the strongest windows for risk assets in the political cycle, potentially setting up a new rally for both equities and Bitcoin once political uncertainty fades.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pics-22-H7m9B0.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-12 14:19:182026-03-12 14:19:18Binance: U.S. Midterms Historically Followed by Strong Bitcoin Gains
Synchronizing a new node to the network tip involves several distinct stages:
Peer discovery and chain selection where the node connects to random peers and determines the most-work chain.
Header download when block headers are fetched and connected to form the full header chain.
Block download when the node requests blocks belonging to that chain from multiple peers simultaneously.
Block and transaction validation where each block’s transactions are verified before the next one is processed.
While block validation itself is inherently sequential, each block depends on the state produced by the previous one, much of the surrounding work runs in parallel. Header synchronization, block downloads and script verification can all occur concurrently on different threads. An ideal IBD saturates all subsystems maximally: network threads fetching data, validation threads verifying signatures, and database threads writing the resulting state.
Without continuous performance improvement, cheap nodes might not be able to join the network in the future.
Intro
Bitcoin’s “don’t trust, verify” culture requires that the ledger can be rebuilt by anyone from scratch. After processing all historical transactions every user should arrive at the exact same local state of everyone’s funds as the rest of the network.
This reproducibility is at the heart of Bitcoin’s trust-minimized design, but it comes at a significant cost: after almost 17 years, this ever-growing database forces newcomers to do more work than ever before they can join the Bitcoin network.
When bootstrapping a new node it has to download, verify, and persist every block from genesis to the current chain tip – a resource-intensive synchronization process called Initial Block Download (IBD).
While consumer hardware continues to improve, keeping IBD requirements low remains critical for maintaining decentralization by keeping validation accessible to everyone – from lower-powered devices like Raspberry Pis to high-powered servers.
Benchmarking process
Performance optimization begins with understanding how software components, data patterns, hardware, and network conditions interact to create bottlenecks in performance. This requires extensive experimentation, most of which gets discarded. Beyond the usual balancing act between speed, memory usage, and maintainability, Bitcoin Core developers must choose the lowest-risk/highest-return changes. Valid-but-minor optimizations are often rejected as too risky relative to their benefit.
We have a significant suite of micro-benchmarks to ensure existing functionality doesn’t degrade in performance. These are useful for catching regressions, i.e. performance backslides in individual pieces of code, but aren’t necessarily representative of overall IBD performance.
Contributors proposing optimizations provide reproducers and measurements across different environments: operating systems, compilers, storage types (SSD vs HDD), network speeds, dbcache sizes, node configurations (pruned vs archival), and index combinations. We write single-use benchmarks and use compiler explorers for validating which setup would perform better in that specific scenario (e.g. intra-block duplicate transaction checking with Hash Set vs Sorted Set vs Sorted vector).
We’re also regularly benchmarking the IBD process. This can be done by reindexing the chainstate and optionally the block index from local block files, or doing a full IBD either from local peers (to avoid slow peers affecting timings) or from the wider p2p network itself.
IBD benchmarks often show smaller improvements than micro-benchmarks since network bandwidth or other I/O is often the bottleneck; downloading the blockchain alone takes ~16 hours with average global internet speeds.
For maximum reproducibility -reindex-chainstate is often favored, creating memory and CPU profiles before and after the optimization and validating how the change affects other functionality.
Historical and ongoing improvements
Early Bitcoin Core versions were designed for a much smaller blockchain. The original Satoshi prototype laid the foundations, but without constant innovation from Bitcoin Core developers it would not have been able to handle the network’s unprecedented growth.
Originally the block index stored every historic transaction and whether they were spent, but in 2012, “Ultraprune” (PR #1677) created a dedicated database for tracking unspent transaction outputs, forming the UTXO set, which pre-caches the latest state of all spendable coins, providing a unified view for validation. Combined with a database migration from Berkeley DB to LevelDB validation speeds were significantly improved.
However, this database migration caused the BIP50[1] chain fork when a block with many transaction inputs was accepted by upgraded nodes but rejected by older versions as being too complicated. This highlights how Bitcoin Core development differs from typical software engineering: even pure performance optimizations have the potential to result in unintended chain splits.
The following year (PR #2060) enabled multithreaded signature validation. Around the same time, the specialized cryptographic library libsecp256k1 was created, and was integrated into Bitcoin Core in 2014. Over the following decade, through continuous optimizations, it became more than 8x faster than the same functionality in the general-purpose OpenSSL library.
Headers-first sync (PR #4468, 2014) restructured the IBD process to first download the block header chain with the most accumulated work, then fetch blocks from multiple peers simultaneously. Besides accelerating IBD it also eliminated wasted bandwidth on blocks that would be orphaned as they were not in the main chain.
In 2016 PR #9049 removed what appeared to be a redundant duplicate-input check, introducing a consensus bug that could have allowed supply inflation. Fortunately, it was discovered and patched before exploitation. This incident drove major testing resource investments. Today, with differential fuzzing, broad coverage, and stricter review discipline, Bitcoin Core surfaces and resolves issues far more quickly, with no comparable consensus hazards reported since.[2].
In 2017 -assumevalid (PR #9484) separated general block validity checks from the expensive signature verification, making the latter optional for most of IBD, cutting its time roughly in half. Block structure, proof-of-work, and spending rules remain fully verified: -assumevalid skips signature checks entirely for all blocks up to a certain block height.
In 2022 PR #25325 replaced Bitcoin Core’s ordinary memory allocator with a custom pool-based allocator optimized for the coins cache. By designing specifically for Bitcoin’s allocation patterns, it reduced memory waste and improved cache efficiency, delivering ~21% faster IBD while fitting more coins in the same memory footprint.
While code itself doesn’t rot, the system it operates within constantly evolves. Every 10 minutes Bitcoin’s state changes – usage patterns shift, bottlenecks migrate. Maintenance and optimization aren’t optional; without constant adaptation, Bitcoin would accumulate vulnerabilities faster than a static codebase could defend against, and IBD performance would steadily regress despite advances in hardware.
The increasing size of the UTXO set and growth in average block weight exemplify this evolution. Tasks that were once CPU-bound (like signature verification) are now often Input/Output (IO)-bound due to heavier chainstate access (having to check the UTXO set on disk). This shift has driven new priorities: improving memory caching, reducing LevelDB flush frequency, and parallelizing disk reads to keep modern multi-core CPUs busy.
A look at IBD times for different Bitcoin Core releases.
Recent optimizations
The software designs are based on predicted usage patterns, which inevitably diverge from reality as the network evolves. Bitcoin’s deterministic workload allows us to measure actual behavior and course correct later, ensuring performance keeps pace with the network’s growth.
We’re constantly adjusting defaults to better fit real-world usage patterns. A few examples:
PR #30039 increased LevelDB’s max file size – a single parameter change that delivered ~30% IBD speedup by better matching how the chainstate database (UTXO set) is actually accessed.
PR #31645 doubled the flush batch size, reducing fragmented disk writes during IBD’s most write-intensive phase and speeding up progress saves when IBD is interrupted.
PR #32279 adjusted the internal prevector storage size (used mainly for in-memory script storage). The old pre-segwit threshold prioritized older script templates at the expense of newer ones. By adjusting the capacity to cover modern script sizes, heap allocations are avoided, memory fragmentation is reduced, and script execution benefits from better cache locality.
All small, surgical changes with measurable validation impacts.
Beyond parameter tuning, some changes required rethinking existing designs:
PR #28280 improved how pruned nodes (which discard old blocks to save disk space) handle frequent memory cache flushes. The original design either dumped the entire cache or scanned it to find modified entries. Selectively tracking modified entries enabled over 30% speedup for pruned nodes with maximum dbcache and ~9% improvement with default settings.
PR #31551 introduced read/write batching for block files, reducing the overhead of many small filesystem operations. The 4x-8x speedup in block file access improved not just IBD but other RPCs as well.
PR #31144 optimized the existing optional block file obfuscation (used to make sure data isn’t stored in cleartext on disk) by processing 64-bit chunks instead of byte-by-byte operations, delivering another IBD speedup. With obfuscation being essentially free users no longer need to choose between safe storage and performance.
Other minor caching optimizations (such as PR #32487) enabled adding additional safety checks that were deemed too expensive before (PR #32638).
Similarly, we can now flush the cache more frequently to disk (PR #30611), ensuring nodes never lose more than one hour of validation work in case of crashes. The modest overhead was acceptable because earlier optimizations had already made IBD significantly faster.
PR #32043 currently serves as a tracker for IBD-related performance improvements. It groups a dozen ongoing efforts, from disk and cache tuning to concurrency enhancements, and provides a framework for measuring how each change affects real-world performance. This approach encourages contributors to present not only code but also reproducible benchmarks, profiling data, and cross-hardware comparisons.
Future optimization suggestions
PR #31132 parallelizes transaction input fetching during block validation. Currently, each input is fetched from the UTXO set sequentially – cache misses require disk round trips, creating an IO bottleneck. The PR introduces parallel fetching across multiple worker threads, achieving up to ~30% faster -reindex-chainstate (~10 hours on a Raspberry Pi 5 with 450MB dbcache). As a side effect, this narrows the performance gap between small and large -dbcache values, potentially allowing nodes with modest memory to sync nearly as fast as high-memory configurations.
Besides IBD, PR #26966 parallelizes block filter and transaction index construction using configurable worker threads.
Keeping the persisted UTXO set compact is critical for node accessibility. PR #33817 experiments with reducing it slightly by removing an optional LevelDB feature that might not be needed for Bitcoin’s specific use case.
SwiftSync[3] is an experimental approach leveraging our hindsight about historical blocks. Knowing the actual outcome, we can categorize every encountered coin by its final state at the target height: those still unspent (which we store) and those spent by that height (which we can ignore, merely verifying they appear in matching create/spend pairs anywhere). Pre-generated hints encode this classification, allowing nodes to skip UTXO operations for short-lived coins entirely.
Bitcoin Is Open To Anyone
Beyond synthetic benchmarks, a recent experiment[4] ran the SwiftSync prototype on an underclocked Raspberry Pi 5 powered by a battery pack over WiFi, completing -reindex-chainstate of 888,888 blocks in 3h 14m. Measurements with equivalent configurations show a 250% full validation speedup[5] across recent Bitcoin Core versions.
Years of accumulated work translate to genuine impact: fully validating nearly a million blocks can now be done in less than a day on cheap hardware, maintaining accessibility despite continuous blockchain growth.
This piece is the Letter from the Editor featured in the latest Print edition of Bitcoin Magazine, The Core Issue. We’re sharing it here as an early look at the ideas explored throughout the full issue.
Mastercard has unveiled a new global initiative aimed at bringing crypto into the mainstream of financial services.
The Crypto Partner Program, announced Wednesday, gathers more than 85 companies across the blockchain, fintech, and traditional banking sectors, including Binance, Circle, Gemini, PayPal, Paxos, Ripple, BitGo, and Crypto.com.
The program is designed to explore practical applications for on-chain technology within existing payment infrastructure, focusing on areas such as cross-border transfers, business-to-business payments, and global payouts.
Executives at Mastercard, including Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of Digital Asset Blockchain Products & Partnerships, and Sherri Haymond, executive vice president of Digital Commercialization, described the launch as a response to the evolving role of digital assets in financial markets.
They said that digital assets are entering a new phase, noting that blockchain and crypto are increasingly used to solve real-world problems rather than operate purely as parallel systems.
For instance, blockchain tools can enable instant settlement, programmable payments, and round-the-clock cross-border transfers—capabilities that complement existing payment rails rather than replace them.
Mastercard’s collaboration across crypto
The Crypto Partner Program is structured to promote collaboration across the ecosystem. Participants will work directly with Mastercard teams on product development and strategic direction, helping to shape services that integrate the speed and flexibility of on-chain payments with the global infrastructure of card networks.
The program also provides forums for partners to exchange ideas, share expertise, and coordinate on industry standards.
According to Mastercard, the goal is practical execution: translating technical innovation into solutions that are scalable, compliant, and capable of operating across multiple markets.
Mastercard has supported crypto-linked payment cards, backed blockchain startups through its Start Path accelerator, and developed services to help banks manage compliance and risk around digital assets.
By creating a structured partnership framework, the company hopes to accelerate adoption of digital assets while maintaining the trust, oversight, and global connectivity that define its core business.
The move comes amid broader efforts by traditional payment networks to integrate digital assets. Visa, for example, has tested settlements using stablecoins and collaborated with blockchain firms to explore tokenized dollar payments.
Banks are similarly experimenting with blockchain-based deposits and payment systems. Mastercard’s approach emphasizes the integration of innovation into the systems consumers and businesses already rely on.
Its network touches banks, merchants, and consumers in over 200 countries, providing a scale and reliability that on-chain solutions alone cannot match.
Mastercard describes the program as “built for innovators, designed for deployment.” By fostering collaboration among crypto-native companies, payment providers, and financial institutions, the initiative aims to align innovation across the industry while supporting responsible growth.
For Dhamodharan and Haymond, the objective is clear: “By bridging on-chain innovation with the framework that powers everyday payments, we’re helping ensure that what’s next works with what already does.”
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Mastercard-Launches-Global-Crypto-Partner-Program-to-Bridge-Digital-Assets-and-Traditional-Payments-TeIrrj.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-11 14:57:422026-03-11 14:57:42Mastercard Launches Global Crypto Partner Program to Bridge Digital Assets and Traditional Payments
Strive, Inc. said Wednesday it raised the dividend rate on its preferred equity product while adding more bitcoin and a new credit instrument to its balance sheet, moves the firm said are designed to stabilize its digital credit strategy.
The Dallas-based company increased the dividend rate on its SATA preferred stock by 25 basis points to 12.75% and declared a dividend of $1.0625 per share payable April 15 to shareholders of record on April 1.
At the same time, Strive narrowed its targeted trading range for SATA to $99–$101 from the previous $95–$105 and updated guidance to avoid issuing new shares below $100 through at-the-market or follow-on offerings.
The firm also disclosed additional balance sheet activity, including the purchase of 179 bitcoin since its last filing. That brings Strive’s holdings to roughly 13,311 BTC.
Separately, Strive allocated $50 million to acquire 500,000 shares of Strategy Inc.’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, trading under the ticker STRC on Nasdaq Composite.
Executives framed the moves as part of a broader effort to strengthen the credit profile of SATA, which the company describes as a “digital credit” product tied to bitcoin-focused capital strategies.
CEO Matthew Cole said the adjustments are intended to maintain a stable trading range for the preferred shares while supporting long-term returns for common shareholders relative to bitcoin performance.
Chief Risk Officer Jeff Walton said the addition of STRC reflects the company’s view that the instrument offers higher yield and liquidity than traditional fixed income, allowing Strive to manage short- and medium-duration capital more efficiently.
As of March 9, Strive held $143.4 million in cash and cash equivalents before the STRC purchase, alongside its bitcoin holdings.
The company said its combined bitcoin, STRC, and cash reserves currently cover more than 19 years of SATA interest payments.
Strive and Strategy get upgraded ratings
This comes as Strategy Inc. disclosed that it spent $1.28 billion to acquire 17,994 bitcoin last week, raising its total holdings to 738,731 BTC worth about $50 billion at current prices.
Against that backdrop, investment bank B. Riley Financial initiated coverage of Strategy and Strive, Inc. with Buy ratings and price targets of $175 and $12, respectively, arguing that the recent decline in bitcoin and related equities has compressed valuations and created a potential entry point for investors.
Analysts pointed to Strategy’s scale and market dominance as the largest corporate bitcoin holder, as well as its ability to raise capital across cycles through a layered structure that includes common equity, convertible notes, and multiple series of perpetual preferred stock.
Meanwhile, Strive was highlighted for its “dual-engine” model combining a roughly 13,132 BTC treasury with an asset management business overseeing about $2.5 billion, alongside a recent all-stock acquisition of Semler Scientific.
Netflix blocked Bitcoin-related sponsors from appearing on a pro boxer’s fight trunks and gear during a major event it streamed live, forcing last-minute changes days before the bout, according to Sazmining CEO Kent Halliburton.
Halliburton, whose company provides Bitcoin mining-as-a-service using renewable hydroelectric energy, detailed the incident in a statement shared with Bitcoin Magazine. The sponsorship involved welterweight fighter Justin Cardona‘s appearance on the undercard of the Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua fight card, held December 19, 2025, at Miami’s Kaseya Center. Netflix served as the exclusive broadcaster, estimating viewership between 20 million and 100 million.
Sazmining, Bitcoin lending platform LEDN, and a standalone Bitcoin logo secured placement on Cardona’s trunks in mid-October 2025. Sponsors were submitted by late October, meeting the October 31 deadline for approval and embroidery. Logos were produced, invoices paid, and Cardona promoted the partnership publicly on social media. No objections arose for nearly two months.
On December 12, 2025—one week before fight night—promoter Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), co-promoting with Netflix, informed Cardona’s team of a “secondary review” by Netflix. The decision banned all Bitcoin-related content from fight-night trunks, press conferences, weigh-ins, and other fight-week activities. Cardona could have faced potential fines for non-compliance. The rejection cited “Prohibited per our policy,” with no additional explanation.
Netflix’s sponsor guidelines, reviewed by Halliburton, prohibit categories such as weapons, drugs, tobacco, political ads, sexually explicit content, and “speculative financial products.” Examples under the latter include get-rich-quick schemes, pyramid schemes, credit repair services, and payday loans. Bitcoin receives no explicit mention. Financial services appear in a “restricted” category requiring case-by-case approval, alongside alcohol, insurance, and gambling.
Other sponsors in restricted categories cleared the process without issue. An insurance firm backing Cardona gained approval. Polymarket and Draft Kings, two well-known betting sites, enabling real-money wagers on elections, sports, and cultural events, featured prominently on the broadcast—including stream branding and a main-event fighter displaying related merchandise on camera. Both of these platforms involve speculative financial elements and gambling, yet encountered no restrictions.
The ban compelled Cardona to replace custom-embroidered trunks at his own expense, disrupting preparations for what he called the biggest fight of his career. “In the ring, I fight for every round because time is scarce and every punch counts. Bitcoin is the same way—there’s a fixed supply, no one can inflate it away. I took a lot of pride in having Bitcoin companies on my trunks,” Cardona stated.
Halliburton highlighted the inconsistency, emphasizing Bitcoin’s institutional growth by 2026. Spot ETFs from BlackRock and Fidelity have drawn billions in inflows, publicly traded companies hold Bitcoin on balance sheets, and nations discuss adding it to reserves. The U.S. government has debated a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. “It’s unbelievable that Bitcoin and Bitcoin companies continue to be censored,” Halliburton said, calling the reversal “incoherent” given Netflix’s guidelines and approvals for similar sponsors.
He urged Netflix to clarify its stance: If Bitcoin faces a blanket ban, it should appear explicitly in guidelines to avoid misleading athletes and businesses. Platforms set their own rules, Halliburton acknowledged, but demanded consistent, upfront application—especially after initial silence implied approval.
The incident illustrates ongoing hurdles for Bitcoin firms pursuing mainstream visibility through sports and media partnerships, despite the asset’s maturation into a $2 trillion class with regulated financial products.
For Bitcoin businesses like Sazmining, the episode reinforces the need for promoters aligned with Bitcoin’s principles. Cardona’s next fights prioritize such environments, potentially amplifying Bitcoin’s exposure in combat sports.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Gemini_Generated_Image_9atjhq9atjhq9atj-WCtae4.webp6301200Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-10 17:20:482026-03-10 17:20:48Netflix Censored Bitcoin Sponsors on Boxer Trunks During Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua Broadcast
Investment bank B. Riley has entered the corporate bitcoin treasury sector with formal coverage of two Nasdaq-listed companies, Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Strive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASST), assigning Buy ratings and price targets of $175 and $12, respectively.
Analyst Fedor Shabalin led the Strive initiation, according to Investing.com The move comes as both stocks trade well below their previous highs, with bitcoin near $70,000.
B. Riley framed the current valuation compression in both companies as an opportunity rather than a structural concern. Strategy shares currently trade at 1.2 times net asset value (NAV), down from a 3.4x peak in 2024.
Strive trades around 0.9 times modified NAV, reflecting early-stage volatility and a discount to the company’s combined bitcoin and asset management value.
Strategy’s market dominance and Strive’s dual engine structure
For Strategy, B. Riley highlights scale and market dominance. The company holds 738,731 BTC, the largest corporate treasury in the world, and has built a digital credit platform spanning six securities, including five series of perpetual preferred stock alongside common equity and convertible notes.
This capital structure allows Strategy to access funding across market cycles.
The company also added 41,002 bitcoin in January 2026 alone and raised $25.3 billion in FY2025 through equity issuance, making it the largest U.S. public issuer for the second consecutive year. Its software subscription business saw Q4 2025 revenue grow 62.1% year over year.
Despite operational progress, MSTR shares have fallen 51.6% over the past year.
Strive operates a dual-engine model, combining a bitcoin treasury of roughly 13,132 BTC with an asset management business overseeing $2.5 billion in assets. The company went public via a reverse merger in September 2025 and completed an all-stock acquisition of Semler Scientific in January 2026, adding a medical device business.
B. Riley highlighted Strive’s strong capital structure and minimal near-term convertible debt, offering predictable cash flows for income-focused investors. ASST shares are down 42.3% year to date and 28.6% over the past month, according to the analysts.
B. Riley’s initiation comes amid a broader pullback in bitcoin and related equities. Bitcoin fell more than 45% from about $126,000 in October 2025 to roughly $69,000 in early March 2026, compressing NAV multiples and slowing equity-driven BTC accumulation.
Each $1,000 move in bitcoin translates to roughly $739 million in treasury value for Strategy and $13.1 million for Strive, underlining the price sensitivity of both firms.
