A historically-independent state, Texas ongoing embrace of Bitcoin makes it an innovative leader, with or without the rest of the U.S.

This is an opinion editorial by James Collins, a financial professional with experience in various asset classes.

We encourage it, we advance it. But I would say we provide the platform for those involved in Bitcoin to make sure they have a place to come to.

The above words spoken by Texas Governor Greg Abbott are a clear reminder of the sheer power hidden within the varying components of Bitcoin that allow the system to organically steer a state or nation into a realm of independence and ethical, fiduciary responsibilities for its citizenry.

Combining the American spirit of the "shot heard round the world" in 1775 and "Remember The Alamo" in 1836, Texas has an opportunity to obtain absolute state independence through mathematical independence thanks to the "block heard around the world" in 2009. This is my analysis of the characteristics of Texas, the effects of historic events and how, through Bitcoin, Texas can become completely sovereign.

The Lone Star State

Texas is one of the most fascinating states in the union. Starting with the Texas Revolution's use of the "come and take it" flag, as an emboldened and outnumbered Texan rebel group won the Battle of San Jacinto to claim Texas independence, the state has always had a spirit of freedom.

Texas then became the Republic of Texas, electing Sam Houston as its first president and proudly flying the Lone Star flag representing itself as its own country. By 1846, Texas had been annexed by the United States and used as a beachhead for the westward expansion of the United States, culminating in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo and a U.S. payment of $15 million to Mexico for large swaths of western territory. Texas would later secede from the United States in...

The heuristics often described in behavioral economics offer insightful frameworks for understanding mainstream resistance to Bitcoin.

This is an opinion editorial by Rich Feldman, a marketing executive, author and advisory board member at Western Connecticut University.

Behavioral economics has long been cited to describe our irrational tendencies as consumers and investors. Im here to extend that discussion specifically to Bitcoin because, lets face it, when it comes to crypto in general and Bitcoin specifically, the influence of emotions, biases, heuristics and social pressure in shaping our preferences, beliefs and behaviors is profound and fascinating.

Getting Beyond FOMO

As is preached in behavioral finance, investing in anything is prone to common traps such as fear of missing out (FOMO), loss aversion, groupthink (the bandwagon effect) and the sunk-cost fallacy which account for people holding onto their investments longer than they should.

Cognitive journeys such as these are nicely demonstrated in the chart below which, ironically, was created by Credit Suisse. In light of recent events, perhaps it shouldve been wary of overreach bias! But lets not kick it while its down.

Concepts of behavioral finance and Bitcoin certainly have interesting parallels. For example: FOGI (not the old type), or fear of getting in. Chalk that up to a nascent trading marketplace which can be incredibly confusing and (for many) require a technological leap of faith.

Yet, anyone who thinks this is a new phenomenon need only look to the launch of online banking, bill pay and mobile deposits to know that there is hesitancy...

Blinks name and features reflect the projects desire to be used by Bitcoin communities across the world.

The Bitcoin Beach Wallet has officially changed its name to Blink to better reflect its vision of becoming the best tool for bottom-up Bitcoin adoption. 

The wallet was initially launched in 2020 in El Salvador's El Zonte as part of the Bitcoin Beach project's goal of creating a circular Bitcoin economy. The name change reflects the wallet's expansion beyond its original intended purpose. The wallet has grown to become a popular Lightning wallet for Bitcoin community projects and Lightning enthusiasts worldwide.

Blink plans to enable any user to set their local currency in Q2 2023, making it easier for users to onboard and use bitcoin. The wallet also features in-app Bitcoin education, where users can earn sats for learning about Bitcoin's basics.

Blink also has merchant features that make it easy and flexible for businesses to receive payments over Lightning and on-chain, including LN address, a Lightning cash register, and a printable pay code. Blink also integrates Nostr, making it a go-to custodial wallet for tipping, testing or traveling.

According to Blink's team, "the declared purpose of becoming the best tool for bottom-up Bitcoin adoption has attracted tens of thousands of active users and many requests for features that would increase utility and accessibility across countries and cultures." The team's vision for Blink is for it to be available in every language where there's a Bitcoin community project.

