Greetings Bitcoiner,

Welcome to Issue #173 of Bitcoin Breakdown, where every Tuesday and Thursday, we bring you the latest must-read Bitcoin thought leadership articles and the newest tools and projects you should know about.

But first, today’s Top Stories:

• 🎮 GameStop Stock Surges on Bitcoin Buzz

• 🇯🇵 Japan Eyes Bitcoin ETFs and Tax Cuts to Boost Bitcoin Market

• 🤦 Hacker of SEC 𝕏 Account Pleads Guilty for Fake Bitcoin ETF News

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Feb 11, 2025

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

🎮 GameStop Stock Surges on Bitcoin Buzz

GameStop shares jumped over 8% amid speculation that the retailer might dive into Bitcoin, sparked by CEO Ryan Cohen's meeting with Michael Saylor. The association between meme stocks like GameStop and cryptocurrencies has been established since the 2021 GameStop saga, which significantly influenced the crypto market. Retail investors, inspired by analysts such as Keith Gill, exploited GameStop's undervalued and over-shorted stock, leading to unprecedented activity on r/wallstreetbets and the subsequent temporary subreddit closure. Yahoo Finance

🇯🇵 Japan Eyes Bitcoin ETFs and Tax Cuts to Boost Bitcoin Market

Japan’s FSA is mulling the approval of Bitcoin ETFs and slashing Bitcoin and crypto taxes from 55% to 20%. The move aims to reclassify Bitcoin and crypto as securities, enhancing investor protection and aligning with traditional markets. Alongside stricter oversight of unlicensed exchanges, Japan is positioning itself as a Bitcoin and crypto-friendly hub, potentially attracting both institutional and retail investors. BeInCrypto

🤦 Hacker of SEC 𝕏 Account Pleads Guilty for Fake Bitcoin ETF News

A hacker has pleaded guilty to taking over the SEC’s 𝕏 account in January 2024, when he took over the SEC's 𝕏 account and posted fake announcements attributed to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. The false approval of Bitcoin ETFs led to Bitcoin's value surging by over $1,000. He created a fake ID to persuade AT&T to provide account recovery codes and his co-conspirators paid him with Bitcoin for his role in the scheme. The Verge

POLL

OPINION & ANALYSIS

• Atlas21, another quality Bitcoin publication, delves into a recent report by Breez and 1A1z that shows how Bitcoin is no longer only a digital safe-haven asset, but has established itself as a true global payment tool, with over 650M users accessing payments via the Lightning Network for everyday transactions and micropayments across retail, e-commerce, and gaming sectors (Feb 11 | 6 min read). 

• Darthcoin, an outspoken Bitcoin educator, wrote an essential guide with tips and solutions for Blixt Wallet users, addressing syncing issues, migration, and peer selection to optimize your mobile node experience (Feb 11 | 8 min read).

• Jameson Lopp, Chief of Security at Casa, explains how Coinbase scams exploit phishing and social engineering, costing Bitcoin and crypto holders up to $300M, and offers practical tips to protect your assets from these increasingly sophisticated attacks (Feb 10 | 5 min read).

• Geektoshi Satamoto, a pseudonymous Bitcoiner, explores how zaps on Nostr redefine digital engagement by introducing a circular economy, enabling creators and users to earn value through direct Bitcoin microtransactions, enabling meaningful interaction over traditional engagement metrics (Feb 9 | 5 min read).

• Andrew Singer, a contributor to Cointelegraph, analyzes the political divide and surprising agreements during Congressional hearings on Operation Chokepoint 2.0, exploring allegations of Biden admin pressure on banks to de-bank Bitcoin and Bitcoin and crypto firms and calls for clearer regulations to prevent future overreach (Feb 9 | 9 min read).

• Tomas Greif, Chief of Product and Strategy at Braiins Mining, in an 𝕏 thread, explains Bitmain's dominance in bitcoin mining hardware, driven by R&D, supply chain control, and industry standardization, and raises concerns over Bitcoin's decentralization and national security risks (Feb 9 | 2 min read).

• Expatriotic, a Bitcoin writer, publishes a guide on Ashigaru, a privacy-focused, self-custodial Bitcoin wallet built to enhance security and anonymity amid the indictment of Samourai Wallet's founders by the US Department of Justice, offering advanced features like Onion Routing and Ricochet for better transaction privacy (Feb 8 | 6 min read).

