Greetings Bitcoiner,

Welcome to Issue #249 of Bitcoin Breakdown, where it’s OPSEC Wednesday special, followed by the latest Quick Bits snippets.

But first, today’s Top Stories:

• 🇦🇪 Dubai Rolls Out Red Carpet for $BTC.X ( ▼ 1.1% ) Payments

• 🐋 Tether Pumps Up Twenty One Capital’s Bitcoin Stack

• 🥊 Bitcoin Data War: Knots Nodes Battle Core Changes

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May 14, 2025

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

🇦🇪 Dubai Rolls Out Red Carpet for Bitcoin Payments

Dubai has announced partnering with Crypto.com to accept BTC for government services. This pioneering move, part of its D33 Economic Agenda, aims for a nearly cashless city by 2026. Citizens will soon pay for public services using bitcoin via the Crypto.com app, which then converts to Emirati dirhams for the government. This forward-thinking collaboration is expected to boost Dubai’s economy by at least $2.1B annually. CNBC

🐋 Tether Pumps Up Twenty One Capital’s Bitcoin Stack

Tether just added another 4,812 BTC to Jack Mallers-led Twenty One Capital's growing treasury, rocketing their total to a mighty 36,312 bitcoin. Ahead of its special purpose acquisition company merger via Cantor Equity Partners, and backed by giants like SoftBank and Bitfinex, Twenty One aims to be the ultimate Bitcoin investment play. They're boldly prioritizing stacking more bitcoin per share over outdated profit metrics. Cointelegraph

🥊 Bitcoin Data War: Knots Nodes Battle Core Changes

Bitcoin's OP_RETURN war continues as developers clash over data limits. The so-called ‘progressive’ camp wants to massively increase the 83-byte cap for OP_RETURN data, while ‘conservatives’ like Luke Dashjr resist, fearing a subversion of Bitcoin's core purpose. In protest, Knots nodes, which maintain the current limit, have surged to over 8% of public nodes. A viral 'warning' against Knots has emerged, but the existing limit has served Bitcoin well for 15 years. Protos

POLL #249

PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS

OPSEC FEATURE ARTICLE

One Leak Away: How a Privacy Breach Can Destroy a Bitcoin Brand - and How to Stop It

In the Bitcoin ecosystem, trust is everything. Yet, a single privacy breach can destroy years of credibility, customer loyalty, and operational competence.

In this week’s feature article, we explore real-world examples, the unique risks facing Bitcoin-focussed businesses, and practical solutions to fortify your brand against digital catastrophe.

Get instant access to this special feature by becoming a premium supporter here.

QUICK BITS

• Swiss digital surveillance plan sparks widespread criticism over privacy concerns.

• SEC Chair Paul Atkins signals a comprehensive overhaul of Bitcoin and crypto broker regulations.

• Robinhood acquires Canadian crypto platform WonderFi for $179M, aiming to deepen their presence in the Bitcoin and crypto market.

• Coinbase becomes the first pure-play crypto firm to join the S&P 500, replacing Discover Financial Services, which is being acquired.

• My First Bitcoin, a Bitcoin education organization, secures a $1M grant from Jack Dorsey's initiative #StartSmall to expand its free and open-source learning resources.

• River Financial, a US-only Bitcoin service provider, reports that companies are 2025's largest bitcoin buyers, adding 157K BTC and outpacing ETFs.

• Samourai Wallet and SDNY clash over Brady material disclosure as defense argues prosecutors suppressed key evidence.

• Orange Pill App's newly launched Lightning Wallet hits 1M transactions in 81 days.

• Geyser announces that Lightning represents 75% of bitcoin contributions volume to projects listed on its platform, almost double what it was in 2022.

• Missouri House proposes a bill that would end capital gains tax on bitcoin.

• South Korea's spot Bitcoin and crypto ETFs gain bipartisan support as both presidential candidates pledge adoption ahead of June 3 election.

• Beat Holdings, a Hong Kong-based investment firm listed in Tokyo, raises its Bitcoin ETF investment limit to $34M.

• Arizona enacts law regulating Bitcoin ATMs to combat scams that have caused $325M in losses so far.

• (Micro)Strategy buys 13,390 BTC for $1.34B, taking its total holdings to 568,840 BTC.

• FBI begins process to seize $1.2M in Bitcoin from GirlsDoPorn founder Michael Pratt, who faces sex trafficking charges.

• Nakamoto, David Bailey's Bitcoin treasury firm, hit a 23X multiple-to-Net Asset Value, over 11 times (Micro)Strategy’s multiple.

• Bitcoin commentators warn that Bitcoin treasury companies creating shares for BTC fuel a speculative bubble, risking an eventual unwind.

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