Bitcoin 🛟 Roundup – Banks: Zombies or Vampires?

The following is this week’s .

Imagine the largest banks in the world, serving millions, had a side business manipulating the price of gold – pushing would-be buyers of sound money toward worse alternatives. It sounds far-fetched.

Something like that could never happen in a tightly regulated financial system, where banks’ compliance cost has risen at an estimated 60% post-Dodd-Frank, and firms spend billions annually on compliance and risk management.

Yet, this all happened. JP Morgan’s former precious metals desk head was sentenced to prison this week for overseeing an operation where febrile traders spoofed gold prices for years. Deutsche Bank, among others, has been penalized for similar practices.

Legacy banks are “down bad” – downgraded credit ratings, fines, and reputation damage are coming home to roost. Half of Americans worry about their money’s safety in the banking system.

Today, they operate like vampires, preying on hapless consumers. The future could see them zombified, along with their central bank patrons.

Derelict banks don’t want a citizenry empowered by sound money – but the monetary counter-revolution is already happening.

Bitcoin > crony capitalism.

With that, let’s dive into the news.

NEWS

Will a bursting real estate bubble hobble the CCP?

China’s economy is spiraling into a “doom loop,” with plunging exports, declining manufacturing, and a faltering housing market signaling political and economic trouble ahead for the ruling Communist Party. Amid rising youth unemployment and deflation, China’s indebted economy struggles with overcapacity, limited by a lack of demand from the West and domestic consumer hesitancy, raising concerns of a Japan-style slow growth period.

A few examples:

Equity markets are tumbling, and capital is fleeing. The CCP has deployed a “National Team” to keep stocks afloat.

Evergrande, China’s second-largest property developer, filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy. The firm’s debt equals roughly 2% of China’s GDP.

Bitcoin volatility returns with a vengeance

After months of no movement and dancing around the $30,000 mark, bitcoin’s price dropped 15% last week. A news-based event did not trigger the recent surge in volatility. Instead, it resulted from old-fashioned derivative liquidation, and the simple fact that there were more sellers than buyers.

This market move suggests a shift in the bitcoin landscape as it attempts to find a new equilibrium and anticipates increased volatility and uncertainty in the short-to-intermediate term.

Some good news:

The amount of bitcoin held on exchanges continues to drop, signaling that more bitcoiners are taking self-custody of their hard-earned sats.

BRICS coalition invites new members

In a groundbreaking move, the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – announced the addition of six new members: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the UAE. With over 40 countries expressing interest in joining and 22 formal applications submitted, the expansion signals a shift in the bloc’s authority amid escalating global tensions and calls for unity among developing nations.

BRICS > G7?

BRICS, or now BRICS+, have surpassed the G7 in global GDP and account for more than 40% of the world’s total population.

Though the coalition trails the G7 in per-capita GDP, the group is growing in size and influence while the West wanes of its own volition.

Banks DOWNGRADED

A Fitch Ratings analyst has warned that a further downgrade in U.S. banks’ “operating environment” score could trigger negative rating actions for over 70 financial institutions, including industry giants like JPMorgan.

The warning comes amid heightened lending standards and expensive borrowing costs, conditions that have already led Moody’s to slash the credit ratings on 10 U.S. banks and put several others under review for potential downgrades.

Gradually, then suddenly

In March, Jim Cramer called JP Morgan “a fortress.” We will leave it at that.

BITCOIN ADOPTION CONTINUES

Oman is supporting privately-owned bitcoin mining facilities with a total investment of over $1.1 billion, aligning the initiative with the nation’s economic goals and confirming its compatibility with Islamic law.

Genesis Digital Assets inaugurated an 8 megawatt mining facility in northern Sweden located near the Porjus Hydroelectric Power Station to leverage its carbon-free electricity.

Nodal Power raised $13 million to mitigate methane emissions from landfills by using the gas to power Bitcoin mining data centers.

ByteFederal Australia launched its Bitcoin ATM network, offering a range of products, including Smart Kiosks, digital wallets, and merchant terminals.

Bitcoin banking firm Ledn partnered with real estate agency Parallel to offer bitcoin-backed loans for real estate investments.

An independent bitcoin miner scored an unlikely win by solving a block independent of mining pools, netting the entire block reward of 6.25 BTC, worth about $160,000 today.

HOW BITCOIN WORKS

Learn one key idea about bitcoin each week. This week:

Bitcoin is the antidote

The legacy financial system is a labyrinth of inefficiencies, a web of backdoor deals and opaque operations.

Banks and government entities are the architects of this system, and it’s no secret that it serves their interests, often at the expense of the average citizen.

Your money, tucked neatly into your bank account, is vulnerable to inflation, control, and sometimes even outright confiscation through “legal” means like civil asset forfeiture or “debanking.”

Bitcoin is the antidote to this systemic corruption – a peaceful revolution wiping the slate clean for a world tired of being played. It offers nothing less, than secure, transparent, and, most importantly, decentralized money.

Financial institutions and governments, the gatekeepers of the old world, are understandably unsettled by this change. For them, it’s a disruptor that they neither control nor fully understand. And why would they want to? Bitcoin represents everything they’re not: Open, transparent, and person-centric.

Bitcoin is not a minor improvement to an outdated system, but a paradigm shift. It reimagines the concept of money and reconfigures power dynamics, putting control back in the hands of the people.

As more people wake up to bitcoin, the walls of legacy finance will not stand much longer. The establishment knows this; they sense the turning tides. And while they may not admit it, their diminishing grip on monetary control marks the dawn of a new era.

The choice is yours – continue navigating the old regime’s broken corridors, or take the antidote and step into the new world.

That’s all for this week, folks! Sign up here to get the newsletter delivered straight to your inbox weekly.

Contributor posts published on Zero Hedge do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Zero Hedge, and are not selected, edited or screened by Zero Hedge editors.

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