Decent Newsroom

April 10 2026 · Edited Apr 10, 2026

TD Cowen Initiates Coverage on Bitcoin Treasury Companies, Frames PBTC Sector as Investable Equity Category

Bitcoin Magazine TD Cowen Initiates Coverage on Bitcoin Treasury Companies, Frames PBTC Sector as Investable Equity Category TD Cowen this week initiated equity research coverage on three public Bitcoin treasury companies (PBTCs) and one Ethereum digital asset treasury, publishing proprietary valuation models and KPIs specific to the sector. The move marks one of the more concrete steps a major bank has taken to build formal research infrastructure around Bitcoin-focused equities. The firm’s analysts, led by Lance Vitanza, view Bitcoin as a long-term store of value — framing it in the tradition of digital gold — and project a price of roughly $140,000 by the end of 2026. TD Cowen’s thesis holds that PBTCs, companies that accumulate Bitcoin on their balance sheets and grow holdings on a per-share basis, now constitute a distinct and “investable equity category,” distinct from both spot Bitcoin ETFs and traditional tech stocks. Nakamoto receives a buy rating Among the companies covered, Nakamoto Holdings (NASDAQ: NAKA) received a buy rating and a $1.00 price target, compared to its April 8 closing price of $0.21. TD Cowen’s model projects $394 million in Bitcoin gains for fiscal year 2027, applying a 2x multiple to that estimate. Nakamoto differentiates from other PBTCs through minority stakes in international Bitcoin treasury firms — Metaplanet in Japan and Treasury BV in the Netherlands — and operating subsidiaries in media, Bitcoin advocacy, and digital asset management. “We are initiating coverage of Nakamoto Holdings with a BUY rating and a $1.00 price target. Our PT is based on estimated BTC $ Gain of $394 million for FY27E, a 2x multiple, and a Bitcoin price of ~$140k at Dec-26,” the firm wrote. NEW: Investment bank giant TD Cowen predicts Bitcoin to hit $140,000 this year and issues "BUY" rating for BTC treasury companies Nakamoto and Strive. pic.twitter.com/KMArGLGN9u — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) April 10, 2026 SharpLink Gaming (SBET) and Strive (ASST) also received Buy ratings, with price targets of $16 and $26, respectively. On Apr. 9, TD Cowen also cut its price target on Strategy to $350 from $440, citing a lower bitcoin price outlook and a reduced valuation multiple on projected gains, while maintaining a buy rating. The firm lowered its forecast for Strategy’s 2026 bitcoin gains to $7.87 billion from $10.17 billion in 2025. The decision to initiate coverage carries weight beyond the individual ratings. When a bank formalizes research coverage of a new sector, it creates the analytical foundation that supports other business lines — wealth management, investment banking, and enterprise services — in engaging with the category. TD Cowen’s stress on this policy cycle TD Cowen has been vocal in recent months about digital assets’ role in the current market cycle, and the April 9 initiations represent the first instance of the firm publishing company-specific models and ratings within the PBTC space. Back in January, the U.S. entered what TD Cowen described as a rare pro-crypto policy window, driven by aligned regulators, political momentum, and a deregulatory push under President Trump’s second term. The firm expects 2026 reforms to come through agency action — such as SEC exemptions, tokenization initiatives, and expanded banking access — rather than sweeping legislation. It warned, however, that these gains must be finalized quickly or risk being weakened or reversed after the 2028 election. Bitcoin Magazine is published by BTC Inc, a subsidiary of Nakamoto Inc. (NASDAQ: NAKA) This post TD Cowen Initiates Coverage on Bitcoin Treasury Companies, Frames PBTC Sector as Investable Equity Category first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 20 2026 · Edited Mar 20, 2026

White House Reaches Tentative Crypto Regulatory Agreement: Report

Bitcoin Magazine White House Reaches Tentative Crypto Regulatory Agreement: Report Key senators and the White House have reached a tentative agreement on cryptocurrency legislation aimed at resolving a dispute between banks and digital asset firms over stablecoin yields, according to Politico reporting. The move could clear the way for a landmark crypto regulatory bill stalled in the Senate Banking Committee since January. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) said Friday they have an “agreement in principle” on language intended to balance innovation with financial stability. The legislation seeks to prevent stablecoin rewards programs from triggering widespread deposit withdrawals from traditional banks, a concern raised by Wall Street groups. “The agreement allows us to protect innovation while giving us the opportunity to prevent widespread deposit flight,” Alsobrooks said. Tillis described the deal as a positive step but noted the need to consult with industry stakeholders before finalizing details. While specifics of the agreement remain unclear, early indications suggest it could bar yield payments on passive stablecoin balances. The tentative deal signals progress toward an April vote on the crypto market-structure bill, potentially unlocking the first major federal regulatory framework for digital assets. Crypto legislation background The fight over a U.S. crypto market‑structure bill stems from a broader effort to build on 2025’s landmark stablecoin legislation, the GENIUS Act, which established a federal framework for stablecoins — requiring full backing, transparency and reserve disclosures for digital dollars. That law was widely seen in the crypto industry as a breakthrough for regulatory clarity while attempting to align digital assets with traditional financial standards. After the GENIUS Act’s passage, the Senate turned its attention to more expansive digital asset oversight through what’s often referred to as the CLARITY Act or the crypto market‑structure bill. This legislation aims to define how U.S. regulators would police and oversee trading platforms, tokens, custody services and other infrastructure — essentially the backbone of a regulated digital asset ecosystem. However, negotiations bogged down over one central issue: whether regulated exchanges should be allowed to offer yield‑bearing rewards on stablecoin holdings. Banks and major financial institutions argue that these rewards resemble unregulated deposit‑like products that could siphon funds away from FDIC‑insured accounts, potentially threatening lending and financial stability. Crypto firms — including major issuers like Circle and Coinbase — counter that such incentives are crucial for competitive markets and for user adoption of digital money. The current tentative deal being negotiated between senators and the White House seeks a middle ground — potentially allowing activity‑based rewards while restricting passive yield — in hopes of unlocking Senate committee action by April. Whether that compromise holds both bank and crypto support will be decisive for the future of U.S. digital asset regulation. This post White House Reaches Tentative Crypto Regulatory Agreement: Report first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 20 2026 · Edited Mar 20, 2026

Phong Le Calls Morgan Stanley’s BTC ETF a “Monster Bitcoin” Bet With $160 Billion Potential

Bitcoin Magazine Phong Le Calls Morgan Stanley’s BTC ETF a “Monster Bitcoin” Bet With $160 Billion Potential Phong Le, President and CEO of Strategy, the world’s first and largest Bitcoin treasury firm, said Morgan Stanley’s proposed bitcoin ETF could unlock as much as $160 billion in demand under a modest portfolio allocation scenario. “Morgan Stanley Wealth Management oversees about $8 trillion in AUM and recommends 0–4% bitcoin allocation,” Le wrote on X. “A 2% allocation would represent $160 billion, about three times the size of IBIT. MSBT: Monster Bitcoin.” In other words, Le is saying that even a modest 2% bitcoin allocation across Morgan Stanley’s $8 trillion wealth platform could drive about $160 billion into bitcoin, far exceeding the size of existing ETFs like BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. The comment landed as Morgan Stanley advanced plans for its own spot BTC ETF, revealing new details in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund would trade under the ticker MSBT, a symbol that Le cast as shorthand for the potential scale of institutional demand. Morgan Stanley’s amended S-1 outlines a structure familiar to the growing class of spot BTC ETFs. The trust is set to list on NYSE Arca with a 10,000-share creation unit and an initial seed basket of 50,000 shares, expected to raise about $1 million. The bank also disclosed it purchased two shares earlier this month for audit purposes. Key service providers mirror those used across the ETF ecosystem. BNY Mellon will act as cash custodian, administrator, and transfer agent, while Coinbase is set to serve as prime broker and custodian for the fund’s bitcoin. The product would hold BTC directly, aligning with the structure that has defined the current wave of the U.S.-listed spot ETFs. Capital managers are migrating to bitcoin Le’s framing points to a larger question that sits beyond the mechanics of the filing: how much capital wealth managers may allocate if BTC becomes a standard portfolio component. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, with trillions in client assets, has signaled that bitcoin exposure can range from zero to four percent depending on client profile. Even a midpoint allocation, as Le noted, would imply flows that exceed the size of existing flagship products such as iShares Bitcoin Trust. So far, adoption has moved in stages. Since spot BTC ETFs launched in 2024, the category has attracted more than $50 billion in inflows, driven in large part by self-directed investors. Within advisory channels, uptake remains uneven, shaped by internal policies, risk models, and client demand. Morgan Stanley has already taken steps in that direction, allowing brokerage clients to access spot BTC ETFs and widening availability over time. The MSBT filing suggests a shift from distribution toward ownership of the product itself, a move that could deepen the bank’s role in the market if approval is granted. The SEC has not provided a timeline for a decision, and approval is not assured. Still, the application marks a notable development: a major U.S. bank seeking to issue its own spot bitcoin ETF in a market it once approached with caution. This post Phong Le Calls Morgan Stanley’s BTC ETF a “Monster Bitcoin” Bet With $160 Billion Potential first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 20 2026 · Edited Mar 20, 2026

Bitcoin Price Holds $70,000 as War-Driven Inflation Fears Meet Defensive Market Positioning

