🟠 BTC Mortgage

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.

Happy Tuesday to the 19,540 Minimalist members reading today. 👋 

Today we’re covering:

• Bitcoin hit $105K after ceasefire

• Japan pushes Bitcoin ETFs

• Bitcoin eyed as mortgage collateral

• And everything else you need to know.

Estimated read time: 2 minutes and 57 seconds

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

🏛️ Trump may issue an executive order to stop banks from denying services to crypto firms. The move targets alleged discrimination dubbed "Operation Chokepoint 2.0," which critics say led to the debanking of over 30 crypto and tech founders during the Biden era, per WSJ sources.

⚔️ Nearly 3,000 Bitcoin nodes risk isolation amid a relay policy clash over removing the 80-byte OP_RETURN cap. A proposed peer ban against Bitcoin Knots nodes—now 13% of the network—highlights fears of soft partitioning ahead of Bitcoin Core v30’s October release, despite no change to consensus rules.

🚀 Bitcoin jumped to $105K after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel, liquidating over $350M in shorts. The fragile truce followed deadly strikes on both sides. The war appears likely to continue to have a strong influence on the Bitcoin price.

🏠 FHFA is reviewing whether digital assets like Bitcoin can qualify as mortgage collateral. Announced by Director Bill Pulte, the move could reshape U.S. home loan evaluations, addressing long-standing hurdles faced by Bitcoin holders.

📉 Bitcoin briefly dipped below $98K amid Israel-Iran tensions, dropping over 8% in a week. BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes downplayed the decline, calling it temporary and tied to macro instability. Hayes believes Bitcoin is just gearing up for another leg up, saying this “weakness shall pass”.

📊 PlanB confirms Bitcoin remains in a bull market, citing ongoing red dots in his Bitcoin Market Cycles chart. Despite recent dips and bearish sentiment, he urges patience, noting historical patterns suggest the broader trend is still upward.

📜 GOP senators unveiled a crypto regulatory framework to clarify SEC vs. CFTC oversight. Led by Tim Scott and Cynthia Lummis, the plan includes anti-money laundering measures and aims to reduce SEC control over digital assets. A Senate hearing on the bill is set for Tuesday afternoon.

IN THE LOOP

• Japan’s FSA proposed reclassifying Bitcoin as a financial product and cutting taxes, potentially paving the way for ETFs.

• Metaplanet approved a $5 billion capital injection into its U.S. subsidiary to accelerate global bitcoin expansion.

• Green Minerals raised $1.2 billion to launch a bitcoin reserve, becoming the first traditional mining firm to adopt a bitcoin treasury strategy.

• Cardone Capital bought 1,000 Bitcoin and plans to add 3,000 more as part of a new real estate and Bitcoin treasury strategy.

The most clicked link in our last newsletter was about how Bitcoin’s ancient supply is now growing faster than new issuance, signaling rising scarcity and long-term holder dominance.

MACRO & INDUSTRY

• The Fed will stop using “reputational risk” in bank oversight, ending a practice critics say unfairly targeted crypto firms.

• Chainlink and Mastercard partnered to let over 3 billion cardholders buy crypto directly on-chain.

POLL

THURSDAY’S POLL RESULTS

Do stablecoins help or hurt Bitcoin?

🟩🟩🟩⬜️⬜️ 🚀 Help — they onboard more people into BTC (62%)

🟥⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🪓 Hurt — they distract from real Bitcoin adoption (15%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🔄 Neutral — they serve different purposes (23%)

🚀 Help: “Evolves the sector to the mainstream.” — Chris

🚀 Help: “Stablecoins and ETFs are Bitcoin's Trojan horses into traditional finance. Bitcoin finds every avenue to penetrate the system. One day you'll know it was obvious all along.” — Brendan

🚀 Help: “Increases fee revenue for bitcoin miners.” — Troy

🪓 Hurt: “Stablecoins only forestall the inevitable collapse of fiat, creating the illusion of a strong dollar.” — Andrew

🪓 Hurt: “As a Bitcoiner I say it’s more likely to hurt, because the intention of a stablecoin is, in my opinion, only to make trading easier and makes it easier to dump Bitcoin which works against long term profit/wealth by Bitcoin. Bitcoin is, for now, best to accumulate and HODL.” — Reid

🔄 Neutral: “Different purposes. Stablecoins facilitate instant peer to peer fiat transactions. Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation, hence a store of value. I’ve always thought of it like buying a nice painting of a woman, before it became known as The Mona Lisa. One day Bitcoin will be unattainable for most.” — Grant

VIDEO

💸 Bitcoin could curb wars by limiting easy war funding. 

Matthew Kratter of Bitcoin University argues fiat money enables "forever wars" through hidden inflation taxes and central bank printing.

By contrast, Bitcoin’s scarcity and seizure resistance would make large-scale wars more expensive and politically unpopular.

Watch the full analysis here:

CHARTS & DATA

Hash Ribbons - Despite the price increase, Bitcoin’s hash ribbons have crossed.

Hashrate - Bitcoin’s hashrate has dropped significantly. Some have speculated that the U.S. may have attacked Iran’s Bitcoin mining sites, causing a drop in hash rate. It’s unclear what has caused the drop.

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