A new report from Early Riders and Onramp argues that Bitcoin custody is at a turning point, echoing historical patterns where breakthrough infrastructure unlocked mass adoption of personal computers, smartphones, and e-commerce. Despite Bitcoin’s $2.3 trillion market value, custody remains the “primary barrier preventing large-scale adoption,” with a 2024 Fidelity survey showing 60% of institutions deterred by security risks. Hacks and lost keys, responsible for billions in losses, underscore what the report calls Bitcoin’s “hobbyist phase.” The authors position Multi-Institution Custody (MIC) as the industry’s inflection point, likening it to the iPhone, Linux, and SSL for usability, standardization, and trust. MIC distributes risk across independent entities while preserving on-chain verifiability, offering a path toward institutional-scale resilience. If widely adopted, it could become invisible infrastructure, enabling Bitcoin’s leap from niche asset to “global monetary infrastructure” and fueling institutional growth from trillions to tens of trillions in value.
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BitMEX Research has revisited the long-running debate over embedding images in Bitcoin, publishing new analysis that demonstrates the futility of filtering such data from the blockchain. In June, Bitcoin Core developers removed the OP_Return policy size limit, prompting criticism from those who fear the chain could be spammed with non-financial content such as “unstoppable JPGs.” Around 17% of nodes are now running Bitcoin Knots, a client with stricter filters. But, as the report notes, “this is an asymmetric battle … one the spammers would win.” Drawing on Claude Shannon’s information theory, the authors show how images can be encoded into fake addresses or even into private keys themselves, making effective prevention impossible without a complete, and unfeasible, re-architecting of Bitcoin. The research displays Bitcoin’s resilience: despite concerns over bloat, the fee market, not protocol filters, remains the ultimate defense.
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Bitcoin transaction fees have plunged to their lowest levels since 2011, raising questions about the network’s long-term security model, reports Alex Lari for Decrypt. Glassnode data shows daily fees averaging just 3.5 BTC over 14 days, despite prices holding above $110,000. Analysts attribute the decline to reduced demand for blockspace, as Bitcoin functions more as “digital capital” than a payment rail, and to scaling tools like SegWit and the Lightning Network, which cut congestion. NFT-driven surges that once pushed fees above $50 have all but subsided, leaving nearly half of blocks under-filled. While this benefits users as average costs fell to $0.67, miners face greater strain after the 2024 halving reduced rewards to 3.125 BTC. Galaxy Digital warns that “these blocks fail to reach the maximum weight limit,” highlighting weaker fee dynamics where sustained low fees could push marginally profitable miners out, potentially concentrating power and heightening security risks.
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Joel Thayer, writing in The National Pulse, argues that Google should be treated as a common carrier, comparing its market dominance to monopolies historically restrained by law. Thayer notes that Big Tech has become the “principal source” of information and communication, citing Justice Kennedy, yet can remove users based on identity or political views without fear of competition. He highlights Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s lawsuit seeking to classify Google as a common carrier, ensuring neutral access to search results. Judge James Schuck dismissed the case, reasoning Google neither transports property nor holds itself out as indifferent. Thayer calls both claims “absurd,” stressing that data is legally recognized as property and that Google itself claims Section 230 immunity on the basis of neutrality. “As Americans, we fight against concentrated authority, not embrace it,” Thayer concludes, urging common carriage rules to curb monopolistic power and protect public access to information.
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