Greetings Bitcoiner,

Welcome to Issue #329 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:

• ⛏️ Block & Dorsey Unveil Game-Changing Modular Bitcoin Mining Rig

• 🏦 Bessent Clarifies: No BTC Buying, But Reserve Still Growing

• ⚡ Tether and Lightspark Turbocharge Bitcoin Lightning Wallets

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Aug 15, 2025

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

⛏️ Block & Dorsey Unveil Game-Changing Modular Bitcoin Mining Rig

Jack Dorsey's Block just unveiled Proto Rig, a revolutionary modular Bitcoin mining system designed to last a decade, rather than the usual three to five years. The upgradeable design slashes repair costs by 15-20% per cycle and cuts maintenance time from days to seconds with tool-free hashboard swaps. Paired with free open-source Proto Fleet management software supporting Stratum V2 protocol, Block is democratizing mining infrastructure while delivering 1.5 times the power density of legacy systems. Decrypt

🏦 Bessent Clarifies: No BTC Buying, But Reserve Still Growing

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sparked confusion by saying the US won't buy more bitcoin, then quickly clarified on social media that Treasury remains committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more BTC. The strategic bitcoin reserve, built on $15-20B in seized criminal assets, will stop selling confiscated Bitcoin and continue growing through alternative acquisition methods rather than direct purchases. Axios

⚡ Tether and Lightspark Turbocharge Bitcoin Lightning Wallets

Tether just turbocharged its open-source Wallet Development Kit by integrating Lightspark's Spark Bitcoin Lightning infrastructure, enabling developers to build non-custodial wallets with instant, low-cost Bitcoin and USDt payments. The integration removes complexity from self-custodial wallet development while supporting Tether's vision for AI-driven autonomous agents that can transact independently. This powerful combo aims to democratize Lightning payments across mobile, desktop, and web applications without relying on custodial services. Tether

POLL #329

PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS

QUICK BITS

• Google reverses Play Store policy on including non-custodial Bitcoin and crypto wallets in new guidelines after huge community backlash.

• Google backs TeraWulf, a Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing infrastructure company, with $1.8B investment as part of a $3.7B AI hosting deal.

• Stripe cuts credit card processing of German Bitcoin mining hardware seller, Solomining, after Shopify Payments bans sales.

• Spar rolls out Bitcoin and crypto payments across 300 Swiss supermarkets via Binance Pay and DFX dot swiss, becoming Switzerland's first retail chain to accept BTC nationwide.

• Anon whale acquires $792M worth of Bitcoin following a brutal liquidation event that wiped out $1.05 billion in leveraged positions after unexpectedly high US inflation data triggered widespread market selloffs.

• Cake Wallet, a privacy-focused open-source wallet, launches Cupcake, an app that transforms unused Android or iPhone devices into offline hardware wallets for Monero and Bitcoin storage.

• KindlyMD and Nakamoto Holdings complete merger to form publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company, with CEO David Bailey targeting acquisition of 1M BTC.

• BTC-Turk, a Turkey-based Bitcoin and crypto exchange, suspends withdrawals following a suspected $48M hack.

• American Bitcoin, a Bitcoin mining company backed by Trump's family members, purchases 16,299 Bitmain ASIC miners for $314M despite ongoing trade war pressures.

• Indian Bitcoin Policy Institute launches on the country's Independence Day, aiming to advocate for financial sovereignty through strategic Bitcoin adoption, mining initiatives, and policy research to position India as a leader in the ecosystem.

• Bullish, the Peter Thiel-backed Bitcoin and crypto exchange, raises $1.1B in an oversubscribed IPO, pricing shares at $37 above initial target range amid strong institutional demand.

• ZBD, a Bitcoin payments company, introduces embedded in-game rewards with launch partner TapNation, enabling mobile games to offer direct real-money incentives that aim to boost retention and monetization.

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QUICK MEDIA

• Guy Swann, host of the Bitcoin Audible podcast, discusses Peardrive, a peer-to-peer file sharing project that aims to simplify direct device-to-device transfers without intermediaries, restore the internet's original vision of connecting people directly, and create monetization opportunities for volunteer networks using Bitcoin payments (Aug 14 | 3:56 min watch). 

• Forrest, host of the Bitcoin Not Crypto show, explores the potential for government property taxes on Bitcoin, arguing that self-custody makes enforcement nearly impossible and that competitive jurisdictions will likely favor Bitcoin holders with preferential tax treatment over time (Aug 14 | 11:01 min watch). 

• Julia McCoy, a popular Tech YouTuber, speculates how Bitcoin could undergo a quantum-resistant upgrade by 2030 to protect against quantum computer threats, positioning itself as the decentralized backbone for humanity's AGI future and ensuring artificial intelligence serves all of the people rather than centralized powers (Aug 14 | 12:31 min watch). 

• Luke Broyles of The Bitcoin Adviser examines the common traits of early Bitcoin adopters, revealing that they tend to be disagreeable, pragmatic individuals aged 35-65 who challenge conventional wisdom, among other traits (Aug 10 | 18:24 min watch). 

• The Bitcoin Fix, a Bitcoin education channel, argues that Bitcoin is positioned to replace the US dollar as the global reserve asset due to its decentralized nature, fixed supply of 21 million coins, enhanced security through proof-of-work, and digital advantages over traditional fiat currencies and gold (Aug 12 | 5:59 min watch). 

• Matthew Kratter of Bitcoin University examines 51% attacks and mining pool centralization risks, analyzing the recent Monero block reorganizations that may not constitute a true sustained attack, while highlighting Bitcoin's vulnerability to mining pool concentration and discussing protective measures like home mining and decentralized pool protocols (Aug 14 | 19:41 min watch).

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