Enjoy Your Digital Commodities!
As you may or may not have heard, the United States Securities & Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission has classified certain cryptocurrencies as **digital commodities**. Thus brings some clarity, after years of uncertainty, to the market, its participants and watchers. Under the new decision, the following projects now have a legal classification as a **digital commodity** under U.S. law:
XRP
Ethererum
Solana
Cardano
Chainlink
Avalanche
Polkadot
Stellar
Hedera
Litecoin
Dogecoin
Shiba Inu
Tezos
Bitcoin Cash
Aptos
Algorand
What does this mean exactly? The legal ambiguity for these projects is over and makes institutional adoption easier and removes legal challenges for exchanges that list said tokens. Bitcoin was already defined as a digital commodity. These cryptocurrencies now fall into the same bucket as oil, gold, and silver. Those legacy commodities are considered **hard commodities**, physical materials/natural resources that can be bought sold or traded. This marks a significant change in the crypto landscape.
The ruling also stated the crypto mining, staking, and token wrapping are not security transactions.
To me, this development just brings more legitimacy to the space. Perhaps this could also signal a beginning of an end to the "wild west" days of crypto, as the CFTC and SEC will continue to monitor for "pump and dump" tokens *aka* shitcoins. By distinguishing certain projects as legitimate digital commodities, that leaves uncertainty around shitcoins for now. There may be more future rulings coming soon, but we'll just have to see.
To read more on this development, check out this article from *Bitcoin Magazine*. https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/sec-cftc-most-crypto-not-securities
👇👇👇 It's always a good time to collect free crypto (especially during a downtrend) -- here's how 👇👇👇
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
**The most off-the-wall faucet is** **Crypto Junkie****, offering payouts in various cryptos to** **Final Autoclaim** **& Faucetpay** https://cryptojunkie.net/?r=67584 https://autofaucet.dutchycorp.space/?r=aaronkelly1024
**If you're DCA'ing your Bitcoin stack, try** **River** **for zero-fee recurring BTC buys & earn 3.5% Bitcoin interest on deposited USD** https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
**Slice** **is a Google Chrome browser extension that allows you to earn BTC for browsing, paid via Lightning Network** https://addslice.com/?crew=pYFdoDzr
**Another great crypto-powered blog site is** **read.cash****, fueled by Bitcoin Cash (BCH)** https://read.cash/r/RocketEnthusiast
Resources
https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026-30-sec-clarifies-application-federal-securities-laws-crypto-assets
https://www.tradingview.com/news/coinpedia:8f05e3db8094b:0-sec-cftc-crypto-commodity-list-2026-all-16-digital-assets-named-and-what-it-means/
What Goes Into a Bitcoin Price Prediction?
There is absolutely no telling what the future may hold, which is why I never get into price prognostication. You won't see me reading a crystal ball or making statements like "BTC to 200k by 2030." Yet, some folks choose to do so. There is nothing wrong with such predictions, unless you turn out to be wrong and don't want to bear the criticisms.
So where do such forecasts even come from? Both professional analysts and armchair amateurs look to data, both current and historical, to make their "educated guesses." Because, let's be real here, that's what they are in the end.
Technical analysis of price charts can be indicative of current trends and may provide insight into near-term price movement. For example, the chart is currently showing support at the $63k-66k range and resistance between $71k-74k. The short-term prospects appear to be bullish while the medium to long-term remains neutral. As always, the price of Bitcoin remains volatile. It actually leaves me wondering, looking at the chart, if there is anything to be gained from technical analysis. From a trading standpoint, perhaps. But for the HODL strategy, it's merely a blip on the radar.
Another consideration is adoption and network health. As far as adoption goes, legacy financial institutions really sunk their proverbial teeth into BTC in 2024 and it has continued into 2026. In 2025, institutions accumulated approximately 825,000 BTC -- no small number for an industry that originally opposed cryptocurrencies and decentralized money networks. It's funny how quickly "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" happened. It would seem that Wall Street firms trading "paper bitcoin" via investment vehicles like the IBIT exchange-traded fund have actually cause the price of BTC to tank. After all, there is money to be made shorting bitcoin derivatives. But it's just a foil-hat theory.
As for the health of the bitcoin network, it is as strong as ever. In September 2025, we entered the "Zettahash Era," when the network surpassed 1 ZH/second -- that's one sextillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) hashes per second -- on a multi-day basis. For perspective, the network hit the 1 Exahash/second mark in 2016. The current network hashrate clocks in at roughly 995 EH/s. Despite going back under the Zettahash bar, a new record-high in mining difficulty was reached in February 2026 when 144.4 trillion was reached. Finally, reachable bitcoin nodes grew by 14% in 2025, with nearly 25,000 nodes around the globe.
The state of the bitcoin network remains strong. While some have said "decentralization is dead," I would disagree with that notion. While it is true that over a third of the mining power is concentrated to the United States, new miners are constantly popping up around the globe.
So, just what does all of this mean for the price of BTC? DON'T ASK ME! Remember, I don't do price predictions. But I do HODL amd continue to stack sats every day. That should give you some indication of which direction I think the price of bitcoin is going! To the moon? Maybe NASA's Artemis II gets there first, though.
👇👇👇 It's always a good time to collect free crypto (especially during a downtrend) -- here's how 👇👇👇
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x** **to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
**The most off-the-wall faucet is** **Crypto Junkie****, offering payouts in various cryptos to** **Final Autoclaim** **& Faucetpay** https://cryptojunkie.net/?r=67584 https://autofaucet.dutchycorp.space/?r=aaronkelly1024
**If you're DCA'ing your Bitcoin stack, try** **River** **for zero-fee recurring BTC buys & earn 3.5% Bitcoin interest on deposited USD** https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
**Slice** **is a Google Chrome browser extension that allows you to earn BTC for browsing, paid via Lightning Network** https://addslice.com/?crew=pYFdoDzr
**Another great crypto-powered blog site is** **read.cash****, fueled by Bitcoin Cash (BCH)** https://read.cash/r/RocketEnthusiast
One Week of Pool Mining on PowerPool.io
I've recently been tinkering with a small open-source ASIC miner that uses the SHA-256 algorithm to hash. Its hashrate is not great, as it's not an industrial miner but it just barely cracks the 1 Terahash per second threshold -- that's 1,000,000,000,000 hashes per second. At any rate, it's been an entire week of contributing to PowerPool.io and there are some numbers to report. https://powerpool.io/register?r=b20804b3
Let's keep a few things in mind:
Electricity is not free (unless you have an existing solar setup, or you aren't the one paying the bill)
Pool mining is not a "get rich quick" scheme but is good for steady and consistent mining rewards
It is distinct from solo mining, where you direct your hashing power to compete for an entire block reward (3.125 BTC in the case of bitcoin)
With all that being said, just how many sats can you stack by pool mining on PowerPool.io? https://powerpool.io/register?r=b20804b3
Over a week, that's **0.00000376 BTC** -- so it's not going to necessarily give you a steady income. One may even argue that "mining at a loss" is a waste of time, and it's just cheaper to buy bitcoin to get more sats for your buck. But, if you don't mind a bit of risk and truly believe in "bitcoin to infinity," then it may make sense. For me, I just enjoy the technical aspects of mining and learning more about the process as I go along.
PowerPool.io allows for payouts as low as 0.00001 BTC -- so there's no worry of reaching an impossibly high payout threshold, unlike some other mining pools. I also would like to tout the security measures: https://powerpool.io/register?r=b20804b3
The truth is that bitcoin mining is extremely competitive, and the price volatility throws a wrench in the works when you think you have all the math figured out. A sharp rise in BTC price can quickly offset any "mining at a loss" operation, while a dramatic drop in price can make you question the sustainability of the operation.
