There is no shortage of opinions when it comes to the stunning launch of President Donald Trump’s Solana memecoin. The news and staggering performance of $TRUMP in the days leading up to his Inauguration have all but confirmed the dawn of a new era for our industry, emphatically declaring that the rules are now very different. In the midst of all the drama, confusion and hot takes, I’m left wondering: did Bitcoiners fumble the bag?

Last year, at block height 840,000, a significant change went into effect on the Bitcoin network –– and I’m not talking about the halving. The Runes metaprotocol launched, making it possible to etch and trade fungible tokens on Bitcoin. This event was met with a record influx of volume, and briefly sent the mempool to thousands of sats/vb. While the mania was short lived, the existence of Runes and initial signal of product-market fit demonstrated there was appetite for Bitcoin to attract significant capital for the tokens and memecoins use case, currently being dominated by Solana, Base and Ethereum. Bitcoin miners could have also benefited (beyond the brief spike) from the increased transaction fees, and the urgency of lowering network congestion may have hastened even more rapid progress towards realizing new solutions for faster, cheaper Bitcoin transactions. In short, more people would be using and learning about Bitcoin.

Instead, our community was bitterly divided on the topic. Some expressed concerns, labeling supporters of Runes and tokens on Bitcoin as “shitcoiners.” These critiques often stem from a deeply held desire to protect Bitcoin’s integrity – a valid and important consideration. However, what if, instead of dismissing these emerging trends outright, we explored ways to channel this enthusiasm into a productive, Bitcoin-aligned framework? Honest exploration of pragmatic solutions to meet the demand responsibly could uncover a path forward to satiate the market’s demand for tokens on Bitcoin. Perhaps we could have spent the past several months rallying around the development of a sleeker UX, improved functionality and creative approaches to harm mitigation, enforced on-chain. Instead, we’ve left these would-be users to market competitors.

Had we properly anticipated and prepared for the reality that Bitcoin could attract the economic activity taking place on other chains, then we would have been better positioned to encourage yesterday’s $8.5B of $TRUMP transaction volume and nearly 1M new users to do business on Bitcoin rather than on Solana. Many will say “memecoins are not a business and that type of degeneracy has no place on bitcoin” –– but that assertion does not change the fact that by ignoring this economic phenomena, we are ceding ground and effectively forfeiting the opportunity to onboard users to Bitcoin by the millions.

Our PTSD of rug pulls, ICOs and pump and dumps may be limiting our imagination. The truth is, no one knows where all of this bizarre economic activity is headed or how (if?) it will end. Many Bitcoiners believed DOGE would have been long dead by now, yet it currently boasts a $54B market cap and is entering its 10th year in existence. It’s possible that what we call “memecoins” are becoming a fixture in the new, emergent economy, whether you like them or not.

The memecoin ecosystem undeniably has its pitfalls– scams, rug pulls and degenerate gambling to name a few. But I believe a reasonable case could be made to suggest a deeper explanation for the market’s appetite to place unfettered bets on what participants find funny, provocative, witty, timely, useful or popular. At the end of the day, much of our modern economy has been reduced to various forms of gambling with varying degrees of sophistication and abstraction. While the ultimate vision of hyperbitcoinization is meant to correct this, it seems realistic to expect a transition period and even some remnants of the fiat system in the most optimistic scenario. The fact remains that as of today, you can buy $FARTCOIN or you can buy $TESLA call options. Either way you are placing a bet based on a number of (albeit very different) factors which have convinced you that your position is or will be shared by others who will follow suit, causing your bet/investment to increase in value.

I don’t claim to know the roadmap for $TRUMP, and I acknowledge that there is a lot that could go wrong. But I find it interesting that the 80% “pre-mined” supply is locked for up to three years, which seems to signal a clear intention NOT to “pump and dump”. That seems to suggest a minimum commitment of 3 years to build value in some way, shape or form.

Perhaps a new reality is emerging where a high profile individual’s personal memecoin is a reflection of their respective performance or popularity in the eyes of the masses, similar to the mechanics of a stock fluctuating based on relevant news or the release of a company’s quarterly earnings. If this thesis plays out, the highest quality memecoins will be stewarded by people and teams who have aligned incentives with their holders,similar to how publicly-traded companies are interested in doing what’s right by their shareholders.