The press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine described how the wallet's name change is significant, as its previous acronym was problematic. Blink's new name represents speed and positivity, and it will communicate with customers well before changing the name and icon of the app. According to the team, "the name Blink represents the glimmer in the eye of a person who just received their first sats. It's the embodiment of a transaction zapping across the world, connecting two people who never before could transmit value to each other."

Uncle Sam made off with more than $215 million this month as it began to liquidate portions of seized bitcoin.

The United States government has been selling bitcoin confiscated from the Silk Road case in 2013. 

According to a court filing, the government sold 9,861.1707894 Bitcoin on March 14, 2023, for a total of $215,738,154.98. After transaction fees, the net proceeds for the government were $215,522,416.83. The government also revealed that there are still around 41,490.72 bitcoin left to be sold, which they plan to sell in four more batches over the course of this year.

Previously, the government has auctioned bitcoin, opting instead to proceed with open market sales this time.

The Silk Road was a darknet marketplace that was used to sell drugs, amongst other services. Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road, was convicted in 2015 and sentenced to life in prison. Ulbricht now seeks clemency, as a double life sentence without parole for entirely non-violent charges illustrates the governments desire to make an example of those who build platforms outside their jurisdiction.

Bitcoin Magazine recently opened an art gallery in Nashville, Tennessee, which currently houses a life-size jail cell Ross Ulbricht exhibit, including art that Ulbricht made in prison, as well as writing from ulbricht.

Bitcoins price action as of late has been exciting for those who watched it fall from all-time highs of $69,000, to local lows of less than $16,000. While the government has been selling bitcoin, other institutions like MicroStrategy have been acquiring it.

Boerse Stuttgart Digital has received its final license from Germany's financial regulator BaFin to offer bitcoin trading and custody.

Boerse Stuttgart Digital, a subsidiary of the second largest stock exchange in Germany, has received the final license as a cryptocurrency custodian from Germany's financial regulator, BaFin. The license allows the exchange to provide institutional investors the ability to trade bitcoin on the platform as well as to act as a custodian.
The exchange has been offering custody services through its Blocknox platform since January 2020, under a provisional license. With this new licensing, it will join the ranks of several major international firms officially entering into the bitcoin custodial and trading industry as of late.

Fidelity opened their bitcoin trading platform to the public this month, allowing institutional investors the option to hold their bitcoin with them as well. In addition to that, Latin Americas largest e-commerce platform by market value, Mercado Libre, introduced bitcoin trading to their Chilean users, which was already available in Brazil.

It should be noted that all of these platforms bear the risks associated with third-party custody of your bitcoin. The safest way to ensure your bitcoin is always accessible and always available is through self-custody, using a dedicated bitcoin wallet. Platforms like Boerse Stuttgart Digital and Fidelity have made bitcoin trading available to investors on these platforms, but do not necessarily further enable the true potential of bitcoin adoption.

The massive growth in hash rate has some speculating on whos behind such a sizable increase, plus an update of public bitcoin miners.

The article below is an excerpt from a recent edition of Bitcoin Magazine PRO, Bitcoin Magazine's premium markets newsletter. To be among the first to receive these insights and other on-chain bitcoin market analysis straight to your inbox, subscribe now.

Hash Rate On The Move

The Bitcoin network hash rate is on the move this year, now at an all-time high of 350 EH/s and up 36.7% YTD. Hash rate has been following the surge in price, which is the likely result of more machines coming online at a more profitable price point. In 2022, there was a lot of unused, newer inventory of ASICs that sat idle at lower bitcoin prices and have now made their way onto the network as public miners continued to expand, most noticeably in companies like Marathon Digital Holdings, Riot Platforms and Cipher Mining Technologies.

The surge in hash rate is a result of longer-term investment and expansion decisions that are now materializing after a time lag. As noted, some miners kept their machines on the sidelines while the bitcoin price was lower and less profitable to mine. Another possibility, according to an analysis from Miner Mag, suggests a high share of miner rig imports into the U.S. in January may have played a significant role in the expansion of hash rate. Those shipments have since slowed down, which may indicate an upcoming period of cooling off after this recent hash rate growth. Estimating the breakdown and contributions of factors on why exactly the hash rate is rising is always layered in nuance. 

