What a turn of events for Bitcoin and its relationship with "mainstream used gadgets"... It seems that the Bitcoin Whitepaper is hidden on EVERY MacBook running a recent OS, as of late, which to me is outstanding. I didn't have high expectations from the likes of Apple or Samsung in making such moves toward Bitcoin...
Samsung was rumored to be sporting a crypto wallet for quite a while, but I am a Samsung user(S21 regular version), and I am not aware of any such feature/app on my phone aside from the ones that I have personally installed.
However, back in the days of the good old 2021 bull market when Tim Cook was asked whether he owns any Bitcoin or other cryptos he answered that he does, he finds the tech interesting and he allocated a small portion of his assets portfolio to such type of assets. And now this...
I have a personal quote for such a turn of events: "Although Bitcoin may initially seem unworthy of consideration, as you delve deeper, it becomes increasingly intriguing, eventually culminating in the realization that it is indeed advisable to hold some Bitcoin."
And just like that Bitcoin hit a new ATH ;)... Yes, it actually did that, but on its Ruble pairing... for now...
There's an interesting narrative promoted by this guy on Twitter, according to which Bitcoin might be heavily bought by Russians lately, amidst all the sanctions and backlash that America has thrown at the ex-communist mega power, since the start of the war in Ukraine.
The reasoning for this insane performance of BTC against the Russian Ruble is that Russia might be moving towards a "neutral currency" for its energy sales and if such information was leaked among wealthy tycoons in the country, then this is the result(the 2023 ATH against the ruble) of wealthy Russians buying BTC heavily in the past few weeks.
I'd say that many Russians have actually dumped the Ruble for BTC in a desperate act of preserving their wealth in case of a catastrophic fall of their native currency, thus leading to such a price performance for Bitcoin on the Ruble pairing. And there's more to be added in supporting the bullish case for Bitcoin in Russia...
About two months ago the news came out that a Russian state-backed mining company is supposed to be building a Bitcoin mining facility with a capacity of 30,000 miners. However, on the other side of the globe(well, not actually that far), the good 'ol Murica is not showing a too-friendly attitude towards crypto.
The US Treasury Department has released a press release on the 2023 DeFi illicit finance risk assessment. The report was released after a proper analysis of the decentralized finance sector. Additionally, the report speaks about how the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), cybercriminals, thieves, scammers, and ransomware attackers use DeFi services to launder and move their illicit proceeds.
Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson, said: “Our assessment finds that illicit actors, including criminals, scammers, and North Korean cyber actors, are using DeFi services in the process of laundering illicit funds.”
source
What are they gonna do about it? DeFi is not Binance or Coinbase so you can "ban it", or TikTok... DeFi is a protocol, you can't ban it, the same as you can't ban Hive... Man, these old farts never learn. They are still treating this technology as if it would be some sort of a company that you can do whatever you wish with it as a regulator.
The current state of affairs in America is concerning to me, particularly with the de-dollarization trend that has emerged. Countries such as the UAE, China, Russia, Brazil, and others are making it clear that they intend to switch from using the dollar to using the Chinese yuan for their commerce. Additionally, the US is not doing itself any favors with regards to cryptocurrency.
Barack Obama, who appears to be serving a third term thanks to his influence over the current US President, Joe Biden, may have underestimated Vladimir Putin. Putin has been Russia's leader since 1990, and his ability to remain in power for so long is a testament to his intelligence and ability to get things done.
Just a year ago, it appeared that Russia would be economically isolated and on the brink of collapse. However, recent developments suggest that Russia may have heavily invested in Bitcoin, which could put them in a strong position on multiple fronts.
What do you think?
Thanks for your attention,
Adrian