Greetings Bitcoiner,

Welcome to Issue #334 of the daily Bitcoin Breakdown, where we have some excellent Opinion & Analysis pieces and Tools & Projects for you today!

But first, today’s Top Stories:

• 🔄 Bitcoin's 4-Year Cycle Lives On Despite Naysayers

• 🇨🇳 China Eyes Yuan Stablecoins to Challenge Dollar Dominance

• 🎯 Winklevoss Twins Drop $21M Bitcoin Bomb on Democrats

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Aug 21, 2025

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

🔄 Bitcoin's 4-Year Cycle Lives On Despite Naysayers

Glassnode says in a new report that Bitcoin's price action still echoes historic four-year halving patterns, despite institutional predictions claiming the cycle is dead. Long-term holder profit-taking mirrors past euphoric phases, while weakening demand and ETF outflows of $975M suggest the market may be further along than expected. If patterns hold, Bitcoin's cycle peak could arrive as early as October, just months away from current levels. Cointelegraph

🇨🇳 China Eyes Yuan Stablecoins to Challenge Dollar Dominance

Reuters reports that China is planning to approve yuan-backed stablecoins for the first time, as Beijing seeks to counter US dollar-pegged stablecoins that currently dominate 99% of the global market. This marks a dramatic reversal from its 2021 crypto ban. The State Council will review the roadmap later this month as part of broader yuan internationalization efforts,, and Hong Kong and Shanghai would serve as priority hubs, with cross-border trade implementation discussed at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit Reuters

🎯 Winklevoss Twins Drop $21M Bitcoin Bomb on Democrats

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss just donated 188 BTC worth $21M to launch the Digital Freedom Fund, a brazenly partisan Bitcoin and crypto PAC aimed at crushing Democrats in the 2026 midterms. Unlike similar PACs that play nice with both parties, the Gemini co-founders are going full MAGA mode to protect Trump's Bitcoin and crypto agenda. Their goals include passing favorable regulations, blocking a US central bank digital currency, and safeguarding software developers from government overreach. Decrypt

POLL #334

PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS

OPINION & ANALYSIS

• Saifedean Ammous, author of 'The Bitcoin Standard', argues that Argentina's Javier Milei has failed to deliver on his libertarian campaign promises by maintaining the central bank, increasing money supply, and accumulating massive debt while promoting his administration as an 'economic miracle' to attract bond investors (Aug 20 | 13 min read).

• James Van Straten, Senior Analyst at CoinDesk, argues that the UK's October reversal of its four-year ban on bitcoin ETNs represents a pivotal moment that could reshape Britain's position in global Bitcoin markets, potentially rivaling the impact of US spot ETF launches (Aug 20 | 3 min read).

• Joël Kai Lenz of Relai argues that Bitcoin has evolved from Satoshi's original peer-to-peer vision into a Wall Street-driven institutional asset through ETFs and political adoption, fundamentally changing its community and purpose (Aug 20 | 4 min read).

• Flash, a Bitcoin payments company, analyzes how Steak 'n Shake's Bitcoin payment integration drove 11% same-store sales growth by cutting transaction fees 50%, attracting younger customers, and positioning the chain as payment innovation leader (Aug 20 | 3 min read).

• Alby, a self-custodial Lightning wallet provider, explains how home bitcoin miners can receive instant, private mining payouts through Lightning Network integration with pools like Braiins and Ocean, eliminating exchange fees and KYC requirements while maintaining sovereignty (Aug 20 | 1 min read).

• Joyce Dawn, a Bitcoin circular economy builder, explains how building Bitcoin adoption in local communities requires overcoming social barriers rather than technical ones, emphasizing that merchants need reassurance through positive community-focused messaging and visible social proof rather than confrontational anti-establishment framing (Aug 19 | 3 min read).

• Derek Ross, co-founder of the Grow Nostr Initiative, in an interview with Joakim Book of Bitcoin Magazine, argues that Bitcoiners who aren't using Nostr are missing Bitcoin's core ethos of freedom, since decentralized communication naturally complements decentralized money (Aug 19 | 5 min read).

• KiRaCoCo, a Bitcoin advocate, argues that fiat money systems trap humanity in a modern version of Plato's cave, projecting dollar illusions while Bitcoin represents the difficult but liberating path toward true financial sovereignty and reality (Aug 17 | 5 min read). 

• Armando Aguilar, Head of Growth at TeraHash, argues that Bitcoin miners have evolved into systemic stabilizers post-2024 halving, acting like corporate treasuries with strategic balance sheet management while ETFs dominate headlines (Aug 17 | 3 min read).

• Reed, a Bitcoin community developer, argues that bitcoin represents digital energy because all money fundamentally stores human energy, and bitcoin uniquely protects this stored energy from theft through violence or inflation, offering humanity a superior scaling solution for voluntary cooperation (Aug 16 | 9 min read).

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TOOLS & PROJECTS

• New on Geyser: Bitcoin Kitui, a Kenya-based educational initiative led by postgraduate student Darius Simon, empowers South Eastern Kenya University students and Kitui County merchants with Bitcoin knowledge through workshops, seminars, and circular economy development.

• New on Geyser: The Creative Bitcoiners, a Kenya-based storytelling collective, builds creative economy documentation through founder diaries, launch stories, and community portraits capturing Bitcoin builders' journeys from idea to traction.

• Parmaknots by Parman offers a fully configured Bitcoin node server running Bitcoin Knots with Electrum server, premium Parmanode software, mining capabilities, and privacy-focused features.

• Bitchat for Android releases on the Google Play Store after a long and delayed process that involved dealing with the bureacrat-like approval team.

• Bitcoin Media Kit consists of logos, stickers, icons, images, and design assets to help businesses and creators promote Bitcoin and Lightning adoption effectively.

• Lightning TLA provides TLA+ models for verifying Lightning Network protocol security through refinement mappings, model checking, and simulation-based testing of payment channels and multi-hop transactions.

• Bitchat enables location-based chat features enabling users to connect with nearby regions or teleport globally via geohashes with privacy-focused pseudonyms and decentralized nostr relays.

• Harbor, an open-source ecash desktop wallet, enhances bitcoin privacy through multi-mint support, Tor communication, and seamless transfers between mints.

• Lightning++ conference brings together bitcoin developers and payment experts in Berlin October 2-4, 2025, featuring workshops, hackathon competitions, and exploration of Lightning network infrastructure.

• Orange Label, a Bitcoin merchandise store, integrates Branta's Guardrail into its checkout system, enabling instant Bitcoin and Lightning payment verification without additional software while providing enhanced security and privacy protection.

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