👉🏽 US interest payments just passed 1 Trillion dollars. (First picture)

Although some financial influencers did mention that the US economy is strong and thriving based on the Q4 GDP report they are missing or leaving one tiny part out of that same report.
Annualized interest on the federal debt now exceeds $1 trillion and is projected to reach $3 trillion, annualized rate, by Q4 2030 - INSANE and UNSUSTAINABLE.
Even if you adjust for inflation and put everything in real terms (chained 2017 dollars), interest is still going to skyrocket with the current trends.

Now on that chart... It assumes steady growth rates for gov't expenditures, GDP, price indices, etc. - the line is rising rapidly because of the size of the debt and the cost to service it along with the institutionalization of multi-trillion-dollar deficits in the absence of either war or recession...
Ergo: This number goes up because of refinancing debt. Most of this was with <1% rates and is now >5%. That's a huge increase and the government can't stop that. Debt rolls over anyway. If no one wants them, the government buys its bonds which causes inflation.

Either 1) rates will go back down to 0% in some fashion which will result in a huge slowdown in growth or deflation, or

2) the government will be forced to cut spending/raise taxes by markets. When was the last time the government cut spending?
There is another option, the option that macroeconomist Luke Gromen already mentioned several times last couple of months/ years.

3) We will have a massive inflationary cycle where inflation makes all those numbers trivial.

Now for the so-called fin fluencers, I have one question. An increase in real GDP of $1.5 trillion with an increase of public debt of more than $2 trillion is that a strong economy?

This so-called "public stimulus" always means more debt, which in turn means more taxes, lower growth, weaker real wages for families, as well as a tougher environment for small businesses. Right?

The above is only focused on the US.
Below you will find a picture of the world debt. (Second slide)

No read the above segment again and tell me why it isn't a good thing to hold a % of your portfolio in Bitcoin.

👉🏽More on the debt part:
"For anyone who's still counting:
The US government borrowed $47 billion of debt on the 28the of January alone.
Since the debt ceiling crisis "ended" in June 2023, total US debt is up ~$3 trillion.
Since October 1st, the US government has borrowed ~$10 billion PER DAY.
The worst part?
For the next 340 days, the US debt ceiling is effectively uncapped.
If we keep borrowing at current rates, we could see over $37 trillion of federal debt this year." - TKL

So tell me why it isn’t a good thing to hold a % of your portfolio in Bitcoin.

Well if you read this on Nostr.. probably you are already 100% in Bitcoin😁🤣🧡

The above is a segment out of my latest Weekly Recap, for more:

https://njump.me/nevent1qqszqyewvge73wexsd43zf474hkgdeul520uu694h5kelnpn63furpqzyq78msk9slhvupg0h3jcpxckp8geyplcyhwhva2tnyz7nj5q2ep2slzvk7y

Credit picture: TheBTCtherapist

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin           🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap             🧡   #nostr               #BTC              #Bitcoin             #plebchain                #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #worldofdebt #usdebt https://image.nostr.build/f66c0ccb087884d5d80d705d8b95ede5b3d4b560d3c73a770afc9ee4513fef82.png https://image.nostr.build/e00824ec7e36d1be33506604e759c02e8e1c579727469145862c60a2af106b0c.png https://image.nostr.build/fe4833ba7169f941abb1bd0b9103de71c4f5f9c4e90bfb4d76d5d2af32c94f44.png


🧠Quote(s) of the week:

"Our revels now are ended.
This our money, as I foretold you,
Was all numbers, and has melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this economy,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, the £1m+ ex-council flats, the great s&p itself,
Yea, all which it inherits, shall dissolve
And, as your insubstantial pension fades, leave not a rack behind.
It is such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little wealth
It ended with a crash." - The ShakespeareanApe

"If you want a market that only goes up (modestly), try stocks.
If you want the potential for outsized returns alongside occasional big drawdowns, try Bitcoin.
If you want to light money on fire, try altcoins."- Joe Carlasare

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

➡BlackRock’s Bitcoin holdings now valued over $2.18 billion, and hold 52.025BTC.

➡Bitcoin whales accumulate 76K Bitcoin ($3B) since the beginning of the year.

➡Google is the biggest advertising network in the world.
+2x bigger than the second biggest ad network Meta (Facebook/IG).
From today on Bitcoin ETFs can start advertising on Google.
BlackRock & VanEck are now advertising Spot Bitcoin ETFs on Google following a new policy update.

➡After 11 trading days, the 9 new spot Bitcoin ETFs bought ~140,000 BTC worth USD 6 Billion. This excludes GBTC (conversion w/ outflows).
Grayscale outflows of $5b have been absorbed by other Bitcoin ETFs taking in $5.8b.
$759m Net Bitcoin ETF inflows.

➡Local news station in Georgia reports a new Bitcoin mine could help lower energy bills and property taxes for the entire city of Sandersville.

➡The fourth Bitcoin halving is expected to occur on April 20th, 2024, at block height 840,000. The block reward will be halved from 6.15 BTC to 3.125 BTC.

➡On the 26th of January BlackRock held a webinar to educate financial advisors on their Bitcoin ETF and "what makes this a pivotal moment for investors".
That wasn't something I had on my 2024 Bitcoin bingo card.

➡"Bitcoin has the same number of users as the Internet had in 1997.
We are just getting started."
(picture 1)

➡"The 9 new Bitcoin ETFs have bought 102,613 BTC in just 7 days of trading.
It took MicroStrategy ~300 days to buy +100K Bitcoin."

➡On the 24th of January the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) became the first U.S. bitcoin ETF to publish the bitcoin addresses of its holdings.
"Now anyone can verify BITB's holdings and flows directly on the blockchain. Onchain transparency is core to Bitcoin's ethos."

Although I think this is a great thing, I do have a couple of questions and remarks.
1. On a positive note, this will be the standard. Try doing this with gold. That's not possible. There is $11 Trillion in physical gold chasing 250 Trillion dollars in paper gold because the is no transparency to the asset. It is hoarded, controlled, and monitored in secret by 200 governments on the planet.
2. While our current system is based on fraction reserve you now actually have proof of reserve. A real-time balance check of a limited supply asset. This has never been done before in human history. A step closer to a more transparent financial future.
3. This address will be held (custodian) by Coinbase. Not sure if multi-signature is safer in this instance, I don't have the technical knowledge to provide you with the correct answer. This all depends on the parties & processes involved. What I do know is that not only the Bitwise ETF but almost every ETF can be confiscated by the government.
4. What if people will send sats to that address? Does it get added to the NAV of the ETF holders?
5. Since revealing their Bitcoin address, the Bitwise ETF address has received 10 "donations" totaling 268,002 satoshis (~$107). Numerous tips have been in denominations of 42069 and 6969 sats.

If you want to learn more about the various Bitcoin addresses, here is a great article: https://unchained.com/blog/bitcoin-address-types-compared/

➡Also on the 24th: BlackRock & Fidelity now hold more than $3.2b Bitcoin. They're buying +$400m Bitcoin every day on average.

➡As you might know or feel the same way as me, Bitcoiners care about truth and proof of work.
Recently a new research from the United Nations University came out.
Bitcoin Policy Institute, in particle Margot Paez, uncovered critical shortcomings in that study as it is fundamentally flawed.
https://www.btcpolicy.org/articles/the-united-nations-latest-study-on-bitcoin-mining-is-fundamentally-flawed
"In short, the study falls short of the scientific thoroughness expected in research, rendering it unsuitable as a basis for policymaking.

Our analysis uncovered three critical flaws in the paper.
1. Selective Bias
The study's literature review is based on sources that have been discredited and fail to consider newer research showcasing Bitcoin mining's potential to support grid reliability and advance the shift to renewable energy.
1. Data Misapplication
The authors project past data onto future trends without yearly updates or recognition of discontinued data sources like the CBECI.
1. Flawed Methodologies
Methodologies used are inappropriate for demand-side analysis, leading to unfounded assertions about bitcoin mining's impact on developing economies and social justice."

Read the full report here: https://assets-global.website-files.com/627aa615676bdd1d47ec97d4/65b004ac744cd4c6abb8934e_UN%20Paper%20FINAL%20.pdf

This report deserves way more coverage! On the same day, BPI drops a new scholarship from Margot, and Cornell announces their Bitcoin program. "Patterns tell stories and falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it!"

➡https://twitter.com/TimmerFidelity/status/1749825855449121092
The S-curve nature of the Bitcoin network remains on track. "Bitcoin's network is growing in line with a standard power regression curve". Jurien Timmer - Dir. of Global Macro Fidelity.
Hello network effects, just zoom out for a bit.

➡"Twice as much Bitcoin is LOST as is currently controlled by institutions and governments.
Only a tiny fraction of the world owns Bitcoin, and after the halving in April, only 1.3125/21M BTC will be left to be mined."
This asset will get more and more scarce until every other currency is phased out. With the current world population, only 27% of the planet (max) could have 0.01BTC if it was evenly distributed and all BTC were mined/ available. The Bitcoin ETFs may accelerate the scarcity aspect (once the GBTC selling is exhausted).
It might make sense to get some, just in case it catches on. (foto)

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

👉🏽The S&P 500 has officially hit 4,900 for the first time in history.

This puts the index up another 3.5% YTD and 18.5% since October 27th, 2023.

In roughly 3 months, the S&P 500 has doubled the average ANNUAL returnSerious disconnect between the traditional financial markets and the economy. Unfortunately, the price of assets does not necessarily reflect the health of a business.
We were told that the Fed has been tightening the monetary policy. Meanwhile, the monetary base has expanded by $500 BILLION from February 2023.
Two companies, Apple and Microsoft have 6 trillion in combined market cap.
Top 10 companies: $14.6T.

Just 5.5 years ago in 2018, AAPL reached a $1 trillion market cap for the first time.
It has tripled in valuation since then and MSFT more so.
We're witness to the largest market cap expansion in history. Ask yourself, does a market cap expansion of this magnitude signal that this is a healthy market?

