This Week in Bitcoin – Details, episodes & analysis

The uncomfortable truth behind Bitcoin's price surge, debunking the tired "Tether pumps Bitcoin" myth, my take on a Satoshi-era whale finally cashing out, and more.

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• 🇨🇦 The Bitcoin Well - An amazing automatic self-custody Bitcoin platform
• ⚡ The Bitcoin Company - Spending your Bitcoin Via Lightning
• 🏦 Fold Card - Pay bills Stack Sats
• 💵 SALT Lending - Get access to your BTC Value w/out Selling

Show Notes

• $600M In 1 Day: Why Are Bitcoin, Ethereum ETF Suddenly So Bullish? - Benzinga
• Bitcoin Is A Commodity: Why Congress Must Fix Bitcoin Taxes
• Altcoins Rally Gains Momentum as Bitcoin Dominance Potentially Declines Below 64% | COINOTAG NEWS
• Cantor Fitzgerald SPAC in Talks for $4B Bitcoin Deal With Blockstream’s Adam Back: FT - Decrypt
• Tornado Cash Trial Day 2: Prosecution And Defense Tell Different Stores About Roman Storm
• Something Strange Is Happening with the Dollar (What History Says) - YouTube
• Vanguard Is Now the Largest Holder of Bitcoin-Bullish Strategy
• No bitcoin ETFs at Vanguard? Here’s why | Vanguard
• Trump says 'not planning' fire Fed Chair Powell after reports suggest Powell ouster coming 'soon'
• Cantor Fitzgerald Nears $4 Billion Bitcoin Deal With Blockstream Founder Adam Back
• Truflation US Inflation Index | Truflation
• Fort Worth Pioneers Bitcoin Mining Among U.S. Cities
• Bitcoin will have consistent demand over supply, says Bitwise's Matt Hougan - YouTube

Music

• Numb By: Circle the Earth

The money printer's humming, making smart investing a must. Don't get caught by the banks' new, regulation-backed grifts and affinity scams, designed to divert you from Bitcoin.

Affiliate Links:

• 🇺🇸 Buy Sats on River - The best way to stack in the US
• 🇨🇦 The Bitcoin Well - An amazing automatic self-custody Bitcoin platform
• ⚡ The Bitcoin Company - Spending your Bitcoin Via Lightning
• 🏦 Fold Card - Pay bills Stack Sats
• 💵 SALT Lending - Get access to your BTC Value w/out Selling

LINKS

• Are Some Whales Abandoning Self Custody?
• Actions - S.2058 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): El Salvador Accountability Act of 2025
• Q2 2025 Mainstream Media Bitcoin Coverage Report
• shopstr: A global, permissionless Nostr marketplace for Bitcoin commerce
• BTC News: Bitcoin's 'Mempool' Nearly Empty as Prices Trade Near Lifetime Highs. What Next?
• Lightning Network Statistics | 1ML
• Scott Bessent on who will be the next Federal Reserve chair - YouTube
• President Trump is now calling for the first 300+ basis point interest rate cut in US history.
• Hackers Target Bitcoin Wallet Holding Billions Swiped From Mt. Gox
• BTCPrague - YouTube

MUSIC

• Coins & Consequences feat. ProofBoy
• Go check out the full Album: Bitcoin Block Party

Bitcoin faces its biggest decentralization test yet, just as global shifts send shockwaves through markets. In the middle of it all, Bitcoin holds the line.