For individual miners, here are some things to consider and definitely essential to keep track of:
Electricity rates: whether you pay $0.05 or $0.15 per kWh will have a huge impact of operational profitability
Cooling: it's essential to keep ASIC miners at the proper temperatures; overheating can cause equipment failure and can shorten the lifespan of a miner
Voltage requirements: the larger industrial miners require a 240-volt outlet
Efficiency: measured in Joules per Terahash -- as of 2026, anything under 18.5 J/T is generally considered efficient
I hope you've enjoyed reading about pool mining on PowerPool.io -- there are many other mining pools you can join, and I will continue to test them out. Also, please check out the following links if you are considering getting into mining. I would suggest reading as much as you can about it before purchasing any equipment. https://powerpool.io/register?r=b20804b3
Open Source Miners United https://osmu.wiki/
Bitcoin Mining at Home: A Practical Guide https://www.ledger.com/academy/topics/crypto/bitcoin-mining-at-home-a-practical-guide
BitAxe https://bitaxe.org/
👇👇👇 It's always a good time to collect free crypto (especially during a downtrend) -- here's how 👇👇👇
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up here on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
**The most off-the-wall faucet is** **Crypto Junkie****, offering payouts in various cryptos to** **Final Autoclaim** **& Faucetpay** https://cryptojunkie.net/?r=67584 https://autofaucet.dutchycorp.space/?r=aaronkelly1024
**If you're DCA'ing your Bitcoin stack, try** **River** **for zero-fee recurring BTC buys & earn 3.5% Bitcoin interest on deposited USD** https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
**Slice** **is a Google Chrome browser extension that allows you to earn BTC for browsing, paid via Lightning Network** https://addslice.com/?crew=pYFdoDzr
2025: The Year Wall Street & Big Banks Began Backing Bitcoin
Now that 2025 is nearly in the books, I thought I'd write a reflection piece. When the first Bitcoin ETFs launch in January 2024, the game changed. It marked the beginning of a new chapter in Bitcoin, when large financial institutions began backing the cryptocurrency that offered an alternative to the legacy banking system. It's really kind of strange. Kind of a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" moment when financial professionals are putting on the "crypto bro" hat.
So what exactly does this mean for Bitcoin? In my opinion, the project has now strayed from its roots as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system and turned into a store of value for wealthy. That appears to be where we're headed anyway. Whether this "store of value" is just a phase in the Bitcoin saga or if it becomes the status quo is yet to be seen. As someone who has seen the BTC story unfold since 2010, I'm still amazed that we've arrived at this moment.
What Michael Saylor has created with Strategy is pretty incredible: perpetually selling equity in the company to investors for traditional capital (US Dollars) to then buy digital capital (Bitcoin) and pay investors monthly dividends, while the company continues to stack BTC. Some might argue that Strategy has been what's propping up the price of Bitcoin, certainly a major factor. Bitcoin ETF inflows have been responsible for major moves, too. In fact, a key trailing indicator for price movement is checking on net Bitcoin ETF inflow.
All the while, coins are disappearing from exchanges and being hoarded by Strategy and other digital asset treasury companies (DATs), countries, and individuals alike. Exchanges, Strategy, the companies behind the ETFs and are in the Bitcoin business. They're out to make money, and may or may not have any regard for the Bitcoin Network itself. But here's the deal: they want the trades to happen, they want the inflows. They thrive off of panic selling and mass liquidations. The price of Bitcoin becomes irrelevant.
So year-to-date, as of this writing, the price of BTC is down 12%
I would credit "big money" flowing in for this price movement. And actually, as I see it, this is accumulation. The "digital gold rush" remains stronger than ever. I get the impression that those large institutions are trying to frustrate individual hodlers out of their Bitcoin. Perhaps a touch of paranoia on my part? Maybe. But why then has the tide turned so much regarding Bitcoin and crypto, both regulatory-wise and allocation-wise?
Satoshi did us all a favor in essentially "burning" 1.1 million of the supply by keeping them in over 30,000 different wallets and not moving them. Could there be activity in a Satoshi wallet someday? Maybe, who knows. But perhaps he considered a hostile takeover of Bitcoin by a single entity.
I find it interesting that United State entities (federal government, ETFs, public & private companies, DeFi products) now hodl approximately 2,771,732 BTC, according to data compiled by BiTBO. That's 13% of the 21 million supply. If you use the estimate of *actual usable supply* (which accounts for coins that are forever lost), 17 to 18 million -- we'll say 17.5 million to split the difference, US entities own 15.8% of the world's accessible BTC. https://bitbo.io/treasuries/
The saga continues...
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn $ETH and $ZORA by posting content and trading; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
**The most off-the-wall faucet is** **Crypto Junkie****, offering payouts in various cryptos to** **Final Autoclaim** **& Faucetpay** https://cryptojunkie.net/?r=67584 https://autofaucet.dutchycorp.space/?r=aaronkelly1024
**If you're DCA'ing your Bitcoin stack, try** **River** **for zero-fee recurring BTC buys & earn 3.5% Bitcoin interest on deposited USD** https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
Resources
https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
https://charts.bitbo.io/price/
https://bitbo.io/treasuries/
Volatility is Nothing New with Bitcoin, Though It's Now Amplified
"Volatility is a feature, not a bug" goes a common saying. I write this as Bitcoin, once again, is experiencing notable downward selling pressure. Who is selling? Overleveraged positions? That's a possibility. With spot Bitcoin ETFs hitting the market (and their option derivatives), a new angle has entered the Bitcoin trading market. What that means is that the price will be more volatile than ever with more money entering the arena. The gains will be larger than ever, as we saw earlier this year when BTC briefly kissed $126k. But that also means the losses will be steeper too.
So what has happened in the past twenty four hours that may be responsible for the accelerated selling?
Japan's 10-year bond yield rose to over 1.85% and its 2-year rose above 1.00% -- both the highest since 2006 and 2007, respectively
Rising government bonds of Japan often signal a "risk-off" environment
Historically, this "risk-off" environment leads to a sell-off in high risk investments, like technology stocks and **cryptocurrencies**
If you know me, you know that I don't like to be a price prognosticator. I'll leave that to the talking heads. However, I would like to point out a few "black swan" events that could lead to an even greater crypto winter. Yes, this is **FUD**, but you can't look through rose-coloured glasses all the time and need to be a realist.
A potential collapse of Strategy (though they just came out today stating they're holding $1.44 billion in a US dollar cash reserve)
Tether becoming insolvent (less likely, due to them holding 116 metric tons of gold -- currently worth roughly $12 billion)
A liquidity crisis of any major crypto exchange, caused by an extreme sell-off
These are just a few potential scenarios. Let me emphasize again: I'm not predicting a price, nor price direction of Bitcoin, just outlining possibilities to advance a conversation. What do you think? Leave a comment below to add to the discussion.
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up for** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn $ETH and $ZORA by posting content and trading; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
**The most off-the-wall faucet is** **Crypto Junkie****, offering payouts in various cryptos to** **Final Autoclaim** **& Faucetpay** https://cryptojunkie.net/?r=67584 https://autofaucet.dutchycorp.space/?r=aaronkelly1024
**If you're DCA'ing your Bitcoin stack, try** **River** **for zero-fee recurring BTC buys & earn 3.5% Bitcoin interest on deposited USD** https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
Resources
https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/BTCUSD/
https://tradingeconomics.com/japan/government-bond-yield/news/506113
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/12/01/strategy-establishes-usd1-44b-cash-reserve-slashes-2025-profit-btc-yield-targets
Bitcoin Maxis: Grow Your Digital Capital with River
Perhaps you've grown tired of platforms like Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Crypto.com, etc. etc. and their trading fees. Yes, I've been there too. There have even been horror stories about people having their Coinbase accounts locked. While I have never experienced a full-on account lock, I do dread seeing the trading fees and wince at the thought of how much I've been nickled and dimed by the various exchanges I've used over the years. Say you want to buy $50 worth of Bitcoin. Here's an idea of what the major exchanges available in the US will be throwing at you: https://www.reddit.com/r/CoinBase/comments/1cp8b6z/beware_of_your_account_locked/
...and that's not including the spread you're paying. Of course, exchanges stay in business by making money off their customers, I get it.
