First time reading? I’m Jordan, and this is The Bitcoin Minimalist. Every Tuesday & Thursday, we scour 100s of sources to bring you need-to-know Bitcoin insights.

Today we’re covering:

• Calls for Swiss National Bank to hold Bitcoin reserves,

• Op-ed calls Runes and Ordinals spam,

• Mining revenue peaks on halving day,

• And everything else you need to know.

—Jordan

BITCOIN AND CENTRAL BANKING

Calls for Swiss National Bank to Consider Bitcoin Inclusion in Reserves

Swiss Bitcoin Initiative: A coalition of Bitcoin advocates in Switzerland is pushing for the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to include Bitcoin in its reserves. This movement, led by nonprofit 2B4CH, seeks a national referendum to amend the constitution, ensuring the Swiss National Bank holds Bitcoin to bolster Switzerland's neutrality and sovereignty.

Referendum Challenges: To prompt a referendum, the group must gather 100,000 signatures within 18 months, a considerable challenge given past efforts. Advocates like Luzius Meisser, of Bitcoin Suisse, argue that including Bitcoin could enhance Switzerland's financial independence and potential earnings, contrasting SNB Chair Thomas Jordan's reservations about Bitcoin meeting reserve criteria.

Global Support and Potential Impact: The initiative has garnered international backing, potentially positioning Switzerland as the first Western nation to hold Bitcoin reserves, potentially following in the footsteps of El Salvador.

In Their Words: “By including Bitcoin in its reserves, Switzerland would mark its independence from the European Central Bank. Such a step would strengthen our neutrality.” - Luzius Meisser, President of Bitcoin Suisse

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

🌐 MicroStrategy will host its "Bitcoin for Corporations" conference in Las Vegas. The event will focus on integrating Bitcoin into corporate strategies. The event, from April 29 to May 2, 2024, will feature insights from top executives on Bitcoin's role in business and its use as a long-term store-of-value.

🇺🇸 Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., advocating for transparency, proposes placing the entire U.S. budget on a blockchain. He wants to allow public scrutiny of every expenditure. Additionally, he plans to back the U.S. dollar with Bitcoin if elected, aiming to boost the US dollar’s stability and trustworthiness.

🔌 Morgan Stanley's report identifies Bitcoin miners as key drivers in data center expansion. Their influence stems from their ability to leverage their substantial energy resources to overcome grid constraints in the US and Europe. The study suggests a high potential for value creation by converting mining sites into data centers, highlighting a significant "time to power" advantage.

🚨 The trustee for Mt. Gox's bankruptcy has advanced repayment plans, distributing 142,000 BTC among creditors. This move may prompt a significant market sell-off in October as creditors, awaiting nearly a decade, start to liquidate their assets. Mt. Gox was the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange until 2013, when it was hacked.

💵 On Bitcoin's 2024 halving day, mining revenues hit a record $107.7 million. Over 3,000 investors paid 37.7 BTC, or $2.4 million in fees, for transactions in the significant 840,000th block. This frenzy was driven by the desire to participate in a notable event.

🚫 Angola has officially banned all crypto mining activities to protect national energy security. This initiative began with the passing of legislation earlier this year. The Chinese Embassy has warned of severe penalties for violations, including up to 12 years in prison for mining and equipment confiscation.

📉 Grayscale introduces the Bitcoin Mini Trust with a 0.15% fee, the lowest among spot Bitcoin ETFs. This new fund offers GBTC investors a more affordable option, with 10% of GBTC assets transferring to it, allowing for non-taxable asset shifts for current shareholders.

FEE FRENZY

Bitcoin Halving and Runes Protocol Launch Create Controversy

Bitcoin Halving Impact: Bitcoin's fourth halving reduced the mining reward to 3.125 BTC. At the time of the halving BTC price was holding stable around $63,000. The event occurred without significant price fluctuations, despite historical trends suggesting potential volatility.

Runes Protocol Launch: Runes, a new protocol by Casey Rodarmor, launched simultaneously with the halving, driving transaction fees to unprecedented levels. The first halving block included a fee of 37.6 BTC, equating to over $2.4 million, reflecting the intense network activity triggered by the new system.

Market Response: The introduction of Runes and the halving led to a dramatic increase in transaction costs, with fees soaring to millions per block.

Spam Claims: Many claim that runes go against the principles of Bitcoin and are certainly spam. Others claim that Runes and Ordinals are good, as they increase fees and potentially increase network security.

POLL

TUESDAY’S POLL RESULTS

Do you prefer stock to flow or power law to use as a price model for Bitcoin?

Stock to Flow - 38.5%

Power Law - 57.7%

Other - 3.8%

Power Law - “S2F was de-bunked in 2021.” - Jeremy

Power Law - “Stock to Flow is completely false and not statistically worth looking at.” - Noé

Power Law - “The recent statistical analysis by Fred Krueger that plotted BTC price on past halving days and Time in log/log space returned a 0.9983 correlation coefficient. A value of 0.9983 is very close to the maximum possible value of 1, suggesting an almost perfect positive linear correlation. Such an extremely high positive correlation means that as one variable increases, the other variable tends to increase proportionally and in a very predictable linear fashion. And so, a correlation coefficient of 99.83% or 0.9983 signifies an extraordinarily strong positive linear relationship between the two variables being studied, to the point of being essentially a perfect positive correlation. This indicates a highly predictable linear association between the variables.” - Todd

IN THE LOOP

🏆 The Human Rights Foundation has inaugurated the Finney Freedom Prize, honoring Hal Finney posthumously for his pivotal contributions to Bitcoin. His widow, Fran Finney, accepted the award and plans to donate the prize to charity. The foundation has earmarked 32 additional bitcoins for future awards, aiming to create a significant legacy prize.

📈 Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley forecasts that wealth management firms will increase their holdings in Bitcoin ETFs, especially post-halving, as demand grows. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust nears overtaking Grayscale as the largest fund, amid broader market shifts and significant capital flows in the Bitcoin ETF landscape.

🗣️ In "A Rant Against Ordinals," the author argues passionately against the support for Ordinals, claiming they compromise Bitcoin's integrity and fungibility. He criticizes the concept as a scam, detrimental to Bitcoin's value, and not aligned with Bitcoin’s principles.

❌ Demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs, which soared after their January 2024 launch, has recently slowed, turning negative around the BTC halving event. Despite initial inflows that outstripped daily mining outputs, geopolitical issues and market dynamics have contributed to a downturn in ETF investments.

VIDEO

"The Legendary Treasure of Satoshi Nakamoto" is a new mini-movie about Bitcoin's origins and its enigmatic founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. This story, blending reality and mystery, is designed to challenge perceptions and stir the soul.

CHARTS & DATA

1,433 - The number of days left until the 2028 Bitcoin halving.

We begin our countdown to the 2028 Bitcoin halving! The Bitcoin block reward will drop from 3.125 BTC to 1.5625 per block.

1.18% - The current projected difficulty adjustment. Despite the halving and reduced earnings for miners, the next difficulty adjustment still points to no decrease in mining activity on the Bitcoin network.

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Halving Clock: Track the countdown to the Bitcoin halving with our Bitcoin halving clock.

Bitcoin Treasuries: Track all companies/ETFs/countries holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets.

Bitcoin Jobs: Find jobs in the Bitcoin industry. Companies can post Bitcoin jobs to find talent.