Yesterday, Strategy said they spent a whopping $1.28 billion to buy 17,994 more bitcoin last week, raising its total holdings to 738,731 BTC worth about $50 billion at current prices.
Bhutan’s state-owned investment arm has steadily sold portions of the country’s Bitcoin reserves, moving about $42.5 million in BTC and USDT so far in 2026 through a small set of recurring counterparties.
Data from blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence shows that the Royal Government of Bhutan transferred 175 BTC, valued at $11.85 million, on Monday to an address that had previously received 184 BTC in February.
The February activity included multiple transfers totaling roughly $30.7 million, including two sends to QCP Capital, a trading firm, and a $1.5 million USDT transfer to a Binance hot wallet.
The pattern suggests a planned treasury drawdown and liquidity management strategy rather than panic selling. Bhutan mined much of its Bitcoin using surplus hydropower, giving the government a near-zero cost basis. Every sale, therefore, represents a profit for the state.
Bhutan’s Bitcoin stack peaked around 13,000 BTC in late 2024, after several years of accumulation through state-backed mining operations.
tSince then, the holdings have fallen to approximately 5,400 BTC, a 58% reduction.
Dollar value has also dropped due to the decline in Bitcoin prices from roughly $126,000 at the peak to around $69,000 today. Holdings once worth over $1.5 billion are now valued near $374 million.
Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), Bhutan’s sovereign wealth fund, manages the country’s cryptocurrency assets.
Bhutan is one of the world’s largest bitcoin holders
The fund oversees state-owned enterprises and acts as the principal financial arm of the government. In December, Bhutan pledged up to 10,000 BTC to fund Gelephu Mindfulness City, a special economic zone designed to hold digital assets for its financial reserves.
The transfers have consistently gone to the same counterparties in similar sizes, with no clear correlation to price movements. This pattern points to structured liquidity management rather than reactive selling.
Bhutan ranks as the seventh-largest government Bitcoin holder, behind the first place United States, which holds 328,372 BTC valued at nearly $22 billion.
Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay has previously noted that Bitcoin proceeds support public services, including healthcare, environmental initiatives, and salaries for public employees.
Surplus hydropower generated during summer months has enabled the kingdom to continue state-backed mining operations efficiently.
Since the 2024 Bitcoin halving, mining rewards declined to 3.125 BTC, reducing overall profitability and prompting some energy resources to be redirected to high-performance computing.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bhutan-Keeps-Selling-Its-Bitcoin-Reserves-Sold-by-Over-Half-602jv2.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-10 15:40:542026-03-10 15:40:54Bhutan Keeps Selling Its Bitcoin, Reserves Sold by Over Half
Bitcoin price traded near $69,000 on Monday, stabilizing after last week’s brief rally and then sell-off into the weekend. The cryptocurrency has remained resilient even as traditional equities and oil markets experience sharp swings.
Bitcoin price remains confined to the $62,500–$72,000 range following February’s sharp decline, with repeated attempts to break above $72,000 failing, according to Bitfinex analysts.
A high of $74,047 on March 4 marked a brief breakout for the bitcoin price, but momentum could not be sustained, and the move was quickly reversed. The March 6 spike in negative realized profits of around $900 million shows that many investors exited positions at a loss during the failed rally.
Passive sell orders and late-entry leveraged longs absorbed buying pressure, keeping the price trapped within its established range.
Since the February low, dip buyers have supported a 20.5% recovery, helping stabilize the market.
Realized losses have now sharply compressed, suggesting that forced selling has largely subsided, but upside remains capped until $72,000 is decisively cleared, according to Bitfinex.
Bitcoin price weathers macro turbulence
The surge in volatility comes alongside dramatic movements in energy markets, where West Texas Intermediate crude briefly rose above $110 per barrel before easing back.
Supply concerns driven by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have weighed on global equities and safe-haven assets such as gold, while pushing demand toward the U.S. dollar.
Bitcoin’s own volatility measures suggest the crypto market may have already experienced its most stressful phase. The Bitcoin Volmex Implied Volatility Index (BVIV) spiked earlier this year when bitcoin price briefly fell to $60,000, indicating heightened market stress.
Since then, volatility has eased, suggesting that crypto markets front-ran some of the turbulence now affecting traditional assets.
Despite macro uncertainty, bitcoin’s price has held above $66,000, recovering from minor pullbacks that followed attempts to break through resistance near $74,000. The market has seen a consolidation phase, with buyers defending levels around $66,000 to $69,000, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East and disruptions to shipping routes have contributed to sharp spikes in oil prices. The Strait of Hormuz closure and recent strikes on regional depots tightened supply, adding upward pressure on crude and fueling concerns about global inflation. Rising energy costs ripple through industries worldwide, potentially increasing borrowing costs and putting pressure on risk-sensitive assets, including bitcoin.
On top of this, underlying financial pressures that could influence Bitcoin’s appeal.
“While chaotic global events are getting most of the attention and are often credited for bitcoin’s price moves, there may be deeper stresses forming beneath the surface,” Timot Lamarre, director of market research at Unchained Pressure, wrote to Bitcoin Magazine. “In the private credit market, including unusually high withdrawal requests from large funds, suggests liquidity in parts of the financial system may be tightening. Markets tend to anticipate the policy response to financial stress before it happens, and if investors begin expecting another round of monetary expansion, the incentive to hold bitcoin only grows stronger.”
Global equities have reflected these pressures. Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s KOSPI both dropped more than 7% after market openings, while China and Hong Kong’s indices recorded smaller declines.
The strength of the U.S. dollar, coupled with elevated yields, has reinforced its role as a primary defensive asset in the current environment, leaving bitcoin price and other risk assets to navigate a more complex landscape.
Within this context, bitcoin price has maintained relative stability. Its market capitalization has remained above $1.3 trillion, and trading activity shows continued interest across spot and derivatives markets.
Bitcoin’s mined supply also surpassed 20 million BTC today — over 95 % of the 21 million cap — leaving just about 1 million coins left to be mined over the next century.
Bitcoin has just crossed a major milestone: more than 20 million of its 21 million coins have now been mined. That means over 95% of the cryptocurrency’s total supply is out in the world, leaving less than one million coins yet to be created.
But don’t expect them to appear anytime soon — the last fractions of Bitcoin, called satoshis, are projected to be mined around the year 2140.
Bitcoin’s supply is built into its code, making it very different from traditional money like dollars or euros. When Satoshi Nakamoto launched the network in 2009, the system was designed to release coins gradually.
Miners earn new bitcoins as rewards for validating transactions and adding them to the blockchain. These rewards started at 50 BTC per block and are cut in half roughly every four years in an event called a “halving.”
The latest halving in 2024 reduced the reward to 3.125 BTC per block, slowing the pace of new BTC entering circulation.
This means the early years saw a faster creation of coins, while the final million will trickle out extremely slowly. Right now, miners produce about 450 BTC per day, half of what they did before the 2024 halving.
BREAKING: Over 20 million of Bitcoin’s 21 million supply cap has officially been mined.
As the rewards continue to shrink, miners will increasingly rely on transaction fees rather than new coins to sustain their operations.
Another factor affecting BTC’s supply is that some coins are effectively lost. Some early coins were sent to addresses with no private keys, and estimates suggest between 2 and 3.5 million BTC may never be recovered.
In addition to lost keys, some BTC are unspendable by design — for example, the 50 BTC from Bitcoin’s very first block cannot be spent — taking them permanently out of circulation.
That reduces the number of coins actually available to trade, increasing scarcity and reinforcing BTC’s “hard money” characteristics.
Bitcoin price fluctuations
Despite the slowing issuance, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies still move with global markets, investor sentiment, and economic news. Prices can swing daily, showing that even though the supply is predictable, demand and market conditions still drive short-term value.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading in between $69,000 and $70,000.
Over the long term, however, Bitcoin’s fixed supply and transparent issuance schedule are expected to give it a unique edge compared to traditional currencies.
Analysts say that predictability and scarcity are features that people tend to value in money, especially in a world of unpredictable central bank policies and inflation risks.
Looking ahead, the final BTC isn’t just a theoretical number. By 2140, miners will rely entirely on transaction fees to secure the network, which could make sending Bitcoin more expensive but also ensures the system remains operational without new coins.
In short, BTC is moving from a fast-growing experiment to a rare, hard-to-get digital asset. While daily prices will keep bouncing with the world’s economy, its ultimate scarcity is now hard-coded into its DNA, making it a long-term experiment in digital money that no one can change.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/U.S.-Treasury-Recognizes-Legitimate-Uses-for-Crypto-Mixers-Proposes-Hold-Law-for-Suspicious-Assets-XESPkd.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-09 15:32:562026-03-09 15:32:56Bitcoin Hits 20 Million Mined: Less Than 1 Million Coins Left
The U.S. Treasury Department told Congress that bitcoin or crypto mixers can serve legitimate financial privacy purposes, signaling a shift in the government’s approach to blockchain privacy tools.
The 32-page report, submitted under the GENIUS Act, also proposes new legislative tools to combat illicit finance, including a “hold law” that would give financial institutions temporary safe harbor to freeze suspicious digital assets.
The report acknowledges that lawful users may employ mixers to protect sensitive information on personal wealth, business payments, or charitable donations.
This represents a recalibration from Treasury’s earlier stance, which included sanctioning Tornado Cash in 2022 and designating international mixers as money-laundering hubs in 2023.
At the same time, Treasury data shows that criminal actors, particularly those linked to North Korea, continue to exploit mixers.
The report cites DPRK-affiliated cybercriminals who stole at least $2.8 billion in digital assets between January 2024 and September 2025, including a $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange.
In these operations, mixers are commonly used to break tracing links, often in combination with stablecoin swaps and cross-chain bridges.
JUST IN: US Treasury reports to Congress that using Bitcoin and crypto privacy mixers are NOT unlawful:
“Lawful users of digital assets may leverage mixers to enable financial privacy when transacting through public blockchains.”
The report provides original Treasury analysis of mixing activity involving stablecoins and bridges.
Since May 2020, more than $37.4 billion in withdrawals from over 50 bridges were denominated in the two largest stablecoins by market capitalization. Of that total, approximately $1.6 billion flowed from mixing services, with over $900 million concentrated in a single bridge scrutinized for DPRK-linked activity.
The Treasury noted in the report that direct stablecoin deposits into crypto mixers for illicit purposes are relatively low, but criminals frequently convert other digital assets through mixers before swapping into stablecoins to obscure the source.
The report distinguishes between custodial and non-custodial crypto mixers. Custodial services, which must register with FinCEN as money services businesses, can provide identity data, off-chain transaction information, and behavioral patterns.
The Treasury does not recommend new restrictions on non-custodial mixers and refrains from finalizing FinCEN’s 2023 proposed recordkeeping rule, instead citing a 2025 Presidential Working Group report recommending careful evaluation of privacy and illicit finance risks.
‘Hold law’ to crack down on illicit activity
Treasury also urged Congress to enact a digital asset–specific “hold law,” creating a temporary safe harbor for freezing suspicious assets during brief investigations.
The department described such a law as particularly useful for countering illicit finance involving permitted stablecoins.
On decentralized finance, the report recommends Congress specify which actors should face anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) obligations based on their roles and associated risks.
It also proposes expanding Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act to authorize the Treasury to impose conditions on certain digital asset transfers that fall outside correspondent banking relationships.
These proposals align with concerns raised by industry groups, including Galaxy Research, which in January warned that the Senate Banking Committee’s CLARITY Act could represent the largest expansion of financial surveillance authority since the Patriot Act.
The report comes at somewhat of an inflection point for crypto regulation.
Treasury lifted Tornado Cash sanctions in March 2025 after a federal appeals court found OFAC had exceeded its authority, though a Manhattan jury later convicted co-founder Roman Storm of operating an unlicensed money transmitter.
The Department of Justice has indicated a narrower approach to prosecuting developers, suggesting that coding privacy tools without criminal intent should not constitute a violation.
The U.S. Treasury framed the report within a broader effort to study “innovative or novel” tools for detecting illicit activity in crypto, as mandated by the 2025 GENIUS Act.
The report draws on more than 220 public comments and consultations with financial institutions, blockchain analytics firms, crypto firms, law enforcement, and recent national risk assessments.
Utexo, a startup building Bitcoin-native stablecoin settlement infrastructure, announced a $7.5 million seed round co-led by Tether, Big Brain Holdings, and Portal Ventures.
The round also included participation from Franklin Templeton, Maven11 Capital, Fulgur Ventures, Alchemy VC, Ethereal Ventures, Auros Ventures, Arcanum Capital, Paper Ventures, Axia8, FlowTraders, Plan B, Gate Ventures, Sats Ventures, and strategic angels including operators from Ledger, Hyperion, BTC Turk, Echo, Legion, and SOLV.
The company was founded to address a longstanding gap in the cryptocurrency ecosystem: enabling USDT to settle natively on Bitcoin with robust, production-ready payment rails. Tether’s
CEO, Paolo Ardoino, said that Bitcoin has been central to the stablecoin issuer’s long-term vision for USDT. “Market cycles come and go, but the need for open and resilient settlement infrastructure remains constant,” Ardoino said.
He added that Utexo provides a layer that makes Bitcoin-native USDT settlement viable at scale, strengthening Bitcoin’s role as a global settlement rail for real-world dollar transactions.
Historically, the Lightning Network and RGB protocols have offered technical capabilities for Bitcoin-based payments, but their complexity limited adoption in production environments. Utexo abstracts these complexities behind a single API layer, allowing payment operators to route USDT settlement over Bitcoin-native rails without modifying custody, compliance workflows, or user experiences.
Chris Hutchinson, co-founder of Utexo, explained the system’s value proposition: “We built Utexo so that USDT could move on Bitcoin the way money is supposed to move: instantly, privately, with no surprises on costs. Our partners integrate our API once and can route USDT on the most resilient open network ever built, with full control over cost structure.”
Viktor Ihnatiuk, co-founder, added that the infrastructure allows wallets to offer free USDT transactions while boosting adoption of Bitcoin-native stablecoins.
The infrastructure supports atomic settlement, privacy-preserving execution, and predictable fees for every transaction, independent of network congestion.
Settlement occurs in USDT and is anchored to Bitcoin’s security model, completing in under one second. Utexo encrypts all on-chain transactions, preventing disclosure of counterparties and wallet addresses, distinguishing it from public transaction graphs on other networks.
Tether and Bitcoin
By providing a reliable, predictable settlement layer, the company enables Bitcoin to serve as a viable rail for dollar-denominated payments, advancing Tether’s vision of native USDT on Bitcoin.
In February, Tether open-sourced MiningOS (MOS), a modular operating system for managing and automating bitcoin mining operations, unveiled at the 2026 Plan ₿ Forum in San Salvador.
The system provides unified control over hardware, energy, and site infrastructure using a peer-to-peer architecture, reducing reliance on proprietary or centralized software.
Targeted at exchanges, wallets, payment service providers, high-frequency trading firms, and platforms handling large volumes of USDT, Utexo focuses on routing existing stablecoin flows over Bitcoin rather than launching speculative L2 solutions.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan plans to allocate up to $350 million from the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves toward investments tied to digital assets, marking one of the most significant steps by a central bank to gain exposure to the crypto sector.
Governor Timur Suleimenov said the initiative will focus on companies and financial instruments connected to cryptocurrency markets rather than direct purchases of assets like Bitcoin. The investments are expected to include shares of technology firms involved in digital asset infrastructure as well as index funds whose performance tracks crypto-related markets.
The allocation represents a small portion of Kazakhstan’s overall reserves.
As of February, the country held roughly $69.4 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves, according to data from the central bank.
Deputy chair Aliya Moldabekova said the investment program is scheduled to begin in April and May as the bank finalizes a list of eligible companies and financial instruments.
“We are not talking about any large investment in cryptocurrencies,” Moldabekova said, noting that officials are concentrating on firms involved in digital asset infrastructure and related technologies.
Kazakhstan already plays a prominent role in the global crypto ecosystem. Following China’s sweeping ban on crypto mining in 2021, many mining operations relocated to the Central Asian country due to its energy resources and permissive regulatory environment.
As a result, Kazakhstan emerged as one of the world’s leading centers for industrial-scale bitcoin mining.
NEW: Kazakhstan’s central bank to invest up to $350 million in Bitcoin and crypto assets — Reuters pic.twitter.com/HHN5lV3Iig
Financial institutions in Kazakhstan are also experimenting with consumer-facing crypto services. Suleimenov said two banks have already launched crypto-fiat payment cards that allow users to transact between traditional currencies and digital assets. Two additional banks are preparing to introduce similar products.
These initiatives are currently operating in a regulatory sandbox while authorities finalize broader legislation governing digital financial assets.
The central bank is also pushing to create a licensing framework for cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country. Under the proposal, exchanges would be required to comply with anti-money laundering rules, tax regulations and other financial oversight measures.
Officials say the broader regulatory push aims to integrate digital asset services into Kazakhstan’s financial system while maintaining oversight of the sector.
Suleimenov has framed the effort as part of a broader transformation of financial markets driven by technology. According to the governor, innovations such as tokenized assets, digital bonds and crypto-linked payment rails are creating entirely new categories of financial instruments.
“In essence, a completely new sector of the financial market is emerging,” he said.
The central bank believes digital financial assets could expand access to funding for businesses and investors. For example, real estate developers could tokenize property holdings and sell fractional ownership through digital tokens, offering an alternative to traditional bank financing.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Kazakhstans-Central-Bank-to-Channel-350-Million-of-Reserves-into-Crypto-and-Bitcoin-Investments-q1cCoA.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-06 16:09:532026-03-06 16:09:53Kazakhstan’s Central Bank to Channel $350 Million of Reserves into Crypto and Bitcoin Investments
Russia’s central bank is weighing a plan that would allow banks and brokerage firms to operate cryptocurrency exchanges through a simplified licensing pathway tied to their existing financial permits, according to remarks from Governor Elvira Nabiullina.
Under the proposal, financial institutions could obtain authorization to run crypto trading platforms through a “notification process,” rather than applying for a new standalone license.
The approach would allow firms that already hold banking or brokerage licenses to expand into digital asset services using their current regulatory status.
Back in January, Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, made comments that Russia was preparing to introduce its first comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, with lawmakers aiming to finalize the draft for a parliamentary vote by the end of June.
Nabiullina presented the idea during a meeting between the central bank and Russian lending institutions, according to reports from the Interfax news agency.
The governor framed the proposal as an effort to integrate cryptocurrency activity into Russia’s existing financial infrastructure.
She argued that banks already maintain compliance systems designed to meet anti–money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism requirements, which could provide a foundation for supervising digital asset markets.
“We have proposed allowing banks and brokers to obtain crypto exchange licenses through a notification process and to act as intermediaries based on their current banking licenses,” Nabiullina said, adding that the sector’s existing compliance frameworks could help protect customers entering the crypto market.
The central bank also outlined limits designed to manage financial risk during the early stages of integration.
Under the proposal, banks’ exposure to cryptocurrency activities would be capped at 1% of their capital.
Nabiullina said regulators plan to monitor how institutions operate within that threshold before considering any expansion.
“Let’s start by seeing how banks operate within the one percent cap, and then see whether we need to move forward,” she said.
The licensing proposal forms part of a broader effort by the Central Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation to establish a clearer legal framework for digital assets in the country.
In late 2025, the central bank submitted a regulatory concept to the Russian government that would formally recognize cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as currency assets that can be bought and sold through regulated intermediaries. The framework would allow trading through exchanges, brokers and trustees operating under existing financial licenses.
Crypto for domestic payments
At the same time, the proposal maintains a strict ban on the use of cryptocurrencies for domestic payments, a position the central bank has held for years. Digital assets would function as investment instruments rather than alternatives to the national currency.
Draft legislation reflecting the concept is expected to reach the State Duma during the spring legislative session. Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov has indicated that lawmakers could review the bill as early as March, with the main regulatory framework scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2026.
The proposed rules would also introduce a tiered system governing who can access crypto markets.
Qualified investors would face no limits on purchases. Non-qualified investors would be restricted to buying up to 300,000 rubles, or roughly $3,800, in crypto assets each year through a single intermediary.
Russia updated the definition of “qualified investor” last year. Individuals may now qualify based on several criteria, including a master’s degree in finance, annual income of at least 20 million rubles, or meeting property ownership thresholds set by regulators.
Those wealth requirements are scheduled to rise in 2026, when the property threshold increases from 12 million rubles to 24 million rubles.
John Daghita, an alleged U.S. government contractor accused of stealing more than $46 million in cryptocurrency from the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), was arrested last night on the island of Saint Martin in a coordinated operation between the FBI and French authorities.
The arrest, confirmed via tweet by FBI Director Kash Patel, involved the French Gendarmerie’s elite tactical unit and the International Cooperation Team Serious Crime Unit.
“Thanks to the International Cooperation Team Serious Crime Unit of the French Gendarmerie National in Saint Martin, and the Groupe d’intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale of Guadeloupe for the outstanding coordination,” Patel wrote. “The FBI will continue working 24/7 with our international partners to track down, apprehend, and bring to justice those who attempt to defraud American taxpayers—no matter where they try to hide.”
The case centers on allegations that Daghita, identified online by blockchain investigator ZachXBT as “Lick,” exploited insider access to siphon digital assets from government-linked wallets.
Daghita is the son of Dean Daghita, president and CEO of Command Services & Support (CMDSS), a Virginia-based technology firm contracted by the USMS to manage and dispose of certain categories of seized cryptocurrency.
CMDSS was awarded the contract in October 2024 to handle digital assets not supported by major exchanges, including funds tied to complex criminal cases and high-profile seizures, such as the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
Daghita had access to millions in crypto
According to ZachXBT, Daghita demonstrated the ability to move millions of dollars in real time during a dispute recorded in a private Telegram chat. Subsequent on-chain analysis linked those wallets to addresses known to hold government-seized assets.
