Hey all,

I’m Rizzo, the Bitcoin Historian. For more than a decade I’ve been documenting Bitcoin’s evolution — the people, ideas, companies, and moments that shaped it.

I spend every day tracking what’s shaping Bitcoin. This newsletter connects the dots.

Each edition highlights the stories, signals, and historical context you need to understand what’s happening in Bitcoin right now. And where it may be headed next.

YouTube link: Strategy’s STRC is quietly overtaking BlackRock’s IBIT

This week’s feature interview is a no-nonsense breakdown of where institutional money is really flowing with James Seyffart, Bloomberg Intelligence research analyst and author of the forthcoming book Both Sides of the Coin.

Seyffart pulls back the curtain on STRC’s invisibility problem in TradFi — even Bloomberg terminals struggle to surface it — and reveals why the circular buying mechanics between digital asset treasuries are raising eyebrows among analysts.

The result is a reality check on what's actually moving the needle in traditional finance, where the Clarity Act stands in Washington's messy legislative process, and why Bitcoin's four-year cycle narrative may be less important than what retail thinks.

→ Subscribe to see Rizzo’s latest interviews dropping weekly on YouTube.

WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS TALKS WITH BIG BANKS AND CRYPTO COMPANIES TO ADVANCE CLARITY ACT

X link: The Clarity Act is finally making moves in Washington D.C.

The crypto industry is inching closer to landmark regulatory clarity this week after US senators confirmed they had reached an “agreement in principle" with the White House over stablecoin language in the Clarity Act, according to Politico.

Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks told reporters the deal would address banking fears of "widespread deposit flight" while still protecting innovation — a delicate compromise after months of deadlock between crypto firms demanding the right to pay stablecoin rewards and banks warning such features would drain their deposit base.

The apparent breakthrough comes right after some direct pressure from the White House, with Trump publicly siding with crypto companies and declaring on Truth Social that “Banks should not be trying to undercut The Genius Act, or hold The Clarity Act hostage.”

Check out my talk with Dennis Porter to learn more about the $100 million lobbying war.

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Just last week, I spoke with my friends at Altcoin Daily about Michael Saylor’s big moves. My case: Bitcoin is approaching an inflection point where Michael Saylor's STRC strategy could completely rewrite the demand dynamics. Incredibly, most people in the crypto world still aren't paying attention.

Our conversation dives into why this bare market feels uniquely frosty (OG negativity, the death of counterculture cool, institutional adoption fatigue), whether Bitcoin could break below $20,000 (spoiler: that would be "pretty alarming"), and why financialization through products like STRC may prove more disruptive than the crypto world's tokenization thesis.

My hot take: STRC represents "literally the only interesting story in Bitcoin right now" and the only catalyst capable of breaking the current narrative fatigue.

For anyone trying to understand where Bitcoin goes from here, this is required viewing.

OP_NET went live on Bitcoin mainnet this week at block #941,944, and the numbers tell the story: over 97,000 on-chain interactions, 2,263 active wallets, and 79 smart contracts deployed in the opening hours — proving developers are ready to build sophisticated applications on the world's most secure blockchain.

It’s not an “ordinals moment” yet, but the launch marks a watershed moment for Bitcoin's programmability thesis. Now DeFi, stablecoins, and decentralized exchanges are no longer exclusive to Ethereum and alt-L1s.

Already, it’s seen coverage from Coindesk, The Defiant, and DLNews, suggesting the crypto world is paying attention.

OP_NET is an official sponsor of The Bitcoin Historian. Learn more at OP_NET: opnet.org

$600 MILLION CEO EXPLAINS HOW SAYLOR DISCOVERED “OIL” WITH STRC

X link: “This is very, very good for BTC”

Avik Roy, chief strategy officer at $600 million Bitcoin treasury Strive, reckons that Strategy’s STRC preferred stock represents a financial breakthrough comparable to striking oil.

"You discover oil and the oil just gushes out," Roy said. "That's what they've identified here — something that really has a lot of financial power to it." Roy explained why STRC's design — pegged at $100 per share with a 12% dividend yield — attracts conservative investors seeking Treasury-like stability with significantly higher returns, unlocking trillions in institutional capital that would never touch traditional crypto products.

STRATEGY ANNOUNCES $42 BILLION TO BUY BITCOIN

Strategy Inc. disclosed plans this week to raise a staggering $42 billion in fresh capital to accelerate its Bitcoin treasury expansion. It would come in two tranches: $21 billion in Class A common stock (MSTR) and $21 billion in Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC).

With Bitcoin floating around the $70,000 mark, that full $42 billion could theoretically acquire more than half-a-million BTC if deployed immediately. We’re talking a single raise that would eclipse Stratgy’s entire 2025 buying spree and push total holdings well beyond 1 million BTC.

CEO Phong Le underscored the figure's symbolism on X: "42 is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything," referencing The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the clean 21 + 21 split that mirrors Bitcoin's 21 million supply cap.

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