They really did set themselves up for this. Constantly treating this technology as a weapon to be contained is a self fulfilling prophecy.

Welcome to the AI wars. We are now staring down the barrel of KYC and Anti-Compute Laundering laws for frontier models. And this is just for Mythos. What happens when we get further capability jumps? Will the public have access to frontier intelligence ever again? We fought this battle in the 90s for free and open access to cryptography, but it was not easy. The fight this time around will be much harder and the stakes will be much higher.

NEW: Sen. Sullivan and Sen. Lummis lead letter to the Fed, FDIC and OCC, calling for revaluation of Basel’s risk weighting for Bitcoin and digital assets. “A 1,250% risk weight bypasses those calibrated frameworks entirely, applying a blunt penalty …to a transparent, globally traded asset with deep derivatives markets, continuous liquidity, and cryptographic auditability.” This is a strong signal from Washington that legislators are looking closely at this issue as work on market structure continues. The letter has 6 signatories and 3 are on the Banking Committee. It’s also great to see BPI’s brief on this topic cited in the third footnote! 😉 We’ll keep you posted on further updates.

I walked past this monument every day for two years while I worked in the Senate. The monument was boarded up with plywood and the area was overrun with drug addicts that would constantly accost congressional staffers on their way to work. In 2024, it became so bad that on several occasions I saw staffers attacked and had their bags ripped away from them. We reported this to Capitol Police but they legally couldn’t go beyond the congressional buildings to secure the area. Every day it felt like I was walking among ruins of a once great people. The change today is undeniable. The area is safer than it has been in years and our statues have been brought back to life. Decline is a choice. Civilization is a choice. It’s great to see this change. For reference, here’s a photo of it I took after work in 2024. Notice the plants growing out from behind Columbus. Quite an improvement today!

"If China wins the AI race, I can guarantee you that the information layer of the global economy will be anything but free, open, and uncensored." @SamLyman33 joined @blockspace to describe the stakes in America winning the AI race.

Concerning.

Last week BPI had our inaugural trip to the UK to launch our international efforts. 🇬🇧 Below is a quick summary on the state of Bitcoin Policy from London. We had a whirlwind week, meeting with members of Parliament, briefing the House of Lords, discussing Bitcoin with the City of London, reviewing policy ideas with the Reform party, and meeting lots of local Bitcoiners. From these meetings, a few themes emerged: 1) There’s a surprising amount of energy. Everyone we spoke to, regardless of party affiliation, was paying close attention to the U.S. developments and was concerned about the UK falling behind. I consistently heard the phrase that the UK wants to be a “fast follow” and there seems to be a sudden burst of energy to get something done. Most recently, the Bank of England rescinded their guidance limiting ownership of stablecoins and this seems to be the start of a new trend in the right direction. Policymakers in the UK recognize that financial innovation cemented their position on the world stage and they don’t want to be left behind as this industry grows. 2) There is still a wide gap in understanding of the different types of networks. Many of the conversations started with a focus on“blockchain technology.” In some ways it felt like I had been transported back to 2018 when everyone was excited about “blockchain not Bitcoin.” But over the course of our discussions, I could feel the lightbulb going off when we discussed that the killer app for blockchain was actually already here. It’s called Bitcoin. Through discussions about what sets Bitcoin apart as a neutral, open network without insiders, I found lawmakers were surprisingly receptive. Many of their concerns were focused on how crypto schemes dump tokens on unsuspecting retail investors. We shared those concerns and offered ideas to help them combat crypto grift. It was also interesting that many officials had been following the recent testimony by ADM Paparo about bitcoin as a positive tool for the U.S. national security interests. Seems to be a clear indicator that success in the US has knock on effects overseas. Overall, this was an exploratory first trip and we came away with a strong sense of optimism for the UK making more progress in the coming months. Everyone was keen to learn from our work in the U.S. and eager to get input on how the UK can improve. We look forward to providing you more updates as the work continues. And a big thank you to @Joeyg_poh and @xapobankapp for making this trip possible with their generous support. And thank s to @AntidoteBTC for hosting a great community event.

