The future of finance runs on Bitcoin and that future is starting to arrive.

nostr:nprofile1qqsphtcc46rrelvptfm4c2y58k85alnam0lfu773mgwdmtynka0zspsql7emy, our CEO nostr:nprofile1qyw8wumn8ghj7mn0wd68yttjv4kxz7fwwak8vuewwdcxzcm9qythwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnxd46zuamf0ghxy6t6qqsqyredyxhqn0e4ln0mvh0v79rchpr0taeg4vcvt64te4kssx5pc0sk99k65 shared how Blockstream has spent the last decade building the infrastructure for a Bitcoin-native world: protocols, custody, hardware, and Layer 2s like the nostr:nprofile1qqsfjzteswm5cuyqpvvz40r0vszx4dcyql5u40xkeats5w9d48hht4guz0cnd.

From rebranding to the Blockstream app to launching new enterprise tools and asset management offerings, we’re entering a new chapter focused on sovereignty, security, and scale.

Huge thanks to everyone who came by the booth, joined a session, or just stopped to talk Bitcoin with us.

Here’s set-up for Square. Standalone is even easier, just select Standalone from the dropdown

China Morning Missive

“China has no choice” ….. perhaps, but then again what does it mean to be a reliable partner.

When the trade conflict went hot with China (and the entire world frankly) in early April, I felt confident that the Trump team didn’t have any idea of what it was they were heading into. China had spent four years preparing for exactly what Trump was preparing to do. Lessons were learned from the 2018 trade conflict and preventative steps were taken.

Well, watching how event have played out over the past three months demonstrates that Team Trump was even far less prepared that I’d expected. There are no immediate points of pressure the US can apply on China, unlike virtually all other trading partners. The Europeans, Japan, S.Korea, you name it. All have, in some way, shape or form, dependencies on the US.

Rare earth minerals are the pain trade and the export controls out of China are now starting to pinch American manufactures. The only question, at least for myself, is what concessions Trump/Bessent will make for China to resume exports. I suspect we will have a clearer idea in two weeks, or perhaps less.

China isn’t the party left with no choice. It’s America that will need to move first.

Here’s another quick #China update. There was a sudden surge in gold buying here in Shanghai over the weekend. You can see here in the attached video.

The catalyst was a round of household vouchers issued by the local government.

Basically, a series of different vouchers were made available including Rmb150 on a Rmb500 purchase all the way up to Rmb1,000 for a Rmb10,000 purchase. In the very savvy Chinese fashion, rather than use the vouchers for the intended purpose, to incentivize consumer discretionary spending like washing machine or clothing or some other more typical consumer item, the vouchers were used to buy gold.

No prohibitions were made on how the vouchers were to be used. The gold shops even got with the program promoting the opportunity. Most point-of-sales were between 1 and 5 grams.

We're fleshing out our docs this week. Any guides or info you'd like to see? Let us know!

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