ZachXBT reported that one wallet allegedly controlled by Daghita held 12,540 ether, valued at roughly $36 million at current prices.
Other transaction trails suggest approximately $20 million was removed from USMS-linked wallets in October 2024, most of which was returned within a day, though roughly $700,000 routed through instant exchanges was not recovered.
Estimates of total suspected thefts may exceed $90 million when accounting for activity observed in late 2025.
U.S. officials have not publicly detailed how Daghita allegedly accessed the crypto or the wallets, nor whether CMDSS’s internal controls were bypassed or exploited.
The case follows heightened scrutiny of the U.S. Marshals Service’s cryptocurrency holdings, which some analysts estimate at over 198,000 BTC, worth tens of billions of dollars.
Allegations of insider theft and improper management have intensified calls for reform in how federal agencies secure and track digital assets, especially those seized from criminal cases.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/U.S.-Contractor-Arrested-in-46-Million-Theft-of-Seized-Government-Crypto-wzRe77.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-05 15:49:072026-03-05 15:49:07U.S. Federal Contractor’s Son Arrested in $46 Million Theft of Seized Government Crypto
American Bitcoin, a bitcoin mining company backed by the Trump family, has expanded its corporate treasury to more than 6,500 bitcoin, placing the firm among the largest publicly traded holders of the digital asset as it continues to scale its mining operations.
The company disclosed the updated holdings this week, with co-founder and chief strategy officer Eric Trump stating that the firm accumulated over 500 BTC during the past 21 days. At current market prices, the treasury stands near $470 million.
Data from Bitcoin Treasuries shows the miner now ranks about 17th among public companies that hold BTC on their balance sheets. The firm sits behind companies including Galaxy Digital as the number of publicly traded companies adopting bitcoin treasury strategies continues to grow.
American Bitcoin trades under the ticker ABTC and carries a market capitalization near $1.4 billion. Shares traded today at $1.21, rising about 6% during the session.
Despite the recent move higher, the stock remains down more than 30% since the start of the year following a sharp decline from post-listing highs.
Yesterday, Eric Trump took to X to say that major U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are lobbying in Washington, D.C. to block higher-yield crypto and stablecoin products.
He said banks pay depositors near-zero interest while earning higher rates from the Federal Reserve and claimed lobbyists are backing legislation such as the CLARITY Act to limit crypto yields and protect traditional banks from competition.
Bitcoin mining expansion drives accumulation
The increase in holdings follows a series of infrastructure investments aimed at boosting the company’s BTC production capacity.
Earlier this week, American Bitcoin announced the purchase of 11,298 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining machines. The equipment is expected to add roughly 3.05 exahash per second of computing power to the company’s operations.
Once deployed, the company expects its fleet to reach about 89,242 machines with a combined hashrate near 28.1 EH/s. The new hardware is scheduled for installation at the company’s mining facility in Drumheller, Alberta.
The expansion forms part of a strategy centered on acquiring BTC through large-scale self-mining rather than purchasing the asset on the open market. Company executives have argued that scaled operations allow the firm to produce bitcoin at costs below prevailing spot prices.
President Matt Prusak said the company’s operational decisions focus on increasing the amount of BTC held on its balance sheet. American Bitcoin reported mining BTC at a gross margin of about 53% during the fourth quarter of 2025.
Insider purchases disclosed
The company also reported insider share purchases following the release of its latest earnings report.
Board member Justin Mateen acquired roughly 1.3 million shares of American Bitcoin stock in open-market purchases at an average price near $1 per share. Mateen co-founded the dating app Tinder and joined American Bitcoin’s board in 2025.
Another director, Richard Busch, purchased about 330,000 shares over two days of trading, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The purchases took place after the company’s trading window reopened following the disclosure of its fourth-quarter earnings.
American Bitcoin reported a fourth-quarter loss of roughly $59 million, while its full-year 2025 results showed a net loss exceeding $150 million. The losses stem in part from accounting rules that require companies to mark BTC holdings to market, which can create large paper losses during periods of price declines.
Despite those results, the company generated more than $185 million in revenue during its first year as a public firm.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/American-Bitcoin-Expands-Treasury-to-6500-BTC-as-Eric-Trump-Accuses-Big-Banks-of-Lobbying-Against-Crypto-TxvXn0.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-05 15:37:282026-03-05 15:37:28American Bitcoin Expands Treasury to 6,500 BTC as Eric Trump Accuses Big Banks of Lobbying Against Crypto
Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, has made a strategic investment in crypto exchange OKX, valuing the platform at $25 billion, marking one of the most significant partnerships between a global exchange operator and a crypto trading firm.
The investment, announced Thursday, forms part of a broader collaboration between Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and OKX aimed at connecting traditional financial markets with blockchain-based infrastructure.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though ICE will take a seat on OKX’s board as part of the arrangement.
The partnership reflects a growing effort by established market operators to adapt to a financial landscape shaped by digital assets and tokenization. ICE, which operates derivatives markets and clearing houses alongside the NYSE, plans to integrate elements of OKX’s crypto market infrastructure into its own offerings.
One component of the agreement will see ICE license spot cryptocurrency price data from OKX. The exchange operator intends to use that data to develop U.S.-regulated crypto futures products, giving institutional investors access to digital asset exposure through established regulatory frameworks.
JUST IN: New York Stock Exchange parent company ICE invests in Bitcoin exchange OKX at a $25 BILLION valuation pic.twitter.com/cSr3Z9MpbI
At the same time, the collaboration could extend the reach of ICE’s traditional markets into crypto-native trading environments. Subject to regulatory approval, OKX plans to provide its global user base access to tokenized equities and derivatives tied to markets operated by ICE, including securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Tokenization refers to the process of representing traditional financial assets on blockchain networks. Advocates argue that blockchain-based securities can improve settlement speed, expand access to global investors and lower operational costs tied to clearing and recordkeeping.
ICE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey C. Sprecher said the relationship aligns with the company’s long-term effort to build blockchain-based infrastructure across trading, settlement and custody functions.
“Star has created a highly successful company with enormous distribution,” Sprecher said in a statement, referring to OKX founder and CEO Star Xu. “Connecting ICE and NYSE markets to OKX’s customer base opens the door to a new stage of financial market integration.”
OKX, which says it serves more than 120 million users worldwide, has built trading and custody infrastructure across centralized exchanges and on-chain applications. The company operates in multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, Europe, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Australia.
For OKX, the investment comes as the firm attempts to deepen its presence in the U.S. and reposition itself as a regulated global market operator rather than an offshore crypto exchange.
The collaboration also highlights a broader trend in which traditional financial institutions form partnerships with crypto firms rather than compete with them. Many large market operators are studying tokenized securities, which could reshape how equities and derivatives are issued, traded and settled.
ICE has explored several initiatives tied to blockchain-based markets. Earlier this year the company said it was building infrastructure designed to support tokenized assets and on-chain settlement for capital markets.
The new relationship with OKX is expected to complement those efforts.
President Donald Trump met privately on Tuesday with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke with Politico.
The meeting occurred shortly before Trump publicly criticized banks for blocking progress on a cryptocurrency market structure bill, aligning with Coinbase’s position in an ongoing policy dispute.
Trump posted on Truth Social that banks “need to make a good deal with the Crypto Industry” to advance digital asset legislation. He said a recently passed crypto law, the GENIUS Act, “is being threatened and undermined by the Banks, and that is unacceptable,” echoing concerns raised by Coinbase.
Neither Coinbase nor the White House responded to requests for comment. It is unclear whether the meeting between Trump and Armstrong was a formal sit-down or part of a broader discussion with other industry representatives.
NEW: President Donald Trump met privately with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong before publicly backing the crypto industry against the banks for the crypto market structure bill — Politico pic.twitter.com/8CGMR0ojve
The dispute centers on whether crypto exchanges should be allowed to offer rewards programs paying annual percentage yields on stablecoins, digital tokens designed to maintain a $1 value.
Banks warn that permitting such yield payments could draw deposits away from traditional bank accounts and threaten lending operations critical to the economy.
Financial institutions are seeking a ban on stablecoin yield payments as part of broader crypto legislation pending in the Senate. Digital asset firms, including Coinbase, have pushed back, arguing that the restrictions would stifle competition and innovation.
In January, Armstrong publicly opposed amendments to the crypto bill that would have restricted stablecoin rewards. The Senate Banking Committee had scheduled a markup of the legislation, which was postponed, leaving the bill stalled.
White House officials have since attempted to mediate between the banking and crypto sectors through a series of meetings, but no compromise has emerged.
Trump’s Truth Social posts on Tuesday echoed language used by Armstrong and Coinbase in interviews. He wrote, “Americans should earn more money on their money,” and described the CLARITY Act as necessary to maintain the United States’ position as a global leader in cryptocurrency.
He said, “The Banks should not be trying to undercut The Genius Act, or hold The Clarity Act hostage. They need to make a good deal with the Crypto Industry because that’s what’s in the best interest of the American People.”
NEW: President Trump says the U.S. needs to get the crypto market structure bill done “ASAP.”
The GENIUS Act, passed last year, was the first federal legislation providing a roadmap for stablecoin issuers. The CLARITY Act, approved by the House in 2025, would further define regulatory authority over crypto tokens.
Senate committees, including Banking and Agriculture, have produced competing drafts, with banks seeking tighter restrictions on stablecoin yields.
Senator Cynthia Lummis also reposted the president’s comments, stating, “America can’t afford to wait. Congress must move quickly to pass the CLARITY Act.”
Banks continue to defend their position, citing risks to the financial system. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said that stablecoin yield programs should be regulated under bank-style rules to ensure a level playing field.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/President-Trump-Meets-With-Coinbases-Brian-Armstrong-Then-Blasts-Banks-Over-Stalled-Crypto-Legislation-cgYmJC.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-04 15:53:582026-03-04 15:53:58President Trump Meets With Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, Then Blasts Banks Over Stalled Crypto Legislation
Bitcoin soared over $73,000 this morning, reaching a one-month high as institutional demand and technical positioning supported the market amid ongoing geopolitical conflict in the Middle East.
The bitcoin price has recovered from recent lows following six straight weekly losses and five consecutive months of declines.
Yesterday, the Bitcoin price approached $70,000 but did not surpass it. During Asian trading hours on March 4, it broke through that threshold.
Market participants said the rebound reflected traders covering bearish bets and adjusting positions rather than fresh bullish demand. Many had built heavy short positions on fears the Iran conflict would escalate.
When the situation did not broaden into a wider regional conflict, those shorts were forced to unwind, helping push bitcoin higher.
Bitcoin price has macro tailwinds
“If BTC holds above 71k through Friday’s NFP print and builds continuation, the range structure shifts materially,” Nicolai Søndergaard, Research Analyst at Nansen, wrote to Bitcoin Magazine.
“A soft payrolls number would likely reinforce rate cut expectations ahead of the March 18 FOMC decision, providing a macro tailwind at the margin. However, if this level fails to hold as it has before, the 60k to 71k range remains intact, and fading the edges is the more defensible positioning until a clear direction is confirmed.”
Institutional flows have provided additional support. U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly $1.45 billion in net inflows over the past five trading days.
Daily ETF inflows remained elevated, with $225 million recorded on March 3 following $458 million the day before.
On-chain and derivatives data indicate stabilization, though traders remain cautious. Glassnode reported a moderate rebound in momentum indicators, including bitcoin’s relative strength index rising to 41 from 36 the previous week.
Spot trading volume increased to $9.6 billion from $6.6 billion, while derivatives markets continue to reflect defensive positioning.
Perpetual futures funding rates remain negative, and open interest in major contracts has grown as traders adjust positions rather than chase fresh gains.
President Trump: Genius Act ‘under threat’
Yesterday, President Trump criticized the banking industry, claiming that the stablecoin legislation he signed last year, the GENIUS Act, is “being threatened and undermined by the banks.”
The dispute centers on a provision barring stablecoin issuers from paying interest to holders, which banks argue creates a loophole for third-party reward programs.
Crypto advocates insist such rewards are essential for stablecoins to compete in payments, while banks are pushing lawmakers to adjust the rules in new market structure legislation, including the Clarity Act.
NEW: President Trump says the U.S. needs to get the crypto market structure bill done “ASAP.”
The standoff has stalled progress in the Senate, despite White House-led meetings between banking and crypto representatives.
Despite this, the bitcoin price appears to have found near-term support after months of selling pressure, bolstered by ETF inflows, defensive derivatives positioning, and a moderation of long-term holder outflows.
At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is near $73,050.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bitcoin-Price-Soars-to-72000-as-ETFs-Help-Stabilize-Markets-Amid-Middle-East-Tensions-fZCB8Y.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-04 14:54:042026-03-04 14:54:04Bitcoin Price Soars to $73,000 as ETFs Help Stabilize Markets Amid Middle East Tensions
Morgan Stanley has tapped Coinbase and BNY Mellon to serve key custody and administrative roles for its proposed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, according to an amended registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The filing for the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust outlines a structure in which Coinbase Custody Trust Company and BNY will act as bitcoin custodians, responsible for safeguarding the fund’s digital assets and facilitating transfers tied to share creations and redemptions.
BNY will also serve as administrator, transfer agent and cash custodian, overseeing accounting, shareholder records and cash management for the trust.
The ETF is designed as a passive vehicle that will hold bitcoin directly rather than using derivatives or leverage. Shares of the trust would reflect the performance of the underlying bitcoin held in custody, giving investors exposure through brokerage accounts without requiring direct ownership of the cryptocurrency.
JUST IN: Morgan Stanley issues new SEC filing for a spot Bitcoin ETF, announcing Coinbase and BNY Mellon as the custodians pic.twitter.com/52UCwS7geu
Under the proposed custody framework, most of the trust’s bitcoin would be stored in offline cold-storage vaults, where private keys remain disconnected from the internet.
The structure is a popular one and is intended to reduce exposure to cyber threats that have long concerned institutional allocators.
A portion of the holdings may move to trading wallets during periods of share creation or redemption, when authorized participants exchange cash for bitcoin or redeem shares for the underlying asset.
The filing notes that custody insurance is maintained but shared across multiple clients and may not cover all potential losses. The disclosure mirrors language used across other spot Bitcoin ETF filings, reflecting industry practice as traditional asset managers move into direct digital asset exposure.
Morgan Stanley first filed for the trust in January, marking one of the most significant entries by a major U.S. bank into the spot Bitcoin ETF race.
Morgan Stanley: Bullish on bitcoin
The latest filing comes as Morgan Stanley expands its crypto strategy across its wealth management and brokerage platforms. Executives have said the firm plans to allow clients on its E*Trade platform to buy and sell spot cryptocurrencies through a partnership before rolling out a more integrated custody and exchange solution.
Last week at Strategy World, Amy Oldenburg, head of digital asset strategy at Morgan Stanley, said the bank views custody as a core component of its long-term roadmap. The firm manages about $8 trillion in client assets, and leadership has indicated that a significant share of clients already hold crypto off-platform.
Bringing those holdings in-house would allow Morgan Stanley to provide custody, trading and related services under its own oversight.
The bank has also applied for a national trust bank charter that would permit it to hold cryptocurrencies directly for institutional clients. Approval would position Morgan Stanley to compete with crypto-native custodians and deepen its role in the digital asset market.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Morgan-Stanley-Will-Use-Coinbase-and-BNY-to-Power-Its-New-Bitcoin-ETF-kXwjaA.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-04 14:34:572026-03-04 14:34:57Morgan Stanley Will Use Coinbase and BNY to Power Its New Bitcoin ETF
Paraguay’s state-owned electricity monopoly, Administración Nacional de Electricidad (ANDE), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Morphware, setting the stage for a government-led Bitcoin mining program built around thousands of seized mining machines and unused hydroelectric power.
The agreement formalizes cooperation between ANDE and Morphware, positioning Morphware as a technical and advisory partner for regulated Bitcoin mining operations in Paraguay.
At the center of the deal is a growing stockpile of confiscated bitcoin miners that Paraguayan authorities have seized from illegal operations across the country.
According to Morphware founder and CEO Kenso Trabing, the government is holding “roughly 30,000” Bitcoin miners that were taken from operators accused of stealing electricity or falsely registering as other types of businesses to secure lower power rates.
“They’re literally stacked to the ceiling,” Trabing told Bitcoin Magazine, describing government warehouses filled with idle machines.
Paraguay has become a destination for Bitcoin miners in recent years due to its abundance of low-cost hydroelectric power, much of it generated by the Itaipu Dam and exported to Brazil.
But the rapid inflow of miners has also led to widespread electricity abuse, with many operators tapping the grid illegally or misclassifying their activities to avoid industrial tariffs.
Those practices prompted enforcement actions that resulted in large-scale seizures. While the government successfully removed these miners from the grid, it was left with tens of thousands of machines and no clear plan to use them.
Morphware’s proposal, now reflected in the MOU, is to redeploy those seized miners at utility-controlled sites near substations. Under the arrangement, ANDE would retain ownership and oversight, while Morphware would provide training, operational guidance, and technical expertise.
“They have no experience mining Bitcoin,” Trabing said. “Our role is an advisory role.”
The company plans to help ANDE convert existing utility buildings into basic mining facilities. Many of these structures already sit next to substations and can be retrofitted by removing walls, installing ventilation, and adding transformers, distribution units, and metering equipment. The goal is to turn stranded or underused electricity into a new source of revenue for the state utility.
Electricity in Paraguay is highly political, with different tariff regimes for households, favored industries, and mature sectors. BTC mining falls into a higher-rate category, but illegal operators often attempt to bypass those costs.
By running mining operations directly through ANDE-controlled infrastructure, the government can enforce compliance while capturing the upside itself.
“This is about regulated, utility-controlled sites,” Trabing said. “Not people hiding in the countryside.”
JUST IN: Paraguay’s National Electricity Administration signs memorandum to “explore the role of Bitcoin mining as a national level opportunity.”
They will use Bitcoin miners to transform unused electricity into “a new revenue engine for Paraguay.” pic.twitter.com/LwEWmUrJW5
A key question under discussion is how Paraguay will handle the Bitcoin it produces. Trabing said there are active debates within government agencies. Some officials support selling Bitcoin immediately to fund public programs such as social security, education, and infrastructure.
Others have raised the idea of holding some Bitcoin or managing price risk through financial markets.
Morphware has advised a conservative approach centered on derivatives. Trabing said the company has discussed selling BTC futures on U.S. exchanges as a way to hedge production and stabilize revenue.
The company has also warned against allowing government agencies to custody Bitcoin directly. Paraguay has suffered major cybersecurity breaches in recent years, including a ransomware incident that compromised systems across multiple ministries.
While the agreement focuses on Bitcoin mining, it also reflects a broader shift in how Paraguay views its electricity exports. The country consumes only a fraction of the power it generates and sells the rest abroad at relatively low rates.
Mining offers a way to monetize excess energy domestically without waiting for traditional industrial demand to appear.
“When you do the math, it’s so simple,” Trabing said. “You’re selling electricity for a fraction of what it can earn if you use it locally.”
The MOU marks the first formal step in that direction. Trabing said the initial phase will focus on deploying seized miners and training ANDE staff on mining operations, grid integration, and basic Bitcoin concepts.
Over time, he believes the model could expand. If the pilot proves successful, Paraguay could finance new mining equipment using structured financial products tied to future Bitcoin production, rather than relying solely on seized hardware.
“This is what the future of midstream electricity looks like,” Trabing said. “Grids that don’t just deliver power, but own a stake in the digital infrastructure they enable.”
On February 28, 2026, U.S.-Israeli airstrikes struck key targets across Tehran, including nuclear facilities, missile sites, and the Pasteur district, where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei resided.
Hours later, reports confirmed Khamenei’s death and the deaths of other senior officials. Amid the shock, Iranians turned to bitcoin as a channel for preserving value and moving funds outside the country’s collapsing financial infrastructure.
On-chain data compiled by Chainalysis shows a sharp surge in cryptoactivity from major Iranian exchanges in the hours following the strikes.
Between February 28 and March 2, roughly $10.3 million in crypto assets flowed out of exchanges, a spike that mirrors patterns observed throughout 2025.
Chainalysis’ analysis of Iran’s $7.8 billion crypto ecosystem highlighted how trading volumes and withdrawals typically rise during periods of domestic unrest and geopolitical shocks, reflecting the real pressures faced by ordinary citizens and state actors alike.
Breaking down the outflows, Chainalysis identified three plausible drivers. First, individual Iranians appear to move funds from centralized exchanges to personal wallets, seeking self-custody amid instability.
JUST IN: Iranians are buying Bitcoin and mass withdrawing it into self-custody amid the war.
“We also documented how Bitcoin withdrawals from Iranian exchanges to personal wallets surged during the most recent protest wave, as citizens sought a self-custodial hedge against economic instability and potential crackdowns,” the report read, “until authorities imposed a blanket internet blackout that restricted access to centralized platforms.”
Second, Iranian exchanges may cycle funds across wallets to manage liquidity or obscure operational activity, a practice that gained urgency after a 2025 hack of Nobitex, which saw over $90 million in assets stolen.
Third, some transfers may involve state-aligned actors using domestic platforms for cross-border trade, sanctions evasion, or proxy financing. In the immediate aftermath, distinguishing between these motives remains difficult, requiring deeper wallet-level analysis over time.
The recent activity resembles earlier events. During January’s anti-regime protests, bitcoin withdrawals from Iranian exchanges surged in anticipation of government-imposed internet blackouts, then plateaued during connectivity restrictions, before resuming once access returned.
The February 28 airstrikes appear to have triggered a similar pattern, with outflows climbing sharply in the hours following the attacks.