For the stock market and the financial system liquidity matters and is one of the main fuels. Make no mistake this is also valid for Bitcoin. Liquidity matters.
"Owning an SP500 fund is no different from holding a tech ETF.
The top 7 components are all tech companies and represent 26% of its holdings.
SPX should no longer be viewed as a diversification instrument. It’s no longer spreading risk across 500 companies to protect you."

🏦Banks:
👉🏽 The FED announces that the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) will cease making new loans as scheduled on March 11. The Fed has raised interest rates on its Bank Term Funding Program, the emergency lending program created to support regional banks.
Rate increases are effective immediately, but the Fed will be ending the program on March 11th.
Rates on new loans will be no lower than the rate on reserve balances. Let's see which financial institutions will blow up next then!
Do you need an explanation of the above?
https://twitter.com/Invst_Informant/status/1748116617618235527

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

👉🏽 US interest payments just passed 1 Trillion dollars. (foto)
Although some financial influencers did mention that the US economy is strong and thriving based on the Q4 GDP report they are missing or leaving one tiny part out of that same report.
Annualized interest on the federal debt now exceeds $1 trillion and is projected to reach $3 trillion, annualized rate, by Q4 2030 - INSANE and UNSUSTAINABLE.
Even if you adjust for inflation and put everything in real terms (chained 2017 dollars), interest is still going to skyrocket with the current trends
Now on that chart... It assumes steady growth rates for gov't expenditures, GDP, price indices, etc. - the line is rising rapidly because of the size of the debt and the cost to service it along with the institutionalization of multi-trillion-dollar deficits in the absence of either war or recession...
Ergo: This number goes up because of refinancing debt. Most of this was with <1% rates and is now >5%. That's a huge increase and the government can't stop that. Debt rolls over anyway. If no one wants them, the government buys its bonds which causes inflation. Either 1) rates will go back down to 0% in some fashion which will result in a huge slowdown in growth or deflation, or 2) the government will be forced to cut spending/raise taxes by markets. When was the last time the government cut spending?
There is another option, the option that macroeconomist Luke Gromen already mentioned several times last couple of months/ years. 3) We will have a massive inflationary cycle where inflation makes all those numbers trivial.
Now for the so-called fin fluencers, I have one question. An increase in real GDP of $1.5 trillion with an increase of public debt of more than $2 trillion is that a strong economy?
This so-called "public stimulus" always means more debt, which in turn means more taxes, lower growth, weaker real wages for families, as well as a tougher environment for small businesses. Right?

The above is only focused on the US.
Below you will find a picture of the world debt. (picture 2)

No read the above segment again and tell me why it isn't a good thing to hold a % of your portfolio in Bitcoin.

👉🏽More on the debt part:
"For anyone who's still counting:
The US government borrowed $47 billion of debt yesterday alone.
Since the debt ceiling crisis "ended" in June 2023, total US debt is up ~$3 trillion.
Since October 1st, the US government has borrowed ~$10 billion PER DAY.
The worst part?
For the next 340 days, the US debt ceiling is effectively uncapped.
If we keep borrowing at current rates, we could see over $37 trillion of federal debt this year." - TKL
(picture 3) credit TheBTCTherapist

👉🏽Job growth is structurally declining from the post-COVID peaks and is below the 2010-2019 average. Many other smaller components are in recessionary rates of change off their lows. Labor turns slowly with inertia until it is suddenly non-linear.

The following thread, click on the link, is worth your time. Excellent analysis.
"State-level unemployment rates were just released and they continue the string of bad news from the household survey.
It's been a while since I've refreshed this dataset and now my updated state-level Sahm-Rule indicator is really heating back up -
in fact, it's now above the threshold that marked the onset of every recession since the 1970s.

Through Dec, 20 states (i.e., 39% of the total in the chart below) had triggered the Sahm Rule, up sharply from just 3 states in September.
Nearly 25% of states had triggered the Sahm Rule last Nov when layoffs were picking up in Tech / Real Estate / Finance, but then those tapered off and the share pivoted sharply lower just below reaching the threshold for typical recessions.

More detail on the states that have deteriorated the most over the past year in the following thread" - Parker Ross
https://twitter.com/Econ_Parker/status/1749939545276141757

"Layoffs Announced Over Last 3 Months:
1. Twitch: 35% of workforce
2. Hasbro: 20% of workforce
3. Spotify: 17% of workforce
4. Levi's: 15% of workforce
5. Zerox: 15% of workforce
6. Qualtrics: 14% of workforce
7. Wayfair: 13% of workforce
8. Duolingo: 10% of workforce
9. Washington Post: 10% of workforce
10. eBay: 9% of workforce
11. Business Insider: 8% of the workforce
12. Charles Schwab: 6% of workforce
13. Blackrock: 3% of workforce
14. Citigroup: 20,000 employees
15. Pixar: 1,300 employees

In 2022 and early 2023, we saw over 300,000 layoffs but they were almost entirely in tech companies.
Now, we are seeing layoffs across all industries as we kick off 2024."- TKL

👉🏽"China in 2024 So Far:
1. China's biggest brokerage restricts short-selling
2. China reportedly weighs a $280 billion stimulus package
3. China unexpectedly cuts reserve ratio for banks
4. China tells funds to stop shorting index futures
5. Hong Kong's stock index hits its lowest level in 2 decades
This all comes after a brutal 2023 for China's real estate sector.
While central banks have been raising rates, China has been cutting rates." TKL

Now you know the reason why I mentioned in last week's Weekly Recap: "China is contemplating issuing 1 trillion yuan ($139 billion) in new debt through a special sovereign bond plan, marking only the fourth such sale in 26 years
The Middle Kingdom appears to be warming up the money printer."
On top of that today a Hong Kong court has ruled that Evergrande, China's largest real estate developer, must be liquidated.
The stock is now down another 20% today on the news and trading has been halted.
Evergrande is now considered the most indebted property developer in the world.
This comes at a time when China's HY Real Estate Index is down 85% in 2 years.

"China's holdings of US Treasuries continue to move in a straight line lower.
Their holdings of US Treasuries have declined by $300 billion since 2021.
Currently, China holds just under $800 billion of US Treasuries, levels not seen since 2009." - TKL

Oops!

👉🏽European Central Bank asks some lenders to monitor social media for early signs of bank runs — Reuters
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1750179011018309974

Hello European lenders!
The ECB tells me you’re reading these posts because you’re having trouble satisfying withdrawal demands.
Is that true, and which European bank is most at risk for that run? Or should we pull our deposits from all of your banks?
"European CBDC is the ultimate test to the European banking system where many banks have nothing to show for assets. Adopting CBDC is like asking banks to convert their cash into gold, but all their cash is long gone and exists only on their fake balance sheets."
The first rule of bank runs is you don't talk about bank runs.
(picture 4)

👉🏽The Bank of International Settlements is moving forward with the second phase of its CBDC and tokenization initiative.
Among the six programs in the initiative is Project Promissa, which aims to build a proof-of-concept platform for digital tokenized promissory notes

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift:
"Stranded: How Bitcoin is Saving Wasted Energy and Expanding Financial Freedom in Africa" by Alex Gladstein
This is Bitcoin, forget all the numbers go up...forget all the ETF talk, forget the halving...this is why Bitcoin:
For those who cannot see how Bitcoin can (and already is in pockets) transform the African continent's financial and energy system - this read lays it out beautifully.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/check-your-financial-privilege/stranded-bitcoin-saving-wasted-energy-in-africa

Free knowledge!

Credit: I have used multiple sources!

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple.

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. #zap  🧡  #weeklyrecap  #nostr      #plebchain      #BTC   #Bitcoin  #zap🧡            #plebchain     #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption

https://void.cat/d/JLzb5mLLLQwf6nTFukkowT.webp
https://void.cat/d/7qenBZTgfwQDFysE6toCj3.webp
https://void.cat/d/7nviHnjco4ro7TJZqUW6Wd.webp
https://void.cat/d/J7fGMCz7HTucdus6ebA4RS.webp
https://void.cat/d/8p12CpWoWcJ3vcCZ64sDdW.webp


Anytime!


There is a lot in nostr:npub1trr5r2nrpsk6xkjk5a7p6pfcryyt6yzsflwjmz6r7uj7lfkjxxtq78hdpu latest article:

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/check-your-financial-privilege/stranded-bitcoin-saving-wasted-energy-in-africa?new

The most salient:

1. Details about a Gridless hydro operation in Bondo, Malawi. Capex vs opex funding.
2. Opportunities of geothermal mining in Malawi.
3. the recent situation in Malawi: 2023 devaluation of the local currency.

Still reading it...

Will add to my collection of references:
https://099244.wixsite.com/mysite


Pictures as discussed in the latest weekly recap:

nostr:note1nsqf9ul9h3hrxz3zdsasq30hsg0mfsend6636hq958lmgfsacrestztqte
🧡🙏🏽 https://image.nostr.build/577174443ccd506e885e1363328d27478257f9900d133bafd1a526ca4f773295.jpg https://image.nostr.build/66254911b152279853107687d041c6c1c4f0f5b65115d5106cfafcf28919ad30.jpg https://image.nostr.build/f5b2679b5243c99dd20a513a8bf4ea1977b5d0191f56da93590cea58a8c98448.jpg https://image.nostr.build/85fb72dde9919da6b21d0d3f85197c90dda7f6c3c59cd7569b1f696b0551022c.jpg https://image.nostr.build/b7602951c5c643df79734d2143e8a926d585724b61f8d7e0c45c95d28abcba82.png


🧠Quote(s) of the week:

"Imagine working 9-5 for 50 years then The Fed prints 40% of the total money supply and inflates away 20 years of your work."- BTCforFreedom

"Freedom of speech becomes impossible through the incentives of manipulated money!
(regardless of who benefits from said manipulation tells you)
#Bitcoin
Stealing productivity gains (via inflation) that should flow to society in the form of lower prices is the root cause." -Jeff Booth

"In the coming bull run, just about everybody in "crypto" will take credit and revel in the price of Bitcoin. They'll try to trick you by showing you this "other" coin that will do the same thing. This is called affinity scamming, and there are a lot of people who have positioned themselves over the last 4 years to do exactly that.

Save yourself the heartache and go Bitcoin only." - Jimmy Song

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

➡After seven weeks, Bitcoin falls below $40k and…. no one cares just keep stacking.