But what if all you want to do is stack sats? Maybe you're only interested in Bitcoin and increasing your digital capital. To hell with meme coins and all the other blockchains, right? Then you might want to consider River. Here's what I like about the platform: https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
**Zero-fees on recurring buys**
**3.5% interest on cash, paid in Bitcoin**
**Referral Program** **for orange-pilling your family & friends ;)** https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
What I love most about River is its simple interface. I don't know why, but in using Gemini, Coinbase, Crypto.com and even Robinhood, those apps seem to lag and take a long time to load. Not so with the River app: its simple user-interface means there's no waiting and long load times. It's perfect for an impatient fellow like myself. If you've ever used **Plaid** for any fin-tech product and use the same e-mail address for your River account, you can literally sign up in a matter of minutes. It's a breeze. https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
Let me get more into the two main features that I love about River, the zero-fees on recurring buys and the 3.5% interest on cash that's paid in Bitcoin. https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
**Recurring Buys**
The zero-fees kick in after 7 days. You can set your frequency to hourly, daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.
**Bitcoin Interest on Cash**
This is the feature that sold me on River. Interest accrues daily and can be setup to be automatically converted to Bitcoin, which is then paid out on a monthly basis. If you're wanting to play around with the calculations, here's the formula River uses as shown in their disclosure: https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
There's even a calculator on the website you can play around with, if you don't want to do the math yourself:
So, that's my pitch on River. Yes, this post is littered with my referral link. There's definitely an ulterior motive in me creating this post; I'm not going to lie. But I am sharing my experience and the crypto platforms I use, which has been the purpose of this blog all along. My hope in sharing is that others may find the same enjoyment I do from this crazy world of crypto, as well as building personal wealth: slowly, but surely. https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
[ I'll leave the referral out of this one ;) ] One final note I'll mention about River. While they do offer custodial storage of Bitcoin, I will still be moving any BTC from there to self-custody. As always, "not your keys, not your crypto." They do transparently show their proof of reserves, which you can verify yourself. Also worth mentioning that their products are currently only available in the United States, with the exception of Nevada. Sorry Nevadans, at least you have Las Vegas. https://river.com/reserves
So, there you have it.
**TLDR: If you're using a crypto exchange for stacking sats via dollar cost averaging, save yourself the fees and try** **River****.** https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
No, I did not receive compensation from River from this post. Yes, I would appreciate it if you use my referral link.
How's that for full disclosure? :)
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn $ETH and $ZORA by posting content and trading; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
**The most off-the-wall faucet is** **Crypto Junkie****, offering payouts in various cryptos to** **Final Autoclaim** **& Faucetpay** https://cryptojunkie.net/?r=67584 https://autofaucet.dutchycorp.space/?r=aaronkelly1024
**If you're DCA'ing your Bitcoin stack, try** **River** **for zero-fee recurring BTC buys & earn 3.5% Bitcoin interest on deposited USD** https://river.com/invite?r=32KHPOFP6Q
Resources
https://www.reddit.com/r/CoinBase/comments/1cp8b6z/beware_of_your_account_locked/
https://river.com/invite
Another XRP Price Glitch?
It's happened again! Another XRP price glitch is send shocking waves throughout the XRP community, giving every a fresh dose of hopium and fueling conspiracy theories. This time, on November 26 2025, it was the Signapore-based Phemex Exchange where the erroneous price was spotted:
Holy moly, 84k! As it turns out, it may have been a temporary chart glitch of Phemex's end which was fixed almost immediately. Whether the error was caused by a faulty data aggregator or an error in the automated process is yet to be seen, but it was most likely not a "foreshadowing," as some in the crypto community are calling it. Some are even calling the whole incident a fake.
There are a lot of XRP hodlers that would love to see it at $84k/token, maybe myself included, but let's be real here.
The hypothetical market cap of XRP, at $84,074 per token would be **$5,067,857,367,468,000** or **$5.067 QUADRILLION.** That number dwarfs the Global GDP, which clocked in at $111 trillion in 2024. So again, let's use our heads here.
This isn't the first "price glitch" that's been attached to XRP this year. On November 19 2025, Kraken briefly flashed a looooooong candle with a huge wick on the XRP chart, which took it up to $91:
"What in the world is going with XRP?" this may cause you to think. It's just a price glitch. Since both events were isolated to individual exchanges and didn't show on chart across the entirety of the crypto market, there's really not much more to it. Sure, we all love to imagine what our holdings will equal to, should these lofty prices come to fruition but it's a fantasy.
What do you think? Is there more to it than that? Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn $ETH and $ZORA by posting content and trading; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
**The most off-the-wall faucet is** **Crypto Junkie****, offering payouts in various cryptos to** **Final Autoclaim** **& Faucetpay** https://cryptojunkie.net/?r=67584 https://autofaucet.dutchycorp.space/?r=aaronkelly1024
Resources
https://www.instagram.com/xrp.updater/p/DRiOAUFEVVG/
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD
https://thecryptobasic.com/2025/11/19/xrp-price-glitch-takes-xrp-to-91-6-on-kraken/
You Can Thank Wall Street For BTC Price Pump (and Dump)
Well, it's not entirely their fault. But hear me out. When Wall Street money entered the Bitcoin picture, and I'm specifically referring to BTC ETFs that were approved and launched in January 2024, an epic run was brewing. We saw a rise in price from 42k back then to a new all-time high of 126k briefly in October 2025. These exchange-traded funds have changed the game a bit, as more traditional investors who perhaps wanted some crypto exposure were now free to join the game without "really getting into crypto" -- setting up a crypto wallet, identifying custody vs. self-custody, learning about private keys, etc. etc. It became simple: just buying an ETF in a brokerage account.
It's given us a new insight, in trying to figure out the price movement of Bitcoin and trying to speculate from said data. We can now view **Total Bitcoin Spot ETF Net Inflow**. Well, it's been around for over a year now but let's check at what's been happening lately, courtesy of CoinGlass: https://www.coinglass.com/
Look at those totals: the far right column. Almost a billion dollars worth of outflows just yesterday alone! That kind of selling pressure is of course going to cause the price to go down. In the past 7 trading days, there has been a net outflow from spot Bitcoin ETFs to the tune of **$3.09 billion** (ETFs only trade Monday-Friday during pre-market/regular trading hours/post-market).
So that's just one data point. If you add panic sellers to the equation, new crypto bros who have only seen their balance go up over the past year, all of the above equals this chart:
There you have it. Add to it the fact that many OG Bitcoiners have sold above 100k. What do you think? Is there another piece contributing to the excessive liquidation?
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn $ETH and $ZORA by posting content and trading; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
**The most off-the-wall faucet is** **Crypto Junkie****, offering payouts in various cryptos to** **Final Autoclaim** **& Faucetpay** https://cryptojunkie.net/?r=67584 https://autofaucet.dutchycorp.space/?r=aaronkelly1024
Resources
https://www.coinglass.com/
Bitcoin ETFs May Now Be Responsible For Bearish BTC Movement
Yep, you read that title right. These Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have been credited with the upward trajectory of Bitcoin's price, ever since they started trading at the beginning of 2024. Yesterday, November 13th 2025, saw massive outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs to the tune of $869 million according to data from SoSoValue:
BlackRock's IBIT fund saw $256 million of outflows alone.
