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Episode 1144 of Bitcoin And . . . is LIVE!

Topics for today:

• Strategy's 5-Year BTC Anniversary
• El Salvador Banks to Custody BTC
• Nostr Wallet Connect Makes Everything Easy
• Harvard Buys BTC ETF; Brown Buys More

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Today's Articles:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-corporate-adoption-fort-knox-nationalization-concerns
https://atlas21.com/el-salvador-new-law-allows-investment-banks-to-hold-bitcoin/
https://www.theblock.co/post/366314/tether-rumble-northern-data-acquisition
https://bitcoinnews.com/legal/bo-hines-steps-down-digital-asset-adviser/
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/nostr-wallet-connect-bitcoin-usb
https://decrypt.co/334366/harvard-116-million-blackrock-bitcoin-etf
https://cointelegraph.com/news/strategy-purchase-155-bitcoin-celebrate-five-years-btc-adoption
https://atlas21.com/at-least-one-kidnapping-per-week-among-bitcoin-investors-says-crypto-executive/

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[00:00:02] David Bennett:

It is 08:13AM   Pacific Daylight Time. It is the August   2025,   and this is episode eleven forty four   of Bitcoin. And I'm your host, David Bennett, who's going to bring you all the Bitcoin news that you can use. That's right. I'm curating it for you so you don't have to scroll through 12 different   websites   and   try to figure out which one of the news stories   actually is not hype,   you know, gives you real signal. I do all of that for you so that you can drive to work or do dishes or   clean up the house or whatever it is that you do that you don't need your eyes for. I'm gonna tell you all about what the hell happened,   and we're going to talk about,   nationalization   concerns on Bitcoin.  

It seems that people are getting real twitchy about this corporate treasury move that many companies are taking. I ain't exactly thrilled about it, but I don't know if we need to be scared about it.   However, we are gonna talk about this   Bitcoin corporate boom and the possibility of   does it mean nationalization?   And what the hell does nationalization   mean? El Salvador, when we go down south, is also going to be present today. They're   doing something with some investment banks.   And Rumble   is in the news.   It's gonna be it's gonna be an interesting ride on that one. And then we have the news from this weekend.   Beau   Hines stepped down   as Trump's digital asset adviser after a mere   eight months. And my question is,   did he get fired,   or   did he get tired   of the crap   of the non action on the strategic Bitcoin reserve?  

Hopefully, we will find out more today.   Nostra wallet connect,   we need to talk about it.   I really think people are sleeping on   NWC,   which is Nostra Wallet Connect.   It's it's it's a product made by the Albi team, the Get Albi Wallet.   It's a product that's made by them   and it has been a game changer   but it's just kind of I don't know. It's   people really aren't talking about it so I'm glad to see that Bitcoin Magazine   has a piece about it. Harvard,   well, they've revealed that they've, well, they've got exposure to Bitcoin. We'll we'll we'll put it that way.   And it is the fifth anniversary   of MicroStrategy's   first purchase   of Bitcoin.  

Five years in. It's actually kind of impressive. I mean, hell, even   even Elon Musk didn't last any work. I think he lasted for maybe   six months, eight months, or something like that.   And he still has some Bitcoin. So I guess technically   he's still in, but he sold like three quarters of it   when it was like 68,000   something like that.   We'll we'll we'll talk about the strategy thing and then   a word to the wise a word of warning   atlas 21 is going to talk about   the frequency   of kidnapping   specifically among bitcoin investors   But let's go back up to the top.  

Bitcoin's corporate boom   raises   Fort Knox nationalization   concerns. And Fort Knox   is in quotes   in this headline by Zolton Vardy   from Cointelegraph.   Corporate crypto treasuries   have surged past $100,000,000,000,   raising concerns among analysts that The United States may one day   nationalize   some of these holdings in a move reminiscent   of the gold standard era.   Corporate crypto treasuries have surpassed a $100,000,000,000   of digital asset holdings with Bitcoin treasury firms amassing   791,662   BTC   worth roughly   $95,000,000,000   at the July,   representing around 3.98%   of the circulating supply. Let's just call it 4%.  

Percent. The growing corporate holdings   may present a new centralized point of vulnerability for Bitcoin, which may see the world's first cryptocurrency   follow the same, quote, nationalization   path   as gold did in 1971,   according to crypto analyst Willie Wu. Quote,   if the US dollar   is structurally getting weak and China is coming in, it's a fair point that The US might do an offer   to all the treasury companies or, yeah, companies and centralized   where it could be then put into a digital form,   not create a new gold standard,   Willie Wu said during a panel discussion at Baltic Honey Badger.  

Quote,   you could then rug it like happened in 1971,   and it's all centralized around the digital Bitcoin.   The whole history repeats again   back to the beginning, end quote.   In 1971,   the Nixon shock, where US president   Richard Nixon ended the Bretton Woods system,   suspending the dollar's convertibility   into gold and abandoning the fixed $35   per ounce rate effectively ending the gold standard.   Wu noted   that institutional adoption is still a critical step for Bitcoin to replace the US dollar, surpass gold, and become a new monetary standard. Quote,   that's not going to happen until you get large gatekeepers of capital opening up to Bitcoin   and pouring money in.  

The analyst comments come amid a period of accelerating   institutional adoption   two weeks   after 35 publicly traded companies surpassed   1,000   Bitcoin   in balance sheet holdings   each.   Nationalization   efforts may also target Bitcoin whales   according to Preston Pysch, cofounder   of the Investors Podcast Network and Bitcoin venture fund,   Ego Death Capital.   Quote, they're going to take the Bitcoin because   it's going to have an institutional custodian that does not want to go to jail,   he explained,   adding that the first targets may be private entities that have a lot of Bitcoin,   end quote. I gotta pause.  

