7-31-2025
This week’s episode unpacks the chaos quietly brewing under Bitcoin’s surface. From JPMorgan’s crypto partnership to collapsing treasury stocks, and from ETF redemptions to the gut-punch Samourai Wallet plea, I walk through the real-world fallout and what it means for the future of privacy, custody, and institutional Bitcoin strategy. LFG!
JPMorgan and Coinbase just cut a deal, and while it feels like a union of demons, I can’t ignore the implications. Chase cardholders can now buy "crypto" straight from Coinbase and even convert their reward points into USDC. Circle’s stablecoin isn’t my favorite flavor, but let’s face it—most credit card points are borderline worthless these days. If you’re going to earn points, at least let them become something spendable. It’s ugly, but it’s happening. Even Jamie Dimon’s “Bitcoin is a fraud” rant couldn’t stop this machine. https://cointelegraph.com/news/jpmorgan-coinbase-partnership-crypto-rewards-usdc
Meanwhile, Saylor’s crew over at Strategy is printing up new Bitcoin-flavored lollipops. This time it’s STRC—a preferred stock with no maturity and a 9% yield. They raised $2.5 billion with it and immediately dropped $2.4 billion of that into Bitcoin, buying 21,000 coins in one go. That brings Strategy’s holdings to nearly 629,000 BTC. And STRC isn’t just for the big dogs—it’s pointed at retail income investors. This is the most aggressive Bitcoin acquisition model we’ve seen yet. It’s working for Saylor. But for everyone else? That story’s starting to crack. https://decrypt.co/332505/strategy-raises-record-stock-offering-buy-bitcoin
Because here’s the reality: more than half of the new Bitcoin treasury companies launched this year have already lost over 50% of their stock value; otherwise known as a train wreck. The lollipop model—packaging debt as yield-paying Bitcoin exposure—might be running out of flavors. We don’t need 50 candy shops offering the same sugar in slightly different wrappers. And when the market gets bored, it gets brutal. If your stock price falls below the value of your Bitcoin, the game ends fast. https://atlas21.com/more-than-half-of-the-new-bitcoin-treasury-companies-have-lost-over-50-of-their-value/
Something worth watching: the SEC just approved in-kind redemptions for Bitcoin ETFs. That means authorized participants can move real BTC in and out of the funds instead of converting back to dollars. For some institutions, that opens the door to the only custody model available to them. For others, it’s the first time they can move BTC directly without triggering internal compliance alarms or whatever "Fear du Jour" ancient institutions have to deal with. Legacy finance finds itself in a sea change with how it interacts with Bitcoin itself. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/07/29/sec-approves-in-kind-redemptions-for-all-spot-bitcoin-ethereum-etfs
And just as that happens, the hammer drops. The founders of Samourai Wallet plead guilty. It’s a gut punch for those of us who value privacy tools. And it sure doesn’t bode well for the Tornado Cash case. When devs start folding, the whole community feels it. If we don’t fight for privacy, we’ll lose it—code, money, speech, all of it. All gone and only a whisper of our freedoms will remain. https://decrypt.co/332412/bitcoin-mixer-samourai-founders-plead-guilty-crypto-privacy
So yeah, we’ve got Chase dipping into "crapto", strategy buying faster than anyone else, and half of this year’s new Bitcoin treasury companies burning out before Q4. Meanwhile, the feds are making sure privacy tech takes the fall. Don’t get distracted by headlines. Hold your own keys. Think long. Pay attention to what happens in the shadows.
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