Bitfinity Weekly: Bitcoin + Bitfinity
Welcome to Issue #141 of Bitfinity Weekly for our #BITFINIANS community. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, sign up here.
What's in Today's Email?
- Bitcoin Bytes
- Global Crypto News
- In the IC
- This Week in our Blog
- Tweet of the Week
- Meme Time
- A Matter of Opinion
Bitcoin Bytes
Backed by Bitcoin?: Syria may soon be embracing Bitcoin. The country, which had been under Assad's dictatorial regime since 1971, was recently overthrown by a jihadist group. Syria has been facing extreme monetary turbulence since the regime change, with the Syrian pound losing 99% of its value in the face of militarized conflict and hyperinflation. Bitcoin may bolster the Syrian economy by backing the nation's currency.
Viral Video: This video has been going viral in the crypto parts of X, with everyone from Michael Saylor to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sharing it. The 40-minute video by Bitcoin advocate Joe Brian, titled "What's The Problem?", breaks down why Bitcoin is deemed so important, beginning with explaining in simple terms what problem Bitcoin seeks to solve in the first place.
Fuel for Thought: Alkane Imperium minted its first pfp (profile picture) Ordinals collection just days ahead of President Trump's inauguration. The collection is created as parent-child inscriptions on a sat from a Bitcoin gifted to Trump by Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey. Alkane Imperium is also notable for its connection to the Alkanes protocol on Bitcoin.
Global Crypto News
Ghost In The Shell: Popular AI agent ElizaOS is getting a robot body. The Eliza Wakes Up team announced that the Eliza robot can now be pre-ordered for $420k USD, with initial production units expected to be delivered "mid 2025". ElizaOS is an open-source framework linked to AI/crypto project ai16z and has been partly funded by Solana memecoins.
Forbidden Contracts: Sony's Ethereum L2 network, Soneium, launched on Tuesday. However, instead of fanfare it was met with controversy as the network marked some smart contracts as "forbidden" and disallowed direct activity on the blockchain. Soneium's decision to freeze multiple memecoins were due to copyright, and their ban on coins like Aibo and Toro was to "safeguard the rights of IP holders", according to a Sony spokesperson.
Bubble Babble: Popular on-chain analytics firm Bubblemaps, best known for their visual 'bubble maps' of wallet activity, will be launching a token on Solana later this month. The Solana Bubblemaps Token (BMT) will be the governance tokens for Intel Desk, an upcoming investigation platform by the Bubblemaps team. BMT tokens will be used to drive community decisions on the projects/wallets for the Bubblemaps team to investigate.
In the IC
Plasma Drive: The Internet Computer achieved its first milestone of the year. The Plasma milestone is nicknamed the "governance milestone" thanks to the numerous improvements to the NNS (Network Nervous System) and the SNS (Service Nervous System). It also includes new tooling releases pertaining to Internet Identity and webassembly.
Super Hot Wallet: ICP-based multichain DEX KongSwap has been integrated OISY wallet, allowing traders to access swap functionality directly. KongSwap is being used as the backend for seamless in-house OISY wallet swaps. This feature is one of numerous improvements found in the 0.20 OISY wallet update, which includes Solana support and ICRC-21 compatability.
Show & Tell: ICP will be at ETH Denver 2025 (Feb. 23 - March 2) with some exciting opportunities for the Internet Computer developer ecosystem. Pitch opportunities will give builders the chance to demo and showcase their project at ICP-sponsored side events, and shared Booth space may also be available. Interested applicants can fill out this interest form for consideration.
This Week in our Blog
Missed the Bitfinity x oooo Money Space on X? You can catch up here and learn what both teams are cooking up to push the future of interoperability forward:
Fred
Our three-part article series comes to a close with an overview of the vast and growing Bitfinity ecosystem, which currently encompasses over 60 partners across multiple chains. From AI to decentralized oracles, it's Bitfinity... and Beyond:
Hans
Tweet of the Week
Bitcoin isn't just about assets, it's a foundation for innovation. The real opportunity lies in building incredible products on Bitcoin.🌐
— Bitfinity Network (@bitfinitynet) January 13, 2025
⚡️Builders are making it happen on Bitfinity. https://t.co/gV3HePw5hw
Meme Time
A Matter of Opinion
Here we go again. Whether you love him or hate him, Donald Trump is set to be sworn into the role of U.S. President for a second term on Monday, January 20th.
For many of us, Trump's second presidency is relevant because of his potential effects on cryptocurrencies, perhaps over all other political positions like immigration or military. After all, Trump has decidedly positioned himself as pro-crypto, even going so far as to launch multiple NFTs and attaching the family name to a DeFi platform. Trump's past suggests a more favorable regulatory environment for digital assets.
Trump's presidency could herald significant changes in cryptocurrency regulation, leaning towards a more permissive environment. His campaign rhetoric suggested support for reducing regulatory burdens on digital assets, possibly leading to clearer guidelines that could encourage innovation and attract more institutional investors. Indeed, it seems that appointment of crypto-friendly officials (such as Paul Atkins to the SEC) to key regulatory positions seems to be prioritized, aiming to replace current leaders perceived as less supportive of the crypto sector. However, the speed and extent of these changes hinge on legislative cooperation and the broader political climate, potentially causing initial market volatility as investors react to both real and anticipated policy shifts.
There's also been talk of establishing a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve, directly from Trump's campaign talking points. A strategic Bitcoin reserve would serve a purpose similar to the strategic petroleum reserve, where the government would hold Bitcoin to stabilize the market or as a hedge against inflation. This would certainly legitimize Bitcoin further in financial circles, possibly pushing its price up as demand increases. However, the execution of such a policy would depend on legislative support and could face delays or modifications.
In other words, neither regulatory corrections nor a strategic Bitcoin reserve are changes that we are likely to see implemented as quickly as we'd like. In fact, some crypto veterans, like Arthur Hayes, predict a significant sell-off around the inauguration due to unmet expectations for immediate policy changes. They argue that the market might have overvalued the swiftness of regulatory reform under Trump, leading to a correction in crypto prices soon after he takes office.
Whatever happens after Trump's inauguration on Monday, you know that Bitfinity will be here next week, as always, to catch you up on the latest.
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