Bitcoin has always thrived when its community embraces challenges with creativity and conviction. Instead of dismissing memecoins as a passing fad, I’m interested in how Bitcoin can become the foundation for a better token ecosystem – one rooted in security, transparency and user empowerment under a Bitcoin standard. Rather than miss the forest for the trees or throw the baby out with the bath water, it seems prudent to consider a more enterprising approach to address the clear market demand for memecoins. Are there productive ways for Bitcoin to filter out the noise while attracting the highest quality memes to the Runes ecosystem, or is this simply high time preference thinking?

It’s not just the combined $100B market cap of DOGE and TRUMP that Bitcoin is missing out on. We are also missing out on the mindshare of the millions who engage with these projects, the talent of developers who build on these chains and the narrative that gets away from us when competing chains capture significant market share that Bitcoin seems unable or unwilling to even acknowledge. By embracing innovation and thoughtfully addressing these emerging trends, Bitcoin can maintain its position not just as the hardest money, but as the bedrock for a dynamic economy, without compromising its core principles.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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This proposed fund aims to provide exposure to the broader crypto ecosystem by investing in companies and instruments connected to digital assets. The fund outlines a strategy that avoids direct investments in cryptocurrencies.

The Onchain Economy ETF is designed as an actively managed fund and builds on the model of existing crypto equity funds but introduces a fresh branding strategy. According to the filing, the fund plans to allocate at least 80% of its net assets to “Digital Transformation Companies” or digital asset instruments.

Onchain Economy ETF

VanEck identifies Digital Transformation Companies as critical players in the digital asset ecosystem. These include crypto exchanges, payment processors, blockchain miners, and software providers.

This group also includes companies involved in manufacturing crypto-related hardware or operating data centers, as well as businesses that hold digital assets or generate revenue from blockchain initiatives.

It added:

“Digital Transformation Companies may include small- and medium-capitalization companies and foreign and emerging market issuers, and the Fund may invest in depositary receipts and securities denominated in foreign currencies.”

The ETF’s scope extends to digital asset instruments, such as commodity futures contracts, exchange-traded commodity products, swaps, and pooled vehicles, offering exposure to significant digital assets by market capitalization.

However, the fund explicitly excludes stablecoins from its investment pool.

VanEck will select investments using detailed market analysis. This approach will assess companies based on strategic positioning and emerging trends within the digital asset sector.

Meanwhile, the ETF includes a subsidiary based in the Cayman Islands that facilitates investments in specific digital asset instruments. This arrangement allows the fund to comply with US federal tax regulations, which limit direct investments by registered funds in specific financial products.

VanEck’s filing notes that investments in this subsidiary will not exceed 25% of the fund’s total assets at the end of each quarter.

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Some miners at OCEAN have started making use of the Coin Age Priority algorithm during block template construction using DATUM. Originally, Bitcoin Core originally selected transactions to include in blocks based on what they had seen first in their mempool. This logic was eventually replaced by prioritizing older coins, i.e. that had been sitting around unspent longer, over other coins. This was eventually only applied to a small portion of the blockspace, and then eventually done away with entirely around the time of Segwit. It’s still maintained in Bitcoin Knots.

I can only speculate as to the motives of the miners doing this, but given OCEAN’s rhetoric I can guess that it has something to do with prioritizing “financial” transactions over others. Even if not, even if it is purely to help small value UTXO owners, it is still every bit as irrational.

You can partition blockspace as a miner however you want, and prioritize ordering of transactions however you wish within those partitions, but it does not change the fact that blockspace is a fungible good being valued on an open market. If criteria other than the feerate are used to decide which transactions to include, you will leave money on the table. The only situation where that would not be true is one where those criteria were 1:1 identical to deciding based on feerate, which would be a meaningless criteria.

Creating a subsection of blockspace selected for by other criteria ultimately accomplishes two things: 1) leaving money on the table as a miner, as definitionally any meaningful non-feerate criteria results in collecting less fees, and 2) create a bucket of blockspace submitted to competitive “fee” pressures according to whatever different criteria is used, without any of that pressure creating direct revenue increases for miners using this new criteria.

The new subsection of blockspace doesn’t ultimately reduce fee pressure, it simply leaves them making less money and users taking advantage of this new transaction selection criteria subjected to different competitive pressures miners do not directly benefit from.

You can’t hide from the reality that blockspace is a fungible good priced on the open market. You can accept that, or you can lose money. The only alternative is to futilely try to censor classes of transactions you don’t like, and if you happen to succeed, you destroy a core property of Bitcoin in the process.

