• 🧠Quote(s) of the week:
• 🧡Bitcoin news🧡
• 💸Traditional Finance / Macro:
• 🏦Banks:
• 🌎Macro/Geopolitics:
• 🎁If you have made it this far, I would like to give you a little gift:

§🧠Quote(s) of the week:

‘If all humans vanished tomorrow, gravity still pulls, water still flow… But money? Gone. No minds left to agree on value—no gold standard. No Bitcoin. No barter. Money isn’t a natural law. It’s a social illusion we invented.’ Jeff Swanson

§🧡Bitcoin news🧡

Photos hosted by Azzamo ( https://azzamo.net/)

➡️Strategy has acquired 1,287 BTC to increase its BTC Reserve to ₿673,783 and has increased its USD Reserve by $62 million to $2.25 billion. - Saylor Another 1287 wholecoiners eliminated.

On the 6th of January:

➡️’If Bitcoin is worthless, then send me one. A classic challenge to those who don’t understand Bitcoin. But it goes deeper. Bitcoin is the first money in 5,000 years that exists purely as knowledge. Nothing else comes close. Money isn’t a rock you can hold. It never was. Money is a social construct. A shared hallucination we agree on. But Bitcoin is the first form of money in history to exist entirely as cryptographic knowledge. You don’t store Bitcoin. You know it. Ownership isn’t physical custody. It’s the possession of a private key. I can write 12 words on paper, bury it in the desert, destroy every device, disappear for a decade, and Bitcoin will still be mine. Not because it’s stored somewhere. Not because a server tracks it. Not because a bank vouches for me. Because I know the key, that’s the entire model. No counterparty. No permission. No trust. The network doesn’t hold my coins. Miners don’t custody them. Nodes don’t approve ownership. Math alone verifies control. To spend, I broadcast a signed transaction. To hold, I depend on no one. Gold is bearer money. You can bury it, and it’s yours. But it has limits: • Hard to move • Hard to divide • Hard to verify Bitcoin keeps gold’s bearer nature and adds superpowers: • Instant global transfer • Perfect divisibility • Cryptographic authenticity Gold is an analog bearer money. Bitcoin is digital bearer money. Fiat is the opposite.

You can’t truly possess dollars without banks, central banks, and payment rails. Even cash is a liability dependent on policy and trust. Fiat is a claim. Bitcoin is proof. Bitcoin isn’t a database entry assigned to you. It’s a scarce cryptographic artifact secured by proof-of-work. Back to the challenge: If Bitcoin is worthless, send me one. To do that, you must: • Control a private key • Sign a real transaction • Broadcast it globally • Have miners burn energy to confirm it

You can’t fake this. You can’t shortcut it. You must trade, sell, or work to earn Bitcoin. Stop thinking of Bitcoin as something you store. Start thinking of it as knowledge you possess. • A seed phrase is pure information • That information grants control over scarce units • No one can debase, freeze, or dilute it

This is why Bitcoin is sovereign money. Gold required physical custody. Fiat required institutional trust. The real question isn’t whether Bitcoin is real money. It’s how long you’ll keep holding inferior versions.’ - Jeff Swanson

➡️NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang says, “Bitcoin mining is taking excess energy and storing it into a new form. It’s called currency. And you take that currency wherever you like. So you took energy from one place, and now you’ve transported it everywhere.”

➡️Bitcoin Scarcity Ladder • 0.01 BTC → Scarcity Awareness • 0.05 BTC → Supply Alignment • 0.1 BTC → Global Minority • 0.21 BTC → Top 1% Holder Class • 0.5 BTC → Capital Class • 1 BTC → Structural Elite • 3 BTC → Monetary Architect • 10+ BTC → Supply Control

‘This ladder isn’t about status today, it’s about fixed supply math meeting global adoption over time. It’s not about price—each tier is a more profound shift in your relationship with the world’s hardest money. You’re not just saving; you’re moving into a new class of capital. With 21M BTC, lost coins, institutions, and nation-states accumulating, ownership naturally stratifies whether people like it or not. That’s not fantasy, that’s arithmetic.’

➡️Morgan Stanley has filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF. Demand for Bitcoin exposure is now so strong that Morgan Stanley is moving beyond distribution and looking to issue its own product, despite intense competition from BlackRock and Fidelity.

Bitcoin allocation recommendations: Bank of America: 1-4% Blackrock: 1-2% Fidelity: 2-5% Anons on X: It’s just Tulip Mania

➡️This anonymous user has been mining bitcoin every day since November 2016, sending all rewards to a wallet that now holds 4,165 bitcoin worth $375,000,000 and NEVER selling a single one. The wallet has not been touched in over eight years.

➡️Bitcoin is at 4.7% world adoption, same as Internet Adoption in 1999. We are so early. - Documenting Saylor

➡️Bitcoin averages +100% in the year following a down year. 2025 was a down year. - Jesse Myers

➡️Bitcoin Archive: ’Buck launches Bitcoin-linked savings token

• Buck Labs launches BUCK, a yield-bearing “savings coin.”
• BUCK targets 7% annual rewards, accruing minute-by-minute.
• Yield funded by income from Strategy’s bitcoin-linked preferred stock (STRC).’

