In late 2025, Mark Karpelès, ex CEO of Mt. Gox, lives a quieter life in Japan, building a VPN and an AI automation platform. As Chief Protocol Officer at vp.net—a VPN that uses Intel’s SGX technology to let users verify exactly what code runs on servers—he works alongside Roger Ver and Andrew Lee, the founder of Private Internet Access. “It’s the only VPN that you can trust basically. You don’t need to trust it, actually, you can verify”. At shells.com, his personal cloud computing platform, he’s quietly developing an unreleased AI agent system that hands artificial intelligence full control over a virtual machine: installing software, managing emails, and even handling purchases with a planned credit card integration. “What I’m doing with shells is giving AI a whole computer and free rein on the computer”, a brilliant idea, really. AI agents on steroids.

The contrast with his past could not be starker. Fifteen years ago, Karpelès was the reluctant king of Bitcoin’s trading world, running Mt. Gox at a time when the exchange processed the vast majority of global bitcoin trades.

His journey began innocently enough in 2010. Operating a web hosting company called Tibanne under the brand Kalyhost, Karpelès received a request from a French customer based in Peru who was frustrated with international payment hurdles. “He’s the one who discovered Bitcoin, and asked me if he could use Bitcoin to pay for my services … I was probably one of the first companies to implement Bitcoin payments back in 2010”.

Roger Ver, an early evangelist, became a frequent visitor to Karpelès’ office. Unknowingly, his servers also hosted a domain linked to Silk Road—silkroadmarket.org—purchased anonymously with bitcoin. That connection would later fuel investigations: U.S. authorities briefly suspected Karpelès of being Dread Pirate Roberts himself. “That was actually one of the main arguments why I was investigated by U.S. law enforcement as maybe the guy behind the Silk Road… They thought that I was Dread Pirate Roberts”. The association complicated public perception and even surfaced in Ross Ulbricht’s trial, where, according to Karpelès, Ulbricht’s defense efforts briefly tried to cast doubt by linking Karpelès to the marketplace.

In 2011, Karpelès acquired Mt. Gox from Jed McCaleb, who went on to found Ripple and Stellar. The handover was marred from the start. “Between the time I signed the contract and the time I got access to the server, 80,000 bitcoins were stolen… Jed was adamant that we couldn’t tell users about it,” Karpelès alleged to Bitcoin Magazine. McCaleb faced no criminal liability for the Mt. Gox case, though he has been sued civilly and has been part of the public discourse around the case. Nevertheless, as far as Karpelès is concerned, he inherited a platform plagued by poor code and technical issues.

Mt. Gox exploded in popularity, becoming the primary on-ramp for millions entering Bitcoin. Karpelès maintained strict policies, banning users linked to illicit activities like drug purchases on Silk Road. “If you’re going to buy drugs with Bitcoin, in a country where drugs are illegal, you shouldn’t”, Karpelès told Bitcoin Magazine.

The Mt. Gox empire crumbled in 2014 when hacks—later tied to Alexander Vinnik and the BTC-e exchange—drained over 650,000 bitcoins. Vinnik pleaded guilty in the U.S. but was exchanged in a prisoner swap and returned to Russia without a trial, leaving evidence sealed. “It doesn’t feel like justice has been served,” said Karpelès, a moment that makes you wonder about the odd political value of Vinnik to the Russians. The 650,000 bitcoins stolen remain at large. 

The fallout was swift. Arrested in August 2015, Karpelès endured eleven and a half months in Japanese custody—a system notorious for its rigidity and psychological pressure. Early detention mixed him with colorful cellmates: Yakuza members, drug dealers, fraudsters. He passed the time teaching English, and inmates quickly dubbed him “Mr. Bitcoin” after spotting blanked-out headlines about him in newspapers given to them by the prison guards. One Yakuza even tried recruiting him, slipping a phone number for post-release contact. “… Of course I’m not going to be calling that,” Karpelès laughed.

The psychological tactics were brutal. Japanese police employed repeated rearrests: after 23 days, detainees were led to believe release was imminent, only to face a new warrant at the door. “They really make you think that you’re free and yeah, no, not you’re not free… That’s actually quite a toll in terms of mental health”.

Transferred to Tokyo Detention Center, conditions worsened: over six months in solitary confinement on a floor shared with death row inmates. “It’s still quite painful to spend more than six months in solitary confinement,” he recalled. Forbidden from letters or visits if claiming innocence, he coped by rereading books and writing stories—”the stuff I wrote is really crappy. I wouldn’t show it to anyone,” he said when asked if he would ever publish his writings. Armed with 20,000 pages of accounting records and a basic calculator purchased for his case, he dismantled embezzlement charges by uncovering $5 million in unreported revenue in the exchange.