Mining staying decentralized, widely distributed with many small operators, is critical for Bitcoin’s censorship resistance. It’s a shame to see signs like this of such smaller miners being economically irrational, given that it has huge implications for their success long term.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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These Bitcoin mining devices aim to simplify cryptocurrency mining for individuals while incorporating unique dual-purpose functionality.

According to the official press release, the Avalon Mini 3 combines high-performance Bitcoin mining with home heating, boasting a hash rate of 37.5Th/s and a user-friendly app-controlled interface.

Meanwhile, the Avalon Nano 3S is an upgraded version of the popular Nano 3 which features a hash rate of 6Th/s and is being marketed as a beginner-friendly entry point into Bitcoin mining.

Key advantages of the products include a plug-and-play setup for ease of use and a focus on energy efficiency. The Avalon Mini 3 addresses environmental concerns by recycling computational energy into home heating, allowing users to offset energy costs while minimizing waste. Canaan CEO NG Zhang spoke about the company’s vision of combining practicality with sustainability and added,

“The Avalon Mini 3 and Avalon 3S represent our vision of user-friendly, practical mining solutions for the modern individual. We’re reimagining how technology can create value while minimizing environmental waste. The Avalon Mini 3’s ability to generate cryptocurrency while heating your home is a perfect example of our vision for sustainable, multi-purpose technology.”​​​​​​​

Transforming cryptocurrency mining rigs into household devices is not a new concept. Back in 2017, Avi Aisenberg, who operated South Florida Distillers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, created a heating system that used ASIC miners to mine crypto while accelerating the rum-distillation process. In 2018, the French start-up Qarnot introduced the QC-1, a heater designed specifically for cryptocurrency mining.

More recently, companies like Heatbit and D-Central have entered the market with products that combine heating capabilities with crypto mining.

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One year ago today, Gary Gensler and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally capitulated and approved the trading of spot bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETF) to go live the next day. These ETFs would go on to be the best performing ETFs in history, with BlackRock’s ETF $IBIT leading the charge, taking in over $52 billion inflows alone.

I feel like a lot of people are afraid to admit this, or just don’t want to, but the ETFs were the most significant moment in Bitcoin over the course of 2024. Looking back on the year, it feels like everything that went in Bitcoin’s favor was downstream from these approvals. Let me explain.

The six big events that happened in 2024 were as followed:

1. Spot Bitcoin ETF approval by the SEC
2. Donald Trump pledging the USA to embrace Bitcoin
3. MicroStrategy and other corporate adoption of Bitcoin
4. $100,000 price milestone
5. Gary Gensler resigning from the SEC
6. The halving

When BlackRock filed for its ETF towards the tail end of the bear market in 2023, that marked the beginning of the new bull market for me. We immediately saw a stampede of other large asset managers rush to also apply for an ETF and the price of Bitcoin has risen ever since — the price of bitcoin was $24,900 when BlackRock filed its ETF, then it was $46,000 when it was approved, and today we’re sitting at just under $100,000.

The number one driver of interest and more adoption of Bitcoin is its price, not its utility. Large price increases bring in the most eye balls, new pools of capital, and generate more interest in the asset overall. When bitcoin is going down in price, all the tourists leave and only the HODLers remain.

Bitcoin ETFs driving up the price in historic fashion helped set the stage for Donald Trump to embrace it. No longer was Bitcoin just mere magic internet money for a small crowd of people on the internet, it was now backed by the world’s largest asset managers in BlackRock and Fidelity. The massive amounts of inflows into these products was like a tsunami, showcasing how much demand there really was for bitcoin and the new direction our country was going in financially. It showed that this is an industry that is set to grow exponentially, and I believe Trump, like many of the other politicians including senators and congressmen, realized they are better off fighting with us than against us.

Now with the price getting driven up with the backing of the largest asset managers, and a new pro-Bitcoin administration coming into the White House, this gave the green light for MicroStrategy and other corporations to dive deeper into the asset. And that’s exactly what happened.

Michael Saylor ramped up MicroStrategy’s bitcoin purchases like never before, and has no signs of slowing down in 2025. Their stock outperforming bitcoin had caught the attention of countless other publicly traded companies who copied the ‘Bitcoin For Corporations’ strategy, all adding more buying pressure to bitcoin, further driving up the asset. MicroStrategy is raising over $42 billion to buy more bitcoin to front-run everyone who doesn’t own any yet — this large increase in demand and regulatory certainty is sending bitcoin accumulators into a FOMO frenzy.

