🟠 BTC Rebounds

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.

A special Friday edition today as we missed yesterday.

A lot happening in the Bitcoin world!

Happy Friday to the 20,502 Minimalist members reading today. 👋 

Today we’re covering:

• Samson Mow claims Bitcoin price appears “manipulated”

• Iran & Russia moved $15.8B in crypto

• Bitcoin OG Trace Mayer returns from the dark

• And everything else you need to know.

Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 15 seconds

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

🕵️‍♂️ New FBI Director Kash Patel has significant Bitcoin investments. His investments include $50K-$100K in the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF and more in Bitcoin miner Core Scientific. He’s also linked to Trump’s crypto ventures but will exit Trump Media. His crypto background may aid FBI efforts against cybercriminals like North Korean hackers.

📉 Samson Mow claims Bitcoin’s price action “looks very manufactured.” Despite heavy institutional inflows, BTC has been stuck between $92,400 and $106,500 for over two months. Mow suspects price suppression, pointing to structural selling, including FTX’s repayments, as a factor keeping Bitcoin from rising.

🚀 Bitcoin hit $99K earlier today as Coinbase secured a deal to dismiss the SEC lawsuit. The result will leave Coinbase with no fines or business changes, pending Commission approval. CEO Brian Armstrong credits Trump’s administration for regulatory shifts.

🏦 VanEck launched a tool to simulate Bitcoin’s role in U.S. debt reduction under Senator Lummis’ BITCOIN Act. The proposal suggests acquiring 1M BTC by 2029, potentially offsetting $21T in debt by 2049. The interactive tool helps see how much Bitcoin may help cover the U.S. government’s debt.

🇺🇸 Michael Saylor urges the U.S. to acquire 20% of Bitcoin, arguing that 4-6M BTC could pay off national debt. Speaking at CPAC, he warned against other nations buying first. His firm, Strategy, holds 478,740 BTC, with a 51% profit, fueling a 360% stock surge in 12 months.

🌍 Iran and Russia received $15.8B in crypto in 2024, making up 39% of illicit transactions, per Chainalysis. Iran saw $4.18B in outflows as inflation soared, while Russia legalized crypto mining to bypass sanctions. Western agencies ramped up crackdowns on Russian-linked crypto networks.

🎙️ The Satoshi Nakamoto Institute launched The Reorg, a podcast revisiting its archives. Episode 1 features Pierre Rochard discussing End the Fed: Hoard Bitcoins, arguing Bitcoin replaces fiat through adoption, not politics. Episode 2 covers Fractional Reserve Banking is Obsolete, explaining how Bitcoin eliminates the need for credit expansion and financial intermediaries.

🎤 Bitcoin OG Trace Mayer will return from years out of the spotlight at the Bitcoin 2025 conference. After years away, Mayer—an early Bitcoin advocate who coined Hodler of Last Resort and launched Proof of Keys—will speak in Las Vegas. A longtime champion of monetary sovereignty, his comeback has the Bitcoin community buzzing. The popular Mayer Multiple indicator was named after him.

IN THE LOOP

• MicroStrategy (now Strategy) is issuing $2 billion in convertible senior notes to buy more Bitcoin.

• Binance.US is restoring fiat services and aims to win back customers as U.S. regulations shift.

• Bitcoin's realized price data suggests the bull cycle is still intact despite potential corrections.

• Bitcoin is consolidating around $95K, with key support at $92.5K as market momentum weakens.

• Utah's bitcoin strategic reserve bill advanced to the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee after passing the House.

• Fidelity Digital Assets says the Lightning Network strengthens Bitcoin’s investment case.

The most clicked link in our last newsletter was about Larry Lepard warning of inevitable inflation and predicting that Bitcoin will surpass $1 million as a hedge against mounting U.S. debt.

POLL

TUESDAY’S POLL RESULTS

Is the gold missing from Fort Knox?

🟩🟩🟩⬜️⬜️ 🏆 Yes (68%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ ❌ No (32%)

🏆 Yes: “Was taken many years ago by democrats.” — Jim

🏆 Yes: “They will never give DOGE access to it all.” — Daniel

🏆 Yes: “When we look at the fraud DOGE is uncovering to date l wouldn’t be surprised if they drained Fort Knox as well. Follow the money (drain) as they say!” — Zach

🏆 Yes: “I would like to know where the gold is.” — Michael

🏆 Yes: “Gold has been loaned out.” — Madeline

🏆 Yes: “The gold is only there on paper.” — Nate

❌ No: “They would never officially make that statement.” — Sam

❌ No: “No one cares.” — Marc

VIDEO

💻 Matthew Kratter from Bitcoin University explains that quantum computers won’t destroy Bitcoin anytime soon. 

While they could theoretically break Bitcoin’s public-private key cryptography, current quantum tech is far from capable.

A full attack needs 13M–300M qubits, but today’s best have only 1,000.

Bitcoin can also adopt quantum-resistant addresses.

👉 Watch the full video here →

CHARTS & DATA

Stock to flow - We’ve adjusted our stock to flow model chart to use PlanB’s latest stock to flow formula for the projection.

MORE FROM BITBO

The Bitcoin Minimalist is run by Bitbo. Browse our most popular pages across our sites:

Bitbo Pro: Analytics & intelligence to supercharge your Bitcoin investing & trading.

Bitbo Charts: Useful Bitcoin charts, featuring on-chain metrics and other Bitcoin analysis.

Bitbo Store: Shirts, hats, hoodies, mugs, and other merch for Bitcoiners.

Bitbo Dashboard: View live price action, monitor on-chain data, and track key economic indicators - all for free.