So, what's causing money to leave these Bitcoin ETFs? Well, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what, but we can speculate. To start, those folks who are buying Bitcoin ETFs aren't typically the "HODL" crowd who have their satoshis in self-custody. They're likely more traditional investors who use the ETFs for their simplicity. They may be more sensitive to the large fluctuations of the BTC price and may have stop-loss orders in effect. With the price of Bitcoin going below the key psychological level of 100k, this essentially may have spooked many investors and they've decided to cut losses.
When a share of a Bitcoin ETF is sold, the manager must then sell the underlying Bitcoin holding in the spot market. This causes selling pressure in the market and pushes the price of Bitcoin down further, which may be triggering more sales of ETF shares, thus creating a rapid selling cycle.
Other reasons may be that the overall U.S. stock market is dipping, leading many to believe that the United States Federal Reserve will not cut interest rates in December as previously expected. The uncertainty is what the market does not like and is leading to declines in the major stock indicies.
Is this the beginning of the end of this bull run? Well, if you know me, you know that I won't dare to speculate on such a question: it very well could be, or it very well may be a minor blip on the radar. I'll leave that to the crystal ballers, chartists, and traders. For me, I see it as a dip on the big picture chart:
I'm in this ride for the long haul, so for me it's a buying opportunity. To put things in perspective, BTC is *****down 15% over the past month***** and *****up 482% over the past 5 years*****. Know your time horizon, goal, and stick with your strategy.
**The** **original Bitcoin faucet** **is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
Sign up on Publish0x, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
Join Cointiply and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
Downoad the Bitcoin Cash Giveaway to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
Check out Yescoiner to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out TipNano app https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
Come to the Crypto Pizza Party on Zora and you can earn $ETH and $ZORA by posting content and trading; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin! https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
Visit Stacker.news and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
The most off-the-wall faucet is Crypto Junkie, offering payouts in various cryptos to Final Autoclaim & Faucetpay https://cryptojunkie.net/?r=67584 https://autofaucet.dutchycorp.space/?r=aaronkelly1024
I Got My Hands on a Taco Bell Baja Blast Pie
On November 5th, Taco Bell announced the arrival its "Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie" via a press release. At first, I was uncertain on how to get one. I couldn't find it on the app. I was also confused by the words "yours by a slice of luck." Turns out, it's only available for sale in-store with a limit of one per customer. Well, I was lucky enough to get one:
...straight into the freezer it went. Perhaps it will be broken out for Thanksgiving, or another special occasion.
The pie was $19.99, plus tax. According to a store employee, each Taco Bell location received only one case of pies to sell, with 12 coming in a case. This kind of "extremely limited edition" style of marketing creates FOMO in people like me and essentially guarantees a product will sellout. You know I turned to eBay to check the marketplace on these sweet treats. Can you believe what I found?
Well, good luck to the opportunist looking to get 15k for one of these pies! Dry ice, anyone? None of the actual pies have sold, but some empty boxes have:
Well, you know what they say: there's a market for everything...including Taco Bell memorabilia! Anyway, sorry I couldn't leave a review on how the pie *actually tasted*. When the special occasion does occur that I break it out for, I'll let everyone know! Of course, by then the virality and interest in the Mountain Dew Baja Blast pie will have worn off. Oh well, I've never been great at timing! At least I got to my local Taco Bell in time to get the Baja gold...
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn $ETH and $ZORA by posting content and trading; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
**The most off-the-wall faucet is** **Crypto Junkie****, offering payouts in various cryptos to** **Final Autoclaim** **& Faucetpay** https://cryptojunkie.net/?r=67584 https://autofaucet.dutchycorp.space/?r=aaronkelly1024
Resources
https://www.tacobell.com/newsroom/the-wait-is-over-the-mountain-dew-baja-blast-tm-pie-is-finally-here
Robinhood Weighs Adding Bitcoin Treasury
Robinhood Markets Inc., operator of the Robinhood trading app, is considering adding Bitcoin to the company balance sheet. Yesterday, on a quarterly earnings call, they announced over 100% year-over-year revenue growth -- clocking in at $1.2 billion for the third quarter of 2025. It was also announced that their current Chief Financial Officer, Jason Warnick, will retire at the beginning of next year and Shiv Verma will assume the CFO role.
During the Q&A portion of the earnings presentation, Verma was asked if Robinhood would adopt Bitcoin or other digital assets, as part of their corporate treasury strategy.
*We like alignment with the community. We are a big player in crypto. We want to keep doing it. We like that our customers are engaged in it. What we always try to figure out is, is it the right thing for shareholders as well? If you put it on your balance sheet, it has the positives and that you're aligned with the community. But it does take up capital. Our shareholders can also go and buy Bitcoin directly on Robinhood Markets, Inc. And so are we making that decision for them? And is it the best use of our capital? There's a lot of different things you're doing, you know, from new products, for growth, investing in engineering. So we have this debate constantly. And I think the short answer is we're still thinking about it. There's pros and cons to both of it. And it's one that we're gonna keep actively looking at.*
Robinhood wouldn't be the first company to adopt a "Bitcoin treasury." Perhaps the most prolific example of a corporate crypto stash is Strategy, where Michael Saylor continues to lead the charge stacking BTC -- in all they have 641,205 at the time of this writing. What a load! In fact, there are over 100 companies around the world currently hodling.
While most are crypto-related companies (miners, exchanges, digital asset managers), some companies like sustainable energy giant Tesla and financial services provider Block have integrated Bitcoin onto their balance sheets. Companies hodling BTC can improve a company's return on their cash, potentially providing higher returns than bonds. It can also potentially provide a hedge against inflation and currency depreciation.
So, would a Bitcoin treasury be the right move for Robinhood? If they are to follow suit with their competitors Bullish, Coinbase, and Gemini, then it may make sense. It does, however, carry the risk of volatility. Additionally, these companies better make sure they have the right people in charge of securing the digital gold: hacking and loss of access could present a whole new set of corporate headaches. A company's moves on the blockchain can also be seen. If you're ever curious as to what Saylor and Strategy are up to, and all the companies that have essentially copied Strategy's "business model," just visist the Strategy Tracker. https://strategytracker.com/
Well, that's about it from me for now. What do you think of corporate Bitcoin treasuries, good idea or bad idea?
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn $ETH and $ZORA by posting content and trading; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
**The most off-the-wall faucet is** **Crypto Junkie****, offering payouts in various cryptos to** **Final Autoclaim** **& Faucetpay** https://cryptojunkie.net/?r=67584 https://autofaucet.dutchycorp.space/?r=aaronkelly1024
Resources
https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2025/11/06/robinhood-hood-q3-2025-earnings-call-transcript/
https://bitcointreasuries.net/
Everybody Panic! Bitcoin Drops Below 104k
Oh no! Say it isn't so. The bull run is over. Crypto winter is coming.
Ok let me end the satire.
< / sarcasm >
That should do the trick. I really do find it interesting that the narrative has shifted for Bitcoin. Headlines are now starting to tout "billions liquidated in less than 24 hours" and "crypto crash." But is it really? I suppose if you're new to BTC and just bought this year, then yes...it's a crash for you. Once you've been through one of these, however, you kind of become immune to it.
After all, to me, it's not about the USD value of my Bitcoin stash but how many satoshis are stacked. The goal is to get to 1 BTC. Actually, if the price drops, then that makes the goal easier. You see, I'm using it as an anti-inflationary hedge. The hope is that one day I'll be able to retire and live off the proceeds from my BTC holdings. I think of it as a savings account, the "blue chip" of crypto. This is of course not financial advice, but just what my plan is. My time horizon is 20+ years. So, I say bring on the crypto winter!