All of this combined, including the halving event where the production of new bitcoin created was cut in half to only 3.125 BTC per block, sent us to a new all time high over $108,000. The sheer buying demand on most days completely off sets the amount of new coins mined, further driving up the price. Just the other day, BlackRock’s ETF alone bought over 6,078 bitcoin while miners only made 450 new bitcoin. There is not enough bitcoin to go around for everyone, and they are not making any more than 21 million coins.

NEW: BlackRock's spot #Bitcoin ETF bought 6,078 bitcoin today, while miners only mined 450 new bitcoin.

Absolute. Scarcity. pic.twitter.com/KkHGpP2WAL

— Nikolaus Hoffman (@NikolausHoff) January 8, 2025

The success of these ETFs and change in presidential administration spelt bad news for the SEC and other anti-Bitcoin regulators and politicians. Gary Gensler, who helped hold up the approval of the spot ETFs for years, is officially leaving the SEC. Both of the democrat commissioners on the SEC who voted against the approval are also leaving the commission. And it appears that Bitcoin is now being set up to thrive in the United States over the next four without being attacked by the regulators and politicians who have held back this industry for so long.

The ETFs were a massive moment for this industry, and things would most likely have turned out very differently if they had not been approved. The price of bitcoin would likely be much lower than it is today, and we might have even had a different winner in the US presidential election if they had not been approved. So many great things went in Bitcoin’s favor this past year, and it was all downstream from the ETF approvals.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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Perhaps the best way to decentralize the Bitcoin network is through home mining, and things are trending in the right direction.

Yesterday, Solo Satoshi announced the Bitaxe Touch, the latest device in the world of home bitcoin mining.

This new device will utilize the BM1370 ASIC chip from the Bitmain S21 Pro and will be able to reach a hashrate of up to 1.6 TH/s.

It will also feature a touch screen that displays Bitcoin network stats including the total network hashrate, overall network difficulty and the block height.

Say hello to the future of Bitcoin home mining.

The world’s first open source touch screen Bitcoin miner. Built on top of Bitaxe and AxeOS, this device marks another chapter in the Open Source Bitcoin Mining Revolution.

Solo Satoshi presents: The Bitaxe Touch. pic.twitter.com/8AVCBvfCRo

— Solo Satoshi (@SoloSatoshi) January 8, 2025

Part of what’s fueling innovation like the Bitaxe Touch is the work of Open Source Miners United, a Discord group started by Skot from Bitaxe with over 5,500 members where home mining enthusiasts share ideas and blueprints for new devices.

The group has been set up so that anyone who wants to contribute to the development of the Bitaxe project can do so, and it even offers grants to certain contributors.

The work of such contributors will likely be made easier when Block releases its own ASIC chip, which mining device developers will be able to use in their machines.

And for those of you who aren’t so technically-inclined but who still want to get into the home mining space (and who live in colder climates), you can always purchase a Heatbit, which is essentially a plug-and-play home mining device that also serves as a space heater and an air purifier.

Even with all of these new devices coming to market, I still believe we’re in the early innings of the home bitcoin mining movement and that this space will continue to blossom as more developers and everyday people enter into it.

Indeed, the future of home mining is looking bright.

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The deal includes Bitmain’s latest S21 XP and S21 Pro models, which marks a major expansion for BitFuFu’s operations.

According to the original press release, the agreement allows BitFuFu to purchase miners in stages, offering flexibility to adjust to market conditions and operational needs.

The newly acquired hardware will support the Nasdaq-listed company’s self-mining efforts and expand its service portfolio, which includes miner resale, cloud mining, and hosting services. In terms of the deal’s financial structure.

BitFuFu can pay part of the purchase price in its own shares and defer a portion of cash payments interest-free until after the equipment is delivered. This arrangement is designed to maintain liquidity while advancing the company’s growth objectives.

Commenting on the development, Leo Lu, Chairman and CEO of BitFuFu, said that this strategic partnership with Bitmain will ensure a consistent supply of the latest miners to help the company grow its global mining operations and aim for an additional 1 GW of capacity by the close of 2026. The exec added,

“The new miners will be utilized to bolster both our self-mining operations and cloud-mining services, delivering highly cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions. With the flexibility to procure equipment in batches over the next two years based on operational demands, this agreement further reinforces our position as a leader in the industry.”

