🟠 Difficulty Climbs

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.

Good morning — Jordan here.

No newsletter earlier this week because I was out with pneumonia.

Glad to be back today!

Happy Wednesday to the 16,838 Minimalist members reading today. 👋 

Today we’re covering:

• Paul Tudor Jones predicts inevitable inflation

• River offers 3.8% interest on USD in Bitcoin

• Tesla likely still holds $780M in Bitcoin

• And everything else you need to know.

Estimated read time: 2 minutes and 46 seconds

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

📊 Paul Tudor Jones predicts inflation is inevitable due to the U.S. debt crisis. He recommends investing in gold and Bitcoin while avoiding bonds. Jones emphasized that the U.S. must inflate and outgrow its debt, warning against excessive government spending.

🎥 Cryptographer Peter Todd has gone into hiding following claims in an HBO documentary that he invented Bitcoin. The film, Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, alleges Todd is Satoshi Nakamoto, despite his repeated denials. Todd now fears for his safety due to the accusations.

💵 River, a U.S.-based financial services company, has launched a new product offering 3.8% interest on USD deposits. The interest is paid in Bitcoin, with deposits insured by the FDIC up to $250,000. Interest is auto-converted to Bitcoin daily, providing a way to accumulate BTC.

🚗 Tesla likely still holds $780M in Bitcoin despite recent transfers, says Arkham Intelligence. On Oct. 15, Tesla split 11,509 BTC across seven wallets, sparking fears of a market dump. However, the funds haven't moved since, and Bitcoin's price rose 5% following the transfers.

💥 Bitcoin’s $4.2 billion options expiry on Friday could spike short-term market volatility. About 16% of these options, worth $682 million, are "in-the-money," mainly call options. With a put/call ratio of 0.62, sentiment is bullish, though max pain theory suggests BTC might fall toward $64,000.

📊 Bitcoin futures open interest reached a record $40.5 billion on October 21. While this signals increased market activity, some analysts warn of potential liquidations and corrections. Meanwhile, optimism remains due to stablecoin activity and bullish technical indicators.

💬 Vitalik Buterin called Michael Saylor’s views on regulated Bitcoin custody "insane." Saylor argued that concerns about holding Bitcoin with regulated entities, like BlackRock or JPMorgan, were overblown. Buterin and other critics, like Bitcoiner Jameson Lopp, stressed that self-custody is crucial for decentralization and security.

📊 Bernstein predicts Bitcoin will hit $200,000 by the end of 2025, calling this forecast "conservative." The firm emphasizes Bitcoin’s limited supply amid U.S. debt and inflation concerns. They suggest MicroStrategy and Robinhood shares as alternatives for investors seeking indirect exposure to Bitcoin.

IN THE LOOP

• Eric Council Jr. was arrested for hacking the SEC's X account to falsely claim Bitcoin ETF approval, causing a brief $1,000 spike in Bitcoin's price.

• Metaplanet raised $66 million through its 11th stock acquisition rights series, and plans to buy more BTC.

• Denver’s The Space is a community-run Bitcoin hub focused on collaboration, education, and decentralization.

• Bitcoin's impending "golden cross" signals a bullish outlook despite concerns over rising U.S. Treasury yields.

• The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 3.75%, citing inflation control and a focus on boosting economic growth.

POLL

WEDNESDAY’S POLL RESULTS

Why do you think Tesla moved its Bitcoin holdings?

🎲 Random - 25%

💰💰 To Sell - 39%

🎭 Market Manipulation - 20%

♟️ Other - 16%

♟️ Other - “Cold storage to mitigate against grid disruption.” - Sam

♟️ Other - “Allocating to different projects.” - Mark

♟️ Other - “Move out of Coinbase.” - Ben

CHARTS & DATA

Mining Difficulty - Bitcoin’s mining difficulty hit an all-time high of 95.7T.

Hashrate - Bitcoin’s estimated hashrate is also at an all-time high. While our estimate is more conservative, some estimators have put the current hashrate at over 850 EH/s. Our estimate shows around 729 EH/s right now.

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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