Here's the only chart I need to look at:
I admit it; I'm a holder, not a trader.
Before long, I expect we'll be seeing "Bitcoin is dead" being posted everywhere.
Have a fantastic day everyone! Happy NOVEMBER!!!
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn $ETH and $ZORA by posting content and trading; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
Resources
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/7urm27/bitcoin_is_deadagain_p_comicbew/
https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/BTCUSD/
Rumble is Bringing Bitcoin Tipping to Its Platform via Tether and Moonpay
Video-sharing platform Rumble is bringing Bitcoin tipping to its platform, starting in December 2025. The announcement was made at the Plan ₿ Forum in Switzerland on October 24, 2025. Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski stated that the company is still in the testing phase, but they are working alongisde their partner **Tether** to roll out a new Rumble Wallet System. The wallet, which will be native to the Rumble platform, was developed with crypto firm **Moonpay**.
Tether owns 113 million shares of publicly-traded Rumble, representing 47.9% of the company. Over 50 million users are on the video sharing platform. The Bitcoin tipping system will allow creators to keep more of the earnings, without paying the fees legacy online payment providers charge.
Thus continues the sage of use-cases for Bitcoin, the currency of the internet. Ah, magic internet money working at its finest. I have never actually been on Rumble myself, so I was curious to check it out. Here are the current top creators:
The UI looks very similar to YouTube and Odysee, the two other video-sharing platforms that come to mind. The videos on these platforms are typically longer, and live streams are also widely prevalent. I don't put it in the same category as TikTok or Instagram, which focus more on short-form videos.
Anyway, that's the story. Will this new Bitcoin tipping feature help Rumble attract more new users? We shall see!
What do you think? Are you a user of Rumble? Does this new feature make the platform more attractive to you, as a creator or as a viewer? Drop a comment below.
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn $ETH and $ZORA by posting content and trading; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
Resources
https://investors.rumble.com/financials/sec-filings/
https://bravenewcoin.com/insights/rumble-partners-with-tether-to-launch-bitcoin-tipping-for-content-creators
https://rumble.com/embed/v1g6fjn/
United States Increases Bitcoin Holdings to 324,780 BTC via Seizure
The United States now holds 324,780 bitcoins. How did they accomplish that?
**What Happened?**
On October 14 2025, the United States Department of Justice unsealed an indictment that charged UK/Cambodian national Chen Zhi with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Zhi, the chairman of Prince Holding Group, stole billions from individuals around the world via a "pig butchering scheme" -- a long-term investment fraud where scammers develop a relationship with a victim to build trust before convincing them to invest large sums of money in a fake cryptocurrency or Forex platform. Zhi is also charged with leading Prince Group's forced-labor compounds across Cambodia; he is not in custody and remains at large.
The move is a monumental step against human trafficking and crypto fraud. A civil forfeiture complaint against 127,271 bitcoins was filed, and the funds are now in custody of the U.S. government. The BTC stack, valued currently at about $15 billion, is the largest seizure in the history of the Justice Department.
The scheme promised investors profit generation, if they sent BTC to the fraudsters. Needless to say, millions were tricked out of their sats. Social media messaging platforms were used to communicate with victims of the scam. Hundreds of workers were trafficked and forced to work in compounds around Cambodia, under the threat of violence, to perpetrate and operate the fraudulent scheme. If convicted, the defendant is facing a maximum of 40 years in prison.
If you ask me, the real victims here are those folks that were forced to labor in this fraud. The DOJ describes the compounds as "housed vast dormitories surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, and functioned as violent forced labor camps." It's hard to imagine something like that; sounds like pure horror. A penalty of 40 years in prison doesn't sound like enough.
**Not The First U.S. Seizure of Bitcoin**
Recent seizures of crypto by the U.S. government:
Over 50k BTC were seized from James Zhong in November 2021. He had stolen them from the Silk Road dark web market
$1 billion worth of BTC was seized from the defunct Silk Road marketplace in November 2020
In August 2020, approximately $2 million worth crypto was recovered by the DOJ from accounts used to fund terrorist organizations
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn ETH; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
Resources
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/chairman-prince-group-indicted-operating-cambodian-forced-labor-scam-compounds-engaged
https://intel.arkm.com/explorer/entity/usg
It's happening now on Zora! This site/app kind of reminds me of what noise.cash was a few years ago. It's a very active social network; every post is a coin, which kind of sounds like a scam but it's a fun trading platform/social network where you can support your favourite creators directly by buying their creator coins. You also earn rewards as you participate too. Believe it or not, people will buy your posts. Warning - it can be pretty addicting. Check it out, if you're interested.
https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
United States Increases Bitcoin Holdings to 324,780 BTC via Seizure
The United States now holds 324,780 bitcoins. How did they accomplish that?
**What Happened?**
Yesterday, the United States Department of Justice unsealed an indictment that charged UK/Cambodian national Chen Zhi with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Zhi, the chairman of Prince Holding Group, stole billions from individuals around the world via a "pig butchering scheme" -- a long-term investment fraud where scammers develop a relationship with a victim to build trust before convincing them to invest large sums of money in a fake cryptocurrency or Forex platform. Zhi is also charged with leading Prince Group's forced-labor compounds across Cambodia; he is not in custody and remains at large.
The move is a monumental step against human trafficking and crypto fraud. A civil forfeiture complaint against 127,271 bitcoins was filed, and the funds are now in custody of the U.S. government. The BTC stack, valued currently at about $15 billion, is the largest seizure in the history of the Justice Department.
The scheme promised investors profit generation, if they sent BTC to the fraudsters. Needless to say, millions were tricked out of their sats. Social media messaging platforms were used to communicate with victims of the scam. Hundreds of workers were trafficked and forced to work in compounds around Cambodia, under the threat of violence, to perpetrate and operate the fraudulent scheme. If convicted, the defendant is facing a maximum of 40 years in prison.
If you ask me, the real victims here are those folks that were forced to labor in this fraud. The DOJ describes the compounds as "housed vast dormitories surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, and functioned as violent forced labor camps." It's hard to imagine something like that; sounds like pure horror. A penalty of 40 years in prison doesn't sound like enough.
**Not The First U.S. Seizure of Bitcoin**
Recent seizures of crypto by the U.S. government:
Over 50k BTC were seized from James Zhong in November 2021. He had stolen them from the Silk Road dark web market
$1 billion worth of BTC was seized from the defunct Silk Road marketplace in November 2020
In August 2020, approximately $2 million worth crypto was recovered by the DOJ from accounts used to fund terrorist organizations
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn ETH; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
**Visit** **Stacker.news** **and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share** https://stacker.news/r/cryptopizzaparty
Resources
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/chairman-prince-group-indicted-operating-cambodian-forced-labor-scam-compounds-engaged
https://intel.arkm.com/explorer/entity/usg
Join the Crypto Pizza Party on ZORA! It's a page dedicated purely to pizza. Because what food goes better with crypto than pizza, right? Zora is a unique social platform where every post is a coin, and you can earn $ZORA and $ETH by engaging!
https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
Don't Fear The Dip (Why Crashes Don't Ultimately Matter)
Don't fear the dip. If there's anything that this Trump Administration has done, it's been using the threat of tariffs as negotiating leverage. Look back on the "Liberation Day" from earlier this year (April 2, 2025), when markets had a crashing moment.
We have long since recovered from that form. I believe that this recent 100% tariff threat against China is more of the same. The old adage goes buy fear, sell greed. It would seem that we are definitely in a fear moment. I compare this moment to April 2025, when Bitcoin went from 84k to 75k.