Great, it smells like a scam. Yield-bearing Bitcoin? Smart money finds a way. It is basically a shitcoin.

➡️Bitcoin ETFs bought $697 MILLION BTC yesterday. The most significant single-day inflow since early October. - Bitcoin Archive

➡️$40 billion worth of Bitcoin. That’s how much the 21 largest holders accumulated in 2025. A rising tide lifts all boats. - River

➡️Jack Mallers: ‘Venezuela isn’t about oil. It’s about critical minerals and territory where China, Iran, and Russia operate simultaneously. Another sign the post-1971 fiat system is dead. The world is moving back to real things with real constraints. We’ll all need real money. Buy bitcoin.’

➡️In the near future, 1 Bitcoin will cost 1 decade worth of labor. Right now, it’s one year’s worth of labor. A few years ago, it was the equivalent of one month’s labor. Before that, a week worth of labor. Before that, a day worth of labor. Before that, an hour’s worth of labor. Get it? Time is money! Got Bitcoin?

On the 8th of January:

➡️Now that the price of Gold and Silver is rising, just a little reminder: Jeff Swanson: ‘People say, “Gold did not fail!” While technically true, you’re missing Gold’s weak point. You can’t run a global monetary system on a metal you can’t teleport, verify remotely, or store without institutional gatekeepers. So institutions became chokepoints. Chokepoints became corrupt. Corruption became policy. Bitcoin is what gold would’ve been if physics allowed self-custody at scale.’

➡️Ki Young Ju: ‘Capital inflows into Bitcoin have dried up. Liquidity channels are more diverse now, so timing inflows is pointless. Institutions holding long-term killed the old whale-retail sell cycle. MSTR won’t dump any significant chunk of their 673k BTC. Money just rotated to stocks and shiny rocks. I don’t think we’ll see a -50%+ crash from ATH like past bear markets. Just boring sideways for the next few months. Shorting here, hoping for a nuke? Good luck with that.’

➡️Bitcoin News: A Bitcoin whale closed all its long positions, unloading 3,846 BTC ($350.4M) and realizing over $3.5M in losses.

➡️Bitcoin Archive: ’Bitcoin miner/water heater featured on the CES 2026 show floor

• Built with ASIC Bitcoin miners mounted on a 50-gallon water heater.
• Same energy usage as a standard electric water heater while producing BTC
• Mining revenue could fully offset water-heating expenses.

➡️Jesse Myers: has topped in the last two cycles at the trendline from the prior cycle’s early bull market. I don’t know if it means anything, but I’ve always found it interesting. If this trend continues, it would mean: ~$300k in 2026 ~$800k in 2030

➡️Bitcoin News: Congressman Byron Donalds discloses purchases of up to $100,000 in Bitcoin. The move stands out as his first reported Bitcoin buy and comes from a sitting member of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets. Donalds previously introduced a bill to protect President Donald Trump’s executive order on Bitcoin. The bill would make the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the US Digital Asset Stockpile a permanent part of US policy so that no future President can reverse them.

➡️Sminston With: ISM PMI still 47.9 (below 50). Spring is still coiling. Are you prepared?

Plan C: ’A simple observation: 2013 Bitcoin Cycle Peak > 55 2017 Bitcoin Cycle Peak > 60 2021 Bitcoin Cycle Peak > 65 What we can conclude: 2026 or 2027 Bitcoin Cycle Peak > 70? What we can be more confident in saying is: 2026 or 2027 Bitcoin Cycle Peak: 55–70 range.

➡️Bitwise says a 5% capital rotation from gold to Bitcoin could send BTC to $242,391.

➡️ Don’t fight economic reality. There is no second best.

ON the 9th of January:

➡️Bitcoin News: Bitfinex whales are aggressively closing BTC longs, a signal that historically precedes massive volatility. Last time this “unwind” happened in early 2025, Bitcoin was stalling at $74k. Instead of a crash, the flush cleared leverage and ignited a 50% rally to $112k in just 43 days. With BTC currently consolidating near $91.5k, a similar fractal move targets $135k+. When Bitfinex whales “clear the books,” they are essentially removing the target off the market’s back. Large clusters of long positions act like magnets for price-hunting algorithms; once those are flushed, the path of least resistance almost always flips upward.

➡️Bitcoin Archive: BNY Mellon launches tokenized deposits, allowing users to transfer Bitcoin and crypto directly on-chain. Major banks are adopting Bitcoin in 2026.

➡️South Korea plans to list Bitcoin ETFs this year.

➡️Rep. John Snyder has filed HB 1039, the latest attempt to allocate up to 10% of Florida’s state funds to Bitcoin, following two withdrawn bills from last year, HB 487 and SB 550. - Bitcoin News

➡️Bitcoin is up 459%, from $15,460 to $91,026, over the past three years.

➡️Bitcoin is cheap compared to gold. - Bitwise

➡️Over 56% of the Bitcoin network is now powered by sustainable energy. - Bitcoin News

➡️You could wait to buy Bitcoin until there is less than 1 million left to be mined. Or you could buy today. - river

➡️Pierre Rochard: “Bitcoin’s low fees keep going lower, transactions have never been more affordable. The data is clear: Bitcoin is the most inclusive monetary system in the world.”