This it's not that what they're saying   isn't possible.   It's that I I'm sensing   that this is more about   injecting fear, uncertainty, and doubt   into the Bitcoin system   to get the price to relax. Because Willie Woo and Preston Pish   are   they're kind of like big dogs. If and, I mean, a lot of people know Preston Pish, but maybe not Willie Woo. Well,   trust me, man.   People   millions of people listens listens   to what these gentlemen have to say. And I honestly think they're being   a little bit   a little bit paranoid,   and their paranoia   is infectious when they have that   many people that they influence.  

I'm I'm just saying. Like I said, I'm not saying that they're wrong. I'm not saying that it can't happen.   I'm just saying that there seems to be something   I don't know, man. My gut feeling is is that there's a little bit of price suppression action through social engineering, but,   I mean, that's a kind of a crappy thing to say, but it's my gut feeling. I I I can't lie about these things. Anyway, back to it. Despite the nationalization   concerns,   the growing corporate adoption may present a potential 100,000,000,000,000   market opportunity.  

Bitcoin is already a $2,000,000,000,000   asset at just 16 years of age, said Wu, adding that, quote, we've got 100 x to grow, and it's probably going to take decades to get there. Yeah. Well, when you guys are talking this way, it's no wonder it's gonna take that long. Anyway, Wu's projection   aligns with prior forecast from Adam Back, cofounder and CEO of Blockstream,   who's described Bitcoin as a $200,000,000,000,000   market opportunity in the long term,   quote, a sustainable and scalable 100 to $200,000,000,000,000   trade front running hyper Bitcoinization,   scalable enough   for most big listed companies to move to BTC treasury,   said back in an   April 26 expost.  

And, of course, hyperbitcoinization   is the theoretical future where Bitcoin becomes the largest global currency.   Again,   what what evidence do these people have other than it's happened before with gold?   Yeah. Except The United States basically owned most of that gold.   It was their property to to do with what they wanted.   Alright? So   and at that point, the world   essentially was because The United States was on a gold standard,   kind of. It wasn't exactly it wasn't exactly like a full peg to the dollar to, you know, some amount of grams of gold.   It was a little bit more floaty than that. I think the the last time that The United States was fully on a gold standard was sometime   before 1935,   somewhere around there, but I I I I could be off by a few years. The point is   the government doesn't hold. They don't own enough Bitcoin   to be able to call these shots unless they wanna go out   and do what they did back in the thirties where   the was it executive order 16 o one, I believe,   where the gold was confiscated and you were told you have to turn it in.  

Ask yourself this. If you own if you own Bitcoin in self custody   where you alone   are able to vector that Bitcoin and nobody else can,   are you the kind of person that would voluntarily   just give up your Bitcoin   and and get paid whatever they want to pay you for it? Because that's what happened when sixteen one came out. They said, look, you got to bring in your gold. We're gonna give you, like, cash money for it, but you gotta surrender your gold. Otherwise, you're gonna go to jail.   Did a lot of people turn in their gold? Yes. They did.   But I can guarantee you that a shitload of people, especially   back then,   when most people were still living in a rural environment.  

Now, people in cities probably did. But the guys in the rural environment, the guys that lived out there in the country, and they were farmers and ranchers and doing all that,   They weren't so apt to just give up their property.   I think we put I think we tend to put too much emphasis or at least I think we conjecture too much about the   weakness of the American mind   back in the thirties.   I I think we compare them to the people that we see today, which   honestly is quite I think is quite a different story.   But, again, come let's go back to the question. Would you just say, oh, well, the government said I got to turn in my Bitcoin, so I guess I'm going down. I I guess I'm gonna go do it. Is that really what you would do? Because, honestly,   prove it.  

Prove I have the Bitcoin.   You can prove that I bought it because, you know, k y c Bitcoin,   unless you bought it off the street, you know, from from some dude and which is which is great.   The non KYC Bitcoin is the best Bitcoin, but I the majority of the Bitcoin   that's floating around   is probably KYC. Or at least the majority of   the the Bitcoin that we see transferring back and forth today.   Like a whale that's got 10,000 Bitcoin in a wallet that he hasn't touched, you know, for   fifteen years, probably not KYC.   Enough of it is, though.  

And you and so in in my some of my Bitcoin is definitely k y c. So they'll call me up and they'll say, mister Bennett, we see that on these dates you bought Bitcoin. And I'll say, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I did. Okay. We're gonna need you to turn that in. It's like, sorry, I don't have the control of those keys anymore. I just don't.   And I'm not gonna say I had a boating accident. I'm just gonna literally say,   I I don't have access to those keys.   I just don't.   And unless they want to put me in some kind of mind scanning device   or something like that, which they don't really have,   then there's no way to prove that I'm in control of the thing.  

Does that mean that I'll get away scot free? No. But, I mean, at one point or another, we gotta we kinda gotta stand up to this kind of crap.   Otherwise, we're gonna let Preston Pish and Willie Woo scare the living bejesus out of everybody into selling their Bitcoin   because what they basically stated is that this is an unsafe investment, and these are the two guys or two of the guys that are supposedly on Bitcoin's side.   See, this is this is what I don't like when people   don't respect   the kind of influence that they've generated   the influencer that they've generated themselves to be.  

It doesn't mean that I I'm not saying that influencers are good. I'm just saying that they exist.   And Preston Pysh and Willie Woo are both influencers.   You can scoff all you want, but they are. And people listen to them. And not just some people, a lot of people. And they just telegraph that this is an unsafe thing because the government's just gonna take it away from you.   Art   this is where we're supposed to say   no.   Here is the line in the sand.   No more. You can't just arbitrarily   take my property.   Maybe you can in Russia. I don't care. I don't live in Russia. I live in The United States.   I have property rights.  