Paradoxically, prison improved his health dramatically. Chronic sleep deprivation—often just two hours a night during his workaholic Mt. Gox days—gave way to regular rest. “Sleeping at night helps a lot… when I work I’m used to only sleeping two hours a night, which is a very, very bad habit” (00:22:18). Emerging physically transformed—”shredded,” as observers noted at the time—he surprised the Bitcoin community with fresh photos showing peak condition.

Released on bail after disproving key charges, Karpelès was convicted only on lighter record-falsification counts at the end of the ordeal. The Silk Road links had complicated perceptions, with Ross Ulbricht’s defense briefly attempting to implicate him to create plausible deniability for Ulbricht. Public narratives often painted him as complicit in Bitcoin’s dark side, despite his policies against it.

Emerging in 2016, rumors swirled of vast personal wealth from Mt. Gox’s remaining assets—once estimated at hundreds of millions or even billions due to Bitcoin’s price surge. Yet Karpelès says he receives nothing. The bankruptcy’s pivot to civil rehabilitation allowed creditors to claim in bitcoins, distributing value proportionally. I like to use technology to solve problems, and so I don’t really even do any kind of investment or anything like that because I like to make money by constructing things. To just get a payout for something that’s essentially a failure for me would feel very wrong, and at the same time, I’d want customers to get the money as much as possible.” Creditors, many now receiving far more in dollar terms due to Bitcoin’s rise, continue waiting.

Today, Karpelès collaborates with Roger Ver—the early visitor turned business partner—who recently settled U.S. tax claims for nearly $50 million. “I’m happy for him that he’s finally getting things cleared,” Karpelès said.

Today, Karpelès says he owns no bitcoin personally, though his businesses accept it as a form of payment. Discussing the current state of Bitcoin, he critiqued centralization risks in ETFs and figures like Michael Saylor: “This is a recipe for catastrophe… I like to believe in crypto in mathematics and different things, but I don’t believe in people”. On FTX: “They were running accounting on QuickBooks for a potentially multi-billion dollar company, which is crazy”.

From Bitcoin’s epicenter—hosting Silk Road links, onboarding the world, enduring Japan’s harshest detention—to building verifiable privacy tools, Karpelès’ arc reflects the industry’s maturation. His story marks the first roar of Bitcoin into mainstream culture, a time when his leadership as CEO of Mt. Gox placed him at the center of the storm. Clearest of all, his builder mindset remains a great example of the type of engineer and entrepreneur attracted to Bitcoin in those early days. 

This post Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès Reveals Details of 2014 Collapse and Japanese Detention first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

Ledn, one of the world’s largest bitcoin lenders, announced its Open Book Report, a reserves transparency benchmark designed to expose the kind of risk that caused the 2022 FTX-driven crypto crash. 

According to a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine, “Traditional lenders (including Citi, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, BNY Mellon, Schwab, and Bank of America) are reportedly entering the space amid a regulatory vacuum in terms of rehypothecation practices and proof of reserves.” With the passing of the GENIUS Act, which greenlit treasury-backed stablecoins, Wall Street now has a road to service the crypto market and even upgrade its own rails and infrastructure. 

But there are still those who call for clearer regulatory structure for crypto counter parties, Ledn points out that “Global rules on crypto capital requirements & proof of reserves remain in flux, with the US and UK refusing to implement Basel’s proposed framework,” adding that “IOSCO is pushing regulators to hold crypto custody and lending to the standards of traditional finance, yet almost no institution has disclosed how bitcoin collateral is managed, whether it’s rehypothecated, or what happens in a liquidation scenario.” 

John Glover, Chief Investment Officer at Ledn and former Managing Director at Barclays, explained that “If lenders do not have to disclose how they use client collateral, the clients become the leverage. We saw what happened when BlockFi, Celsius, and Voyager operated in the dark. The difference now is that the balance sheets are bigger.” He warned that “This is how we get a 2022-style lending crisis at institutional scale.”

Ledn’s Open Book Report, launched today, showcases “the industry’s longest-running Proof of Reserves,” according to the press release. The report exposes Ledn’s BTC loan book, collateral levels, and aggregate loan-to-value ratios. According to the report, the Network Firm LLP, a U.S.-based certified public accounting firm, independently audited & confirmed that 100% of collateral is held in custody.