➡️TFTC: French tax agent arrested for leaking crypto investors’ personal data from tax databases to unknown clients, fueling armed home invasions amid the ongoing kidnapping wave. KYC mandates create target lists for criminals. Protect yourself.

On the 10th of January

➡️South Korea’s Supreme Court has ruled that Bitcoin held in exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb can be seized under the Criminal Procedure Act. The decision, from a case involving 55.6 BTC confiscated from a money laundering suspect, confirmed that digital coins with independently controllable economic value qualify as property subject to seizure. - Bitcoin News

➡️Trending Bitcoin: Bitcoin’s 2x/60x Rule: When #Bitcoin gets twice as old (2x), its price goes up 60×. Today, Bitcoin is 6,215 days old, or 17 years old. When it gets twice as old (12,430 days, 34 years), the price is projected to be $5,414,460.

It is an interesting take; this “2x/60x rule” is a rough extrapolation, not a guarantee. Market dynamics, adoption, and regulations could alter trajectories.

➡️HRF and the Finney Family award the 2016-2020 Finney Freedom Prize to Andreas Antonopoulos for educating millions about Bitcoin.

HRF and the Finney family have awarded the Finney Freedom Prize (2016–2020 era) to Andreas Antonopoulos for educating millions about Bitcoin and advancing its role in strengthening human rights. Antonopoulos was selected from a shortlist that included Saifedean Ammous, Matt Corallo, Adam Gibson, and Luke Dashjr.

➡️Iran’s internet blackout has disrupted local Bitcoin mining, delaying payouts and straining operations amid a record-low rial. Satellite and mesh networks offer limited workarounds, but online confirmation is still required.

On the 11th of January:

➡️Hal Finney: ‘Running Bitcoin’ - 11.01.2009 on Twitter/X The first Bitcoin post on this app was made 17 years ago today by Hal Finney, a software engineer, futurist, father, husband, cypherpunk, and one of the few people who believed Bitcoin could fix the world when it had no price or value.

On the 12th of January:

➡️Senator Cynthia Lummis introduces a bill to protect blockchain developers from money transmitter requirements.

‘People think I’m obsessed with bitcoin. I’m actually obsessed with not being quietly robbed for the rest of my life.’ - Kit

➡️Tuur Demeester: Bitcoin performance vs change in global M2. While gold & silver have been absorbing demand for inflation hedges, accelerated money printing remains a significant tailwind for bitcoin. -DigitalAssets From the report: “Historically, bitcoin bull markets have aligned with periods of increased global liquidity. As a new monetary easing cycle has begun globally and with the Fed’s QT program ending, we will likely see this growth rate continue to the upside throughout 2026, a positive catalyst for bitcoin’s price.” Source: https://fidelitydigitalassets.com/sites/g/files/djuvja3256/files/acquiadam/FDA_2026_LookAheadReport_V3.pdf

➡️AI abundance is about to clash with perfect scarcity. - Joe Burnett

➡️BTQ Technologies launches Bitcoin Quantum, a permissionless Bitcoin fork testnet, which allows users to stress-test quantum-resistant transactions.

‘People think I’m obsessed withBbitcoin. I’m actually obsessed with not being quietly robbed for the rest of my life.’ - Kit Spot on!

§💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

On the 7th of January:

👉🏽Lockheed Martin stock falls sharply as President Trump bans dividends and stock buybacks on defense companies “until problems are rectified.”

§🏦Banks:

👉🏽 No News

§🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

Before I start this segment, I want to share a great video, a brief but detailed overview: “Socialism, Marxism, & communism explained in simple terms—— and why they are inherently godless and genocidal.” By Larry Alex Taunton

https://youtu.be/kqJRx7tvEO4

Or watch it here: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/2010436075932745840.html

A brilliant video of what the West is facing.

On the 5th of January:

👉🏽Cracking map here from Wells Fargo on how countries around the globe are strategically aligned.

India is mis-marked here, as are some other countries.

Velina Tchakarova: “It’s not the China bloc; it’s the DragonBear bloc. It’s not Cold War 2 between the US and China; it’s between the Anglosphere and the DragonBear. Ukraine has been the first proxy war in this new Cold War, but Ukraine is not unaligned; it’s a strongly pro-US/EU country even without NATO membership.”

I am not sure about the whole DragonBear bloc, and this map is being rendered obsolete right now, but it will give you an insight into how a geopolitical view orders the world.

👉🏽Venezuela: With immediate effect, Switzerland is freezing any Swiss-based assets linked to Nicolás Maduro. If any assets turn out to be of illicit origin, Switzerland will do its best to ensure that these benefit the Venezuelan population, https://t.co/VdnJczonua

Are they going to the same thing to Netanyahu? Double standard is the new standard. Orange is the new Arian.

Giacomo: “Maduro is communist shit, and I’d be fine if he burned in hell. But this is bad and very anti-Swiss. The Swiss government shouldn’t even KNOW who is linked to Swiss-based assets, let alone touch them. That was the most interesting feature of this country. Luckily, Bitcoin is the new Switzerland now.”