And if we don't defend them, then we absolutely will lose them. And if we lose them now, then that means that we aren't taking care of our children,   our children's children. We're not caring about our legacy.   Your legacy is to be defended,   not to be turned over just because Preston Pysh said scary words.   Let's move down to El Salvador   where a new law   is allowing investment banks to hold Bitcoin. Atlas twenty one has it. El Salvador's National Assembly   has approved   legislation   allowing major financial institutions to apply for a license   to provide services   denominated in bitcoin and other assets.  

The new regulation sets the criteria   for accessing such financial services, and credit institutions   must have a minimum capital of $50,000,000   to qualify as investment banks, a category regulated separately from traditional commercial banks.   Once granted this status, they can apply for various licenses   to offer financial instruments linked to digital assets.   The services are exclusively intended for, you guessed it,   sophisticated   investors,   which is in quotes,   which means nobody really knows what the hell that definition is. But individuals   that have more than $250,000   in liquid assets,   potentially including Bitcoin itself,   is part of the definition that El Salvador is using at this time.  

The new regulatory framework marks a paradigm shift from the country's initial strategy.   In 2021,   Bitcoin made   or El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender but the policy was later revised in 2025 to meet the conditions   from the IMF   which in my opinion was a big big big mistake   Not because they took Bitcoin out of legal tender status, but because they're having any dealings at all with the International Monetary Fund.   Bukele should know better. In fact, at this point, all world leaders should know not to do business with the IMF,   not to touch the World Bank, and basically tell the UN to fuck off. Anyway, the legislation   introduces   three categories of crypto licenses,   a Bitcoin service provider,   a digital asset service provider,   and a digital asset issuer.  

In practice, the regulation allows institutions to hold Bitcoin,   issue tokens,   and structure   crypto related deals with the current licensing regime rather than creating a new one.   According to representative   Dania   Gonzalez,   a supporter of the law and backed by the Ministry of Economy, quote, the institutional architecture of the Salvadoran financial system,   will be expanded as a new but regulated   and supervised entity   complementary   to the traditional banking system that we are all familiar with.   So they're gonna allow some banks to get licenses to be able to hold Bitcoin,   I guess, on behalf of themselves,   other institutions,   and retail.  

I don't know. The retail   wasn't really mentioned here, but   they're using the term sophisticated   investor. And, again, that means what? $250,000   in liquid assets.   How many people in El Salvador have $250,000   in liquid assets?   Not probably not much in the in the form of retail.   So we're talking about other institutions   and maybe government entities. Who knows? But, hey, You know?   It's happening.   And then we have Rumble.   Rumble. And I forgot that they had been backed by Tether.   So let's get into it from the block and James Hunt.   Tether backed Rumble eyes a $1,170,000,000   Northern Data acquisition   pending Bitcoin mining division sell off, and their stock jumps 20.  

Rumble, the popular video sharing platform and cloud services provider, announced on Monday   its intention to acquire   Bitcoin miner and high performance compute specialist Northern Data in a potential   $1,170,000,000   deal.   The all stock transaction would see shareholders receiving 2.319   shares   of newly issued class a rumble   for each Northern Data share, giving Northern Data shareholders an approximate 33.3%   ownership of Rumble,   assuming all shares are tendered.   Tether, which is a 55%   majority no, 54%   majority shareholder of Northern Data,   indicated support for the deal and would become the single largest holder of Rumble's class a common stock   at the same ratio, offering a multiyear   GPU purchase commitment on closure according to a statement. Pausing   just to remind people if you didn't hear the first words,   Tether   is going to be a 54%   majority shareholder of Northern Data,   which means they're going to own quite a bit of Rumble. And what have we been noticing about Tether?  

They are branching out into almost every conceivable industry that you can get into.   They've already got they've they're already doing massive deals in agriculture.   And now with Rumble, which is becoming even more popular by the day, and hopefully one day   it and something else will completely replace YouTube because that son of a bitch has gotta die,   We're talking about Tether, like,   knee deep into media.   Now I think this is important to note that Tether is not just going to issue stablecoins,   they're going to infect as many industries as they potentially can. And God knows   they got enough money to do it. Continuing in December,   Tether,   the world's largest stablecoin issuer, made a $775,000,000   strategic investment into Rumble   to help grow the YouTube alternative platform, quote,   the combined company would emphasize not only AI leadership,   oh, it's AI,   but also data privacy and independence on a global scale, Rumble said on Monday.  

In a separate press release, Northern Data said it has been informed of the potential exchange offer and is willing to entertain further discussions with Rumble   relating to the deal.   Rumble chairman and CEO, Chris Pavlovsky,   would continue to own Rumble shares representing a majority   of the voting power of the company. Pavlovsky   also expressed support for the offer and said he will vote all his Rumble shares in favor of this transaction.   Northern Data reported strong growth in its h one twenty twenty five financial results on Monday with revenue increasing by, wow,   72%   to a $109,800,000   compared to the, 2024.  

This growth was driven by the success of   Tysia Cloud and Peak Mining with mining revenue rising   49%   year over year to $62,300,000   due to increased capacity and higher Bitcoin prices.   Rumble stock has gained 20% in premarket trading on Monday following the news according to TradingView currently changing hands at $9.48   a share.   That's that's the whole article,   but   there's something here that was never really discussed in detail.   Let's go back to the headline.   Tether backed rumble   eyes a $1,170,000,000   Northern Data acquisition   pending   Bitcoin mining division   sell off.  