Long-term investing always seems to win out. Dollar cost averaging remains a great strategy. Invest a set amount at set intervals, regardless of bear or bull market conditions. If you are saving for the long run, crashes and dips won't matter. If you are a trader, hopefully you had some tight stops in place.
I personally have got caught up in the trading of Solana meme coins. I've had some big winners in Troll coin, Rage guy, Gigachad, and Fwog. I have also seen a handful of rug pulls during this crazy alt season. I can't forget the big one that got us here, BTC. I might just be adding a little bit extra on this dip. After all, it has worked for me for the past 5 years. Why should the next 5 be any different?
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
**Come to the** **Crypto Pizza Party on Zora** **and you can earn ETH; every creator gets their own coin and every post is a coin!** https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
Crypto Pizza Party on Zora
Zora bills itself as "a social network where every post is a coin." And that's a fact. I just started using Zora, after finding out about the crypto project from a Robinhood listing. The listing itself propelled the Zora token over 73% yesterday, as interesting in the project surged. It's a creator-focused Base network token.
Yesterday's price action was met swiftly by a sell-off today, triggered by a drop in Bitcoin. The decline of BTC can most likely be attributed to United States/China trade tensions. Bitcoin fell from $122k to $112k.
At any rate, getting back to Zora. I have started a page on there. Everyone who starts a page gets their own creator coin. They are profile-level tokens, which means that each account has its own coin. Followers can support their favourite creators. Here's how it works: https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
***One coin per profile:*** *Your username becomes your ticker ($username).*
***Activation****: Coins are created automatically for new users. Existing users activate the next time they post.*
***Post-level pairs:*** *All new posts are automatically paired with your Creator Coin ($username).*
***Fixed supply****: 1B total per coin.*
*50% to the creator, automatically rewarded over 5 years*
*50% instantly available to be bought and sold on the open market*
***Earn 1% with every trade****: Earn $ZORA from trade activity at the post and creator level.*
***Find creator coins on profiles:*** *Coins appear in profiles and wallets along with easy stats like volume, supply, and holders.*
Join the Crypto Pizza Party! It's a page dedicated purely to pizza. Because what food goes better with crypto than pizza, right? https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
Zora is a very interesting platform, full of original art and entertaining content. It's very similar to TikTok and Instagram in its user interface, but is ad-free and allows you to support the creators directly. You can earn ETH and ZORA simply by posting content. It's easy to link to other social media platforms, for maximum follower exposure. Zora has its own app, so you can download it on your phone and have it with you everywhere you go.
Give it a try, if you're into new projects.
****The**** ****original Bitcoin faucet**** ****is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:**** https://web.archive.org/web/20100703032414/http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/
**Sign up on** **Publish0x****, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content** https://www.publish0x.com/?a=9wdL8l1pdj
**Join** **Cointiply** **and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash** http://cointiply.com/r/ND51K8
**Downoad the** **Bitcoin Cash Giveaway** **to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly** https://bitcoinaliens.com/?ref=5501789&game=7&pf=2
**Check out** **Yescoiner** **to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here** https://yescoiner.com/?ref=2741950
**For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out** **TipNano app** https://tipnano.org/ref/o8TUNu
Resources
https://support.zora.co/en/articles/6316801
https://zora.co/invite/cryptopizzaparty
https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/zora
Trending SOL Meme Coin: $PWEASE
Good afternoon fellow cryptonauts. I figured I'd take a minute or so to scrawl up a post about a coin that is trending this weekend, $PWEASE. Let's start from the beginning, the origin of the "pwease" meme. Recall that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy was at the White House in February 2025 for a meeting with U.S. President Trump and Vice President Vance to negotiate a minerals deal that would allow the U.S. greater access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals. In the middle of the meeting, Vance interrupts Zelenskyy and says "have you said thank you once, this entire meeting?"
The interwebs, in turn, took this awkward exchange to the next level and the meme began:
...and of course this meme had to be tokenized, thus the launch of $PWEASE -- yet another Solana meme coin. On March 2, 2025, $PWEASE began trading and has already gone through what I like to call "the initial rugpull"
But recently, over the past week, $PWEASE is seeing some upward trajectory:
It has continued through today:
Why is $PWEASE trending? There is an elevated trading volume -- $3.25 million -- in the past 24 hours. I would say it's partly weekend trading, partly the fact that a lot of Solana meme shitcoins have seen significantly higher than normal inflows over the past week. Could it be from broader market instability and traders seeking returns in "alternative instruments?" Perhaps.
I do wonder how the Vice President of the United States feels about becoming a meme shitcoin and how he feels about being part of this "crypto friendly" administration. Anyway, I really don't recommend trading in Solana meme shitcoins. But, if you must, trade carefully! It's the wild west out there and make sure to do your homework. You can trade blindly, and it's essentially gambling. Full disclosure: I have a fraction of 1 SOL in $PWEASE at the time of this writing and will likely have moved onto one or more other meme shitcoins by the end of the weekend.
What Type of Bitcoiner Are You?
The reasons one may be involved with Bitcoin are wide and varying. Some want to be crypto millionaires, some are looking for a sizeable return on investment on a particular amount, and some are simply all-in. Have you ever considered what kind of Bitcoiner you are? I've given the matter some thought and have come up with four different types of Bitcoiners. You may be one of, or a combination of the following:
****The Orange Piller****
You actually maybe should be called a "pillar" because you support Bitcoin 100% You are truly all-in and likely convert all your fiat money to satoshis. You may often discuss Bitcoin and its benefits to your co-workers, much to their dismay. You know damn well not to store your Bitcoin on a centralized exchange and preach "not your keys, not your crypto" to anyone who tells you they have some Bitcoin on PayPal or CashApp. You may think that in the future all fiat money will be completely worthless and Bitcoin will be the world's currency. You are completely unphased by Bitcoin's volatile price fluctuations. You see every dip as an opportunity to add more, but you've also added at $73k. You are truly a HODL'er.
****The Allocator****
You are interested in investing in Bitcoin but are practical in the amount you choose to invest. You may or may not follow your financial advisor's advice of "no more than 5% of your net worth in a single name." When it comes to investing, you like to "set it and forget it." You are practical and understand that the price of Bitcoin is cyclical: there are bull runs and bear runs. You may not be "all-in" on Bitcoin, but you do believe that its price trajectory will continue to go up over time. You understand and can appreciate that volatility is a feature of Bitcoin. You may believe, that through dollar cost averaging, your Bitcoin holdings will be a nice part of your retirement.
****The Trader****
You know who you are! You try to time the market to maximize your earnings. Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don't. You may or may not use a stop loss, a decision which you probably regret either way! You are checking the price of Bitcoin more often than you speak to those around you. You burn the midnight oil. You may have a dependence on energy drinks. Perhaps you thought leveraged trading was a good idea but have learned the hard way through margin calls that it wasn't really for you. But you persist because traders are vigilant, patient, and calculating.
****The Bandwagoner****
You are what they call in the sports world a "fair weather fan." You like Bitcoin, but only when the price is up. You don't stick around for crypto winters. You try to get out at the top, but no one can time the market perfectly. You can't stomach paper losses and probably would never "buy the dip." You do, however, cheer very hard and loud for BTC when the bull run is on. Perhaps you're a braggart to family and friends when you're up 10% but silent when you see a -2%. When the price is up, Bitcoin is the greatest thing ever. When the price is down, Bitcoin is the biggest scam ever.
**What other types of Bitcoiners are out there?**
**What type of Bitcoiner are you?**
I should note that I used Dezgo to generate these world-class AI images featured in this post. https://dezgo.com/text2image/
To Cash Out or Not To Cash Out, That is the Question
There seems to be a bit of divide among crypto earning users on when is the best time to cash out on any given app. Some apps payout once a week, once you surpass a given threshold. These types of apps include Bitcoin Cash Giveaway and ML Crypto's suite of earn apps. Then, there are apps and websites like Cointiply, TipNano, and FaucetCrypto which allow you to earn and build up as much as you want, until you request a payout.