Bitcoin Fixes This. Opt out of centralized control networks. We no longer need them.

On the 6th of January:

👉🏽TKL: This is absolutely ridiculous: Venezuela’s stock market is now up +73% since President Maduro was captured. Since December 23rd, as President Trump ramped up pressure on Maduro’s government, Venezuela’s stock market has risen by 148%. Venezuela’s stock market is skyrocketing.

👉🏽Reuters reports that Venezuela’s oil shipments to China have stopped for 5 days, but continue to the US through Chevron Corp. Before the crisis, Venezuela sold an average of 700,000 barrels a day to China, while the US bought around 150,000 per day.

👉🏽 Isn’t it ironic that many Brits voted for Brexit to reduce immigration? How did this happen?

👉🏽TKL: ‘Shocking stat of the day: It now takes a record 1,295 hours worked, on average, in the US, to buy one unit of the Dow Jones Industrial Average index. This is ~500 hours more than in 2017 or at the 2020 pandemic low. Since the 2008 Financial Crisis, the number of hours required to buy the Dow has more than QUADRUPLED. Over this period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index has gained +629%. At the same time, average hourly earnings have risen +67%, or nearly 10 times less, to a record $36.86. Asset owners are enjoying unprecedented gains.’

👉🏽Hedgeye: ‘Gold has now surpassed the US Dollar as the largest Global Reserve Asset.’

Luke Gromen: ‘This happened much faster than I thought it would, & it begs one crucial question… “If gold is now the biggest asset in FX reserves, is the USD still the primary reserve currency, or is it gold?” …& answers another: “What currency will replace the USD?”
None; gold will.’ Quick fact check, though: USD is showing 40%, gold is 28%. The trend has been remarkable, though primarily driven by the rising price of gold and, to some extent, by central bank buying. At this moment, Gold is > USTs, but not USDs (yet).

On the 7th of January:

👉🏽After Venezuela, we have the Greenland situation: Jack Prandelli: ‘Greenland is strategically vital. It sits at the crossroads of North America, Europe, and the Arctic, controlling key air routes, the North Atlantic sea lanes, and access to the Arctic Ocean. Melting ice is opening shorter Asia-Europe shipping routes, boosting the region’s military and economic importance. Greenland also hosts missile early-warning systems and anchors the GIUK gap (Greenland-Iceland-UK), a critical chokepoint for Russian naval movements. Add vast reserves of RareEarths and critical minerals, and the stakes are clear. US interest in Greenland is about deterrence, supply-chain security, and power projection in a geography-driven geopolitical world.’

👉🏽The benchmark index DAX has crossed 25,000. Since starting at 1,000 points in 1987, the index has risen by ~2,400% – an annualized return of 8.83%.

‘Germany, your government betrayed you. It pushed “safe” savings deposits with near-zero returns and discouraged stock ownership. Then it buried your economy under high energy costs, suffocating red tape, insane welfare spend, and crushing taxes. DAX above 25,000? You can’t cheer. The majority of the benefit goes overseas. Literally, the gains flow abroad while your country sinks. You have every right to be angry and demand change.’ -Desiree Fixler

👉🏽‘A new poll shows that most South Americans support Trump’s decision to arrest Maduro: 87% in Costa Rica 78% in Chile 77% in Colombia 76% in Panama 74% in Peru 61% in Argentina 60% in Ecuador 52% in Uruguay 43% in Mexico’ -Visegrad 24

👉🏽‘Capitalism v Communism Evidence… you lose commies’ - Peter McCormack

Is it that simple? The chart from Our World in Data accurately shows that life expectancy rose in these Eastern European countries after the fall of communism around 1990. However, it’s not that simple—improvements stemmed from multiple factors, such as economic reforms, EU integration, and advances in global health, not just Capitalism alone.

👉🏽The US is the Saudi Arabia of oil. The US has been the world’s largest oil producer since 2018, thanks to fracking.’ - Kyle Chan Source: https://archive.ph/GLs7a

‘Meanwhile, CNBC is now reporting that oil sales from Venezuela will continue “indefinitely” and sanctions are being reduced. This comes just 12 hours after President Trump said Venezuela sent 30 to 50 million barrels of crude oil to the US. The oil shipments will be sold at market price for over $2 billion. Next, large US oil companies will begin substantial investment in Venezuela to allow for much higher crude oil production. The US capturing Maduro will reshape global energy trade. The US now “controls” an OPEC country.’ -TKL

👉🏽‘France is working with its allies on a plan, should the US move on Greenland, according to a Reuters report. Crazy, like doing what? Asking the US military to go home and stop defending Europe? Europe prioritized welfare and Net Zero over defense for decades. Now it has only bad options left. Choices have consequences.’

👉🏽US Energy Secretary: “Let’s just engage with reality. Oil, gas, and coal are what run the world. Full stop. We can’t build a wind turbine, a solar panel, or a nuclear power plant without massive amounts of oil, gas, and coal. That’s how the world works.” The European mind can’t comprehend this. The EU’s climate delusions and industrial self-sabotage will be written into history books.

