Welcome everybody to the Bitcoin Street Journal
Market Update. I'm Autumn. And I'm Darren. We're
here to bring you the most Bitcoin Maxi No BS
straight -fire analysis of everything happening
in the only cryptocurrency that actually matters.
That's right. No sugarcoating, no altcoin apologetics,
just pure orange pill energy. For the people,
by the people. We're cutting through the noise
and giving you what you need to know about Bitcoin's
unstoppable march to global dominance. Exactly.
From institutional FOMO to El Salvador basically
giving the IMF the middle finger. We've got you
covered. And folks, what we're seeing right now
is nothing short of revolutionary. Revolutionary
is right, but hey, before we dive into this absolute
carnage of good news, a quick reminder, if you're
vibing with what we're doing here, smash that
like button, share this with your Bitcoin curious
friends, and consider zapping us some sats on
Nostr. Yes, don't forget to visit the BitcoinStreetJournal
.com and click the login button at the top of
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is the future, folks. Decentralized social media
built on Bitcoin rails. Exactly. It really helps
us keep doing these shows and spread the orange
pill love. Plus, you can zap us directly with
lightning sats. Instant, cheap, and censorship
resistant. All right, let's get this rocket ship
launched. OK, Darren, let's kick things off with
the crown jewel, shall we? What's our beautiful,
scarce digital gold trading at right now? Oh,
man. Autumn. Buckle up. As of right this moment,
Bitcoin is sitting pretty at $112 ,594. $112
,594. Not too shabby for digital rat poison,
eh, Jamie Dimon? And remember folks, we're just
coming off Bitcoin's latest all -time high of
$124 ,457 that we hit on August 14th. That's
right, just over a week ago. Bitcoin was literally
making history, beating Alphabet's entire market
cap. The market cap is sitting at a gorgeous
$2 .24 trillion, representing about 57 .5 % Bitcoin
dominance. 57 .5 % dominance, as it should be.
While all the altcoins are busy playing with
their little smart contracts and meme coin casino
games, Bitcoin is out here being actual money.
Exactly. It's down about 1 % in the past 24 hours.
But let's be real. That's just healthy consolidation
after the absolute moonshot we've been on. Right.
And you know what's driving this. It's not retail
FOMO this time, Darren. It's the big boys, the
institutions, finally figuring out what we've
known all along. What's that auto - That Bitcoin
isn't just an investment. It's the future of
money. Speaking of which, did you see Blackrock's
latest numbers? Oh my god, yes. Blackrock's iShares
Bitcoin Trust, iBit, now holds over $51 billion
in Bitcoin. $51 billion! That's too risky not
to own Bitcoin money right there. Larry Fink
went from calling Bitcoin an index of money laundering
to building a $51 billion Bitcoin war chest.
And it's not just Blackrock. Total Bitcoin ETF
inflows hit 14 .8 billion in 2025 alone. These
aren't retail investors throwing lunch money
at Robinhood folks. These are pension funds,
endowments and sovereign wealth funds. Exactly.
And here's the kicker. Over 200 institutional
investors have entered the market since July.
The smart money is finally getting it. Autumn.
Let's talk about what's really happening here.
This isn't just another bull run. This is a fundamental
shift in how money works. Totally. So get this.
BlackRock's Robbie Mitchnick was at Token 2049
basically saying it might be too risky not to
own Bitcoin now. This is the same BlackRock that
manages 10 trillion dollars in assets. Right.
And they're not alone. We've got over 50 publicly
traded companies now holding Bitcoin on their
balance sheets. Michael Saylor's micro strategy
is sitting on seventy seven point two billion
in Bitcoin. That's more than most countries GDP.
Speaking of Saylor, did you catch his latest
meeting with President Bukele in El Salvador?
