Greetings Bitcoiner,

Welcome to Issue #239 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:

• 🧰 CIA Taps Bitcoin for the ‘Good Guys’

• 🐋 Europe's Next Bitcoin Whale Targets 260K BTC

• ♾️ Draper Predicts $BTC.X ( ▲ 0.25% ) Price To Rise To Infinity

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May 2, 2025

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

🧰 CIA Taps Bitcoin for the ‘Good Guys’

Central Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Michael Ellis called Bitcoin ‘another tool in the toolbox’ for the US against adversaries like China, while speaking on Anthony Pompliano’s podcast. He sees Bitcoin and crypto as a vital technological area where the US must lead. Ellis believes Bitcoin is here to stay, calling wider adoption a ‘great trend’, despite its use by bad actors. The agency views Bitcoin and crypto not just as a target but a means to disrupt adversaries and gather crucial intelligence, reinforcing Bitcoin's strategic importance. Decrypt 

🐋 Europe's Next Bitcoin Whale Targets 260K BTC

The Blockchain Group (TBG), backed and strategically advised by Adam Back (Satoshi real identity contender), unveiled a massive plan to stack up to 260,000 BTC by 2034, targeting 1% of Bitcoin's total supply. Following treasury pioneers like (Micro)Strategy, TBG aims to become Europe’s largest corporate bitcoin holder. Its shares rocketed 474% in six months since adopting the model. With a goal to raise up to €100B, TBG is aggressively accumulating bitcoin 'as fast as possible' via phased investments. Crypto Briefing

♾️ Draper Predicts Bitcoin Price To Rise To Infinity

Venture capitalist Tim Draper argues Bitcoin’s price would rocket towards ‘infinity’ against the US dollar, especially when hyperinflation hits. He warns the dollar could collapse like the Confederate currency during the Civil War due to massive money printing and geopolitical stress. Draper further sees Bitcoin not just as an investment, but a crucial hedge - a necessity to secure your family's future when the traditional financial system breaks down, urging people to hold enough BTC for survival. U.Today

POLL #239

PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS

QUICK BITS

• Bitcoin's Year-over-Year (YoY) True Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) Ratio returns to positive, indicating market recovery.

• Bitcoin’s next major adoption wave may come from AI agents needing scalable, credit-risk-free micropayments, best enabled by the Lightning Network.

• Institutional Bitcoin adoption could potentially price out retail investors as BTC solidifies its role as a true geopolitical hedge.

• Nigerian government passes a law that recognizes and classifies Bitcoin and crypto as securities.

• Coinbase increases its Bitcoin-backed USDC loan limit to $1M, responding to strong demand.

• Corporate bitcoin holdings reach a record 746,302 BTC, tripling since Q1 2024, as companies accelerate acquisitions with nearly 100,000 BTC bought in April 2025 alone.

• Micro(Strategy) reports fifth consecutive quarterly loss under fair value accounting and launches a $21B at-the-market equity offering to fund more BTC acquisitions.

• Morgan Stanley, US banking giant overseeing $1.7T in client assets, plans to launch spot BTC trading on its E-Trade platform this year.

• Roswell, New Mexico becomes the first US city to establish a Bitcoin reserve after accepting a Bitcoin donation of 0.0305 BTC worth $2,845.

• Bringin, a European Bitcoin company, closes a $950K pre-seed round led by Initial Capital to advance Bitcoin-based banking solutions.

• Lance Gooden, a Texas US House Representative, proposes installing Bitcoin and crypto ATMs in federal buildings.

• Relai, a Swiss Bitcoin-only company, partners with Sygnum Bank to offer Bitcoin-backed loans to unlock liquidity for high-net-worth clients.

• North Carolina House passes bill that will enable the state to invest up to 5% of pensions into Bitcoin and crypto and sends the bill to the Senate for further debate.

QUICK MEDIA

• Matthew Kratter of Bitcoin University stresses that the proposed Bitcoin Core updates, relaxing data limits, are an 'attack,' urging the community to defend Bitcoin's monetary nature against developer overreach and censorship (May 1 | 14:48 min watch).

• Michael Ellis, Deputy Director of the CIA, in an interview with Anthony Pompliano, asserts that Bitcoin is here to stay, highlighting it as a key technological competition area requiring the US to strategically position itself against China (May 1 | 2:09 min watch).

• Alexander Neumueller, lead author of the recent Cambridge Digital Mining Industry Report, in an interview with Fox News, explains that access to cheap energy and developed capital markets is solidifying the position of the US as a global Bitcoin mining hub (Apr 29 | 1:45 min watch).

• Bitcoin Mechanic, sharing his perspective on the recent drama surrounding OP_RETURN, argues that Bitcoin Core developers are actively sabotaging Bitcoin's cypherpunk culture by tolerating non-monetary blockchain 'spam,' gaslighting users, and undermining the network's foundation of individual sovereignty and freedom money (May 1 | 87:50 min watch).

• Adam Livingston, author of 'The Great Harvest', explores how Bitcoin's scarcity and proof-of-work provide an economic anchor against AI-driven synthetic abundance, ensuring sovereignty in a world where human cognition is increasingly replaced by machines (Apr 29 | 15 min watch).

• Carel van Wyk, founder of Money Badger, speaking earlier at Adopting Bitcoin El Salvador earlier this year, details Bitcoin's adoption in South Africa, highlighting Lightning Network success at Pick n Pay shopping stores, overcoming technical and cultural hurdles, and addressing regulatory threats to self-custody (May 1 | 21:40 min watch).

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