The Real Situation
The U.S. Dollar Hits All-Time Lows Vs. Bitcoin
Most people think of bitcoin as get rich quick scheme.
In reality, though, holding bitcoin is a don’t get poor slowly scheme.
The chart above indicates this.
It illustrates how many sats — fractions of a bitcoin — one U.S. dollar has been able to buy you since 2012.
That amount of sats continues to decrease over time thanks, in part, to the U.S. Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury printing money and issuing debt to no end — further impoverishing those who earn in dollars, especially those who don’t have disposable income to invest.
The kicker with the chart above is that the U.S. dollar, the global reserve currency, remains one of the strongest currencies in the world.
In other words, the chart above would look even worse if you were to substitute other fiat currencies for the dollar.
The moral of this story: Bitcoin preserves the value of your labor (over longer time horizons) while fiat currencies do the opposite.
And this is only to speak of one of bitcoin’s main value propositions.
Another perhaps equally important value proposition is its censorship resistance, something that the likes of Roya Mahboob, Afghan tech entrepreneur and activist, rely on to help fund their projects.
Bitcoin as a Lifeline for Women in Afghanistan
At the recent Bitcoin Policy Summit, I sat down with Mahboob, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2013, to discuss the work she does in funding education in Afghanistan for young women who the Taliban doesn’t permit to go to school.
Women in Afghanistan are currently only permitted to attend formal schooling until the age of 12.
Mahboob has created an underground network of schools that educates young women over the age of 12, and the teachers in this network are all paid in bitcoin.
Why bitcoin?
Because if Mahboob used banks to pay these teachers, the Taliban could freeze those bank accounts. With Bitcoin, this isn’t possible, thanks to the network’s censorship resistance.
So, next time you hear the someone from the mainstream media or a politician like Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) spouting off about how Bitcoin is only used by money launderers and terrorists, please think of Mahboob and the incredible work she’s doing.
The U.S.’s Bitcoin Policy Will Have Global Effects
I also sat down to speak with Alex Gladstein, CSO of the Human Rights Foundation, at the Bitcoin Policy Summit.
We discussed how the policy that gets crafted in the U.S. around Bitcoin will have global ramifications as well as why the Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cases are so important.
On that note, the trial for the latter of these two cases begins on Monday in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), and I’ll be there to cover it.
I was also there to cover the final status conference for the case on Friday…
The Final Tornado Cash Status Conference
Late in the day on Friday, the judge, prosecution, and defense in the Tornado Cash case convened for a final hearing before the Tornado Cash trial begins on Monday.
I was there to cover it (though, it ended up being a virtual meeting).
Here’s my video recap of the call:
And here’s my write-up on it:
TL;DR — Things don’t look great for the defendant, Roman Storm, as the judge was clear that she plans to focus less on the crypto mixing tech, which doesn’t touch users private keys (funds), and more on the front-end website Storm operated for the Tornado Cash service.
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Major Myth Busted at Senate Banking Hearing on Digital Assets
This week, I also headed to D.C. to cover the Senate Banking Committee’s hearing on digital asset market structure.
The most notable part of the hearing was when Chainalysis co-founder, Jonathan Levin, informed Senator Warren that less than 1% of on-chain activity is illicit (something many Bitcoin enthusiasts already knew, but that I was happy to see stated in a U.S. Senate hearing).
Other than that, the hearing was pretty boring.
Former CFTC Chair Tim Massad, a witness in the hearing, said the meeting felt like a scene from Groundhog’s Day (the movie where the same day replays over and over while very little changes).
While I don’t agree with Massad on much, I was with him on this point.
Weekly Bitcoin Legislation Breakdown
Julian Fahrer, founder of Bitcoin Laws, and I broke down what happened this week in Bitcoin legislation for the fourth week in a row. (I’ve really been enjoying doing this with Julian. Hoping to turn it into something bigger!)
This week we covered:
A bill sanctions bill against El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, proposed by Senate Democrats
The Bitcoin Policy Institute’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) for U.S. states tool kit
The Senate Banking Committee’s hearing on market structure (the hearing I wrote about above)
And the latest happenings with state-level Bitcoin laws
Enjoy!
Rep. Nick Begich on The BITCOIN Act
Finally, I also spoke with Congressman Nick Begich (R-AK) at the Bitcoin Policy Summit.
We discussed The BITCOIN Act, which he introduced in the House as the bill’s primary sponsor.
The act would codify into law the U.S.’s establishment of an SBR as well as the right U.S. citizens to hold the private keys to their bitcoin.
Check out the interview to learn more:
Markets
Bitcoin is at an all-time high just below $119k as I write this.
Crazy.
If I had to guess, it will likely cool off a bit this week (maybe after going a tad higher), as RSI (as indicated on the bottom of the chart above) is peaking.
Now might be a good time to spend or sell some of your bitcoin to pay down some debt. I know this is heretical to say in some Bitcoin circles, but I don’t care. Bitcoin was designed to help free us financially. I recommend using it as you see fit to do so.
That said, please don’t interpret that as financial advice, because it isn’t, nor is anything I write in this newsletter.
Thanks for reading, as always!
Also, if you’re interested in the Tornado Cash case, please feel free to follow me on X and/or Nostr, as I’ll be providing frequent updates on the case via those two avenues.
I’ll also be publishing articles on the trial throughout the week via Bitcoin Magazine. If you’re more technically inclined and want to be notified as those articles are published, you can follow my RSS feed via the BM website.
Big love and big hugs, everyone.
Talk soon!
Best,
Frank
Nostr: npub1dnzzyhmewrzkh862z7z2shwmhh5htx0rvkagepj2fkgst9ptwg3qj4x52h
Currently listening to: “The Real Situation”, by Bob Marley
With this much understanding of the corruption of centralized "authorities" who claim the right to rule over others... Why do you spend time in Washington talking to these people and trying to get them to vote harder?
Freedom and government are not compatible.