The report also reveals “$868 million in outstanding BTC-backed loans, with 18,488 BTC in collateral posted, held 100% BTC in custody; all BTC collateral is held in on-chain addresses and/or custodial accounts.” Ledn’s average loan-to-value ratio stands at 55%, an aggregate LTV well below industry liquidation thresholds. Since 2018, the company has funded “$10.2 billion in lifetime loans across 47,000 originations.”

This framework looks to move the industry past one-off snapshots—starting with monthly disclosures and laying the groundwork for more continuous, real-time transparency over time. Unlike self-reported wallet addresses, Ledn’s approach combines monthly reporting on loan book metrics—including outstanding loans, collateral posted, and average LTV—with reporting from The Network Firm LLP. Ledn also maintains Proof of Reserves attestations on a semiannual basis (every two quarters), confirming that assets exceed client liabilities, with “Merkle tree methodology” enabling clients to confirm their balances were included.

While some companies have announced “proof of reserves” by publishing wallet addresses, Glover argues this falls short. “True transparency requires independent reporting, regular updates, and methodologies anyone can check,” said Glover. “Clients shouldn’t have to take anyone’s word for it.”

Ledn recently received a strategic investment from Tether and has an impeccable track record of protecting client assets across its loan originations, surviving the 2022 crypto lender crisis, and at least one other bear market before that. 

The press release warns that “as traditional financial institutions accelerate their entry into bitcoin-backed lending, Ledn’s Open Book Report establishes the baseline against which these new entrants should be held, before regulators mandate it.” 

This post Ledn Publishes Industry-First Monthly Loan Book and Proof of Reserves Data first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

Metamask, the popular Ethereum and DeFi wallet, announces Bitcoin integration as the company continues its expansion into multiple chains other than Ethereum. The wallet boasts 143 million downloads and over 30 million monthly active users, making it one of the most popular crypto wallets in the world.

Developed by Consensys, an Ethereum-born software development arm, Metamask has become a beast of its own, achieving massive success and adoption in the crypto industry. Having operated for over a decade, Metamask defined the user experience of in-browser wallets, copied by many of its competitors. Up until recently, Metamask was an Ethereum-only wallet, focusing on helping users move their wealth across Ethereum bridges, but in October, the wallet announced its planned expansion into Solana, and now Bitcoin has entered the list of blockchains it supports natively.

The Bitcoin integration was made possible in part thanks to the Bitcoin Development Kit, an open-source Bitcoin wallet library designed to make Bitcoin app development very easy.

Metamask’s Bitcoin integration marks a major milestone for the growing Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem, which was previously thought to be a niche only available to new blockchains like Ethereum, thanks to their smart contracting capabilities. In recent years, however, projects like Ordinals revealed that there are very powerful scripting tools available in Bitcoin, which drew the attention of DeFi developers across the industry.

As a result, a variety of layer two projects of all kinds have been launched, bootstrapping an integration and cross-collaboration between Bitcoin and the broader EVM-based (Ethereum virtual machine) DeFi ecosystem. Some examples of Bitcoin DeFi platforms include BOB, Botanix, Rootstock, and the Liquid Network. 

Metamask has also announced in October this year that it is preparing to go public in the U.S. markets, and has launched a variety of mainstream-facing features, such as a crypto-powered debit card or Metamask Card, in partnership with the Linea network, as well as “one of the largest on-chain rewards programs ever built”. 

This post MetaMask Launches Native Bitcoin Integration for 30 Million Active Users first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

Strategy, the world’s largest Bitcoin treasury company, has submitted a formal response to MSCI’s consultation on digital asset treasury companies (DATs), urging the index provider not to exclude companies whose digital asset holdings exceed 50% of total assets.

In its detailed letter to the MSCI Equity Index Committee, Strategy argued that the proposed threshold is “misguided” and would have “profoundly harmful consequences” for both investors and the broader digital asset industry.

Founded in 1989, the company operates as a corporate treasury and capital markets business with significant Bitcoin holdings, offering investors a range of equity and fixed-income securities backed by its digital assets. 

According to the company, its model is fundamentally different from a passive investment fund. Strategy actively uses its Bitcoin reserves to generate returns for shareholders, providing novel financial instruments akin to traditional bank and insurance products. 

The company emphasized that “DATs are operating companies, not investment funds,” noting that its operational flexibility allows it to adapt its business model as the technology evolves.

