Just weeks after announcing a stablecoin, Swedish fintech giant Klarna is taking another step into crypto. The company has teamed up with Privy, a wallet infrastructure platform owned by Stripe, to explore digital asset solutions for its users.
The partnership will focus on research and development of crypto wallet features, the company said. The two aim to make it easier for everyday users to store, use, and send digital assets. The move builds on the company’s recent launch of KlarnaUSD, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issued on the Tempo blockchain.
“Millions already trust Klarna to manage everyday spending, saving, and shopping,” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder. “That puts us in a unique position to bring crypto into the financial lives of normal people, not just early adopters. With Privy, we plan to build products that feel as intuitive as any other Klarna feature.”
KlarnaUSD was launched with Tempo and Bridge, a Stripe-backed stablecoin infrastructure provider.
The token is live on Tempo’s testnet and expected to launch on mainnet in 2026. The fintech giant said the stablecoin could reduce global cross-border payment costs, currently estimated at $120 billion annually.
JUST IN: Fintech giant Klarna to develop #Bitcoin and crypto wallet features within its financial products.
Privy powers over 100 million accounts for more than 1,500 developers. The platform supports crypto-native applications like OpenSea and Hyperliquid.
Henri Stern, CEO and co-founder of Privy, said the partnership will allow users to hold a wide variety of digital assets, trade safely, and transact with friends anywhere in the world.
“We’re proud to partner with world-class fintechs like Klarna, providing the secure, enterprise-ready infrastructure they need,” Stern said. “Privy aims to be the backbone for any business that wants to harness the exciting capabilities crypto and stablecoins offer.”
The initiative reflects a growing trend. Traditional fintechs are now testing ways to integrate crypto tools into everyday consumer finance. The company said any future wallet or crypto product would require the necessary regulatory approvals before launch.
Venture capital firm a16z estimates that 716 million people globally hold cryptocurrencies. Between 40 million and 70 million transact with crypto each month. That figure grows by roughly 10 million users a year.
Klarna’s push into crypto marks a sharp turn for the company. CEO Siemiatkowski was once a vocal skeptic of digital currencies.
He said the market’s maturity and Klarna’s global reach now justify this entry. Klarna serves 114 million customers and processes $112 billion in annual gross merchandise volume.
The company plans to explore further crypto initiatives. A blog post on Thursday hinted at a new announcement “in a week or so,” suggesting more developments are coming soon.
Satsuma Technology (LSE: SATS) sold nearly half its bitcoin treasury and announced major board changes as it prepares for a planned uplisting to the London Stock Exchange’s main market.
The U.K.-based company sold 579 BTC out of its 1,199 BTC holdings, raising about £40 million ($53 million) in net proceeds, according to a Thursday announcement. The move leaves Satsuma with 620 BTC and roughly £90 million in cash.
The sale is designed to ensure the company has enough liquidity to repay £78 million in convertible loan notes due on Dec. 31, 2025.
Some noteholders have not yet committed to converting their debt into equity once Satsuma publishes its prospectus for the uplisting. The company said it wants to hold sufficient cash in case those conversions do not occur.
Alongside the treasury move, Satsuma proposed appointing Ranald McGregor-Smith as Chair and Clive Carver as Senior Independent Director. Both would join upon completion of the uplisting.
McGregor-Smith spent his career advising FTSE100 and FTSE250 firms and co-founded corporate broker Whitman Howard. He also sits on the board of Sabien Technology Group. Carver, a chartered accountant, has chaired and served as a non-executive director at several listed companies over the past decade and will also chair Satsuma’s Audit Committee.
Current Chair Matt Lodge will step down after the uplisting but remain on the board. Non-executive director Darcy Taylor resigned immediately as part of the restructuring.
CEO Henry K. Elder said the board changes bring stronger PLC governance at a key transition point. He also said the bitcoin sale positions the company for “stability and growth” as it advances its broader strategy.
Satsuma shares edged up to 1.05 pence following the announcement. The stock remains down nearly 30% over the past month.After the sale, Satsuma ranks as the 61st largest publicly traded bitcoin holder.
The report, covering 100+ companies, shows large treasuries like Strategy and Strive dominated net purchases, while early signs of selling emerged, led by Sequans.
Quarterly accumulation slowed but remains steady, with Q4 2025 on track for ~40,000 BTC added. Mining companies now hold 12% of corporate BTC.
Public and private treasuries bought over 12,644 BTC in November, bringing total holdings past 4 million BTC. Global diversification and disciplined buying continue despite volatility.
Corporate Bitcoin treasuries faced mark-to-market losses in November, according to an exclusive Corporate Adoption Report from Bitcoin Treasuries.
The report, covering more than 100 companies, offers a systematic look at how last month’s price drop affected public company holdings.
Bitcoin briefly fell below $90,000 in late November. The decline pushed many 2025 buyers into the red. Of the 100 companies for which cost basis is measurable, about two-thirds now sit on unrealized losses at current prices, per the report.
Despite the volatility, large balance sheets continued to dominate net Bitcoin buying. Strategy, Strive, and a small cohort of high-conviction buyers accounted for most net additions.
Public Bitcoin treasury equities remain weak versus BTC and broad indices. Still, a minority of companies delivered at least 10% gains over the past 6–12 months.
Early signs of corporate Bitcoin selling also emerged. At least five companies reduced BTC exposure in November. Sequans led the group, selling roughly one-third of its holdings. While small in aggregate, these moves suggest some management teams are willing to crystallize losses or de-risk when volatility spikes.
Quarterly Bitcoin accumulation is slowing, but not collapsing. Q4 2025 is on track for roughly 40,000 BTC in net additions to public company balance sheets. This is below the last four quarters but broadly in line with Q3 2024, as companies normalize to a slower, more selective accumulation pace.
In November, public and private treasuries purchased, added, or disclosed over 12,644 BTC in November and the total BTC held across all tracked entities surpassed 4 million by month’s end.
Bitcoin purchases
Big treasuries know for their bitcoin buying continue to dominate purchases. Strategy added 9,062 BTC across three transactions in November, per the report.
Its largest buy, 8,178 BTC, came on Nov. 17. Strategy ended the month with 649,870 BTC, worth about $59 billion. Currently, the company has 660,624 after some December purchases.
Strive added 1,567 BTC at an average price of $103,315 per BTC in November. The purchase brought its month-end holdings to 7,525 BTC, or $684 million. The company funds its Bitcoin strategy primarily through perpetual preferred equity.
Mining companies remain significant players. Cango and Riot added 508 BTC and 37 BTC, respectively, from mining operations. American Bitcoin added 139 BTC through combined purchase and mining strategies.
Per the report, mining companies now account for 12% of public company BTC holdings.
Bitcoin selling and rebalancing
Sales were limited but notable. As mentioned earlier, Sequans sold nearly one-third of its holdings, to reduce convertible debt. Hut 8 reduced holdings by 389 BTC. KindlyMD and Genius Group also trimmed exposure.
Some companies added small amounts even amid the downturn. DDC Enterprise Limited picked up 100 BTC during the pullback.
Metaplanet continued “additional purchase” filings on the Tokyo exchange. ETF flows returned to net inflows after a month of redemptions.
The data suggests a barbell pattern: small distressed sellers versus programmatic buyers and disciplined treasuries. Investors see BTC increasingly used as collateral or for cash flow, rather than just as a speculative asset.
Global trends and future outlook
Corporate Bitcoin holdings are increasingly global. U.S. companies dominate the top 20, but Japan, China, Europe, and other regions are growing.
Non-U.S. public company holdings rose 3,180 BTC from two months prior, now representing about 9% of all public company BTC. Analysts say this geographic diversification reduces regulatory risk.
Despite November’s volatility, corporate adoption of Bitcoin continues. Large treasuries are still buying aggressively. The quarterly pace of accumulation is slower than earlier in 2025, the report noted, but steady growth persists.
Those interested in reading the full report can do so below:
This piece is featured in the print edition of Bitcoin Magazine, The Freedom Issue. We’re sharing it here as a sample of the ideas explored throughout the full issue.
