The ₿ridge Report - #5
We Are in an Era of Full Scale Digital Transformation To a Bitcoin Standard
Welcome back to this week’s edition of The ₿ridge Report!
Bitcoin, to me, is the ultimate store of value. Majority of people continue to work for dollars which can be manipulated, printed, and inflated into oblivion as a way to totally destroy our valued time and effort.
“No man should work for what another can print.” - Jack Mallers
I love this quote from Jack because it makes the argument so simple. If you can just make dollars out of thin air, then it’s insulting to use it as a way to maintain purchasing power over time. It’s intuitive. Now it seems like this is now being argued in the opposite, but that’s what I think anyone would agree to call gaslighting.
In order to preserve time and energy, we need a store of value that does exactly that. We need something that requires proof of the work that is expended in order to obtain that reward. That is bitcoin, and I believe more people continue to wake up to this.
Now, this all brings it together in the role of bitcoin becoming a true peer-to-peer digital cash system in our everyday lives. Jack Dorsey discussed again this week in an interview at Presidio Bitcoin about Bitcoin failing as a project if it only is used as a store of value. I know that most are hodling as a savings technology and many people who would never sell their bitcoin. That’s not a bad strategy in the near term and I understand the sentiment. However it’s also important to realize that as more people want to accept what is agreed upon as the better money, then they will just get rid of the extra step of using traditional fiat payments.
Because right now it’s savings, that will adapt to payments over time.
And this is part of building that bridge over the course of this transformation. Dorsey also tweeted this week about the reasoning for Square Point of Sale (PoS) systems not taking bitcoin payments directly, but will be integrating it soon.
The rationale that he used was basically about the feedback he received from customers and they’d rather just have the instant transfer to BTC from fiat payments, so that’s what the team shipped, and it seems that many are using it and continue to leverage it.
This seems important and fair from the lense of an entrepreneur because building things that people don’t want/won’t use is not the best use of resources. So, while we are in this period of education and early adoption we can make the products people want as seamless as possible. Then, as we will see with more businesses accepting and more customers holding, the natural progression becomes using the asset that people would prefer. It will take time. And my time preference is low.
P.s I’m working on a simple Bitcoin onboarding document for subscribers to give them a Bitcoin 101. Simple and exhaustive.
If you are interested in beginning to save in Bitcoin I currently recommend using Strike to set up purchases - this is one of the easiest Bitcoin Only exchanges (no crypto casino distraction) that provides a familiar, dependable experience.
Please use my referral link to waive fees on BTC purchases up to $500: https://invite.strike.me/D2CTXV
Happy stacking.
Today’s report will go as follows:
A “Blockchain Audit” - my ongoing Bitcoin journey and how I continue to see BTC integrate into the world.
The “Volatility Index” - a review of newsworthy articles, podcasts, and events of the week, an AI generated summary (using Grok for now), and my Dose of analysis.
Aho.
Blockchain Audit
J’s Bitcoin Journey: News of something I’ve been helping work on the last few months. Next Saturday the Austin Bitcoin Club (ABC) is hosting a really great event up in Hutto Texas (just outside of Austin) at Hippo Social Club.
Spring into Bitcoin is a community and family filled day where we will have a trail race, bitcoin marketplace, bitcoin education/programming, bounce house, bbq, and more! It’s always great to bring together the Bitcoin community here in Austin.
Super excited for this event and help raise money for Hal Finney and the ALS/MNS Research fund.
Hal has been a legend amongst bitcoiners for as long as the project has been alive as he was the first person to send a BTC transaction to Satoshi in 2009. He unfortunately battled ALS and passed away in 2014 but like I said his legend lives on.
Putting together this event with the rest of the ABC volunteers has been extremely fulfilling as I’ve come to learn so much more about Hal’s life and the work that he pioneered in the cypherpunk movement back in the 90s. Michael Atwood, building Oshi Rewards and co-leading ABC, wrote a great article sharing insights into Hal’s life and what an amazing person he was. We are close to our $5,000 goal!
As someone who personally took on distance running over this past year, completing my first marathon, I have come to draw so many parallels on the importance of Proof of Work between our financial, physical, and mental health. Hal helped drive that ethos forward through all his contributions to the Bitcoin project and continues to through his wife Fran’s role in the Running Bitcoin Foundation.
We’re super excited for this fundraiser to kick off the Running Bitcoin 2025 Challenge as the first event of the year with the trail race.