Strategy calls MSCI’s logic “arbitrary, and unworkable.”

Strategy criticized MSCI’s proposal for introducing a digital-asset-specific 50% threshold, calling it “discriminatory, arbitrary, and unworkable.” 

The company highlighted that many traditional businesses — including oil companies, timber operators, REITs, and media firms — also maintain concentrated holdings in single asset types but are not treated as investment funds. 

The company warned that price volatility, differing accounting standards, and asset valuation changes would create index instability, causing DATs to whipsaw in and out of MSCI’s indices.

The letter further argued that the proposal would inappropriately inject policy considerations into index construction.

“MSCI has consistently held itself out as providing indices that accurately and objectively measure market performance,” Strategy wrote.

Excluding DATs based on the type of assets they hold, rather than the underlying business model, could compromise MSCI’s neutrality and mislead investors about how these companies operate. 

Strategy noted that its investors buy exposure to the company’s management and innovation capabilities, not merely to Bitcoin itself, citing historical trading patterns in which the company’s stock often outperformed the underlying value of its digital holdings.

Strategy: Digital assets are popular in government policy

The company also framed the debate in the context of U.S. economic policy. Strategy noted that the federal government, under President Trump, has made digital assets central to national economic endeavors, including the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and promoting access to digital assets in retirement accounts. 

Excluding DATs from MSCI indices would, the letter argued, conflict with these policies and chill innovation in a nascent sector. 

Analysts cited in the letter estimate that Strategy alone could face up to $2.8 billion in stock outflows if MSCI implements the exclusion, with broader implications for the emerging digital asset economy.

Strategy positioned itself within a historical context, comparing the rise of digital asset treasuries to earlier industrial leaders. 

The letter highlighted examples like Standard Oil, AT&T, Intel, and NVIDIA, noting that these companies made concentrated investments in emerging technologies that were initially viewed as risky but ultimately became foundational to economic growth. 

Similarly, the letter argued, digital asset treasuries are building critical infrastructure for a new financial system.

Don’t succumb to ‘short-sightedness’

The letter concluded by urging MSCI to reject the 50% threshold, citing the risk of stifling innovation, damaging index integrity, and undermining federal strategy. Strategy recommended that MSCI allow the market to continue evolving and conduct more thorough consultation before considering any policy that would differentiate DATs from other operating companies. 

The company invoked MSCI’s precedent in reorganizing the Communication Services sector after nearly two decades of industry evolution, suggesting a measured, deliberative approach.

“History shows that when foundational technologies have emerged, institutions that prospered allowed markets to test them rather than throttling them in advance,” Strategy wrote. “MSCI can either succumb to short-sightedness or allow its indices to reflect, neutrally and faithfully, the next era of financial technology.”

Elsewhere, companies like Strive and Bitcoin For Corporations also challenged MSCI’s decision.

This post Strategy Formally Urges MSCI to Keep Digital Asset Treasury Companies on Global Indexes first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

AuthenticDoc, a decentralized digital signature platform developed in El Salvador, launched on November 13, 2025, at the Adopting Bitcoin conference in San Salvador. The tool uses the Nostr protocol for its open-source, decentralized architecture, incorporating Bitcoin-compatible cryptography to enable tamper-proof document verification and user-controlled private keys.

Co-founder Fabian, of the Salvadoran firm illuminodes, announced the release during the conference. “The digital signature landscape is ripe for innovation, and AuthenticDoc is leading the charge,” Fabian said. “We’ve harnessed the power of decentralized open protocol technology to deliver unparalleled security and control, effectively eliminating single points of failure that plague traditional solutions. Our platform provides a robust, tamper-proof cryptographic verification and authentication solution that businesses can trust, all while making it accessible and affordable.”

Built by Bitcoiners, the start-up addresses vulnerabilities in centralized platforms like DocuSign, which holds about 70% of the $10 billion digital signature market. According to their press release, the sector is projected to grow to $60 billion by 2030 at a 40% compound annual growth rate, fueled by regulations such as the EU’s eIDAS and the U.S. ESIGN Act, alongside remote work trends and AI-driven authenticity challenges.

The platform’s core features include trustless identity verification, private key management for users, and ISO-standard compliance for enterprise use. It eliminates reliance on centralized storage by using Nostr’s event-based system, where documents and signatures are cryptographically signed and distributed across a network of relays, ensuring robust data storage and distribution.

