Greetings Bitcoiner,

Welcome to Issue #177 of the Bitcoin Breakdown daily newsletter, where we’re rounding up the most talked-about developments in the Bitcoin-only space from the past weekend with our Quick Bits and Quick Media sections.

You might have noticed that we missed the Friday send deadline last week. Apologies—we had some technical challenges with our processes due to Notion being offline.

But first, today’s Top Stories:

• 🇦🇷 Milei's Meme Coin Meltdown

• 🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi Bests Big On BTC

• 🏦 Big Banks Embrace Bitcoin & Crypto

TOGETHER WITH FREE SAMOURAI

Support Bitcoin privacy and open-source innovation

Samourai Wallet developers still face legal charges for money laundering, which has sparked the #FreeSamourai campaign aiming to raise concerns about Bitcoin privacy and open-source innovation.

Please take a moment to visit the campaign page here and consider making a donation.

Feb 17, 2025

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

🇦🇷 Milei's Meme Coin Meltdown

Argentina's President Javier Milei caused a sh!tstorm over the weekend by seemingly pulling off one of the largest rug pulls in history. This came after he touted a Solana-based memecoin on his 𝕏 profile, fueling a frenzy to $4.5B market cap before it crashed 96% when devs allegedly siphoned off $87M from liquidity. Milei quickly disavowed the project and deleted his post, blaming ignorance of the details. The embarrassing fiasco highlights altcoin chaos—and why Bitcoin stands perpetually strong. Decrypt

🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi Bests Big On BTC

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, one of the government's sovereign wealth funds, just poured 437M into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, marking the first direct sovereign wealth fund investment in a Bitcoin ETF. This milestone cements Abu Dhabi as a regional leader in Bitcoin adoption and could spark broader nation-state interest. With 8.2M shares purchased in the world’s biggest spot Bitcoin ETF, the race to stack (paper) BTC is on. Bitcoin News

🏦 Big Banks Embrace Bitcoin & Crypto

Banks like State Street and Citi plan to roll out BTC and crypto custody for institutional investors, while BNY Mellon eyes a broader service beyond BTC and ETH. Citi has tested tokenizing private equity funds to streamline lending and distribution. Analysts are predicting major banks will embrace Bitcoin and crypto amid supportive regulations, fueling Bitcoin's unstoppable mainstream push. CryptoSlate

POLL

QUICK BITS

• PlanB also causes a sh!tstorm on Bitcoin 𝕏 after announcing he is shifting his BTC holdings into ETFs to simplify management like equities and bonds, prioritizing peace of mind over 'not your keys not your coins.'

• Strategy, formerly Microstrategy, sees its Bitcoin-backed perpetual security STRK become the top US perpetual security in two weeks, driven by strong market demand.

• The US CBP (Customs and Border Protection), a federal trade regulator, expands Bitcoin mining device seizures to MicroBT and Canaan.

• Bank of Montreal increases Bitcoin ETF holdings from $13M to $150M across Ark, Fidelity, BlackRock, and Grayscale, as per SEC filings.

• El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and Michael Saylor discuss Bitcoin strategy, $590M holdings, and recent laws aligning with IMF loan requirements.

• Metaplanet Inc. expands Bitcoin holdings with a 269.43 BTC purchase, reaching 2,031.41 BTC amid strategic treasury operations and capital market-driven accumulation.

• Strategy could qualify for S&P 500 inclusion by June if bitcoin closes Q1 above $96,337, benefiting from FASB’s new digital asset accounting rules.

• Explosion in Malaysia reveals an illegal Bitcoin mining operation using stolen electricity.

• Six men charged in Chicago for kidnapping a family and demanding a $15M crypto ransom, with FBI tracing only $6M so far.

• Texas Legislature proposes Bill SB 21, removing the $500M annual cap and empowering the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve with unlimited BTC acquisitions.

• Bitcoin Realized Cap reaches new highs as more money flows into Bitcoin, signaling growing conviction and tracking the true value locked in the network.

• US Bitcoin mining sector creates over 31,000 jobs, drives economic growth, and fuels competitive energy infrastructure developments in key states including Texas.

• West Virginia's Inflation Protection Act of 2025, enables the state treasury to invest 10% of public funds in BTC, stablecoins, and precious metals for a digital asset reserve.

• Coinbase signs USDC-based sponsorship deal with Aston Martin Formula 1 team, challenging Crypto.com's dominance in the sector.

• US debt interest now hits $100B monthly, driving a $1.2T annual burden that surpasses defense, Medicare, and Social Security amid an accelerating debt spiral.

OTHER NEWSLETTERS TO CHECK OUT*

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

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

• Adam Curry, the godfather of podcasting, explains to Joe Rogan that the only coin he believes in is Bitcoin while highlighting what makes it different from shi!coins (Feb 14 | 0:44 min watch).

• Hester Peirce, US SEC Commissioner, describes herself as a freedom maximalist and advocates for minimal regulatory interference in the Bitcoin and crypto industry in an appearance on Bloomberg (Feb 11 | 3:22 min watch).

• Strategy, formerly Microstrategy, releases a new promotional video highlighting both its AI and Bitcoin treasury strategy (Feb 14 | 0:39 min watch).

• Journeyman Pictures releases a trailer of a riveting documentary that explores cyber vigilantism, crypto crime and the story of a notorious teenage prodigy stealing $64M, arguing 'code is law' while eluding justice internationally (Feb 10 | 1:52 min watch).

• Get Based, a Bitcoin media channel, explains how owning one whole Bitcoin is extremely rare with only 4.2M wallets meeting the threshold and explains the divisibility benefits of BTC for individual investors anticipating Bitcoin as a potential reserve currency. (Feb 15 | 1:01 min watch).

• David Bombal, an IT educator, cautions against using unsecured public Wi-Fi networks for sensitive operations, explaining how devices like Flipper Zero, HackRF One, and Wi-Fi Pineapple can steal credentials and personal data while recommending VPN protection (Feb 15 | 1:56 min watch).

• Braiins, a Bitcoin mining company, presents a recap of the Max and Stacy Invitational in Bitcoin Country El Salvador, describing it as a lively fusion of Bitcoin culture and golf, with engaging tournament highlights and humorous commentary on lost balls (Feb 14 | 1:52 min watch).

• PABLOF7z, a prominent Nostr developer, showcases Nostr nutzaps, seamless wallet-free transactions powered by relay data, enabling instant zaps across clients like Chachi and Shopstr with just one private key (Feb 13 | 2:47 min watch).

MEME OF THE DAY

Thank you for reading!

If you received it from a friend and would like to subscribe, you can do so here:

Until our next transmission,

P.S. Looking to start your own newsletter? Use this link to sign up for beehiiv and get a 30-day free trial plus a 20% discount.

Support independent Bitcoin content and consider leaving a Lightning tip:

[email protected]