Surge in Nobitex crypto and bitcoin activity
Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, experienced an even more pronounced spike. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported that outflows from Nobitex jumped 700 percent within minutes of the first strikes.
Nobitex serves more than 11 million users and processed $7.2 billion in crypto transactions in 2025, providing Iranians with a direct conduit from rials to crypto and onward to external wallets.
Elliptic traced many of these funds to overseas exchanges that have historically received Iranian inflows, suggesting that citizens sought to move capital outside the country’s crumbling banking system and international sanctions framework.
The human element behind the numbers is striking. For many Iranians, bitcoin is clearly functioning as a hedge against rapid economic deterioration, currency collapse, and the uncertainty of war.
The February 28 strikes underscore cryptocurrency’s dual role: a lifeline for citizens under duress, and a strategic tool in a broader geopolitical and financial struggle.
Stablecoin-issuer Tether and the City of Lugano today announced the launch of Plan ₿ Phase II (2026–2030), marking an expansion of the city’s initiative to integrate digital assets and decentralized technologies into public and economic infrastructure.
Building on the pilot projects of the original Plan ₿ launched in 2022, Phase II emphasizes structural development, technological resilience, and long-term digital sovereignty.
Over the past four years, Lugano has emerged as a European leader in real-world adoption of digital assets. More than 400 local merchants now accept Bitcoin, Tether’s USDT stablecoin, and the city’s own LVGA token.
Municipal services have experimented with digital bond issuance and select blockchain-based payments, integrating decentralized systems into public finance. Tether’s involvement has provided technical support, infrastructure, and strategic guidance.
A central component of the initiative is PoW.space, a physical hub created to foster blockchain and fintech innovation. The space has attracted over 100 companies, positioning Lugano as a bridge between traditional financial institutions and decentralized infrastructure.
Complementing this, the Plan ₿ Forum has grown into an international platform attracting more than 4,000 participants from over 60 countries, facilitating discussions on financial sovereignty, digital assets, and resilient urban infrastructure.
What is Plan ₿’s Phase II?
Phase II is structured around five strategic pillars. The first focuses on institutional infrastructure for digital assets, developing SwissLedger as an open blockchain for banks and enterprises. The second positions Lugano as a hub for digital trade and commodities, leveraging tokenization and programmable payments to modernize trade flows.
The third pillar addresses privacy-preserving digital identity, enabling voluntary and secure verification of citizens, businesses, and autonomous agents through zero-knowledge technologies.
The fourth pillar emphasizes the development of decentralized artificial intelligence and autonomous economic agents, creating an integrated ecosystem for public services and programmable transactions. The fifth pillar seeks to establish resilient urban digital infrastructure, including distributed networks, decentralized computing, and advanced cybersecurity systems to ensure operational continuity in critical services.
Tether has committed up to CHF 5 million ($6.3 million) over the next five years, primarily in the form of expertise, infrastructure development, research, and applied training, while governance and oversight remain fully with the City of Lugano. Initiatives will follow a rigorous framework of pilot projects, compliance evaluations, and iterative scaling, ensuring public accountability and risk management.
Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, said, “Phase II focuses on infrastructure, resilience, and local capacity building. Our goal is to support Lugano in becoming a globally relevant digital infrastructure hub while preserving public governance and autonomy.”
Mayor Michele Foletti added, “By 2030, a city’s freedom will increasingly depend on its ability to govern its data and essential services. Plan ₿ Phase II invests in open, resilient civic digital infrastructure that safeguards public interest.”
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Pics-11-idrAul.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-03 16:18:282026-03-03 16:18:28Tether and Lugano Launch Plan ₿ Phase II, Targeting Global Leadership in Digital Infrastructure
Cake Wallet has announced the integration of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network into its advanced privacy wallet. The move comes after a series of Bitcoin-specific updates that put Cake at the forefront of mobile wallets across the broader crypto industry.
This is not Cake Wallet’s first inroad into advanced Bitcoin features. Unlike most multi-coin wallets such as Binance’s popular Trust Wallet, Cake has gone a lot further than just supporting basic on-chain addresses. Cake has deployed some of Bitcoin’s more sophisticated technology, such as Silent Payments and Payjoin, powerful privacy technologies that most other blockchains and crypto wallets are not even close to. Features of this sort protect users from a wide range of risks, such as targeted scams, as third parties have a harder time tracking user behaviour across the blockchain.
The Lightning Network integration brings Cake wallet into a small group of wallets that support Bitcoin’s fast payments layer with self-custody and privacy in mind. The update is powered by the Breez SDK and Spark, which unlocks self-custody control for users without the need to manage a lightning node.
On the privacy front, Cake has a custom implementation of the Spark suite, which further protects user privacy. In a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine, the company said, “Lightning transactions in Cake Wallet do not embed your Spark address in Lightning invoices, and transaction data is not published to public explorers by default. Visibility is intentionally limited, reducing unnecessary exposure of user activity and safeguarding user privacy.”
Seth for Privacy, COO of Cake Wallet, highlighted that “Lightning should not require users to sacrifice privacy or custody just to get speed,” adding that “what we have today makes Lightning practical with solid privacy defaults, simple self-custody, and a clear on-chain exit.”
Vikrant Sharma, CEO of Cake Labs, also commented on the announcement, adding that “with Breez and Spark, Lightning finally reaches a point where it can be fast and intuitive without turning bitcoin into an IOU or giving up control. This is the first time Lightning felt aligned with the principles Cake was built on.”
This latest Cake Wallet update also rolled out a variety of improvements to the user interface, including social features like Birdpay, which lets users send crypto to X.com accounts by simply sending to their username.
In recent months, Cake also added support for xStocks, letting users trade and invest in tokenized equities, a breath of fresh air from the tsunami of meme coins and hype chains that have, up until recent years, flooded the broader crypto market.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image-30-bN0JhK.png8751600Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-02 16:59:002026-03-02 16:59:00Cake Wallet Launches Bitcoin Lightning Network Support With Full Self-Custody and Privacy Defaults
The bitcoin price is on the move again this morning, pumping sharply from the mid‑$65,000 range to push toward $70,000, representing roughly a 6% gain in just a few hours as leveraged short positions face heavy liquidations.
Last week, Bitcoin price briefly surged past $69,000 on February 25 before retreating over the weekend, falling back to around $65,000.
The move today comes after a volatile weekend marked by heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, when joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, including reports of attacks near Tehran and Iran’s leadership, and then Iran’s retaliatory actions rocked risk assets across global markets.
Bitcoin initially sold off sharply over the weekend, dipping as low as the low $63,000s as markets digested the news. But, within a couple of hours, the price rebounded back to levels it was at before the news.
Macro conditions continue to influence Bitcoin’s trajectory. Elevated U.S. interest rates and persistent inflation signals have kept the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets high, limiting aggressive upside moves.
Meanwhile, geopolitical developments—including the conflict in Iran—have amplified short-term swings but have not fundamentally shifted Bitcoin’s broader trend.
Investor sentiment remains cautious, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index hovering near extreme fear, reflecting hesitancy to push prices significantly higher amid ongoing uncertainty.
Bitcoin price is also on track for a historically weak first quarter, down more than 25% in 2026, marking its worst Q1 performance since 2014, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data.
Historical patterns suggest that bear markets in dollar terms can extend 12 to 13 months, potentially stretching through late 2026. However, when priced in gold, the market may be closer to a bottom, with some analysts pointing to a possible rebound beginning this month.
Large-scale investors are also increasingly treating the current environment as an accumulation zone, suggesting that long-term holders are positioning for future gains even as retail activity remains subdued.
Earlier today, Strategy ($MSTR) bought 3,015 bitcoin for roughly $204 million, raising its total holdings to 720,737 BTC, worth over $47 billion.
The purchases, made between Feb. 23 and March 1 at an average price of $67,700 per coin, were funded through at-the-market sales of common and preferred stock. With bitcoin trading near $65,500, the company now controls more than 3.4% of the total 21 million bitcoin supply, maintaining its status as the largest publicly traded corporate holder.
At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is $69,882.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bitcoin-Price-Pumps-7-in-Early-Trading-to-Over-70000-UiSBrg.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-03-02 16:52:022026-03-02 16:52:02Bitcoin Price Pumps 7% in Early Trading to Over $70,000
Citrea, a Bitcoin application platform backed by Founders Fund and Galaxy Ventures, announced the creation of the Citrea Foundation, an independent organization aimed at accelerating the growth and decentralization of Bitcoin’s programmable ecosystem.
The foundation will serve ‘as the steward’ of the Citrea Network, supporting open-source development, fostering community growth, and expanding access to Bitcoin applications focused on self-custody, privacy, and capital market activity.
Orkun Kilic, director of the Citrea Foundation and co-founder of Chainway Labs, said the initiative will guide research and ecosystem development to shape a future where interactions with Bitcoin rely on secure self-custody, privacy, and efficient capital markets.
Kilic said, in a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine, that the foundation will provide the structure needed to enable builders and institutions to participate in the network while maintaining its decentralized principles.
The foundation will fund cryptography research and infrastructure projects designed to create trustless bridges that remove reliance on external collateral or liquidity constraints.
It will also provide strategic support to developers and projects that expand Bitcoin’s financial utility, offering grants and technical guidance to foster a broader ecosystem of capital-efficient applications.
Murat Karademir, co-founder and COO of Chainway Labs, and an independent non-executive director based in the Cayman Islands join Kilic on the foundation’s board.
The board is responsible for ensuring that the foundation’s activities align with its mission to support decentralization while promoting a healthy and active developer community.
The Citrea Foundation is positioned as a central element in Citrea’s long-term goal of network decentralization.
By coordinating research, funding development, and engaging the community, the foundation intends to expand access to Bitcoin applications and reduce barriers for users seeking self-custodial and privacy-focused solutions.
Observers say the initiative signals a strategic push to strengthen Bitcoin’s position as a programmable financial network capable of supporting complex capital market activity.
Citrea itself operates as a Bitcoin application layer, providing institutions and individual users with tools to access Bitcoin capital markets while maintaining alignment with the network’s security model.
Citrea mainnet
Back in January, Citrea launched its mainnet along with ctUSD, a U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoin fully backed by short-term Treasuries, aiming to enable lending, trading, and other financial activity directly on the Bitcoin network.
The company said they seek to unlock the largely idle $1.2 trillion of Bitcoin that hasn’t moved in over a year by providing compliant, on-chain capital market infrastructure.
The platform has drawn investment from Founders Fund, Galaxy Ventures, Maven 11, Delphi Digital, Erik Voorhees, and Balaji Srinivasan, reflecting growing confidence in Bitcoin’s evolving financial ecosystem.
DCTRL, a Bitcoin hub and hacker space out of Vancouver, the fair-weather Canadian city, has announced the sunset of its downtown basement location, iconic among early adopters for its tinkerer mindset and hardware hacker culture. The community will be migrating to a new location in the coming weeks, and updates to the vision of the hub. The Vancouver Bitcoin community is renowned for having set up the first Bitcoin ATM in History, with DCTRL specifically having hosted a variety of renowned characters that, over the years, gave this industry much of its cultural and innovative flair.
Visited by some of the most influential people in the Bitcoin and broader Crypto industry in its 12 year run, DCTRL is far from done being a hub of the Canadian Bitcoin and Crypto scene. Preparing to move due to a change in zoning laws, plans to relaunch in a new location are in the works, as active members consolidate the historical moments, relationships, and lessons learnt during perhaps the longest-running Bitcoin hackspace experiment in the young industry’s history.
It all started at Waves cafe on Howe Street, in Vancouver. The Bitcoiniacs, a group of four OGs that operated a Bitcoin brokerage at the time — still active to this day — decided it was time to get the robots involved. So they rigged up an ATM to sell bitcoin to the public, rallied the local Vancouver tech, finance, and burgeoning crypto scene, and hosted a historical launch party.
“The first Bitcoin ATM in the world was a massive event,” said Freddie Heartline, a Bitcoin enthusiast and co-founding member of the DCTRL hacker space. In an exclusive interview with Bitcoin Magazine, Heartline went on to recall the event, saying, “Oh man, the vibes were incredible. It literally felt like a really good rave. But it was smarter. Way smarter. That’s how it all came about, actually.” referring to the founding of DCTRL.
The timing for the Bitcoin ATM event was perfect; it was October 2013, and Bitcoin had just gone from a few dollars to almost 150, consolidated for a few weeks around 100, and was getting ready to take a shot at 1,000 a coin. The energy across the Bitcoin community as electric, this was the end of the longest bear market in Bitcoin history, in a way this rise in price was proof that Bitcoin was here to stay.
The launch of the first Bitcoin ATM, as a result, made national and international news. The idea of a Bitcoin ATM being operational was considered a historical milestone in the adoption of Bitcoin as money.
Tens of thousands of Canadian dollars worth of bitcoin were sold that day and over the coming weeks, likely creating a few millionaires over the years, spawning copycat ATM projects and even a handful of Bitcoin ATM manufacturing companies to boot. It also inspired the creation of the DCTRL hacker space, called “Decentral Vancouver” at the time.
Cameron Gray, another Bitcoin enthusiast who was volunteering with the Bitcoiniacs event and a friend of Heartline, was the one who had the idea. “Cam was absolutely an essential part of founding Decentral.” Heartline recalled “He literally turned to me one day – as he was operating the bitcoin ATM at Waves – after I complained about the lighting at the coffee shop – and said ‘we should open a space.’ And that was it.”
Soon, they had secured a basement location in downtown Vancouver, grimy, humid, but cozy. Over the years, this spot became a hub for Bitcoin engineers, founders, crypto enthusiasts, and eventually legends. The decor got better, the leaks patched, and the walls decorated with Bitcoin art. The empty spaces filled up with hardware of all kinds, modified to operate or somehow interact with the orange coin.
Heartline and Gray were starting a lifestyle project of sorts, and while Bitcoin may have been doing well at over $1,000, it would soon correct back to $300, another bear market, which had important consequences for the industry. During that time, the bills for DCTRL’s rent had to be paid somehow, and so Heartline moved in. Not into the basement, but onto the rooftop. In order to keep the lights on during that bear market, he literally set up a tent. Not a bad setup either if you have a look.
DCTRL started hosting meetups, the Vancouver Startup Weekend community got wind of it, and a gentleman known as Gregg Peacock began to visit the hub. Soon enough, the Startup Weekend events were taking place at DCTRL as well, pulling in the local tech startup scene. Before long, even Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum and former writer for Bitcoin Magazine, showed up.
Peacock had another important contribution to DCTRL; he made a donation that created a symbol for the local community. He donated $500 to the space with one condition: “It has to be used for something creative …” Heartline recalled, “so I found a Pepsi machine on Craigslist. Peacock even helped us move the thing in a pickup. Him, me, Cam, and Mike Olthoff moved that fucking insanely heavy and awkward thing down the stairs – lol almost killing Cam.” The Pepsi machine would soon get backwards engineered, hacked, and rebranded to the Bepsi, for obvious Bitcoin reasons.
In the above video, you can see Peacock making an on-chain transaction to the pop machine, milliseconds later dropping a soda for him on Q. The satisfying sound of Bitcoin being used as money for the small pleasures of life became a staple of DCTRL. A digital version of the Bepsi was eventually made, which fans from all over the world used to make donations. Many iterations of the underlying software took place over time, rig-wired into the Cold War era pop machine with a Raspberry Pi and some hacker ingenuity. A decade later, even the Mayor of Vancouver Ken Sim, dropped by to pay homage to this staple of Vancouver hacker culture, this time buying a soda from Bepsi with a lightning payment.
Today, the Bepsi supports practically every Bitcoin protocol, a testing ground for the cutting edge of Bitcoin technology, including protocols like Taproot Assets, Spark, and Arcade OS. “We even issued our own Bepsi token. One Bepsi equals one soda from the Bepsi machine… it’s like a stable coin… pegged to the price of the pop can.” said Heartline. The Bepsi, which in a way was inspired by the Bitcoin ATM, also inspired copycats, such as the 21up vending machine hosted in a nearby Blockchain lab known as MintGreen. To this day, funds collected by the Bepsi machine have gone to support the operation of the hacker space and cover costs, serving as a cornerstone of the community. Control over the Bepsi’s underlying wallets and tech stack in a way setting rank among the most active members and hosts.
Visited by Legends
Throughout the years, big names within the industry visited or engaged with DCTRL in one way or another. Vitalik Buterin personally visited the space and hung out there in the very early days of Ethereum, as demonstrated by this photograph hung on their wall, featuring Gray, Heartline, Vitalik, and another active member referred to as Kyle.
The founders of CaVirtex, the first Canadian Bitcoin exchange, were also photographed there. This brand is little known now as they were bought out by Kraken years later, but they had a deep influence on the Canadian Bitcoin scene, selling the coin to Canadians since before the first bull run, which peaked at $30 per coin. Without this exchange, many of the big Canadian Bitcoiners may not have gotten in.
Virtually, Bitcoin celebrities also attended DCTRL events throughout the years, answering questions from the local crowd, such as Roger Ver, before the fork wars, Andreas Antonopoulos, and Willy Woo. Erik Vorhees, who came to fame in Bitcoin for creating the first major instant swap, crypto-to-crypto exchange called ShapeShift, is seen in this video doing a fireside chat at DCTRL during a local meetup.
Even one famous scammer attended the hub, a man who was a regular in the Canadian Bitcoin scene in the 2014 era, and who to this day remains one of the unsolved mysteries of crypto-related crime, Gerald Cotten of QuadrigaCX. Cotten, whom I personally met multiple times in Toronto at the time, was a charming and smooth-talking entrepreneur in the scene at the time, before his turbulent professional history was revealed and the exchange went down in bankruptcy, leaving millions of dollars of user funds unpaid. Cotten allegedly died suddenly and mysteriously in India just before the exchange went bankrupt, taking the crypto keys with him, but many who were personally affected by this centralized exchange collapse are skeptical of that story.
Further evidence of DCTRL as a microcosm of the industry as a whole was seen years later during the fork wars, as Gray, the other primary co-founder of the hub, took the ‘big block’ side of the debate, resulting in intense debates and ultimately a falling out with the local community and broader Bitcoin scene. Gray, nevertheless, is highly respected and appreciated by the active members of DCTRL for his contributions to the DCTRL social scene, which would inevitably suffer from the same forks and tensions that the Bitcoin protocol went through at the time.
During those difficult times, DCTRL served as a forum and debate space for these topics, even hosting Peter Rizun of the alternative implementation Bitcoin Unlimited — a big blocker — who debated Taylor, seen on the right in the photo below.
Overall, DCTRL enjoyed more than 12 years of continuous operation, boasts hundreds of events hosted, over 1500 registered community members, and 69 recorded talks published on YouTube, which touched many elements of the Bitcoin and crypto industry. Throughout this whole time, the hub was operated entirely by volunteers and sustained through public donations and, of course, the Bepsi.
As the location of DCTRL gets rezoned by the city government, and a new building will be going up in its place, the active members and hosts of DCTRL, have begun organizing a transition to a new location, alongside an update to the brand.
According to DJ, one of the active members who prefers to stay pseudonymous, the hub has had record attendance in recent months. And while the location will change, its future is brighter than ever. Those who would like to be a part of the future of DCTRL can learn more at www.DCTRL.wtf.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/screenshot-2026-02-27_15-34-50-d8nfk7.png7131026Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-27 20:39:032026-02-27 20:39:03DCTRL Vancouver: Iconic Bitcoin Hackerspace Closes Downtown Location After 12 Years Due to Zoning Changes
Eleven Democrats on the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee are pressing the Trump administration to investigate Binance over allegations that the exchange facilitated illicit finance activity tied to Iran and may be violating its 2023 federal settlement.
In a letter sent Friday to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the senators urged the Justice Department and Treasury to conduct a “prompt, comprehensive review” of Binance’s sanctions compliance controls.
The lawmakers cited recent media reports alleging that billions of dollars in digital assets flowed through the platform to Iranian entities, including groups linked to terrorism.
The letter was led by Sen. Mark Warner and signed by Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren along with Sens. Chris Van Hollen, Jack Reed, Catherine Cortez Masto, Tina Smith, Raphael Warnock, Andy Kim, Ruben Gallego, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Angela Alsobrooks.
According to the senators, Binance compliance personnel uncovered evidence last year that roughly $1.7 billion in digital assets had been routed through the exchange to Iranian entities, including the Iran-backed Houthis and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In one instance, a Binance vendor allegedly moved $1.2 billion in funds connected to Iran-linked actors. The letter also claims that Iranian users accessed more than 1,500 Binance accounts and that the platform may have been used in efforts by Russian actors to evade sanctions.
The lawmakers raised concerns that employees who identified the transactions were dismissed and that Binance has become less responsive to law enforcement requests. They argued that such actions would conflict with the company’s obligations under its 2023 plea agreement and related settlements.
In 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to federal charges including violations of U.S. sanctions laws and anti-money laundering failures. The company agreed to pay more than $4 billion in penalties and committed to sweeping reforms under U.S. supervision, including enhanced know-your-customer procedures and sanctions screening.
The senators contend that the latest reports call into question whether those reforms have been implemented and maintained. In its settlement with the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Binance committed to implement controls capable of identifying and blocking prohibited transactions.
Allowing $1.7 billion in digital assets to move to sanctioned Iranian entities, they wrote, would be inconsistent with that commitment.
Binance and President Donald Trump
The letter also touched on Binance’s recent business relationships involving President Donald Trump and his family’s crypto ventures. Lawmakers pointed to the exchange’s promotion of USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, a Trump family-backed project.
According to the letter, Binance offered interest incentives for users holding USD1, assisted with technology related to the token and accepted a $2 billion investment tied to it.
The senators further referenced Trump’s pardon last fall of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who had pleaded guilty to failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering program and served a four-month prison sentence.
The lawmakers argued that these connections heighten the need for what they described as a “thorough, impartial” probe.
