Greetings Bitcoiner,

Welcome to Issue #257 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:

• 🇬🇧 American Bitcoiner Drugged & Robbed by Fake Uber Driver in London

• 🇿🇦 South African Court: Bitcoin Breaks Free from Old Exchange Controls

• 📊 Deribit's Bitcoin Options Reach Record $42.5B as $BTC.X ( ▼ 1.46% ) Breaks $111K

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May 23, 2025

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

🇬🇧 American Bitcoiner Drugged & Robbed by Fake Uber Driver in London

An American tourist in London learned a harsh lesson in vigilance after a fake Uber driver allegedly drugged him with a 'Devil's Breath' sedative-laced cigarette. The scammer made off with his phone and passcodes, swiping $123K in BTC and XRP. This comes amid rising crimes targeting Bitcoin and crypto holders and underscores the critical need for secure self-custody practices, especially when navigating unfamiliar cities. Always verify your ride, and keep those keys safe. The Block

🇿🇦 South African Court: Bitcoin Breaks Free from Old Exchange Controls

The South African High Court has ruled that Bitcoin falls outside the country's outdated exchange control laws, invalidating a state forfeiture of funds linked to Bitcoin transactions. In a landmark case involving Standard Bank and the South African Reserve Bank, the court determined that Bitcoin and crypto cannot be classified as 'currency' or 'capital' under current regulations. The ruling highlights a significant regulatory gap in South Africa's financial framework, effectively placing Bitcoin and other digital assets beyond the reach of exchange controls until legislative reform occurs. Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

📊 Deribit's Bitcoin Options Reach Record $42.5B as BTC Breaks $111K

As Bitcoin soared past $111K yesterday, Deribit's options market exploded to a record $42.5B in notional open interest. Traders are aggressively pursuing upside through high-strike call options, with the most activity concentrated at $120K and $130K strikes for May and June expiry. The highest open interest now sits at $110K, $120K, and ambitious $300K June 27 strikes, demonstrating strong bullish sentiment as BTC reaches unprecedented heights. CoinDesk

POLL #257

PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS

QUICK BITS

• (Micro)Strategy launches massive $2.1B preferred stock offering to fuel its relentless Bitcoin acquisition strategy.

• Whale Alert detects mysterious 6,016 BTC transfer worth $670M to Coinbase, sparking speculation about whale dump despite continued market strength.

• Jippi to launch Pokémon GO-Style Bitcoin Game at Bitcoin 2025 Conference, partnering with 6 leading companies to offer educational 'Beast Hunts' and BTC Rewards for 30,000 Attendees.

• Suspected scammer swaps $42.5M BTC through Thorchain and taunts blockchain investigator ZachXBT after massive Coinbase phishing campaigns.

• Craig Wright's Seychelles-registered firms struck from the register following failure to register an agent, amid ongoing legal challenges for the self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator.

• Exchanges offered $10M+ in Bitcoin Pizza Day giveaways as the historic 10,000 BTC transaction celebrates its 15th anniversary, now worth $1.11B at BTC's new all-time high of $111,000.

• Liquid Network, a Bitcoin sidechain, reaches $3.27B in Total Value Locked as demand for tokenized assets grows, positioning itself as a bridge between Bitcoin and traditional finance markets.

• YourOwn, a financial identity platform, partners with Hoseki to integrate Bitcoin verification services, enabling users to prove Bitcoin ownership alongside traditional assets within a single encrypted wallet for lending and financial planning.

• Unchained launches Gannett Trust Company, Wyoming's first regulated bitcoin-native trust service to deliver fiduciary solutions for long-term family and institutional wealth.

• BTC Map removes app from Google Play Store due to privacy-invasive KYC requirements, directing users to download their app from Zapstore, a Nostr-based app store.

QUICK MEDIA

• Adam Back, Co-Founder and CEO of Blockstream, in an appearance on BTC Sessions' podcast, challenges Bitcoin's four-year cycle theory, arguing that past cycles were disrupted by unique events and that network effects and institutional adoption could drive future growth beyond traditional diminishing returns models (May 19 | 8:46 min watch). 

• Giacomo Zucco, Director of the Plan B Network, in an interview with Francis Pouliot of Bull Bitcoin, urges people to think about the possibility of intelligence agents who want to 'sneak something' into Bitcoin becoming depressed after watching people fiercely argue over something as minor as OP_RETURN (May 21 | 0:25 min watch). 

• New trailer of upcoming documentary Unbanked released, which explores Bitcoin's revolutionary potential as 'freedom money' in the global financial system, highlighting adoption in underbanked regions while contrasting passionate advocates against critics who dismiss it as worthless (May 23 | 2:11 min watch). 

• Gigi, President & Executive Director of OpenSats, explores how the internet's attention economy exploits users through addictive design, and presents Nostr with its 'Zap' feature as an alternative that respects user consciousness and offers a more valuable interaction model (May 19 | 1:54 min watch). 

• Matthew Kratter of Bitcoin University addresses concerns that his recent critiques of Bitcoin were too negative, clarifying that he remains bullish but is highlighting potential threats that require active community defense to ensure Bitcoin's continued success against centralization and competing cryptocurrencies (May 20 | 9:53 min watch). 

• Matthew Pines and Zack Shapiro of the Bitcoin Policy Institute talk about US Treasury's forecast of $2T stablecoin market driving $1T in US debt demand, suggesting stablecoins are evolving into sovereign debt infrastructure while potentially propelling Bitcoin to $500K+ through Treasury-engineered global dollar rails (May 22 | 12:22 min watch).

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