On November 3, 2025, the freedom for developers to build financial privacy software is on trial.
Samourai Wallet was a Bitcoin privacy wallet developed by Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill. It included specialized privacy tools that mixed the coins of wallet users in ways that required no third-party custody. The service’s servers helped coordinate “mixing” — methods to conceal the origin of coins and offer users some degree of forward privacy.
Rodriguez and Hill were arrested on April 24, 2024, on two charges: conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) accused the Samurai Wallet developers of facilitating over $2 billion in unlawful transactions through their cryptocurrency mixing service between 2015 and February 2024. Additionally, the DoJ alleges that the developers helped launder more than $100 million in criminal proceeds from illegal dark web markets, such as Silk Road and Hydra Market, as well as other hacking and fraud schemes.
The case of United States v. Rodriguez and Hill threatens the established precedents of code as speech on two major fronts.
The first regards the “$2 billion in unlawful transactions” accusation. The prosecution implies that software that aids or facilitates the movement of money in any way is indistinguishable from money transmission and that it requires a money transmitter license, even if that software never holds custody of user funds. This is entirely at odds with the dynamic that had previously been established by FinCEN’s 2019 guidance and other legacy financial regulations.
The second implication is that software that defends the privacy of communications or transfer of value is not protected speech under the United States’ First Amendment.
Code is Speech
The United States has a long and unique tradition of defending freedom of speech.
Over the years, many court cases have reinforced these values, creating precedents that let developers create great software and share it online. That kind of software has made the United States the technological epicenter of the world, from AI to cryptographic finance; the freedom to build software today is critical to the economic success of the nation.
Texas v. Johnson (1989), for example, established that burning the U.S. flag in protest was indeed protected speech even though the “speech” in this case was “functional”, i.e., expressed in the destruction of the flag.
In the 1990s, with the rise of the internet, landmark cases like Bernstein v. United States (1996-1999) established that discussions about cryptography — specifically the sharing of source code involving cryptographic algorithms — was not a “munition” governed and regulated by the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. On the contrary, the publication of source code explaining how cryptography worked was expressive speech and thus fully protected under the First Amendment.
The Bernstein case marked a critical victory for the Cypherpunks of the ’90s, whose contributions to open source software laid the foundations for Bitcoin: Many of the technologies that Satoshi Nakamoto used in its construction were indeed invented in the internet forums of the time. It was there that the Cypherpunks discussed the application of cryptography to the defense of freedom of speech, digital privacy, and civil rights.
In the Universal City Studios v. Corley (2001) case, however, something shifted slightly. Jon Lech Johansen, a Norwegian teenager, wrote software that jail-broke copyrighted movies from software locks placed there by Universal Studios, making movies playable in Linux systems. Eric Corley, a U.S. journalist, published the software online, which led to a massive lawsuit spearheaded by Universal Studios.
This landmark case turned on the question of whether something is speech or conduct in the realm of software. It established that when speech in the form of software gained “function”, such as the breaking of a DVD encryption lock, it suddenly became a tool and could become subject to regulation.
While Corley’s free speech protections were eventually reaffirmed in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the distinction between source code publications as a form of expression and functional software as a tool that can be regulated was established.
Despite the rulings — Corley even removed the copy of the DeCSS piracy software from his website — the damage was done. Internet civil disobedience spread the software far and wide, and the piracy wars of the 2000s raged on for years. They demonstrated not just the limits of free speech protections but also the limits of trying to enforce digital censorship.
Information simply wants to be free.
The Samourai case could face a similar challenge, and it is unclear whether “code is speech” can be a sufficient defense for Rodriguez and Hill.
Chink in the Armor
A controversial project that created as many loyal superusers as it did haters and critics is now on the front lines of the Biden-era lawfare, and the principle that code is speech appears to be at stake once again.
As a result, it has forced critics — myself included — to rise to the defense of a wallet that, while quite successful in its adoption, made many design choices that were questionable and for which they may be judged harshly in the coming months.
One potential weak point in their defense is their alleged enabling of sanctioned parties to “launder money” through their coin-mixing service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) went as far as to embed a screenshot of the Samourai wallet account welcoming sanctioned oligarchs:
Coin mixers are akin to the virtual private networks (VPNs) used by law-abiding citizens and criminals alike. For privacy to exist, one must be able to hide in a crowd, their choices and personal information shielded from prying eyes, and to be revealed or judged after due process.
With that, the Samourai Wallet founders did not make themselves a difficult target. If the allegations by the prosecution are true, and they knowingly helped dress up wolves in sheep’s clothing, then they likely will have to pay a price for violating sanctions doctrines. A deeply chilling legal precedent could then be set, shaping the future of digital finance and directly harming the proliferation of such technology in the United States.
However, there may be hope in the change to a more crypto-friendly administration under the leadership of President Trump.
“I Will Defend Your Right to Self Custody” – Trump
During his keynote speech at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville in 2024, Trump made a promise, one that he still has the opportunity to keep.
He promised to “defend the right to self custody”.
Without financial privacy, self custody is dramatically weakened, as seen by the growing wave of physical attacks on Bitcoiners in recent years. The liberty previously enjoyed by software developers to build self-custodial Bitcoin tools like Samourai Wallet, is on trial.
The chilling effect
The U.S. government has, for the most part, learned not to attack an already hardened legal precedent like freedom of expression. However, by going after the developers and maintainers of Samourai Wallet directly, the DoJ had a net negative effect on financial privacy in the U.S., and it spread a chilling effect among Bitcoin software developers.
Immediately following the arrest of Rodriguez and Hill, Phoenix Wallet, arguably the best self-custodial Lightning wallet in the industry, exited the U.S. app stores — a decision made to protect their business from a U.S. government that appeared hostile to Bitcoin self-custody software. (As of April 2025, Phoenix is once more available in the U.S.) Wasabi Wallet, another financial privacy software company, stopped offering its noncustodial mixing services to the public. And wallets like Blink from El Salvador geofenced American users from their app entirely.
If Trump is going to really defend the right to self custody, and stop the eventual deployment of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the United States (another election promise), he will have to address the need for financial privacy in the digital era and reverse the injustices set in course by the Biden administration.
In one way or another, these cases will leave a mark on his presidential legacy.
Foundations of a CBDC
The Biden administration continued to sue, scrutinize, and debank the crypto industry — a policy that started under Obama with Operation Choke Point and ultimately resulted in Silicon Valley CEOs losing access to their bank accounts altogether.
A sharp example of permissioned financial rails being abused was also witnessed in Canada in 2022 when the bank accounts of truckers and donors were frozen during the Freedom Convoy COVID protests in Ottawa, following the invocation of the Emergencies Act by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Furthermore, top U.S. officials from the Treasury have stated that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) would need to have strong identity tracking, even while “balancing consumer privacy”, striking at a trade-off that’s sacrificing user privacy altogether:
“The Report notes that ‘a CBDC system could increase the amount of data generated on users and transactions,’ which would pose ‘privacy and cyber security risks, but … offer opportunities for proper … supervision and law enforcement efforts.’”
Among the ideals of justice and fairness laid out by the Constitution is one where the privacy of the individual is granted by default, where there is a presumption of innocence, and the prosecution must prove the accused’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Fourth Amendment rights of innocent Americans who were using Samourai Wallet in particular are under attack by the kind of lawfare seen in the Samourai case:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Our homes are no longer just made of brick and stone, and our words no longer contained within those four walls. They are often digitized and transmitted, and so is the value they hold and move. Like cash in a sealed envelope, the use of financial privacy software naturally fits the protections of the Fourth Amendment, especially when no custody of funds is ever taken by the infrastructure facilitating its transit.
Yet the few tools that protect this default access to privacy have been systematically attacked and undermined in the digital age, akin to the government suing envelope manufacturers as money launderers for obfuscating the contents of a person’s exchanges.
It’s actually much worse. While developers of privacy software like Samourai Wallet are harassed, legacy financial institutions, in their attempt to be compliant with KYC and AML regulations — the same class of regulations used to prosecute Samourai Wallet today — are forced to gather excessive private information from their customers in order to report anything “suspicious” to the authorities.