Binance’s dubious ties with Russia
Beyond Iran-related concerns, the letter cites Binance’s recent launch of crypto-linked payment cards in parts of the former Soviet Union. The senators warned that similar products have been used to bypass restrictions on the Russian financial system.
They also noted the exchange’s partnership with Kyrgyzstan to launch a stablecoin and digital currency initiative, raising questions about exposure to sanctions evasion risks.
“These allegations raise grave concerns that poor illicit finance controls at Binance remain a significant threat to national security,” the senators wrote. They warned that weak safeguards at the world’s largest digital asset exchange could allow terrorist groups or sanctions evaders to access the global financial system.
A Binance spokesperson disputed the allegations, stating that the company detected and reported suspicious activity and that claims it retaliated against compliance staff are false.
The company has said it remains committed to meeting its regulatory obligations under the 2023 agreements.
The senators requested a response from Bondi and Bessent by March 13.
Bitplanet Inc. has accumulated 300 BTC through a structured purchase program, positioning the South Korea-listed company among the top 20 corporate Bitcoin holders in Asia.
The company, backed by Sora Ventures, began building its BTC treasury in the fourth quarter of 2025. Its most recent purchases were carried out in phases between Feb. 23 and Feb. 26 via Upbit, one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
The BTC will be held with a professional custody provider, the company told Bitcoin Magazine.
Chief Executive Paul Lee said Bitplanet is focused on more than balance sheet exposure. “We are not simply accumulating Bitcoin,” Lee said in a statement. He added that the company plans to explore operational strategies that could contribute to revenue generation and cash flow over time, linking BTC treasury management with artificial intelligence computing initiatives.
Bitplanet said it views Asia as a key driver of the next phase of digital asset treasury adoption and aims to position itself as a transparent, institutional-grade corporate holder of Bitcoin.
The company said it may expand its holdings further, subject to market conditions, regulatory developments, and financing availability.
Corporate bitcoin strain
The firm counts several digital asset treasury investors among its backers, including Simon Gerovich of Metaplanet, as well as AsiaStrategy, UTXO Management, KCGI, Kingsway Capital, and ParaFi Capital.
Metaplanet did post a net loss of 95 billion yen ($619 million) for fiscal 2025, driven by a 102.2 billion yen ($665.8 million) valuation decline on its bitcoin holdings.
The disclosure marks the latest example of a corporate bitcoin buyer facing pressure as the cryptocurrency’s price slid from record highs in October.
The company closed the year with 35,102 BTC, valued at approximately $2.4 billion, making Metaplanet the fourth-largest public corporate BTC holder globally, behind Strategy.
Since it began accumulating BTC 21 months ago, Metaplanet has spent nearly $3.8 billion, averaging $107,000 per coin, according to data from two weeks ago.
Last quarter, when Sora Ventures unveiled its plans at Taipei Blockchain Week, the firm said it plans to purchase $1 billion in BTC within six months, backed by a $200 million initial commitment from regional partners.
Today, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading near $65,000, drifting lower from mid‑week highs near $70,000 amid persistent selling pressure across crypto markets.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said federal authorities have frozen and seized more than $580 million in cryptocurrency tied to Southeast Asian scam networks, marking a major escalation in the government’s campaign against cross-border crypto fraud.
The funds were restrained through the Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force, a task force formed in November to target cryptocurrency investment and confidence schemes linked to Chinese transnational criminal organizations.
Officials said the groups use social media platforms and text messaging to target U.S. victims and siphon billions of dollars each year. Recent estimates place annual losses to Americans near $10 billion.
“In only three months, we have made significant progress, freezing, seizing, and forfeiting cryptocurrency worth more than $578 million from these criminals,” Pirro said in a statement. She said her office will seek forfeiture through the courts and aims to return funds to victims.
Authorities describe the schemes as “pig butchering” operations, in which fraudsters build relationships with victims before steering them into fraudulent crypto investments. Victims are persuaded to purchase legitimate digital assets and then transfer them to counterfeit trading platforms controlled by the scam networks.
The operations often run out of secured compounds in parts of Southeast Asia, including Burma, Cambodia, and Laos. U.S. officials said some workers inside the compounds are trafficking victims who are forced to carry out scams under threat of violence. In certain areas, revenue generated from scam activity accounts for a large share of local economic output.
The Strike Force is focused on identifying senior figures within the criminal networks, including organizers and money launderers who move proceeds through blockchain transactions and shell accounts. Investigators are tracing funds across exchanges and wallets to disrupt cash-out points and freeze assets before they are dispersed.
The initiative brings together the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and several Justice Department divisions, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation unit. U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Rhode Island and the Western District of Washington are also participating.
The Justice Department said the Strike Force will continue targeting infrastructure, financial channels, and leadership structures tied to the fraud networks.
Crypto crime hit $154 Billion last year
Data from Chainalysis shows illicit crypto addresses received at least $154 billion in 2025, a 162% year-over-year increase, with sanctioned entities driving much of the surge. Nation-states including Russia, Iran, and North Korea played an outsized role, leveraging blockchain infrastructure for sanctions evasion, money laundering, and large-scale thefts.
Stablecoins accounted for 84% of illicit transaction volume, the report said.
The report also highlights the expansion of Chinese money laundering networks offering “laundering-as-a-service” and other full-stack illicit infrastructure. Although illicit activity still represents less than 1% of total crypto volume, the scale and geopolitical dimension of the activity pose rising risks for regulators, law enforcement, and national security.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/U.S.-Government-Seizes-Over-580-Million-in-Crypto-Linked-to-Southeast-Asian-Scams-V44LS2.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-27 15:57:202026-02-27 15:57:20U.S. Government Seizes Over $580 Million in Crypto Linked to Southeast Asian Scams
Shares of MARA Holdings climbed 13% in premarket trading Friday, even after the Bitcoin miner reported a $1.71 billion net loss for the fourth quarter, as investors focused on the company’s shift toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.
The company posted a net loss of $1.71 billion for Q4 2025, compared with net income of $528.3 million during the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter fell 6% to $202.3 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as lower Bitcoin prices offset gains from higher network hash rate.
The largest driver of the quarterly loss was a $1.5 billion negative revaluation of digital assets following a decline in the price of Bitcoin. Under fair-value accounting rules, companies must adjust the carrying value of their digital asset holdings each quarter to reflect market prices, creating swings in reported earnings.
For the full year 2025, MARA reported a net loss of $1.31 billion, compared with net income of $541 million in 2024. Annual revenue rose to $907.1 million from $656.4 million the prior year, reflecting expanded operations and increased Bitcoin production earlier in the cycle.
During the fourth quarter, MARA mined 2,011 BTC, down 6% from the third quarter and below the 2,492 BTC mined in the year-ago period. Total production for 2025 reached 8,799 BTC, compared with 9,430 BTC in 2024.
As of Dec. 31, the company held 53,822 BTC, including 15,315 BTC pledged as collateral. Based on a quarterly price of $87,498 per coin, the value of its Bitcoin reserves stood near $4.7 billion at quarter’s end.
Over the past six months, MARA shares have fallen roughly 45%, reflecting pressure across the mining sector tied to Bitcoin price volatility and post-halving economics.
MARA is moving to AI
Alongside its earnings report, MARA outlined a strategic pivot aimed at transforming the firm from a pure-play Bitcoin miner into an energy and digital infrastructure company.
The company announced a joint venture with Starwood Digital Ventures to develop AI-focused and high-performance computing data centers at select sites with access to low-cost power and grid capacity.
The first phase of the initiative targets more than one gigawatt of IT infrastructure, with potential expansion to 2.5 gigawatts.
Projects will be structured on a site-by-site basis, with MARA retaining stakes of up to 50% while continuing Bitcoin mining operations where economics support it.
Earlier this month, MARA acquired a 64% stake in Exaion, a firm that provides AI and high-performance computing solutions for corporate and government clients, signaling its intent to diversify beyond mining.
The strategy mirrors a broader industry shift as miners seek ways to make money due to tighter margins and fluctuating Bitcoin prices. Over the last couple of months, major Bitcoin mining firms like Cipher and Bitfarms have been aggressively repurposing their energy-heavy infrastructure into AI and high-performance computing data centers to diversify revenue as traditional mining margins shrink.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/MARA-Holdings-MARA-Stock-Jumps-After-1.71B-Loss-as-Firm-Pivots-to-AI-Data-Centers-gHEQ7S.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-27 14:37:102026-02-27 14:37:10MARA Holdings (MARA) Stock Jumps After $1.71B Loss as Firm Pivots to AI Data Centers
Paul Atkins, the sitting Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and one of the most consequential figures in American financial regulation, has been officially confirmed as a speaker at Bitcoin 2026 — marking the first time in history that a sitting SEC Chair has been invited to the world’s largest Bitcoin conference. Appointed by President Trump in 2025, Atkins has wasted no time in reshaping the SEC’s relationship with digital assets. Under his leadership, the SEC launched “Project Crypto,” a sweeping initiative to build a clear, innovation-friendly regulatory framework for the industry — ending what many described as a decade of enforcement-driven ambiguity that stifled American innovation in the space.
A longtime market-friendly policymaker with roots as a transactional lawyer and former SEC Commissioner under the Bush administration, Atkins has made his position on Bitcoin clear. At the launch of Project Crypto, he declared: “We are at the threshold of a new era in the history of our markets” — announcing a Commission-wide initiative to move America’s financial markets on-chain, create clear guidelines for how Bitcoin can be stored, traded, and used, and replace outdated one-size-fits-all rules with frameworks built for the digital age. His presence at Bitcoin 2026 signals something far bigger than a speaking slot — it represents a fundamental shift in how Washington views Bitcoin, and a rare opportunity for tens of thousands of attendees to hear directly from the man rewriting the rules of digital asset regulation in America.
Just two years ago, the relationship between the SEC and the digital asset industry was defined by tension, with then Chair Gary Gensler overseeing a wave of enforcement actions against the Bitcoin and broader crypto industry, all while having little to no regulation for industry participants to build from, thus creating more uncertainty than clarity. It was on the stage at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville that U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump announced to a crowd of thousands that he would fire Gensler and replace him with pro-Bitcoin leadership — a moment that captured just how central digital asset policy had become to the political conversation. When Trump won the election, Gensler stepped down the day he took office, and Paul Atkins was appointed to lead the SEC in his place. Whether one views the previous era as necessary consumer protection or regulatory overreach, the contrast is stark — and the fact that a sitting SEC Chair is now taking the stage at the world’s largest Bitcoin conference reflects just how much has changed.
WE’RE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE SEC CHAIRMAN PAUL ATKINS AS A BITCOIN 2026 SPEAKER
”[We’re] working together to deliver on President Trump’s promise to make America the crypto capital of the world.” pic.twitter.com/M4FAkvNAXg
Bitcoin 2026 Returns to Las Vegas Bigger Than Ever
Bitcoin 2026 will take place April 27–29 at The Venetian, Las Vegas, and is expected to be the largest Bitcoin conference in history.
Focused on the future of money, Bitcoin 2026 will bring together Bitcoin builders, investors, miners, policymakers, technologists, and newcomers from around the world. The event will feature a wide range of pass types, including general admission passes designed specifically for those new to Bitcoin, alongside premium passes for professionals, enterprises, and institutions.
With multiple stages, immersive experiences, technical workshops, and headline keynotes, Bitcoin 2026 is designed to serve both first-time attendees and long-time Bitcoiners shaping the next era of global adoption.
Past Bitcoin Conferences in the U.S.
Bitcoin’s flagship conference has scaled dramatically over the past five years:
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Bitcoin 2026 is the definitive gathering for anyone serious about the future of money. With 500+ speakers, multiple world-class stages, and programming spanning Bitcoin fundamentals, open-source development, enterprise adoption, mining, energy, AI, policy, and culture, the conference brings every corner of the Bitcoin ecosystem together under one roof.
From headline keynotes on the Nakamoto Stage to deep technical sessions for builders, institutional strategy discussions for enterprises, and beginner-friendly Bitcoin 101 education, Bitcoin 2026 is designed for everyone—from first-time attendees to the leaders shaping Bitcoin’s global adoption.
Whether you’re looking to learn, build, invest, network, or influence, Bitcoin 2026 is where Bitcoin’s next chapter is written.
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More headline speaker announcements are coming soon.
U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $506.5 million in net inflows on Feb. 25, the largest single-day total in three weeks, reversing a stretch of heavy redemptions that had fueled doubts about institutional demand.
The surge followed $257.7 million in inflows on Feb. 24, bringing the two-day total to more than $750 million. The rebound came after five consecutive weeks of outflows totaling about $3.8 billion. Year to date, net flows are now just under $2 billion in outflows.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led Tuesday’s gains with $297.4 million in inflows, accounting for nearly 60% of the daily total. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) posted $102.5 million in inflows, marking a rare positive session for the fund, which has seen about $25.9 billion in cumulative net outflows since converting to an ETF structure.
Bitwise Asset Management’s BITB added $39.4 million, while Fidelity Investments’s FBTC brought in $30.1 million. Invesco’s BTCO and VanEck’s HODL also recorded net buying. None of the 11 active spot bitcoin ETFs posted outflows on the day.
Bitcoin rose near $70,000 during the session, climbing more than 7% from its weekly low below $64,000. The move coincided with renewed ETF demand and strength in broader risk assets.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading near $67,000.
Bitcoin’s foundation looks strong
The inflows mark the highest daily total in three weeks and suggest institutional buyers have returned after stepping back through much of late January and February. If inflows persist through the end of the week, spot bitcoin ETFs could post their first weekly net gain in more than a month.
Despite persistent pessimism, BTC’s institutional infrastructure remains intact, unlike in 2022, when FTX, Celsius, and others collapsed.
ETF outflows have largely stabilized, long-term holders’ buying capacity has grown, and major US banks continue building crypto products. With a shrinking tradable supply and solid market plumbing, analysts see current weakness as a temporary confidence crisis, with some projecting BTC could reach $150,000 this year.
BTC pulled back this morning, dropping to around $67,000 after approaching $70,000 yesterday. The decline comes after a strong session for crypto-related stocks, which saw solid gains.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ: IBIT) fell $1.19, or 3.02%, to $38.04 today. IBIT is a financial product that tracks BTC’s price, giving investors exposure to BTC without directly owning it.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Bitcoin-ETFs-Post-Half-a-Billion-in-Inflows-as-BTC-Rebounds-Above-69000-xgk79R.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-26 16:15:082026-02-26 16:15:08Bitcoin ETFs Post Half a Billion in Inflows as BTC Rebounds Above $69,000
American Bitcoin Corp., the Trump family-linked mining company, reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $59 million as bitcoin prices fell, cutting the value of its digital asset holdings.
The Miami-based firm, which trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker ABTC, said revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 totaled $78.3 million, up from $64.2 million a year earlier but slightly below analyst estimates of $79.6 million. For the full year, the company generated $185.2 million in revenue.
Bitcoin declined about 23% in the fourth quarter, pressuring companies that hold large reserves of the cryptocurrency on their balance sheets. Under updated rules from the Financial Accounting Standards Board, firms must mark digital asset holdings to market each reporting period. As a result, American Bitcoin recorded a $227 million non-cash loss tied to the revaluation of its bitcoin treasury.
The company ended the year with 5,401 bitcoin and has since increased that figure to more than 6,000 BTC, according to a statement from co-founder Eric Trump. American Bitcoin said roughly one-third of its holdings were acquired through mining operations, with the remaining two-thirds accumulated through open-market purchases and strategic transactions.
American Bitcoin is backed by the family of President Donald Trump and is 20% owned by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
The firm went public in September, weeks before bitcoin reached a record high above $126,000. Shares have since fallen nearly 90% from a peak near $9 last year. The stock was up 2% in early trading Thursday at $1.06 but remains down about 22% over the past 12 months.
The company raised $150.5 million during the quarter through an at-the-market stock offering, capital it used to increase its bitcoin holdings. Management said the equity issuance boosted per-share bitcoin exposure by nearly 50%.
American Bitcoin posts 53% mining margin
American Bitcoin operates industrial-scale mining facilities and relies on infrastructure support from majority owner Hut 8. During the fourth quarter, the company said it mined bitcoin at a 53% gross margin, indicating production costs remained below prevailing spot prices despite the market downturn.
Chief Executive Mike Ho said 2025 marked the firm’s first year as a standalone public company and cited expansion of its mining platform and bitcoin reserves as key milestones. President Matthew Prusak described the company’s strategy as securing bitcoin through mining and accumulating additional reserves through treasury purchases.
The fourth-quarter loss of $59.45 million compares with a profit of $3.48 million in the same period a year earlier. The company also reported a profit in the previous quarter.
Industry peers have taken varied approaches to the downturn. Some large miners, including MARA Holdings and Riot Platforms, have explored converting portions of their operations to artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Others have sold parts of their bitcoin reserves to strengthen liquidity.
Hut 8, which holds a majority stake in American Bitcoin, reported its own fourth-quarter results Wednesday. The company said it ended the year with an 8,500-megawatt development pipeline and secured a new $200 million revolving credit facility with Two Prime.
It also expanded an existing credit facility with Coinbase to $200 million, bringing total available credit capacity to $400 million.
At Bitcoin Conference 2026, BrainSprout enters the art gallery as a cultural participant. Founded by Bruce Barone and his son, BrainSprout focuses on cultivating creative literacy and narrative intelligence in younger generations — a mission that intersects in unexpected ways with Bitcoin’s emphasis on sovereignty, responsibility, and long-term thinking.
In an era when algorithmic feeds shape what young people see, believe, and value, BrainSprout’s work poses a question that resonates deeply within Bitcoin culture: How do you teach someone to think for themselves? This conversation explores creativity, symbolic language, youth education, and why the Bitcoin Conference art gallery — a space already dedicated to the intersection of value, narrative, and visual culture — provides fertile ground for BrainSprout’s vision of intellectual development.
Creative literacy has become something of a buzzword in education circles, but BrainSprout seems to be operating with a more specific definition. What is BrainSprout at its core, and what does it mean to cultivate “creative confidence” in a generation that has more access to information than any before it—and arguably less capacity to interpret it?
Bruce: BrainSprout is about cultivating creative confidence and critical thinking in young people. We focus on helping students engage with big ideas—narrative, symbolism, ethics, technology—through art and storytelling. It’s less about prescribing belief systems and more about helping people develop intellectual resilience and imagination.
The Bitcoin Conference art gallery has hosted artists exploring how memes and digital culture accumulate symbolic meaning at internet speed, writers and historians situating Bitcoin within broader cultural and intellectual traditions, and everything in between. It’s a space where ideas about value, time, and meaning collide in public. What made this particular venue interesting for BrainSprout to show up?
Bruce: Bitcoin is more than a financial protocol—it’s a cultural moment. It represents self-custody, responsibility, long-term thinking in the face of an immediate, fast-food information culture. Those are ideas we care deeply about in education. The art gallery in particular felt like a space where symbolic thinking and value intersect publicly. You’re not pitching people on a product. You’re inviting them into a conversation about what matters.
In the digital age, icons, symbols, and cultural references accumulate meaning almost instantly — a kind of visual literacy happening organically online, but without anyone teaching the underlying mechanics. Education hasn’t caught up to this faster-paced media consumption. Artists like Nardo, who has exhibited at multiple Bitcoin Conference galleries, make work that engages adult audiences already fluent in that symbolic language. How does BrainSprout think about decoding imagery as a learned ability, and how does that approach differ for younger audiences who don’t yet have that context?
Bruce: We’re living in an era where symbols move at internet speed. Memes, icons, cultural references—they accumulate meaning almost instantly. But education hasn’t caught up. Most curricula still treat visual literacy as optional, an elective rather than a core skill. We try to slow that process down and teach people how to decode imagery, how to understand the structures beneath the surface. For young people especially, the challenge is different than it is for adults. Adults consuming Nardo’s work can appreciate the irony of a hand-painted meme. A twelve-year-old needs to first understand why something is funny, or persuasive, or manipulative—before they can begin to create on those terms themselves.
Bitcoin culture often talks about sovereignty—self-custody of your keys, verification over trust, personal responsibility for your financial future. But sovereignty isn’t just a financial concept. Alternative education models are gaining traction, from Austin’s Alpha School to the broader homeschooling movement, all rooted in a similar instinct: the idea that individuals and families should have more control over how knowledge is transmitted. Do you see a parallel between financial sovereignty and creative sovereignty?
Bruce: Absolutely. Creative literacy is a form of sovereignty. When you can interpret narratives, construct your own frameworks, and think independently, you’re less vulnerable to manipulation. That applies financially and culturally. There’s a reason library checkout data used to be monitored—what people read, what they choose to learn, is a form of power. We’re trying to give young people the tools to be literate not just in text, but in image, narrative, and financial systems. Those literacies reinforce each other.
The questions BrainSprout seems to be pointing to in its content — meaning, purpose, truth, how to live well — are the same questions that religious traditions, philosophy, and literature have grappled with for millennia. How do you navigate that territory, and how do you think about BrainSprout’s relationship to those traditions without being confined by any single one?
Bruce: We’re interested in the universal human questions—meaning, purpose, responsibility, truth. Those questions have been explored through religious traditions, philosophy, literature, and art for thousands of years. We draw from that broad heritage, but our focus is on cultivating thoughtful, grounded individuals who can navigate complexity—and also dream big. We’re not prescribing answers. We’re trying to build the kind of person who can sit with hard questions and not collapse into the first easy narrative that comes along.
Art historian and Bitcoin Magazine contributor Steven Reiss has argued that Bitcoin is the cultural consequence of ideas rehearsed for over a century — from Dada’s attack on institutional authority to the cypherpunks’ insistence on building systems beyond centralized control. There’s a through-line about resisting what you might call corporate flattening — algorithmic systems optimizing everything for speed and engagement at the expense of depth. Young people today are fully immersed in those systems. What role does creativity play in that environment?