Nothing was said   in detail   about that, so we only have we only have conjecture left. What does this mean?   Rumble   wants to buy Northern Data, but they don't want the Bitcoin unit.   That's that's the way that I read this.   Why would you not want the Bitcoin unit?   And if you're Tether   or rather a Tether backed   company, you're you're in you're in communion   with Tether at this point. They know what you're doing. You you might not you might not know what they're doing, but Tether sure as shit knows what the hell Rumble is doing on the inside, and Tether doesn't seem to be,   I don't know, pushing back and saying, dude, just get Northern data and get the whole damn thing.  

But no. No. This reads to me   that they only want the AI division and the cloud services, but they do not want the Bitcoin mining.   I don't know exactly what that means. I'm not actually gonna worry about it. Rumble is still is still at this point way too small   to rival   YouTube at scale.   I hope they do.   Somebody's got to, but   the whole thing is rather ridiculous.   And it makes me feel a little dirty, which is why I'm glad I have SoapMiner brand soaps. Go get them at soapminer.com.   That's soapminer.com   makes all of his soap by hand, and they're all 100%   tallow soaps.  

In fact,   at   at most, there's like five ingredients in these things.   Like, let's start with the base soap.   You can actually get   uncolored,   unflavored,   nothing else in it   soap called rough cut tallow. Five ounce bar, gonna cost you $7,   but but they only accept Bitcoin. We'll we'll get to that here in a second.   It has three ingredients.   It has distilled water. It's got lye, and it's got 100% beef tallow.   All of his soaps are basically made the same way. You got Earl Grey tallow, and the ingredients would just simply include   a little bit of Earl Grey tea as an extract. I don't know exactly how SoapMiner does it, but he's the base soap is still water, lye, and beef tallow. There's not any parabens. There's no weird industrial scale chemistries going on. It's just soap, and this stuff will get you clean.  

So let's talk a little bit about the fact that he only accepts Bitcoin.   You cannot pay this man, Fiat.   He will not take credit cards. He will not take cash. He will not take a a check. He's he's not gonna deal in fiat. He is 100%   Bitcoin only, which is why I'm really proud that he is   one of the vendors in the circle p. The circle p is open for business, and it's where I bring   plebs with goods and services for sale   to you, other plebs, who actually may want to buy said goods and services. And if you've never tried Soap Miner Soap,   this is your chance to use Bitcoin and and get a 10%   discount on your entire purchase. Again, Bitcoin and, all one word.  

Use it as the coupon code. You'll get 10%   off   of rough cut tallow, Earl Grey tallow soap, goat milk, lemongrass,   redacted,   which has got a bunch of charcoal in it. It's a great deodorizing   soap. Trust me on this. I I   I love this stuff. He's got tea trees, got pine tar, he's got cedarwood, he's got peppermint, and he's got lavender.   This is the best soap that I've ever used.   And, honestly, $7.50   for a bar that lasts a family of four for over a month.   Are you kidding me? It's the best deal going. Go to soapminer.com.   Pick up your soap. Use Bitcoin and for a 10%   discount. Now Beau Hines   has quit.  

He said, nope. I'm gone.   He steps down as Trump's digital asset adviser after   eight months in service, Alex Larry, for Bitcoin News.   The White House top digital assets policy adviser, Beau Hines,   under president Donald Trump, is leaving   after eight months running the administration's   strategy. The 29 year old executive director of the White House crypto council says he's   going home   back to the private sector,   but will work part time in government as an advisor on artificial intelligence   alongside AI and crypto czar David Sachs.   Together, we have positioned America as the crypto capital of the world. I guess that was his parting shot.  

Hines was appointed in December 2024 and led several major digital asset policy initiatives, including   the 2025   regulatory action plan for digital assets,   the first ever White House crypto summit,   and the launch of the Genius Act. He also drove efforts to build a national strategic Bitcoin reserve,   which he described as a cornerstone   for US financial security in the digital age.   Patrick Witt,   Witt,   the council's deputy director and former Pentagon technology official, is expected to take over for mister Hines.   Witt has overseen programs at, oh god, DARPA,   the defense   advanced   research projects   administration,   DARPA.  

It's it's they're a little dark. Now, I mean, they're they're responsible for the early Internet, but still DARPA   is essentially the investment firm for the United States government in research and   research and development, and it's it's kinda scary.   But he also was part of the Missile Defense Agency and has worked in strategic capital management roles at the Department   of Defense. Oh, I love strategic capital management.   It's the banking arm of the defense department   because I guess war needs a bank. Anyway, according to Sachs,   Witt will work alongside CFTC   senior policy adviser Harry Zung   to push forward   pending legislation   such as the Clarity Act and implement the council's recommendations.  

One of Heinz's biggest projects was the creation of the strategic national Bitcoin reserve.   The order prohibits selling any government held Bitcoin and mandates budget neutral ways to acquire more Bitcoin, meaning no extra cost to taxpayers.   To meet the requirement, Heinz proposed revaluing gold   holdings.   Currently,   the gold on the government's books is priced at $42.22   per troy ounce compared   to the about $3,400   it can fetch on the spot market.   Hines suggested that the gains from revaluation   could be partially converted into Bitcoin, and some of the gold, once revalued,   could be exchanged for Bitcoin boosting the country's   Bitcoin reserves without adding any extra cost to the national budget.  

But the reserve has faced delays and criticism over transparency.   In a recent interview, Hines refrained from stating   how much the government   holds of actual Bitcoin, citing   several reasons we're not disclosing   at this time.   Wow. Just   completely   untransparent.   Anyway, some reports say it's as low as 29,000   BTC,   much less than the 200,000   Saks once claimed,   with disputes over whether the seized assets count as government property   causing confusion.   Witt's promotion could be in a change of direction.   Observers say this means the administration is moving from policy theory to direct investment in Bitcoin infrastructure,   making it part of the nation's economic and foreign policy toolkit.  