Now what is the reason why Bitcoin is dropping?

➡According to reports from CoinDesk, it appears that up to 1/2 of the $2B in GBTC outflows were from FTX liquidating their 22 million shares.
In addition, FTX's sister hedge fund Alameda Research voluntarily drops its lawsuit against Grayscale Investments on the 22nd of january.
Ergo, blame FTX...again!
"It looks like the majority of Greyscale's (GBTC) outflows were not due to its higher fees, but rather due to a legal obligation of bankrupt FTX to liquidate its holdings.
I'll say it again. I suspect with most FTX redemptions out of the way, GBTC outflows will come to a trickle by the end of the month, retaining their kingship of the spot
Bitcoin ETF space by an enormous margin." -Oliver L. Velez
(picture 3)

➡BlackRock & Fidelity now hold more than 64,000 Bitcoin worth ~$2.6b. They're buying $433m Bitcoin every day on average.
in total 9 Bitcoin ETFs now hold +95,000 Bitcoin worth ~$4 Billion.
Bitcoin ETFs had $17.2b in trading volume in just 6 days.

➡Bitcoin hits new sustainable energy high of 54.5%, the highest of any global industry:
"Sustainable energy use for Bitcoin (BTC) mining reached an all-time high of 54.5% in 2023, a 3.6% increase throughout the calendar year.
The analysis, conducted by The Bitcoin ESG Forecast, compared Bitcoin’s sustainable energy mix to other industries using publicly available data over the past four years. Furthermore, the industry has made notable progress in increasing its reliance on sustainable energy sources, surpassing other global sectors."

The results indicate that Bitcoin mining currently ranks as the largest consumer of sustainable energy among subsectors. (picture 2)

➡https://twitter.com/LNMarkets/status/1749387083620257990

LN Markets is killing it! Great volume, incredible achievement!

➡Bitcoin has been open for 99.99% of the time over the last 15 years.

➡In full-on dumping mode, Bitcoin miners sold over 10,000 BTC alone on January 17. It marked the biggest daily decline in miner reserves in over 12 months.
Bitcoin miner reserves are at their lowest levels since July 2021.

➡Bitcoin Whale sells 59K $BTC, purchased 3-6 months ago at an average price of $26K. This could be anyone...profit taking by any major party such as BlackRock etc. as they speculate on the selling of GBTC. (grayscale)

➡Bitcoin hash rate hits an all-time high of 500 exahashes.

➡Bitcoin network difficulty drops -3.90%, the largest negative correction since December 5, 2022, amid curtailments of Texas miners due to extreme cold conditions in the Lone Star State.

➡ Another leak, now at Trezor. On January 17th, 2024, there was unauthorized access to their third-party support ticketing portal. The security incident has implications for customers who have interacted with Trezor Support since December 2021. Based on the ongoing investigation of the incident and the communication with the third-party service provider there is a potential that the contact details of up to 66000 users, customers who have interacted with Trezor Support since December 2021, may have been accessed.

TLDR: Of course, this can happen to everyone. But for the love of god start using Bitcoin-only hardware wallets.
Blockstream Jade
Bitbox 02 - Bitcoin only
Foundation Passport

➡Over $24 billion worth of cryptocurrency was received by illicit addresses in 2023 accounting for 0.34% of all transaction volume,
Chainalysis has been estimated.
Now ask yourself, why do we need new AML/Money laundering rules and laws, like for example MiCAR or the new anti-crypto law by Senator Warren?
2-5% of traditional finance is estimated to be used for illicit transactions according to the UN. It's the fiat system that facilitates corruption...

➡$2 Billion of dormant Bitcoin was moved for the first time since 2019. It had only moved once since 2013. - Arkham Intel

➡Great tweet by Daniel Batten. "By investing in Bitcoin you support:
1. The profitability of renewable energy.
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2023/11/bitcoin-could-support-renewable-energy-development…
2. the mitigation of methane, our #1 lever to slow climate change.
https://planb.lugano.ch/why-bitcoin-is-the-worlds-best-esg-asset/…
3. The world's least emission-intensive financial instrument.

➡HODLers are not selling
The HODL Waves chart shows the amount of Bitcoin held for different periods. Long-term holders (see blue arrows - 1yr+ & 6mo+) have NOT sold any BTC to ETFs
(picture 1)

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

👉🏽The S&P 500 has officially hit a new all-time high for the first time in 2 years.
All 3 major market indices are now in all-time high territory.
An all-time high in fiat terms...in BTC...oh well, just have a look at the picture.
(picture4)

The S&P 500 is now 11% higher than where it was when the Fed started hiking rates in March 2022. Serious disconnect between the traditional financial markets and the economy.
"Owning an SP500 fund is no different from holding a tech ETF.
The top 7 components are all tech companies and represent 26% of its holdings.
SPX should no longer be viewed as a diversification instrument. It’s no longer spreading risk across 500 companies to protect you."

🏦Banks:
👉🏽https://twitter.com/JoeConsorti/status/1748133433761526134
Powell & Co. are planning to FORCE all banks to utilize emergency credit so that the market can’t tell safe banks from distressed banks. For me, the above tweet and the ramifications of that FED rule are yet another sign of the upcoming (necessary event) collapse/recession. They, the FED, did a similar thing in 2007.

In the end, the banking industry is set to consolidate. (picture 5 cash banks)

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

"The Fed's cumulative losses are nearly $140 billion now, and continuing to grow.
It doesn't really affect the Fed, but it adds to the fiscal deficit. The Fed used to be a profit source for the Treasury.

Now, its operating losses keep digging it into a hole, so no profits flow to the Treasury. The Fed has to once again turn profitable and pay back its cumulative losses before it would resume sending profits to the Treasury".- Lyn Alden (foto)

Meanwhile, the U.S. National Debt has crossed $34 trillion. That’s $102,719 for every single person in America.

👉🏽When asked what is the purpose of his trip to Davos, Javier Milei responds: "Planting the ideas of freedom in a Forum that is contaminated by the Socialist Agenda 2030 will only bring misery to the world."

"As we kick off 2024, the US has already added another ~$200 billion in Federal debt over the last 3 weeks.
This puts annual interest expense on track to hit $1.05 trillion.
To put this in perspective, annual interest expense was less than $500 billion just TWO YEARS ago.
As interest rates rise and deficit spending soars, interest expense is becoming one of our largest costs." - TKL

Ergo: Kicking the can down the road...as usual. With trillions of dollars of debt set to mature in the next 12 months, along with $2 trillion-plus of deficit spending likely for fiscal year 2024, and with the trough of the yield curve now the 5-yr UST bond at 4.04%, interest expense is likely to go much higher.

👉🏽"For 1st time in almost 30 years, China’s GDP in $ fell in 2023 to about $17.5trn, while U.S. gdp rise 6% to about $27trn. The gap widened by about $2trn. And China’s share of world GDP slipped to just under 17%. China's real GDP is now further below its pre-COVID trend than after the 2008 crisis. China will inevitably export its weak domestic demand to the rest of the world via rising current account surpluses and deflation."

China is contemplating issuing 1 trillion yuan ($139 billion) in new debt through a special sovereign bond plan, marking only the fourth such sale in 26 years
The Middle Kingdom appears to be warming up the money printer.

Talking about liquidity:

👉🏽"Money market funds just saw $182 billion of inflows in the first 2 weeks of 2024.
This is the biggest 2-week inflow ever recorded to start a year.
This brings the total assets held by money market funds up to a record $6 trillion.
Since the Fed began raising rates in March 2022, over $1.5 trillion has gone into money market funds.
Now for the trillion-dollar question.
Where does all this capital go once the Fed starts cutting rates?" - TKL

Maybe we can find the answer in the following statement:

👉🏽The top 0.1% (132,000 households) have a combined net worth of $20 trillion.
The bottom 50% (66,000,000 households) have a combined net worth of $3.6 trillion.
The wealth gap keeps widening to ever more extremes with each intervention cycle.
https://twitter.com/NorthmanTrader/status/1747257006497706458

👉🏽 https://twitter.com/DylanLeClair_/status/1748012214794006802
Bingo: Opt Out Bitcoin
The world has now access to the hardest assets in human history.

👉🏽https://twitter.com/Schuldensuehner/status/1748984398135906365
"Why Germany is rich but Germans are poor and angry. Germany’s grossly unequal distribution of wealth is contributing to the country’s malaise. The median household in Germany has just €107k of net assets, while the wealthiest 10% have at least €725k. Reconciling the Free Democrats’ anti-borrowing philosophy w/Social Democrats’ commitment to welfare spending & the Greens’ determination to promote decarbonization has led to bickering & compromises that satisfy almost nobody." - Holger Zschaepitz
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-01-15/why-germany-is-rich-but-germans-are-poor-and-angry

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift:
"The focus on security and decentralization is largely what makes Bitcoin different from other cryptocurrency networks"..."Bitcoin is competing in the global marketplace of monies."
Good article for people who don't understand investing in Bitcoin:
https://www.lynalden.com/bitcoin-network-health/
Free knowledge!

Credit: I have used multiple sources!

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple.

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. #zap  🧡  #weeklyrecap  #nostr      #plebchain      #BTC   #Bitcoin  #zap🧡            #plebchain     #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption

https://void.cat/d/WWGWxznxF65tpkFhtpSxF7.webp


With a current block reward of 6.25BTC, 6.25% of the total Bitcoin supply will be mined in this epoch.

Post halving, the reward will be reduced to 3.125 BTC leaving 6.25% of the total Bitcoin supply left to be mined.

93.3% of all the Bitcoin has officially been mined. Only 6.7% left. It feels like 90% was just yesterday! Scarcity people! Remember from the previous halving to the next one would be the same amount of sats (6.25%) as from the next halving to the final halving in 2140. Let that sink in for a minute, especially now that the big dogs (BlackRock, Fidelity, etc.) finally recognize Bitcoin as a store of value, as a legit asset class.

“When you really sit back and process this, it seems inevitable that there will be a moment of rude awakening among the masses. You’ll probably want to own some Bitcoin before that moment comes.”