Hash rate in aggregate continued to steadily rise over the last few months while bitcoin holdings continued to decline. When we use the reported numbers for public miners hash rate at the end of February, the 292 EH/s at the end of February and the 350 EH/s online today, we conclude that public miners make up somewhere between 20% to 25% of total network hash rate on a given day....

Perhaps soon, around the world, well begin putting our faith in Bitcoin rather than fiat.

This is an opinion editorial by Phil Snyder, an educator teaching blockchain technology, Bitcoin and all things media at the University of Houston.

Who hasnt gotten at least a little chuckle upon first reading a sign behind a checkout counter, emblazoned with that timeless wit and wisdom, In God We Trust; All Others Pay Cash? Perhaps soon, around the world, wherever merchants accept bitcoin, we will begin to see In God We Trust; All Others Pay Bitcoin.

You should appreciate the irony that the fiat dollar we have lost trust in still declares its own religious faith in print on every little piece of the Federal Reserves funny paper and metal slug tokens. We are also expected to believe that this hoax currency is Backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government, as stated on the FDICs and NCUAs official teller signs, along with their pledge to insure deposits up to $250,000. Unsurprisingly, a derivative of this declaration can be spotted here and there online, as In Bitcoin We Trust memes. Also, ironically then, we trust in the trustless protocol of Bitcoin.

The phrase In God we trust has a long history of use in America, with its official origins found in the Civil War to boost morale and proclaim the Unions reliance upon the God of the Bible a claim that the South also shared! It finally became the official motto of the United States in 1955 when a joint resolution was passed by the 84th Congress and signed by President Eisenhower. For Christians, faith and trust are closely related to each other and nearly synonymous in some contexts. We trust God to save us from our spiritually-dead state through the faith in Christs sacrifice, which he imparts to our inner being by his grace.

Bitcoiners long for a future of world peace, prosperity and brotherhood the sooner the better. But with or without Bitcoin, that is not going to happen before what Christians call the Millennial Kingdom, which is Christs return to rule and reign over the universe he created right here on earth. And, as current signs of the times seem to indicate, we probably dont have mu...

Bitcoin 2023 will see the worlds first fine art gallery for Bitcoin Ordinal inscriptions, hosted by the three companies.

Disclaimer: BTC Inc. is the parent company of the Bitcoin Conference and Bitcoin Magazine.

Gamma.io, Xverse and Bitcoin Magazine are collaborating to launch an initiative aimed at highlighting the new medium of art, settling on the longest-running and most secure blockchain, Bitcoin.

The three companies will be showcasing emerging visual artists at Bitcoin 2023's Ordinals Alley, which is the first-ever fine art gallery for Bitcoin inscriptions, presented at the worlds largest gathering of Bitcoiners. The conference is taking place in Miami Beach, May 18-20. The gallery's curation is being co-led by Dennis Koch, art gallery director for Bitcoin Magazine, and Hugo Pouchard, art curator and advisor for Gamma and Xverse.

Ordinals protocol is a remarkable technology empowering artists and their works in the long run. The gallery will explore the evolving relationship between the art world, the medium, and the crypto community," said Pouchard.

In addition, the press release highlights the Artist Open Call, describing it as an opportunity for rising artists to showcase their work to a global audience. Six showcased artists will be selected by a curation committee consisting of members from Art Blocks, 6529, Bright Moments, The Medici Collection, and others, with experience in traditional art and auction houses.

Gamma Founder and CEO, Jamil Dhanani said that "Gamma's focus, from day one, has been to empower creators with simple and powerful tools to launch their works on Bitcoin. Together with Xverse, we're bringing even more visibility and exposure to emerging artists from web3, and those interested in Bitcoin for the first time."

Those interested in attending the conference in Miami Beach can purchase tickets at b.tc/conference.

The "Bitman" collective advocated for Bitcoin adoption by illuminating the ECB building with the Bitcoin logo.

The "Bitman" collective, a group advocating for the adoption of Bitcoin, illuminated the Eurotower and the European Central Bank (ECB) building with the Bitcoin logo and the words study bitcoin, on the evening of March 29. 

