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Greetings Bitcoiner,
Welcome to Issue #628 of Bitcoin Breakdown, where it’s OPSEC Wednesday special, followed by the latest Quick Bits snippets. But first, today’s Top Stories:
A content farm that recycled Bitcoin clips for ad payouts just got suspended and referred to law enforcement. Meanwhile Citi is preparing to hold bitcoin next to stocks and bonds, and RoninDojo shipped a rebuilt privacy-first node for anyone who would rather verify than trust.
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🚨 X Suspends Content Farm Milking Bitcoin Clips for $250K
X suspended a serial content-recycling account after its operator was found running more than ten accounts that defrauded the platform's ad revenue-sharing program of over $250,000 across two years. Former X Head of Product Nikita Bier said the case is being forwarded to law enforcement, while creators say plenty of accounts still repost old Bitcoin clips and headlines without credit.
Why it matters: X pays for engagement, so recycled, unsourced Bitcoin content gets dressed up as new. That is why Bitcoin Breakdown embeds sources in every caption and hat tips original creators of memes we share on socials as much as possible. Read more→
🏦 Citi Will Hold Bitcoin Next to Stocks and Bonds
Citi announced Custody+, a platform that will hold bitcoin alongside traditional securities for institutional clients, with bitcoin as the first supported asset and launch expected later this year. The $2.8 trillion bank's custody network spans more than 100 markets, and it joins BNY, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Coinbase in institutional bitcoin custody.
Why it matters: Institutions clearly want bitcoin in size, but Citi has not said whether clients can withdraw coins to self-custody. Until then, bitcoin at a bank is a bank balance denominated in bitcoin. Read more→
🛠️ RoninDojo Ships a Ground-Up Rebuild of Its Bitcoin Node
RoninDojo released v3.0.0 of its open-source, privacy-focused Bitcoin node software, the project's first major release since new maintainers took over. The update brings a faster RoninUI over Tor, automatic security updates, and a required reflash that preserves existing node data.
Why it matters: Running your own node is the essential next step after grasping Bitcoin basics. A self-hosted Dojo verifies transactions for you and keeps wallet queries off third-party servers that log addresses. Read more→
A criminal playbook recovered by researchers this month sets a revenue target of up to $500,000 per campaign and tells operators to buy 50,000 fake downloads as social proof, all so the malware can sit quietly for 12 to 72 hours after a developer installs it and wake up long after anyone stopped watching.
This week's OPSEC Feature Article shows you how to build an install routine that outlasts the timer, so a tool that behaved for an hour cannot reach your keys on day three.
Get instant access to this special feature by becoming a premium supporter here.
Cobra, pseudonymous operator of Bitcoin(dot)org, marks the site's 18th anniversary on Aug 18th, noting that Satoshi Nakamoto registered the domain in 2008, calling it Bitcoin's birthday.
Amboss Technologies, a Lightning Network infrastructure firm, launches an affiliate program paying recurring bitcoin commissions to partners who help merchants adopt Lightning payments.
Divine, a Vine-like social app built on the open source Nostr protocol, has partnered with Taco Bell to send 40M invite codes and air TV ads, according to developer Rabble.
DMND, a Stratum V2 Bitcoin mining pool, lets miners control Mempool Accelerator transaction prioritization and now keep the acceleration fees themselves, not the pool.
JAN3 unveils OMEGA60, a Bitcoin valuation model using 60% median annual growth, projecting bitcoin to hit $1M by 2031 and reach gold-parity 'Terminus Zone' near $785K by 2030.
Global government bond yields, the interest rates governments pay to borrow, surge to multi decade highs as bond prices fall.
Metaplanet, a Tokyo-listed Bitcoin treasury firm, contributes 2,100 BTC worth $135M to Nasdaq-listed Super League Enterprise, forming 'Superplanet' for US market expansion.
Strategy maintains its bitcoin holdings steady at 840,447 BTC while raising $333.7M and boosting its USD reserve to $4.80B.
BitMart, an exchange shutting down August 26, has founder Sheldon Xia call audit demands 'fabricated rumors' as users report blocked withdrawals and creditors face possible court proceedings.
Bits of Gold, Israel's largest Bitcoin and crypto broker with over 250,000 customers, suffers a data breach exposing 200,000 users' personal and bank details via a third party vendor attack.
Binance reportedly plans to seek a UK Financial Conduct Authority license, aiming to relaunch services in the country by 2027 after a 2021 regulatory ban.
VanEck, a global investment firm, reports that bitcoin's 30 day volatility has dropped to 27.2%, half its historical average, as spot volume and long term holder supply decline amid bearish signals.
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, reaffirms bitcoin's role as a global monetary alternative despite its nearly 50% drop since October's record high.
Galaxy Research reports that Coldcard hardware wallet thefts exceed $115M, based on interviews with over 200 victims and tracking attacker patterns.