They were talking about accelerating Bitcoin
adoption worldwide. Oh yeah, and here's what's
crazy. El Salvador just launched the world's
first Bitcoin -only investment banks. They passed
this investment banking law on August 7th that
lets banks operate entirely in Bitcoin. Wait,
what? Bitcoin -only banks? That's... That's actually
insane. Tell me more. So these banks need $50
million in capital to get started. And they can
only serve sophisticated investors, basically
accredited investors. But get this, they can
hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets, offer Bitcoin
loans, even issue tokenized assets backed by
Bitcoin. So while the IMF is over there whining
about El Salvador buying Bitcoin, Bukele is literally
building the financial infrastructure of the
future. Exactly. And speaking of the IMF, you
know what Bukele said when they tried to stop
him from buying more Bitcoin? Proof of work beats
proof of whining. I love that guy. He bought
more Bitcoin. Anyway, El Salvador now holds over
6 ,200 Bitcoin worth about $740 million. And
they're mining it with geothermal energy. Clean,
renewable, volcanic Bitcoin. You literally cannot
make this stuff up. It's like while other countries
are printing money and debasing their currencies,
El Salvador is stacking the hardest money ever
created using the Earth's core. That's some next
level thinking right there. Autumn, let's talk
about these ETFs because the numbers are just
mind blowing. Oh man, where do we even start?
Bitcoin ETFs are basically eating the entire
traditional finance system from the inside out.
So check this out. ETFs now account for 85 %
of Bitcoin's price volatility. Not retail traders
on Twitter. Not whales moving coins around. ETFs.
That's incredible. And here's the thing that's
driving me crazy. People are celebrating this
institutional adoption, but then they're buying
Bitcoin through these ETFs instead of just, you
know, buying actual Bitcoin. Right! It's like,
congratulations! You own an IOU for Bitcoin that
some corporation is custodying for you! Not your
keys, not your Bitcoin, folks! Exactly! But here's
what's wild! Even with all this ETF action, these
institutions are absorbing Bitcoin's supply faster
than miners can create it. One day in July, ETFs
bought 1 .18 billion dollars worth of Bitcoin
in a single session. And remember, there are
only 3 ,150 Bitcoin mined per day right now.
But ETFs are buying way more than that. Basic
supply and demand, people. It's like watching
a slow motion supply squeeze in real time. Plus,
we're at 19 .9 million Bitcoin mined out of the
21 million total. We're literally running out
of Bitcoin to sell. And the best part? All these
traditional finance bros who called Bitcoin a
scam are now fighting each other to launch ETFs.
Fidelity, ARK Invest, Vanac, everyone wants a
piece. Remember when they said Bitcoin was too
volatile for institutional portfolios? Now they're
saying it's too risky not to have Bitcoin exposure.
The narrative flip is complete. But Autumn, here's
what's really cooking my brain. Some analysts
are saying this breaks the traditional four -year
cycle because institutions don't panic sell like
retail does. Oh, that's a great point. These
aren't weak hands holding Bitcoin and Coinbase
accounts getting scared by every Elon Musk tweet.
These are pension funds with 30 -year time horizons.
Exactly! They're not selling because Bitcoin
dropped 5 % on a Tuesday. They're hodling because
they understand the fundamentals. Alright Darren,
before we get too deep into the Bitcoin euphoria,
let's take a quick peek at what the altcoin casino
is up to these days. Oh boy, here we go. So while
Bitcoin is busy becoming the world's reserve
asset, Ethereum is... Still trying to figure
out how proof -of -stake works without breaking
everything, huh? Right. Trust us. We totally
fixed the energy thing by making it completely
centralized. Great job, guys! And don't get me
started on Solana. Sure, it's fast and cheap,
but it also has this adorable habit of just stopping
for hours at a time. Very reliable for a global
computer. Oh, and all these DeFi protocols are
still pretending they're decentralized while
having admin keys that can rug pull the entire
protocol. Speaking of rug pulls, how about all
these meme coins? People are literally gambling
their life savings on pictures of dogs and frogs.
It's like watching people trade Pokemon cards
while Rome is burning. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is
over here solving the fundamental problem of
money - Exactly! These altcoins are basically
just venture capital experiments with tokens.
They can fork the code, change the rules, print
more tokens. They're just fiat money with extra
steps. And the best part? Every time Bitcoin
pumps, all the altcoin maxis come out like, this
is actually good for insert shitcoin here. No
Karen, Bitcoin pumping means people are realizing
they don't need your centralized casino chips.
You know what though, I'm actually grateful for
altcoins. Wait, what? Did you just get hacked?
