issue 235 - week of 4-11-25
curating the good stuff for the casual bitcoin enthusiast each week
summary podcast
Listen below for an succinct overview in podcast format of all items contained in this issue of the newsletter.
news
I used Google NotebookLM and ChatGPT to summarize the information in this week’s news links:
Macroeconomic Perspectives and Bitcoin’s Role: Discussions around Bitcoin’s macroeconomic significance portray it as a counterpoint to a faltering global financial system. Voices like Jordi Visser argue that simultaneous declines in bonds, stocks, and the dollar signal a systemic breakdown, with Bitcoin emerging as a decentralized digital asset for a new economic order. Lawrence Lepard frames Bitcoin, alongside gold, as a safe-haven asset amid sovereign debt crises and fiat devaluation, predicting significant price appreciation driven by anticipated monetary easing. Jeff Booth highlights Bitcoin’s fixed supply as a deflationary force against credit-based systems, advocating for its use as a medium of exchange to maximize its transformative potential, potentially surpassing the internet’s impact. Institutional adoption, from schools accepting Bitcoin for tuition to nation-states eyeing strategic reserves, underscores its growing recognition as a hedge against dollar hegemony and inflation.
Bitcoin Core Development Roundtable: The Bitcoin Core Development Roundtable at the same expo highlights the multifaceted, often underappreciated work of maintaining Bitcoin’s core software. Panelists emphasize that their roles extend beyond consensus changes (e.g., soft forks like OP_CAT or CTV) to include peer-to-peer protocol enhancements, build system management, and rigorous security practices. They distinguish between high-stakes consensus changes, which require broad community agreement, and other critical tasks like refactoring and modernizing the codebase to ensure Bitcoin’s resilience. The development process is marked by intense scrutiny, with multiple code reviews and automated testing to prevent errors or malicious code, reflecting a “paranoid” approach to security. The panelists underscore the importance of this “boring” work for Bitcoin’s long-term stability, even if it lacks the spotlight of protocol debates.
Bitcoin Address Poisoning Attacks: Jameson Lopp’s presentation at the MIT Bitcoin Expo 2025 delves into address poisoning, a lesser-known but insidious attack targeting inexperienced Bitcoin users. In this scheme, attackers generate a vanity Bitcoin address that closely mimics a target’s address, with similar starting and ending characters, and send a small amount (500-1000 Satoshi) to the target’s wallet. The goal is to trick the victim into copying the attacker’s address from their transaction history, mistaking it for their own, when making a future transaction. This attack exploits user error and wallets that allow easy copying from transaction history without robust verification. Lopp notes that while not highly profitable yet, the attack’s potential warrants mitigation strategies like wallet warnings for similar-looking addresses and alternative address visualizations, such as Blockchain Commons’ proposed colorized pixel map, to enhance user clarity and security.
Bitcoin sellers tap out, clearing the path for a fresh run at new all-time highs.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-sellers-tap-out-clearing-the-path-for-a-fresh-run-at-new-all-time-highs
Surprising China news sends Bitcoin reeling to $84K.
https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/surprising-china-news-sends-bitcoin-reeling-to-84k
Bitcoin: Exit-Ramp From Dollar Hegemony.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/can-i-say-one-thing-about-bitcoin
Apple, Google, Cash App alums ditch Big Tech to build on bitcoin, fueled by VC money and friendly White House.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/12/apple-google-cash-app-alums-ditch-big-tech-to-build-on-bitcoin.html
“Worse Than 1971”—U.S. Dollar Price “Collapse” Predicted To Ignite $22 Trillion Bitcoin Challenge To Gold.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/04/12/confidence-crisis-us-dollar-price-collapse-predicted-to-ignite-bitcoin-as-traders-sell-america/
The Trump Family Is Going All-In on Crypto Projects, From Bitcoin Mining to Stablecoins.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-family-going-crypto-projects-140000972.html
MicroStrategy has just 2% chance of bankruptcy, new data shows.
https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/microstrategy-has-just-2-chance-of-bankruptcy
Scottish boarding school to accept fees in Bitcoin.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yg9p589vro
media
Podcast. The Bitcoin Matrix Podcast: The $43M Bitcoin Endgame Explained By Jeff Booth.
Podcast. The Pomp Podcast: Bitcoin Is Primed To PUMP As The Dollar Collapses.
Podcast. What Bitcoin Did: THE BIG PRINT IS COMING w/ Lawrence Lepard.
MIT Bitcoin Conference. Bitcoin Core Developer Roundtable.
MIT Bitcoin Conference. Bitcoin Address Poisoning Attacks w/ Jameson Lopp.
MIT Bitcoin Conference. Bitcoin and Quantum Computing Resistance w/ Hunter Beast.
tweets
(Substack blocking direct Twitter links at the moment)
https://x.com/DocumentingBTC/status/1908936557584691692
https://x.com/woonomic/status/1909140082617147544
https://x.com/therationalroot/status/1909346729297686786
https://x.com/TFTC21/status/1909701278688854122
https://x.com/DocumentingBTC/status/1909962480958218540
https://x.com/pete_rizzo_/status/1909948888401817635
https://x.com/DocumentingBTC/status/1910097099959546117
https://x.com/bbands/status/1910395283558785115
https://x.com/IIICapital/status/1910313544488284275
https://x.com/Vivek4real_/status/1910783745092702450
https://x.com/thomas_fahrer/status/1910861299388383339
https://x.com/decodejar/status/1910833218711941300
https://x.com/davidmarcus/status/1910718646046904500
https://x.com/rovercrc/status/1911097228330193161
https://x.com/TFTC21/status/1911128249381666971
https://x.com/ali_charts/status/1911206950953513032
https://x.com/Vivek4real_/status/1911183499308003582
https://x.com/btc_MasterPlan/status/1911164234614055334
https://x.com/BoldBitcoin/status/1911177555199074508
https://x.com/saylor/status/1911408383808217104
https://x.com/rektcapital/status/1911364496435576921
https://x.com/Washigorira/status/1911392086462505143
https://x.com/maxkeiser/status/1911409855069380740
https://x.com/Ashcryptoreal/status/1911353185710584082
https://x.com/misterrcrypto/status/1911107546229985431
If you think we’ve missed something important, please send it to us and we’ll be sure to add it to next week’s newsletter… And please share!