“Germany invested half a trillion and now produce 20% less electricity at 3x the price.”

1. Industrial production imploded
2. Same goods are produced in Asia now, but with higher emissions
3. Germany still generates 5x more emissions per kWh than France

Desiree Fixler: ‘Germany, please have a listen. Your Net Zero policy colossally failed. It invested “half a (trillion dollars to double the electricity grid…..yet produce 20% less electricity” at 3X the price. And the result: your economy has declined, unemployment is higher, and costs are higher. There is no climate emergency, but corrupt politicians and NGOs are benefitting from this climate hoax.’

Here in the Netherlands, companies are leaving because of high energy costs and suffocating environmental regulations. Yet, Green Deal architect Diederik Samsom calmly writes that we need to improve our innovation and investment capacity—the freaking audacity.

👉🏽Lukas Ekwueme: Electricity demand is entering a supercycle. The next phase of global growth isn’t digital… It’s industrial. By 2050, incremental electricity demand comes from:

• Industry: ~11.2 TWh
• Buildings: ~6.0 TWh
• Transport: ~4.5 TWh
• Hydrogen production: ~4.7 TWh
• Data centers: ~4.5 TWh Together, this means global electricity demand roughly doubles over the next 26 years. Meeting that demand would require, at scale:
• Thousands of new thermal plants
• Thousands of nuclear reactors
• Or millions of wind turbines

This buildout will dominate energy and commodity markets for decades… and it’s a trend I intend to exploit.’

👉🏽Wall Street Mav: ‘US oil companies like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips left Venezuela in 2007 after Hugo Chavez nationalized oil. International arbitrations awarded them billions of $$$, but Venezuela has paid only a fraction. US companies developed the tech to make low-quality heavy oil viable. Spent billions of $$) building up Venezuela’s infrastructure. Venezuela was making tons of money via taxes and royalties. But the socialists wanted everything. They confiscated an industry producing 3 million bpd, and their mismanagement caused it to fall apart. Now they produce only 1 million bpd.’

On the 8th of January:

👉🏽Denmark cannot focus on Greenland. Their culture is dying due to a Muslim invasion, just like most of Europe. Denmark (and Europe) also has a massive Somali problem. Somali migrants cost Denmark’s taxpayers $24,000 on average per Somali per year. They are also in the highest group of criminals in Denmark, with a violent crime rate 9x higher than the Danish level. This is not just a few bad apples. 62% of Somalis in Denmark are convicted of a violent crime by the age of 30. Even compared to other Muslim or African ethnic groups in Denmark, Somalis stand out as the worst people to allow into your country. Every government on the planet focuses on sending Somalis back to Somalia and tries to contain them there, where they can do the least amount of harm to the rest of the world. - Wall Street Mav

Unfortunately, we see this happening all over Europe. Now, let me make one thing clear. In this case, the Somalis aren’t the problem; bad policy is. And eventually, bad policy is the problem, as it has invited problematic people into the country.

👉🏽Michael A. Arouet: ‘Wow, the UK economy is literally falling apart. Every day, 45 tax-paying millionaires leave the country, taking countless jobs with them. Every day, 3,000 new welfare recipients are added. And the left’s answer is a wealth tax? In which parallel universe do they live?’

👉🏽The Italian unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level ever, at 5.7% in November.

👉🏽TKL: ‘US small business hiring is historically weak: US small firms added +9,000 jobs in December, the first gain in employment in 5 months, according to the ADP Employment Report. Companies with 1-19 employees hired +4,000 workers, while those with 20-49 employees hired +5,000. This follows a -96,000 decline in employment during November, -24,000 in October, and -34,000 in September. As a result, the 3-month moving average rose to -37,000, the 2nd-weakest reading since the 2020 pandemic. Small businesses are struggling.’

👉🏽Zerohedge: Silver Will Remind Us: We Are Deeply Dependent On The Earth (Zero Hedge). Unlike dollars, you can’t print more silver. Unlike gold, silver is consumed at an industrial scale because it is required for the defining industries of our time: • Solar panels • Electric vehicles • Semiconductors • Advanced electronics • Artificial intelligence (AI) data centers • Critical defense systems

You can build a financial system with paper promises, but you cannot make the future’s physical economy without metal. Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/precious-metals/silver-will-remind-us-we-are-deeply-dependent-earth

👉🏽TKL:‘US job openings fell -303,000 in November, to 7.15 million, the 2nd-lowest level since December 2020. This was far below the expectations of 7.61 million vacancies. Over the last 12 months, job openings have declined by -885,000, and are now below the levels seen before the pandemic in 2018 and 2019. As a result, the ratio of available vacancies to unemployed workers dropped to 0.91, the lowest since March 2021 and consistent with 2017 levels. The number of unemployed individuals now exceeds job openings by 685,000. The US job market continues to weaken.’

👉🏽The Islamic regime has completely shut down the internet in Iran. (p.s.: This is where Bitchat comes in.) The most significant positive event since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The world is with the people of Iran. Sana Ebrahimi: “We are watching a revolution unfold live while the world’s media stays dead silent. Legacy media has become nothing more than a propaganda machine, because what news could be bigger than this?