Boeheim's resignation   comes as the Trump administration is making a series of pro Bitcoin moves.   In addition to the Bitcoin reserve order, president Trump signed measures to urge regulators to allow four zero one k retirement plans to include Bitcoin and digital assets, end debanking practices targeting lawful digital asset firms,   and nominated digital asset advocate Steven Mirren to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.   So Beau Hines is out after only eight months.   Why?   I think   people are conjecturing   that there's there's two sides.  

They're conjecturing that he got fired, which I don't think actually happened, but I have no proof of that,   or that he's   fed up because the national   strategic reserve,   of Bitcoin is just not going anywhere.   And   it's not.   It's not going anywhere. There's no movement has been made on this thing at all. We've got all kinds of movement around it. We've got stable coin act. We got genius act. There's all kinds of, like, the the four zero one k announcement,   the potential revaluation   of gold that we're talking about here. All of this is   is like a big sidecar   to the strategic Bitcoin reserve, but   nothing's really happened with SBR.  

They haven't bought anything.   The audit, we still don't know exactly how much the United States government has because they're not coming out and saying, here's our wallet address.   Here's the amount of Bitcoin in it. It's like, well, it could be this. It could be that.   Somebody's done kind of an audit but it's not it doesn't seem to be really official so   as far as anybody really knows   we still don't know how much Bitcoin the United States government has   Me   personally, I think what's going on is that Bo's like, look,   we've got all this stuff happening.  

He probably well, he definitely knows more than what's being reported on the news.   I think he feels comfortable leaving   and going back into the private sector where he can make a shit ton more money.   I think that that's really as simple as it needs to be. Let's run the numbers.   West Texas Intermediate Oil is up only slightly to $63.92   a barrel. Brent Norsee is up only slightly to $66.62   a barrel. Natural gas down one and a quarter.   Gasoline is down a half to $2.07   a gallon.   Shiny metal rocks are having a bad day today, especially gold, which is down two and two wait. No. Two and   one third percentage points to $34.10   and 5 dime. Silver is down 1.8%.  

Platinum is up point one eight.   Copper is down a quarter, and palladium is up one and three quarters.   Most of ag is in the green today. Only loser is lumber, 1.53%   to the downside,   and the biggest winner seems to be chocolate,   oh, well over five percentage points in the green. And then we got live cattle, which is down a half, lean hogs up over a full point, and feeder cattle down point seven seven percent.   The Dow is down a third, while the S and P is up point zero five as is the Nasdaq,   and the S and P Mini is down one quarter of 1%.   Meanwhile,   we have a price tag on Bitcoin of a $120,300.  

That is a $2,390,000,000,000   market cap, and we can only purchase 35.9   ounces of shiny metal rocks with our one Bitcoin of which there are 19,904,710.19   of, and average fees per block are low at 0.03   BTC   in fees on a per block basis. It looks to be about 25 blocks carrying 87,000   unconfirmed transactions   waiting to clear at high priority and low priority rates of 3 Satoshis per vbyte   each.   904   exahashes   per second. So we've lost about 60 exahashes per second since last week.   Have no idea   why.   It's okay, though. You'll be fine.   From Gold Bullioff,   which was yesterday or Friday's episode of Bitcoin. And I've got   well, I've got an in pub here, and it's not resolving into the name. So I am very sorry to whoever gave me the 500 sats, but I can read your note. Says, thanks again for another insightful episode.  

Looking certainly forward to the development regarding BitChat.   What happened to the further explanation of the cathedral project? Take care.   Yes. Cathedral. It I promise it's coming. It's just that I released the first episode of that series   before I went to Colorado for two weeks, and I'm now that I'm back,   I   need to actually start generating the other episodes of that. I promise it's coming.   Just a lot of stuff on my plate right now. Anyway, Pies with a 121   says, thank you, sir. No. Thank you. Wartime with one thirty three says,   I'm   Ron Burgundy?  

Yeah. Probably. I really   like those.   Oh, Turkey with 500 says nothing,   and Terminar says, good.   Okay.   Well, get right back at you, pal. That's the weather report.   Welcome to part two of the news that you can use. Nostra Wallet Connect is the USBC   connector   of Bitcoin wallets.   Moritz   Kaminski   is writing this one for Bitcoin   magazine.   Nostra Wallet Connect has an impressive technological lineage.   Digital and physical connectors such as cables we use, Internet protocols,   they work best when they're open and standardized.   You don't need permission to   design a device that uses a standard connector.  

You don't have to license special chips from a single company.   You don't need to pay fees to use the protocol.   You simply need to follow the publicly available specification   and ensure that your device or app   complies.   The move towards universal open connectors has been driven by foundational   standards such as VGA   for early video output,   3.5   millimeter audio jacks for analog,   Ethernet for wired networking, and USB for peripheral communications.   This evolution ultimately led to USB C,   a powerful unified connector designed to handle power,   data, audio, and video across virtually all modern devices.  

Imagine trying to use another cable for all of your devices.   By contrast,   some communications   protocols are proprietary   for example Skype   uses its own closed protocol to send and receive voice calls   The protocol is not publicly documented and the Skype application is, of course, closed source.   This makes it very difficult for anyone besides Microsoft,   as the owner,   to develop applications that can start or accept Skype calls. Another example is Sony's MiniDisc,   a proprietary   digital music format and disc.   It required specific Sony hardware to play or record   and eventually lost out to the m p three players that used open formats and USB mass storage.  

Since the introduction of the Lightning Network, Bitcoin payments have seen great innovation aimed at improving the user experience   while reducing complexity for developers thanks to open standards like WebLN,   l n   URL, Lightning addresses,   and   Gnoster Wallet Connect.   Gnoster Wallet Connect is an open protocol that connects Lightning wallets to apps.   It provides a standardized way for both sides to communicate and is capable of carrying   multiple signals,   essentially acting as the USB C cable   for apps and Bitcoin wallets.   Today, the NWC   ecosystem includes a growing range of apps and wallets from games and fintech tools to hardware devices.  