These KYC data vaults are regularly hacked. Indeed, it’s impossible to keep them secure as they grow in size and become targets for cybercriminals, which exposes everyday people to organized crime in the form of identity theft and fraud. By 2012 in the U.S, identity fraud cost more than all other forms of theft combined, reaching over $21 billion, and this figure rose to $52 billion by the 2020s.
This surveillance infrastructure is doing profound and irreversible harm to U.S. citizens and the legacy financial system as a whole.
It is nevertheless sold as the necessary evil that stops money laundering by cartels and ends terrorist financing via sanctions through mechanisms like the OFAC list. And yet it is these same banks who are regularly busted laundering hundreds of millions of dollars for cartels, like TD Bank last year, which had to pay a record fine to U.S. regulators of $3 billion. It was accused of failing to surveil $18 trillion in transactions, of which close to $700 million was allegedly moved by drug cartels. Despite all the regulations and compliance, it turns out it was the banks that were doing the bulk of the money laundering.
When it comes to sanctions, meanwhile, Russia has received the worst lot of U.S. sanctions in recent memory, perhaps in history,including freezing its foreign treasury reserves. Despite that, Russia has run over major territories in Ukraine during the invasion and managed to survive long enough to be in a very strong negotiating position on the other side of the conflict — effectively marking the end of the sanctions foreign policy regime. It is no coincidence that the Trump administration is so focused on tariffs, overseeing the flow of goods across borders instead of the flow of money.
Also, let us not forget that when it comes to terrorist financing, it was the CIA that funded and trained the Afghan Mujaheddin in the ’80s, training guerrilla operatives like Osama bin Laden, who later on helped create Al Qaeda and carried out 9/11.
None of these crimes were done by Bitcoin or Bitcoiners. But the consequences of these laws weigh heavily on civilian populations. And the exponential growth of identity theft, the demoralizing ironies of the war on cash, the micromanagement overhead of the public’s finances, and the chilling effect on privacy-oriented software developers are the direct consequence of the KYC panopticon being constructed all around us.
All these policies can be summed up as flash points in the war on cash, a broad policy strategy of the pre-Trump era, that I believe was meant to set a foundation for the deployment of CBDCs, a state monstrosity that Trump specifically promised to protect us from.
Lesson Learned
The biggest concern I had with the Samourai Wallet’s mobile app was its backend design. Ambitious and commendable as it was to try and bring cutting-edge, self-custodial coin mixing to the masses, in order to achieve it, Samourai Wallet made some questionable compromises — compromises which competitors and critics doubted were worth the upside and which can be judged in the trial as well. The most obvious problem was the way the mobile client was said to handle the xpubs of their users.
Xpubs are very important cryptographic information in Bitcoin and crypto wallets. Similar to IP addresses in the world of VPNs, xpubs represent a key piece of identifying information for Bitcoin users. Anyone who has your xpub can deterministically recreate all public addresses you ever had or ever will have in that wallet, allowing them to know exactly what public Bitcoin addresses are within your control and which funds have moved through them.
In the marketing and debates about VPNs — which are in some sense the early web’s equivalent to Bitcoin mixers — IP addresses, and whether a service can or cannot keep IP logs, is critical to their credibility among a savvy user base. Services often boast about their processes and procedures around not keeping their users’ IP addresses, which, if shut down — as Samourai Wallet has been — could end up in the hands of prosecutors, compromising the browsing history of their users.
In the case of Samourai Wallet and xpubs, a similar rule of thumb should apply. Internet users throughout the decades have discovered that paranoia about the quality of the tools and implementations pays off in the end. This lesson has been learned the hard way as VPN services and privacy-oriented email providers have been hacked or seized by government prosecutors. If there’s user data accumulated, the service can become a juicy target.
We don’t yet know what data Samourai Wallet had in the 17 terabytes confiscated by the U.S. government. Most of it is likely on-chain analysis done by their research arm OXT. But if user data was kept, then the privacy of many of those users might be at risk as well.
The Trump Legacy?
It is fascinating that the future of software developers and their freedom to build private self-custody software will be judged and shaped in an age where Michael Saylor argues that the coin is not a currency and Trump, the self-branded crypto president, promises to protect your self-custody rights.
As Rodriguez and Hill stand trial, those wrapping themselves in the orange flag and those who can influence public policy about financial privacy will also be on trial in the court of public opinion; history will be their judge.
For us plebs who cannot influence public policy directly and can only judge the tools we use on their merit, there is a moral to this story. Compromising on privacy for convenience — to avoid the learning curve otherwise required — does not come without risk.
And on a long enough time frame, only the paranoid crypto-anarchists survive.
This piece is featured in the print edition of Bitcoin Magazine, The Freedom Issue. We’re sharing it here as a sample of the ideas explored throughout the full issue.
Bitcoin price surged above $94,000 today following a 25-basis-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
The Fed lowered its benchmark interest rate to 3.50%–3.75% to support maximum employment and contain somewhat elevated inflation amid moderate economic growth and slowing job gains.
This is the Fed’s third rate cut this year and the first since October. Most officials backed the move, while three dissented — one favoring a larger cut, two preferring no change.
Fed forecasts for 2026 and 2027 remain modest, with expectations for small rate reductions, 4.4% unemployment, and 2.4% PCE inflation.
The rate decision pushed the Bitcoin price higher, although markets had largely priced in the cut. BTC briefly hit $94,500, reaching a seven-day high.
Trading volume over the last 24 hours totaled roughly $46 billion. The cryptocurrency’s market cap stands near $1.86 trillion, with a circulating supply of just under 20 million BTC, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data.
Bitcoin’s recent rally reflects broader adoption trends and institutional interest. PNC Bank became the first major U.S. bank to offer direct spot bitcoin trading to eligible Private Bank clients using Coinbase’s infrastructure.
Last week, Bank of America advised its wealth management clients to allocate 1%–4% of portfolios to digital assets.
Coinbase Institutional highlighted that speculative leverage has fallen from 10% to 4%–5% of total market capitalization, signaling a potential end to extreme volatility. Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood suggested the market may have already seen its four-year cycle lows.
The Fed’s decision came amid mixed signals from broader financial markets. The 10-year Treasury yield has risen, reflecting investor concern that easing policy now could spur inflation later.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades around $92,505, up roughly 3% in the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin price analysis
Last week, Bitcoin price saw a volatile ride, dipping to $84,000 before bulls pushed it up to $94,000, then dropping slightly below $88,000, and closing the week at $90,429.
The market now faces key support at $87,200 and $84,000, with deeper support zones around $72,000–$68,000 and $57,700.
Resistance levels stand at $94,000, $101,000, $104,000, and a thick zone between $107,000–$110,000, with momentum likely slowing above $96,000.
Typically, rate cuts lead to bullish momentum, but the market may have already priced in this month’s rate cut.
The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points today, lowering the federal funds target range to 3.50%–3.75%. The move marked the central bank’s third rate cut of the year and its first since October.
The Federal Reserve said they made the cuts to support maximum employment and return inflation to 2%. Economic activity is expanding moderately, job gains have slowed, and inflation remains somewhat elevated, the Fed said.
Most officials voted for the cut, with three dissenting—one preferring a larger cut and two preferring no change. Policymakers said the decision reflects easing inflation pressures and a desire to support economic activity as growth moderates. The Fed had kept rates unchanged for several meetings after its October cut.
Fed officials also left their rate forecasts unchanged, signaling modest 25-basis-point cuts in 2026 and 2027, with expected 2026 unemployment at 4.4%, PCE inflation at 2.4% and GDP growth at 2.3%.
The 10-year Treasury yield has climbed this month even as expectations for a rate cut grew, signaling investor concern that easing policy now could reignite inflation and force rates higher later.
The Fed’s internal divisions add to that tension, as Jerome Powell heads up what is probably his final meeting as chair before President Trump names a successor, ending a tenure defined by consensus-building amid unusual discord.
Lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs for households and businesses. They can encourage spending, investment, and risk-taking across financial markets.
Before these cuts, some said that inflation was easing, but regardless, the market widely expected a 25 basis-point rate cut.
At the same time, rate cuts can also signal concern about the economy’s trajectory.
The Fed’s last rate cut
In October, The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%–4% at its October meeting, following its previous cut in September. At the time, the Bitcoin price slipped from around $116,000 to lows of $111,000 that week.
Since then, Bitcoin has plunged to lows of $80,000.
Bitcoin’s response to rate cuts has varied in the past, with sharp volatility during the Fed’s emergency easing in 2020 and a more muted reaction to the September 2025 cut.
At the time, Chair Jerome Powell also signaled that the central bank is nearing the end of its quantitative tightening program, with balance-sheet runoff expected to stop by December. QT has been draining liquidity by allowing bonds to mature without reinvestment, pushing yields higher and tightening financial conditions.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is showing lots of volatility and is trading near $92,500.
SpaceX moved another 1,021 bitcoin on Wednesday, worth about $94.5 million.
The transfer was split between two unlabeled addresses via Coinbase Prime custody. One address received 614 BTC, the other 407 BTC.
This marks the ninth such transfer by SpaceX this year. Recent movements total around 8,910 BTC, valued near $924 million. Analysts say the company is consolidating its holdings and upgrading from legacy bitcoin addresses.
SpaceX’s bitcoin holdings were tagged on-chain by Arkham Intelligence. The company currently controls about 3,991 BTC, worth roughly $367 million at current prices. Holdings have fluctuated over the past several years.
The total once peaked above $1.6 billion during the 2021 bull market. In mid-2022, SpaceX reportedly reduced its stake by about 70% after shocks from the Terra-Luna collapse, FTX bankruptcy, and market-wide turbulence.
SpaceX has made no public statement about the transactions. Tesla, another Elon Musk-run company, currently holds 11,509 BTC, worth about $1.24 billion.
SpaceX IPO?
The bitcoin reshuffle comes as SpaceX advances plans for a massive initial public offering. Bloomberg reported the company aims to raise more than $30 billion in its IPO. The target valuation is near $1.5 trillion, potentially surpassing Saudi Aramco’s record $29 billion fundraise in 2019.
SpaceX’s IPO could take place as early as mid-to-late 2026. Sources say the timing could slip into 2027 depending on market conditions. If successful, it would be the largest listing in history by valuation.
The offering would give investors exposure not only to rockets, satellites, and Starlink internet services but also to SpaceX’s crypto holdings. Musk’s companies were among the earliest institutional bitcoin adopters.
SpaceX has also used dogecoin to fund its DOGE-1 lunar mission, highlighting Musk’s influence in crypto markets.
Prediction market data show growing confidence in SpaceX’s valuation. Polymarket traders assign a 67% probability that the IPO will exceed a $1 trillion market cap.
The IPO could provide capital for Starlink expansion, space-based data centers, and other ventures intersecting with AI and crypto infrastructure, according to Bloomberg.
Analysts note the on-chain reshuffle aligns with the company’s broader treasury strategy. Moving funds to modern addresses can reduce transaction costs, improve security, and consolidate management of multiple wallets.
Most of SpaceX’s remaining bitcoin is expected to be migrated as the consolidation completes.
Strategy, the world’s largest Bitcoin treasury company, has submitted a formal response to MSCI’s consultation on digital asset treasury companies (DATs), urging the index provider not to exclude companies whose digital asset holdings exceed 50% of total assets.
In its detailed letter to the MSCI Equity Index Committee, Strategy argued that the proposed threshold is “misguided” and would have “profoundly harmful consequences” for both investors and the broader digital asset industry.
Founded in 1989, the company operates as a corporate treasury and capital markets business with significant Bitcoin holdings, offering investors a range of equity and fixed-income securities backed by its digital assets.
According to the company, its model is fundamentally different from a passive investment fund. Strategy actively uses its Bitcoin reserves to generate returns for shareholders, providing novel financial instruments akin to traditional bank and insurance products.
The company emphasized that “DATs are operating companies, not investment funds,” noting that its operational flexibility allows it to adapt its business model as the technology evolves.
Strategy calls MSCI’s logic “arbitrary, and unworkable.”
Strategy criticized MSCI’s proposal for introducing a digital-asset-specific 50% threshold, calling it “discriminatory, arbitrary, and unworkable.”
The company highlighted that many traditional businesses — including oil companies, timber operators, REITs, and media firms — also maintain concentrated holdings in single asset types but are not treated as investment funds.
The company warned that price volatility, differing accounting standards, and asset valuation changes would create index instability, causing DATs to whipsaw in and out of MSCI’s indices.
The letter further argued that the proposal would inappropriately inject policy considerations into index construction.
“MSCI has consistently held itself out as providing indices that accurately and objectively measure market performance,” Strategy wrote.
JUST IN: Strategy officially asks MSCI to revoke its proposal to exclude #Bitcoin treasury companies like $MSTR from its indexes. pic.twitter.com/3k1RlJDZjX
Excluding DATs based on the type of assets they hold, rather than the underlying business model, could compromise MSCI’s neutrality and mislead investors about how these companies operate.
Strategy noted that its investors buy exposure to the company’s management and innovation capabilities, not merely to Bitcoin itself, citing historical trading patterns in which the company’s stock often outperformed the underlying value of its digital holdings.
Strategy: Digital assets are popular in government policy
The company also framed the debate in the context of U.S. economic policy. Strategy noted that the federal government, under President Trump, has made digital assets central to national economic endeavors, including the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and promoting access to digital assets in retirement accounts.
Excluding DATs from MSCI indices would, the letter argued, conflict with these policies and chill innovation in a nascent sector.
Analysts cited in the letter estimate that Strategy alone could face up to $2.8 billion in stock outflows if MSCI implements the exclusion, with broader implications for the emerging digital asset economy.
Strategy positioned itself within a historical context, comparing the rise of digital asset treasuries to earlier industrial leaders.
The letter highlighted examples like Standard Oil, AT&T, Intel, and NVIDIA, noting that these companies made concentrated investments in emerging technologies that were initially viewed as risky but ultimately became foundational to economic growth.
Similarly, the letter argued, digital asset treasuries are building critical infrastructure for a new financial system.
Don’t succumb to ‘short-sightedness’
The letter concluded by urging MSCI to reject the 50% threshold, citing the risk of stifling innovation, damaging index integrity, and undermining federal strategy. Strategy recommended that MSCI allow the market to continue evolving and conduct more thorough consultation before considering any policy that would differentiate DATs from other operating companies.
The company invoked MSCI’s precedent in reorganizing the Communication Services sector after nearly two decades of industry evolution, suggesting a measured, deliberative approach.
“History shows that when foundational technologies have emerged, institutions that prospered allowed markets to test them rather than throttling them in advance,” Strategy wrote. “MSCI can either succumb to short-sightedness or allow its indices to reflect, neutrally and faithfully, the next era of financial technology.”
Elsewhere, companies like Strive and Bitcoin For Corporations also challenged MSCI’s decision.
American Bitcoin Corp. (Nasdaq: ABTC) continued to expand its BTC treasury, adding roughly 416 BTC over the past week and lifting total holdings to about 4,783 BTC as of Dec. 8, according to a company update released Wednesday.
The latest additions bring American Bitcoin’s reserve to one of the largest among U.S.-listed companies focused on BTC accumulation. The holdings were built through a mix of in-house mining and strategic market purchases, the company said.
The total also includes BTC held in custody or pledged as collateral for miner purchases under a supply agreement with hardware manufacturer Bitmain.
American Bitcoin, which listed on Nasdaq earlier this year, also reported an increase in its proprietary “Satoshis Per Share” metric, or SPS.
As of Dec. 8, SPS stood at 507, up more than 17% in just over a month. The measure reflects the amount of BTC attributable to each outstanding common share and is intended to give equity investors clearer visibility into their indirect exposure to BTC through the company’s stock.
Eric Trump, American Bitcoin’s co-founder and chief strategy officer, said the pace of accumulation reflects the company’s operating model and cost structure.