Bitcoin Magazine Bitcoin Price Holds $70,000 as War-Driven Inflation Fears Meet Defensive Market Positioning Bitcoin price held near the $70,000 level today as geopolitical risks tied to the conflict involving Iran shifted and macro expectations weighed on broader risk markets, while derivatives data and on-chain metrics pointed to a market in consolidation rather than capitulation. The bitcoin price hovered around $70,500 in early Friday trading, following a pullback from a recent high near $76,000. The move came as energy markets surged and inflation concerns returned to the forefront, limiting upside across risk assets. Despite the pressure, Bitcoin price has shown relative stability compared with commodities and equities during the same period. Research from VanEck frames the current environment as a post-stress reset. The firm’s mid-March ChainCheck report notes that Bitcoin price’s 30-day average price declined 19%, yet spot prices stabilized as realized volatility fell from 80 to near 50. At the same time, futures funding rates dropped from 4.1% to 2.7%, signaling reduced leverage and lower speculative intensity. Options markets reflect a defensive posture. VanEck data shows the put-to-call open interest ratio averaged 0.77, the highest level since mid-2021, placing current positioning in the 91st percentile of observations since 2019. Demand for downside protection remains elevated, with put premiums reaching record levels relative to spot trading volume. Investors continue to allocate capital toward hedging, even as volatility declines. Future positive returns for Bitcoin price? This pattern has historical significance. According to VanEck, similar levels of options skew have preceded positive forward returns. Periods with comparable readings have produced average gains of more than 13% over the following 90 days and more than 100% over a one-year horizon. The data suggests that extreme caution in derivatives markets has often coincided with late-stage drawdowns rather than the start of new declines. Onchain activity presents a quieter picture. Transfer volume fell 31% over the past month, while daily fees dropped 27%. Active addresses declined modestly, indicating limited participation at the network level. This trend led to the growing role of offchain venues, including exchange-traded products and derivatives platforms, which now account for a larger share of trading activity. Long-term holders appear to be reducing distribution. Transfer volume declined across all age cohorts, signaling that older coins remain largely inactive. This shift points to reduced selling pressure from experienced market participants, a factor often associated with price stabilization phases. Miner behavior adds another layer. Revenues declined 11% in the past month, reflecting tighter economics. Yet selling pressure from miners has not surged. Onchain flows to exchanges rose only 1%, while aggregate miner balances declined at a gradual pace. Over the past year, miners have sold most newly issued supply but have not accelerated liquidation of existing reserves. Institutional flows, however, have softened. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded net outflows in recent sessions, reversing a prior streak of inflows. The shift aligns with broader risk aversion as investors respond to macro uncertainty and rising energy costs. Yesterday, Morgan Stanley confirmed that its proposed spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund will trade under the ticker MSBT on NYSE Arca, according to an updated filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is $70,371. This post Bitcoin Price Holds $70,000 as War-Driven Inflation Fears Meet Defensive Market Positioning first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 19 2026 · Edited Mar 19, 2026

North Carolina Lawmakers Propose State Bitcoin Reserve

Bitcoin Magazine North Carolina Lawmakers Propose State Bitcoin Reserve North Carolina lawmakers introduced legislation on Wednesday to create a state-controlled Bitcoin reserve. Senate Bill 327, titled the North Carolina Bitcoin Reserve and Investment Act, would allow the Office of the State Treasurer to allocate up to 10% of public funds into BTC as part of the state’s long-term financial strategy. The bill, sponsored by Senators Johnson and Overcash, passed its first Senate reading and was referred to the Rules and Operations Committee. Its stated goals include establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, promoting BTC as a financial innovation, and positioning North Carolina as a leader in state-level crypto adoption. Under the proposal, the Treasurer would manage the reserve using cold storage wallets with multi-signature authentication. A new department within the Treasurer’s office would take custody of the assets, ensuring state control. The bill also calls for a Bitcoin Economic Advisory Board composed of industry experts to provide guidance and monthly audits to verify reserve balances, security, and performance. Bitcoin acquisitions would be conducted through regulated U.S.-based exchanges, with bulk purchases timed to take advantage of market conditions. The bill also directs the Treasurer to explore BTC mining operations as a potential method to increase state holdings. Use of the reserve would be restricted to severe financial crises, approved investment strategies, funding for critical infrastructure and economic development projects, and support for Bitcoin-related research, education, and business incentives. Any liquidation of BTC would require approval from at least two-thirds of both chambers of the General Assembly. The bill allows the reserve to back bonds as an alternative financing tool for public projects. The Treasurer would submit quarterly reports to the General Assembly detailing the reserve’s status, value, and performance. Reports would also be publicly available on the Treasurer’s website, according to the bill’s text. The bill includes provisions to comply with federal and state laws regarding cryptocurrency holdings and taxation and encourages advocacy for federal regulations favorable to Bitcoin. JUST IN: North Carolina introduces bill for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Today, it already passed the first reading pic.twitter.com/gaVfzoObD4 — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) March 19, 2026 U.S. states want Bitcoin Several U.S. states are exploring or have implemented BTC reserves as part of state treasury strategies. Texas, New Hampshire, and Arizona have enacted laws allowing portions of state funds to be allocated to Bitcoin, while Maryland, Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan, South Dakota, Illinois, Tennessee and Missouri have introduced legislation proposing similar reserves. Other states, including Oklahoma, Utah, and Pennsylvania, have considered bills that remain in committee, while proposals in Wyoming, Montana, and Florida have stalled or been rejected. These efforts reflect a growing trend to use BTC as a potential store-of-value hedge and diversify state financial assets. This post North Carolina Lawmakers Propose State Bitcoin Reserve first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 19 2026 · Edited Mar 19, 2026

Adam Back Confirmed As A Bitcoin 2026 Speaker

Bitcoin Magazine Adam Back Confirmed As A Bitcoin 2026 Speaker Adam Back has been officially confirmed as a speaker at Bitcoin 2026, returning to the conference as one of the few people in the world whose contributions to Bitcoin predate Bitcoin itself. As Co-Founder and CEO of Blockstream and CEO of Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR), Back comes to Las Vegas operating at the intersection of Bitcoin infrastructure and capital markets like never before. In 1997, Back invented Hashcash — a proof-of-work system originally built to combat email spam that became the direct technical foundation for Bitcoin’s mining process. Satoshi Nakamoto cited Back by name in the Bitcoin white paper, writing that the network would need “a proof-of-work system similar to Adam Back’s Hashcash.” Before the genesis block was ever mined, Satoshi emailed Back directly. Blockstream, which Back co-founded in 2014, develops Bitcoin infrastructure across three areas: consumer self-custody tools including the open-source Jade hardware wallet, enterprise settlement and asset issuance on the Liquid Network, and institutional products through Blockstream Asset Management — with with Liquid Network closing 2025 with close to $5 billion in TVL. At Bitcoin 2025, Back framed the company’s direction: “We’re laser-focused on Bitcoin. At Blockstream, we are here to provide the infrastructure to enable that.” On the capital markets side, Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company has entered into a definitive agreement to go public through a merger with Cantor Equity Partners I (CEPO), structured with 30,021 BTC on its balance sheet and up to $1.5 billion in PIPE financing — the largest ever announced alongside a Bitcoin treasury SPAC merger. As of March 2026, BSTR is awaiting completion of the de-SPAC process, with shareholder approval targeted as early as April, after which the combined company is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker “BSTR.” From inventing the proof-of-work system that makes Bitcoin possible, to building the infrastructure layer on top of it, to now bringing over 30,000 BTC to public markets — Back’s is unlike anyone else on the Bitcoin 2026 stage. His appearance at The Venetian this April will be one of the most technically credible perspectives at the conference on where Bitcoin’s protocol, infrastructure, and capital markets are all heading at once. LEGENDARY ADAM BACK TO SPEAK AT BITCOIN 2026 "Dips exist to transfer bitcoin from weak hands to strong hands." – @adam3us pic.twitter.com/dZwfxRKtWq — The Bitcoin Conference (@TheBitcoinConf) March 9, 2026 Bitcoin 2026 Returns to Las Vegas Bigger Than Ever Bitcoin 2026 will take place April 27–29 at The Venetian, Las Vegas, and is expected to be the biggest Bitcoin event of the year. Focused on the future of money, Bitcoin 2026 will bring together Bitcoin builders, investors, miners, policymakers, technologists, and newcomers from around the world. The event will feature a wide range of pass types, including general admission passes designed specifically for those new to Bitcoin, alongside premium passes for professionals, enterprises, and institutions. With multiple stages, immersive experiences, technical workshops, and headline keynotes, Bitcoin 2026 is designed to serve both first-time attendees and long-time Bitcoiners shaping the next era of global adoption. Past Bitcoin Conferences in the U.S. Bitcoin’s flagship conference has scaled dramatically over the past five years: 2021 – Miami: 11,000 attendees 2022 – Miami: 26,000 attendees 2023 – Miami: 15,000 attendees 2024 – Nashville: 22,000 attendees 2025 – Las Vegas: 35,000 attendees Get Your Bitcoin 2026 Pass Bitcoin Magazine readers can save 10% on Bitcoin 2026 tickets using code ‘ARTICLE10‘ at checkout. Stay at The official hotel of Bitcoin 2026, The Venetian, and get a guaranteed low rate plus 15% off your pass. Hotel Prices increase soon, be in the middle of where the fun is all happening, and where the networking never ends. And don’t forget: Volunteer at Bitcoin 2026 and get Pro Pass access plus exclusive perks. All students ages 13+ can apply for a Student Pass and get free general admission access to Bitcoin 2026. Location: The Venetian, Las Vegas Dates: April 27–29, 2026 For more information and exclusive offers, visit the Bitcoin Conference on X here. Why Attend Bitcoin 2026? Bitcoin 2026 is the definitive gathering for anyone serious about the future of money. With 500+ speakers, multiple world-class stages, and programming spanning Bitcoin fundamentals, open-source development, enterprise adoption, mining, energy, AI, policy, and culture, the conference brings every corner of the Bitcoin ecosystem together under one roof. From headline keynotes on the Nakamoto Stage to deep technical sessions for builders, institutional strategy discussions for enterprises, and beginner-friendly Bitcoin 101 education, Bitcoin 2026 is designed for everyone—from first-time attendees to the leaders shaping Bitcoin’s global adoption. Whether you’re looking to learn, build, invest, network, or influence, Bitcoin 2026 is where Bitcoin’s next chapter is written. Bitcoin 2026 Pass Types: Something for Everyone Bitcoin 2026 offers a range of pass options designed to meet the needs of newcomers, professionals, enterprises, and high-net-worth Bitcoiners alike. Bitcoin 2026 General Admission Pass Ideal for newcomers and those looking to experience the heart of the conference. Limited access on Days 2 & 3 Entry to Main Stage Access to Genesis Stage Full access to the Expo Hall Bitcoin 2026 Pro Pass Designed for professionals, operators, and serious Bitcoin participants. Includes all General Admission features, plus: Full 3-day access, including Pro Day Entry to the Pro Pass Reception Access to Enterprise Hall, Enterprise Stage, and Networking Lounge Conference App networking features Access to the Bitcoin For Corporations Symposium Entry to Compute Village and Energy Stage Complimentary lunch, coffee, tea, and snacks Dedicated registration and check-in Reserved seating at Main Stage Huge savings when you bundle your hotel and Pro Pass Bitcoin 2026 Whale Pass The all-inclusive, premium Bitcoin 2026 experience. Includes all Pro Pass features, plus: Reserved seating at Main Stage All-inclusive gourmet food and beverages Entry to Whale Night and Whale Reception Access to all official after-parties Networking app access to connect with other Whales Premium access to The Deep — an exclusive networking lounge with intimate speaker sessions Complimentary stay at The Venetian when you bundle your whale pass and hotel (use promo code ‘WHALEHOTEL’ here) This is the most immersive way to experience Bitcoin 2026. Bitcoin 2026 After Hours Pass Your ticket to the night. Most deals are done with a drink in your hand. Get exclusive access to 3 official Bitcoin 2026 after-parties across Las Vegas — each with a 2-hour open bar — where the real conversations happen and the best connections are made. Access to 3 official Bitcoin 2026 after-parties 2-hour open bar at each event Evening events across Las Vegas, April 27–29 Network with Bitcoiners, builders, and industry leaders after hours More headline speaker announcements are coming soon. Don’t miss Bitcoin 2026. This post Adam Back Confirmed As A Bitcoin 2026 Speaker first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jenna Montgomery.