Now hear me out. They're like a constant reminder
of why Bitcoin is special. Every altcoin failure
just proves Bitcoin's superiority. Oh, that's
actually brilliant. They're like the control
group in the Great Monetary Experiment. Alright,
Autumn, let's circle back to El Salvador, because
what they're doing is absolutely revolutionary.
Yes, so while everyone was focused on the legal
tender stuff, they've been quietly building the
infrastructure for a Bitcoin -native financial
system. Right. So this new investment banking
law isn't just about buying Bitcoin. It's about
creating entirely new types of financial institutions
that operate in Bitcoin. And the requirements
are serious. $50 million minimum capital, $250
,000 liquidity threshold. These aren't some fly
-by -night crypto exchanges. Plus, they're offering
zero capital gains tax on Bitcoin, streamlined
licensing for foreign investment. They're literally
trying to become the Switzerland of Bitcoin.
And here's what's genius about it. They're focusing
on sophisticated investors first. They're not
trying to orange pill grandma right away. They're
building institutional infrastructure. Exactly.
And while the IMF is trying to bully them into
selling their Bitcoin, they're just buying more.
Bukele literally bought more Bitcoin and then
tweeted proof of work beats proof of whining
I mean the absolute Chad energy from this guy
The IMF is like you can't do that and he's like
watch me and check this out They're partnering
with other countries now Bolivia Pakistan. They're
creating a whole coalition of Bitcoin It's like
watching the beginning of a monetary revolution
in real time. El Salvador is basically showing
the world what a Bitcoin standard looks like.
And the best part? Their Bitcoin reserves are
up like 300 % since they started buying. They're
literally making money while building the future
of finance. Meanwhile, countries that are still
printing fiat money are watching their currencies
become toilet paper. You love to see - Autumn,
let's talk about what's happening at the protocol
level because the fundamentals are just incredible
right now. Oh, yes. So hashrate just hit another
all -time high. And get this, U .S. Bitcoin miners
now control a record share of the global hashrate.
That's huge for decentralization. We've got American
companies using renewable energy to secure the
most important network in human history. Right?
And speaking of energy, did you see that France
is considering using Bitcoin mining to deal with
their nuclear energy surplus? Wait, what? France?
The country that gave us... Baguettes and weird
cheese? The very same. They're realizing they
can use excess nuclear energy for Bitcoin mining
instead of just wasting it. It's like turning
energy waste into digital gold. That's actually
genius. Instead of flaring gas or wasting renewable
energy, you just mine Bitcoin. It's like a battery
that pays you. Exactly. And this is happening
all over the world. Texas is using stranded renewable
energy. El Salvador is using geothermal. And
now France wants to use nuclear. It's almost
like Bitcoin mining incentivizes the most efficient
energy use possible. Who could have predicted
that? Oh, wait, we did. Right. While politicians
are arguing about carbon credits and green new
deals, Bitcoin is just quietly creating the most
efficient energy infrastructure in human history.
And here's what's crazy. Every joule of energy
spent mining Bitcoin makes the network more secure.
It's like turning electricity into digital fortress
walls. Exactly. The more energy we put into Bitcoin,
the more impossible it becomes to attack. It's
the first monetary system that gets stronger
the more people use it. Darren, let's talk politics
for a second because the regulatory landscape
is shifting fast. Oh, yeah. So remember when
Gary Gensler was calling everything a security
and trying to kill crypto? Well, apparently someone
explained Bitcoin to him because the ETFs got
approved. It's like they finally realized that
fighting Bitcoin is like fighting gravity. You're
just going to lose and look stupid doing it.
And speaking of politics, did you see what Trump's
been saying about Bitcoin lately? He went from
Bitcoin is a scam to we need to dominate crypto
or China will. The politicians are finally catching
up. They're realizing that Bitcoin isn't going
away, so they better figure out how to work with
it. Plus, we've got this whole genius act working
its way through Congress for stablecoin regulation.
Finally, some actual clarity instead of regulation
by enforcement. Although, let's be real. Stablecoins
are just training wheels for Bitcoin adoption.
They're getting people comfortable with digital
money before they graduate to the real thing.