Bruce: Creativity is a stabilizing force. When everything around you is optimized for speed and engagement, deep thinking becomes rare—and valuable. We’re trying to give students tools to step back, analyze the systems they’re embedded in, and build their own structures of meaning rather than passively consuming someone else’s. That’s not anti-technology. It’s about having the intellectual foundation to use technology intentionally rather than being used by it.
Much of BrainSprout’s visual content is produced by Bruce’s son Brucie Jr., who uses AI-assisted tools to build the imagery that accompanies the project’s educational mission — a detail that quietly underscores the whole premise. The next generation isn’t waiting to be taught how to create. They’re already building. Explore more of BrainSprout’s work atbrainsproutkids.com and on theirYouTube channel.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/brainsprout-bitcoin-magazine-interview-PcPyaM.png7621362Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-26 13:57:002026-02-26 13:57:00Growing Creative Literacy in the Age of Bitcoin: A Conversation with Bruce Barone Jr. of BrainSprout
Thanks to a surge in bitcoin’s price, Strategy (MSTR) is having a great day on Wall Street despite some alarming balance sheet data.
Among global equities valued above $25 billion, Strategy Inc. (MSTR) now carries the largest short position relative to its size. Roughly 14% of its $41.6 billion market capitalization has been sold short, placing it at the top of rankings compiled by firms including Goldman Sachs and FactSet.
This is not a typical short story. Strategy trades as a corporate balance sheet wrapped around Bitcoin. Its equity functions as a leveraged instrument on BTC, shaped by debt issuance and continued accumulation under Executive Chairman Michael Saylor.
The company holds more than 700,000 BTC acquired through a mix of convertible notes, equity offerings, and cash flow from its legacy software business. When Bitcoin rises, Strategy’s equity often expands at a faster rate due to embedded leverage. When Bitcoin falls, the compression works in reverse.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is surging 6.5% on the day near $68,000. Strategy shares are up nearly 8%.
Strategy’s mark-to-market losses mount
Strategy currently sits on roughly $7 billion in unrealized losses tied to its Bitcoin holdings. The losses reflect mark-to-market accounting, not liquidation.
The coins remain on the balance sheet. Markets, however, price forward risk. Declines in BTC reduce asset coverage relative to outstanding debt. That dynamic sharpens volatility in MSTR.
A 14% short interest ratio at this scale signals conviction. Hedge funds hold about 3% of the equity float, and more than 50 funds report positions. Yet not all short positioning represents outright bearish bets.
Market participants point to basis trades. In this structure, firms purchase spot Bitcoin exposure — often through vehicles such as iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) from BlackRock — while shorting MSTR.
The objective is to capture the premium or discount between Strategy’s equity value and the underlying Bitcoin it holds, rather than predict a collapse in BTC.
Trading firms including Jane Street have disclosed large positions in both IBIT and MSTR, suggesting paired strategies that aim to remain market neutral.
Still, structural tension remains. If Bitcoin stages a sharp rally, short sellers face pressure to cover. Strategy’s thin float relative to demand can amplify upward moves. Conversely, further BTC drawdowns would intensify scrutiny on leverage and refinancing risk.
Earlier this week, Strategy said they completed their 100th bitcoin purchase since 2020, acquiring 592 BTC for roughly $39.8 million at an average price of $67,286 per coin, funded through the sale of 297,940 Class A shares via its at-the-market offering program.
With this latest buy, the company now holds 717,722 BTC acquired for $54.56 billion at an average of $76,020 per bitcoin, maintaining the largest corporate bitcoin treasury globally.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned a Russian exploit brokerage network accused of purchasing stolen U.S. government cyber tools with crypto and reselling them to unauthorized buyers, marking the first use of new authorities under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act.
In an announcement Tuesday, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Russian national, Sergey Sergeyevich Zelenyuk, and his company, Operation Zero, along with several associates and affiliated firms.
The action blocks any property or interests in property of the designated parties that fall under U.S. jurisdiction and bars U.S. persons from transacting with them.
Treasury alleges that Zelenyuk, operating from St. Petersburg, built a business acquiring and selling “exploits” — tools that take advantage of software vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to systems or extract data.
Among the exploits obtained by Operation Zero were at least eight proprietary cyber tools developed by a U.S. defense contractor for the exclusive use of the U.S. government and select allies.
Those tools were stolen by Peter Williams, an Australian national and former employee of the contractor.
According to the Department of Justice, Williams stole the trade secrets between 2022 and 2025 and sold them to Operation Zero in exchange for millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.
He pleaded guilty in October 2025 to two counts of theft of trade secrets following an investigation by the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Scott Bessent: We will hold you accountable for stealing trade secrets
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the designations reflect a broader effort to protect sensitive American intellectual property and safeguard national security.
“If you steal U.S. trade secrets, we will hold you accountable,” Bessent said.
The sanctions were issued pursuant to Executive Order 13694, as amended, which targets malicious cyber-enabled activities that threaten U.S. national security, foreign policy, or economic stability.
In parallel, the State Department imposed sanctions under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, a law that provides for penalties against foreign actors who engage in or benefit from significant theft of U.S. trade secrets when the conduct poses a national security or economic threat. Zelenyuk and Operation Zero are the first individuals sanctioned under that statute.
Treasury also designated several associates tied to the network, including Marina Evgenyevna Vasanovich, described as Zelenyuk’s assistant, and Special Technology Services LLC FZ, a United Arab Emirates-based technology firm controlled by Zelenyuk.
Two additional individuals, Azizjon Makhmudovich Mamashoyev and Oleg Vyacheslavovich Kucherov, were sanctioned for providing material support. Treasury identified Kucherov as a suspected member of the Trickbot cybercrime group, a malware operation linked to ransomware attacks against U.S. government agencies and healthcare providers.
Operation Zero advertised bounties worth millions of dollars in crypto for exploits targeting widely used U.S.-built operating systems and encrypted messaging platforms. Treasury said the firm did not disclose discovered vulnerabilities to affected software companies and instead sought to sell them to customers in non-NATO countries, including foreign intelligence services.
While Treasury stated that crypto facilitated the transactions for the stolen tools, it did not publish specific crypto wallet addresses or impose blockchain-specific designations.
Michael Saylor, one of Bitcoin’s most influential advocates and the leading voice behind corporate Bitcoin adoption, has been officially confirmed as a speaker at Bitcoin 2026, returning to the world’s largest Bitcoin conference to share his latest insights on monetary transformation, institutional adoption, and the long-term future of sound money.
As the co-founder and executive chairman of Strategy, Saylor has played a central role in reshaping how corporations think about Bitcoin, pioneering the use of BTC as a treasury reserve asset and influencing boardrooms, investors, and policymakers around the world. His past appearances at Bitcoin conferences have consistently been among the most anticipated sessions, drawing packed audiences and generating global media attention.
WE’RE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE MICHAEL SAYLOR AS A BITCOIN 2026 SPEAKER
Bitcoin 2026 Returns to Las Vegas Bigger Than Ever
Bitcoin 2026 will take place April 27–29 at The Venetian, Las Vegas, and is expected to be the largest Bitcoin conference in history.
Focused on the future of money, Bitcoin 2026 will bring together Bitcoin builders, investors, miners, policymakers, technologists, and newcomers from around the world. The event will feature a wide range of pass types, including general admission passes designed specifically for those new to Bitcoin, alongside premium passes for professionals, enterprises, and institutions.
With multiple stages, immersive experiences, technical workshops, and headline keynotes, Bitcoin 2026 is designed to serve both first-time attendees and long-time Bitcoiners shaping the next era of global adoption.
Past Bitcoin Conferences in the U.S.
Bitcoin’s flagship conference has scaled dramatically over the past five years:
2021 – Miami: 11,000 attendees
2022 – Miami: 26,000 attendees
2023 – Miami: 15,000 attendees
2024 – Nashville: 22,000 attendees
2025 – Las Vegas: 35,000 attendees
Bitcoin 2026 is expected to surpass all previous records projecting more than 40,000 attendees.
Stay at The official hotel of Bitcoin 2026, The Venetian, and get a guaranteed low rate plus 15% off your pass. Be in the middle of where the fun is all happening, and where the networking never ends.
Bitcoin 2026 is the definitive gathering for anyone serious about the future of money. With 500+ speakers, multiple world-class stages, and programming spanning Bitcoin fundamentals, open-source development, enterprise adoption, mining, energy, AI, policy, and culture, the conference brings every corner of the Bitcoin ecosystem together under one roof.
From headline keynotes on the Nakamoto Stage to deep technical sessions for builders, institutional strategy discussions for enterprises, and beginner-friendly Bitcoin 101 education, Bitcoin 2026 is designed for everyone—from first-time attendees to the leaders shaping Bitcoin’s global adoption.
Whether you’re looking to learn, build, invest, network, or influence, Bitcoin 2026 is where Bitcoin’s next chapter is written.
Bitcoin 2026 Pass Types: Something for Everyone
Bitcoin 2026 offers a range of pass options designed to meet the needs of newcomers, professionals, enterprises, and high-net-worth Bitcoiners alike.
Most deals are done with a drink in your hand. Get exclusive access to 3 official Bitcoin 2026 after-parties across Las Vegas — each with a 2-hour open bar — where the real conversations happen and the best connections are made.
Access to 3 official Bitcoin 2026 after-parties
2-hour open bar at each event
Evening events across Las Vegas, April 27–29
Network with Bitcoiners, builders, and industry leaders after hours
More headline speaker announcements are coming soon.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-24-at-2.38.08-PM-iSUfSu.png11482205Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-24 20:56:382026-02-24 20:56:38Michael Saylor Confirmed As A Speaker For Bitcoin 2026
Michigan State Rep. Matt Maddock has introduced legislation that would allow classified state civil service employees to receive their wages in Bitcoin or other qualifying digital assets, marking what supporters describe as a first-of-its-kind effort to integrate Bitcoin into state payroll systems.
The proposal would amend Michigan’s Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act (1978 PA 390) by adding a new section permitting salaried state employees, beginning Jan. 1, 2027, to choose from three methods of compensation: U.S. currency paid in person at the Department of Treasury in Lansing, direct deposit or electronic transfer to a financial institution, or payment in a digital currency of the employee’s choice.
Under the bill that was shared with Bitcoin Magazine, the state would be required to offer at least six digital currency options, with Bitcoin mandated as one of them.
The legislation also prohibits the state from offering any state-owned or state-controlled digital currency in which issuance or supply is managed by a national government or central bank — a provision that effectively bars the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Maddock, a Republican from Milford and current vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said the measure is aimed at expanding financial choice for public workers and positioning Michigan as a leader in digital asset adoption.
JUST IN: Michigan State Rep. Matt Maddock introduces bill to allow employees to be paid in bitcoin and to prohibit the issuance of a CBDC pic.twitter.com/mREwMSSg8v
The bill was developed in partnership with the Michigan Bitcoin Trade Council, a statewide advocacy organization focused on Bitcoin education and policy.
If enacted, Michigan would become one of the first states to formally authorize bitcoin as a wage payment option for government employees.
While several private-sector employers across the U.S. have experimented with paying workers in digital assets, state-level payroll integration remains rare.
The wage proposal is part of a broader package of pro-Bitcoin legislation advancing in Lansing. Companion measures include HB 4511, which would establish a digital asset bill of rights prohibiting state and local governments from banning Bitcoin ownership or use; HB 4510, creating a framework for potential pension fund investment in large-cap digital assets; and HB 4512 and HB 4513, which seek to incentivize Bitcoin mining operations powered by abandoned oil and natural gas wells.
The wage bill requires the state to honor an employee’s chosen payment method and sets parameters for digital asset offerings but does not detail the operational mechanics of conversion, custody or volatility management.
Those implementation questions would likely fall to the Department of Treasury and other administrative agencies if the measure becomes law.
Maddock said he is working to secure bipartisan co-sponsors ahead of the bill’s formal numbering and committee referral.
Last week, Missouri House Bill 2080, introduced by Representative Ben Keathley, was referred to the House Commerce Committee, proposing the creation of a state-managed Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Fund that would allow the treasurer to acquire, custody, and hold bitcoin in cold storage for at least five years under defined statutory guidelines.
In May 2025, New Hampshire empowered the state treasurer to allocate up to 10% of state funds into digital assets or precious metals with a market capitalization exceeding $500 billion.
Since then, other states — including Arizona and Texas — have followed suit, advancing or establishing comparable bitcoin reserve frameworks.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Pics-6-xI4Wyv.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-24 16:00:072026-02-24 16:00:07Michigan Introduces Bill to Allow State Employees to Be Paid in Bitcoin
Coinbase has opened stock and exchange-traded fund trading to all U.S. customers, expanding beyond digital assets as it pushes to become what it calls an “everything exchange.”
The rollout allows users to buy and sell U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs on the same platform they use for crypto. Trading runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, with zero commission on eligible securities.
Customers can fund trades with U.S. dollars or the USDC stablecoin and purchase fractional shares starting at $1.
The move builds on a limited equities launch in December and follows the debut of predictions market earlier this month. Together, the products reflect a broader strategy to bring multiple asset classes under one account and interface.
Coinbase is partnering with Yahoo Finance as part of the expansion, the company said. The financial news platform will add a “Trade [asset] on Coinbase” button to stock and crypto pages, allowing users to move from research to execution.
Yahoo Finance will also integrate real-time data from Coinbase into its market pages. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the agreement.
To power the equities infrastructure, the company is working with Apex Fintech Solutions for clearing, custody and execution services. The integration enables users to access U.S. equity markets within the Coinbase app while relying on Apex for back-end brokerage functions.
The launch places the exchange in more direct competition with retail brokerages such as Robinhood, which has expanded its crypto offerings in recent years. By adding stocks and ETFs, Coinbase is moving onto Robinhood’s core turf as both firms compete for retail traders seeking exposure to digital assets and traditional markets in one account.
Coinbase’s ($COIN) recent stock performance
The expansion also carries implications for Coinbase’s own stock performance. Shares of Coinbase Global Inc., which trade under the ticker COIN, have often moved in tandem with the price of bitcoin, reflecting the company’s dependence on crypto trading revenue.
A broader product mix tied to equities and other financial instruments could help loosen that relationship and position the company more like a diversified technology platform rather than a pure-play crypto exchange.
Both COIN and Robinhood’s HOOD shares have fallen about 35% this year amid weakness in digital asset markets. By contrast, trading activity in equities has provided a steadier revenue base for some platforms during periods of lower crypto volatility.
Over the past two weeks, Coinbase has faced sharp stock volatility as crypto markets swung between selloffs and brief relief rallies. Analysts trimmed price targets amid weaker trading activity, though shares rebounded strongly during short-term bitcoin surges.
CEO Brian Armstrong also recently publicly defended the integrity of spot Bitcoin ETFs, rejecting claims that the products are backed by “paper bitcoin” and emphasizing Coinbase’s custodial role.
Coinbase said more than 8,000 stocks and ETFs are available at launch, with plans to expand 24/5 trading to additional securities in the coming months. The company also signaled interest in offering tokenized stocks in the future, which would allow equities to move across blockchain networks and potentially trade around the clock. Any such products would be subject to regulatory approval.
The equities push comes as Coinbase reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $667 million, with transaction revenue down quarter over quarter. Subscription and services revenue also declined.
The addition of stock and ETF trading represents an effort to diversify income streams and attract users who want a single venue for managing crypto and traditional investments.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Coinbase-Launches-245-Stock-and-ETF-Trading-for-All-U.S.-Users-Expanding-Beyond-Crypto-NfhBbS.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-24 15:14:562026-02-24 15:14:56Coinbase Launches 24/5 Stock and ETF Trading for All U.S. Users, Expanding Beyond Crypto
Bitcoin closed the week out at $67,638, not an awe-inspiring close by any means. The support level at $65,650 has held for a couple of weeks now, but the relentless selling pressure will likely take it out this week. As of the time of this writing on Sunday night, the bitcoin price is currently trading below this support level at $64,600. We should expect the price action to remain bearish this week and likely threaten to take out the $60,000 low.
Key Support and Resistance Levels Now
There is still a chance the $65,600 support level could hold if the price manages to close back above it, but it would be highly unlikely at this point. $63,000 Would be the line of last defense for the bulls to avoid making new lows here. There is a possibility $57,800 could hold the weekly close and provide a reversal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the price moves well below this level first, down to $53,000. Closing a week below $57,800 opens up the support zone at $42,000 to $44,000, which should be a nice area for long term support and a potential reversal in price.
It almost feels like there is no point in providing resistance levels going into this week, with how bearish the price action has been. The price has been trying to hang onto this critical support zone, maintaining weekly closes above $67,000. If we finally lose this level, look for it to become resistance with the long-term POC on the volume profile now resting right there. $72,000 has proven to be significant resistance above here. Closing above $72,000 opens up $74,500, then we have $79,000 resistance above that.
Outlook For This Week
With this week’s price action starting with a big dump on Sunday night, the outlook is very dim for this week. While the daily oscillators were giving us some hope for a reversal over the last couple of weeks, they appear to be flipping bearish now. RSI is currently below the 13 SMA, while the MACD appears to be headed towards a bearish cross below the zero line. Both of these signals, being confirmed on a daily close, should lead to more downside.
Market mood: Very bearish – The weekly candle this past week was not much different than the prior week, still weak, still bearish.
The next few weeks The bulls have failed to generate any momentum after the bounce from $60,000 three weeks ago. Weekly oscillators are still in bearish territory with no signs of reversing, which points to continued downside. The MRI indicator is sitting on a red 6 entering this week, which would suggest another four weeks of bearish price action ahead, unless the price manages to close above $77,000 this week. This would be a highly unlikely outcome, to say the least. HODL onto your hats!
Terminology Guide:
Bulls/Bullish: Buyers or investors expecting the price to go higher.
Bears/Bearish: Sellers or investors expecting the price to go lower.
Support or support level: A level at which the price should hold for the asset, at least initially. The more touches on support, the weaker it gets and the more likely it is to fail to hold the price.
Resistance or resistance level: Opposite of support. The level that is likely to reject the price, at least initially. The more touches at resistance, the weaker it gets and the more likely it is to fail to hold back the price.
Volume Profile: An indicator that displays the total volume of buys and sells at specific price levels. The point of control (or POC) is a horizontal line on this indicator that shows us the price level at which the highest volume of transactions occurred.
SMA: Simple Moving Average. Average price based on closing prices over the specified period. In the case of RSI, it is the average strength index value over the specified period.
Oscillators: Technical indicators that vary over time, but typically remain within a band between set levels. Thus, they oscillate between a low level (typically representing oversold conditions) and a high level (typically representing overbought conditions). E.G., Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence-Divergence (MACD).
RSI Oscillator: The Relative Strength Index is a momentum oscillator that moves between 0 and 100. It measures the speed of the price and changes in the speed of the price movements. When RSI is over 70, it is considered to be overbought. When RSI is below 30, it is considered to be oversold.
MACD Oscillator: Moving Average Convergence-Divergence is a momentum oscillator that subtracts the difference between 2 moving averages to indicate trend as well as momentum.
Momentum Reversal Indicator (MRI): A proprietary indicator created by Tone Vays. The MRI indicator tracks buyer and seller momentum and exhaustion, providing signals to indicate when to expect momentum to fade and accelerate.
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Strategy has completed its 100th bitcoin acquisition since adopting the cryptocurrency as its primary reserve asset in 2020, purchasing 592 BTC for roughly $39.8 million at an average price of $67,286 per coin.
The purchase was funded through the sale of 297,940 shares of its Class A common stock via its at-the-market offering program between February 17–22, generating $39.7 million in net proceeds, according to a company statement.
Including this latest acquisition, Strategy now holds 717,722 bitcoin, acquired for an aggregate $54.56 billion at an average price of $76,020 per bitcoin, making it the largest corporate bitcoin treasury in the world.
The company still has $37.4 billion in securities available for future issuance under its at-the-market program, including $7.8 billion of MSTR stock and $20.3 billion of STRK stock.
Strategy maintains a public dashboard detailing its bitcoin holdings, purchases, and market prices in compliance with Regulation FD.
The timing of the purchase coincides with renewed weakness in bitcoin, which dropped from around $68,000 over the weekend to near $66,000, putting pressure on MSTR shares. The stock has fallen more than 2% to around $128 in premarket, reflecting the strong correlation between Strategy’s bitcoin exposure and its share price.
Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman, hinted at the purchase on X, posting the company’s bitcoin tracker with the caption “The Orange Century,” signaling the milestone 100th acquisition.
Last week, Strategy purchased $168.4 million in bitcoin, adding 2,486 BTC to bring its total holdings to 717,131 bitcoin at the time.
BREAKING: STRATEGY BUYS ANOTHER 592 #BITCOIN FOR $39.8 MILLION
Earlier this year, Michael Saylor defended Strategy’s approach of regularly buying bitcoin, insisting the company has no plans to sell its holdings even during prolonged market downturns.
He argued that fears about leverage and liquidity pressures were unfounded, noting the company has sufficient cash to cover dividends and debt for over two years.
“We’re not going to be selling; we’re going to be buying bitcoin,” Saylor said. “I expect we’ll buy bitcoin every quarter forever.”
At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading near $66,000 and shares of Strategy are at $127.90 in pre-market.
According to BitcoinTreasuries.net’s January 2026 report, Strategy accounted for over 90% of net new corporate purchases, acquiring 40,150 BTC and ending the month with 712,647 BTC.
Its buying made up 93% of public-company gross purchases and 97.5% of net additions, single-handedly bringing sector-wide accumulation back to late-summer levels.
Missouri House Bill 2080, introduced in January by Representative Ben Keathley, has been referred to the House Commerce Committee, where it awaits a public hearing and committee vote. The measure would create a “Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Fund” for the state.