In comments included with the update, Trump said the firm has built “one of the largest and fastest growing bitcoin accumulators” within three months of listing, supported by margins designed to favor long-term value creation rather than short-term price moves.
JUST IN: Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. backed American Bitcoin, acquires an additional 416 BTC.
Shares of ABTC were modestly higher in early Wednesday trading, though the stock remains well below recent highs following a sharp selloff earlier this month.
On Dec. 2, ABTC shares fell roughly 50% in a session after pre-merger private placement shares became freely tradable, increasing supply and pressure on the stock.
Anthony Pompliano’s ProCap Financial buys more Bitcoin
American Bitcoin’s expansion comes as other newly listed firms also grow their BTC reserves. ProCap Financial (Nasdaq: BRR), led by Anthony Pompliano, said this week it increased its holdings to 5,000 bitcoin, adding 49 BTC following the completion of its SPAC merger.
ProCap said the purchase was structured to realize a tax loss that could offset future gains, a strategy the firm framed as shareholder-friendly capital allocation.
Pompliano described the move as part of a broader plan to maximize long-term BTC accumulation while maintaining balance-sheet flexibility. ProCap reported holding more than $175 million in cash, which it said provides capacity for additional purchases and operations.
Despite recent buying activity, shares of both companies remain under pressure. BRR stock has fallen more than 60% over the past several days.
According to data from bitcointreasuries.net, ProCap and American Bitcoin now rank among the top publicly traded companies holding BTC, placing 21st and 22nd, respectively.
The Samourai Wallet matter raises a fundamental question about how the United States treats non-custodial software and the developers who create it. Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill did not operate a financial service or handle customer assets. They wrote and maintained software that allowed users to construct collaborative Bitcoin transactions in a privacy-preserving way. Throughout the tool’s entire lifecycle, users controlled their own keys, initiated their own transactions, and never relied on Samourai or its developers to transmit or safeguard value. The distinction between a custodial service and a non-custodial tool is not a technicality; it is the core boundary that the Bank Secrecy Act, FinCEN guidance, and decades of regulatory practice use to distinguish software authors from regulated financial intermediaries.
This point was reinforced by FinCEN itself. In an internal analysis, the agency concluded that Samourai’s architecture did not constitute money transmission because no third party took possession or control of user funds. That conclusion was never disclosed to the defense while the prosecution advanced a theory that required the opposite: that building software which users employ for privacy is functionally equivalent to operating a financial institution. When that analysis finally surfaced, it confirmed what has long been understood across the industry and within the regulatory community—that non-custodial tools fall outside the BSA’s money-transmitter framework because there is no transfer of value by a third party. The case ultimately treated the developers as if they were responsible for the independent actions of users, even though they had no role in executing, intermediating, or approving any transaction. Some individuals did misuse the tool, as happens with any privacy or security technology, but the law has never equated misuse with liability for the creators. We do not treat the authors of encryption libraries, VPN protocols, or email clients as participants in unlawful activity simply because bad actors rely on those tools. Collapsing the distinction between developing a tool and operating a service would introduce an untenable level of risk for anyone building privacy-enhancing or security-critical software.
There is also an important speech component. Courts have consistently recognized that code is expressive, and publishing open-source software is an act of communication. When publication is treated as evidence of “operation,” the legal boundary between authorship and conduct becomes blurred in a way that threatens a wide range of legitimate technologies. Any precedent suggesting that developers are responsible for unforeseeable downstream use would have immediate consequences for cryptography, cybersecurity research, and open-source work more broadly.
Rodriguez and Hill ultimately accepted plea agreements in the face of substantial sentencing exposure, even though government records undermined the central regulatory theory of the case. Their convictions now rest on a framework that is at odds with established guidance and with the direction in which federal policy has since moved. A pardon would bring the legal outcome back into alignment with the underlying facts: this was software development, not money transmission, and the individuals involved should not bear criminal liability for writing code that users executed independently.
This case has already had a measurable chilling effect on developers working on privacy and security tools in the United States. Leaving the convictions in place would discourage responsible innovation and push critical work to jurisdictions that do not share our commitment to open research and transparent development. A pardon would correct a clear misapplication of federal law, protect the integrity of long-standing distinctions in financial regulation, and reaffirm that publishing non-custodial software is not—and should not become—a criminal act.
Disclaimer – This is a guest contribution by Zack Shapiro, originally published by the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI). The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
Strive, a publicly traded bitcoin treasury and asset-management firm, said it has arranged a $500 million at-the-market offering to help fund more bitcoin purchases.
The company plans to sell Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, known as SATA. The offering allows Strive to issue shares into the market at prevailing prices rather than through a single sale. The structure gives the firm flexibility to raise capital as demand allows.
SATA carries a 12% dividend and an effective yield near 13%. The preferred stock is modeled on Strategy’s STRC perpetual preferred equity, which has been used as a funding tool for bitcoin accumulation.
SATA currently trades around $91, below its $100 par value.
Strive said proceeds may be used for a range of purposes. These include buying bitcoin, purchasing income-generating assets, supporting working capital, repurchasing common shares, or pursuing acquisitions.
JUST IN: Vivek Ramaswamy's Strive to raise $500 million to buy more #Bitcoin
The company did not specify how much of the raise would be allocated to bitcoin purchases.
The 14th-largest corporate bitcoin holder
Strive currently holds about 7,525 bitcoin, valued at roughly $695 million at recent market prices. That positions the firm as the 14th-largest publicly traded corporate holder of bitcoin.
The company has leaned into a bitcoin-focused treasury strategy following a public reverse merger earlier this year.
The company was co-founded in 2022 by entrepreneur and political figure Vivek Ramaswamy. Since launching its first exchange-traded fund in August 2022, Strive Asset Management has grown to oversee more than $2 billion in assets, according to company disclosures.
The firm markets itself as an alternative asset manager with a focus on aligning capital with long-term investment themes.
In September, Strive agreed to acquire Semler Scientific, a transaction that increased the combined entity’s bitcoin exposure. The move placed the company among a growing group of public companies that use equity markets to build large bitcoin positions, a strategy popularized by Michael Saylor’s Strategy.
Shares of its common stock, ASST, trade near $1 today.
Strive calls out MSCI on bitcoin beliefs
The company has also taken an active role in market structure debates tied to bitcoin treasury firms. Earlier this month, Strive called on index provider MSCI to avoid excluding companies with large digital asset holdings from major equity benchmarks.
MSCI is reportedly consulting investors on whether firms with balance sheets dominated by crypto assets should remain eligible for inclusion.
The company argued that such exclusions would limit investor choice and reshape capital flows across passive funds. The review could have broad implications for companies that hold bitcoin as a core treasury asset.
A 22-year-old California resident has pleaded guilty to his role in a multi-state social engineering scheme that stole roughly $263 million in crypto.
Evan Tangeman of Newport Beach, California, admitted laundering $3.5 million in crypto for the criminal enterprise, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
Tangeman pleaded guilty to participating in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy before U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 24, 2026. He is the ninth defendant to enter a guilty plea in this specific investigation.
The court also unsealed the Second Superseding Indictment, adding three more defendants. Nicholas Dellecave, also known as “Nic” or “Souja,” Mustafa Ibrahim, also known as “Krust,” and Danish Zulfiqar, also known as “Danny” or “Meech,” face charges of RICO conspiracy along with the other members of the Social Engineering Enterprise (SE Enterprise).
Dellecave was arrested in Miami on Dec. 3, 2025. Ibrahim and Zulfiqar were recently arrested in Dubai.
According to prosecutors, the enterprise began in October 2023 and continued through at least May 2025. It originated from friendships formed on online gaming platforms. The group included individuals in California, Connecticut, New York, Florida, and abroad.
Details of the rampant crypto crime
The scheme involved database hackers, organizers, target identifiers, callers, and residential burglars who targeted hardware wallets containing cryptocurrency. Hackers used stolen databases to identify high-value targets.
Callers impersonated crypto exchange staff or email providers to trick victims into revealing account credentials.