See the schedule of the full day:
Join us and purchase tickets using either bitcoin or fiat with this link here: https://pay.zaprite.com/pl_LdQYmoB48U?ref=lVH7Qh&utm_source=oshi&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ref_lVH7Qh
If you are interested in donating to the Hal Finney ALS/MNS Research Fund to help end ALS, please use this link here: https://secure.alsnetwork.org/site/TR?fr_id=1510&pg=entry
Bullish on the intersection of community, health, and bitcoin!
More to come on that front.
Volatility Index
This week’s headlines:
Fidelity Lets Investors Directly Invest in Crypto Through New IRA Plan
BPI Proposes Bitcoin Bonds to Help Pay the $36 Trillion National Debt
Bitcoin rises after Trump tariffs lead to worst stock-market rout in 5 years. Will the crypto end up a safe haven?
AI Summary: Bitcoin rose 0.9% to $83,961 on April 4, 2025, amid a historic two-day U.S. stock market plunge triggered by President Trump’s sweeping new tariffs, with the Dow Jones dropping 5.5%, the S&P 500 falling 6%, and the Nasdaq declining 5.8%. Unlike stocks, bitcoin is not directly affected by the tariffs, which are expected to harm import/export businesses and could reduce S&P 500 earnings by 1% to 2% per 5% tariff increase, according to Goldman Sachs. Analysts suggest bitcoin’s resilience may stem from its decentralized nature and investors viewing it as an alternative asset less exposed to trade-war fallout, reigniting hopes it could become a safe haven. However, experts caution it’s premature to declare a decoupling from stocks, as crypto’s strength might partly reflect risk-tolerant traders and recent corporate bitcoin purchases by firms like GameStop and Strategy (MicroStrategy). The tariffs, potentially raising the effective rate to 26%, contrast with bitcoin’s immunity to such measures, highlighting its appeal during economic uncertainty.
My Dose:
“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff” - Donald J. Trump, October 2024
This past week on Liberation Day, he announced his administration’s tariff plan. It sent “markets into frenzy” and people with little to no understanding of economics were all of the sudden becoming experts.
I’m not an expert on this stuff and will not pretend to be one. I just am in shock of the fact that people are really surprised that this happened. I guess the only somewhat fair excuse is that politicians are notorious for not doing things they say they’re going to do. Trump is for sure different in that way.
It’s nice at times like these to have my money stored in a decentralized, censorship resistant store of value like Bitcoin.
Fidelity Lets Investors Directly Invest in Crypto Through New IRA Plan
AI Summary: Fidelity Investments has introduced a no-fee crypto IRA, allowing U.S. adults over 18 to invest directly in bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin, with assets securely held in a cold wallet by Fidelity Digital Assets. The launch responds to growing client demand for tax-advantaged crypto investment options, such as Roth, traditional, or rollover IRAs. A TMX Vetta Fi survey indicates that 57% of financial advisors plan to increase allocations to crypto ETFs, though they primarily favor crypto equity ETFs. Fidelity, already offering crypto ETFs, aims to meet evolving customer needs with this new product and has recently filed for a Solana ETF. The initiative reflects a broader trend of financial advisors integrating crypto into client portfolios, driven by increasing interest in tax-efficient trading and holding options.
My Dose: Makes sense. Soon this will be a standard across all broker/dealers and retirement plans. Fidelity has been a leader and at the forefront of institutional adoption so it’s great to see them continue to innovate and push bitcoin adoption to their customers by providing this option.
The market demands.
BPI Proposes Bitcoin Bonds to Help Pay the $36 Trillion National Debt
AI Summary: The Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) has proposed "bitcoin bonds" to help address the U.S.'s $36 trillion national debt by issuing treasury instruments that allocate 90% of proceeds to government funding and 10% to bitcoin purchases. This initiative aligns with a budget-neutral approach encouraged by a March 6 executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, aiming to acquire bitcoin without new taxes or debt. The BPI suggests issuing $2 trillion in bonds with a ten-year maturity, potentially securing 2.2 million BTC and saving $354.4 billion over a decade, even without bitcoin price increases. Investors would receive a share of bitcoin’s price appreciation, capped at 4.5% annually, with the government retaining half of any additional gains. If bitcoin follows historical growth trends, the BPI predicts the program could significantly reduce or eliminate the federal debt burden for future generations.
My Dose: I think bitcoin as a store of value and it’s property of scarcity would be a great way to help pay off our debt crisis. As an American who views the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as imperative to the long-term success of this country I think that using this as a budget neutral way to accumulate more bitcoin for the country should be explored and ultimately implemented.
It will be important for congress to pass Senator Lummis’ BITCOIN Act in order to write these proposals into law.
I’ll be in Nashville this week for Grassroots Bitcoin — can’t wait!
Thanks for reading.