It has decoupled from Gnostr's major use case of social media apps.   Despite Gnoster's role as the coordination layer for NWC,   wallet and app users don't need any Gnoster keys   or specific knowledge to enjoy seamless in app payments directly from the user's own wallet.   Each new wallet and app contributes to the overall growth of the ecosystem,   but what's most important   is that any other app can seamlessly   onboard users from existing   NWC   enabled wallets.   And vice versa, each new wallet can immediately offer many new use cases   to its existing user base.  

This modular and interoperable   design   mirrors what made the early Internet and USB C so successful,   the freedom to innovate without asking for permission,   and the ability to plug in and play   across platforms.   Just as USB C allows   seamless connections by linking flash drives to laptops,   sound systems to computers and cameras to PCs,   NWC   makes it just as effortless   to connect Bitcoin lightning wallets with web or mobile apps.   Whether a user relies on a custodial wallet, a self custodial mobile app, or a full lightning node,   Nostra Wallet Connect enables instant operability   across those platforms.  

Here's two examples showing how apps can unlock new environments for wallets through the Gnoster WalletConnect   integration.   The Albi Browser Extension transforms   any Gnoster WalletConnect   compatible wallet into a fully featured browser wallet   allowing users to make one click payments directly on the web. No QR code scanning, no device switching, and no browser specific software required.   The Albi MCP   server,   as another example,   enables payments via AI agents turning every lightning wallet   into   an agentic wallet   that can send and receive payments through chat or even act autonomously.  

In short, several lightning wallets are already equipped to offer their users completely new environments and,   therefore,   ways to explore fascinating use cases like agentic commerce   or web native payment experiences like gaming or zapping.   As a consequence,   wallets create more opportunities for users at zero additional integration cost thanks to NWC's   standardized   API   interface.   USB c leverages the capabilities   of host systems   to power and communicate with connected devices.   Nostra Wallet Connect works similarly for apps. Instead of implementing full wallet functionality,   developers   can outsource   payment infrastructure to existing wallet providers.  

This enables apps to integrate lightning payments by simply   Developers   are free   Developers are free to focus on building great app experiences without needing to become wallet providers themselves.   Open standards like NWC   don't just   simplify integration, they enable new use cases   and new business models. Bitcoin based subscription payments are one example.   With well defined permissions and protective budgets,   users can grant apps controlled access to their wallets.   In turn, those apps   can request recurring monthly payments.   Tools like Flash   help merchants and developers set up these subscription flows, and platforms like   LNDHub   Studios   already leverage NWC to offer premium subscriptions paid   in Bitcoin.  

And just as connecting devices   via USB C is seamless,   NWC   provides a plug and play experience for apps and wallets. The protocol   handles all of the complexity,   so users don't need to copy and paste connection secrets manually.   Connect your wallet,   whether on Gnoster or elsewhere, is now as simple as plugging in your phone   to charge.   NWC   was created to unify and simplify   wallet to app connections across diverse domains.   Its greatest success so far has been   becoming a near universal interface for Bitcoin payment use cases.   The result is a simpler, faster, and more seamless user experience.  

Today, USB C supports Thunderbolt.   NWC   is equally versatile to include other protocols.   The community is actively discussing an extension for on chain transactions   trying to expand NWC's   functionality   well beyond the lightning network.   Multi currency support is another promising innovation   with stablecoin   to Bitcoin and the Lightning Network.   As a straightforward   messaging layer, Nostra Wallet Connect is able to accommodate new use cases to keep up with changing user demand   and ecosystem   requirements.   Just as USB C delivers electrical power to charge devices,   NWC   wallets deliver payment capabilities   to supercharged apps with in app transactions in a very simple way.  

That's what is catching on fast in the developer community.   Geyser, Bitcoin plus plus and Presidio Bitcoin already made it a core part of their hackathons.   Today, a growing ecosystem of app and wallet developers   are working together to create an alternative to the fragmented cables of the payment world,   individual APIs,   closed systems, and custom integrations,   with one   interoperable   standard to spur innovation in payments   and Bitcoin adoption.   So I   wanted you to hear that one because Nostra Wallet Connect is how I do all of my lightning stuff now. Well, I okay. 95%   of it. If I'm zapping somebody on Nostr,   my Nostr wallet connect   was used to connect my   my lightning node   to my Git Albi   extension in my browser. And the only way that I was able to do that was through Nostra wallet connect and may I remind you that Nostra wallet connect was designed by the guys at albie.  

Albie is if you're not using get albie   you really should at least check it out. It's it's insanely   simple,   and it just continues to work. In fact, I've I've had several browser extensions that just one day, they just quit working.   I've never had a problem with GetAlBI   except every once in a while, I have to I have to log back in   to my browser. Well,   in my browser extension, it says, hey, you need to log into your into your, GetAlBI. And I'm like, okay. Okay. And I'll do that. But other than that,   it's never stopped working.   Not once.  

It's an amazing piece of equipment.   I highly recommend that if you're not using Nostra Wallet Connect,   get out and get AlBI. I you really needed to to take a look at this. Because the Nostra Wallet Connect part of this   is enabling I'm looking at   I'm looking at a an ecosystem map for Nostra Wallet Connect.   There's gotta be a 100   different   applications   on this list.   Like Geyser and Wave Lake, they're integrated.   So is there anything hold on. Let me see if I can   let's see. Trying to to expand this. It it just doesn't want to expand.   There we go.  