It would authorize the treasurer to acquire, hold, and manage Bitcoin under defined statutory guidelines.
The proposal follows a failed 2025 effort by Keathley, whose prior bill stalled in committee and did not reach a floor vote. This year’s version arrives with revised committee placement and a more structured custody framework.
Under HB 2080, the state treasurer would be permitted to accept gifts, grants, donations, bequests, or devises of bitcoin from Missouri residents and governmental entities. The bill also authorizes the treasurer to purchase and hold bitcoin using state funds, though the framework emphasizes voluntary contributions as the primary funding source.
Bitcoin acquired for the reserve must be placed in cold storage and held for a minimum of five years from the date it enters state custody. During that period, the assets cannot be sold, transferred, or converted.
After the five-year threshold, the treasurer may sell, transfer, appropriate, or convert the holdings into another cryptocurrency authorized under the bill.
The legislation defines bitcoin as a decentralized digital asset operating on a peer-to-peer network without centralized control. It also codifies “cold storage” as an offline method of securing private keys in a protected physical environment. By embedding definitions into statute, lawmakers seek to establish a legal foundation for custody and risk management.
HB 2080 requires the treasurer to develop formal custody policies and authorizes the use of a qualified, independent, United States-based third-party entity to assist in securing and administering the reserve. The bill mandates biennial public reporting and oversight procedures designed to provide transparency into the fund’s holdings and activity.
A separate provision would allow Missouri state agencies, with approval from the Department of Revenue, to accept cryptocurrency for taxes, fees, penalties, and other state obligations. Transaction costs may be borne by the payer.
If the Commerce Committee advances the bill, it will move to the full House for debate and vote. Approval there would send it to the Senate for committee review, floor consideration, and final passage.
The measure would then proceed to Governor Mike Kehoe for signature or veto. The bill carries a proposed effective date of Aug. 28, 2026.
Missouri eliminates state capital gains
Last year, Missouri House Bill 594 (HB594) cleared the Missouri House and was signed into law by Mike Kehoe. The measure has since been implemented, eliminating Missouri’s state capital gains tax by allowing residents to deduct 100% of federally reported capital gains from their state adjusted gross income — meaning Missourians owe no state tax when selling or spending bitcoin.
Effective Jan. 1, 2025, Missouri became the first state to fully repeal state income taxes on capital gains for individuals. The 100% deduction applies to both short- and long-term gains derived from assets such as stocks, real estate and cryptocurrency, though it does not extend to distributions from retirement accounts.
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Bitdeer Technologies has fully liquidated its corporate bitcoin treasury, reporting zero BTC held as of Feb. 20 and completing an eight-week drawdown from roughly 2,000 BTC at 2025 year-end.
In its latest weekly production update, the Singapore-based miner disclosed that it produced 189.8 BTC during the period and sold the entire amount. It also offloaded its remaining 943.1 BTC in reserves in a single week, wiping out its balance sheet holdings. The figures exclude customer deposits.
The move marks a sharp break from the traditional public miner strategy of accumulating bitcoin as a treasury asset. With the liquidation, Bitdeer becomes the largest publicly traded miner by self-mining hashrate to hold no bitcoin on its balance sheet.
The selloff caps a steady reduction in holdings that accelerated this month. Bitdeer held about 1,530 BTC at the end of January before cutting that figure to 943.1 BTC by Feb. 13. The final week’s transactions eliminated the remaining balance entirely.
The decision comes as mining economics tighten. Bitcoin network difficulty recently jumped 14.7%, while hashprice has fallen below $30 per PH/s/day. Bitdeer’s gross margin declined to 4.7% in the fourth quarter, down from 7.4% a year earlier, reflecting mounting operational pressure following the halving and rising competition.
At the same time, the company is raising capital to fund expansion beyond core mining. Bitdeer recently priced a $325 million convertible notes offering and a $43.5 million equity placement, earmarked for data center buildouts, ASIC development and growth in high-performance computing (HPC) and AI cloud services.
Bitdeer’s stock was trading near $7.75 in pre-market trading.
Bitdeer: Bitcoin selling not a concern
In a post on X, the company said the decision to sell and the liquidation should not be interpreted as a signal about Bitcoin’s long-term prospects. Instead, it framed the decision as a liquidity measure tied to evaluating multiple powered land acquisition opportunities and scaling infrastructure.
“Our decision to sell Bitcoin should not be a concern for the broader market,” Bitdeer said.
Operationally, Bitdeer’s mining output has increased. The company mined 668 BTC in January, up 430% year over year, and expanded its self-mining hashrate to 63.2 EH/s, with total proprietary hashrate reaching 65.1 EH/s. Rather than retaining coins, however, the firm is converting production into cash to support capital expenditures.
The zero-BTC position sets Bitdeer apart from peers that continue to hold significant reserves. MARA Holdings maintains a treasury of roughly 53,250 BTC, while Riot Platforms holds around 18,000 BTC. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, remains the largest corporate holder with more than 717,000 BTC on its balance sheet.
Across the sector, miners are increasingly reallocating capital toward AI and HPC infrastructure, which can offer contracted revenue streams less directly tied to bitcoin price cycles. Bitdeer has begun rolling out NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 systems in Malaysia and is converting select sites in the United States and Europe from crypto mining facilities into AI data centers.
The company has not indicated whether it intends to rebuild its bitcoin position in the future.
All this is happening as the Bitcoin price plunged more than 5% on Sunday evening EST, sliding below $65,000 with most of the move unfolding in a sharp two-hour sell-off driven by large holders sending coins to exchanges and recent buyers exiting at a loss.
The drop pushed Bitcoin near $64,500, down roughly $3,500 on the day, after a weekend breakdown from the $67,000 range that snapped a period of tight consolidation and accelerated into thin liquidity.
The decline also marks Bitcoin’s first stretch of six consecutive negative weekly closes, six straight closes below its 100-week moving average, and three consecutive weekly closes beneath its 2021 high.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading slightly above $66,000.
Nakamoto Inc. (NASDAQ: NAKA) announced today that it has completed its acquisitions of BTC Inc. and UTXO Management GP, LLC (“UTXO”), finalizing merger agreements previously announced earlier this month.
The transaction was structured entirely through the issuance of Nakamoto common stock. BTC Inc. and UTXO securityholders received 364,795,104 shares of Nakamoto stock, at a combined value of $81,632,852 based on Nakamoto’s closing price on February 19, 2026, of $0.248. In a form 8-K filing yesterday, Nakamoto disclosed that the two businesses reported a combined revenue of $80.5 million, $34.2 million in EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, and Amortization), and $40.1 million in net income for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2025.
The deal followed the terms of Nakamoto’s call option under its Marketing Services Agreement, which was previously approved by shareholders.
BTC Inc. is a global Bitcoin media company that produces Bitcoin Magazine, one of the longest-running publications covering the cryptocurrency industry.
The company also organizes The Bitcoin Conference, a series of events held across the U.S., Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, which attracted over 67,000 attendees in 2025. BTC Inc. also operates Bitcoin for Corporations, a membership platform for companies using Bitcoin as a treasury asset.
UTXO Management serves as an adviser to a hedge fund focused on Bitcoin and related investments. Its team allocates capital across public and private markets in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
The firm’s integration into Nakamoto expands the company’s investment and advisory capabilities.
Nakamoto: A portfolio of bitcoin adjacent companies
David Bailey, Chairman and CEO of Nakamoto Inc., said earlier this week that the “acquisition aligns with our plan to operate a portfolio of companies across media, asset management, and advisory services. BTC Inc. and UTXO provide recurring earnings and institutional capabilities that support our growth strategy.”
Brandon Green, CEO of BTC Inc., added, “Joining Nakamoto allows us to scale our media and event platforms and extend our reach to a wider audience of companies and investors in Bitcoin.”
Tyler Evans, Chief Investment Officer of Nakamoto and UTXO, said the combination provides an opportunity to reinforce Bitcoin’s role in modern capital markets and to develop new investment strategies.
With the acquisition complete, Nakamoto now operates a diversified portfolio of Bitcoin-native enterprises spanning media, events, asset management, and advisory services.
The company intends to use the combined platform for future strategic initiatives, including additional Bitcoin accumulation and potential acquisitions.
Bitcoin Magazine is published by BTC Inc, a subsidiary of Nakamoto Inc. (NASDAQ: NAKA)
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Cluster Mempool1 is a complete reworking of how the mempool handles organizing and sorting transactions, conceptualized and implemented by Suhas Daftuar and Pieter Wuille. The design aims to simplify the overall architecture, better align transaction sorting logic with miner incentives, and improve security for second layer protocols. It was merged into Bitcoin Core in PR #336292 on November 25, 2025.
The mempool is a giant set of pending transactions that your node has to keep track of for a number of reasons: fee estimation, transaction replacement validation, and block construction if you’re a miner.
This is a lot of different goals for a single function of your node to service. Bitcoin Core up to version 30.0 organizes the mempool in two different ways to help aid in these functions, both from the relative point of view of any given transaction: combined feerate looking forward of the transaction and its children (descendant feerate), and combined feerate looking backwards of the transaction and its parents (ancestor feerate).
These are used to decide which transactions to evict from your mempool when it’s full, and which to include first when constructing a new block template.
How Is My Mempool Managed?
When a miner is deciding whether to include a transaction in their block, their node looks at that transaction, and any ancestors that must be confirmed first for it to be valid in a block, and look at the average feerate per byte across all of them together considering the individual fees they paid as a whole. If that group of transactions fits within the blocksize limit while outcompeting others in fees, it is included in the next block. This is done for every transaction.
When your node is deciding which transactions to evict from its mempool when it is full, it looks at each transaction and any children it has, evicting the transaction and all its children if the mempool is already full with transactions (and their descendants) paying a higher feerate.
Look at the above example graph of transactions, the feerates are shown as such in parentheses (ancestor feerate, descendant feerate). A miner looking at transaction E would likely include it in the next block, a small transaction paying a very high fee with a single small ancestor. However, if a node’s mempool was filling up, it would look at transaction A with two massive children paying a low relative fee, and likely evict it or not accept and keep it if it was just received.
These two rankings, or orderings, are completely at odds with each other. The mempool should reliably propagate what miners will mine, and users should be confident that their local mempool accurately predicts what miners will mine.
The mempool functioning in this way is important for:
Mining decentralization: getting all miners the most profitable set of transactions
User reliability: accurate and reliable fee estimation and transaction confirmation times
Second layer security: reliable and accurate execution of second layer protocols’ on-chain enforcement transactions
The current behavior of the mempool does not fully align with the reality of mining incentives, which creates blind spots that can be problematic for second layer security by creating uncertainty as to whether a transaction will make it to a miner, as well as pressure for non-public broadcasting channels to miners, potentially worsening the first problem.
This is especially problematic when it comes to replacing unconfirmed transactions, either simply to incentivize miners to include a replacement sooner, or as part of a second layer protocol being enforced on-chain.
Replacement per the existing behavior becomes unpredictable depending on the shape and size of the web of transactions yours is caught in. In a simple fee-bumping situation this can fail to propagate and replace a transaction, even when mining the replacement would be better for a miner.
In the context of second layer protocols, the current logic allows participants to potentially get necessary ancestor transactions evicted from the mempool, or make it not possible for another participant to submit a necessary child transaction to the mempool under the current rules because of child transactions the malicious participant created, or the eviction of necessary ancestor transactions.
All of these problems are the result of these inconsistent inclusion and eviction rankings and the incentive misalignments they create. Having a single global ranking would fix these issues, but globally reordering the entire mempool for every new transaction is impractical.
It’s All Just A Graph
Transactions that depend on each other are a graph, or a directed series of “paths.” When a transaction spends outputs created by another in the past, it is linked with that past transaction. When it additionally spends outputs created by a second past transaction, it links both of the historical transactions together.
When unconfirmed, chains of transactions like this must have the earlier transactions confirmed first for the later ones to be valid. After all, you can’t spend outputs that haven’t been created yet.
This is an important concept for understanding the mempool, it is explicitly ordered directionally.
It’s all just a graph.
Chunks Make Clusters Make Mempools
In cluster mempool, the concept of a cluster is a group of unconfirmed transactions that are directly related to each other, i.e. spending outputs created by others in the cluster or vice versa. This becomes a fundamental unit of the new mempool architecture. Analyzing and ordering the entire mempool is an impractical task, but analyzing and ordering clusters is a much more manageable one.
Each cluster is broken down into chunks, small sets of transactions from the cluster, which are then sorted in order of highest feerate per byte to lowest, respecting the directional dependencies. So for instance, let’s say from highest to lowest feerate the chunks in cluster (A) are: [A,D], [B,E], [C,F], [G, J], and last [I, H].
This allows pre-sorting all of these chunks and clusters, and more efficient sorting of the whole mempool in the process.
Miners can now simply grab the highest feerate chunks from every cluster and put them into their template, if there is still room they can go down to the next highest feerate chunks, continuing until the block is roughly full and just needs to figure out the last few transactions it can fit. This is roughly the optimal block template construction method assuming access to all available transactions.
When nodes’ mempools get full, they can simply grab the lowest feerate chunks from every cluster, and start evicting those from their mempool until it is not over the configured limit. If that was not enough, it moves on to the next lowest feerate chunks, and so on, until it is within its mempool limits. Done this way it removes strange edge cases out of alignment with mining incentives.
Replacement logic is also drastically simplified. Compare cluster (A) to cluster (B) where transaction K has replaced G, I, J, and H. The only criteria that needs to be met is the new chunk [K] must have a higher chunk feerate than [G, J] and [I, H], [K] must pay more in total fees than [G, J, I, H], and K cannot go over an upper limit of how many transactions it is replacing.
In a cluster paradigm all of these different uses are in alignment with each other.
The New Mempool
This new architecture allows us to simplify transaction group limits, removing previous limitations on how many unconfirmed ancestors a transaction in the mempool can have and replacing them with a global cluster limit of 64 transactions and 101 kvB per cluster.
This limit is necessary in order to keep the computational cost of pre-sorting the clusters and their chunks low enough to be practical for nodes to perform on a constant basis.
This is the real key insight of cluster mempool. By keeping the chunks and clusters relatively small, you simultaneously make the construction of an optimal block template cheap, simplify transaction replacement logic (fee-bumping) and therefore improve second layer security, and fix eviction logic, all at once.
No more expensive and slow on the fly computation for template building, or unpredictable behavior in fee-bumping. By fixing the misalignment of incentives in how the mempool was managing transaction organization in different situations, the mempool functions better for everyone.
Cluster mempool is a project that has been years-long in the making, and will make a material impact on ensuring profitable block templates are open to all miners, that second layer protocols have sound and predictable mempool behaviors to build on, and that Bitcoin can continue functioning as a decentralized monetary system.
For those interesting in diving deeper into the nitty gritty of how cluster mempool is implemented and works under the hood, here are two Delving Bitcoin threads you can read:
This piece is the Letter from the Editor featured in the latest Print edition of Bitcoin Magazine, The Core Issue. We’re sharing it here as an early look at the ideas explored throughout the full issue.
The Supreme Court of the United States on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariff regime, ruling 6-3 that he exceeded his authority by imposing broad import duties under a national emergency law.
The decision invalidates tariffs Trump levied in early 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a statute enacted in 1977 and historically used to sanction foreign adversaries during crises. Trump cited persistent trade deficits and national security concerns, including fentanyl trafficking, to justify duties ranging from 10% to 50% on imports from nearly every major trading partner.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said the Constitution leaves little ambiguity about who controls the taxing power.
“The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch,” Roberts wrote, adding that no previous president had used the statute to impose tariffs “of this magnitude and scope.”
The ruling marks the first major test of Trump’s second-term economic agenda before the high court, which includes three justices he appointed during his first term. Lower courts had already found that the administration overstepped, emphasizing that Article I of the Constitution assigns tariff authority to Congress.
President Trump said he has a backup plan to pursue tariffs following the court ruling, according to various sources.
Bitcoin jumps on the news
In financial markets, the reaction was swift and unsettled. Bitcoin rose about 2% within minutes of the decision, briefly climbing above $68,000 before retreating toward $67,500. The move reflected a familiar pattern in digital asset markets, where headline-driven rallies have struggled to hold.
The mixed response underscored the ambiguity surrounding the ruling’s economic impact. For some investors, the invalidation of tariffs removes a source of policy uncertainty that has weighed on global trade.
For others, it introduces new questions about fiscal gaps, refund obligations and next steps from the White House.
Reuters has reported that more than $133 billion in tariff revenue collected under the emergency authority could be subject to refunds. Trump has said his broader tariff program generated roughly $600 billion, though that figure has been disputed. If significant sums must be repaid, Treasury financing needs could shift at a delicate moment for bond markets.
Earlier Friday, economic data painted a complicated picture. The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew at a 1.4% annualized rate in the final quarter of 2025.
Core personal consumption expenditures, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 3% year over year, above expectations.
Annual growth for 2025 slowed to 2.2%, the weakest pace since 2020.
Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, described the data as sending a “messy message” of firmer inflation alongside cooling growth, according to CoinDesk. That backdrop has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will proceed with caution on rate cuts.
Is this ruling good for bitcoin?
For Bitcoin traders, the tariff case has been less about trade flows than about liquidity and risk appetite. During prior episodes of trade escalation, digital assets tended to move in tandem with equities as investors reassessed growth and inflation risks.
A court decision that removes tariffs could ease cost pressures over time, yet the near-term effect hinges on how Washington fills any fiscal hole.
Stephen Coltman, head of macro at 21Shares, said before the ruling that a negative outcome for the administration could pressure the dollar and Treasuries while favoring stocks and bitcoin.
Others, including VanEck’s Matthew Sigel, have argued that reduced tariff revenue could widen deficits, increasing the appeal of assets like bitcoin viewed as hedges against currency debasement.
Online prediction markets had assigned high odds to the court striking down the tariffs, suggesting traders were prepared for the headline.
For now, the court’s decision narrows presidential authority over tariffs and returns leverage to Congress. Whether lawmakers move to codify elements of Trump’s trade agenda or chart a different course remains unclear.
Bitcoin’s 46% decline from its October peak near $126,100 to roughly $67,000 has triggered debate over what is driving the pullback. Some market participants have pointed to quantum computing as a looming threat to the network’s cryptographic security. Others argue the explanation lies elsewhere, in shifting capital flows, tightening liquidity and changing miner economics.
On a recent episode of the Unchained podcast hosted by Laura Shin, Bitcoin developer Matt Corallo rejected the idea that quantum fears are behind the downturn. If investors were pricing in imminent quantum risk to Bitcoin’s cryptography, he said, Ether would likely be outperforming rather than falling in tandem.
Bitcoin is down roughly 46% from its all-time high, while Ether has fallen roughly 58% since an early-October market break. Corallo argued that this parallel weakness undercuts the claim that quantum computing is uniquely weighing on Bitcoin. He added that some holders may be looking for a scapegoat to explain weak price action.
The quantum debate has gained visibility as researchers explore post-quantum cryptography and as asset managers update disclosures. Last year, BlackRock amended the registration statement for its iShares Bitcoin ETF to flag quantum computing as a potential risk to the network’s integrity.
Corallo countered that market pricing does not signal urgency. He framed the current environment as one in which Bitcoin is competing for capital against other sectors, especially artificial intelligence.
Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure
AI infrastructure requires large data centers, specialized chips and significant energy capacity. That capital intensity, he suggested, has drawn investor attention and funding that might otherwise have flowed into digital assets.
Mining data reflects these crosscurrents. Bitcoin mining difficulty recently climbed to 144.4 trillion, a 15% increase and the largest percentage jump since 2021, when China’s mining ban disrupted the network before operations stabilized.
Difficulty adjusts every 2,016 blocks, about every two weeks, to keep block production near a 10-minute average regardless of hashrate changes.
The latest increase follows a 12% decline in difficulty after a drop in total computational power. In October, when bitcoin traded near $126,500, hashrate peaked around 1.1 zettahash per second. As prices slid toward $60,000 in February, hashrate fell to 826 exahash per second. It has since recovered to about 1 zettahash per second as bitcoin rebounded to the high-$60,000 range.
Even with that recovery, miner economics remain tight. Hashprice, a measure of daily revenue per unit of hashrate, sits near multi-year lows around $23.9 per petahash per second. Lower revenues have pressured margins, particularly for operators with higher energy costs. Large-scale miners with access to inexpensive power have continued to expand. The United Arab Emirates, for example, is estimated to hold roughly $344 million in unrealized profit from mining operations.
At the same time, several publicly listed mining firms are reallocating energy and computing resources toward AI and high-performance computing data centers. Bitfarms recently rebranded to remove explicit bitcoin references as it increases its focus on AI infrastructure.
Activist investor Starboard Value has urged Riot Platforms to expand further into AI data center operations. The shift underscores Corallo’s point that bitcoin now competes directly with other capital-intensive technologies.
Bitcoin is consolidating in ‘extreme fear’
Onchain data suggests the market remains in a compression phase. Analytics firm Glassnode reports that BTC has broken below its “True Market Mean,” a model that tracks the aggregate cost basis of active supply and currently sits near $79,000.
The firm identifies the Realized Price, around $54,900, as a lower structural boundary. Bitcoin has traded between roughly $60,000 and $70,000 in recent sessions, within that corridor.
Sentiment remains fragile. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index has registered “extreme fear” for weeks. Yet some analysts see valuation support.
Bitwise’s head of European research, André Dragosch, said bitcoin appears undervalued relative to global money supply growth, gold and exchange-traded product flows. He expects consolidation rather than a rapid recovery, noting that sharp capitulations rarely produce immediate V-shaped rebounds outside crisis events.