by etsr…jz94

March 19 2026 · Edited Mar 19, 2026

Despite a 47% Price Drop, Bitcoin Traders Aren’t Selling

Bitcoin Magazine Despite a 47% Price Drop, Bitcoin Traders Aren’t Selling Bitcoin faced a dramatic market correction in early 2026, plunging 46% from its $126,000 all-time high and briefly dipping below $61,000 on February 6. The drop erased over $1 trillion in market value and prompted headlines warning of a defining crypto moment. Social media feeds filled with reactions, yet most holders remained on the sidelines. A survey by Oobit of 1,006 American Bitcoin holders and sentiment analysis of 117,630 posts across 10 major crypto subreddits reveals that fear did not translate into widespread selling. Anxiety and hope dominated emotional responses, with 39% of holders reporting anxiety and 38% hope. Despite the turbulence, 69% of respondents had neither sold their holdings nor planned to, demonstrating what the community often calls “diamond hands.” Only 8% were classified as true panic sellers. Among anxious holders, 72% still intended to hold, and 64% of fearful holders expressed the same. Overall, 75% would maintain their positions even if prices continued to fall. The survey indicates that fear and hope often coexist: 86% of respondents reported experiencing both emotions while holding their Bitcoin, according to the survey. A Bitcoin recovering is coming Investors are also anticipating a recovery. Two-thirds of holders (66%) expect Bitcoin to reach a new all-time high, with the median 12-month price forecast at $75,000. Expectations varied across demographics: Gen Z participants were most bullish at 70%, compared with 60% of baby boomers. High-income holders ($100,000+) predicted a median price of $80,000, while those earning less than $100,000 forecasted $72,000. Market behavior during the downturn also included opportunistic buying. Roughly 25% of holders purchased Bitcoin during the dip, with younger and higher-income investors more active in buying. Reddit sentiment mirrored the survey’s findings. Across 117,630 posts, positive sentiment outweighed negative nearly 2-to-1. Bitcoin prices recovered faster than sentiment. By February 12, the market had rebounded to $66,221, though online sentiment trailed, reflecting ongoing emotional processing among holders. The data suggests that investors react on conviction as much as price, with sentiment volatility roughly one-third that of price volatility during the downturn. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $70,400 after briefly trading above $75,000 this week. Yesterday, Bitcoin fell below $70,000, trading near $69,500, as rising energy prices and a firm Federal Reserve stance strengthened the dollar and weighed on risk assets. The drop coincided with Brent crude surpassing $114 per barrel amid Middle East tensions, driving broader market weakness and a roughly 4% decline in Bitcoin over 24 hours. This post Despite a 47% Price Drop, Bitcoin Traders Aren’t Selling first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 19 2026 · Edited Mar 19, 2026

Bitcoin’s Quantum Risk May Be Real, But the Network Is Preparing: Report

Bitcoin Magazine Bitcoin’s Quantum Risk May Be Real, But the Network Is Preparing: Report Galaxy Digital’s latest report says the risk that quantum computing could compromise Bitcoin is real, but so is the work underway to protect the network. The firm’s research frames the issue as a long-term engineering and governance challenge rather than an imminent crisis, with developers already building tools that could reshape how the network secures trillions in value. At the center of the concern is a simple premise. Bitcoin relies on cryptographic signatures to prove ownership of coins. Those signatures, based on elliptic curve cryptography, are considered secure against classical computers. How Quantum Computing could break Bitcoin A sufficiently advanced quantum machine could break that assumption, allowing an attacker to derive a private key from a public one and spend funds without authorization. The scenario has a name within the industry: “Q-day,” the moment a cryptographically relevant quantum computer becomes viable. The timeline remains uncertain. Estimates range from years to decades, and no consensus exists among experts. The report stresses that uncertainty itself is the problem. Bitcoin’s decentralized structure means upgrades take time, often measured in years, not months. Still, the risk is uneven. Most Bitcoin is not exposed today. Wallets only reveal their public keys when funds are spent, meaning coins sitting untouched behind hashed addresses remain shielded. Vulnerability emerges in two main cases: coins whose public keys are already visible onchain, and coins in transit during a transaction. Which Bitcoin is actually at risk Galaxy cites estimates suggesting that millions of bitcoin could fall into the first category, including funds tied to early network activity and long-dormant wallets. These coins, often associated with early adopters and even the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto, present a unique challenge. If quantum capabilities arrive before protective measures are deployed, such holdings could become prime targets. The implications extend beyond individual losses. A sudden unlocking of dormant supply could ripple through markets, placing pressure on price and, by extension, on mining incentives that underpin Bitcoin’s security. The report frames this as a systemic risk, not just a technical flaw. Yet the tone of the research is measured. Rather than signaling alarm, it points to a growing body of work aimed at preparing the network. Among the most prominent proposals is a new transaction structure known as Pay-to-Merkle-Root, outlined in Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 360. The design removes a key exposure point by eliminating always-visible public keys, reducing the attack surface for long-term threats. Other ideas take a broader approach. One proposal, known as “Hourglass,” attempts to manage the fallout from vulnerable coins by limiting how quickly they can be spent in a worst-case scenario. The goal is not to prevent access, but to slow it, giving markets time to absorb potential shocks. There is also movement toward new forms of cryptography. Hash-based signature schemes, such as SPHINCS+, have emerged as candidates for a post-quantum future. These systems rely on mathematical assumptions different from those used today and are viewed by some researchers as a more conservative foundation. Post-Quantum cryptography brings tradeoffs The tradeoff is efficiency. Larger signatures could increase transaction sizes and strain network resources. In parallel, developers are exploring contingency plans. One proposal introduces a commit-and-reveal process that could protect transactions even if a quantum breakthrough occurs before new cryptography is deployed. Another line of research looks at zero-knowledge proofs to allow users to verify ownership of funds without exposing sensitive data. Taken together, these efforts suggest a layered defense. No single fix solves the problem. Instead, the strategy resembles a toolkit, with protections aimed at different stages of exposure and different levels of urgency. The harder question may not be technical. Bitcoin has no central authority to mandate changes. Every upgrade requires coordination among developers, miners, exchanges, and users. Past changes, including major upgrades like SegWit and Taproot, took years to activate and often sparked intense debate. Quantum preparedness could prove even more complex. Some proposals touch on sensitive issues, including whether coins that fail to migrate to safer formats should lose spendability. Such ideas raise philosophical questions about property rights and the social contract embedded in the network. Even so, the report points to a key difference from past conflicts. Quantum risk is external. It does not divide the community along economic lines or competing visions for Bitcoin’s future. Instead, it presents a shared threat. Every participant, from long-term holders to infrastructure providers, has an incentive to maintain the network’s security. In the end, the report suggests that the outcome will hinge less on whether quantum computers arrive and more on whether a decentralized network can coordinate in time. The answer, as with much of Bitcoin’s history, will emerge through slow consensus rather than sudden change. This post Bitcoin’s Quantum Risk May Be Real, But the Network Is Preparing: Report first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 19 2026 · Edited Mar 19, 2026

Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust to Trade as MSBT on NYSE Arca

Bitcoin Magazine Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust to Trade as MSBT on NYSE Arca Morgan Stanley has confirmed that its proposed spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund will trade under the ticker MSBT on NYSE Arca, according to an updated filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing outlines the structure of the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, a passive investment vehicle designed to track the spot price of bitcoin through direct holdings. Shares of the trust will reflect the value of bitcoin held in custody, offering exposure through brokerage accounts without requiring direct ownership of the asset. The trust plans to seed the fund by issuing 50,000 shares, expected to raise about $1 million in initial proceeds. The ticker MSBT places the product alongside other spot bitcoin ETFs that launched following regulatory approvals in 2024, a shift that opened the market to traditional financial institutions. NEW: Morgan Stanley files new form with the SEC for its spot Bitcoin ETF, revealing the ticker will be MSBT pic.twitter.com/U70OkVnd1F — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) March 19, 2026 Morgan Stanley has also appointed Coinbase Custody Trust Company as the primary bitcoin custodian. The firm will safeguard the digital assets and facilitate transfers tied to share creation and redemption. Most of the bitcoin will be held in cold storage, where private keys remain offline. BNY Mellon will serve multiple roles, including administrator, transfer agent, and cash custodian. The bank will handle accounting, shareholder records, and cash management for the trust. The structure follows a model used across the spot bitcoin ETF market. A portion of the fund’s holdings may move into trading wallets during periods of share creation or redemption, when authorized participants exchange cash for bitcoin or redeem shares for the underlying asset. The filing states that custody insurance is in place but shared across multiple clients and may not cover all losses. Similar disclosures appear in other ETF filings, reflecting standard industry practice as asset managers expand into direct bitcoin exposure. Key details remain undisclosed, including the management fee and expense ratio. These figures often play a role in investor demand, particularly in a market where fee competition among issuers has intensified. Morgan Stanley is embracing bitcoin Morgan Stanley first filed for the bitcoin trust in January. The latest update confirms operational details and brings the product closer to launch, pending effectiveness of the registration statement and final regulatory approval. The move marks a deeper push by the bank into digital assets. Morgan Stanley has signaled plans to expand beyond ETFs, with efforts underway to integrate crypto trading into its E*Trade platform. The firm has also explored custody, lending, and yield-related services tied to digital assets. At Strategy World, digital asset strategy head Amy Oldenburg described further expansion as part of the firm’s roadmap, pointing to client demand for integrated crypto services. She said the bank intends to develop a fully integrated custody and exchange platform. “This is a natural progression,” the executive said. “We can’t just primarily rent the technology to do this. People expect Morgan Stanley – they trust our brand – to be no fail. This post Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust to Trade as MSBT on NYSE Arca first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 19 2026 · Edited Mar 19, 2026

Strive (ASST) Accumulates 13,600 Bitcoin Despite $393 Million Loss in First Six Months as Public Company

Bitcoin Magazine Strive (ASST) Accumulates 13,600 Bitcoin Despite $393 Million Loss in First Six Months as Public Company Strive, Inc., the corporate treasury firm founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, reported that it amassed 13,628 bitcoin as of March 17, 2026, placing the company among the top 10 corporate holders globally. The accumulation came in the roughly six months following Strive’s September 2025 public listing, even as the company posted a GAAP net loss of $393.6 million for the period ending December 31, 2025. The bulk of Strive’s bitcoin holdings came from multiple sources. Initial private investment proceeds and stock exchange activity contributed 5,886 bitcoin, while the acquisition of Semler Scientific, Inc. added approximately 5,048 bitcoin, the company said. Semler Scientific had built its own digital asset reserve prior to the acquisition. An additional 2,694 bitcoin came from capital markets activity, including public offerings of Strive’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock (“SATA”), follow-on offerings, and at-the-market issuances. Strive’s losses Strive’s financial statements highlighted the tension between aggressive asset accumulation and market volatility. The firm’s GAAP net loss largely stemmed from non-cash items. Unrealized losses on bitcoin holdings accounted for $194.5 million, or nearly 50 percent of the total GAAP deficit. Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets tied to the Semler acquisition added $140.8 million, and transaction-related expenses contributed $12.4 million. Adjusted for these items, the company’s non-GAAP loss attributable to common shareholders narrowed to $208.2 million, or $4.73 per diluted share. Management introduced a proprietary metric, “Bitcoin Yield,” to measure the performance of its digital asset portfolio. By that measure, Strive reported a 22.2 percent yield in Q4 2025 and 13.8 percent quarter-to-date through mid-March 2026, equating to bitcoin gains of 1,305 and 1,050 coins, respectively. In dollar terms, these gains translated to $114.3 million and $78.2 million over the same periods. The company financed its bitcoin strategy largely through structured finance products. Strive raised $148.4 million in net proceeds from its initial SATA preferred stock offering in November 2025, priced at $80 per share. A follow-on offering in January 2026 generated $109.2 million at $90 per share. Proceeds were used to retire a $20 million loan from Coinbase Credit Inc., assumed as part of the Semler acquisition, and to exchange preferred shares for $90 million of Semler’s convertible debt. Strive’s acquisition of Semler Scientific also included an operating business now held under a wholly-owned subsidiary, Clinivanta, focused on preventative healthcare. The company appointed Michelle Fox, formerly Chief Medical Officer of Teleflex, as CEO of Clinivanta in February 2026, signaling an intent to develop the business alongside its primary focus on bitcoin accumulation. Chairman and CEO Matthew Cole framed the results as a validation of Strive’s structured finance approach. “The most important success in our first six months as a public company was cementing our foundation as a structured finance company laser-focused on digital credit,” Cole said. He emphasized that the SATA instrument provides a liquid, scalable solution for investors seeking double-digit yield with minimal volatility, aligning with Strive’s strategy of balancing bitcoin accumulation with broader financial operations. As of March 17, 2026, Strive held $83.7 million in cash and $50.4 million in fair value of STRC preferred stock. This post Strive (ASST) Accumulates 13,600 Bitcoin Despite $393 Million Loss in First Six Months as Public Company first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 19 2026 · Edited Mar 19, 2026

BTQ Deploys First Working BIP 360 Implementation on Bitcoin Quantum Testnet

Bitcoin Magazine BTQ Deploys First Working BIP 360 Implementation on Bitcoin Quantum Testnet BTQ Technologies has released the first working implementation of Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 360 (BIP 360), marking an early attempt to bring quantum-resistant transaction infrastructure into a live testing environment. Announced Thursday, the upgrade is now running on the Bitcoin Quantum testnet v0.3.0, a separate blockchain designed to simulate how Bitcoin could function in a post-quantum world. The release moves BIP 360 beyond theory, offering developers, miners, and researchers a place to test quantum-resistant transactions in practice. BIP 360 introduces a new transaction format known as Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR), which restructures how transaction data is committed on-chain. The design removes the need to expose public keys during certain transaction paths, a feature that could become critical if quantum computers advance enough to break current cryptographic protections. “BIP 360 represents the Bitcoin community’s most significant step toward quantum resistance and we’ve turned it from a proposal into running code,” said Olivier Roussy Newton, CEO of BTQ Technologies, in the company’s press release. The implementation also preserves key functionality tied to Bitcoin’s scaling roadmap. According to BTQ, P2MR maintains compatibility with scripting features that underpin systems like Lightning and emerging frameworks such as BitVM and Ark, while eliminating the key-path spend mechanism introduced with Taproot that could expose public keys to quantum attacks. Beyond the core transaction structure, the testnet includes full wallet tooling, allowing users to create, fund, sign, and broadcast P2MR transactions. BTQ said this end-to-end functionality makes the upgrade immediately testable, rather than remaining a purely academic proposal. Bitcoin experimentation and quantum-resistance The company’s broader goal is to accelerate experimentation around quantum-resistant infrastructure at a time when concern over future cryptographic risks is growing. The Bitcoin Quantum testnet currently includes more than 50 miners and has processed over 100,000 blocks, according to the release. Still, the technical progress highlights a deeper challenge: adoption. BTQ has effectively bypassed Bitcoin’s traditional governance process by launching its own testing network rather than waiting for consensus within the main ecosystem. That decision reflects longstanding friction around major protocol changes, which historically require broad agreement among developers, miners, and users. Christopher Tam, BTQ’s head of innovation, framed the issue in human terms. “It’s a social problem,” he told Decrypt, pointing to the difficulty of coordinating change across a decentralized network with entrenched stakeholders. The approach also raises questions about whether a parallel chain can meaningfully influence Bitcoin’s future. Bitcoin Quantum does not share Bitcoin’s ledger or balances, instead launching from a new genesis block with its own asset and ruleset. Users would need to opt in rather than automatically inherit the upgrade. Even with a working implementation, BIP 360 addresses only part of the quantum threat. Tam noted that while the proposal can help secure future transactions, it does not retroactively protect older addresses that may already have exposed public keys. The urgency, however, remains. Researchers widely expect that sufficiently advanced quantum computers could eventually break the elliptic-curve cryptography that secures Bitcoin, though the timeline is uncertain. For now, BTQ’s testnet serves as an early proving ground. Whether its work translates into changes on Bitcoin itself may depend less on code—and more on consensus. This post BTQ Deploys First Working BIP 360 Implementation on Bitcoin Quantum Testnet first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 18 2026 · Edited Mar 18, 2026