Burglars physically broke into homes to steal hardware wallets.
Tangeman acted as a money launderer. He converted stolen cryptocurrency into cash using a bulk-cash converter. Tangeman then used the cash to obtain rental homes for members of the group, often listing false names on the leases.
Some properties rented for $40,000 to $80,000 per month. He secured homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
The largest known theft occurred on Aug. 18, 2024. Tangeman’s co-conspirators, including Malone Lam and Danish Zulfiqar, deceived a victim in Washington, D.C., into transferring over 4,100 Bitcoin. At the time, the crypto was valued at $263 million. The same amount is now worth more than $368 million.
Tangeman also helped Lam obtain roughly $3 million in cash from stolen cryptocurrency to secure a rental property.
After Lam’s arrest on Sept. 18, 2024, Tangeman accessed home security systems to screenshot FBI agents during searches. He also asked another member to retrieve and destroy digital devices from Lam’s Los Angeles residence.
Prosecutors said the enterprise spent stolen funds on a lavish lifestyle. Purchases included nightclub services up to $500,000 per night, luxury handbags, watches valued between $100,000 and $500,000, designer clothing, rental homes, private jets, security guards, and a fleet of at least 28 exotic cars ranging from $100,000 to $3.8 million.
Three additional defendants unsealed
With Tangeman’s guilty plea, prosecutors have unsealed charges against three additional defendants. The Second Superseding Indictment shows the investigation is ongoing. Authorities have not disclosed whether any of the stolen Bitcoin has been recovered or whether restitution will be sought.
The SE Enterprise relied on social engineering rather than sophisticated hacking techniques. The group’s operations originated from online friendships, but the stolen funds funded high-profile purchases and drew attention.
Authorities said the defendants’ extravagant spending played a role in exposing their activities.
Tangeman remains free pending sentencing.
Federal penalties for RICO conspiracy and money laundering carry significant prison terms. The Justice Department has indicated that additional charges may follow as the investigation continues.
A RICO conspiracy occurs when individuals agree to take part in a pattern of criminal activity, or racketeering, through an ‘enterprise.’ Under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), prosecutors can connect separate crimes and individuals under a single charge.
The focus is on proving a shared criminal objective, not that every participant committed every act.
Wall Street’s biggest Bitcoin bulls are cutting near-term price targets after the latest market pullback. Their longer-term outlook remains intact. Standard Chartered, one of crypto’s most prominent backers, halved its Bitcoin forecasts in a note published Tuesday.
The bank now sees Bitcoin reaching $100,000 by the end of 2025, down from $200,000, and $150,000 by the end of 2026.
Its long-term target of $500,000 remains, though the timeline has been pushed to 2030 from 2028.
The downgrade reflects a shift in demand. Corporate treasury buying, once a major driver, has faded. Exchange-traded fund flows have slowed.
Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital asset research, said aggressive corporate accumulation has “run its course.”
“Future price gains will be driven by one leg only,” Kendrick wrote, referring to ETF inflows. He expects consolidation rather than broad selling.
Bernstein analysts struck a similar tone. They forecast Bitcoin at $150,000 by the end of next year and near $200,000 by late 2027, according to Bloomberg.
The firm dropped its call for a $200,000 peak this year but argues Bitcoin is no longer bound by its historical four-year cycle. Analysts say institutional participation has added durability to the market.
The revisions follow a rough stretch for prices. Bitcoin has fallen almost 30% from its October peak above $126,000.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs posted $60 million in net outflows on Monday. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust lost about $2.3 billion in November, its largest monthly redemption since launch.
Those outflows represent about 3% of the fund’s assets. Bernstein notes that total ETF withdrawals remain below 5% of assets under management. Retail investors still hold most ETF shares, though institutional ownership has climbed to 28%.
Bitcoin price rebound
Despite these predictions, Bitcoin rose more than 4% today to near $94,640, pushing market capitalization to about $1.86 trillion as trading volume climbed to $46 billion and prices hit a seven-day high.
Institutional momentum continued with Twenty One ringing the NYSE opening bell holding over 43,500 BTC, while PNC became the first major U.S. bank to offer direct spot bitcoin trading to private clients and Bank of America encouraged limited digital asset allocations.
Investors are also weighing supportive macro signals, with expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts and comments from Cathie Wood suggesting Bitcoin’s cycle lows may already be in.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading near $94,000.
AuthenticDoc, a decentralized digital signature platform developed in El Salvador, launched on November 13, 2025, at the Adopting Bitcoin conference in San Salvador. The tool uses the Nostr protocol for its open-source, decentralized architecture, incorporating Bitcoin-compatible cryptography to enable tamper-proof document verification and user-controlled private keys.
Co-founder Fabian, of the Salvadoran firm illuminodes, announced the release during the conference. “The digital signature landscape is ripe for innovation, and AuthenticDoc is leading the charge,” Fabian said. “We’ve harnessed the power of decentralized open protocol technology to deliver unparalleled security and control, effectively eliminating single points of failure that plague traditional solutions. Our platform provides a robust, tamper-proof cryptographic verification and authentication solution that businesses can trust, all while making it accessible and affordable.”
Built by Bitcoiners, the start-up addresses vulnerabilities in centralized platforms like DocuSign, which holds about 70% of the $10 billion digital signature market. According to their press release, the sector is projected to grow to $60 billion by 2030 at a 40% compound annual growth rate, fueled by regulations such as the EU’s eIDAS and the U.S. ESIGN Act, alongside remote work trends and AI-driven authenticity challenges.
The platform’s core features include trustless identity verification, private key management for users, and ISO-standard compliance for enterprise use. It eliminates reliance on centralized storage by using Nostr’s event-based system, where documents and signatures are cryptographically signed and distributed across a network of relays, ensuring robust data storage and distribution.
Diego, head of technology at illuminodes, emphasized the shift from legacy systems. “Our decentralized architecture empowers users with private key control and trustless identity verification, moving beyond the vulnerabilities of centralized systems,” Adding that, “this is not just an incremental improvement; it’s a paradigm shift in how digital signatures are secured and managed.”
AuthenticDoc is free for basic use, with paid tiers based on volume for enterprises, undercutting competitors’ license-based models. The platform supports global expansion from its El Salvador headquarters, leveraging local talent and regulatory support to target markets in Latin America, North America, and Europe.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has clarified that national banks may engage in “riskless principal” transactions involving crypto-assets.
In its new Interpretive Letter 1188, the OCC explained that such transactions allow a bank to act as a principal between two customers, buying crypto from one while simultaneously selling it to another.
The bank does not hold the assets in inventory, effectively serving as a broker acting on behalf of clients.
This guidance follows a broader regulatory trend to ease restrictions on crypto activities within the traditional banking sector. In March, the OCC removed prior requirements for banks to seek advance approval before engaging in certain crypto operations, signaling growing acceptance of digital assets in mainstream finance.
In other words, U.S. banks can now offer crypto services in a manner similar to traditional brokerage activities.
Last week, Bank of America announced it would allow wealth management clients to allocate 1%–4% of their portfolios to digital assets.
The guidance applied across Merrill, Bank of America Private Bank, and Merrill Edge, enabling more than 15,000 advisers—previously restricted—to recommend crypto proactively.
Also, earlier today, PNC Bank became the first major U.S. bank to offer eligible Private Bank clients direct bitcoin trading through its own platform, powered by Coinbase’s infrastructure. The service allowed qualified clients to buy, hold, and sell bitcoin without using an external exchange.
The launch followed a strategic partnership with Coinbase announced in July.
Full OCC letter details
In essence, the letter basically confirmed that national banks may engage in ‘riskless principal transactions’ in crypto-assets.
Per the letter, a riskless principal transaction occurs when a bank buys an asset from one counterparty with the simultaneous agreement to sell it immediately to another, without holding the asset in inventory except in rare cases like settlement failures.
In this role, the bank functions similarly to a broker, taking on limited settlement, market, and credit risk.