Affiliate LINKS:

• 🇺🇸 Buy Sats on River - The best way to stack in the US
• 🇨🇦 The Bitcoin Well - An amazing automatic self-custody Bitcoin platform
• ⚡ The Bitcoin Company - Spending your Bitcoin Via Lightning
• 🏦 Fold Card - Pay bills Stack Sats
• 💵 SALT Lending - Get access to your BTC Value w/out Selling

LINKS:

• Bitcoin Mining Centralization in 2025
• Tether to Deploy Hashrate on OCEAN, Advancing Decentralized
• Bitcoin Mining Industry Report: February 2025
• America Underestimates the Difficulty of Bringing Manufacturing Back — Molson Hart
• Nvidia says the US government has banned them from selling H20 chips to China
• Fort Knox Gold Audit? This Is What Actually Happened - YouTube
• How Tariffs Will Transform U.S. Dollar Capital Flows Worldwide | Lyn Alden - YouTube
• Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler: Trump's aggressive tariff policy is like a 'self-inflicted injury' - YouTube
• US Deficit, Dollar Concerns with Rebecca Patterson - YouTube
• Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen claims that revitalizing Americas manufacturing base is a “pipe dream.”
• Watch CNBC's full interview with former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen - YouTube
• China has stopped exporting rare earths to everyone
• Ray Dalio Says US ‘Likely’ Going to Be in a Recession - YouTube
• JPMorgan Chase infinite money glitch: Bank sues more customers
• Exclusive: US consumer safety agency to stop collecting swaths of data after CDC cuts | Reuters
• Coachella Kick…

The Trump strategy is backfiring. Tariffs are the decoy. It’s a high-stakes reshuffle of global power, and Bitcoin may be the only asset seeing it clearly.

Affiliate LINKS:

• 🇺🇸 Buy Sats on River - The best way to stack in the US
• 🇨🇦 The Bitcoin Well - An amazing automatic self-custody Bitcoin platform
• ⚡ The Bitcoin Company - Spending your Bitcoin Via Lightning
• 🏦 Fold Card - Pay bills Stack Sats
• 💵 SALT Lending - Get access to your BTC Value w/out Selling

LINKS:

• US Dollar Could Lose Reserve Currency Status amid Tariffs, Experts Warn - Newsweek
• Trump, tariffs, and the dollar’s role as reserve currency - Janus Henderson Investors - corporate
• How Trump Could Dethrone the Dollar | CNAS
• The nuclear option China could take in trade war with the US
• CEA Chairman Steve Miran Hudson Institute Event Remarks – The White House
• Mortgage rates slingshot higher as tariff uncertainty roils markets
• EU approves countermeasures against US tariffs starting next week
• 'Let Donald Trump Run The Global Economy': Lutnick Defends Trump After Tariff Rollout Pummels Market - YouTube
• China raises its retaliatory tariff on the US to 84%, vows to 'fight to the end' | The Times of Israel
• All Banks Need to Succeed, Bessent Says - YouTube
• U.S. Justice Department Ends Crypto Enforcement Unit and Regulation by Prosecution
• DOJ ends crypto enforcement team, shifts focus to terrorism and fraud
• Phoenix Wallet available again in the US

MUSIC:

• Getaway by Two Weeks In Nashville

Gold sends a quiet signal about Bitcoin's next chapter, institutions hint at a shifting world order, and why tariffs might be noise—but something deeper is unfolding beneath the headlines.

Affiliate LINKS:

• 🇺🇸 Buy Sats on River - The best way to stack in the US
• 🇨🇦 The Bitcoin Well - An amazing automatic self-custody Bitcoin platform
• ⚡ The Bitcoin Company - Spending your Bitcoin Via Lightning
• 🏦 Fold Card - Pay bills Stack Sats
• 💵 SALT Lending - Get access to your BTC Value w/out Selling

LINKS:

• Larry Fink’s 2025 Chairman’s Letter to Investors
• EU vows it's ready to retaliate as Trump trade war looms
• Politics Impacting Economic Polling - YouTube
• Trader Wagers Almost $100M on Bitcoin Dropping to $60K
• Trump sons' Bitcoin mining business plans to eventually go public
• Tether’s Big Bet: $70M Worth Of Bitcoin Snapped Up In Q1 2025
• Gold prices remains flat at record high ahead of Trump's tariff announcement
• Gold nears all-time high as investors await Trump tariff plan
• Fidelity Lets Investors Directly Invest in BTC, ETH, LTC Through New IRA Plan
• Bisq v2.1.7: More Reliable Message Delivery, Trade & Mediation Enhancements

MUSIC:

• Apple Pie by TJ Wong
• TJ Wong • Apple Pie

The White House's bold economic gamble is starting to falter, leaving Bitcoiners with one undeniable insight—no matter how the financial dice roll.

