⚡️ Lightning’s Silent Growth Spurt

Happy Friday, In A Nutshell this week:

• ⚡️ Lightning’s Silent Growth Spurt

• 🤫 The Great Retail Retreat

• 🔔 Bitcoin Breaks the Closing Bell

• 🎓 Still Harvard’s Biggest Holding

• 📦 Bitcoin Loans, Shipped to Wall Street

• 🎟️ Cheat Code: 20% OFF

• …and much more

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 🚀⏰ Today’s news should be a ~4.52-minute read (731 words).

🧠 Quote Of The Week

“Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.”

— Pablo Picasso

⚡️ Lightning’s Silent Growth Spurt

River estimates the Lightning Network handled about $1.17bn and 5.22 million transactions in November 2025, even as Bitcoin traded sideways for much of the year.

Lightning activity isn’t publicly visible, so River aggregated private data from major node operators (covering 50.6% of network capacity) and extrapolated from there.

They say growth was driven mainly by exchanges and more businesses accepting Bitcoin for payments. Lightning adoption is quietly growing in the background.

🤫 The Great Retail Retreat

River’s latest data shows individuals sold roughly 696,000 BTC in 2025, while businesses, funds, ETFs and governments absorbed close to 1 million BTC.

This marks a clear shift in ownership. Public companies running Bitcoin treasury strategies have been major buyers, while some long-term holders took profits near the highs and others sold to cover rising living costs.

If this trend continues, more Bitcoin could quietly move from individuals to institutions, and it may be hard to reverse.

🔔 Bitcoin Breaks the Closing Bell

CME is looking to move its crypto futures towards 24/7 trading, bringing Bitcoin markets closer to the always-on nature of the underlying asset.

CME is the world’s largest regulated futures venue, and its Bitcoin futures are a key bridge between Wall Street and the Bitcoin market.

If it goes ahead, it could mean tighter price discovery over weekends, less “Monday gap” drama, and another step towards Bitcoin being treated like a permanent, global market.

🎓 Still Harvard’s Biggest Holding

Harvard’s endowment has reduced its Bitcoin ETF holding, trimming the position by about 21% in its latest filing.

It was not an exit. Reports suggest Harvard sold roughly 1.5 million IBIT shares, but the position remains its largest disclosed equity holding.

Look beyond the headlines: the biggest, most conservative pools of capital are now actively managing Bitcoin exposure, rather than debating whether it belongs in a portfolio.

📦 Bitcoin Loans, Shipped to Wall Street

Ledn has sold $188m of Bitcoin-backed bonds, secured by consumer Bitcoin-collateralised loans.

The sale came during a volatile period for Bitcoin, when some borrowers were forced to top up collateral or face liquidation. Ledn said it sold roughly a quarter of the loans and shifted the collateral mix towards more cash.

It shows Bitcoin-backed lending is now being packaged into Wall Street-style products, but it also proves these deals get stress-tested quickly when prices swing.

🎟️ Cheat Code: 20% OFF

Peter McCormack has given Bitcoin In a Nutshell readers a 20% discount code for his upcoming conference, CheatCode.

At checkout, use code: BC20. It works across every ticket option, including the VIP pass (worth £200 off).

Tickets are still in the early early bird window, but prices go up after today (Friday, 20 February), so if you know you’re going, grab yours now.

Click here to find out more.

🧖 Why Established Companies Are Quietly Turning to Bitcoin

Ben Berry, Managing Director at English Lakes Hotels, joins Jordan to break down what it really takes to integrate Bitcoin into a UK hospitality business.

They discuss growing a fifth-generation family business into a true resort experience, how AI tools are reshaping hospitality, and how Ben is driving Bitcoin adoption through payments, holding BTC, and building a circular economy with local and global suppliers.

The episode is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify

🔥 What else have you missed?

1. AI Surveillance hidden inside your KYC verification?

2. Goldman Sachs CEO reveals he owns a ‘very little' amount of Bitcoin

3. White House trillions of dollars are waiting to enter Bitcoin?

4. Hacker returns $21 million in stolen Bitcoin to South Korean authorities

5. Paper Bitcoin is back. Has the first body floated to the surface?

6. Trump Family-Backed ‘American Bitcoin’ holdings pass 6,000 BTC

7. Metaplanet reports $619 million loss as Bitcoin holdings take a hit

🍾 Friday Fun!

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