Happy Bitcoin Halving!
Welcome to the Fifth Bitcoin Epoch!
The fourth Bitcoin halving took place on Friday, April 19, 2024 EST, bringing us into the fifth Bitcoin epoch.
If you’d like to learn more about what Bitcoin halvings are, please check out this article I wrote for Finder: Bitcoin halving countdown: What does it mean for bitcoin’s price?
In short, what does the halving mean for you, someone who invests in or holds BTC?
Well, if history repeats, your BTC is on the verge of becoming worth a lot more. Once the market digests the reduction in the amount of BTC that comes to market every 10 minutes, the price of the asset tends to rise — and rise a lot.
Is guaranteed to happen? No.
Will it likely happen? Yes.
Do I still think markets — including the BTC market — will melt-up and then crash this year or early next? Yes.
When exactly will that happen? Not sure. Likely some time between Q3 of this year and Q1 of next.
Will BTC bounce back after that? I’m pretty sure.
More on that another time, though.
Azteco Is Helping Millions Around The World Buy BTC
This week, I published a piece on Azteco and its founder, Akin Fernandez, for the “Founders” series I write for Bitcoin Magazine. (Click image to read article.)
Azteco is a company that has made it much easier for people to buy bitcoin without having to create an account or offer any identifying information.
Instead, you can just buy an Azteco voucher, scan a QR code and vióla, you have some BTC in either your Lighting or on-chain Bitcoin wallet. Quite brilliant.
Check out the interview to learn more.
Defending Bitcoin: Activism Against Regulation
Two weeks back, I hosted an event at PubKey at which I interviewed activists Lyudmyla Kozlovska, President of the Open Dialogue Foundation, and Jorge Jraissati, President of the Organization for Economic Inclusion.
PubKey shared a video recording of the event its YouTube channel this week:
If you’re interested in learning more about how Bitcoin is a tool for activists around the world and why trying to regulation Bitcoin/crypto exchanges the same way banks or other traditional financial institutions are regulated is a very bad idea, please check out the interview.
Marathon Brings The Heat
I also recently interviewed Fred Thiel, CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, the largest Bitcoin mining company in the world.
Fred shared a number of insights regarding how Marathon is taking steps to be “more productive and less parasitic” when it comes to Bitcoin mining and its impact on the environment. He also discussed how his company is capitalizing one of the main byproducts of Bitcoin mining: heat.
Fred is super sharp and this interview is only 11 minutes long. Check it out!
BTC + EVM = Botanix
I had my fourth piece published for CoinDesk’s “Future of Bitcoin” series this week. (Click image to read article.)
In this piece, I profiled Willem Schroé, founder of Botanix and creator of the ‘spiderchain’.
Botanix? Spiderchain? What are you talking about Frank?!?!
Fair questions.
Botanix is a Bitcoin Layer 2 that employs a technology called a spiderchain to bring Ethereum functionality to Bitcoin.
I’m interested in Botanix, because I want all token/ordinal/runes type activity off of the Bitcoin base layer. And I also like the idea of an on-chain borrowing and lending protocol coming to a Bitcoin L2.
Read the piece to learn more about Botanix and Schroé.
Be Like Hal Finney, Earn 1 Whole BTC
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) announced the Finney Freedom Award, an award that commemorates the work of developer Hal Finney, the first major public Bitcoin advocate, as well as inspires others to be like him. (Click image to read article.)
The HRF has committed to donating 33 BTC in total as a reward for people who help further Bitcoin and human rights. One BTC will be awarded to a winner for each of the 33 Bitcoin epochs.
Check out the article to learn more.
Alright, that’s all for this week. Here’s to a beautiful week ahead!
Take it ease,
Frank
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Currently reading: The Revolution of Money, by Sam Baker and Ben Baker