Shortly after the announcement, its stock saw a double-digit gain to $5.60 on January 2nd before undergoing a minor correction to $5.42.

The latest development comes months after BitFuFu acquired a rival 80-megawatt (MW) Bitcoin mining facility in Ethiopia.

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The bulls had returned, sleighing bears left and right, now six figure Bitcoin was an everyday sight.

All miners were buzzing, hash rates on the rise, securing the network under wintery skies.

Our Lambos were gleaming, parked under the stars, proof that HODLing beats shitcoins by far.

El Salvador kept buying, more coin for their stocking, before dreams of more sats inevitably come knocking.

The ETFs rallied, their bids filled the air, it’s Bitcoin’s new era, Satoshi did declare.

Our on-chain data, so bright and so clear, Screamed “HODL through 2025, vast wealth will appear!”

With supply getting tighter, few coin left to sell, it’s the sound of adoption; Bitcoin’s doing swell.

When out on the charts there arose such a cheer, “A new all-time high! This is our year!”

To the exchanges we flew, with wallets in tow, the institutional FOMO already began to show.

Investors wondered if we could Supercycle, breaking the system with cheap debt from Michael.

Then who should appear in a sleigh trimmed with gold? Who else but Trump with a plan so bullish and bold.

“A strategic reserve!” he proclaimed with a roar, “America’s future is with Bitcoin I’m sure!”

He winked at the bulls as his sleigh took its flight, “Merry Christmas to hodlers, and to hodlers, a good night!”

If you’re looking for a last-minute gift for that special someone or feel like treating yourself, then how about giving the gift of a Bitcoin data analysis platform subscription, now with a whopping 30% off holiday discount:

https://www.bitcoinmagazinepro.com/subscribe/ 

Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas!

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The uptick has been largely driven by spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), government acquisitions, and MicroStrategy’s ramping up of its BTC strategy, which has seen its stash grow to over 440,000 BTC.

ETFs, MicroStrategy, Drive Institutional Inflows

According to statistics shared by CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, most of the known Bitcoin holdings are in the hands of miners and crypto exchanges. However, MicroStrategy, ETFs, and several governments have eaten into their shares.

Launched earlier in the year, spot BTC ETFs have seen billions of dollars in inflows from traditional financial institutions, with the likes of BlackRock’s iShares recording a staggering $1.4 billion in net weekly inflows as of mid-December. Collectively, data shows the sector accounts for more than 1.3 million BTC, valued at an eye-popping $124.89 billion.

MicroStrategy is also a major holder of the number one cryptocurrency. Its treasury, consisting of roughly 2% of BTC’s circulating supply, is worth $46.15 billion. The company has bought the cryptocurrency several times in the last few years, breaking the record for the biggest monthly purchase in November when it acquired 134,480 BTC in three successive tranches of 27,200, 51,780, and 55,500.

The Virginia-based firm’s success has spawned several copycats, including Japanese company Metaplanet, which just bought another 619.70 BTC to bring its total holdings to 1,761.98 BTC worth nearly $170 million.

Other private entities holding Bitcoin include Block.one, with 164,000 units of the asset, stablecoin issuer Tether, which has 82,454 BTC according to Bitcoin Treasuries, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, with 8,285 BTC valued at nearly $796 million.

Defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox also maintains a sizable chest of the virtual asset, numbering 44,899.

Governments as Major Gateways

The U.S. leads the pack among governments, with 198,109 BTC worth an estimated $19 billion in its care. Many came from the Silk Road, an infamous online black market known for facilitating the sale of drugs and other illegal goods and services.

To maintain the anonymity of its users, the platform employed BTC as its primary currency, of which thousands were seized by law enforcement after they shut down the website and arrested its founder, Ross Ulbricht.

Despite an existing ban on crypto, China also boasts an impressive Bitcoin haul of about 190,000. The Kingdom of Bhutan is another major holder. Its treasury, derived from mining, has 11,688 BTC, currently valued at $1.12 billion.

El Salvador, which became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, boasts nearly 6,000 coins, much of it accrued under President Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin per day policy. In total, about 2.45% of the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply, valued at $49.36 billion, is controlled by states.

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