Anyone who understands the Middle East knows this: the fall of the Iranian regime would be more consequential than the fall of the Berlin Wall, not because the Islamic Republic is a global power, but because it has been a central tool for China and Russia and a significant engine of terrorism in the Middle East. Its collapse would rip out a core pillar of their influence and fundamentally change global power dynamics.“

This trend among Iranian women is now unstoppable. This is actual feminism. These women have more bravery in their pinky finger than the entire UN Women organization.

Whatever you think about J.K. Rowling, she is spot on concerning this matter: “If you claim to support human rights yet can’t bring yourself to show solidarity with those fighting for their liberty in Iran, you’ve revealed yourself. You don’t give a damn about people being oppressed and brutalised so long as it’s being done by the enemies of your enemies.”

👉🏽Mercedes is moving production of the A-Class to Hungary — the country marked with number 10 on the map, representing its low electricity prices. Hungary relies heavily on nuclear power. The Germans, of course, consider themselves far smarter — Green Energiewende, and all that.

Low energy prices attract industry and manufacturing. It really is that simple. Hopefully, one day the Greens will be held accountable in court for the economic devastation of Europe.

Michael A. Arouet: This chart is unreal: a comparison of electricity generation and CO₂ intensity. France (blue) generates barely any emissions, but look at Germany (brown). The German “green energy transition” has hurt its industry, jobs, and the environment. Why did they do this?

👉🏽USDA’s new food guidelines translated: Red meat = approved Whole milk = hot again Oysters & fish = that’s your Botox
Froot Loops = finally humbled Eggs = officially innocent

👉🏽Eric Daugherty: Sec. Scott Bessent just confirmed up to $600 BILLION of annual fraud with taxpayer dollars, nearly 10% of spending. Elon Musk called it! END ALL FRAUD. “We are going to hold people accountable. We’re going to press this to the full extent possible…American taxpayers, for American families, the GAO, the General Accounting Office, believes that there is somewhere between $300B- $600B of annual fraud, roughly 10% of government spending, that disappears due to fraud.” “If we can recapture that, that is 1% to 2% of GDP!”

Main question: Are the taxpayers gonna be reimbursed?

At the same time. President Trump just cut the US trade deficit IN HALF, the lowest in nearly 2 decades, CNBC is in total shock! “Buckle up, THIS IS UNREAL. -$29.4 billion, we cut it IN HALF!” “In March, it was $136B. Now, under $30B. We haven’t been that small in a long time - I don’t have enough RECORDS to go back that far!” Apologize to Donald Trump and Scott Bessent. THEY WERE RIGHT!“

Now I asked Grok: ‘The US trade deficit for October 2025 (not November) narrowed to $29.4B, the lowest since 2009, per Commerce Dept. data released today—down 39% from September’s revised $48.1B and sharply from March 2025’s $140.5B peak. Driven by 3.2% import drop and 2.6% export rise, possibly due to demand shifts or tariff anticipation. Monthly figures can fluctuate. A lower US trade deficit (imports exceeding exports by less) can be good as it may boost domestic production, create jobs, and reduce reliance on foreign goods, potentially strengthening the economy. However, deficits aren’t always bad—they can reflect strong growth, where Americans can afford more imports. ’

On the 9th of January:

👉🏽‘The UAE announces it will cut funds for citizens who want to study in the UK out of fear of Emirati students being radicalized by Muslim Brotherhood Islamists on British campuses. An Arab state now views a European state as a dangerous Islamist radicalization hotspot.’

👉🏽The EU Commission plans to pour €8.6 billion through the AgoraEU program to increase funding for so-called “civil society” groups, to replace the gap left by halted USAID funding. These are not genuine NGOs, but political activist networks that attack democratically elected conservative governments and promote the liberal agenda, while serving the European Commission’s political objectives - mass migration, gender ideology, and the radical Green Deal. Those who refuse to fall in line are attacked. Enough is enough! It is time to put an end to European taxpayers’ money being funneled to “NGOs” working against the interests of Member States.

👉🏽 US debt delinquency expectations hit 15.3%. Highest since April 2020, per NY Fed’s Dec 2025 survey -TFTC

👉🏽QE but not QE:

$8.16B flowed into the system yesterday, with a scheduled $40–$80B per month to come.

👉🏽Lukas Ekwueme: M2 money supply just hit a record (22.3T. Since 2000, M2 has grown at a ~6.3% CAGR. Brace for inflation.

👉🏽In one of my previous recaps, I stated the hypocrisy surrounding the new leader of Syria.

‘In Damascus today with Antonio Costa. After decades of fear and silence, Syrians began a long journey toward hope and renewal. Europe will do everything it can to support Syria’s recovery and reconstruction.’ - Ursula von der Leyen

Again, the hypocrisy. If anyone still needs proof that Brussels doesn’t care about human rights, this is it. You’re posing respectfully with a man whose past is tied to ISIS, including images with beheaded victims, and you’re seriously calling it “hope and renewal”? The jihadist who refuses to shake your hand in these photos is now trying to massacre the Kurds, but it’s okay, correct—“European values.” Let me spell this for you differently: Unelected EU bureaucrats casually transfer €720 million for humanitarian aid, reconstruction funds, and economic cooperation for a country led by a former Al-Qaeda head-chopper, whilst he is responsible for ethnic minorities and homosexuals being persecuted, murdered, or even thrown off buildings. That’s not diplomacy, it’s moral collapse…

👉🏽Eurobonds great project, right? France might need an IMF bailout.

