Greetings Bitcoiner,

Welcome to Issue #443 of Bitcoin Breakdown, where it’s OPSEC Wednesday special, followed by the latest Quick Bits snippets.

Now for today’s Top Stories:

• 🚀 Bitcoin Blasts Past $96K as Strategy Pops

• 🛡️ Senators Move to Shield Non-Custodial Bitcoin Coders

• 🎢 Fitch Gets Motion Sickness from Bitcoin Securities

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Jan 14, 2025

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

🚀 Bitcoin Blasts Past $96K as Strategy Pops

BTC ripped above $96,000 after steady US Consumer Price Index data eased Federal Reserve rate-hike fears, while a US State Department warning urging Americans to leave Iran stoked broader conflict concerns. The move comes even as the Senate Agriculture Committee pushed its Digital Asset Market Structure CLARITY Act markup to late January, highlighting ongoing debate over oversight and agency authority. Bitcoin proxy Strategy surged, too, after buying 13,627 BTC for $1.25B. Bitcoin Magazine

🛡️ Senators Move to Shield Non-Custodial Bitcoin Coders

Sen Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden rolled out the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act to make clear that non-custodial Bitcoin developers and service providers who never control user funds are not money transmitters. The push mirrors House efforts and may be folded into the Senate Banking Committee’s market structure bill, with a hearing and vote targeted this week. This move offers vital legal protection for builders creating the next generation of financial freedom tools. The Block

🎢 Fitch Gets Motion Sickness from Bitcoin Securities

Fitch Ratings has slapped a 'speculative-grade' warning on Bitcoin-backed securities, claiming extreme volatility makes them too risky for comfort. The agency fears that sudden price drops could spark a chain reaction of margin calls and forced liquidations, pointing to the 2022 lending platform failures as evidence. However, Fitch notes this assessment excludes Bitcoin spot ETFs, which function as equity-style investments. It appears the legacy financial system is still figuring out how to handle the future of finance. Atlas21

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OPSEC FEATURE ARTICLE

Public WiFi Can Cost You Your Bitcoin: The Travel-OPSEC Playbook That Stops Wallet Drainers

Most wallet ‘hacks’ start with a tiny yes.

In hotels, airports, and cafés, attackers don’t need your seed phrase if they can mess with your connection and your attention.

This week’s OPSEC guide breaks down a practical travel setup that helps Bitcoiners connect, browse, and sign without becoming the easiest target in the room.

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

QUICK BITS

• Standard Chartered launches a dedicated prime brokerage for Bitcoin and digital assets, allowing the bank to sidestep Basel III capital rules that assign massive risk weights to direct Bitcoin exposure.

• Bitcoiners urge top US tax writers to expand planned de minimis relief beyond GENIUS Act payment stablecoins, arguing that taxing every BTC coffee like property defeats everyday use.

• 21Shares, a global issuer of Bitcoin and crypto exchange-traded products, lists BOLD on the London Stock Exchange, offering UK retail investors a regulated, physically backed mix of bitcoin and gold.

• Strive acquires Semler Scientific in all-stock deal, adding 5,048 BTC to treasury and pushing combined holdings to 12,797 BTC, making it the 11th largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally.

• Russia prepares legislation allowing non-qualified investors to purchase up to 300,000 rubles ($3.8K) in Bitcoin or crypto, with the bill expected during spring parliamentary session.

• Bitdeer, a Singapore-based mining company, reports 71 EH/s total hash rate under management, surpassing MARA's 61.7 EH/s, as the miner scales proprietary SEALMINER chip deployments and pivots toward AI infrastructure investments.

• Coinbase threatens to withdraw support for the CLARITY Act if Congress restricts its $1.3B stablecoin reward programs ahead of Senate markup this week.

• Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise, argues that Bitcoin is less volatile than Nvidia stock over the past year, calling restrictions on Bitcoin and crypto in 401(k) retirement plans 'ridiculous' as Senator Warren demands SEC risk assessments.

• Corporate Bitcoin treasuries added 260,000 BTC in six months, tripling the 82,000 BTC mined during the period, as Strategy leads with 60% of all holdings.

• Bitcoin options open interest reaches $65B, surpassing futures' $60B as institutional investors favor hedging strategies over leverage-driven speculation, with BlackRock's IBIT commanding a record 52% market share.

• Bitcoin's historic decoupling from gold, combined with rising global liquidity and cycle fractals mirroring the 2020-2021 bull run, suggests BTC could rally again this year.

• India's Financial Intelligence Unit, the nation's anti-money laundering watchdog, mandates strict KYC verification, transaction monitoring and bans on privacy tools for all Bitcoin and crypto platforms serving Indian users under new PMLA regulations.

• Ulsan District Court sentences a Gen Z drug kingpin to 20 years for laundering $4.2M in crypto, running Telegram drug channels and dead-drop deliveries paid in BTC.

• Masked gunmen in Manosque, France, tie up a woman and steal a crypto USB drive, the latest among a slew of violent wrench attacks on Bitcoin and crypto holders in the country.

• TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence firm, finds that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have moved about $1B via UK-registered exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion, using USDT on Tron.

• Michael Saylor blasts Danny Knowles of 'What Bitcoin Did' in a cringy interview with him for doubting debt-funded BTC buys as treasury stocks slump and many trade at discounts.

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