The letter made a distinction between crypto-assets that are securities and those that are not. Riskless principal transactions in crypto-assets classified as securities are already permissible under existing law, as the bank acts without recourse, meaning it does not assume customer risk.
The OCC extends this reasoning to crypto-assets that are not securities, framing the activity as part of the broader “business of banking.”
Under U.S. law, the business of banking is not narrowly defined, allowing banks to engage in new activities that logically extend their traditional functions.
The OCC analyzed the activity using four factors: its similarity to recognized banking activities, its benefit to banks and customers, the nature of the risks involved, and whether state-chartered banks are authorized to perform it.
Riskless principal crypto-asset transactions align with traditional brokerage and custody services, benefit customers by providing regulated access to crypto-assets, and carry risks familiar to banks, such as settlement risk.
State regulatory frameworks do not prohibit similar activity, supporting the federal permissibility.
Twenty One Capital, the Bitcoin-native company co-founded by Jack Mallers, officially began trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under the ticker XXI, following a business combination with Cantor Equity Partners.
The firm debuted with a BTC treasury of 43,514 BTC, valued at roughly $3.9 billion, immediately making it the world’s third-largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder.
Speaking live on CNBC, Mallers said the company plans to “buy as much Bitcoin as [they] possibly can”. He emphasized that the firm is not simply a treasury holder but intends to build businesses around BTC, including capital markets advisory, lending models, and educational media.
JUST IN: Public company Twenty One Capital CEO Jack Mallers says: We're going to buy "as much Bitcoin as we possibly can" pic.twitter.com/7jdRAiOZjr
Mallers described Bitcoin as “honest money” and said Twenty One aims to give it “the place it deserves in global markets.”
The NYSE launch is backed by major institutional players, including Tether, Bitfinex, Cantor Fitzgerald, and SoftBank, reflecting a growing wave of institutional adoption of BTC.
Twenty One’s PIPE financing included $486.5 million in senior convertible notes and roughly $365 million in common equity commitments.
Analysts note the launch signals a new model for public Bitcoin companies. Mitchell Askew, head of Blockware Intelligence, said the firm’s institutional connections could position Twenty One as “a major player not only in Bitcoin, but in the grand arc of financial history.”
Twenty One plans to pair its treasury with operating businesses that generate recurring revenue while supporting BTC adoption.
Shareholders will have access to on-chain verification of holdings, ensuring transparency. Mallers highlighted that the firm’s value comes not only from its BTC holdings but also from the cash flows and infrastructure it builds around the asset.
Shares of XXI opened with volatility, trading down over 23% at $10.97 following the debut, reflecting typical market reactions to new listings. Since opening, shares have stabilized to
With this launch, Twenty One Capital aims to establish itself as both a leading institutional BTC holder and a financial ecosystem around the cryptocurrency, offering investors direct exposure to BTC alongside innovative business models built on the asset.
Bitcoin as money, not just an asset
At Bitcoin Amsterdam, Jack Mallers reaffirmed his belief that BTC’s ultimate purpose is to function as money, not just as an asset.
For Mallers, money is what you save to later exchange for goods and services, and BTC fulfills that role regardless of whether merchants directly accept it.
“What I used as money was Bitcoin because I exchanged the work I’m doing for those around me for Bitcoin and later exchange it for the things I want,” he explained.
Mallers also addressed external pressures from powerful figures and media outlets to temper his message. He recalled being advised, “Don’t say that on CNBC,” but emphasized, “Sorry, good thing I’m me and you’re you… you say whatever you want.”
He framed his stance as a matter of integrity and honesty, saying, “I was born to love others, to contribute to something bigger than myself.”
In Bitcoin culture, there is still a noticeable gap between the importance of the subject and the forms in which it is presented. Much of what exists is entirely digital, quick to disappear, or shaped by a purely functional aesthetic. Even projects that engage with Bitcoin’s history or its artistic dimension often end up looking more like documentation or marketing than something with cultural presence.
When I first saw History of Bitcoin in person at the Bitcoin Conference 2025 in Amsterdam, that contrast became quite clear. The physical object had a calm, deliberate quality that stood out in an environment dominated by screens and fast exchanges. It didn’t feel like something designed to be glanced at and set aside. It felt like something that expects to be revisited.
What stayed with me was not the rarity of the materials, but the intention behind the choices. In fields like design, architecture, and art publishing, substantial coffee-table books have long played a role in giving subjects a physical anchor. Major art publishers use this format because it creates a stable place for a topic to live. A well-made book slows the pace. It encourages repeated viewing and allows ideas to settle. That kind of physical presence is still unusual in the Bitcoin world.
Many Bitcoin-related books appear as softcovers. I understand why, but they often feel interchangeable and easy to overlook. They rarely give the impression that something is meant to be kept. My point isn’t that books should be luxurious. It’s that form and material can signal whether a subject is being treated with care.
Smashtoshi, History of Bitcoin (First Edition)
Seen from that angle, the First Edition of History of Bitcoin is a considered object. It comes in a case made from five-thousand-year-old fossilised black oak. The material is unusual, but the effect is straightforward: it gives the book a steady, quiet setting. Inside, the volume is bound in bull leather with a finely made silver emblem by Asprey Studio. None of this feels like decoration. It feels like someone thinking carefully about how an object should look if it is meant to last.
The team behind the project described these choices in a way that adds another layer to this. For them, ancient materials weren’t chosen for rarity, but to reflect a belief that Bitcoin itself is built to endure for a very very long time. Placing a young technology inside something that has already lasted thousands of years creates a deliberate contrast. They also spoke of the First Edition as a kind of time capsule, an object made to outlive us and to offer future readers a way to encounter Bitcoin’s beginnings in a physical form.
The project continues this restrained approach. The physical book and the digital archive are designed to stand alongside each other. The archive provides access and the book provides presence. Together they make the material both reachable and grounded.
Grant Yun, GPU Power Shift
The 128 artworks in the book were created by different artists specifically for this project. Each one revisits a moment in Bitcoin’s history without trying to define a final interpretation. They open space for reflection. They invite conversation. That is one of the strengths of a good coffee-table book: it creates room for looking again.
The companion volume, the range of guest articles on the website, and even the small fragment of the original Bitcoin code included with each collector’s edition follow the same idea. They offer multiple entry points into the history rather than insisting on a single narrative.
My First Bitcoin, the nonprofit receiving the proceeds from the First Edition auction at Bitcoin MENA, teaches young people around the world. Connecting the book to this project links historical reflection with future education in a simple and meaningful way.
All of this suggests to me that presentation is not a secondary detail. It is part of the cultural work needed to give a subject depth. A carefully made book is not a decorative object. It is a way of turning something that might otherwise feel temporary into something that can endure.
That is, ultimately, why History of Bitcoin feels meaningful to me. It gives this history a form that can be kept close, something you can put down, return to, and live alongside. It doesn’t try to conclude anything. It simply gives Bitcoin a place to settle.
The bitcoin price is currently pumping and hit highs of $94,640 today, climbing over 4% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume reached $46 billion. It stands at its seven-day high.
The total circulating supply of Bitcoin is 19,959,806 BTC, with a maximum supply of 21 million. Today’s market capitalization is roughly $1.86 trillion, reflecting the 4% daily gain.
The broader bitcoin space is experiencing some momentum. The Bitcoin MENA conference in Abu Dhabi just wrapped up, full of bank leaders and industry thought leaders sharing their thoughts on Bitcoin’s future.
Earlier today, Jack Mallers’ Bitcoin company, Strike, and Twenty One rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. The company holds over 43,500 BTC — around $4 billion — making it the world’s third-largest publicly listed Bitcoin holder.
Majority-owned by Tether Investments and Bitfinex, with SoftBank as a significant minority investor, the company blends a Bitcoin treasury strategy with operational Bitcoin-focused financial services under CEO Jack Mallers.
Investors are also paying close attention to macroeconomic signals. Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood said that the Bitcoin price’s four-year cycle may shift. She suggested the market may have already seen its lows.
Neuberger CIO Shannon Saccocia also noted that expected Federal Reserve rate cuts and gains in AI-driven productivity could lift equities and other risk assets. Stocks often perform well when the economy avoids recession and the Fed is easing.