The Core Issue: Your Node Vs. The Digital Wilderness

Bitcoin Magazine The Core Issue: Your Node Vs. The Digital Wilderness Over 50 years after the first inter-networked message, peer-to-peer networks remain rare beasts in the jungle of the Internet. Bitcoin’s ability to provide an open monetary system depends on its peer-to-peer architecture, and across its attack surface it is the networking layer–how peers discover and connect to each other–that is the most vulnerable. There are two main places problems can occur: Bitcoin’s own peering protocol, and the Internet protocols that Bitcoin’s protocol depends on. In this light Core has a dual mandate to prevent Denial of Service (DOS) vectors that can be abused between nodes, and enable nodes to communicate safely in the wider adversarial environment that is the Internet. P2P “Governments are good at cutting off the heads of a centrally controlled networks like Napster, but pure P2P networks like Gnutella and Tor seem to be holding their own.” – Satoshi, Nov 7, 2008 [1] The P2P protocol encompasses how nodes exchange messages about transactions, blocks, and other peers. This exchange of information is required before any transaction or consensus validation can occur, and is therefore a primary concern. There have been several bugs in this area over the years. In 2017, for example, a malicious SOCKS server vulnerability was patched and disclosed [2]. This “buffer overflow” vulnerability could theoretically lead to many different attacks: crash the node, inject malicious payloads, or modify data on the node. In 2020, a high severity vulnerability was reported and patched where a remote peer could get addresses banned, growing the banlist quadratically, and is therefore a DOS on the node [3]. The vulnerability was not disclosed until 2024. This bug is correctly marked as “high severity” since the attack is simple to execute, its effect results in a loss of function for the node, and it has few preconditions required to make it work. These are the kind of bugs that keep Core developers up at night, and why it is highly encouraged to update your node to a still maintained version (older versions of Core are not actively maintained/updated). This distributed network we call Bitcoin remains relatively small: the clearnet node count hovers around 20k nodes, and even assuming a generous 100k TOR nodes, we still have a small, easily surveillable network. Recently, Daniela Brozzoni and naiyoma showed [4] that if a node runs with both clearnet and Tor, it is trivial to map a node’s IPv4 and Tor addresses. It is very likely that this is already done by intelligence agencies and chainalysis companies. It then becomes easy to notice which nodes publish which transactions first, deducing the transaction’s original IP, and therefore location. While this is not a bug per se, since the node does not crash or misbehave, it can be considered a vulnerability, since it presents a method for tying a given IP address to a transaction. How to prevent this effectively is currently an open question. The Badlands of the Web “We build our computers like we build our cities. Over time, without a plan, on top of ruins.” – Ellen Ullman [5] Bitcoin runs on the Internet, and its ability to remain a distributed and decentralized system depends on the properties of the Internet itself. Unfortunately, the Internet’s architecture as we know it today remains woefully insecure, with known attacks employed routinely. Most of these attacks are conducted undetected until damage has been done, and this is not to mention the surveillance regimes that permeate the Internet today. The most well known and practical vector of attack to be concerned with is called an eclipse attack, where a victim node’s peers are all malicious, and feed a specific view of the chain or network to the victim node. This class of attack is fundamental in distributed systems, if you control a node’s peers, you control its awareness of the network. Ethan Heilman and collaborators presented one of the first practical eclipse attacks on Bitcoin at USENIX 2015 [6], and in 2018, the Erebus attack paper described a “stealthy” eclipse attack via a malicious Autonomous System (AS) [7]. These attacks largely leverage weaknesses in the way the Internet’s networks communicate amongst themselves, such as ASs routing topology or via a protocol called the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). While there are ongoing initiatives to secure the BGP protocol–BGPsec, RPKI–they both have limitations that are well understood, and leave the Internet’s stewards pining for stronger solutions. Until then, the Internet will remain the wild west. A recent analysis by cedarctic at Chaincode Labs found that Bitcoin nodes are homed within just 4551 ASs, a fairly small subsection of the constituent networks that make up the Internet. They describe a set of attacks that can lead to eclipse attacks by compromising the upstream AS that nodes operate in [8]. The small distribution of nodes amongst ASs and the specific relationships among these ASs creates a unique attack vector. While there are remediations, it is unclear whether this attack vector was well understood beforehand by bitcoiners or their adversaries. Any attack that relies on compromising one or several ASs requires resources, coordination, and skills to achieve. Although no successful attack of this type has been reported on a Bitcoin node, such attacks have been successfully mounted against miners [9], wallets [10], swap platforms [11], and bridges [12]. While we’re not going to fix the Internet, we can arm nodes with the tools to operate in this adversarial environment. Network Armory Below are some features and functionalities that Bitcoin Core has developed or integrated support for in order to arm users against network level attacks: TOR (the Onion Router) is the oldest privacy-focused overlay network incorporated in Bitcoin Core. It creates hops between a random network of peers to obfuscate traffic. v2transport [13] encrypts connections between peers, hiding the traffic from snoops and censors. The aim is to thwart passive network observers from snooping on the contents of your communications with other nodes. I2P (the Invisible Internet Project [14]) is an optional feature of Core which enables an additional, private, encrypted layer to one’s connections. It is a Tor-like anonymity network which relies on peers to obfuscate traffic between clients and servers. ASmap [15] is another optional feature of Core which implements a mitigation for the Erebus attack that the authors already outlined in the paper, and applies to all AS-based attacks. By making Bitcoin’s peering mechanism aware of the AS that peers are coming from to ensure diversity amongst peers, an eclipse becomes exponentially more difficult, as an attacker would have to compromise many ASs, which is highly unlikely and almost impossible without being detected. Bitcoin Core supports taking a map of IP networks to their AS (an AS-map) since Core 20.0, and the Kartograf project enables any user to generate such an ASmap easily. Given that the Internet is likely to continue being vulnerable to many attacks, one of the things we can do is observe our peers’ behavior to attempt to detect malicious behavior. This is the impetus behind the peer-observer project by 0xb10c [16]. It provides a full eBPF tracepoint-based logging system (a way to observe the tiniest actions in a program running on an operating system) to observe a node’s activity, including peer behavior. It also gives you everything you need to build your own logging systems. Bitcoin Must Be Robust Securing the ability to connect to peers and exchange messages is a keystone component of what makes Bitcoin tick. Bitcoin operates in a multi-dimensional adversarial environment, in which many of the threats are created by limitations of the internet’s architecture itself. If Bitcoin is to survive and thrive, its developers and users must learn to navigate these strange waters. The price of open networks is eternal vigilance. Get your copy of The Core Issue today! Don’t miss your chance to own The Core Issue — featuring articles written by many Core Developers explaining the projects they work on themselves! This piece is the Letter from the Editor featured in the latest Print edition of Bitcoin Magazine, The Core Issue. We’re sharing it here as an early look at the ideas explored throughout the full issue. [0] https://web.mit.edu/gtmarx/www/connect.html [1] https://satoshi.nakamotoinstitute.org/emails/cryptography/4/ [2] https://bitcoincore.org/en/2019/11/08/CVE-2017-18350/ [3] https://bitcoincore.org/en/2024/07/03/disclose-unbounded-banlist/ [4] https://delvingbitcoin.org/t/fingerprinting-nodes-via-addr-requests/1786/ [5] https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ellen_Ullman [6] https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/usenixsecurity15/sec15-paper-heilman.pdf [7] https://ihchoi12.github.io/assets/tran2020stealthier.pdf [8] https://delvingbitcoin.org/t/eclipsing-bitcoin-nodes-with-bgp-interception-attacks/1965 [9] https://www.theregister.com/2014/08/07/bgp_bitcoin_mining_heist/ [10] https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/24/17275982/myetherwallet-hack-bgp-dns-hijacking-stolen-ethereum [11] https://medium.com/s2wblog/post-mortem-of-klayswap-incident-through-bgp-hijacking-en-3ed7e33de600 [12] www.coinbase.com/blog/celer-bridge-incident-analysis [13] https://bitcoinops.org/en/topics/v2-p2p-transport/ [14] https://geti2p.net/en/ [15] https://asmap.org [16] https://peer.observer [13] https://github.com/asmap/kartograf This post The Core Issue: Your Node Vs. The Digital Wilderness first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Julien Urraca, Fabian Jahr, 0xb10c and CedArctic.