The question then becomes: when is the best time to cash out? Is it a good idea **to wait for a price decline, or dip, in your preferred cryptocurrency** so that you get more bang for your bits in the long run? This is definitely one strategy to consider. It may be a good time to cash out some Bitcoin, on the recent dip over the past month.
While Bitcoin is still positive on the year, it is possible that in the short-term we could see a retrace to the 50k level. At which point, it may also be a strategic cash out level.
Of course, it is rather difficult to perfectly time the market. I was once told by a financial advisor that "time in the market" always beats "timing the market." Operating under that advice, the timing of a cash out from a crypto earning platform is completely irrelevant.
There is also the school of thought that one should request a payout **as soon as the minimum payout level is reached**. Why do some folks believe this is important? In the event that a platform shuts down, whatever credits you have not cashed out for crypto are gone forever. There have been many sites and apps over the years that simply vanish overnight. I can't think of an example of one that came back and users were able to retrieve their credits.
Another reason to cash out as soon as you can is if your account on any platform is ever compromised. Imagine logging into your account to see all of your hard-earned coins drained from your account. You find out it's been hacked. It's very unlikely that there will be any recourse or compensation for you. As we all know, cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible. There's just no way funds could be recovered by a platform, if a user's coins are fraudulently acquired.
If platforms offer 2FA or other additional measures to secure your account, it's not a bad idea to take advantage of those features.
Cointiply offers users an enticing offer to keep coins on their platform:
Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you're aware of the risks. I've lost earned "coins" to a few platforms which have done the overnight vanishing act. Some disappear because they were never legitimate in the first place (though it did payout) and some disappear because the operators simply fold. While there was not much lost in either case, it can happen and it's not a good feeling. Most of the apps and websites I use now have been around for years and have solid reputations.
With all that said, keep calm and **keep stacking**!
Finally Hit a Jackpot on Bitcoin Cash Giveaway
For over the past two years, I've been using Bitcoin Alien's "Bitcoin Cash Giveaway" app. Someday soon, I will have to make a post on how much total I've earned from the app. Anyway, here are a couple of my prior posts on the app if you're interested to read:
App Review - Bitcoin Cash Giveaway https://www.publish0x.com/rocketenthusiast/app-review-bitcoin-cash-giveaway-xnnyjer
How Much is Bitcoin Cash Giveaway Jackpot? https://www.publish0x.com/rocketenthusiast/how-much-is-bitcoin-cash-giveaway-jackpot-xwyerye
Every day, I have been anxiously hoping to hit the jackpot. My hopes have been dashed for the past 24 months. Today ended that streak. I finally hit the jackpot!
So that 0.12% moment came to fruition. It happened so fast, yet the excitement is still resonating. A full 100,000 satoshis -- or 0.001 BCH. So just how much was that jackpot? While it is worth a bit more than the last time I examined their grand prize, it's still not exactly like winning the Power Ball.
But I refuse to be one to complain about free crypto. That's what I'm all about and am pleased to add it to my stack. I will continue to use the Bitcoin Cash Giveaway app. Other ways to earn free BCH:
Cashrain https://cashrain.com/invite/p2OTNCLal0
read.cash https://read.cash/r/RocketEnthusiast
I also used the now defunct Noise platform to earn Bitcoin Cash. Anyway, between all of the aforementioned platforms and apps, I've been able to rack up over a fifth of one Bitcoin Cash token -- currently at 0.2123228 BCH. The goal is eventually to get to one. It just may happen by the end of this decade!
Origin Materials Completes 10 Consecutive Days of Stock Trading Above $1
The last I wrote on Origin Materials was calling the stock undervalued, but not by much. At that time, it appeared to me that the stock was worth about 65 cents a share; derived from a market capitalization equivalent to the "cash floor" of $95 million which is the cash on hand level they aim to maintain throughout 2025. https://www.publish0x.com/rocketenthusiast/origin-materials-slightly-undervalued-but-not-by-much-from-w-xvzjyre
Now, three months later and with another earnings call in the books, the company has recovered its stock price and is set to regain NASDAQ compliance by meeting continued listing requirements. In January, they had received a notice that the company had 180 days to get its share price back over $1. Trading below that one dollar level for 30 consecutive business days is what triggered the warning letter.
It's been a roller coaster ride for investors in Origin Materials, especially those who had bought shares of the SPAC vehicle which took the company public via reverse merger in June 2021. The stock plummeted from $10 before settling in the $5-7 range. The plans to delay and re-design the Origin 2 facility last August caused the stock to sink even further down to a buck and change, before finally reaching an all-time low of 44 cents at the end of March 2024.
The company's stock hit that all-time low price two months after receiving the de-listing warning letter from NASDAQ. The company had to have a backstop plan in place, in case they couldn't recover the share price organically. So, at the annual stockholders meeting in May, an authorization for a reverse stock split was voted for. Fortunately, this recent ten day streak of closing above $1 puts the stock back into NASDAQ compliance.
It won't be official until they're removed from the dreaded noncompliant companies list but that should happen tomorrow. https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/noncompliantcompanylist.aspx
So what? While it is nice to not be facing down the possibility of a reverse stock split or the general threat of being delisted, the stock is still well off its mark on the way to recovery. While it has more than doubled from the all-time low, it's still a long road ahead to get back to the "pre-pivot" level. The next major hurdle on the chart appears to be $1.28 -- a break of that could send it back to $1.50 -- it will take a climb back to $1.80 then perhaps that big nasty gap on the chart from August 9, 2023 may start to fill.
That is quite the gap though! Some positive updates on the caps and closures business would do wonders to help propel the stock back up too. The way I see it, investors in Origin Materials got to have some serious guts...and patience. That intestinal fortitude should pay off, assuming the company sticks to its roadmap and can successfully overdeliver. Look for developments on first cap lines toward the end of 2024. However, hopefully they won't wait that long to provide a meaningful update.
So, how much does the stock appear to be worth now? Well, decisively more than 65 cents. It really is hard to put a price tag on a company whose technology has yet to be fully monetized. Assuming we are being sandbagged on how much revenue the caps business can generate (management has stated they intend to underpromise and overdeliver), a 2x value of the "cash floor" mentioned earlier would value the company at about $1.30 per share. Any update regarding a partner financing/build of Origin 2 could increase the value even more. At this point in time, it's still a game of "wait and see."
Swapping OP for ETH on Trust Wallet
If you're like me and you kind of want to mostly stick to the big cryptos, I've just recently discovered a way you can swap any Optimism you've earned on Publish0x (or any other earning platform) for Ethereum on the Optimism Network. It's rather simple: if you use Trust Wallet, simply click on your OP tokens, then click swap, and there you can exchange for ETH via the OP Mainnet and a provider like 1inch. There is a small provider fee, but I noticed the network fees were not too bad. Of course, you will always lose some value in the process but when you're playing with free crypto that's just the price you pay.
If you want to take it a step further, you can swap it again or do a cross chain transfer to get ETH. This, however, is where the fees get pretty hefty and doesn't seem worth it unless you happen to have a large amount to swap. Anyway, just wanted to mention these quick suggestions on what you can do with OP. Over the past year, Trust Wallet has really made swapping tokens a much more seamless and streamlined process. Just always be aware of how much you're spending in fees. Sometimes, you can get a better rate at a different time of the day so it's worth trying a few times to see how low you can get the rates.