Bitcoin price’s recent rally comes amid growing adoption and institutional interest. Large players are integrating Bitcoin into payments and financial products.
For example, earlier today, PNC Bank became the first major U.S. bank to offer direct spot bitcoin trading to eligible Private Bank clients through its digital platform, using Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service infrastructure.
The service allows qualified clients to buy, hold, and sell bitcoin without relying on external cryptocurrency exchanges.
Coinbase provides the trading, custody, and settlement infrastructure, while PNC retains the direct client relationship and regulatory oversight.
The launch follows a strategic partnership announced in July and reflects a growing trend among U.S. banks to integrate bitcoin into wealth management services.
Also last week, the Bank of America urged its wealth management clients to allocate 1% to 4% of their portfolios to digital assets, signaling a major shift in its approach to Bitcoin exposure. The move allowed over 15,000 advisers across Merrill, Bank of America Private Bank, and Merrill Edge to proactively recommend crypto to clients.
At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is $94, 061.
Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, delivered a sweeping keynote at the Bitcoin MENA conference earlier today, framing Bitcoin not just as an investable asset, but as the foundation of a new era in digital capital and credit.
Speaking to an audience of sovereign wealth funds, banks, conference attendees, and investors, Saylor outlined how his company is leveraging Bitcoin to create the world’s first digital Treasury and build a global system of Bitcoin-backed credit.
“Bitcoin is digital capital,” Saylor said, opening his talk.
He contrasted Bitcoin with traditional forms of capital such as gold, real estate, and equities, emphasizing its potential as a foundational store of value in the digital economy.
“We are going to buy all of it,” he declared, highlighting Strategy’s ongoing acquisition program, which now totals 660,624 Bitcoin, including 10,600 acquired last week.
The purchases, he explained, range from $500 million to $1 billion weekly, underscoring the company’s aggressive accumulation strategy.
Banks are meeting with Saylor to discuss Bitcoin
Saylor stressed the importance of recent institutional and regulatory shifts. He said that over the past year, major U.S. banks including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, and Citi have moved from cautious observers to active participants, offering custody solutions and credit facilities tied to Bitcoin.
“All of the large banks in the United States have gone from not banking Bitcoin 12 months ago to issuing credit against Bitcoin or Bitcoin derivatives,” he noted.
JUST IN: Michael Saylor says he got approached by all the major banks recently to launch #Bitcoin products and services.
He also highlighted bipartisan U.S. government support for Bitcoin, citing figures from the Treasury, SEC, and CFTC.
Bitcoin as a yield-generating credit
Central to Saylor’s thesis is the conversion of Bitcoin’s volatile digital capital into predictable, yield-generating credit.
Strategy has launched a series of Bitcoin-backed credit instruments designed to provide steady cash flows while preserving exposure to the asset’s long-term appreciation.
“If you have a short time horizon, you buy the credit,” he said. “If you trust Bitcoin and have a long horizon, you buy the equity.”
Saylor described how these instruments work. Using over-collateralization, Strategy transforms Bitcoin holdings into digital credit with lower volatility and reliable yields.
The firm has introduced products like STRK, a preferred stock paying an 8% dividend backed by Bitcoin, and STRF, a perpetual bond yielding 10% that funds long-term investment in digital assets.
“We convert 120 months or 240 months of duration into one month,” Saylor explained, emphasizing the ability to deliver near-immediate cash flows from long-term capital.
He also outlined Strategy’s approach to amplifying equity performance. By issuing credit instruments and reinvesting proceeds in Bitcoin, the company effectively enhances its Bitcoin holdings per share over time.
“Every seven years, we double our Bitcoin per share,” he said.
The result, Saylor claims, is a corporate structure that aligns long-term Bitcoin growth with investor returns while creating unprecedented liquidity in credit markets.
Saylor framed these innovations in historical context. Just as gold served as the foundation for centuries of credit instruments—from mortgages to sovereign debt—Bitcoin, he argued, will form the backbone of a digital credit system.
“If we have digital gold, it’s very logical that the world’s going to run on digital gold-backed credit,” he said, noting the potential for Bitcoin to underpin global financial systems.
Throughout his keynote, Saylor emphasized both scale and vision. He described a tour of the Middle East, meeting investors across Dubai, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi, presenting a unified vision of digital capital and credit.
“The opportunity for Treasury companies is to accumulate pools of capital and issue credit that meets regulatory requirements, integrates into the banking system, and absorbs currency risk,” he said.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is ripping past $94,000.
At the Bitcoin MENA conference, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) offered an pretty expansive view of Bitcoin’s evolving role in global finance.
While he touched on personal experiences, from his legal challenges in the United States to his pardon from President Donald Trump, his remarks consistently returned to the trajectory and potential of Bitcoin.
Speaking alongside BTC Inc CEO Brandon Green, CZ described the current adoption cycle as distinct from previous waves. While earlier cycles were dominated by retail investors, this cycle reflects significant institutional engagement.
Bitcoin’s institutional adoption
From Bitcoin ETFs to corporate strategic reserves, Wall Street and large financial institutions are participating in the crypto ecosystem.
“We have seen more institutions come in than probably previous cycles,” CZ said. This bridging between grassroots movements and institutional finance, he argued, positions Bitcoin for broader integration into the global financial system.
The conversation highlighted the inherent unpredictability of Bitcoin’s adoption path. CZ sees potential for growth through integration with traditional payment infrastructure.
Tools like crypto cards, where users pay in cryptocurrency but merchants receive fiat, allow demand to grow on the user side and lay the groundwork for more widespread adoption.
Stablecoins, he noted, will also play a key role in facilitating transactions without undermining Bitcoin’s investment appeal.
CZ’s take on Bitcoin’s 4-year cycle
CZ also offered perspective on how macroeconomic conditions and policy shifts can influence Bitcoin’s trajectory.
While the four-year cycle has long guided expectations for bull and bear markets, he suggested that external forces, including government monetary policies, may now have equal or greater influence.
CZ even said that bitcoin and crypto may be entering a “super cycle”
He pointed to potential U.S. rate cuts and quantitative easing as factors that could drive liquidity into crypto markets, suggesting the next cycle could diverge from historical patterns.
Institutionalization of Bitcoin, however, does not replace the grassroots origins of the network. CZ emphasized that retail holders remain the majority and that the international nature of Bitcoin is integral to its identity.
He described the institutional participation as complementary, not transformative, to the global movement that has propelled Bitcoin from a niche technology to a widely recognized asset class.
CZ’s personal journey
Throughout the discussion, CZ reflected on his personal journey, from ‘growing up on a farm in China’ to serving jail time, all while being intertwined closely with Bitcoin’s evolution.
He shared his experiences facing U.S. regulatory scrutiny, including potential imprisonment, and his eventual pardon by President Trump. The pardon drew criticism from Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who called it corruption, while the Trump administration framed it as correcting an “overreach” by the Biden administration against crypto.
Even as he stepped back from day-to-day operations at Binance, CZ has remained engaged in advancing the industry. He has focused on advising governments on how to regulate crypto.
Beyond regulation, CZ has turned attention to education and innovation. He founded Giggle Academy, a free, gamified, digital education platform that now reaches approximately 90,000 children, emphasizing accessibility and positive societal impact.
CZ’s reflections on legacy and impact returned repeatedly to Bitcoin. While he admires other industry figures, like Michael Saylor, for their single-minded focus on Bitcoin, CZ sees his own role as complementary: attempting to foster innovation across multiple chains while championing Bitcoin’s primacy.
“Bitcoin itself is great. It is the global reserve currency in crypto, probably soon in the world,” he said.
MICHAEL SAYLOR JUST HAD A MEETING WITH CZ AT BITCOIN MENA
In closing, CZ reiterated that his goal remains clear: driving adoption and awareness of crypto worldwide. Whether through institutional engagement, policy advising, or fostering innovation, he positions himself as a conduit between the grassroots and the broader financial ecosystem.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is skyrocketing towards $93,000.
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