• Debt-to-GDP: ~113%
• Budget deficit: ~6%
• French 10-year bond yield: ~3.55% To put that into perspective:
• Greece’s debt-to-GDP is ~160%
• Greek 10-year borrowing costs are ~3.4% The market has more confidence in Greece than in France… let that sink in. France, once a great empire, is now in perpetual decline.

👉🏽It is refreshing to see a leader like Milei. ‘President Milei of Argentina has fully and rapidly repaid the US) 2.5 billion drawdown from a US$ 20 billion currency swap facility with the United States Treasury. The repayment — completed in December 2025 — clears all outstanding pesos from the Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF). President Trump was criticized for the action in 2025, but it ended up being profitable for the USA.’

👉🏽Gold futures surge above $4,500/oz as geopolitical tensions rise and uncertainty around protests in Iran drives a flight to safety. uhmm Frequency of Audits: Fort Knox Gold Reserve vs.Bitcoin

👉🏽Sometimes reality is better than satire.

The UAE announces it will cut funds for citizens who want to study in the UK out of fear of Emirati students being radicalized by Muslim Brotherhood Islamists on British campuses. An Arab state now views a European state as a dangerous Islamist radicalization hotspot.

Now this is not a surprise: They’ve been saying this for many years now - it’s just no one’s been listening. 7 years ago, the UAE’s Foreign Minister issued a warning to the West. His words now sound more prophetic than ever. In 2017, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed warned: “There will come a day that we will see far more radical extremists and terrorists coming out of Europe because of a lack of decision making, trying to be politically correct, or assuming that they know the Middle East and they know Islam and they know the others far better than we do. And I’m sorry, but that’s pure ignorance.”

Oh, and on another satire part: Tony Blair’s sister-in-law, Lauren Booth, who converted to Islam, called October 7 “legendary” and claimed it would make millions “accept Islam”. Thus typifying the INSANE radicalisation of the privileged. Gross. So let me explain it one more time. A core Muslim country is afraid of sending its Muslim citizens to a Christian nation, cos of fear of being turned into terrorists by the Muslims in the Christian country. But Christians in that country are ignorant of the mess they are in.

By Amjad Taha - Emirati Expert in Strategic and Political Affairs (Middle East): “List of Universities Where Muslim Brotherhood–Linked Extremist Networks Are Reported to Operate Recruitment and Radicalisation Activities: United Kingdom

1. University of Birmingham
2. University of Manchester
3. SOAS University of London
4. University of Bradford
5. Queen Mary University of London
6. University of Leeds
7. Newcastle University

Ireland 8. Trinity College Dublin 9. University College Dublin (UCD) 10. University of Galway 11. University College Cork (UCC) 12. Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) 13. Dublin City University (DCU) 14. Ulster University UAE Position

In the United Arab Emirates, the Muslim Brotherhood is a banned terrorist organization. Antisemitism is a crime, not an opinion. Extremism, incitement, and ideological recruitment are not tolerated..whether on campuses or elsewhere.“

👉🏽NATO plans to defend Greenland from the US. Wait what? NATO intends to defend Greenland from NATO.

👉🏽More than 16,500 millionaires left the UK in 2025.

👉🏽TKL: ‘Global bond sales jumped +26% YoY in the first week of 2026, to ~$248 billion, the strongest start to any year on record. World debt issuance in the first 7 days is up +128% from 2020 and +351% from 2019. This comes as issuers that held back in December are now rushing into the market to secure funding before next week’s earnings blackout. Firms are also trying to get ahead of an incoming wave of AI-linked bond issuances, which will likely push borrowing costs higher. The global borrowing rush is accelerating.’

👉🏽TKL: The US trade deficit continues to improve at a historic pace: The US’ goods and services trade gap narrowed +$18.79 billion, or +39%, in October, to $29.4 billion, the smallest since 2009. Since the March peak, the US trade deficit has narrowed by +$107.02 billion, or +78%. This comes as imports fell -3.2% MoM, to $331.37 billion, the lowest since January 2024. At the same time, exports rose 2.6% MoM to $302 billion, the highest on record. The merchandise trade deficit, adjusted for inflation, narrowed to $63.0 billion in October, the smallest since February 2020. The US trade deficit is rapidly shrinking.

On the 10th of January:

👉🏽Trump calls for a one-year cap on credit card usury to a 10% maximum, effective January 20, 2026. TKL: ‘Monday is going to be an interesting day. Credit card company stocks won’t be able to react to this major news from Trump for another 50+ hours. Either millions of credit cards will be cancelled, or credit card companies will take a large hit. It’s midterm election season, Trump won’t let the former happen.’