What is the halving?
The last Bitcoin halving took place on May 11, 2020, and the next bitcoin halving will likely occur in early 2024. (ETA 23.4.2024)
What is the halving? New bitcoins enter circulation as block rewards, produced by the efforts of “miners” who use expensive electronic equipment to earn, or “mine,” them. Roughly every four years, every 210,000 blocks mined, the total number of bitcoin that miners can potentially win is halved.
The process will end once the number of bitcoin in circulation reaches 21 million. A popular estimate is that it will occur sometime near the year 2140.

Abundant money leads to asset scarcity.
Scarce money leads to asset abundance.

Bitcoin🧡

Credit picture: ChartsBTC

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin          🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap            🧡   #nostr              #BTC             #Bitcoin            #plebchain               #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #Bitcoinmining #halving https://image.nostr.build/401af8af01208a1b467e4354d96a5f4c7c649cff45f6d1092a8200416487aefc.png


Bitcoin hashrate plunges, with over a 25% drop from 530 Eh/s (7DMA) to 385 Eh/s.
This is primarily due to miners in Texas powering down to aid the power grid during frigid temperatures.

"Bitcoin hashrate has declined as much as 25% over the past three days as miner operators in Texas curtail power to strengthen the local grid amid a cold outbreak.
Notably, Foundry USA Pool has been the main source of the decline, witnessing its miner customers unplug as much as 75 EH/s of hashrate mainly due to curtailment activities in Texas.

After China’s crackdown on bitcoin mining in 2021, Texas has emerged as the new global hub of bitcoin mining. As of September, more than 28% of the hashrate connected to Foundry’s pool was in Texas."

Texas is home to roughly 13% of the global hashrate.

Sources:
https://theminermag.com/news/2024-01-16/bitcoin-hashrate-drop-texas-miner-curtail-grid/
https://miningpoolstats.stream/bitcoin

I just wrote this post whilst my S9 heater made livingroom 🔥⚡

https://miningwholesale.eu

Livingroom warm ✅
Mining sats ✅

Opt out: Bitcoin🧡

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin         🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap           🧡   #nostr             #BTC            #Bitcoin           #plebchain              #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #Bitcoinmining #S9heater https://image.nostr.build/f3a4b9df400d209f4fcb39533dc8601e27c45bfe051845cfa728dd647b49f958.jpg


Massive amount of Bitcoin moves for first time in 5 years…👀

$2 Billion of dormant Bitcoin.

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin         🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap           🧡   #nostr             #BTC            #Bitcoin           #plebchain              #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption


Zeker heb ik tips! stuur me anders maar even een DM.


🧠Quote(s) of the week:

"The 2020s decade is shaping up to challenge a lot of worldviews on money and energy.

Like, if someone is wrong in their view about the properties of money or energy, the consequences for that will be big. This is true both on the personal level and national level.
During times of abundance, worldviews don’t get tested very strongly and people are shielded from the consequences of being inaccurate.

It’s during times of scarcity that reality reasserts itself and filters out the workable from the unworkable worldviews.
To avoid being caught offsides as an investor, policymaker, or just in your own life, researching money and energy, and frequently re-assessing your own beliefs and understandings on those subjects, will be important.

There's always more to learn." - Lyn Alden

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

See picture ECB down below.
Schnabel is categorically wrong. If she thinks Bitcoin doesn't fulfill the characteristics of money, either she doesn't understand Bitcoin, or she doesn't understand money, or, and that's even worse, she doesn't understand either one of them.

The EURO will lose purchasing power against Bitcoin. I love how based community notes are and how the ECB got slapped in the face with this note for lying about their CBCD. Bitcoin is people's money!

➡The following tweet by Peter Mccormack can be placed on every EU - global regulations tyranny:
"State of UK regulations -

If you want to buy Bitcoin you have to answer a massive list of questions on any exchange you want to use and potentially be rejected.

If you want to bet on any sports, you can download hundreds of apps and start betting immediately."

Opt out and buy your Bitcoin on platforms like Relai, Peach Bitcoin, 21 Bitcoinapp, Bisq, and Robosats.

➡Last week I already shared some staggering stats regarding Bitcoin mining. If you haven't read last week's Weekly Recap, I highly recommend the Bitcoin segment of that blog post. More on Bitcoin mining:

"61.5% of all Bitcoin mining companies use sustainable energy.
Overall sustainability stat is lower (still  >50%). Even so, this is a startling statistic. I've not seen numbers this high in any industry." - Daniel Batten
(foto)

➡"New all-time high: off-grid Bitcoin mining reaches 30% of total hashrate.
Cambridge does not measure off-grid mining, resulting in an underestimate of total Bitcoin sustainable energy use.
The BEEST model measures both on-grid and off-grid mining" Daniel Batten
Source: http://Batcoinz.com/BEEST

➡"Bitcoin emission intensity (emissions per unit of power) is now 269.6 g/kWh.

Emission intensity comparison (g/kWh)
Bitcoin: 269.6
Banking services/fiat: 464
Gold: 679

TLDR: increasing evidence Bitcoin is not only the soundest money, but it's also the greenest" - Daniel Batten

➡ "only needs to rise 13% to $52,868 for MicroStrategy's holdings to reach a valuation of $10 billion" - BitcoinNews

➡ Bitcoin setting new ALL-TIME HIGHS in:
- Turkey
- Argentina
- Egypt
- Lebanon

➡Now for the people who want to know more information on the Bitcoin ETF, read the following bit. I am not going to share the shitshow at the SEC about how their Twitter account got hacked. Nor am I going to share the news that the ETFs went live. By now everyone has read or heard that.
To sum it up:
- SEC fumbles the announcement, validating government incompetence.
- Money managers (Vanguard, Merrill Lynch) blocking people from buying ETFs, proving that trusting your money with trusted 3rd parties is a risk.

"Vanguard issues a statement: “Spot Bitcoin ETFs will not be available for purchase on the Vanguard platform. Our perspective is that these products do not align with our offer focused on asset classes such as equities, bonds, and cash, which Vanguard views as the building blocks of a well-balanced, long-term investment portfolio.
Vanguard CEO, Tim Buckley adds on why he doesn’t believe Bitcoin should be in his client’s portfolios.
- No intrinsic value
- No cash flow
- No long-term potential"

Imagine steering clients away from Bitcoin.
"The Vanguard Group owns 8.2% of MicroStrategy, the 2nd largest of all holders. Somehow they find issues with Bitcoin ETFs.
What this tells you is worse than Vanguard not liking Bitcoin. It tells you that they are either liars, charlatans who haven't done their research, or both" - Gabor Gurbacs

Oh by the way one more stat on Vanguard. They run a $75bil ETF with 30% exposure to China, but you’re not allowed to invest in spot bitcoin ETF. Fuck 'em.

Check out the following clip - Michael Saylor on when Merrill Lynch refused to help him buy Bitcoin:
https://twitter.com/TheBTCTherapist/status/1746566835418321097

Meanwhile, Fidelity is LIGHT YEARS ahead of Vanguard and Merrill Lynch.
On the 12th of January, they called existing customers who were already exposed to Bitcoin-related securities (like mining stocks, etc.) to address any questions about the Bitcoin ETFs. That is how you treat customers.

Let's dive into some stats and the ramifications of that.

➡Cathie Wood says "We are talking to state pension funds and state treasurers about investing in the Bitcoin ETF"
➡BlackRock CEO says Bitcoin is "no different than what gold represented for thousands of years. It is an asset class that protects you."

➡On Saturday after two days in the books, the nine ETFs took in +$1.4b in new cash, overwhelming $GBTC's -$579m of outflows for a net total of +$819m. $IBITnow leading the pack with/ half a bil, Fidelity is a close second though. The newborns' $3.6b in trading volume on 500k individual trades (1.2m incl $GBTC) is very impressive as is the 20bp avg prem.

More on this topic:
https://twitter.com/BitcoinNewsCom/status/1746943732736311536

➡Blackrock's Bitcoin holding reaches 11,500 BTC in ETF's first 2 days of trading
At current rates, Blackrock will own more Bitcoin than Microstrategy by February 1st.
Either current rates slow down, or Bitcoin price goes up.

➡For more insights and data:
https://twitter.com/jameslavish/status/1746950978174370156
James, sorted through all the X noise of the past week to bring us a well-read easy to comprehend thread with everything we need to digest in one place. Enjoy!

➡Great work by Satoshi Action Fund & Dennis Porter:
"The State of Indiana has officially introduced legislation to protect fundamental Bitcoin Rights!

This bill will DEFEND:

👉🏽Your right to access #BTC
👉🏽Your right to self-custody
👉🏽Your right to mine #BTC
👉🏽Your right to run a node

The bill will also:
👉🏽Eliminate Cap Gains (under $200)
👉🏽Exempt miners/nodes from MTL

This legislation (HB 1388) marks a significant step in affirming your fundamental right to engage with
Bitcoin, countering efforts by figures like Senator Warren to limit self-custody and mining rights." - Dennis Porter

➡"Bitcoin has settled over 100 trillion dollars of value in the last decade, and people still want to debate whether it works." - Thomas Fahrer

➡The average cost of production per Bitcoin post halving will be $37,856, according to CoinShares

➡"Argentina marks its first Bitcoin-denominated rental agreement.  A landlord and tenant in Argentina's 3rd biggest city Rosario, have sealed a rental agreement to be paid in Bitcoin each month. The tenant will settle monthly payments of  $100 worth of Bitcoin to the landlord, via Fiwind national CEX.
Payments will be made to a designated address during the first five days of each month."

This is a notable development. Vamos Argentina!

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

Last week I shared the following bit...

"Wealth concentration. Just simple, raw data:
https://twitter.com/LynAldenContact/status/1741960890134475090

While Wall Street celebrates, Main Street mourns.
To make it even worse I will quote Aaron Layman:
"The part Lyn left out is that the top 1% accounted for 53.9% of this wealth coming out of the pandemic, a record high. The gap between the middle class and the top 1% has grown wider over the past decade.

This is the essence of the Cantillon Effect in the Fed's trickle-down wealth inequality machine. It's also why you see several Fed apologists among the Fintwit ecosphere.