Correction: I’m hearing there was some last minute FOMO for signing onto ARMA. They are now up to 21 original cosponsors for today’s bipartisan introduction! Fantastic showing for Bitcoin.

You love to see it.

Another very important thing to flag here: ARMA is being Co-lead by Rep. Golden (D-ME), a member of the Armed Services Committee. We can now officially say that the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is bipartisan with leaders on both sides of the aisle recognizing bitcoin's importance. Thank you for your leadership @RepGolden!

Just in from DC! 🇺🇸 Today, Rep. Begich introduced the American Reserve Modernization Act with an incredible amount of support — 16 original cosponsors! ARMA creates a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to secure America’s Bitcoin for 20 years and explores a range of budget neutral acquisition strategies. This is a major step forward for a lasting framework for holding Bitcoin for our future generations. Begich has been working hard for months to push this forward. It’s time for a Digital Fort Knox! We’re excited to see this move through the legislative process and will keep you all posted with updates.

Tomorrow will be another landmark day for Bitcoin Policy in D.C. Very exciting developments coming out of Capitol Hill. Stay tuned! 👀

An important article on Bitcoin’s importance for grand strategy by Rep. Gooden, a sitting member of the House Armed Services Committee. He is quickly emerging as a leader that recognizes how important Bitcoin will be for our national security.

Alex is spot on. I fear that we are on the verge of the Intelligence Wars — a sequel to the Crypto Wars of the 90s — where policymakers try to severely limit access to advanced open-source AI. I can already see an unholy alliance forming between industry and hawkish officials that the average person shouldn’t have access to advanced AI on local devices. This already happens behind closed doors every day in DC and there is a tsunami of money still to come. It is now more important than ever to support open-source development. Not only at the software level, but at the education and policy level as well. A future where we can only access closed-source proprietary models are the perfect conditions for abuse, censorship and authoritarianism. Open source AI serves as a check against undue influence from major labs and abusive regimes around the world.

This makes sense If I were the CCP I would definitely be running numerous campaigns to turn the American public against AI

BPI has uncovered some disturbing connections between the recent push to shutdown AI and foreign interest groups. See below for the full breakdown in our latest research report.

The sovereign adoption of Bitcoin marches on. Nations will ignore these developments at their own peril.

The prior administration was using all available means to wage an *existential* fight against all aspects of the industry —software development, Bitcoin mining, and all forms of entrepreneurship. Yet Brendon chooses to ignore all that context and frame a landmark bipartisan legislative moment as “piracy” by an “insurgent” industry using “loopholes”? Which loopholes exactly? This is has been a bipartisan and public deliberative process spanning 4 years of work and education. The product has been debated and reviewed by both chambers and 4 separate committees at this point—with still more work to go. In fact, I believe Brendon has this exactly backwards. This process has been the most rigorous I have seen in years. Our Congress routinely passes 1000 page Omnibus bills, strewn with *billions* of dollars in literal industry handouts, in the dead of night…before Christmas. This is the opposite—a style of governing that is almost dead—robust public debate and scrutiny at every step of the way. I’ve read @PunchbowlNews almost every day since I started working in the senate — but writing like this calls into question any chance of honest reporting and, frankly, the integrity of your publication as a whole.

BPI’s international work is off to a great start in the UK. Much more to come!

Full day with @xapobankapp and Bitcoin Policy Institute in London yesterday. A great and constructive meeting with the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Cambridge Judge Business School, followed by @Brit_blockchain team on UK policy development. We then attended the APPG in Westminster, before running our BTC community meet up at @AntidoteBTC, which was fantastic Everyone, from a community, academic and political level we've spoken to is excited about the initiative we've launched in London, and we're excited about the road ahead. @BitcoinConner, David Zell