Diego, head of technology at illuminodes, emphasized the shift from legacy systems. “Our decentralized architecture empowers users with private key control and trustless identity verification, moving beyond the vulnerabilities of centralized systems,” Adding that, “this is not just an incremental improvement; it’s a paradigm shift in how digital signatures are secured and managed.”

AuthenticDoc is free for basic use, with paid tiers based on volume for enterprises, undercutting competitors’ license-based models. The platform supports global expansion from its El Salvador headquarters, leveraging local talent and regulatory support to target markets in Latin America, North America, and Europe.

This post El Salvador’s AuthenticDoc Goes Live: Bitcoin-Powered Signatures Eye $60B DocuSign first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

Twenty One Capital, the Bitcoin-native company co-founded by Jack Mallers, officially began trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under the ticker XXI, following a business combination with Cantor Equity Partners.

The firm debuted with a BTC treasury of 43,514 BTC, valued at roughly $3.9 billion, immediately making it the world’s third-largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder.

Speaking live on CNBC, Mallers said the company plans to “buy as much Bitcoin as [they] possibly can”. He emphasized that the firm is not simply a treasury holder but intends to build businesses around BTC, including capital markets advisory, lending models, and educational media. 

Mallers described Bitcoin as “honest money” and said Twenty One aims to give it “the place it deserves in global markets.”

The NYSE launch is backed by major institutional players, including Tether, Bitfinex, Cantor Fitzgerald, and SoftBank, reflecting a growing wave of institutional adoption of BTC.

Twenty One’s PIPE financing included $486.5 million in senior convertible notes and roughly $365 million in common equity commitments.

Analysts note the launch signals a new model for public Bitcoin companies. Mitchell Askew, head of Blockware Intelligence, said the firm’s institutional connections could position Twenty One as “a major player not only in Bitcoin, but in the grand arc of financial history.”

Twenty One plans to pair its treasury with operating businesses that generate recurring revenue while supporting BTC adoption. 

Shareholders will have access to on-chain verification of holdings, ensuring transparency. Mallers highlighted that the firm’s value comes not only from its BTC holdings but also from the cash flows and infrastructure it builds around the asset.

Shares of XXI opened with volatility, trading down over 23% at $10.97 following the debut, reflecting typical market reactions to new listings. Since opening, shares have stabilized to 

With this launch, Twenty One Capital aims to establish itself as both a leading institutional BTC holder and a financial ecosystem around the cryptocurrency, offering investors direct exposure to BTC alongside innovative business models built on the asset.

Bitcoin as money, not just an asset

At Bitcoin Amsterdam, Jack Mallers reaffirmed his belief that BTC’s ultimate purpose is to function as money, not just as an asset. 

He criticized traditional financial narratives, saying, “People have convoluted the concept of money to benefit them… The dollar is money? No, how about f*** you?” 

For Mallers, money is what you save to later exchange for goods and services, and BTC fulfills that role regardless of whether merchants directly accept it. 

“What I used as money was Bitcoin because I exchanged the work I’m doing for those around me for Bitcoin and later exchange it for the things I want,” he explained.

Mallers also addressed external pressures from powerful figures and media outlets to temper his message. He recalled being advised, “Don’t say that on CNBC,” but emphasized, “Sorry, good thing I’m me and you’re you… you say whatever you want.” 

He framed his stance as a matter of integrity and honesty, saying, “I was born to love others, to contribute to something bigger than myself.”

This post Jack Mallers’ Twenty One Capital Vows to Buy ‘As Much Bitcoin as Possible’ first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Nunchuk Inc. is an open source, multi-signature mobile wallet for advanced bitcoin security, self-custody, and inheritance. Launched in 2020, the app offers users a feature-rich toolkit to set up high-security bitcoin wallets, with little competition on the mobile app market, as most other mobile wallets do not support multi-signature functionality at all.

Most wallets require a single private key to sign a valid Bitcoin transaction. Multi-signature Bitcoin wallets, in turn, require more than one private key to sign a valid Bitcoin transaction, often a threshold, such as two of three or three of five. This lock, so to speak, is enforced by the full power of the Bitcoin network, making it one of the most secure ways to store wealth today and probably in history.  

Nunchuk told Bitcoin Magazine they help secure over a billion dollars worth of bitcoin today, “it is our (paid) assisted services that have helped users secure +$1B in BTC thus far.”, but that was not always the case. Born out of Bitcoin idealism in the thick of the COVID pandemic, Nunchuk was built to facilitate advanced security wallets that use multi-signature in the defense of self-custody. In 2022, as a young start-up, these ideals were put to the test, as activists of the Canadian Freedom Convoy Protests decided to use Nunchuk to secure bitcoins donated to the protest against COVID repression. 