Affiliate LINKS:

• 🇺🇸 Buy Sats on River - The best way to stack in the US
• 🇨🇦 The Bitcoin Well - An amazing automatic self-custody Bitcoin platform
• ⚡ The Bitcoin Company - Spending your Bitcoin Via Lightning
• 🏦 Fold Card - Pay bills Stack Sats
• 💵 SALT Lending - Get access to your BTC Value w/out Selling

LINKS:

• Trump Plays Recession Roulette With the American Economy - WSJ
• GameStop to put corporate cash in bitcoin, mimicking MicroStrategy
• Millions of student loan borrowers past-due after bills restarted
• Bitcoin Reserve order removes Bitcoin's last "existential threat"
• World Liberty Financial crypto venture to launch stablecoin
• Elon Thinks X Could be 50% of the global economy
• Crusoe Energy exits Bitcoin mining business, sells operations to NYDIG to focus on AI
• Chainalysis Sued For Deception In Celsius Scam
• Consumer confidence comes in lower than estimates - YouTube
• Bill Status SB1373
• Bill Status SB1025
• Bill Information for HB 1203
• Quantitative Tightening is Coming To an End
• Fed says it will slow balance sheet runoff process

MUSIC:

• It'll Be Me by ROSENTHAL PARKWAY BAND

Recession talk is back, and while the experts panic, Bitcoiners stay patient. This week, we look at why that patience might finally pay off.

Affiliate LINKS:

• 🇺🇸 Buy Sats on River - The best way to stack in the US
• 🇨🇦 The Bitcoin Well - An amazing automatic self-custody Bitcoin platform
• ⚡ The Bitcoin Company - Spending your Bitcoin Via Lightning
• 🏦 Fold Card - Pay bills Stack Sats
• 💵 SALT Lending - Get access to your BTC Value w/out Selling

LINKS:

• Weekly mortgage demand pulls back, as interest rates rise for the first time in 9 weeks
• Scott Bessent | All-In in DC! - YouTube
• Mohamed A. El-Erian on Payment Weaponization
• Fed rate decision March 2025: Fed holds interest rates steady
• Trump policies 'promise' an economic downturn, says prominent forecaster in first-ever 'recession watch'
• Samourai Wallet Hearing Sets Key Dates For Criminal Trial
• New release: ZEUS v0.10.0
• ZEUS v0.10.0
• Ark's Wood on Bitcoin, Fed Rate Cuts, Support for Crypto - YouTube

MUSIC:

• Satoshi Statue By: Michilis

The bond market is whispering, Trump’s shouting, and Bitcoin is listening. What happens when the debt machine needs a reboot—and how that desperation could light the next Bitcoin firestorm.

Affiliate LINKS:

• 🇺🇸 Buy Sats on River - The best way to stack in the US
• 🇨🇦 The Bitcoin Well - An amazing automatic self-custody Bitcoin platform
• ⚡ The Bitcoin Company - Spending your Bitcoin Via Lightning
• 🏦 Fold Card - Pay bills Stack Sats
• 💵 SALT Lending - Get access to your BTC Value w/out Selling

