🍻 The Bitcoin Brewery

Happy Friday, In A Nutshell this week:

• 🍻 The Bitcoin Brewery

• ⚖️ The Shift to Neutral

• 🏦 LSE Strike Out Again

• 🇯🇵 Metaplanet Rises Up The Ranks

• 🇬🇧 Are Young Brits Moving Into Bitcoin?

• ⚠️ Consequences Cannot Be Ignored

• …and much more

If you enjoy the newsletter, pass it on to a friend, and you can earn free sats (see bottom of the email).

 🚀⏰ Today’s news should be a ~4.53-minute read (866 words).

🧠 Quote Of The Week

“The world always laughs before it applauds.”

— Christopher Morley

🍻 The Bitcoin Brewery

The founder of Beer52, the UK’s biggest craft beer club, is back with another bold move. His alcohol-free beer brand BRULO became the world’s first brewery to adopt a Bitcoin treasury strategy back in 2024.

Already up 38% on its Bitcoin holdings, BRULO plans to keep accumulating, showing how Bitcoin is quietly becoming a strategic asset for UK businesses.

The company’s been profitable since launch in 2019, growing at 70% CAGR, and is now inviting supporters to become shareholders through Crowdcube, giving investors the chance to buy shares for as little as the price of a case of beer.

Our podcast episode with BRULO founder, James Brown, goes live later today. Hit subscribe so you don’t miss it: YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify

⚖️ The Shift to Neutral

For the first time since 1996, foreign central banks officially hold more gold than US Treasuries, signalling a major shift in global reserves into neutral assets.

If history is any guide, this buying streak could just be the start of the trend, when looking back at what happened during the 1970s where gold holdings soared.

As central banks are scooping up more gold, could Bitcoin also be on the table? Often referred to as digital gold, it could play a key role as a neutral asset in the digital world.

🏦 LSE Strike Out Again

Crypto exchange Bitpanda, backed by Peter Thiel and Alan Howard, has ruled out a London Stock Exchange listing. Their reasoning: poor liquidity and a drop in UK IPO activity.

The UK’s IPO market is at a 30-year low, raising less than £200M in the first half of 2025 compared to nearly £9B in 2021.

Even with FCA approval to expand its services in Britain, Bitpanda says liquidity matters more than regulation when choosing where to list. It is currently weighing Frankfurt or New York, where capital markets are deeper and investor demand is stronger.

The decision highlights London’s struggle to attract fast-growing tech firms, as companies continue to pursue markets where they are likely treated best.

🇬🇧 Are Young Brits Moving Into Bitcoin?

A new Aviva survey of 2,000 UK adults reveals that 27% would consider including Bitcoin and crypto in their retirement portfolios, driven mainly by the desire for higher potential returns.

• 21% have held crypto, and two-thirds of them still own it.

• 25–34 year olds were especially active, with nearly 20% having previously withdrawn pension funds to buy crypto.

• 23% said they might even withdraw part or all of their existing pension to invest in these markets.

But nearly one in three admitted they didn’t fully understand what pension benefits they might be giving up when cashing in. It seems as interest grows, so does the need for better education to help people truly understand what they own.

🇯🇵 Metaplanet Rises Up The Ranks

Tokyo-based Metaplanet plans to raise $880M, with $835M earmarked for new Bitcoin purchases.

The company already holds 18,888 BTC, ranking as the seventh-largest public holder, and aims to reach 210,000 BTC by 2027, about 1% of total supply.

After being the best-performing global stock in 2024, Metaplanet has reached another milestone, moving from small-cap to mid-cap in FTSE Russell’s review.

This secures a spot in the FTSE Japan Index and the FTSE All-World Index, opening the door to automatic passive capital inflows from funds tracking the world’s largest listed companies.

⚠️ Consequences Cannot Be Ignored

Cartwright Pension Trust warns that while pension trusts may turn a blind eye to Bitcoin treasury companies, they cannot ignore their impact.

Cartwright isn’t advising pension schemes to buy Bitcoin directly, but understand the influence of these companies. They allow investors to gain indirect exposure to Bitcoin through stocks or bonds, which can work for schemes that cannot hold Bitcoin themselves.

Just last year, Cartwright advised the first UK pension to allocate 3% to Bitcoin in late 2024, generating a 60% return over that period. Watch our interview.

Bitcoin treasury companies are shaping how institutions manage risk. Pension schemes that ignore them could miss important opportunities.

🔥 What else have you missed?

1. Tether to launch USDT on Bitcoin

2. Strategy achieve 3% of the entire Bitcoin supply

3. FT, Why bitcoin treasury companies are a fool’s paradise

4. Bo Hines says the Bitcoin Reserve Act will be signed into law this year

5. The Smarter Web Company is now trading below a 2x mNav

6. Korea’s first global institutional Bitcoin treasury company, Bitplanet launches

7. Bitcoin makes an appearance in South Park

8. Bitcoin transaction fees fall to their lowest level since 2011

🍾 Friday Fun!

This week’s crossword is now live - Play here

🧞‍♂️ Your wish is our command