The turmoil saw over a million dollars worth of Bitcoin donated to Honk Honk Hodl, a group of reputable activists in the country, to help fund the costs of Truckers who were gathering in Ottawa. The truckers were putting their lives on the line to protest the extreme restrictions put in place by the Canadian government in response to the pandemic, and were facing massive pressure to leave the capital.

Over 20 bitcoins were received into a Nunchuk multi-signature wallet under the banner of Honk Honk Hodl. Nunchuk multi-sig was chosen to mitigate the risk of putting all that money in the hands of just one person. 

Hugo Nguyen, founder of Nunchuk, told Bitcoin Magazine that the Honk Honk Hodl wallet received so many individual donations that it actually broke the wallet. The app was not designed to sign transactions with so many bitcoin inputs, and the start-up had to push an update to let the activists easily move their funds. 

The protests were so effective and gained such a positive reception internationally that Trudeau’s government panicked and invoked the Emergencies Act, a rare use of federal powers, which he used to try to shut down all sources of funding coming to the protesters, in an effort to scare them off the capital. This included 10 million dollars in donations from Canadians to a GoFundMe campaign, which were ultimately returned to contributors after the payment processor faced legal action from the Canadian government. 

When it came to the bitcoin donations, the digital currency’s alleged censorship resistance was put to the test. Canada sent a Mareva injunction to Nunchuk Inc., demanding the company freeze user funds and disclose user data to the government. Nunchuk, as a privacy-oriented, non-custodial wallet, had no power to comply. Nunchuk was just two months old at the time, a self-funded startup. This was their response: 

“Dear Ontario Superior Court of Justice,

Nunchuk is a self-custodial, collaborative multisig Bitcoin wallet. We are a software provider, not a custodial financial intermediary.

Our software is free to use. It allows people to eliminate single points of failure and store Bitcoin in the safest way possible, while preserving privacy.

We do not collect any user identification information beyond email addresses. We also do not hold any keys. Therefore:

– We cannot “freeze” our users’ assets.

– We cannot “prevent” them from being moved.

– We do not have knowledge of “the existence, nature, value and location” of our users’ assets. This is by design.

Please look up how self-custody and private keys work. When the Canadian dollar becomes worthless, we will be here to serve you, too.

Sincerely,  

The Nunchuk team”

In a matter of hours, over 14 bitcoins were delivered to over 90 truckers by hand in envelopes, roughly 8000 Canadian dollars at the time, each. By the time the Canadian police raided Nicholas St. Louis’s home — the main activist behind the Honk Honk Hodl campaign — most of the bitcoin had been distributed. Only 0.28 BTC were reportedly seized in the raid. Up to 6 BTC in total were frozen from other truckers and protesters in the turmoil, resulting in a rough 70% success rate for the censorship-resistant currency. 

These events had a deep impact on the Nunchuk team, some of whom quit out of fear of legal prosecution. Others who stayed and Nunchuk Inc. survived, its future design forged in the fires of the late COVID political turmoil. 

The Nunchuk That Survived

Fast forward two years or so, and Nunchuk has carved itself a solid niche within the Bitcoin industry. It is the only open source, fully featured multi-signature mobile wallet for mobile devices. Where alternatives exist, they are often either antiquated, nearly abandoned, or closed-source and not functional without being a paid user. 

Nunchuk is also the first significant implementation of miniscript, a high-level programming language for Bitcoin script, which lets developers build Bitcoin “smart contracts” with elegance and power not easily achieved using Bitcoin’s native scripting language. Miniscript was invented by Pieter Wullie, a legendary Bitcoin core developer with 14 years of experience contributing to the digital currency. 

The wallet lets users create software and hardware keys based on a wide range of hardware signing devices, supporting the most advanced Bitcoin address types, like Segwit and Taproot. Users can then create a fully customizable range of wallets, from single key to advanced, to any combination of multiple keys the user deems useful. 

Nunchuk even supports decaying multi-sigs, which are useful for inheritance and complex setups. For example, you might want a 3 of 5 multi-sig where you control all the keys but they are geographically distributed, this is a common model for high value inheritance accounts. One of those keys can be shared with an heir. After five years, the multi-sig degrades to a single-key wallet, letting your heir move the money. To prevent your heir from getting access to your Bitcoin before your time, you would need to move the coins to a fresh multi-sig 3 of 5 and reset the clock. 

