Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has been making waves recently with his bullish stance on Bitcoin.

Some of the top Bitcoin news items this week are:

1. Taproot upgrade to Bitcoin protocol is now live

After years of community debate and development, the taproot upgrade to the Bitcoin network has finally been implemented. It brings with it several improvements, most notably in terms of security, transaction cost and programmability (smart contracting). For more information this is a great article to read. 

2. US regulators reject VanEck Spot ETF

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected the application of a spot ETF submitted by VanEck under some curious circumstances. It has rejected the spot instrument (which settles in actual Bitcoin) while approving a futures instrument which trades on leverage and settles in cash. There seem to be some double standards at play as the SEC has created a peculiar situation stating that the reason for rejecting the spot ETF is due to there “not being a market of significant size” for a spot product. While this may come as a disappointment to institutions who are looking to invest into regulated financial products which incorporate Bitcoin, it is of no consequence to the individual looking to take self custody of their own coins. 

3. Miami – Bitcoin city

Mayor Francis Suarez has been making waves recently with his bullish stance on Bitcoin. His vision is to make the city of Miami a Bitcoin hub and is leading by example by taking his full salary in Bitcoin. Furthermore, he advocates for city employees to take their salaries either in part or in full in Bitcoin and has introduced measures to allow citizens to pay their taxes in Bitcoin too. Suarez is working with industry to promote the adoption and spending of Bitcoin with merchants throughout the city, with the aim of making Miami a top Bitcoiner destination. Florida seems like one of the few places on earth that really embraces freedom. 

Bitvice Podcasts and Media

Bitvice Podcasts and Media

Last week we interviewed Callum McArthur about his experience of having his home burgled. The intruders made off with many of his valuables including his hardware wallet and its private key. However, he managed to maintain control over all of his Bitcoin because he makes use of a multisig wallet. A multisig wallet is a type of Bitcoin wallet that relies on multiple keys, rather than a single one. This setup denied the criminals access to McArthur’s Bitcoin, as he still controlled the majority of the keys himself. Learn all about it in the video or audio version of the podcast.

It was also featured in Bitcoin Magazine and you can check out the article here.

By The Horns is a podcast about Bitcoin in the South African context. You can follow our discussions via video on  YouTube or via the audio version on Spotify, Google Podcasts or Apple Podcasts. If you are listening on a different podcast app, here is our RSS feed.

Donate to a Great cause

If you want to follow South Africa’s Bitcoin Beach project, then look no further!

Bitcoin eKasi is a Bitcoin project based in a South African township in cooperation with The Surfer kids. Surfer Kids is all about empowering youths living in marginalised communities, by teaching commitment through surfing.

Bitcoin eKasi is hoping to create “a small circular Bitcoin economy in a township in South Africa, proving the point that Bitcoin has much to offer society’s most marginalized, as the best form of money ever created.”

Check out their Twitter to find out more about how they have implemented the project using spaza shops and Lightning Network.

You can support them here. Incredible stuff and something we fully endorse. 

Referral Programme

We have recently launched our referral program, which pays you 0.25% of every order made by a customer that you refer to Bitvice, forever. But referrals are not just about getting paid in Sats, it’s about knowing that the people that you refer to Bitvice are going to get quality advice on how to store their Bitcoin for the long term. At Bitvice, we never hold anyone’s keys for them and we provide our customers with tailor made advice on how to HODL (Hold On for Dear Life) their Bitcoin. Be it in a hot wallet, hardware wallet or multisig. So you can rest assured that anyone you point in our direction will hold their Bitcoin the way that Satoshi intended. 

Log into your dashboard to find your referral code. 

Have you set up your Bitcoin will yet?

We all appreciate the immense value that Bitcoin has, both presently and in the future. One of the reasons why we stack Sats is to ensure that our families have a good life. However, have you considered the order of operations that would be required to access your Bitcoin in the event of your untimely death? If you have not done so yet, setting up a Bitcoin will is vital. Your Sats are worth nothing to your family if they can’t access them when you are gone. 

Read our basic guide to setting up your own Bitcoin will here and ensure that your loved ones are able to reap the rewards of your diligent stacking one day when you are gone.