To put things in context, the Federal Reserve is still in cover-up mode when it comes to the self-dealing and trading by some of its former members who are part of that 1% (or 0.1%) club.
Congress continues to ignore the self-dealing by many of its members as they front-run legislation and line their own pockets."
bingo!"

Just to add additional information on top of that:
The top 13% of people have 85% of the world's wealth: https://www.ubs.com/global/en/family-office-uhnw/reports/global-wealth-report-2023/exploring.html

🏦Banks:
👉🏽no news

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

👉🏽 Zerohedge: "March will be lit:
1. Reverse repo ends
2. BTFP expires (allegedly...it will be extended)
3. Fed cuts (allegedly)
4. QT ends (allegedly)"

5. Bitcoin Halving event in April.
One thing is for sure, volatility is coming!

👉🏽"Since the Fed started raising interest rates in March 2022, money market funds have seen massive inflows.
Total assets held in money market fund went from $4.5 trillion to $6 trillion in 2 years, a 33% increase.
Now, the Fed is expected to begin cutting interest rates.
With record levels of capital on the sidelines, we could see a widespread rotation out of these money market funds.
If this capital goes back into the equity market, the recent run is far from over.
Never has there been more capital on the sidelines." - The Kobeissi Letter

👉🏽 "The current max drawdown in temporary help services employment was only seen in prior recessions ... in fact, the depth of today's decline was not even reached in the early 1990s recession." - Liz Ann Sonders

👉🏽 Talking about recessions. Please read the following tweet by Luke Gromen:
https://twitter.com/LukeGromen/status/1745829824029917546
For me, this is the most insightful post of 2024, and Luke is a must-follow macro resource. Just imagine the deficit when there is a recession/crisis. If it takes this large of a deficit to keep GDP positive....yikes!

👉🏽With Milei’s decree deregulating the housing market, the supply of rental units in Buenos Aires has doubled - with prices falling by 20%.
Source: https://www.cronista.com/negocios/murio-la-ley-de-alquileres-ya-se-duplico-la-oferta-de-departamentos-en-caba-y-caen-los-precios/
Now what are the short & long-term effects?
"Short term: more supply, lower prices, longer-term: a sustained supply of long-term rentals with price increases accompanying salary increases." - BowTiedMara

👉🏽https://twitter.com/Schuldensuehner/status/1746092930102641031
It becomes a problem when real GDP also declines, which is currently the case.
Please read the bit on Germany in last week's Weekly Recap.

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift:
We can learn a lot from the 40-year history of email and the many decisions that prioritized corporate server admins over the autonomy of individual users. Centralization is a slippery slope of convenience against which we must remain vigilant. Great historical read on SMTP (email protocol):
https://blog.lopp.net/death-of-decentralized-email/

Free knowledge! And remember:
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana.

Credit: I have used multiple sources!

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple.

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. #zap  🧡  #weeklyrecap  #nostr      #plebchain      #BTC   #Bitcoin  #zap🧡            #plebchain     #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption

https://void.cat/d/P7KrGRhBLdr2PPCDrpMTWS.webp
https://void.cat/d/WUDsENWCPpyPAif8Jo7GxR.webp


It’s cold in the Netherlands❄…
The perfect time to install an S9 heater!

Many thanks to Mining Wholesale!

https://miningwholesale.eu

Livingroom warm ✅
Mining sats ✅

Opt out: Bitcoin🧡

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin        🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap          🧡   #nostr            #BTC           #Bitcoin          #plebchain             #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #Bitcoinmining #S9heater https://video.nostr.build/f627ceca885fc3fa118cb3c0efd309433a4ba8af4e377cdda749be4b31223e82.mp4


Gary Gensler’s letter on the spot Bitcoin ETF approval makes two things clear:

1) This happened because the SEC lost the Grayscale case

2) This “in no way” signals their willingness to approve other “crypto asset securities”

Bitcoin gaining institutional interest is a big step forward. The market is growing and maturing and transforming Bitcoin from a largely retail-owned asset, to a global macro asset that will compete with gold and US treasuries.

An Exchange Traded Fund is a fund that holds assets and individual shares of the fund can be traded on an exchange.

Bitcoin ETFs will do one thing and one thing only: they hold Bitcoin and allow you to get exposure to Bitcoin in your investment accounts.

ETFs will make it much easier to get exposure to Bitcoin.

You’ve had a little over 15 years to learn about #Bitcoin and front run Wall Street.

Did you do it?🧡

#zap            🧡   #nostr              #BTC             #Bitcoin            #plebchain               #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #SEC #Bitcoin ETF


ECB fuckers!🤣

The ECB is basically saying GFY to everyone living under their regime.

Opt out: Bitcoin🧡

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin         🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap           🧡   #nostr             #BTC            #Bitcoin           #plebchain              #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #ECB https://image.nostr.build/ff2e435e65200fec62f890f9f91b887e1bc06e7e51062ae5089cf8278170a7fb.jpg


💯🚨 value for value


New Jerseyyy Time it is!
Fuckers!

#zap           🧡   #nostr             #BTC            #Bitcoin           #plebchain              #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #SEC https://image.nostr.build/c8698645ebf0ee415329b1633827a07e82febce05c1b7e274fb66a432fdfb2d4.jpg


GM freaks!🧡🚨🔥


Fuckers!🤣🤣

Opt out: Bitcoin🧡

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin        🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap          🧡   #nostr            #BTC           #Bitcoin          #plebchain             #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #SEC https://image.nostr.build/5d6aff22537142fb387d61ca9c977585725530b4eb10160b682e97fe82cd3c6f.jpg


💀🤣🤣🤣 this is hilarious!

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin        🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap          🧡   #nostr            #BTC           #Bitcoin          #plebchain             #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #SEC https://image.nostr.build/e6f04e7f82f231be07aac4ca84c7a030eac5a782f952d71138b24c63114f3d56.jpg https://image.nostr.build/d2a7923a8307cbd76fd168942bfcfe6d13ccb8b05d61f5587cf1673e82db7fa8.jpg


Awesome job, sir!🎯


Fuckers!

Opt out: Bitcoin🧡

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin       🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap         🧡   #nostr           #BTC          #Bitcoin         #plebchain            #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #SEC https://image.nostr.build/48cdf8df78a068f5c8b3befe31c10928e128b2d3a80bcd601f05cff66af98766.png


Bitcoin has only been above its current price for 3.83% of the time it's existed.

I have no feeling, I am numb.l regarding the price.
LFG!🧡

Opt out: Bitcoin🧡

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin      🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap        🧡   #nostr          #BTC         #Bitcoin        #plebchain           #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption https://image.nostr.build/094d7d3c0c9b984a7806141d069b2df81e38907d465c6c7a20ebf558ce07d075.jpg


H/T nostr:npub17u5dneh8qjp43ecfxr6u5e9sjamsmxyuekrg2nlxrrk6nj9rsyrqywt4tp https://image.nostr.build/103edcca3cb7040aeec07bece3d94134f8ff0c095b286f55c3cdd2c7a872feec.png


WE ARE GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN THIS CYCLE FAM.

THIS ISN'T EVEN THE FIRST INNING.

IT IS THE DAY BEFORE THE GAME.

THE SUITS STILL THINK WE ARE GOING TO SELL INTO THE PUMP. THEY DONT REALIZE WE ARE BUILT DIFFERENT. THEY DONT REALIZE BITCOIN IS A COMPLETE PARADIGM SHIFT.


🧠Quote(s) of the week:

"Events in 2024 with probability %:

- Spot Bitcoin  ETF 10th of Jan (90%)

- Rate cuts in March (75%)

- Bitcoin Halving in April (100%)

- QE by the Fed second half of 2024 (90%)" -BTCforFreedom

"Wall Street thinks it will change Bitcoin but it will be Bitcoin that will change Wall Street." - BitVolt

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

➡ I quote Daniel Batten: "Another first: a well-respected sustainability magazine just published an article with the headline

"In an unexpected twist,
Bitcoin mining could help wind and solar development"

It takes some time to get it. But when you commit to taking the time, you will finally realize that Bitcoin functions as an "economic battery" and Bitcoin mining will improve the economics of renewables.  Take the time. Gradually, then suddenly!

read the article here:

"A new analysis demonstrates how Bitcoin mining could ease financial stresses in the early phases of renewable energy deployment."

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2023/12/wind-and-solar-projects-struggle-financially-in-their-early-phases-could-bitcoin-mining-change-that/

➡ Another example of how the narrative has quickly shifted.
The author of the following article mentioned to Daniel Batten that this was the most popular post on Coinpost Global last year.

https://medium.com/@coinpost.gb/bitcoin-is-crucial-climate-tech-btp-ep-1-recap-854d3ebbe573…

And this was the most watched talk from Plan₿

https://planb.lugano.ch/why-bitcoin-is-the-worlds-best-esg-asset/…

Now let's connect that with the Bitcoin ETF...are you ready?

➡ Bitcoin ETF: 63 million boomer brokerage accounts with 2X margin are about to gain easy access to spot Bitcoin price exposure.

➡ According to PwC, 30% of the $23 Trillion in ESG Funds ($ 6.9 trillion) is struggling to find a home.

This French ruling against fossil fuels in ESG funds will make that harder. Bitcoin has never looked so ripe to fill the gap for sophisticated ESG investors.
Implication: Bitcoin & ESG is often the most popular Bitcoin topic for pre-coiners

Today we learned that Blackrock was cutting their  ESG division, but staffing their Bitcoin division.
Remember:
ESG = force behavior
Bitcoin = incentive behavior

Bitcoin will be the trend, it is inevitable.

Regarding the Bitcoin ETF, I can be very clear.
1. If you understand Bitcoin a bit and have a low time preference you hope the SEC rejects the ETF this week so you can stack more sats. People with high time preferences hope they approve it. Know the difference!
2. I really don't care what will happen. I’m not looking forward to buying Bitcoin at all-time highs this year but, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. "I’ll be buying at the top forever”
3. If you own a spot Bitcoin ETF, you don't hold Bitcoin.

extra info regarding point 2:
But Felipe I don't want to buy the top...
If you bought the top of 2013 you would have 3840% profit.
If you bought the top of 2017 you would have 140% profit.