Exactly! It's like, here's your centralized,
printable, freezeable digital dollar, and eventually
people will be like, wait, why don't I just use
Bitcoin instead? Right! Why hold a digital representation
of depreciating fiat money when you can hold
actual digital scarcity? And the best part is
watching all these traditional finance institutions
trying to build Bitcoin but better and failing
spectacularly every single time. It's like watching
people try to improve on water by adding food
coloring. Sure, it looks different, but it's
still just water. Except now, it's worse. Autumn,
since we're talking about the future, let's give
our listeners the real alpha on Nostra. Yes,
folks. While everyone's arguing about which centralized
social media platform censors them less, we're
already living in the future with Nostra. For
those who don't know, Noster is a protocol, not
a platform. Think of it like email, but for social
media. No CEO, no board of directors, no single
point of failure. And the best part? It's built
on Bitcoin lightning. You can zap content creators
directly with sats. No ads. No algorithms, just
value for value. So if you love this show and
want to support independent Bitcoin media, head
over to the BitcoinStreetJournal .com, set up
your free Nostra profile, and start Zap. It takes
like 30 seconds and boom, you're part of the
uncensorable internet. Plus, you can zap us directly
when we drop knowledge bombs like this. And here's
what's beautiful. Noster doesn't have terms of
service or community guidelines. If you don't
like what someone posts, you just unfollow them
or use a different client. Personal responsibility?
Individual sovereignty? What a concept. It's
almost like the same principles that make Bitcoin
work also work for social media. Exactly. While
Twitter and Facebook are busy playing content
police, Noster is just working, building, growing,
being unstoppable. Alright Darren, let's get
into the crystal ball a bit. What are you seeing
for Bitcoin going forward? Autumn, I've never
been more bullish in my entire life, and here's
why. Hit me! Okay, so we've got institutional
adoption accelerating, ETF inflows crushing supply,
nation states starting to compete for Bitcoin
adoption, and the having effects still working
through the system. Right. And don't forget,
we're still at less than 2 % global adoption.
The vast majority of people still don't own any
Bitcoin. Exactly. Some analysts are throwing
around numbers like 150 ,000 to 200 ,000 by end
of 2025. And honestly, that might be conservative.
I mean, if you think about it, we've got 19 .9
million Bitcoin mined out of 21 million total.
Institutional demand going parabolic. and global
monetary debasement accelerating. Right. Every
time a central bank prints money, they're making
Bitcoin more valuable by comparison. It's like
they're doing our marketing for us. And here's
what's crazy. We're not even in a retail FOMO
phase yet. This is all institutional money. Wait
until regular people start catching on. Oh, man.
When your barista starts asking about Bitcoin
again, that's when you know we've hit the real
euphoria phase. One double shot of orange pill,
please. But seriously, folks, if you haven't
started your Bitcoin education journey yet, now's
the time. Not financial advice, just common sense.
Wait, before we wrap up, we - absolutely have
to talk about what's happening with the Lightning
Network. The scaling solution that everyone said
was impossible is now processing real economic
activity. Oh my god, yes! The Lightning Network
capacity just hit a new all -time high. We're
talking over 5 ,000 Bitcoin locked in Lightning
Channels, and that's just the public capacity
we can see. And the adoption is crazy. Companies
like Strike, Cash App, and River are all building
on Lightning. Even Twitter, I mean, X, is using
Lightning for their tipping feature. Right. And
here's what's incredible. Lightning transactions
are instant and cost basically nothing. We're
talking about micro -payments that are finally
possible. You can send a penny anywhere in the
world in under a second. And the use cases are
exploding. Gaming companies are using lightning
for in -game purchases, content creators are
getting zapped directly by their audience, and
entire economies in places like El Salvador are
running on lightning rails. Plus, Darren, we've
got to talk about how the Bitcoin education ecosystem
has exploded. The resources available now versus
just a few years ago are night and day. Absolutely!
We've got Bitcoin University courses, the MIT
Bitcoin courses, Andreas Antonopoulos' master
classes, and literally thousands of podcasts
breaking down everything from the basics to advanced
cryptography. And the books! The Bitcoin Standard
by Seifedean Amos, The Fiat Standard, Layered
Money by Nick Batia, there's an entire library
of Austrian economics and Bitcoin theory that's
accessible to everyone. Plus, the technical development
never stops. We've got Taproot activation enabling
smart contracts on Bitcoin, sidechains like Liquid
Network for institutional trading, and research
into things like simplicity programming language.