by etsr…jz94

March 18 2026 · Edited Mar 18, 2026

Till Death or Seed Phrase: Woman Accused of Spying on Husband, Stealing $172 Million in Bitcoin

Bitcoin Magazine Till Death or Seed Phrase: Woman Accused of Spying on Husband, Stealing $172 Million in Bitcoin A dispute over more than $172 million in Bitcoin has moved forward in the UK’s High Court of Justice, where a man alleges his estranged wife stole thousands of coins from his hardware wallet using covert surveillance inside their home. Court filings show that Ping Fai Yuen, a UK resident, held 2,323 Bitcoin in a Trezor hardware wallet in 2023. On Aug. 2 of that year, the full balance was transferred without his knowledge. The funds were later split across 71 separate addresses through a series of transactions. No movement has been recorded since Dec. 21, 2023. Yuen claims his wife, Fun Yung Li, obtained access to the wallet’s recovery phrase, which can be used to recreate the wallet and move funds. The filings allege she recorded him inside their home to capture the phrase, possibly with help from her sister, Lai Yung Li, who is also named as a defendant. According to the claim, Yuen had been warned by his daughter in July 2023 that Li was attempting to access his Bitcoin. He then installed audio recording equipment in the residence. The recordings are cited as key evidence. In one excerpt referenced in court, Li is alleged to have said, “The Bitcoin has transferred to me” and “take all of it.” The filings also describe a recording from July 29, 2023 in which Li allegedly discussed camera placement and the location where Yuen stored his wallet credentials. The claim states she was “covertly recording” him in an effort to obtain access. After discovering the transfer, Yuen confronted Li and assaulted her. He was arrested and later pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault. Police opened an investigation into the alleged theft and arrested Li in 2023. Officers seized 10 crypto cold wallets during a search, including several linked to Yuen. Authorities later released Li after a no comment interview. The police have since stated they will take no further action without new evidence. In November 2025, Yuen sought a proprietary asset preservation injunction. He asked the court to confirm his ownership of the Bitcoin, freeze Li’s crypto holdings, and order the return of the assets or an equivalent sum in British pounds. ‘Damning’ evidence of bitcoin theft In a judgment following a March 2 hearing, Justice Cotter said Yuen’s case shows a strong likelihood of success. He pointed to the warning from Yuen’s daughter, the audio transcripts, and the discovery of equipment capable of accessing the wallet. “The evidence is that he was warned of what the First Defendant was seeking to do, the transcripts are damning,” Cotter wrote. The judge also cited Occam’s razor, the principle that the simplest explanation with the fewest assumptions is often the most likely. He said that this straightforward account aligns with the available evidence, and noted that Li has had the opportunity to present her version of events but has not done so in the proceedings. Cotter added that the volatility of Bitcoin supports the need for a swift trial, as the value of the disputed assets may shift during the course of litigation. The case is expected to test how English courts handle ownership and recovery claims tied to digital assets. This post Till Death or Seed Phrase: Woman Accused of Spying on Husband, Stealing $172 Million in Bitcoin first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 18 2026 · Edited Mar 18, 2026

Boltz Exchange Launches Atomic USDT Swaps for Lightning Network Users

Bitcoin Magazine Boltz Exchange Launches Atomic USDT Swaps for Lightning Network Users Boltz Exchange launched USDT Swaps on March 18, 2026, introducing atomic, non-custodial swaps between sats on the Lightning Network and USDT on Arbitrum-based networks via USDT0. The integration relies on USDT0, an omnichain version of Tether built on LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. USDT0 concentrates liquidity into a single token primarily on Arbitrum, eliminating the need for Boltz to build separate liquidity pools and integrations across dozens of USDT chains like Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, Rootstock, and others. This approach delivers seamless swaps to and from USDT to Bitcoiners that do not care to understand the complexities of blockchain bridge networks. While giving DEFI a direct path to lightning payments, without counterparty risk. Users also gain practical access to the world’s leading stablecoin, while sidestepping custody risks from centralized exchanges or anonymous “trust me bro” swap services, as well as the privacy trade-offs of KYC-heavy platforms. Business applications include topping up crypto debit cards that natively support USDT by converting Lightning sats in seconds, receiving Lightning payments when clients or counterparties send USDT, or merchants accepting USDT inflows but settling revenue in Lightning sats on their preferred terms—all without relinquishing control of funds or trusting third parties at any point. Its all open source. Atomic swaps ensure trustless, simultaneous execution of trades across different blockchains or layers, preventing one party from defaulting after receiving assets. In traditional swaps, especially cross-chain, users face timing risks where one side could claim funds without delivering the other. Atomic swaps resolve this through cryptographic commitments (like hash preimages) and conditional claims: both legs of the trade either complete together or fail entirely, reverting funds to their original owners. Boltz achieves this for Lightning and USDT by routing through tBTC, Threshold’s permissionless ERC20 Bitcoin wrapper on Arbitrum. The flow is Lightning to tBTC via an atomic Boltz swap, then to USDT0 via a DEX swap akin to those on Uniswap, stitched into one irreversible transaction by the Router contract on Arbitrum. Gas abstraction removes the need for ETH on Arbitrum, making the process seamless for Bitcoin-native users. Boltz plans to expand USDT Swaps across all currently supported Bitcoin layers, including on-chain BTC, Liquid, Rootstock, and Arkade, broadening the utility for businesses and individuals holding Bitcoin in various forms. Future updates will also incorporate USDT0’s Legacy Mesh, which is expected to enable direct support for additional chains such as Tron and Solana. Tron currently holds the largest USDT supply at approximately $83.9 billion according to Tether’s March 17, 2026 transparency report, underscoring the demand for eventual integration on high-volume networks beyond the initial OFT-focused deployment. This post Boltz Exchange Launches Atomic USDT Swaps for Lightning Network Users first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

by etsr…jz94

March 18 2026 · Edited Mar 18, 2026

Kraken Pauses IPO Due to Market Uncertainty: Report

Bitcoin Magazine Kraken Pauses IPO Due to Market Uncertainty: Report Crypto exchange Kraken has suspended its plans for an initial public offering, sources familiar with the matter told CoinDesk. The company’s parent, Payward, had filed a confidential draft S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025. The filing valued Kraken at $20 billion, following an $800 million funding round that included a $200 million investment from Citadel Securities. Kraken had planned to go public this year but now faces a market environment marked by falling crypto prices and weaker trading volumes. The downturn has prompted many digital asset companies to reconsider timing and structure for public listings. Last year saw a surge in crypto IPOs, with at least 11 companies, including Circle, Bullish, and Gemini, raising a combined $14.6 billion. So far in 2026, only crypto custodian BitGo has listed publicly, and its shares have declined 45%, highlighting the risks for new entrants. Kraken has not ruled out a future IPO but appears unlikely to pursue one until market conditions stabilize. A company spokesperson reiterated the November announcement and declined further comment. Kraken’s master account Earlier this month, Kraken secured a master account with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, making it the first crypto-native firm to access the Fed’s core payment infrastructure. The approval gives Kraken Financial direct entry into Fed payment systems, including Fedwire, a real-time network that handles trillions of dollars in daily transfers. This allows the firm to settle dollar transactions without relying on intermediary banks, streamlining operations for large customers. Kraken’s master account does not provide all traditional banking privileges: it will not earn interest on reserves or access the Fed’s lending facilities. Nonetheless, the move represents a breakthrough for crypto firms, which have historically faced repeated rejections in efforts to connect to the central bank’s payment rails. Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming called the approval a “watershed milestone” for digital assets. Other firms, including Ripple and Custodia Bank, have applied for master accounts, though approval has been uneven. Kraken’s success is a sign the Fed may explore “skinny” master accounts, granting crypto institutions limited access to payment rails without full bank benefits, signaling cautious but growing acceptance of crypto in mainstream finance Under such a framework, crypto firms could connect to settlement systems while remaining outside certain capital and reserve regimes applied to depository institutions. . This post Kraken Pauses IPO Due to Market Uncertainty: Report first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 18 2026 · Edited Mar 18, 2026