• Matt Crosby, lead analyst for Bitcoin Magazine, introduces the Bitcoin Everything Indicator, a metric combining key factors like global liquidity, on-chain data, and technical analysis to simplify Bitcoin investment decisions and improve portfolio performance (Feb 7 | 4 min read).

• Che Kohler of The Bitcoin Manual explores the implications of the EU and France's proposed ban on BTC mixing services, discussing the impact on privacy and offering alternative methods like CoinJoin, Lightning Network, and Liquid to maintain financial privacy (Feb 7 | 6 min read).

• Frank Corva of Bitcoin Magazine explains how El Salvador remains a Bitcoin hub despite Bitcoin losing its legal tender status, as locals and businesses continue adoption efforts undeterred by IMF pressure (Feb 7 | 3 min read).

• Forever Laura of the Bitcoin Explorers duo shares her transformative journey in the Bitcoin ecosystem, talking about how it enables remote work, global travel, and speaking opportunities while highlighting Bitcoin's role in promoting financial freedom (Feb 7 | 2 min read).

• Pierre Rochard, VP of Research Riot Platforms, argues that while Bitcoin thrives in adversity, proactive engagement with policymakers fosters a beneficial environment that preserves decentralization, encourages self-custody, and accelerates global adoption (Feb 6 | 4 min read).

• ICYMI: Aaron Day of Brownstone Institute examines the ongoing Bitcoin and crypto crackdown and the continued lawfare against innovators, urging President Trump to end politically motivated prosecutions to protect financial freedom (Feb 3 | 25 min read).

• ICYMI: Sergi Delgado, a Bitcoin developer, outlines Erlay's current implementation in Bitcoin Core, a protocol designed to optimize transaction announcements in the Bitcoin P2P network by reducing bandwidth utilization through set reconciliation (Feb 1 | 11 min read).

OTHER NEWSLETTERS TO CHECK OUT*

• 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)

• How to earn $10k from your first book (with Nathan Barry) shows you why you don't need to be famous or have a huge following. (link)

• The Neuron keeps 400,000+ professionals ahead with 3-minute AI updates impacting you. (link)

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

*You can find more here.

TOOLS & PROJECTS

• Sovran.id offers a decentralized identity solution, enabling users to manage their digital profiles securely and independently. 

• Proton makes their self-custodial Bitcoin wallet available to all users, enabling them to send BTC via email.

• Bitcoin Takeover 2025 brings industry leaders to Austin on March 14 to explore Bitcoin’s evolving infrastructure and future innovations.

• Alby Hub, an open-source self-custodial wallet, integrates with Unraid to streamline bitcoin Lightning payments for NAS users seeking simpler node management and seamless Docker deployment.

• Stratum observer analyzes Bitcoin mining pools' transaction selections, highlighting discrepancies between block templates and mined blocks to promote transparency and detect potential censorship. 

• Samiz, an innovative Bluetooth mesh tool for Android devices, enables offline Nostr note sharing for seamless device-to-device communication, keeping your posts connected even without internet access.

• Passphrase Magazine delivers in-depth Bitcoin content with expert insights, interviews, and technical discussions, covering privacy, data security, and global Bitcoin adoption.

• Mempool.space introduces real-time Merkle branch visualization in Stratum Jobs section, enabling users to monitor and compare mining activities across pools.

• Vertex is Web of Trust as a Service built on the nostr social graph, offering real-time reputation scores with Pagerank-based solutions to fight spam and enhance discovery.

• TxTree is a progressive web app by TheBullishBitcoiner that uses the mempool API to visualize Bitcoin transaction histories and explore UTXO connections.

• ZEUS launches v0.10 open alpha with channel renewals, developer tools, and Nostr Wallet Connect, inviting everyone to test the next major release.

• Wasabi Wallet enhances offline functionality, offers configurable fee and exchange rate providers, moving significantly closer to its goal of full independence.

• Bitcoin Keeper 2.0 launches with enhanced security, a redesigned interface, and powerful features like Miniscript integration.

• Rizful's detailed guide helps you become an advanced Nostr user with the power of Bitcoin and Lightning.

• Fiatjaf releases new NAK version with NIP-60 token support, NIP-98 headers, AI-integrated Nostr features, and improved relay algorithms.

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