😳 No Longer a Meme

Happy Friday, In A Nutshell this week:

• 😳 No Longer a Meme or a Pipe Dream

• 🇧🇹 Bhutan's Bitcoin Strategy

• 🇸🇻 Stop Buying Bitcoin

• 🌍 The First Money That’s Also a Currency

• ⚡️Unlocking Africa’s Stranded Energy

• …and much more

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 🚀⏰ Today’s news should be a ~4.49-minute read (646 words).

🧠 Quote Of The Week

“The world is more malleable than you think and it’s waiting for you to hammer it into shape.”

– Bono

😱 No Longer a Meme or a Pipe Dream

What was once a pipe dream is now official policy; the U.S. government has recognised Bitcoin as a reserve asset with the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve after President Trump signed an Executive Order.

Key quotes from the Executive Order:

• “The United States will not sell bitcoin deposited into this Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which will be maintained as a store of reserve assets.”

• “It also established a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, consisting of digital assets other than bitcoin”

• “The Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce are authorized to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, provided that those strategies impose no incremental costs on American taxpayers.”

The key takeaway? The U.S. is making a clear distinction between Bitcoin and other digital assets, recognising Bitcoin as a true reserve asset.

What once seemed unthinkable is now on the table.

🇧🇹 Bhutan's Bitcoin Strategy

Bhutan is mining Bitcoin to make up for falling tourism revenue. Bhutan has been quietly leveraging its abundant hydroelectric resources to mine Bitcoin since 2019. This initiative has resulted in the accumulation of over 10,635 BTC.

A new video released this week shows Bhutan’s PM Tshering Tobgay stating: “The main use of Bitcoin has been to finance the salaries of our public servants.”

🇸🇻 Stop Buying Bitcoin

The IMF has made it clear that El Salvador must stop accumulating Bitcoin, both through purchases and mining, as part of its loan agreement.

The country should also liquidate the fund created to buy, among other essential changes beyond the Bitcoin Law amendments passed by the national congress.

However, President Bukele stated: “No, it’s not stopping… If it didn’t stop when the world ostracized us and most “bitcoiners” abandoned us, it won’t stop now, and it won’t stop in the future.”

🌍 Bitcoin: The First Money That’s Also a Currency

Parker Lewis wrote an article about how Bitcoin is fundamentally different from any form of money before it.

Gold was money, but it needed issuers to turn it into a functional currency. Fiat currencies replaced gold, but they still rely on central issuers like banks and governments.

Bitcoin is the first money that doesn’t need an issuer, it validates transactions, enforces supply, and operates as a currency on its own. That changes everything.

Worth a read.

⚡️Unlocking Africa’s Stranded Energy

Bitcoin mining is solving problems most people don’t even know exist.

In many parts of the world, energy is abundant but wasted. Remote communities have untapped hydro, solar, and wind power, but no incentive to build infrastructure because the energy demand isn’t there yet.

Enter Gridless.

Erik Hersman came on the podcast to talk about how they’re using Bitcoin mining to change this. Instead of waiting for demand, which might never come, they monetise excess energy first by mining Bitcoin. This allows power producers to build grids where none existed before, bringing electricity to potentially millions of people.

Find the episode: Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube

🔥 What else have you missed?

1. If every millionaire in the US asked their financial advisor to get them 1 bitcoin, there wouldn't be enough.

2. Former White House Economic Advisor suggests Suriname Presidential candidate Maya Parbhoe adopt Bitcoin.

3. Alex Thorn debunks an anti-crypto “report”.

4. The Bitcoin Strategic Reserve positions the U.S. as the leader in the race to dominate cyberspace - Saylor.

5. Jack Mallers video about the US Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.

6. Green Hydrogen Company HNO just started mining Bitcoin.

🍾 Friday Fun!

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