👉🏽Desiree Fixler: ‘Sorry, Germany — but it’s going to get worse. Net Zero is de-industrialising you. Energy costs are sky-high. Productivity has collapsed. Factories are closing. Jobs are disappearing. But your government doesn’t care. It listens to unelected, billionaire-backed NGOs like Agora Energiewende rather than voters. Emissions are already almost 50% below 1990, and they say it’s still not enough. So they demand more decline. More pain. When is enough, enough?’

👉🏽The Netherlands: First, they promise that the state pension (AOW) is sacred, then they make people over 67 pay pension premiums because the state budget is creaking. Meanwhile, billions for NATO, Ukraine, and asylum seekers are available without limits. Apparently, solidarity only works one way.

A bizarre situation: having to pay contributions just to be allowed to receive the state pension you already paid for.

https://esb.nu/grote-inkomensgevolgen-als-67-plussers-aow-premie-moeten-gaan-betalen/

On the 11th of January:

👉🏽TKL: The US debt crisis worsens: US government interest payments are now up to an annualized record of $1.47 trillion. This comes as federal interest payments rose +5% YoY, to $1.20 trillion, an all-time high. Federal interest costs have DOUBLED over the last 4 years. Meanwhile, interest paid by state and local governments fell -3% YoY, to $270 billion, the lowest since Q1 2023. However, this is ~$80 billion above the levels seen in 2007 before the 2008 Financial Crisis. As a result, federal, state, and local interest expenditures as % of GDP are up to 4.7%, near the highest in 27 years. The debt crisis is an understatement.

👉🏽 US interest payments hit record annualized $1.47T in Q3 2025.

👉🏽‘The end of Western Keynesianism will be even bigger than the end of Soviet Communism.’ - Balaij

On the 12th of January:

👉🏽Fed Chair Powell responds after Federal prosecutors open a criminal investigation into him: “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Fed setting rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” he says.

https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20260111a.html

Lyn Alden: ‘Pretty much the most direct clash between the Fed and the Executive Branch since 1951. The “2020s = 1940s” thesis is still on track.’ https://www.lynalden.com/fiscal-and-monetary-policy/

👉🏽TKL: Central bank official gold purchases remain robust: Global central banks bought +45 tonnes of gold in November, the 2nd-strongest month in 2025. This marks the 2nd month of the year with purchases above 40 tonnes. In the first 11 months of the year, central banks acquired 297 tonnes of gold. The National Bank of Poland led buying for the 2nd consecutive month, adding +12 tonnes, pushing reserves to a record 543 tonnes, or ~28% of total FX reserves. The Central Bank of Brazil followed, buying for the 3rd consecutive month, adding 11 tonnes, bringing gold reserves to a record 172 tonnes, or 6% of its total. Central bank gold demand is incredibly strong. - TKL

👉🏽The UK has now arrested more than 12,000 people for free speech online. - Polymarket

👉🏽 US Virtual Embassy Iran: “Leave Iran now.”

👉🏽US household net worth jumped +$6.1 trillion in Q3 2025, to a record $181.6 trillion. This was almost entirely driven by equity holdings, which soared by $5.5 trillion as the stock market hit a record high. At the same time, the value of real estate holdings fell by $287 billion, reflecting a weaker housing market. Since Q1 2020, household net worth has risen by +$72 trillion, or +65%. As a result, it now reflects 792% of disposable personal income, the 4th-largest quarterly reading on record. By comparison, the ratio peaked at 829% in Q1 2022. Asset owners are winning more than ever before.

👉🏽Rubio’s right. Europe lectures on “international law” while demanding US missiles for their defense, then clutches pearls when America secures its own hemisphere. The 2025 National Security Strategy ends the free ride—NATO allies had 75 years to hit 2% defense spending, now it’s 5% or get left behind. Monroe Doctrine 2.0 isn’t isolationism; it’s hierarchy. The US pours $886B into defense while Brussels blows €1.2T on green fantasies and open borders. If EU bureaucrats want a say in Caribbean security, maybe they should start by patrolling the Mediterranean instead of outsourcing migration chaos to Frontex.

§🎁If you have made it this far, I would like to give you a little gift:

What Bitcoin Did: Michael Saylor | The Bitcoin Treasury Debate Gets Heated

Michael Saylor joins the show for a conversation on Bitcoin, power, and the treasury company playbook. They recap 2025 and look forward to 2026 with Michael arguing that Bitcoin’s real progress shows up in institutions, credit markets, accounting rules, and bank adoption, not short-term price action. They then get into a confrontational debate on Bitcoin treasury companies, mNAV, and corporate adoption. Michael rejects the criticism outright, arguing that attacking companies buying Bitcoin misses the bigger picture and misunderstands optionality, operating leverage, and risk. They explore his vision of Bitcoin evolving from digital capital into digital credit, why credit rather than price drives power, and why focus and endurance matter more than narratives.

Click here: https://youtu.be/J85O-ckNxCw Credit: I have used multiple sources!

My savings account:Bitcoin The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: **PocketBitcoin **, especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. (from now on, full KYC, so be aware)

Use the code SE3997

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node…be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It’s that simple. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with a zap. ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃ ⭐ Many thanks⭐ Felipe - Bitcoin Friday! ▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