US Senators Urge Swift Action on Bitcoin, Crypto Market Structure Bill

Bitcoin Magazine US Senators Urge Swift Action on Bitcoin, Crypto Market Structure Bill U.S. Senators are pressing lawmakers to advance legislation aimed at clarifying Bitcoin and broader crypto market structure. Sen. Cynthia Lummis emphasized urgency in remarks today at the D.C. Blockchain Summit today, saying, “This may be our only chance to get market structure done. I can’t be any clearer: The time for clarity is now.” She confirmed that the Banking Committee plans to mark up the bill in April, after the Easter recess. “We really are going to get it out of the Banking Committee in April,” she added. JUST IN: US Senator Cynthia Lummis urges lawmakers to pass Bitcoin and crypto market structure legislation ASAP: "This may be our only chance to get market structure done. I can't be any clearer: The time for Clarity is now." pic.twitter.com/3puu5RMmMB — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) March 18, 2026 Lummis also addressed a potential compromise on stablecoin yield, hinted at by Sen. Tim Scott yesterday. “We think we’ve got it,” she said, though she acknowledged she has not seen the negotiated language herself. She noted banks remain cautious: “We’ve got to get the banks to swallow hard…. Gosh the banks got really dug in on this. But they’re gonna get there.” Sen. Kevin Cramer echoed the call for speed yesterday, warning that “time is not our friend” and urging passage of market structure legislation before Easter. The White House’s Patrick Witt is expected to provide further updates on the bill’s progress later today. The bill is gaining momentum Efforts to establish the regulatory framework for the U.S. cryptocurrency market are gaining momentum. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said a revised draft, focused on stablecoins, could be introduced this week. The bill aims to balance innovation with financial stability, particularly regarding yield-bearing stablecoins, which have become a central discussion point. Key lawmakers, including Angela Alsobrooks, Thom Tillis, and White House official Patrick Witt, have contributed to refining provisions on digital assets. Broader negotiations address political oversight, compliance standards, and balanced representation within regulatory bodies. DeFi and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations are also under review. Mark Warner is advocating for stronger AML safeguards, with proposals for enhanced know-your-customer (KYC) requirements to improve transparency and prevent illicit activity. If finalized, the bill could create a comprehensive regulatory structure for the crypto market. Observers see the stablecoin-focused draft as a major step forward, providing clarity for digital assets while maintaining bipartisan support In the past, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has pressed lawmakers to act on the legislation, saying the United States must secure clear market structure rules before the end of the spring legislative window. This post US Senators Urge Swift Action on Bitcoin, Crypto Market Structure Bill first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 18 2026 · Edited Mar 18, 2026

Bitcoin Price Falls to $72,000 as Fed Uncertainty Triggers Pullback

Bitcoin Magazine Bitcoin Price Falls to $72,000 as Fed Uncertainty Triggers Pullback Bitcoin price dropped to the low $72,000 range early Wednesday, retreating from recent highs as traders reduced risk ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest decision. The pullback follows a strong multi-day rally that pushed the asset close to $75,000, its highest level since early February. That move has now stalled. Profit-taking has increased, and market participants appear reluctant to open new positions without clarity on macro conditions. Trading activity reflects the shift in sentiment. Daily volume has declined sharply, signaling weaker conviction behind recent price action. In derivatives markets, futures open interest has flattened while funding rates have turned mixed to slightly negative, pointing to a more defensive positioning. Traders who were forced out of short positions during the rally have largely stayed on the sidelines, waiting for a clearer trend. The Federal Reserve meeting later on Wednesday remains the central focus. The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady as it assesses how rising oil prices tied to the Iran conflict could impact inflation and economic growth. Markets now anticipate rate cuts later in the year, while Chair Jerome Powell is likely to signal a cautious, wait-and-see approach alongside new economic projections. Markets are pricing in a near-certain pause in interest rates, but uncertainty around inflation and economic growth continues to weigh on risk assets. Oil prices near $100 per barrel, driven by ongoing conflict in the Middle East, are adding upward pressure on inflation. At the same time, softer U.S. labor data complicates the outlook, reducing the likelihood of aggressive rate cuts in the near term. Bitcoin price’s recent behavior around Fed meetings adds to the caution. Historical data shows the asset has often declined in the immediate aftermath of policy announcements, regardless of the outcome. Bitcoin price resilence Despite the short-term weakness, Bitcoin price has shown resilience on a broader timeframe. Since late February, the asset has gained while traditional markets like equities and gold have struggled. Analysts attribute this divergence to continued inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and sustained accumulation from institutional players, which have helped reshape the asset’s ownership structure. However, signs of potential selling pressure are emerging. On-chain data shows a rise in Bitcoin moving onto exchanges, often a precursor to distribution. At the same time, analysts highlight the $75,000 to $85,000 range as a significant resistance zone, where previous rallies have stalled. For now, Bitcoin price appears to be consolidating as markets wait for direction. The outcome of the Fed meeting, and more importantly, the tone of its guidance, is likely to determine whether the current pullback deepens or sets the stage for another attempt higher. This post Bitcoin Price Falls to $72,000 as Fed Uncertainty Triggers Pullback first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 18 2026 · Edited Mar 18, 2026

SEC, CFTC Declare Most Crypto Assets Not Securities in Landmark Guidance

Bitcoin Magazine SEC, CFTC Declare Most Crypto Assets Not Securities in Landmark Guidance U.S. regulators took a decisive step toward reshaping crypto oversight yesterday, with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission jointly issuing new guidance that states most digital assets are not securities. The 68-page interpretation, released Tuesday, outlines how federal securities laws apply to cryptocurrencies and introduces a formal classification system for different types of tokens. The move marks a shift in tone and policy from prior years, when regulators often relied on enforcement actions and broad interpretations of securities law. SEC Chair Paul Atkins framed the change as a return to clarity and statutory limits. “After more than a decade of uncertainty, this interpretation will provide market participants with a clear understanding of how the Commission treats crypto assets,” he said. Speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit in Washington, Atkins added, “We’re not the ‘securities and everything commission’ anymore.” At the center of the guidance is a “token taxonomy” that divides digital assets into several categories. According to the agencies, stablecoins, digital commodities, and “digital tools” are not securities. Digital collectibles, including tokenized representations of art, media, or cultural items, also fall outside securities classification. JUST IN: SEC Chair Paul Atkins announces that "digital commodities, digital collectables, digital tools and payment stablecoins" are not securities. pic.twitter.com/UZr5pTarg1 — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) March 17, 2026 Only one category, described as “digital securities,” remains subject to traditional securities laws. These are assets that mirror existing financial instruments, such as equities or debt, but are issued and traded using blockchain infrastructure. The framework attempts to resolve a long-running debate over how to apply the SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. standard, known as the Howey Test, to crypto markets. That test determines whether a transaction qualifies as an investment contract based on expectations of profit derived from the efforts of others. Under the new interpretation, a digital asset that is not inherently a security can become one if it is marketed as an investment in a common enterprise with promises of profit tied to managerial efforts. The guidance also clarifies that such a designation is not permanent. Once those promises are fulfilled or no longer relevant, the asset may cease to be treated as a security. The agencies also addressed specific crypto activities that have drawn regulatory scrutiny. Protocol mining, staking, and certain airdrops do not constitute securities transactions under the new framework. The guidance states that airdrops, in particular, may not meet the “investment of money” requirement under the Howey Test. JUST IN: CFTC and SEC issues statement clarifying that Bitcoin mining rewards are labeled under "protocol mining" as not securities. pic.twitter.com/7AefkMpoCk — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) March 17, 2026 The CFTC endorsed the interpretation and aligned its approach with the SEC, signaling closer coordination between the two regulators. CFTC Chair Mike Selig said the joint effort reflects a broader push toward regulatory “harmonization” and provides a clearer path for market participants. The announcement stands in contrast to the approach taken under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, whose tenure was defined by enforcement actions against major crypto firms and a view that many tokens qualified as securities. Industry participants often criticized that strategy as “regulation by enforcement,” arguing it created uncertainty and limited innovation. The new guidance acknowledges those concerns, stating that prior efforts did not fully address the unique characteristics of digital asset markets. It positions the taxonomy as a foundation for a more tailored regulatory framework that can support both compliance and technological development. More crypto proposals are coming Despite its scope, the interpretation does not carry the force of formal rulemaking. Atkins said the SEC plans to introduce additional proposals in the coming weeks, including an “innovation exemption” aimed at giving crypto firms more flexibility while maintaining investor protections. Lawmakers in Congress are also working on legislation to establish a comprehensive market structure for digital assets. Regulators indicated that statutory changes will be needed to make the new approach permanent. For now, the guidance sends a clear signal that U.S. regulators are redefining their stance on crypto. By narrowing the definition of what constitutes a security and outlining specific categories, the SEC and CFTC have moved to provide the clarity that industry participants have sought for years. The shift may reshape how crypto businesses operate in the United States, with regulators emphasizing defined boundaries over broad enforcement. This post SEC, CFTC Declare Most Crypto Assets Not Securities in Landmark Guidance first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

