Happy Friday, In A Nutshell this week:

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🚀⏰ Today’s news should be a ~5.03-minute read (756 words).

🧠 Quote Of The Week

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

Block has launched a $1 million Bitcoin giveaway, but it is not one big prize. The Bitcoin is being given away in smaller amounts to people who try simple actions across its products.

That includes buying Bitcoin through Cash App, spending Bitcoin at a Square merchant, and moving it into cold storage with Bitkey.

It echoes Bitcoin’s early faucet days, where small amounts were given away to help people learn by doing, rather than just reading about it.

Iran is reportedly requiring ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to pay transit fees not in dollars, but in Bitcoin.

The move appears to be driven by sanctions, as using Bitcoin allows value to move outside traditional banking systems, making it harder to block or control.

Fees are reportedly linked to oil cargo size, with payments made before passage is granted.

Whatever side you take politically, global trade still needs a neutral way to settle when trust between countries breaks down.

Professor Steve Keen, famous for predicting the 2008 financial crash, warned on Diary of a CEO that “Bitcoin is going to zero”, arguing that its energy use makes it unsustainable.

The problem is that his case leans on an outdated view of Bitcoin mining and misses basic mechanics like difficulty adjustment, as well as more recent evidence challenging the old environmental narrative.

The bigger issue is that when respected economists misunderstand Bitcoin and share flawed claims on one of the world’s largest podcasts, it keeps the everyday benefits of Bitcoin hidden from a mainstream audience.

The claims have received pushback from Daniel Batten, an environmentalist, climate tech investor and Bitcoin mining analyst, and show how early we still are in Bitcoin’s journey.

Morgan Stanley has become the first major US bank to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF, bringing Bitcoin exposure directly onto one of Wall Street’s biggest platforms.

The fund debuted with roughly $30.6 million in net inflows and about $34 million in trading volume, making it Morgan Stanley’s strongest first day of trading for any ETF it has launched.

It’s another step in Bitcoin’s move into mainstream finance, with access now being built into the systems traditional investors already use and trust.

Japan has approved a new bill to recognise Bitcoin as a regulated financial asset, improving oversight and investor protection.

The rules aim to bring clearer structure to the market, including stricter requirements for companies operating in the space and better safeguards for users.

It’s part of a broader trend where governments are not banning Bitcoin, but instead trying to bring it into a more controlled, regulated framework.

Andrew Webley CEO of The Smarter Web Company is back for a third episode.

Since July Smarter Web has secured a LSE main market listing, entered the FTSE All-Share and FTSE Small Cap indices, grown its Bitcoin stack to nearly 2,700 BTC, and completed an acquisition that has increased revenue by roughly 10x.

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

The Smarter Web Company are hosting the Bitcoin Treasuries Unconference UK on 29th May, in Bristol.

Our readers get 10% OFF with code: JORDAN

1. Liz Truss goes live on X Spaces with The Bitcoin Collective (Set a reminder)

2. Adam Back dismisses The New York Times accusations that he is Satoshi

3. Rubik's Cube is officially launching Bitcoin edition

4. $5 Wrench attack solved through geographically distributed Multisig?

5. Nunchuk released open-source Bitcoin AI agent tools

6. 10 Bitcoin companies have banking charters awaiting approval

7. Bernstein says quantum is a 'manageable upgrade cycle' for Bitcoin

8. Grant Cardone “it doesn't bother me at all” being underwater on $184,000,000 Bitcoin purchase

9. Riot Platforms sells $290 million worth of Bitcoin

10. Charles Schwab finds a 1% Bitcoin Allocation Can Drastically Reshape Portfolio

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