Let's see. What but yeah. BTCPay   server, BuzzPay, Cashew redeem,   Clams,   Zapit.   Let's see. What is wallet interfaces? There's like, Vortex,   NostraPay,   Brick Wallet,   Bullish NWC,   of course, the GetAlBI and ALBI Go kind of stuff is there. Zeus is there.   It's like there's just so many applications that are able to connect   to lightning network or lightning wallets via Nostril Wallet Connect. It's amazing.   But not as amazing as Harvard News. Well, okay. It's   Harvard News is not that amazing, but   it's something.   It's there because   Harvard has revealed a $116,000,000   investment in BlackRock's   Bitcoin ETF.  

So, no,   they don't hold it directly.   That's okay, though. Matt DeSalvo,   decrypt.co.   Top universities, Harvard   and   Brown University,   are the latest institutions to buy exposure to Bitcoin.   The Harvard Management Company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary   of the university,   has a 116,000,000   position in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust   according to a 13 f form filed with the SEC.   And not one to be left out, we have Brown University,   which first bought exposure to Bitcoin back in May.   They've upped its position   in BlackRock's ETF, and they now hold 13,000,000   worth of shares a similar filing shows.  

The filings are the latest examples   of traditional institutions seeking exposure to the largest cryptocurrency by market cap.   So that's really all we need to know, except for this.   Harvard's endowment is something like 52   to $54,000,000,000.   In all honesty, a 116,000,000   in comparison   is like sub   sub   sub one per sorry. My dog's freaking out. Sub sub sub   1%   of that $52,000,000,000   endowment, but   it is Harvard and it is a first step. So   there it is. And it was all started   by Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy,   which has now become strategy,   or some people say strategy b.  

Whatever.   Helen Parks Cointelegraph   takes us on a little history lesson   Strategy adds $18,000,000   in Bitcoin on its fifth anniversary   of BTC   strategy   Michael Saylor Strategy, the world's largest   public holder of Bitcoin,   made its very first BTC   purchase in August,   marking five years since adopting Bitcoin as a Treasury asset.   Strategy acquired 155   Bitcoin for $18,000,000   during the week ending Sunday   according to the SEC filing   made on Monday.   Strategy's   new Bitcoin purchases were made at an average price of $116,401   per coin   with BTC starting the week at 114,000   and nearing all time highs   around 122,000   by Sunday according to CoinGecko.  

Strategy's latest Bitcoin acquisition   coincides   with the fifth anniversary of its BTC treasury strategy,   which was launched on 08/11/2020   with a $250,000,000   buy   of 21,454   Bitcoin.   Man, that dude made out like   bandits.   Anyway, since strategy's   first Bitcoin purchase, the price of Bitcoin has surged 960%   from around 11,400   to where we are now at about a 120   a 120,000.   Wow.   God. He really did he really did nail that trade to the wall.   Despite the rising prices,   strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy,   has never stopped buying BTC since.   They now hold well over 600,000   BTC,   and they acquired that   across 74   separate purchases.  

Quote, if you don't stop buying Bitcoin, you won't stop making money,   strategy cofounder Saylor said in a post on x.   In late twenty twenty four,   Saylor pledged to keep buying Bitcoin no matter how high it goes.   In June, Strategies cofounder doubled down on his Bitcoin price forecast predicting that Bitcoin is going to hit 21,000,000   in the next twenty one years. You know,   that whole prediction   is just   is just bullshit because it's just a bunch of of of the number 21.   Anybody can do that. That's not a prediction. That's that's a marketing piece, but I digress.   With   strategy celebrating   five years   of Bitcoin adoption as a treasury asset, its latest buy,   disappointed.  

Many observers, oh my god, they're so disappointed. Oh, the humanity.   We're all gonna die. Only a 155   b t c?   Looks like you need to raise more fiat.   Coin Bureau founder Nick Puckrin   commented   on Saylor's post on x.   While modest, especially compared with its 21,021   BTC purchase in July,   the 155   BTC   acquisition is not the smallest   in strategy's history, but it does come very close.   The smallest Bitcoin purchase in BTC volume was back in March   when it bought a mere 130   Bitcoin for $10,700,000   in cash.   By dollar value, the smallest was a $5,000,000   acquisition   of a 155   BTC back in November   2023   according to strategy data.  

So here it is today,   strategy's birthday. They are five years old when it comes to Bitcoin.   Rah rah. And people are still   it people will find anything to complain about.   It's like they just need something to be sad about.   Says a lot about the human condition. Honestly, I think it's all a bunch of hooey.   Okay.   This one is not.   Again,   safety first.   Understand   operational security.   Know your   exits.   Everywhere   you are,   everywhere you go,   you should know how to get out of there.   They tell you on the plane, hey, man, exit's in the fore back and there's usually   two over the wings.  

In case something bad happens, you should know how to get out of a movie theater. There's four exits.   Well, at least two exits. There's you there's always one in the front and in the back of   the theater. You should know that. Right? If you're in a restaurant,   do you understand that if something bad happens, you don't have to go back out through the front door?   You'd rock your ass through that fucking kitchen and get out of the service entrance.   Yes. There's a delivery door. It's in the back, and you access that door   through the kitchen.  

See, this is one of the things that that people they get themselves into trouble. They don't understand how to get out of the situation that they're in. It doesn't mean that you're gonna be completely safe even if you do know where your all your exits are, but you will have a better time in case something bad happens if you understand how to get out of the situation that you're in   physically   as well as mentally, but more more physically. If you need to bail, you need to know   where to bail to   because there is at least one kidnapping per week among Bitcoin investors   according to this crypto executive.  

God, I hate the word crypto.   Atlas twenty one brings it to you. According to Elena   Vranova,   founder of Glock   and cofounder of Satoshi Labs, investors in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are facing a growing threat of physical violence   with kidnappings now occurring on a weekly basis.   During Baltic Honey Badger twenty twenty five conference held in Riga,   Vronova   highlighted how so called wrench attacks   targeted physical assaults aimed at stealing private keys are becoming   increasingly   common in the digital asset world.   Every week there is a big winner, at least one in the world who gets kidnapped,   tortured, extorted,   and sometimes worse.  