by etsr…jz94

March 18 2026 · Edited Mar 18, 2026

Breez SDK Launches Passkey Login for Seedless Bitcoin Wallets

Bitcoin Magazine Breez SDK Launches Passkey Login for Seedless Bitcoin Wallets Breez, a lightning service provider and Bitcoin software lab, has introduced Passkey Login into its Breez SDK. The feature allows developers to build self-custodial wallets that use passkeys for authentication and key derivation, eliminating the traditional seed phrase requirement during normal use. Seed phrase support remains available for users who prefer it, keeping backwards compatibility with industry standards, but removing the “speed bump” in Bitcoin wallets, which prompts users to back up their 12 words. Breez explained the rationale behind this new feature in a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine: “The seed phrase has been a barrier to self-custody since day one. It’s what scares normies away from keeping their own bitcoin, and it’s a legitimate reason why people accept the counterparty risk of exchanges and custodial apps.” Adding that “Passkey Login doesn’t eliminate the tradeoffs of self-custody, but it reframes them around something people already understand and use, namely the same biometric authentication that protects their banking app and their password manager. For most users, that’s a much more intuitive security model than a piece of paper in a drawer.” Passkeys: Per-Site Key Pairs in Modern Hardware Passkeys — a fairly new security standard that is gaining broad adoption online — are cryptographic credentials based on the FIDO2 WebAuthn standard, jointly promoted by Apple, Google, Microsoft, and the FIDO Alliance since 2022. Each passkey consists of a unique public-private key pair generated for a specific website or application. The private key remains stored in the secure element or similar hardware on the user’s device, such as Apple’s Secure Enclave, Android’s Titan chip, Windows TPM, external security keys like YubiKey or the user’s password manager. Normal online Passkeys resemble the original Bitcoin wallet.dat file introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto in his early releases of the Bitcoin client, where private keys are stored locally to the user’s device, while public keys are shared with third parties. However, the FIDO2 standard implements this private-public key idea in a more standardised and modern way. Websites send a challenge to the user, referencing the user’s known public key for that account. The challenge message is signed by the user’s private key, authenticating their identity in a privacy-preserving way. Each service gets a different public key for the same user, so data compromised on one website does not leak data that can be used to access other websites, nor does it contain any user-identifying data. FIDO2 is now widely adopted, it leverages device secure elements, integrates with password managers (e.g., iCloud Keychain, Google Password Manager), browsers, and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) WebAuthn API. Authentication occurs via challenge-response signing, with the private key bound to the domain to resist phishing. Passkeys support biometric unlock (Face ID, fingerprint, PIN) and sync across devices within an ecosystem (e.g., via iCloud or Google)—over a billion activations reported by the FIDO Alliance as of mid-2025, with support on major platforms and many top websites. FIDO2 was not Good Enough for Bitcoin Wallets Standard passkeys excel at authentication (proving identity to a service) but were missing key functionality needed by the modern Bitcoin industry. Bitcoin self-custody typically relies on a single source of entropy (seed phrase) to generate all addresses and keys in a deterministic way, via standards like BIP-39. Users expect those 12 words alone to be enough to recover all balances and accounts on a Bitcoin wallet. The Passkey standard needed to be extended to support this use case. Breez’s Solution: Leveraging the PRF Extension Breez addresses this by using the Pseudo-Random Function (PRF) extension in WebAuthn Level 3. PRF enables a passkey to produce a deterministic cryptographic output for any given input during authentication. As described in Breez’s announcement materials, “That’s what the PRF extension of WebAuthn solves, and it’s the key ingredient in Passkey Login. PRF is a newer capability, part of the WebAuthn Level 3 spec, that lets your passkey produce a deterministic cryptographic output for any given input. Same passkey, same input, same output. Always. The passkey never leaves your device’s secure enclave.” Device Loss and Recovery If a device is lost, recovery depends on the platform used to store the passkey. Synced passkeys — via iCloud Keychain, Google Password Manager, etc — restore on a new device after regaining access to the associated account. Breez provides an optional backwards-compatible path: users can export a normal 12-word, BIP-39 mnemonic for their wallet, so they can recover their account in other Bitcoin wallets, following industry standards. The press release adds that “Passkeys also aren’t fully interoperable across platforms yet. If you ever need to move to a platform or wallet that doesn’t support passkeys, you have a standard seed phrase to fall back on.” The full technical specification for Passkey Login is public, and a reference app called Glow demonstrates the feature. Breez positions this as a step toward making Bitcoin self-custody more accessible by aligning with familiar biometric authentication used in banking and password managers, while preserving non-custodial control. Developers integrating the Breez SDK can now offer onboarding without the traditional “write down these words” step for supported environments. The full technical specification for Passkey Login is public, and our reference app Glow is already running it, and it’s now available for all the Breez SDK devs to use. This post Breez SDK Launches Passkey Login for Seedless Bitcoin Wallets first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

by etsr…jz94

March 18 2026 · Edited Mar 18, 2026

STRC: The Global Bitcoin Dollar Cost Average

Bitcoin Magazine STRC: The Global Bitcoin Dollar Cost Average If you haven’t already, please read my last research note about takeaways from Strategy World 2026. I cover a wide range of things there, and today I want to narrow in on what I believe is the most important Bitcoin development in the last year: STRC. STRC and Volatility Strategy designed STRC as a variable-rate financial instrument intended to maintain a fixed market price of $100. If STRC’s trading range falls below $100, Strategy is committed to increasing the dividend payout, incentivizing bids back to the $100 target. Conversely, if STRC trades above $100, Strategy uses its At-The-Market (ATM) offering to sell more shares or reduce the dividend, allowing the price to adjust back to $100. This financial engineering substitutes price volatility with yield volatility. Given the market’s preference for price stability, Strategy created an instrument with stable pricing but variable yield. As market confidence in Strategy’s ability to manage the peg via the dividend improves, one would expect the frequency of dividend adjustments to decrease. This creates a positive feedback loop: price stability and high trading volume facilitate Strategy’s ability to sell substantial quantities of STRC. The result of a stable $100 price and an active at-the-market offering is a mechanism for global Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) into Bitcoin that operates—at the margins—independently of Bitcoin’s spot price. This is a very big deal. Explaining Dollar Cost Averaging Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) is a straightforward concept: averaging the dollar-denominated cost basis of an asset acquisition. It is usually implemented by committing a fixed dollar amount to purchase an asset at regular intervals, regardless of the price. This method acquires more units when prices are low and fewer when prices are high. This generally imparts a marginal downward bias on the long-term cost basis, provided the asset exhibits reasonable volatility. Strategy’s Bitcoin Financing So Far Prior to STRC’s $100 price stabilization, Strategy often acquired Bitcoin at local price peaks. This occurred because all its existing financing vehicles positively correlated with the BTC spot price. For example, MSTR common stock trades as a high-beta proxy for BTC. Thus, when BTC significantly rises, selling MSTR raises substantial financing. However, this dynamic meant that capital for BTC acquisition became available precisely when BTC’s price was at local highs. Other preferred instruments largely exhibited similar behavior. When BTC was strong, credit spreads narrowed. When BTC was weak, preferred shares typically sold off. Although these are fixed income instruments that theoretically should have been less correlated, a practical correlation persisted nonetheless. STRC changes this dynamic. As long as sufficient volume is maintained at or above the $100 price point, Strategy can continuously raise capital by issuing STRC. The market’s reliance and fervent desire for price stability creates a financing instrument uncorrelated with the price of BTC. Specifically, fundraising via STRC is correlated with STRC volume rather than with BTC price action. This is a significant breakthrough, facilitating a “global DCA” into BTC. STRC as the Global Bitcoin Dollar Cost Average A stable-price asset offering an 11.5% yield naturally attracts global interest. So let’s follow the trail. Investors acquire STRC. Strategy then uses these funds to purchase BTC. Although the investors’ capital was not explicitly designated for BTC, it is ultimately channeled into BTC acquisition. Demand for an instrument like STRC arises—at its margins—independently of the price of BTC. Therefore, the resulting financing activity and subsequent BTC purchases remain unaffected by BTC price fluctuations. This is the core characteristic of a dollar cost averaging program. Crucially, the funds for this DCA originate from the collective savings of entities seeking STRC’s attributes. This demographic likely includes much of the global population. The only remaining challenge is distribution. Currently, Strategy can sell STRC to anyone with a standard U.S. brokerage account. The development of Layer 3 “Digital Money” products (discussed in the prior research note) built on the STRC foundation has the potential to broaden distribution substantially. Other things like investor education, marketing, market maturity, and an instrument-level credit rating can also help. These expansions would increase the magnitude of the global DCA funnel. What is remarkable is that Bitcoin alone could never have achieved this type of broad demand. Bitcoin is evidently deemed by most entities to be too volatile or complicated or uncertain. What was needed was a corporation that could bear the volatility risk of BTC and provide a stable return profile in the form of a credit instrument. This instrument would be widely attractive and receive regular investment from a broad scope of investors, allowing the corporation to create a Bitcoin DCA by proxy. This is the essence of what STRC enables. Some Caveats I used the term “at margins” repeatedly for a reason. While STRC maintains price stability, this stability is contingent upon BTC continuing to generate favorable returns. If BTC’s return falls below the STRC yield rate, Strategy’s common equity investors are basically covering this difference via a combination of dilution and multiples compression. There is a limit to the losses that can be absorbed by common equity before the company’s ability to sustain the STRC instrument is jeopardized. STRC functions as a global Bitcoin DCA only as long as the underlying asset (BTC) performs well. This is an important caveat. Furthermore, stability is maintained primarily in market conditions absent of complete “panic” surrounding BTC. Events like February 5 2026, or mid-November 2025, which saw significant and violent BTC drawdowns, resulted in temporary STRC sell-offs. Historical evidence therefore confirms that STRC exhibits some downside correlation to BTC during periods of extreme market duress. These types of market regimes do challenge the viability of a “global Bitcoin DCA” concept. At the very least, it is possible that this DCA will be temporarily disrupted if enough sellers push the price below $100. Conclusion The realization of a global DCA through STRC is in its early stages. Last week, Strategy issued over $1.1 billion through the STRC ATM program—an unprecedented magnitude for preferred stock in capital markets history. It is interesting to consider how long BTC can remain below its all-time highs if an increasing number of entities participate in the global Bitcoin DCA by adopting STRC. Disclaimer: This content was written on behalf of Bitcoin For Corporations. This article is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be interpreted as an invitation or solicitation to acquire, purchase or subscribe for securities. This post STRC: The Global Bitcoin Dollar Cost Average first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Allard Peng.