Greetings Bitcoiner,

Welcome to Issue #170 of Bitcoin Breakdown, where we’re bringing you your end-of-week Bitcoin Digest featuring all the need-to-know Quick Bits snippets and Quick Media.

But first, today’s Top Stories:

• 🤖 Tether's AI-Bitcoin Fusion  

• 💸 Czechs Pass Tax-Free Bitcoin Hodlers’ Dream Law

• 🐘 Trump Media's Bitcoin & 'Patriot' ETF Blitz

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Feb 7, 2025

TOP STORIES

🤖 Tether's AI-Bitcoin Fusion  

Stablecoin titan Tether just revealed its new AI suite—AI Translate, AI Voice Assistant, and an AI Bitcoin Wallet Assistant—designed for any device with a future open-source SDK. This signals a rising investor appetite for AI-powered fintech while underscoring Bitcoin's crucial role in next-gen finance. Tether's push also emphasizes privacy, self-custody, and localized services. Cointelegraph

💸 Czechs Pass Tax-Free Bitcoin Hodlers’ Dream Law

Long-term Bitcoin hodlers in the Czech Republic can now breathe easy—capital gains taxes are history after holding Bitcoin or crypto for three+ years. Parliament unanimously approved this law, aligning with EU’s MiCA framework. Small transactions under $4.1K won’t even need reporting. Bonus: the national bank eyes investing 5% of its €140B reserves in BTC. Stack sats, not taxes! The Block

🐘 Trump Media's Bitcoin & 'Patriot' ETF Blitz

Trump Media & Technology Group is launching Bitcoin-themed ETFs and 'America First' investment products via Truth.Fi, partnering with Yorkville Advisors and $10T custodian Charles Schwab. Targeting anti-'woke' conservatives, the effort includes $250M in crypto allocations to counter 'debanking' and offers BTC-focused funds under CEO Devin Nunes' 'Patriot Economy' push. Regulatory approvals remain pending as Republicans amplify anti-censorship financial tools. Crypto Briefing

POLL

QUICK BITS

• European Central Bank board member says Trump’s crypto agenda would push the ECB to accelerate digital euro plans amid concerns over US stablecoin dominance in EU financial markets.

• Argentine titans Mercado Libre and Bitfarms lead Latin America’s corporate Bitcoin rush, stacking 1,300+ BTC as a hedge against hyperinflation.

• New Breez/1A1z report shows Bitcoin rapidly evolving as a global payments system, not just as a ‘digital gold.’

• Onchain research suggests Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin stash may now exceed Bill Gates’s net worth.

• Flashnet, a Bitcoin-native decentralized exchange built on Spark (a Bitcoin Layer-2), secures $4.5M in seed funding.

• Roman Storm, Tornado Cash developer, petitions SCOTUS to block defense strategy disclosure under Federal Criminal Procedure Rule 16 in an unprecedented legal battle.

• Daniel Batten counters Bill Gates' Bitcoin critique, highlighting renewable energy for millions of Ethiopians, financial freedom for Afghan women, and secure aid to Ukrainian refugees amid humanitarian and environmental crises.

• Arizona bitcoin ATM scams cost Arizonans $28K to $325M as experts push for HB 2387 regulation to curb crypto fraud and protect vulnerable residents.

• Chainalysis 2024 ransomware trends reports 35% YoY payment decline as law enforcement actions and victim resilience counter evolving cyberthreats.

• Iowa's House File 246 allocates 5% of state funds to Bitcoin and precious metals, mandates $750B crypto market cap, and secures storage for inflation protection.

• New Mexico's SB257 bill proposes 5% of public funds in bitcoin via a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act as US states like Utah and Arizona push bitcoin reserves.

• Bitcoin Depot bolsters treasury reserves with $5M BTC purchase as Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin ATM leader expands holdings.

• Bitdeer, a Nasdaq-listed crypto mining company, acquires 101MW Canada site to pursue vertical integration as shares drop 27.5% amid cooling bitcoin mining competition.

• South korea's KOFIA commits to bitcoin ETF approval in 2025 to meet rising demand among older investors.

• Hong Kong legislator urges the adoption of a Bitcoin reserve and stablecoin regulations to boost China’s global Bitcoin and crypto leadership as ETF assets hit $426.64M.

OTHER NEWSLETTERS TO CHECK OUT*

• Refind curates the best articles from thousands daily, tailored to your interests. (link)

• The Rundown helps 650,000+ professionals learn AI in 5 minutes a day—apply the latest news at work. (link)

• TECHPRESSO updates over 100,000 professionals on AI & Tech in just 5 minutes through a free daily email. (link)

• Stacked Marketer delivers curated digital marketing news, tech trends, and actionable advice daily to 60,000+ marketers. (link)

• The Early Bird delivers essential news at 7:00 AM to level your information playing field. (link)

• For The Interested helps you get more clients from your content with simple, proven ways to boost revenue and attention. (link)

*You can find more here.

QUICK MEDIA

• Senator Tim Scott highlights widespread debanking in the Bitcoin and crypto sector, as Nathan McCauley reveals that barriers to banking are now the norm (Feb 5 | 0:42 min watch).

• US senator Cynthia Lummis exposes Operation Chokepoint 2.0 financial suppression campaign, revealing unelected bureaucrats' power to shut down disliked companies through bank examiners (Feb 6 | 0:31 min watch).

• Get Based investigates claims that Ripple (XRP) is undermining Bitcoin adoption in the US through lobbying and misinformation, with Jack Mallers warning of efforts to block a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, highlighting the broader battle between decentralized money and corporate-controlled financial systems (Feb 3 | 14:22 min watch).

• Kgothatso Ngako speaks at Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town 2025 about how he is revolutionizing Bitcoin adoption in Africa with Machankura, enabling unbanked populations to send and receive Bitcoin via USSD on basic phones without internet access, bridging financial inclusion gaps and positioning Bitcoin as a tool for economic sovereignty in underserved regions (Feb 6 | 22:57 min watch). 

• Hermann Vivier also speaks at Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town 2025 about how he is advancing Bitcoin adoption in South African townships through Bitcoin Ekasi, fostering a circular economy where businesses and individuals transact in Bitcoin, empowering financial independence, promoting financial literacy among youth, and positioning Bitcoin as a hedge against global monetary instability (Feb 6 | 21:57 min watch).

• Ricki Allardice also speaks at Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town 2025 about how the newly launched Orange can revolutionize Africa’s $100B remittance market by leveraging Bitcoin’s Lightning Network to cut transfer fees below 1% and enable near-instant settlements, empowering businesses and individuals with seamless, cost-effective cross-border payments while bypassing legacy banking inefficiencies (Feb 6 | 22:29 min watch).

• Michael Saylor predicted Bitcoin’s rise 25 years ago, exposing fiat money's flaws (Feb 3 | 1:30 min watch).

• Matthew Kratter of Bitcoin University examines whether AI can steal Bitcoin keys, emphasizing that air-gapped hardware wallets like Coldcard provide the best defense against AI-driven threats, while fear-based shifts to fiat or metals overlook Bitcoin’s security advantages (Feb 4 | 17:42 min watch).

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