It’s important to note that creating your own complex security setups has risks; sometimes, users who become so sophisticated that they decide to use fully featured tools like Nunchuk end up creating mazes for their Bitcoin that they end up getting locked out of. It’s important to be careful and generally use best practices when creating self-custody Bitcoin wallets to avoid common pitfalls.

Nunchuk has standard templates and a complete inheritance feature set designed to help non-technical Bitcoin users benefit from the full power of Bitcoin self-custody. They even announced the inheritance solution for Bitcoiners that does not require a third-party intermediary to co-sign a transfer. Popular alternatives like Casa wallet offer inheritance solutions, but as a co-signer, they also get a full view into user data, and if the company fails, users must take an alternative key-signing path to recover funds. Nunchuk’s on-chain inheritance wallet leverages time locks and pre-designed multi-sig setups like the example above to give users maximum control and sovereignty in their inheritance setup. 

Nunchuk nevertheless supports aided (off-chain) inheritance solutions as well, which use the co-signer model of inheritance and can be easier to use, offering similar features as other popular Bitcoin inheritance solutions. 

This post Nunchuk: The Open-Source Mobile Multi-Sig Wallet Now Securing Over $1 Billion in Bitcoin first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

Twenty One Capital, Inc. (“Twenty One”) led by CEO Jack Mallers and Cantor Equity Partners, Inc. (“CEP”) announced on the 3rd of December that their shareholders approved the combination of the two businesses, meaning that Twenty One is set to go public very soon.  

The vote is expected to have received a lot of attention from retail shareholders, as the  Mallers announced it on their podcast to more than 43 thousand subscribers and their X with half a million followers.  The vote took place at the Extraordinary General Meeting of CEP’s shareholders, who approved the previously announced proposed business combination between the parties as well as all other proposals related to the Business Combination.

“The final voting results for the Meeting will be included in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by CEP,” according to a press release published by the company. 

Subject to the satisfaction of other closing conditions described in the CEP’s definitive proxy statement and Twenty One’s final prospectus, the consummation of the related transactions should take place in the coming days, leading to Twenty One Capital, Inc. and its Class A common stock to start trading on the NYSE with the symbol “XXI” on December 9th, 2025.

The company is expected to exit its “quiet period” after this point and make a series of announcements about the future of the business. XXI announced earlier this year that it had received investment from Tether and Softbank, leading to the purchase of 42,000 bitcoins, which will position it as one of the largest public owners of the asset and is expected to unlock new financial service offers for Strike customers, Jack’s growing Bitcoin financial services app, and Cash App competitor. 

You can read the full press release on the vote here for full disclaimers and details.

This post Jack Mallers’ Twenty One Capital Wins Approval for CEP Merger, Poised for Public Debut on Nasdaq first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

Colombian Bitcoin and crypto mining company Horeb Energy reveals 2.5 cents per kWh of green biogas energy in the North Santander region of the Latin American country. The company has achieved energy prices 50% lower than the North American average of 3.5 to 6 cents per kwh for Bitcoin mining operations, through a strategic alliance with multinational energy company Veolia. 

Authorized in 1853 by Napoleon III to help build out public water works infrastructure in France, Veolia is a global leader in environmental services focused on water, waste, and energy solutions. Today in Norte de Santander, Colombia, the company operates critical facilities dedicated to biogas valorization and solid waste management — a common problem in Colombia and Latin America in general, known for massive landfills.  Veloia also operates the “Centro Inteligente de Gestión Ecológica” – CIGE Guayabal landfill, a pioneer in biogas systems development in the region. 

Horeb Energy — the Bitcoin mining arm of the operation — specializes in technological solutions for biogas treatment and renewable energy production from waste. “It’s collaboration with Veolia in this pilot project sets a milestone for new sustainable business models in the global cryptocurrency mining sector,” the company said in a press release, adding that “The project aims to reduce the region’s carbon footprint significantly and demonstrates Veolia’s strong commitment to accelerating the ecological transformation of local territories.”

Through this pilot project, biogas generated at the CIGE Guayabal landfill by Veolia is transformed into electricity to supply a secure, standalone data center dedicated to cryptocurrency mining. Horeb Energy oversees advanced biogas filtration and energy conversion processes, and the Bitcoin mining dimension, which unlocks new economic models for energy infrastructure development in the region.

One year after its launch, the program boasts tangible results with the production of “nearly 1,000 kWh of 100% renewable energy”, powering an entirely off-grid Bitcoin container and mining system. This unique approach in the Colombian market provides an alternative use for methane gas — a byproduct of waste decomposition that poses environmental challenges for landfills.