You can even go OP --> ETH --> and wind up with BNB if you go the cross chain transfer route. I am used to going directly through Uniswap and others for my swapping needs, so the fact that Trust Wallet now has a swap feature for all the major tokens really makes the whole process that much easier. I know this feature is not entirely new, and some of you may have well been using it a while now. Just sharing some thoughts on the matter.
Here's a summary screenshot of the swap from OP to ETH; pretty reasonable fees
Bitcoin's Meteoric Price Rise, Slowing Supply Increase
Upon looking at the all-time chart for Bitcoin, it appears ultra bullish.
This year has seen Bitcoin's fourth halving, where the block mining reward is cut in half. In April, the reward dropped from 6.25 BTC per block to 3.125 BTC per block. The next halving will occur on block number 1,050,000 which is estimated to be sometime in the first part of 2028. The rate of new Bitcoins being mined is slowing.
Now, I'm sure everyone has seen the charts that illustrate the price appreciation following each halving event. In case you haven't, it looks something like this:
As you can see, some halvings see larger price surges than others. But all end up higher than before the event. So, it would stand to reason that we should all be expecting yet another surge in Bitcoin price, right? A new all-time high must surely be right around the corner. Well, as you can see from the chart above, each halving sees an ultimately lower surge in price. The first halving in 2012 saw the largest price increase 900 days following the event, the 2016 halving saw the second highest price increase 900 days after, and the halving in 2020 saw a lower price increase than 2016 -- all in terms of percentage gain.
So how is Bitcoin performing since the April 2024 halving? Let's take a look at a chart again:
Immediately following the halving, the price of Bitcoin hovered around the $66k mark before descending toward $56k, almost in a "sell the news" type of way. The price has since recovered from the nosedive it took in the two week period following the halving and is basing nicely around the $68k level. The $4k increase from April 20's morning price of about $64k puts the gain since the halving at about 6% -- not a meteoric jump, but still a very respectable appreciation. In short, "so far so good" and "steady as she goes." Hal Finney once said he believed the price of one Bitcoin could reach a million dollars. That too is yet to be seen. But I would say at least another new all-time high seems pretty likely sometime in 2024, if history is any indicator.
If I had to make a bold prediction, I would say that 85k Bitcoin in 2024 seems more likely than not. Good thing I'm not in the business of impersonating Nostradamus. HODL.
MicroStrategy's Big Bet on Bitcoin
If you can't wait for a Bitcoin ETF to get some exposure to BTC in your stock portfolio, you've probably heard of a company called MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) by now. While nothing quite beats hodling your own satoshis in your own wallet with your own keys for Bitcoin exposure, MSTR has traded in tandem with Bitcoin, almost step for step. The blue line represents MSTR and the black line represents BTC.
So just why do the two move so closely together? For starters, most of MicroStrategy's company value is in Bitcoin. Specifically, as of November 2023, the company held 174,530 Bitcoins in its reserves, which the firm has paid an average of $30,252 per token. That puts their gains on the digital currency at over $2 billion.
The company, headed by Michael Saylor, uses the cryptocurrency to protect the value of its reserves. Saylor believes Bitcoin will ultimately prove to be the ultimate store of value. It intends to hold the coins for the long-term and plans to become one of the largest hodlers. In its most recent earnings report, MicroStrategy stated:
*Due to its limited supply, Bitcoin offers the opportunity for appreciation in value if its adoption increases and has the potential to serve as a hedge against inflation in the long-term.*
Last week, to kick off 2024, Saylor disclosed that he would sell 310,000 shares of MSTR from his personal holdings in the company. The value of the shares is over $216 million. The proceeds from the stock sale, according to Saylor, will be used for personal obligations and to add to his personal Bitcoin holdings. MicroStrategy remains the largest corporate hodler of Bitcoin. Saylor himself personally owns nearly 18,000 Bitcoins.
While the company is known largely for its Bitcoin-rich treasury, its actual business is in cloud-based services, mobile software, and business intelligence services. But that side note seems like an irrelevant side note to this story, which revolves around a man with a vision.
Saylor says he sees 2024 as "the year of Bitcoin" and believes there will be much room to the upside for the digital coin. With the next halving coming up this year, it just may be.
Ultra Rare 1914 Babe Ruth Card Sells For $7.2 Million
In the early morning hours of December 4, 2023, a Robert Edwards Auction ended with a bid of $7.2 million. The item was an extremely rare 1914 Babe Ruth, a player card and game schedule. The card is one of only ten still known to be in existence. They were only distributed locally in the *Baltimore News.*
This particular red variant (there is also a blue one) is the cream of the crop. Last valued at $6 million in 2021, this week's auction sale price gives the card's value a 20% increase. Is it a good value, or perhaps a demonstration of the greater fool theory?
Dubbed "the world's most valuable card" by Forbes in a 2009 article, this particular 1914 Ruth has seen a pretty remarkable price appreciation over the years. The card was originally acquired by then-paperboy Archibald Davis, who passed his collection on to his son Richard.
In 1998, when the Davis collection was loaned to the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, the card was appraised for a mere $7500. After legal battles over ownership of the collection, a $1.5 million offer rocketed the value of not only the card itself but the entire private collection it was a part of. In 2020, the collection returned to the museum for a reported sum of $5 million. From a paperboy to obscurity to four digits to six figures, all within a 25 year span.
Other 1914 "Baltimore News" Ruth cards, in inferior conditions, sale history:
PSA PR 1 copies of the Ruth card sold for $150,800 and $152,750 at auction in the mid-2000s
A PSA Good 2 Ruth (Blue) sold for $575,000 in 2012
A PSA Poor 1 Ruth (Red) sold for $350,000 in 2012
A PSA Poor 1 Ruth (Red) sold for $450,300 in 2013
Let's Talk About Bitcoin, Baby!
Unless you've been completely asleep at the wheel, Bitcoin has once again re-claimed the 40k level. Whether or not it sustains will be told over the next few days, but things are looking pretty good for the cryptocurrency year-to-date. Let's just say that 2023 has been much kinder than 2022.
Wow, what a beautiful chart! You could say that:
It's been an "up" year
BTC is on the "rise"
Bitcoin "to the moon"
To be exact, it's up 146.92% from January 1, 2023. So, with the next halving upcoming and what appears to the beginning of a new bull run happening, Bitcoin is once again getting everyone hyped up. It's pretty difficult not to be a little giddy, looking at the all-time chart:
Especially now that the price has decisively broken through the previous lows of the 2020-2021 bull run. It's hard to find a bear case now. Many folks are already calling for 100k in 2024. I think perhaps it's a bit too early for such calls. But, regardless, the "hodl" method seems to be winning strategy again: buy what you can and just hoard it.
What's your strategy when it comes to Bitcoin? Are you a trader, a hodler, something else?
TipNano Will Cut Rewards For Inactive Users
Just a quick note for anyone using, or perhaps even considering downloading, the TipNano app. As you may or may not know, it is a crypto faucet for Nano (XNO) that earns very small amounts of the cryptocurrency for their hourly claims, watching video ads, completing surveys, among other tasks.
As it turns out, if you are inactive for a few weeks, your reward amounts are cut. Not just cut, slashed really. Reduced by 80%
Ouch! If you are simply doing the periodic faucet claim, like I have been doing as of recently, it's not enough to earn the full claim. In order the be considered "active," it seems you must watch video ads or complete surveys.
It's not much, but it's honest work. Remember that these faucet claims on these crypto apps aren't going to make you rich by any means but they certainly add up!
It's a start for a Nano hoard. It will along great with my SPOT and AMPL!
My prior post on BTC payouts via TipNano - https://www.publish0x.com/rocketenthusiast/bitcoin-payouts-from-tipnano-are-legit-but-timely-xrgqzjq
@RocketEnthusiast