Exactly. And the privacy improvements are incredible
too. coin join implementations, Schnorr signatures,
making transactions more private and efficient,
and tools like Samurai Wallet and Wasabi Wallet,
giving users real financial privacy. Autumn,
let's also talk about the institutional players
that are going all in beyond just ETFs, because
some of these companies are making moves that
are absolutely wild. Oh yeah, like Tesla still
holding Bitcoin, Square, Now Block, continuing
to stack Sats, and companies like Marathon Digital
and Riot Blockchain literally pivoting their
entire business models to Bitcoin mining. Right.
And then you've got PayPal and Venmo letting
people buy Bitcoin directly in their apps, Fidelity
offering Bitcoin 401k options and even traditional
banks like JP Morgan quietly building Bitcoin
infrastructure for their clients. And it's not
just El Salvador anymore. The Central African
Republic made Bitcoin legal tender. Ukraine is
accepting Bitcoin donations for defense. And
countries like Switzerland and Singapore are
creating Bitcoin -friendly regulatory frameworks.
Plus, we're seeing city -level adoption too.
Miami is exploring Bitcoin for city operations.
Austin is looking at Bitcoin mining partnerships.
And New York City is finally getting Bitcoin
ATMs after years of regulatory hostility. Darren,
I have to mention how completely the energy narrative
has flipped. Remember when everyone said Bitcoin
was going to melt the ice caps? Oh man, that
was peak FUD. Now, we've got data showing Bitcoin
mining is driving renewable energy development.
Companies like Crusoe Energy are using flared
gas for mining, turning waste into value. And
the Bitcoin Mining Council data shows that Bitcoin
mining is now over 58 % sustainable energy. Wind,
solar, hydro, Bitcoin miners are literally the
best customers for renewable energy projects
because they provide guaranteed demand. Exactly.
And we're seeing incredible projects like volcano
mining in El Salvador, hydroelectric mining in
Paraguay, solar mining operations in Texas, and
even companies exploring fusion energy for Bitcoin
mining. And here's what's really mind blowing.
Bitcoin is starting to function as a global unit
of account. Companies are pricing things in satoshis.
Countries are measuring their reserves in Bitcoin.
And we're seeing the emergence of a true international
monetary standard. Right. And what's crazy is
watching traditional finance try to adapt. Banks
that spent years calling Bitcoin a scam are now
scrambling to offer Bitcoin services before they
get left behind entirely. Exactly. Study Bitcoin,
stack Sats, and hodl. The future is happening
whether you're ready or not. All right, Autumn.
This has been an absolutely incredible episode.
We covered institutional FOMO, El Salvador's
banking revolution, ETF mania, and the ongoing
altcoin circus. For sure. And through it all,
the message is crystal clear. Bitcoin is inevitable.
That's right. It's the apex predator of money,
the hardest asset ever created, and the future
of human economic coordination. And remember,
folks, this is just the beginning. We're still
in the early innings of the greatest monetary
revolution in human history. So what can our
listeners do? Education, accumulation, and self
-custody. Exactly. Learn everything you can about
Bitcoin. Dollar cost average into your stack.
And for the love of Satoshi, get your coins off
exchanges. Not your keys, not your Bitcoin. Say
it with me, everyone. Not your keys, not your
Bitcoin. Beautiful. And don't forget to visit
TheBitcoinStreetJournal .com to set up your Nostra
profile and join the uncensorable social media
revolution. Yes, zap us, zap your friends, zap
random strangers spreading Bitcoin knowledge.
Value for value is the future. And hey, if you
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peel the world. Because at the end of the day,
we're not just talking about price movements
or market caps. We're talking about the future
of human freedom, individual sovereignty, and
sound money for everyone. Bitcoin is home. Bitcoin
is freedom. Bitcoin is inevitable. And on that
note, see you on the next block. See you on the
next block. Thanks for tuning in to the Bitcoin
Street Journal Market Update. Keep stacking,
keep learning, and keep building the Bitcoin
future. Until next time, may your stats stack
high and your fees stay secure. This is the Bitcoin
Street Journal, and we'll see you on the next
block. you