Soon the 2022 top purchases will still be in good profit.

If you want to trade your Bitcoin, fine, just know that HODLing Bitcoin isn't a bad thing. It's all about perspective.
https://twitter.com/VailshireCap/status/1742239078043541944

extra info on point 3:
"Bitcoin vs Bitcoin ETF:

Bitcoin:
- Decentralized
- Secure
- Permissionless
- Money

Bitcoin ETF
- Decentralized
- Secure
- Permissionless
- Money

Choose wisely."

Now for the people who want to know more information on the Bitcoin ETF, read the following bit:

➡ Let's start with a survey conducted by BitWise:
source: https://bitwiseinvestments.com/crypto-market-insights/the-bitwise-vettafi-2024-benchmark-survey

- Only 39% of financial advisors believe a spot bitcoin ETF will be approved in 2024.

- 88% of said advisors interested in purchasing Bitcoin are waiting until after a spot ETF is approved.

- Only 19% said they are able to currently buy in client accounts.
- 71% of advisors favor #bitcoin over Ethereum. 29% should not be giving out advice.

The above makes me wonder that we are still early and it is still early to get into Bitcoin. Just stating the obvious, the approval itself won't change that face.

➡ BlackRock sources say the SEC will take until the end of this week to approve Bitcoin ETFs - Fox Business

➡ https://twitter.com/BitcoinNewsCom/status/1742998017454555438
If I am right Fidelity is the only ETF applicant in which you can self custody of your Bitcoin.

➡The fight for customers has started...
Today Bitcoin ETF applicants filled in last-minute amendments to lower their fees
BlackRock and ARK have slashed their Bitcoin ETF fees.

ARK
 - down from 0.80% to 0.25%

BlackRock
 - 0.20% for the first 12 months, or first $5 billion AUM.

https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1744336024845578539
Please do yourself a favor and read Caitlin's tweets, all of them. And do understand this all smells like rehypothecation baby. Remember Celsius? Remember FTX?

➡Now what will happen with Bitcoin price when a wall of money hits a scarce and illiquid asset like Bitcoin?
https://twitter.com/Capital15C/status/1743899674841378862

Today multinational bank Standard Chartered calling for $50b-$100b of inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024. To give you some context that is like the equivalent of 10 more MicroStrategy's / Michael Saylor's entering the market.

We know the Bitcoin ETF is inevitable. When even the SEC is releasing statements & warning investors not to "FOMO" into digital assets, you know this thing can't be stopped.  By the way, the SEC are just freaking morons by warning people not to FOMO into digital assets...by doing that the opposite will happen. People will FOMO with a vengeance into the Bitcoin ETFs (unfortunately).

I fully subscribe to the following statement made by BitPaine:
https://twitter.com/BitPaine/status/1743250516417851864

Funny how the narrative is shifting on Bitcoin mining, Bitcoin ESG, etc.

The puppets of the mainstream media are doing their part:

On the 6th of January the Financial Times, perhaps the most 'authoritative' financial news publication in the UK, published a bullish article on Bitcoin.  https://www.ft.com/content/59bb430b-a5b1-4469-b05a-482b951109a2

"There is no bigger investment story right now. Google searches for “bitcoin ETF” have tripled over the past week."

"I would be mad to miss out."

This is the Number 1 European financial news source giving readers the green light to buy into the ETF. Which will start trading this week.
The author pushes back on a lot of the FUD in giving his reasons for buying into the Bitcoin ETF when it is eventually launched:

- volatility
- risk
- no income
- hard to value
- speculative
- intangible

Imagine how far we have come that FT is orange-pilled.

➡ Bitcoin has been approved as a unit of account in the free private city jurisdiction of Próspera in Honduras. This essentially validates Bitcoin’s legitimacy and its acceptance in commercial, tax, and financial dealings in the zone
https://twitter.com/duczko/status/1743848879932805510

➡Monthly Bitcoin miner revenue set a new all-time high in December at $320 million

➡Marathon sets a record Bitcoin duction of 1,853 Bitcoin in December, taking the total 2023 production to 12,852. Marathon holds currently over 15K Bitcoin.

Talking about Miners:

➡ Because of Bitcoin mining, 1800 homes in this (read the article) African village Bondo have electricity:

- Food can be stored in fridges, so villagers do not have to make the 12-mile trek to batch purchase

- Cooking the evening meal is 3x quicker

“Yet the big surprise in Bondo is not simply the supply of energy to such an isolated community, in a country where only one in eight citizens has access to grid electricity and on a continent where almost half the 1.2 billion population still lack this life-changing supply. The real eye-opener is the stack of 32 computers inside the concrete pump shed. This innovative mini-grid — located more than two hours from Malawi’s second city of Blantyre along bumpy roads and tracks that can become impassable in a torrential downpour — is mining Bitcoin to fund its operation.”

“Bitcoin has also become a helpful tool for activists and journalists in dictatorships since it makes it far harder to track funds.”
Bitcoin is financial inclusion, Bitcoin is financial empowerment!

Full article: https://unherd.com/2024/01/the-african-village-mining-bitcoin/

➡ https://twitter.com/olvelez007/status/1741998751697289588

➡The #17 largest Bitcoin holder bought 1,500 Bitcoin on the fourth of January for $65 million.

➡ https://twitter.com/thepowerfulHRV/status/1743008302231875874/photo/1
It’s only a matter of time until most companies adopt this strategy. For now...MicroStrategy is sitting on some $4B in profits. Talk about C O N V I C T I O N
(picture 3)

➡ 76% of Bitcoin supply is held by Long-Term HODLers - ARK Invest

➡ "In countries where those in power weaponize the financial system, Bitcoin offers a way out to retain control over one's financial destiny" - Forbes

➡The number of up-to-date merchants accepting BTC cataloged by @btcmap increased 174% in 2023. (picture 4)

➡ Japanese e-commerce giant Mercari to accept Bitcoin payments. It has +20m monthly customers...

➡On the 3rd of January, 15 years ago Bitcoin went online!
Bitcoin Genesis Block Day! This block is unspendable. Satoshi also waited 6 days before mining block #2 so others had time to join the network.

Now that Bitcoin has existed for 15 years! Lindy effect says that Bitcoin would at least exist for another 15 years.
January 3, 2009. Satoshi undermines block 0 on a difficulty 1 CPU and incorporates into the Genesis Block hexadecimal code base the headline of that day's Times "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on the brink of second bailout for banks". The bank bailout plan ‘cause of the subprime mortgage crisis in the TGFC.

The Bitcoin close on its 15th anniversary was its second-highest birthday close in history.

➡ Last item on the Bitcoin segment. Please do not forget that Bitcoin is the 9th most valuable asset in the world. In less than 15 years, it surpassed 7,963 other assets to accomplish this. By the end of 2025, I suspect it to be in the top five.

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

Wealth concentration. Just simple, raw data:
https://twitter.com/LynAldenContact/status/1741960890134475090

While Wall Street celebrates, Main Street mourns.

To make it even worse I will quote Aaron Layman:
"The part Lyn left out is that the top 1% accounted for 53.9% of this wealth coming out of the pandemic, a record high. The gap between the middle class and the top 1% has grown wider over the past decade.

This is the essence of the Cantillon Effect in the Fed's trickle-down wealth inequality machine. It's also why you see several Fed apologists among the Fintwit ecosphere.

To put things in context, the Federal Reserve is still in cover-up mode when it comes to the self-dealing and trading by some of its former members who are part of that 1% (or 0.1%) club.

Congress continues to ignore the self-dealing by many of its members as they front-run legislation and line their own pockets."
bingo!

🏦Banks:
👉🏽"The Fed's BTFP emergency loan facility reached $141.2 billion in outstanding loans this week. It is up almost $30 billion in a month.

Borrowing from BTFP is accelerating as banks look to secure a sweetheart loan before the facility restricts itself or shuts off on March 11th."

As mentioned in one of my previous Weekly Recaps:
"Regulatory Arbitrage. Arbitraging the Fed itself. No risk. Absolute clown show. Classic bank mindset - making money at the expense of the public.
source: https://archive.ph/xhUg5"
(picture 5)

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

👉🏽"10 of the last 11 months have seen downward revisions in their jobs number, according to Zerohedge.

The November 2023 jobs number was revised lower, from 199,000 to 173,000.
This means that the November jobs report actually missed expectations of 180,000.

The October jobs report was also revised lower from 150,000 to 105,000.
This means that the October jobs report was an even bigger miss than expected.

For September, the jobs number was revised lower by 74,000 jobs." - TKL

Either they don't fully understand/comprehend their own data (by they I mean the government). That itself is concerning but not surprising OR the establishment is trying to bury the data so it doesn’t destroy their narrative that the economy is strong.

👉🏽 https://twitter.com/jameslavish/status/1742982672492974376
The perfect analogy by James Lavish.

👉🏽 https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1744058890029813829
"4 years ago, banks were sitting on ~$100 billion of unrealized gains.
Now, they are sitting on ~$700 billion of unrealized losses.
The question becomes, what happens when the BTFP expires in just a few months?"- TKL

👉🏽https://twitter.com/jsblokland/status/1741906043720868090

This means that not only Germany should be worried, but also Europe.
Who knew that shutting down your nuclear reactors and trying to run the green agenda to run your economy on intermittent wind and solar would be a bad idea?
One word:  Deindustrialization

The following bit is from the Weekly Recap on the 4th of December 2023:
"Deutsche Bundesbank cuts German 2024 GDP forecast by a whopping 0.5ppts to -0.2% due to the budget crisis following the Constitutional Court hearing.
"The state pension is looking increasingly shaky. The federal govt now has to contribute more than €100bn a year. And the fact that the introduction of the so-called equity pension, i.e. the funded pension, has now also been postponed does not make things any easier."

"There was a statement last year by the president of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations: “Germany’s pension system is “on the verge of collapse. It won’t be financially viable in five years without reform. The costs will explode” Labor shortages, an aging population, and lower productivity - are all material factors for the viability of this system"

Germany is the sick man of Europe. This is going to be a massive issue in so many countries, not only in Germany."