The goal was to encourage people to inform themselves about Bitcoin and its advantages compared to fiat money. A spokesperson said in a message to Bitcoin Magazine that many institutions, including the ECB, deliberately discredit Bitcoin and knowingly misinform citizens to strengthen their own position. In light of this, it is especially essential to do research using ones own tools.

The collective believes that Bitcoin has many advantages and that it is vital for people to educate themselves about its benefits. It is a decentralized currency that provides financial freedom to users and can be sent to anyone, anywhere, in the world without any restrictions or intermediaries.

According to a spokesperson, "We want to encourage people to form their own opinion about what we consider to be the best money in the world." The group hopes that illuminating the ECB building and the Eurotower will encourage people to explore Bitcoin's potential and its advantages over fiat money, citing endthefud.org as a source for information on Bitcoin that addresses common concerns.

Fold is aiming at bringing its bitcoin rewards card product to users around the world through this expansionary partnership.

Fold, a Bitcoin rewards company, has announced that it will collaborate with Visa, which will become the exclusive global network partner for Fold's prepaid debit products in North America, Europe, and Latin American countries. The move aims to expand the reach of the first Visa co-branded Bitcoin rewards debit card launched in the spring of 2020 to more Fold users worldwide. The announcement comes as nearly $1 billion in transactions have gone through Fold since the launch of the Fold Visa Debit Card, and users have been rewarded over $30 million in bitcoin since the launch of the app.

Fold CEO Will Reeves said, "In order to meet the growing demand for Bitcoin onramps outside the U.S., we're thrilled to expand our engagement with Visa. We believe that Bitcoin can be a powerful tool for people all over the world to take control over their finances, and we are committed to making Bitcoin as easy and accessible as possible for everyone." Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, commented, "We believe that digital currencies will play a role in the future of financial services and money movement. We're excited to work with Fold to create new ways for consumers to spend and engage with digital assets."

The new engagement with Visa will allow Fold to expand the existing Fold Bitcoin Rewards Debit Card globally and empower existing local financial service companies to launch their bitcoin rewards and financial products via Fold's embedded bitcoin rewards and payments infrastructure.

Fold has lined up several traditional banks, fintechs and consumer rewards programs in North America to leverage the new embedded Bitcoin financial infrastructure and is looking for global partners to onboard in 2023. Global users are encouraged to sign up for the early global access waitlist on the Fold website.

Overall, the collaboration with Visa marks a significant milestone for Fold as it seeks to expand its user base globally and empower users worldwide to take control over their finances using Bitcoin. The partnership will allow for new ways for consumers to spend and engage with bitcoin.

BitGo has introduced a new security solution to protect Ordinals inscriptions from accidental transfers and enable users to inscribe their own content onto Bitcoin.

BitGo, a leading provider of digital asset custody solutions, has introduced a new security solution for protecting Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions from accidental transfers, also enabling users to inscribe their own content onto the Bitcoin blockchain. 

Ordinals inscriptions allow people to inscribe text, images, and videos directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. However, given that they are still a relatively new technology for Bitcoin, most wallets cannot yet easily receive, send or store them, which puts potentially high-value inscriptions at risk of being accidentally transferred or sent to mining fees.

BitGo's new solution enables users to add inscriptions tracking to any Bitcoin hot wallet on BitGo, which means that any transaction received into the wallet will be checked for inscriptions and frozen if inscribed to prevent the loss of valuable inscriptions. BitGo users will be also able to send inscribed satoshis to an address of their choice safely, and have a new option on inscription-enabled wallets to mint an inscription when making a new transaction.

"Bitcoin Ordinals brought an entirely new layer of engagement to the Bitcoin network but, upon launch, the surrounding ecosystem missed key security components to ensure high-value Ordinals inscriptions were safeguarded, said Chen Fang, BitGo's Chief Operations Officer. That's why we're very excited to announce the release of BitGo's solution to securely store Inscriptions and prevent them from being accidentally transferred or sent to mining fees."

BitGos latest security solution for Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions aims to offer much-needed protection to inscriptions that could potentially have high value. The new solution will allow users to trustlessly inscribe their own content onto the Bitcoin blockchain, while ensuring that their inscriptions are safeguarded and cannot be lost or accidentally transferred.