Greetings Bitcoiner,

Welcome to Issue #432 of Bitcoin Breakdown, where it’s OPSEC Wednesday special, followed by the latest Quick Bits snippets.

But first, today’s Top Stories:

• 🇧🇹 Bhutan Goes All-In on Bitcoin with 'Mindfulness City' Build

• ⚡ Lightning Network Capacity Strikes All-Time High

• ⏩ Tether Leads $8M Round for Lightning Payments Startup Speed

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TODAY’S TOP STORIES

🇧🇹 Bhutan Goes All-In on Bitcoin with 'Mindfulness City' Build

Bhutan just committed up to 10,000 BTC, worth roughly $1B, to fund its Gelephu Mindfulness City project in one of the largest sovereign digital asset allocations ever. King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck declared every citizen a stakeholder in the initiative, with the bitcoin held long-term to generate yields through collateralization and treasury strategies – no selling planned. The Himalayan kingdom now ranks 7th globally among sovereign Bitcoin holders, embracing blockchain across mining, payments, and national identity systems. Decrypt

⚡ Lightning Network Capacity Strikes All-Time High

Bitcoin's Lightning Network hit an all-time high capacity of 5,637 BTC (around $490M) as major exchanges like Binance and OKX ramped up deposits. The surge follows a year of declines, with more bitcoin flowing into the network for faster, cheaper transactions. Meanwhile, Lightning Labs released Taproot Assets version 0.7, introducing reusable addresses and auditable supply features to enable multi-asset transfers, paving the way for stablecoins and trillions in future Bitcoin transactions. As more users and businesses embrace Lightning for everyday payments, the network continues to prove its scalability and utility. Cointelegraph

⏩ Tether Leads $8M Round for Lightning Payments Startup Speed

Speed secured $8M led by Tether and Ego Death Capital to expand its Bitcoin Lightning Network payment infrastructure. The company processed over $1.5B in volume across 1.2M users over the past year, bridging Lightning and stablecoins for merchants and individuals globally. Funds will boost capacity, regional expansion, merchant tools, and cross-border payouts. Speed's CEO emphasized that real infrastructure (fast, compliant, and scalable) is key to making Bitcoin and stablecoins power everyday payments worldwide. Meanwhile, Tether continues stacking sats, now holding 87,475 BTC in treasury while diversifying into gold and agribusiness. Bitcoin Magazine

POLL #432

PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS

OPSEC FEATURE ARTICLE

How to Detect Hidden Bluetooth Trackers: A Practical ‘Find It Fast’ Playbook

Small Bluetooth trackers can help you find lost keys, but they can also help someone else find you.

Apple and Google now ship cross-platform ‘unwanted tracking’ alerts, but you still need a manual plan when the alerts arrive late or miss a device.

If you treat self-custody seriously, you should treat physical tracking the same way: verify, don’t assume.

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

QUICK BITS

• Cash App launches a program rewarding US customers $25 in BTC for onboarding Square merchants to accept their first bitcoin payment, capped at 2,000 participants.

• 30-day hash rate drops from 1.1 ZH/s to just above 1 ZH/s, the steepest decline since April 2024 halving, as roughly 400K mining machines shut down in China.

• Fear and Greed Index drops to 11, signaling extreme fear amid thin liquidity and heightened market anxiety as Bitcoin trades new $87k.

• Bitwise predicts that BTC will reach new all-time highs in 2026, breaking the traditional four-year cycle due to weakening halving impacts, institutional adoption, and favorable regulatory conditions.

• Long-term holders reduced their supply to 14.3M BTC, the lowest since April, as technical indicators suggest potential further declines.

• Network activity drops to 660K active addresses as Runes transactions dominate volume but generate minimal fees.

• MARA CEO Fred Thiel calls Bitcoin's 7% yearly decline and investor exodus from BTC ETFs a 'healthy retracement,' predicting strong performance ahead despite decoupling from the S&P 500's performance.

• SEC Chairman and Commissioner Hester Peirce stress the need to balance blockchain transparency with privacy protections, warning against transforming Bitcoin and crypto into a financial surveillance system while preserving innovation and civil liberties.

• Canada's tax authority recovers CA$100M from Bitcoin and crypto users through a specialized audit team, but faces further enforcement challenges.

• Strategy acquires 10,645 BTC in its latest purchase, bringing its total bitcoin holdings to 671,268 BTC.

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation proposes a framework allowing FDIC-supervised banks to issue payment stablecoins through subsidiaries under the GENIUS Act.

• Tajikistan criminalizes unauthorized Bitcoin mining with up to 8 years in prison as severe energy crisis forces electricity rationing to just 2-4 hours daily, joining global crackdown on mining operations.

• Senate Banking Committee Chair postpones crypto market structure markup hearings to early 2026 amid bipartisan negotiations, as midterm elections and federal funding priorities threaten further delays.

• UK Supreme Court justices reject Bitcoin SV investors' $13B appeal against exchanges, ruling that the 2019 delisting claims lack legal merit as BSV plummets 96% from its peak.

• Gold's 63% surge to over $4,000 per ounce drove the BTC-to-gold ratio down 50% as central banks bought 254 tonnes and ETFs added 397 tonnes, while Bitcoin faced $112B ETF outflows and long-term holder distribution.

• Stablecoin adoption is surging in Venezuela as hyperinflation and bolívar devaluation drive citizens toward dollar-pegged digital assets for daily transactions and savings preservation, according to TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence firm.

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