Macro data may shape the next move. Traders are watching U.S. core PCE inflation figures for signals on Federal Reserve policy. Higher inflation could support scarce assets in theory, but a hawkish response could strengthen the dollar and pressure risk markets.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading near $67,000.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari delivered another pointed criticism of crypto while defending the Federal Reserve’s independence during remarks in Fargo, North Dakota, today.
Speaking at the 2026 Midwest Economic Outlook Summit, Kashkari questioned the practical value of digital assets, stating that “crypto has been around for more than a decade and it’s utterly useless,” according to Bloomberg.
He contrasted crypto with artificial intelligence tools, which he said have demonstrated clear, everyday utility for consumers and businesses.
Kashkari also dismissed the promise of stablecoins, arguing they offer little improvement over existing payment systems. “I can send any one of you $5 with Venmo or PayPal or Zelle,” he said during a question-and-answer session. “So what is it that this magical stablecoin can do?”
While acknowledging claims that stablecoins could make cross-border transfers faster and cheaper, Kashkari argued that recipients must still convert digital tokens into local currency for everyday purchases, creating additional friction and cost. He said advocates have yet to present a compelling use case for U.S. consumers.
Beyond digital assets, Kashkari addressed criticism from National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett regarding a New York Fed study on tariffs. The Minneapolis President characterized the remarks as “another step to try to compromise the Fed’s independence.”
“Over the last year, we’ve seen multiple attempts to try to compromise the Fed’s independence,” he said, referencing a December subpoena from the Department of Justice to the Board of Governors related to building expenses.
The Minneapolis President emphasized that central bank independence underpins effective monetary policy. “Every advanced economy in the world has an independent central bank,” he said, arguing that policy decisions serve the public best when based on data and analysis rather than short-term political considerations.
On the economy, Kashkari noted inflation has eased to between 2.5% and 3%, while unemployment has risen from roughly 3.5% to 4.3%.
He said the Fed is “pretty close to neutral” after cutting interest rates multiple times over the past two years.
Kashkari: Crypto is like the ‘Beanie Babies’ bubble
Last November, Kashkari had a similar criticism, comparing the sector to the 1990s Beanie Babies bubble and arguing it still lacks meaningful economic use.
Speaking on CNN, Kashkari said he was more confident in the utility of AI, which he sees as delivering real economic value, whereas crypto fails to demonstrate a compelling purpose.
He questioned the everyday use of digital assets in the U.S., noting that the main application he hears is to bypass banking regulations like know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering rules — a use he described as “lousy” for a Federal Reserve policymaker.
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CME Group will begin offering 24/7 trading for its regulated cryptocurrency futures and options on May 29, pending regulatory review, expanding access to its digital asset derivatives suite as demand from institutional participants grows.
The world’s largest derivatives marketplace said continuous trading will start Friday, May 29 at 4:00 p.m. Central Time on its CME Globex platform.
The move is designed to give clients round-the-clock access to hedging and trading tools tied to bitcoin and other digital assets, aligning futures markets more closely with the nonstop nature of spot cryptocurrency trading.
Tim McCourt, CME Group’s global head of equities, foreign exchange, and alternative products, said customer demand for risk management in the digital asset sector has reached new highs.
“Client demand for risk management in the digital asset market is at an all-time high, driving a record $3 trillion in notional volume across our Cryptocurrency futures and options in 2025,” McCourt said in a statement.
CME said the shift reflects the growing role of regulated derivatives in crypto market structure, particularly for professional investors seeking exposure with clearing and oversight protections. Unlike offshore venues, CME’s crypto contracts operate within the U.S. regulatory framework, offering standardized settlement and reporting.
Under the new schedule, CME cryptocurrency futures and options will trade continuously with at least a two-hour weekly maintenance period over the weekend.
JUST IN: CME Group to launch 24/7 crypto futures and options trading on May 29 pic.twitter.com/TUUsrHGMAg
The exchange said holiday and weekend trading from Friday evening through Sunday evening will carry the trade date of the following business day. Clearing, settlement, and regulatory reporting will be processed the next business day as well.
The change comes as CME’s cryptocurrency complex continues to post record activity. The exchange reported year-to-date average daily volume of 407,200 contracts in 2026, representing a 46% increase from the same period last year. Average daily open interest reached 335,400 contracts, up 7% year over year.
Futures trading has driven much of the growth. CME said futures average daily volume stands at 403,900 contracts year to date, up 47% compared with last year’s levels.
Traditional markets are accepting crypto infrastructure
The move toward a 24/7 schedule follows a broader trend in market infrastructure adapting to digital asset trading patterns. Crypto markets operate without traditional closing hours, and institutional traders have sought products that match the constant availability of underlying spot markets.
CME said not all markets lend themselves to nonstop trading, but cryptocurrency products represent a category where continuous access supports risk management needs. The exchange framed the change as a way to ensure clients can manage exposure at any time, particularly during periods of heightened volatility.
CME Group operates exchanges across major asset classes including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agriculture, and metals. Its platforms include CME Globex for futures and options trading, BrokerTec for fixed income, and EBS for foreign exchange.
The company also runs CME Clearing, one of the world’s largest central counterparty clearing providers, which plays a role in reducing counterparty risk in derivatives markets.
The May 29 launch date remains subject to regulatory review. If approved, the expanded schedule will mark a shift in how U.S.-regulated crypto derivatives are traded, bringing futures and options markets closer to the continuous rhythm of global cryptocurrency trading.
Arkham Intelligence says bitcoin mining operations linked to the UAE’s Royal Group are sitting on roughly $344 million in unrealized profit, excluding energy costs.
Arkham attributed about 6,782 BTC to wallets connected with UAE royal-linked mining activity, valuing the holdings at approximately $453.6 million at the time of analysis. The firm said the implied profit reflects the difference between current bitcoin prices and estimated production costs, though it noted the figure does not account for electricity and operational expenses.
Arkham’s onchain data also points to a steady pace of mining output.
Over the past seven days, the UAE-linked wallets produced around 4.2 BTC per day, suggesting ongoing industrial-scale operations. The analytics firm added that the UAE appears to be retaining most of its self-mined bitcoin, with the last recorded outflow from the wallets occurring roughly four months ago.
The findings underscore how the UAE has pursued a different path from many other governments with large bitcoin positions.
While countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom hold significant reserves largely tied to law enforcement seizures, Arkham said the UAE’s accumulation has been driven primarily by domestic mining activity.
The UAE’s mining push traces back to 2022, when Citadel Mining, an entity linked to Abu Dhabi’s royal family, established large-scale operations on Al Reem Island. That same year marked a broader regional effort to attract digital asset infrastructure, supported by capital from state-connected firms.
In 2023, Marathon Digital Holdings and Abu Dhabi-based Zero Two announced a joint venture aimed at developing 250 megawatts of immersion-cooled bitcoin mining capacity in the UAE. The project was one of the largest disclosed industrial mining deployments in the region, reflecting the country’s ambitions to become a hub for crypto infrastructure.
Arkham said its latest estimate revises down an earlier projection from August 2025, when the firm attributed roughly $700 million in mined bitcoin to the UAE during a period of higher prices. At that time, Arkham estimated the country had mined about 9,300 BTC and held roughly 6,300 BTC, ranking it among the top sovereign entities with verified onchain holdings.
Under the updated figures, the UAE’s holdings represent about 0.03% of bitcoin’s total supply, according to Arkham.
Abu Dhabi’s Bitcoin ETF exposure
Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds are also getting in on the fun. This week they disclosed a major increase in their exposure to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), reporting ownership of 12.7 million shares worth about $630.6 million as of Dec. 31. That marks a 46% jump from the 8.7 million shares previously reported at the end of September.
Mubadala, which oversees a global portfolio across technology, healthcare, infrastructure, private equity, and public markets, manages more than $330 billion in assets. Its mandate is to generate long-term returns for the Abu Dhabi government while supporting economic diversification beyond oil.
Another Abu Dhabi-based firm, Al Warda Investments, also raised its IBIT position in Q4 2025 to 8.22 million shares, up from 7.96 million in Q3, continuing a shift toward public bitcoin ETF exposure that began earlier in the year.
Al Warda, part of the Abu Dhabi Investment Council under Mubadala, has traditionally focused on private investments, making its growing allocation to IBIT notable for the region. Together, Abu Dhabi investment vehicles held more than 20 million IBIT shares at the end of last year, with a combined value above $1.1 billion.
Arkham did note that the United States remains the largest sovereign bitcoin holder, with approximately 328,000 BTC valued at $22 billion, largely derived from seizures tied to cases such as the Bitfinex hack and Silk Road investigations.
At time of writing, Bitcoin is trading right below $66,000.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/The-UAE-Has-Quietly-Built-Up-a-453-Million-Bitcoin-Reserve-Arkham-x5gtxG.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-19 14:42:312026-02-19 14:42:31The UAE Has Quietly Built Up a $453 Million Bitcoin Reserve: Arkham
Voltage, a provider of Bitcoin infrastructure, today launched Voltage Credit, a revolving line of credit designed to enable businesses to send payments over Bitcoin rails with instant settlement and settle entirely in U.S. dollars, according to a note shared with Bitcoin Magazine.
Voltage Credit allows enterprises to draw from a credit line to send payments that clear in seconds, bypassing the delays associated with traditional settlement systems.
Businesses repay the credit line in dollars from a bank account, without the need to pre‑fund accounts or hold cryptocurrency on their balance sheet, the company said.
Voltage positions the product as a solution for enterprises that face settlement delays, chargeback exposure, and high costs from legacy payment systems.
The company says the offering gives businesses access to instant payment finality and low fees characteristic of Bitcoin settlement infrastructure while avoiding forced cryptocurrency exposure.
The launch follows Voltage’s role in facilitating a $1 million Lightning Network payment between Secure Digital Markets and Kraken, which the company has cited as evidence of institutional‑scale settlement capability.
A revolving, flexible, Bitcoin credit solution
Unlike conventional Bitcoin lending products, Voltage Credit functions as a true revolving credit facility. Businesses draw only the amount they need, incur interest on the outstanding balance, and restore available credit upon repayment.
Voltage says the product does not require pre‑funding and can be repaid in dollars, simplifying treasury operations and accounting.
Credit limits are based on a revenue‑oriented underwriting model that reflects transaction volume processed through Voltage infrastructure. The product supports value movement over both the Lightning Network and on‑chain Bitcoin transactions.
Voltage describes the offering as relevant for both crypto‑native companies and traditional enterprises exploring Bitcoin payment infrastructure.
For entities outside the crypto ecosystem, Lightning settlement presents lower cost and faster settlement than some legacy rails, and Voltage Credit aims to deliver those advantages without requiring management of crypto assets.
For organizations within the digital asset space, traditional financing often treats Bitcoin revenue as unsupported for underwriting and crypto lending products typically require BTC as collateral, creating taxable events and exposing treasuries to market volatility.
Voltage Credit carries no origination fees and applies a fixed annual percentage rate on outstanding balances. The product is available to qualified U.S. businesses, the company said.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Voltage-Introduces-Revolving-Credit-Line-for-Bitcoin-Settlement-With-USD-Repayment-Kx0uMI.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-19 14:00:002026-02-19 14:00:00Voltage Introduces Revolving Credit Line for Bitcoin Settlement, With USD Repayment
The Bitcoin price remains in a narrow but pivotal trading range near $67,000–$68,000, with the market wrestling between sustained consolidation, escalating downside risk, and thematic narratives from technical and fundamentals that frame the near term.
Current live data tracking from Bitcoin Magazine Pro shows the Bitcoin price trading below $68,000, with slight declines over the last 24 hours reflecting a lack of dominant drivers in either direction.
“Macro news has been closely correlated with crypto’s risk profile the last 12 months,” said Paul Howard, senior director at market maker Wincent, according to Bloomberg.
Howard said Bitcoin may enter a consolidation phase as it looks for new catalysts to shape market sentiment. He noted that a U.S. Supreme Court decision on tariffs expected Friday could have a bigger impact than the Fed’s meeting minutes or upcoming inflation data.
The asset has held between roughly $65,100 and $72,000 following a Feb. 5 selloff that pushed prices to their lowest point since October 2024. While volatility has eased from the sharp decline earlier this month, the market has yet to show a decisive breakout in either direction.
Bitcoin price analysis
Bitcoin’s price action has been semi-muted over the last week, with a bounce from a bitcoin price of $60,000 failing to break resistance at $71,800 and instead dipping to support near $65,650 before closing around $67,000.
Bears remain in control as buyers have shown little follow-through, and a daily close below $65,650 could open the door to $63,000 and potentially the key Fibonacci level near $57,800.
On the upside, bulls would need to reclaim $71,800 to target $74,500 and higher resistance around $79,000. For now, the bias stays bearish, with the bitcoin price likely ranging between the low $60,000s and the mid-$70,000s unless support levels fail.
But some big institutions are continuing to buy into bitcoin exposure.
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company increased its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) to 12.7 million shares worth about $630 million as of Dec. 31, up 46% from the prior quarter.
Al Warda Investments also raised its IBIT holdings to 8.22 million shares, continuing its move into regulated bitcoin ETF exposure.
Together, the two Abu Dhabi funds held more than 20 million IBIT shares valued at over $1.1 billion at year-end 2025.
Strategy bought another 2,486 BTC for $168.4 million last week, bringing its total holdings to 717,131 BTC accumulated at an average price of $76,027.
With the bitcoin price trading near $68,000, the company is sitting on an unrealized loss of roughly $5.7 billion but continues to frame its aggressive accumulation as a long-term treasury strategy.
Milo, a Miami-based financial technology firm focused on crypto-backed lending, announced it has originated more than $100 million in crypto mortgages, marking a milestone in the use of digital assets as collateral for home financing and purchasing.
The company said the total includes its largest single transaction to date, a $12 million crypto mortgage, as demand grows among institutional and high net worth borrowers seeking alternatives to traditional mortgage structures.
Milo’s crypto mortgage product allows clients to pledge Bitcoin to secure financing for home purchases without selling their holdings. The company said it offers up to 100% financing with loan amounts up to $25 million, removing the need for cash down payments and avoiding taxable events that can come with liquidating crypto assets.
Chief Executive Officer Josip Rupena said the milestone reflects broader adoption of crypto-based financing.
“Crossing $100 million in originations demonstrates the maturity and stability of our lending infrastructure,” Rupena said. “We’ve moved beyond proving the concept. Now we’re proving the execution.”
Milo said its mortgage portfolio has not experienced any margin calls, and that its interest rates average around 7%. The firm attributed its underwriting approach to AI-driven servicing and real-time collateral monitoring, which it said allows for faster risk assessment compared with traditional lenders.
Milo’s self-custody mortgages
The company also highlighted a self-custody mortgage option, which lets borrowers maintain control of their Bitcoin while still qualifying for financing. In its standard crypto mortgage structure, Milo said client collateral is held through custodians Coinbase and BitGo.
Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream, said crypto-backed mortgages could expand real-world financial use cases for Bitcoin holders.
“While Bitcoin continues to appreciate, buyers are able to build equity in real estate and don’t have to sell their long term conviction,” Back said.
Beyond mortgages, Milo said its crypto loan business also expanded sharply, with its loan book quadrupling in 2025.
The firm offers crypto-backed loans starting at 8.25% interest, which it said clients have used for purchases including additional Bitcoin, land acquisitions, home renovations, and business investments.
Back in 2022, Milo began developing what it now calls the first U.S. bitcoin mortgage, allowing buyers to use their BTC holdings as collateral to purchase property without selling for a down payment.
The company said the 30-year product can finance 100% of a home purchase, with CEO Josip Rupena and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez framing it as a way for bitcoin holders to qualify for mortgages while keeping exposure to BTC’s upside.
Milo operates as a licensed lender and said it is SOC 2 audited, positioning its products within regulatory oversight as crypto lending continues to develop in the U.S. financial market.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Milo-Tops-100-Million-in-Crypto-Mortgages-Record-12-Million-Home-Loan-FraIih.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-18 12:00:002026-02-18 12:00:00Milo Tops $100 Million in Crypto Mortgages, Record $12 Million Home Loan
Executives at Coinbase used a recent company ‘AMA’ call to address growing scrutiny around Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, defending the firm’s dominant role as a custodian and pushing back against claims that spot Bitcoin ETFs are backed by “paper Bitcoin” rather than real assets.
Responding to a question from Bloomberg’s James Seyffart, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the company holds a commanding share of the U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETF custody market, estimating Coinbase’s share at more than 80%. He framed that concentration as a competitive advantage rather than a risk.
“We do have pretty dominant market share in terms of custody for the ETFs. I see that as a strength. We’re the trusted counterparty on the institutional side. I think we’re far ahead there, and it’s a great business for us,” Armstrong said on the call.
He acknowledged concerns about concentration risk but noted that large ETFs often diversify custodians as assets scale, which has allowed competitors to gain limited market share over time.
Armstrong said Coinbase remains the dominant custodian for U.S. bitcoin ETFs, with roughly “80% plus market share,” while noting that larger funds often diversify custodians as they scale, a shift he called “healthy and good.”
Armstrong touched on the security of Coinbase’s custody infrastructure, pointing to cold storage systems that are regularly penetration tested and audited.
He said Coinbase has secured patents related to its custody technology and employs cryptographers to harden defenses against attacks. Large financial institutions and government clients also conduct their own audits, he added.
When Seyffart asked about sentiment circulating on social media that Bitcoin ETFs are not fully backed by real Bitcoin. Armstrong said he does not understand where those concerns originate, reiterating that spot Bitcoin ETFs are required to be fully backed by the underlying asset.
Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas offered more detail, explaining that critics are often calling for public “proof of reserves,” such as disclosure of on-chain wallet addresses tied to ETF holdings. Haas said Coinbase does not disclose client wallet addresses for security and confidentiality reasons, but stressed that ETF issuers and custody clients can independently verify their assets on-chain.
Haas said the custody business is ‘separately audited,’ noting that Coinbase produces SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports that demonstrate controls are in place and operating effectively.
Those audits reconcile holdings back to the blockchain and confirm that assets are segregated by clients, including ETF issuers.
Haas said every custody client can see its assets on-chain and knows the addresses associated with its holdings. “We would never disclose addresses that we hold on behalf of clients,” she said, adding that Coinbase could explore tools that allow clients to disclose proof of reserves themselves if they choose.
Coinbase executives touch on the Clarity Act
Later on in the call, Armstrong and Haas addressed regulatory developments around Coinbase’s stance on proposed U.S. crypto market structure legislation often referred to as the CLARITY Act.
Armstrong pushed back on claims that Coinbase withdrew support for the bill, saying the company objected to the specific draft that it viewed as unworkable.
Coinbase has spent more than $100 million over several years advocating for regulatory clarity, Armstrong said, arguing that earlier drafts made concessions to traditional financial trade groups that could stifle crypto innovation.
He said negotiations are ongoing and that lawmakers, regulators, and industry participants remain engaged.
Armstrong said the company expects a market structure bill to pass and argued that statutory clarity would provide long-term certainty beyond shifting leadership at agencies like the SEC. If legislation stalls, he said Coinbase would continue operating under existing rules while seeking clarity through regulators or the courts.
“I think the bill will get done,” Armstrong said. “It’s in everyone’s interest at this point.”
Abu Dhabi-based Al Warda Investments continued to expand its exposure to bitcoin through BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the fourth quarter of 2025, extending a strategy shift that began earlier in the year.
In a filing released today, Al Warda reported owning 8,218,712 shares of IBIT as of Dec. 31, up from 7,963,393 shares at the end of the third quarter. The increase follows a sharp Q3 buildup, when the firm more than tripled its stake and raised its bitcoin ETF exposure to $517.6 million.
Al Warda operates under the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), part of Mubadala Investment Co., one of the region’s leading sovereign wealth groups. The council has rarely taken public positions in listed digital assets, typically favoring private market investments such as buyouts, infrastructure, and real estate.
Its growing allocation through a U.S.-listed bitcoin ETF signals a shift in institutional positioning within the Gulf. A spokesperson for ADIC previously told Bloomberg that bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a long-term store of value alongside gold, citing its role in portfolio diversification as financial markets move toward a more digital future.
The Q4 increase comes after bitcoin surged toward an October peak near $126,000 before retreating below $90,000 in November. Bitcoin is currently trading near $67,000.
Other institutions exploring Bitcoin via IBIT
Last week, Goldman Sachs disclosed roughly $2.36 billion in total crypto exposure, including a $1.1 billion position in IBIT, signaling a shift from its earlier skepticism toward bitcoin.
SEC filings also showed smaller holdings in Fidelity’s Bitcoin fund, bitcoin-related companies, and options positions tied to IBIT, alongside exposure to Ethereum, XRP, and Solana.
In November of last year, Texas became the first U.S. state to purchase Bitcoin for its Strategic Reserve, acquiring $5 million IBIT shares worth approximately $87,000 per BTC. The purchase was made through BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) while the state finalizes plans for self-custody of the asset.
Texas had previously explored legislation to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve without using taxpayer funds. In June, the governor signed the law creating the state’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Harvard also adjusted its crypto holdings in Q4 2025, cutting its Bitcoin position by 21% to 5.35 million IBIT shares ($265.8 million) while establishing a new $86.8 million stake in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust.
Combined crypto exposure totaled $352.6 million, with Bitcoin remaining the endowment’s largest publicly disclosed equity.
https://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Abu-Dhabis-Al-Warda-Raises-Bitcoin-ETF-Stake-to-8.2-Million-IBIT-Shares-nSjzxm.jpg10801920Bitcoin Developerhttps://bitcoindevelopers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/loho_hor_1-300x108.pngBitcoin Developer2026-02-17 15:58:512026-02-17 15:58:51Abu Dhabi’s Al Warda Raises Bitcoin ETF Stake to 8.2 Million IBIT Shares in Q4 Filing
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