👉🏽https://twitter.com/NickTimiraos/status/1743667579011371388
Slowing QT means slowly switching to QE, which means more liquidity, which means markets go up. Liquidity is important.

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift:
Lyn Alden's January newsletter is out now and focuses on the push-and-pull effects that fiscal and monetary policy are currently having.
Lyn's monthly writings are always a must-read for me, but the recent one is particularly good! What I like the most about this newsletter is that she used information from her previous write-ups and connected them to the economic changes over the last few years.

https://lynalden.com/january-2024-newsletter/

Today / this week I feel extra special, as I started a new chapter in my life, so I will share an additional 'gift':
"The release of the 2023 Q4 Advisory Board Call: Broken Money – And How to Fix It, featuring the remarkable Lyn Alden"
https://www.incrementum.li/en/journal/advisory-board-call-q4-2023/

Free knowledge!

And please order her book 'Broken Money':
https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B0CG8985FR?crid=3U31JD0RX7P7T&keywords=lyn+alden+broken+money&qid=1693853281&sprefix=Lyn+Alden,aps,553&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=felipehubertu-20&linkId=549c11e6bc118853bc6c5593866e6336&language=de_DE&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

Credit: I have used multiple sources!

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple.

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. #zap  🧡  #weeklyrecap  #nostr      #plebchain      #BTC   #Bitcoin  #zap🧡            #plebchain     #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption

https://void.cat/d/YbQrhobQ1ciQzPqkwEr3MV.webp
https://void.cat/d/LBGtDCUfyprVZvGDpzBHFw.webp
https://void.cat/d/StKYGxA2Ux1K18LfVFQU9n.webp
https://void.cat/d/GNAB18p2WzjzfvkbuFz59J.webp
https://void.cat/d/MaNxbttNY298A8bwGXeSeh.webp


Here you go, some weekend reading:

https://www.lynalden.com/january-2024-newsletter/

As always nostr:npub1a2cww4kn9wqte4ry70vyfwqyqvpswksna27rtxd8vty6c74era8sdcw83a is killing it, but what I like the most from this newsletter is that she used information from her previous write-ups and connected them to the economic changes over the last few years.

Please do yourself a favor and order her book ‘Broken Money’:

https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B0CG8985FR?crid=3U31JD0RX7P7T&keywords=lyn+alden+broken+money&qid=1693853281&sprefix=Lyn+Alden,aps,553&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=felipehubertu-20&linkId=549c11e6bc118853bc6c5593866e6336&language=de_DE&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

Opt out: Bitcoin🧡

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin     🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap       🧡   #nostr         #BTC        #Bitcoin       #plebchain          #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #lynalden #brokenmoney https://image.nostr.build/76ae8fdc42d80b4c555b46d933d456cc19e40ac4f3cc86cefe19ee3f10f0c15f.jpg


“Yet the big surprise in Bondo is not simply the supply of energy to such an isolated community, in a country where only one in eight citizens has access to grid electricity and on a continent where almost half the 1.2 billion population still lack this life-changing supply. The real eye-opener is the stack of 32 computers inside the concrete pump shed. This innovative mini-grid — located more than two hours from Malawi’s second city of Blantyre along bumpy roads and tracks that can become impassable in a torrential downpour — is mining Bitcoin to fund its operation.”

“Bitcoin has also become a helpful tool for activists and journalists in dictatorships, since it makes it far harder to track funds.”

Full article: https://unherd.com/2024/01/the-african-village-mining-bitcoin/

Bitcoin is financial inclusion, Bitcoin is financial empowerment!

Opt out: Bitcoin🧡

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin    🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap      🧡   #nostr        #BTC       #Bitcoin      #plebchain         #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #financialinclusion https://image.nostr.build/22325141ea2dd7e978904e1a50680734fbd7e4a441f9c4455a46cd33283d2bb0.jpg


Bitcoin ETF approval is basically done....

SEC is trying to line everyone up for Jan 11th launch - Eric Balchunas  Bloomberg's Senior ETF analyst

Anywayyyyy, stack sats & stay humble!🧡

Opt out: Bitcoin🧡

Study, learn, hodl, decouple.
#bitcoin   🧡
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap     🧡   #nostr       #BTC      #Bitcoin     #plebchain        #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption https://image.nostr.build/f044993f10b8a53ad75606964edc0883e13cb549e40706956a729d81a44dcbc5.jpg https://image.nostr.build/714fa3f6873fc036e25e4c9d3c0879a0869f85952f34b35248885369484155cc.jpg


"71% of advisors favor #bitcoin over Ethereum.
29% should not be giving out advice."

source:
https://bitwiseinvestments.com/crypto-market-insights/the-bitwise-vettafi-2024-benchmark-survey

h/t to BitwiseInvest for conducting this survey.

Now, I am not giving financial advice, but you know I am Bitcoin only.
Bitcoin is going to stay forever. Cryptos like Ethereum will not. Period!
Bitcoin is the only thing really decentralized. Anything else apart from Bitcoin, including basically all other cryptocurrencies, is not really decentralized.

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap    🧡   #nostr        #plebchain        #BTC     #Bitcoin    #zap🧡            #plebchain       #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #shitcoins https://image.nostr.build/308273dd0f3d755d3545e68abda1ce906176d50bbd0c3984837fd28b2d0ec24d.png https://image.nostr.build/edc89da79bbac2f3bc023580b9a4a6911f36ac2e9b0b724c8aae74bf30f42d2a.jpg


On this day 15 years ago Bitcoin went online!
Happy Bitcoin Genesis Block Day! This block is unspendable. Satoshi also waited 6 days before mining block #2 so others had time to join the network.

Now that Bitcoin has existed for 15 years! Lindy effect says that Bitcoin would at least exist for another 15 years.

January 3, 2009. Satoshi undermines block 0 on a difficulty 1 CPU and incorporates into the Genesis Block hexadecimal code base the headline of that day’s Times “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on the brink of second bailout for banks”. The bank bailout plan ‘cause of the subprime mortgage crisis in the TGFC.

Since that day, the network has grown dramatically. Now, millions of people all over earth use Bitcoin. And while it’s great to hear about other countries like El Salvador embracing Bitcoin, I can’t help but wish my own country 🇳🇱 was embracing Bitcoin too.

Some stats (repost @relai.app ):

“In that time, it achieved:

📈$800M market cap

🆙+ 6 billion % price increase

⏲+ 99.99% uptime

☠Declared dead 475

⛏93% of supply mined

#⃣ Hashrate at 500 EH/s

💸+ 947 million transactions”

Tick tick, next block without fail, Bitcoin continues to provide us with the most significant tool for freedom of speech and monetary sovereignty in the digital age!

Bitcoin is about financial inclusion and economic empowerment.

Bitcoin is secured by the most powerful computing network in the world!🧡

My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: nostr:npub1sqzr42dj8vx32yd5jcvvl3ytux45kl0etgf6y2ymjvmd7lqmuwmqk9vk7v 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple.🎯

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. 🧡

Felipe - BitcoinFriday

#zap   🧡  #weeklyrecap  #nostr       #plebchain       #BTC    #Bitcoin   #zap🧡            #plebchain      #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption #happybirthdaybitcoin https://image.nostr.build/920ee812e71f2ea6e7813a390430d843354758effb663b9f2b5b3f76e8faef91.png


🧠Quote(s) of the week:

"2024 will be the year your family members tell you you’re lucky for buying Bitcoin early.
They didn’t read the white paper.
They didn’t HODL from $69K —> $15K.
They didn’t listen to hours of podcasts.
They didn’t question the money.
They didn’t do the Proof of Work." - The Bitcoin Therapist

"Why Bitcoin is the clear choice:
- PoW
- No CEO
- Network effect
- Truly decentralized
- Never been hacked
- Proven by the Lindy Effect
- Global scalability with Lightning
- First absolute scarce asset ever (21M)" - Bitcoin for Freedom

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

Before I start this Weekly Recap - New Year edition special I want to wish you a happy new year fam. May 2024 be the best year for Bitcoin yet and starting to heal this crazy world.

For me, 2023 was a rollercoaster. I am writing this Weekly Recap from my new apartment as on the last day of the year I moved out of a place, once called home. After 7 years of relationship and one beautiful son, my ex and I decided to break up.

2024 will be different in many ways. For me, it will be back to basic and start all over.
My 2024 New Year’s Resolutions:
1. Head down.
2. Work hard.
3. Stack sats.

What can you expect from me in 2024:
More content, more videos, more guides, more orange-pilling, more Bitcoin.
As I said so often. Bitcoin is financial inclusion and financial empowerment. Our current system consolidates power, evident in the 1% owning 43% of global wealth. Bitcoin is promoting inclusivity with its 2.7 billion unbanked potential users worldwide.

Although I am just a pleb, my share in the game called Life & Human History is minuscule...
I do hope that by doing what I do, we all can change the world through Bitcoin education. Let me quote Thomas Fahrer:
"If you own Bitcoin, I work for you. If you don't own Bitcoin, I work for your kids, their kids, and all future generations. Fixing the money isn't just an important thing. It's the most important thing."