Contrary to what one might think,   kidnappings do not only target large cryptocurrency holders. The threat extends to investors with smaller wallets, making a wide range of users vulnerable,   Xi explained.   Quote, what seems to be a problem only for Bitcoin OGs is not really the case.   We have seen cases of kidnappings   for as little as $6,000   worth of crypto, and we have seen people murdered   for $50,000   in crypto, end quote.   Data on physical attacks against cryptocurrency holders in 2025   show a rising trend,   a rising   a rise it's rising. It's not plateauing.  

It's not dropping off. It's getting worse. And projections indicate that this year,   we could see the number of assaults double   compared to the worst year   recorded previously.   Data breaches from centralized exchanges represent a major factor increase in kidnappings.   These attacks are facilitated by sensitive information collected through KYC   procedures and other centralized software providers   that store   customer data.   We currently   have more than 80,000,000   Bitcoiner and crypto user identities   leaked online.   2,200,000   out of those contain   home addresses.  

2,200,000   people   whose   crypto   information got leaked includes where they physically dwell.   So this weekend,   just to to drive the point home, I I've been getting these for a while because I used to have a Coinbase account.   And so my my data was leaked online.   Although,   I've I've changed residences   not once, but twice since then, and I've never dealt with Coinbase again. So I'm not all that worried about about my particular data.   However,   that's like, you know, that was just sort of like it just so happens that I that I change physical addresses twice. Right? So   but I get text messages on my phone at least once a month.  

Now this week, it was I have actually gotten two of them in a row that says that my Coinbase account   has been accessed   by an IP address in Beijing, and then it gives me a telephone number to call. And, of course, the text comes from   a 63   country code.   And I you know what? Who the let's see. Country code. Let's see. 63   country   code.   That's the first two digits of of any telephone number.   Philippines.   Yes. I'm sure this is above board that I keep getting messages from The Philippines.   That that that you know, of course, that that actually matches.   No. Actually, it doesn't match because they're saying that my my account was accessed from Beijing   in China,   which is not a six three country code. That's for The Philippines, which is where I'm getting these text messages from.  

I got two of them,   like, over the weekend.   My wife got one.   Dude, she's never had a Coinbase account,   and she got the exact same message from from 63   country code   that her Coinbase account had been accessed from Beijing.   Literally that same day on like, when she was telling me about this, I get a text from my sister   who's asking me questions. She's like, should I be concerned about this? And she gives she basically,   like,   copies the text   and puts it into that that she got on her on her phone, puts it into the message. I read it. It reads the exact same thing that me and my wife both got. Plus six three country code.   Hey. Your shit was accessed from Beijing.  

Here's a telephone number to call to make sure that you're gonna be okay. In fact, if you call that number, you're not going to be okay.   Right? And this is the nonphysical   issue.   This is just the annoyance part of it. They got my phone number.   You know? They they you know? But they've also got my wife's phone number. She's never had a Coinbase account.   Right?   I'm just saying this is gonna get worse and worse and worse.   So again,   I iterate   you need to be safe.   And   here's what here's one of the one of the things that I think this is I don't know. I got a gut feeling here.   There I see a trend with Bitcoin conferences,   and there's there's two sides to the trend. Or at least I it's not a trend. There's two sides to Bitcoin conferences that I see.  

I'm starting to hear people that have been going to these conferences for years say that they're just getting boring   and they kind of don't want to go anymore. And not all of them. I'm talking about the big massive ones.   I think Baltic Honey Badger is one that's never gonna go away. But I think a lot of the other larger conferences   that are in The United States,   I think those are going to start diminishing.   The main Bitcoin conference probably won't, but I think a lot of these other ones, I think they will because of the security aspect and the fact that people are getting bored.   I mean, how honestly, how many times   can we go and be bullish in front of a sculpture of a bull?  

You know, how many times   can we, you know, hang out with the Bitcoin girls that have huge jugs and, you know, are 19 years old and I mean, honestly, it's it's   it's a little juvenile   at this point.   But it's the security aspect. When you go to one of these things, you are a frickin target, whether you like it or even if you don't own Bitcoin.   If you go to the Bitcoin conference and you don't own any cryptocurrency   or any Bitcoin whatsoever, but you've got a huge orange shirt on with a Bitcoin symbol on it, a big old, you know, flat brimmed baseball cap that's all orange with a Bitcoin symbol on it and orange shoes and orange pants. Guess what?   You're a target.  

Somebody's looking at you going, that guy's got Bitcoin. He's at a Bitcoin conference, and he's wearing all the swag.   Don't do that.   Wear jeans and a T shirt or shorts and a T shirt. Make sure that there's nothing on it about Bitcoin or any kind of cryptocurrency whatsoever.   You don't have to flag yourself as a target.   A lot of people wear swag because they want to fly the flag or or wear one for the brand or foam finger number one, whatever   It doesn't do anything. It doesn't change the world. It doesn't do   anything other than make you a target   Stop doing that.  

Stop wearing the swag.   No reason not to buy the swag if you want to support Bitcoiners, and that's what they're doing. Hey, I'm I'm the circle p guy. More power to you. Don't wear it in public.   Don't wear it in public. Don't go out of your door wearing this stuff.   You're nothing but a target, and it's getting worse out there.   One of these days, I I I don't wanna have to be reporting on you   that you got kidnapped   and you lost your stash   or worse.   I'll see you on the other side.   This has been Bitcoin and and I'm your host, David Bennett. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and hope to see you again real soon.   Have a   great day.