Humberto Posada Cifuentes, General Manager of Veolia in Norte de Santander, said in a press release that this pilot “demonstrates that with innovation and strong local leadership, we can turn waste into value and contribute meaningfully to the clean energy transition.”

Arley Lozano, Operations Manager of Horeb Energy, told Bitcoin Magazine that they had achieved 2.5 cents a kWh in green energy, adding that “we are proud that this project has been developed by local talent in partnership with Veolia. Our goal is to replicate this model in other municipalities across Colombia and throughout Latin America.”

This post Horeb Energy and Veolia Are Mining Bitcoin At 2.5¢/kWh With Colombian Landfil Biogas first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

Strategy ($MSTR) announced Monday that it has created a $1.44 billion U.S. dollar reserve to safeguard future dividend and interest payments, a move aimed at calming investor concerns that the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder might eventually need to sell a portion of its roughly $56 billion BTC stack if market weakness persists.

The Tysons Corner, Virginia-based firm said the reserve, funded by recent Class A common stock sales, will initially cover at least 21 months of dividend obligations. 

Over time, Strategy intends to expand the buffer to cover as much as 24 months of payments, strengthening its liquidity position as Bitcoin endures its steepest monthly decline since mid-2021.

Founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said the cash reserve represents the next phase of the company’s evolution, complementing its Bitcoin holdings and reinforcing its strategy of becoming the world’s leading issuer of “Digital Credit.”

CEO Phong Le, whose comments last week sparked fears of a potential BTC sale, said the newly formed reserve sharply reduces the likelihood the company would need to liquidate any of its 650,000 BTC holdings. 

Strategy’s market value to Bitcoin (mNAV) ratio — a key metric comparing enterprise value to Bitcoin holdings — had slipped to roughly 1.2 on Monday, inching closer to a level that historically raises concern among investors.

On Friday, Le told a podcast audience that Strategy could sell Bitcoin only if mNAV dropped below 1.0, and only as a last resort.

Investors reacted sharply early Monday to a bitcoin price sell-off, sending Strategy shares down more than 6% pre-market while Bitcoin fell roughly 6%. The stock pared losses after the reserve announcement.

At the time of writing, shares of MSTR are trading at 165.84, down 6.40%.

Strategy’s Bitcoin accumulation

Formerly known as MicroStrategy, the company has evolved from a business-intelligence software firm into a full-scale digital-asset-treasury vehicle, financing its Bitcoin accumulation through repeated equity raises and low-cost perpetual preferred offerings.

Its software division does not generate sufficient free cash flow to cover dividend or interest payments, while Bitcoin itself yields no income.

After a pause in purchases, Strategy added 130 BTC for $11.7 million last week, funded through new common share issuance.

Strategy’s updated forecast 

Alongside the reserve announcement, Strategy updated its 2025 guidance, acknowledging that its October forecast — based on a $150,000 year-end Bitcoin price — is no longer realistic. 

With Bitcoin recently trading between $80,660 and $111,612, Strategy now assumes a year-end price range of $85,000 to $110,000.

Under that scenario, the company expects operating income ranging from a $7 billion loss to a $9.5 billion profit—a wide spread driven by new accounting standards requiring fair-value BTC mark-to-market treatment each quarter.

Net income is projected between a $5.5 billion loss and a $6.3 billion profit, while diluted EPS could fall anywhere from –$17 to +$19 per share.

Despite market turbulence, Wall Street brokers such as Benchmark say the firm remains structurally sound, with Bitcoin unlikely to fall anywhere near the roughly $12,700 distress threshold analysts estimate would pose genuine solvency risk.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin price fell sharply to the mid-$84,000s early Monday, sliding 8% over the past 24 hours as a wave of macro anxiety, thin liquidity and fresh crypto-native stress hit markets simultaneously. 

The world’s largest digital asset traded between a 24-hour high of $91,866 and a low of $84,722, extending a two-month drawdown that has now erased more than 30% from October’s record highs, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data. 

The downturn marks a swift reversal from last week’s tentative recovery. After plunging below $81,000 on Nov. 21, the Bitcoin price steadily climbed into the end of November and briefly pushed above $92,500 during Black Friday’s morning session. 

At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is $86,469.  

This post Strategy ($MSTR) Creates $1.44 Billion Reserve to Calm Fears of Bitcoin Sell-Off first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.