LINKS

• CPI inflation report February 2025
• The Fed Shouldn’t Enable Donald Trump - Bloomberg
• 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 3-Month Treasury Constant Maturity
• Truflation US Inflation Index
• Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile – ]
• President Trump Confirms Strategic 'Crypto' Reserve with Bitcoin and Altcoins
• Donald Trump shares DETAILS on United States Strategic Bitcoin Reserve White House Crypto Summit
• Trump orders the government to explore pathways to acquire Bitcoin only with no cost to taxpayers.
• China and Middle Eastern countries are considering a "Bitcoin buying strategy," CNBC says.
• To clear up confusion here. This EO established 2 different things: a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.
• US Bitcoin Reserve: Implementation Timeline Accelerated
• Satsify: ⚡ See Amazon prices in sats! FOSS Chrome extension that converts USD to Bitcoin satoshis instantly 🛍️

MUSIC

• Don’t Count Me Out by Jimmie Bratcher

Markets are stumbling, Bitcoin is under pressure, and the AI bubble might be popping. But beneath the chaos, something more substantial is forming.

Affiliate LINKS:

• 🇺🇸 Buy Sats on River - The best way to stack in the US
• 🇨🇦 The Bitcoin Well - An amazing automatic self-custody Bitcoin platform
• ⚡ The Bitcoin Company - Spending your Bitcoin Via Lightning
• 🏦 Fold Card - Pay bills Stack Sats
• 💵 SALT Lending - Get access to your BTC Value w/out Selling

LINKS:

• S&P 500 ekes out gain on Wednesday, ending four-day run of losses
• M2 Money Supply Rises
• Microsoft CEO Admits That AI Is Generating Basically No Value
• Analyst says Microsoft is cutting AI data center spending, which may have led to market sell-off
• How to Prevent the Next $1.5B Bybit Hack: A Strategic Approach to Solving Blind Signing | Blockaid Blog
• Did liquidity in crypto just dry up?
• Apollo Investments worried about downside risks to economy, notes that every 1 federal employee may actually be 3 jobs because of 2 contractors.
• Apollo Global Management - Wikipedia
• Egg prices could increase by 41.1% in 2025 amid bird flu, egg shortages
• U.S. Marshals Service, Managing Billions of Seized Assets, Can't Say How Much Crypto It Holds
• Polymarket | Will Trump create Bitcoin reserve in first 1…
• BitKey Inheritance is live. Here’s how it works.
• The ‘Bitcoin’ Senator To Chair First Digital Asset Hearing Wednesday
• My bill to allow South Dakota to invest in Bitcoin died 9-3 in committee this morning. We will be back next year."
• Local news station KXAN covers the Texas Bitcoin Reserve bill
• Yes, Montana's Bitcoin reserve bill was rejected…

Bitcoin faces two major headwinds: memecoin mania draining liquidity and gold’s price run pulling in capital. But tides may be turning. I break down why these trends matter and what’s shifting.

Affiliate LINKS:

• 🇺🇸 Buy Sats on River - The best way to stack in the US
• 🇨🇦 The Bitcoin Well - An amazing automatic self-custody Bitcoin platform
• ⚡ The Bitcoin Company - Spending your Bitcoin Via Lightning
• 🏦 Fold Card - Pay bills Stack Sats
• 💵 SALT Lending - Get access to your BTC Value w/out Selling

Links

• Argentina's Milei Faces Fraud Charges, Impeachment Calls After Failed Memecoin Launch
• Solana (SOL) Plummets 45% in 30 Days
• Transfers of physical gold from the Bank of England to New York is now exceeding the panic during the COVID-19 crisis.
• The Hidden Crisis Behind Gold’s Surge | Paper Gold Collapse? - YouTube
• Is Global Gold Shortage Brewing? Real Reason Behind Gold Flooding Out of London to U.S. | Josh Phair - YouTube
• Gold bars flown on commercial flights in rush to get to U.S. | Financial Post
• Gold Market Ructions Drive Singapore Exports to the US - Bloomberg
• Alby Hub v1.14.2
• Introducing $FLD
• Bitcoin Mining Jobs Report
• ODELL on Nostr RE: Bitwise Donations

Music

• DiscoBall By: JoJo Scott