So if you’re reading this Weekly Recap now or in the future, you have a chance to make 2024 (or 2140) one of the best years of your life. You have this chance despite all the obstacles in your way because you have power over your mind — not outside events. And that power makes all the difference. Don’t waste it.
#Bitcoin

Felipe

➡Now let's start the Weekly Recap with a 2023 recap by Watcher.Guru:
 • US judge rules XRP is not a security.
• $10 trillion asset manager BlackRock officially files for a Spot Bitcoin & Ethereum ETF.
• BlackRock CEO says crypto is digital gold and "Bitcoin is an international asset."
• Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all charges.
• Elon Musk tells advertisers who are trying to blackmail him to "go fu*k yourself."
• Russia to use Chinese yuan instead of US dollars to settle trade with Asia, Africa, & Latin America.
• FED Chair Jerome Powell says "Crypto appears to have staying power as an asset class."
• Changpeng Zhao (CZ) resigns as Binance CEO.
• Coinbase relists Ripple XRP.
• The Chinese Yuan overtakes the US dollar as the most-used currency in China's cross-border transactions for the first time in history. • Saudi Arabia enters a trade alliance with China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and four Central Asian nations to step further away from reliance on the US dollar.
• Argentina President Javier Milei plans to replace the peso with the US Dollar and shut down the central bank.
• Turkish crypto exchange CEO sentenced to 11,196 years in prison for stealing $2 billion in customer funds.
• SEC drops lawsuit against Ripple XRP executives. • Crypto asset manager Grayscale wins lawsuit against SEC.
• Coinbase sues the SEC, seeking regulatory clarity for the crypto industry.
• El Salvador President officially signs a bill eliminating all taxes on income, property, and capital gains for technology innovations.
• Hong Kong court recognizes cryptocurrencies as property.
• Chinese property giant Evergrande files for bankruptcy.
• Terra founder Do Kwon was arrested in Montenegro.
• US Government arrests SafeMoon founders John Karony, Kyle Nagy & Thomas Smith.
• BlackRock names JPMorgan as an authorized participant for its Spot Bitcoin ETF.
• The UK Government plans to establish new digital asset legislation and make the country a crypto hub.

What do we learn from this?? Things are brewing, stick to Bitcoin, and in the end Bitcoin wins.

Some other interesting Bitcoin data points at the end of 2023:

➡ https://twitter.com/Capital15C/status/1741698499777790054

➡ Bitcoin had its best year after a bear market in its history. This year will be wild. No matter what. The goal is to end up with more Bitcoin than you started with.
https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/1741882201715638559

10-year CAGR: +50% 5-Year CAGR: +63% $BTC returns by year.
Bitcoin in 2023 - closing the year at $42,288 (up ~158%)

➡ Great investor letter by Stone Ridge Holdings CEO, Ross Stevens.
Bitcoin section in his annual Stone Ridge investor letter is too good:
"Bitcoin is not risky. You cannot print Bitcoin. Fiat is risky. Treasuries are risky. All $33 trillion of them!"
https://info.nydig.com/hubfs/2023-Stone-Ridge-Investor-Letter.pdf

➡The number of addresses containing at least 0.01, 0.1, and 1 Bitcoin grew significantly in 2023. In particular, the number of addresses with at least 0.01 BTC has undergone the largest increase since 2017. (foto)

➡Coinmetrics estimates (by removing likely change outputs) that $1.4T was transferred via the Bitcoin blockchain in 2023, averaging $45,000 per second.

➡Bitcoin fees on Friday 29th of December were more than double that of ETH.

ps.: On ETH, Vitalik Buterin proposes a scaling solution for Ethereum which would raise the minimum deposit for validators to 4096 ETH (~$1 million).

Let's change the rule yet again and more centralization. Classic! It's called shitcoin for a reason.

Oh on top of that Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain experienced the most DeFi security incidents by far in 2023.

Red flag here, red flag there...if you want to dig a little further, here you go...be my guest:
https://twitter.com/BoringSleuth/status/1740632667765256536

➡ Bitcoin's network hashrate increased by 102% during 2023, from 256 to 517 exahash per second.

➡ Goldman Sachs' Matthew McDermott on spot Bitcoin ETFs: "One, it broadens and deepens the liquidity in the market... because you’re actually creating institutional products that can be traded by institutions that don’t need to touch the bare assets... and that opens up the universe of the pensions, insurers, etc."

"Spot Bitcoin ETFs are not a sell-the-new event, but rather a reflection of growing real demand for exposure to Bitcoin. A Bitcoin allocation can significantly enhance portfolio Sharpe ratios," says Chamber of Digital Commerce CEO Perianne Boring

Anyway please do remember that "ETFs are simply custodial wallets built for suits!" - Matt Odell

Just to make the statement above a bit 'stronger'...
BlackRock, Fidelity, WisdomTree, and Valkyrie designate Jane Street, SBF's former employer, as an Authorized Participant for the spot Bitcoin ETF.

hmm built for suits you say...

➡ Talking about the Bitcoin ETF.
https://twitter.com/AlexOttaBTC/status/1741582290172420274
That is an interesting take on the Bitcoin ETF in comparison with the Gold ETF in 2004/2006. Something I have shared and discussed on multiple platforms since 2021.

Asset managers that submitted timely filings could launch spot Bitcoin ETFs as early as January 10, the SEC's decision date for Ark/21Shares ETF. SEC could notify issuers by Tuesday or Wednesday for approval, per Reuters

And it is not only in the US. Hong Kong is also set to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs that use either 'in-kind' or 'cash creates'.

➡ The number of Bitcoin addresses with more than 100 BTC has remained essentially unchanged since 2020. It looks like that Bitcoin Whales HODL.

➡ Great take by Jameson Lopp on thinking about Bitcoin in terms of thermodynamic security.
https://twitter.com/lopp/status/1741822081145188748
Please click on the link and see how the thermodynamic security is accelerating compared to 2022.

➡ I will use a Bitcoin miner to heat my home. meme 1
Look at Gridless (miner in Kenya) for example:
https://twitter.com/GridlessCompute/status/1741754315667120302

Use meme 2 in 2024 if you get the question..."there is no reason for Bitcoin to exist! Only speculators use it!"

➡The #10 largest Bitcoin holder bought 8,888.88 Bitcoin on the 31st of december 2023 for $379 million.

➡ On December 27, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) sold:
- 148,885 Coinbase (COIN) shares worth over $27.5 million
- 2.25 million Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares worth $81 million
- 231,102 Block Inc (SQ) shares worth $18 million.

But Ark invested/bought 4.3 million shares of Prosahres Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO).
Interesting, isn't it?

➡ The EU contributes just 6% of the global Bitcoin mining hash rate, according to a report by BanklessTimes.
"The EU can improve their hash rate, but for them to benefit, they have to lay ground," says analyst Alice Leetham

➡ 41,013 Bitcoin will be mined globally between 2040-2044... Barely over 15 years away. Michael Saylor bought 30,750 BTC in the last 90 days. That’s 38% of all the BTC mined over those 3 months. Yet I still know people sitting in cash waiting for a 20%-60% dip in USD.

Everyone buys Bitcoin at the price they deserve.
https://twitter.com/IIICapital/status/1739708289988829269

➡ "Nocoiner: Bitcoin hasn't even hit an ATH yet!
Bitcoiner:
Addresses with >$100 at ATH.
Addresses with >$1k at ATH.
Addresses with >$10k at ATH.
% of Bitcoin Last Active >1 Year ago at ATH.
% of Bitcoin Last Active >3 Years ago at ATH.
Hash rate at ATH.
Difficulty at ATH" - Sam Callahan

I always tell people not to focus on the price, but focus on the growth of the network.

➡ Tether withdraws 8,888.88 BTC ($379M) from Bitfinex, positioning itself among the top 10 Bitcoin holders. Tether currently holds 66,465.2 BTC with a market capitalization of $2.82.

➡ https://twitter.com/IIICapital/status/1739690368218673287
"Bitcoin's Sharpe ratio certainly challenges traditional finance norms, emphasizing its unique risk-return profile. It's a transformative force in the financial landscape, signaling a shift towards a new global financial system."

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

Year-ahead Wall Street consensus S&P forecast performance vs reality:
Year Forecast Reality
2021 7% +27%
2022 9% -19%
2023 7% +24%
2024 8% ???

If 2024 has a return of 5% then they were the same on average. Just one thing you need to remember...
Wall Street...governments...the forecasters can not forecast.

🏦Banks:
👉🏽No news

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

👉🏽As we finish out 2023, the US Debt now stands at $33.9T, after piling on another $2.5T in a single year. -James Lavish

👉🏽The market is now pricing in a base case of 7 interest rate cuts in 2024. There's even a 10% chance of 8 rate cuts into 2024 with a ~1% chance of 9 rate cuts. In other words, markets are saying there is a possibility of up to 3 TIMES as many rate cuts as the Fed is guiding. Markets are expecting anywhere from 175 to 225 basis points of rate cuts next year. - TKL

👉🏽China & Saudi Arabia ditch US dollar to sign a 50bn Yuan currency swap for trade. This allows China to start buying oil outside the US-controlled financial system. The world is changing, and the dollar's reign is crumbling.

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift:
Perfect pod to start the year. WBD755 - 2024, the Year of the Bitcoin Bull with Lyn Alden
In the following interview/podcast 'What Bitcoin Did - WBD751" you will learn:
- The macroeconomic landscape of 2023 & 2024
- Inflation, economic growth & central bank policies
- Gold & Bitcoin in a post-fiat currency era
- Bitcoin's price & legitimacy

“The United States is just set to structurally run these massive fiscal deficits…that’s called fiscal dominance, it’s where the central bank does not have full control…because the amount of public debt & deficits are too big and forcing them to assist it.” — Lyn Alden

https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/2024-the-year-of-the-bitcoin-bull

or watch it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4m1P0_yMJ8

Credit: I have used multiple sources!
My savings account: Bitcoin
The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple.

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats. #zap  🧡  #weeklyrecap  #nostr      #plebchain      #BTC   #Bitcoin  #zap🧡            #plebchain     #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption
https://void.cat/d/TVJLxhpXBDZc4hwVDhs4Tc.webp
https://void.cat/d/XQ6PiW9x53cQ6nTU8tLgJ2.webp
https://void.cat/d/V6rxqRt4AHQKQmYQrtN2eB.webp


Bitcoin had its best year after a bear market in its history.🧡

This year will be wild. No matter what.

The goal is to end up with more Bitcoin than you started with.

Happy new year fam!🧡

#BTC    #Bitcoin   #zap🧡   #nostr                  #plebchain      #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoineducation #adoption https://image.nostr.build/af5fdfa6f92daabf50fc55244b2166fb7b664c170721ffec31eac80020b691ab.png


The video says it all! 🧡

#noderunners #zap   🧡  #3KD  #nostr       #plebchain       #grownostr    #stacksats #bitcoinfriends https://video.nostr.build/49ddb64722c7ca427803f14ea5cfef752d3ebe76e78c5fe8c12aaa4ed5ff06de.mp4