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Greetings Bitcoiner,
Welcome to Issue #473 of Bitcoin Breakdown, where it’s OPSEC Wednesday special, followed by the latest Quick Bits snippets.
But first, today’s Top Stories:
🍔 Steak 'n Shake: Stacking Sats by Selling Burgers
🏦 Italy's Largest Bank Reveals $96M Bitcoin ETF Position
🛢️ Abu Dhabi Funds Hold Over $1B in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF
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🍔 Steak 'n Shake: Stacking Sats by Selling Burgers
Steak 'n Shake says same-store sales have "risen dramatically" since launching Bitcoin payments in May 2025, with 11% growth in Q2 and 15% in Q3. The chain now holds 161.6 BTC and pays employees a Bitcoin bonus through Fold.
Why it matters: While most Bitcoin treasury plays rely on financial engineering and paper exposure, here's a company stacking sats by selling actual products for actual bitcoin -- and sharing the upside with hourly workers. Read more→
Meanwhile...
🏦 Italy's Largest Bank Reveals $96M Bitcoin ETF Position
Intesa Sanpaolo disclosed $96 million in spot Bitcoin ETF holdings in its Q4 2025 13F filing, alongside a $184.6 million put option on Strategy. The bank reports no voting rights -- suggesting these are client holdings, not proprietary bets.
Why it matters: Another TradFi giant offering clients paper bitcoin while collecting fees on the wrapper. The Strategy put option is a structured product hedge, not a conviction stack. Adoption of Bitcoin as a financial product is not the same as adoption of Bitcoin as money. Read more→
On the sovereign front...
🛢️ Abu Dhabi Funds Hold Over $1B in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF
Mubadala and Al Warda Investments raised their combined IBIT position to over 20.9 million shares -- worth $1.03 billion at year-end 2025 -- buying through bitcoin's 23% Q4 drawdown.
Why it matters: Multi-generational sovereign capital is accumulating bitcoin through every dip while retail panics. It's paper exposure through an ETF wrapper, but the signal is the size and the patience -- sovereign funds don't move fast, and they don't move small. Read more→
Poll #473: Abu Dhabi funds bought $1B in bitcoin ETFs through a 23% dip. The quiet part:
A hacker on BreachForums linked three French kidnappings — totaling $17M — directly to a breached crypto tax platform's database.
The Waltio hack is the clearest case yet of how tax compliance data becomes a physical targeting pipeline.
If you've ever used a third-party tax tool, this week’s OPSEC feature article is required reading.
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Payjoin Foundation, a nonprofit advancing Bitcoin transaction privacy through collaborative payment technology, gains IRS tax-exempt status, enabling US donors to support privacy-enhancing infrastructure that breaks blockchain surveillance assumptions.
Firefish, a non-custodial Bitcoin-backed peer-to-peer lending marketplace, integrates with London Stock Exchange Group's Workspace platform, providing 400,000+ financial professionals access to institutional-grade Bitcoin credit rate data and market transparency.
Nakamoto Inc, David Bailey's treasury company, acquires BTC Inc and UTXO Management for $107M in stock to expand its media, events, and asset management capabilities.
ECB President Christine Lagarde may step down before her October 2027 term ends to allow France and Germany time to select her successor, though the institution denies any formal decision.
Bitcoin faces the prospect of five consecutive monthly losses which would mark its longest losing streak since 2018.
9.31M BTC now sits underwater at 46% of supply, with concentrated loss clusters between $80K-$95K and $105K-$120K requiring absorption before a durable bottom forms, according to a CryptoQuant community analyst.
Bitcoin accumulator addresses, defined as wallets with no outflows and multiple inflows excluding exchanges and miners, now hold 372K BTC as order book data shows the largest bid skew in over two years.
TMZ, the entertainment news outlet, receives a fourth bitcoin ransom demand from an anonymous tipster claiming to know Nancy Guthrie's kidnapper's identity, now requesting $50,000 upfront and $50,000 after providing information about the 84-year-old's disappearance.
Metaplanet posts $619M net loss for fiscal 2025 as its 35,102 BTC holdings decline in value, though operating profit surges 1,695% on options revenue.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki rejects the second MiCA implementation bill, saying that it was 'practically identical' to the first.
$150B in US tax refunds could fuel retail speculation in Bitcoin and equities by late March, echoing pandemic-era stimulus-driven rallies that propelled BTC from $10,000 to $69,000, according to Wells Fargo strategists.
Short-term Bitcoin whales holding 1,000-10,000 BTC face 22% unrealized losses at current prices while long-term holders maintain 65% profits, as rising exchange deposits signal potential sell pressure.
Scammers targeting Florida seniors drain millions through Bitcoin ATM fraud using fake law enforcement calls, prompting bipartisan bill to limit daily deposits to $2,000 and require fraud warnings.
Bitcoin open interest plummets 55% from its $94B October 2025 peak to $44B, marking the steepest decline since April 2023 as traders unwind leverage amid macro uncertainty and institutional selling pressure.
Strategy purchases 2,486 BTC for $168.4M through stock sales, bringing total holdings to 717,131 bitcoin as the company sits on a $5.7B unrealized loss.
Harvard Management Company, overseeing the university's $53B endowment, cuts Bitcoin ETF holdings by 21% to $265.8M while adding an $86.8M Ethereum ETF position.
EMJ Capital envisions Bitcoin reaching $50M by 2041, arguing it could become neutral global collateral underpinning future finance, replacing the Eurodollar system as a foundational reserve asset.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong defends the exchange's 80%-plus custody market share in US bitcoin ETFs, dismissing 'paper bitcoin' concerns while emphasizing full backing and audited reserves.
Thank you for reading!
