Is Bitcoin Self-Custody Under Threat in Europe?

For centuries, self-custody has symbolized financial autonomy, enabling individuals to secure their wealth—from gold to cash—without intermediaries. Bitcoin extends this principle into the digital realm, offering a censorship-resistant, decentralized way to hold assets. Yet, upcoming European regulations under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and the Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR) threaten to complicate self-custody for Bitcoin users.

A New Regulatory Era

MiCA, adopted in April 2023, aims to regulate crypto-assets comprehensively in the EU. The revised TFR applies the “Travel Rule” to Bitcoin transactions, requiring detailed sender and recipient information for…

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What Coinbase listings say about crypto in the US

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If you need any more reassurance that working with crypto is tipped to get easier, look no further than Coinbase listings.

In fact, the rate of Coinbase listings has rapidly accelerated.

Over the past two years, until the election in November, the exchange had made 88 listing announcements specific to the US — an average of 3.8 listings per month.

Since Trump’s win around this time last month, Coinbase has made 16 such announcements — either for its flagship US exchange or specifically for the state of New York.

Of those new coins, seven are related to memecoins: WIF, PEPE and FLOKI…

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The lack of soft forks is due to a lack of interest— not a lack of process

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As I explained in a Take two weeks ago, I think the threat (or promise, depending on your perspective) of protocol ossification is somewhat exaggerated, at least at this point in time.

Yes, the rate of soft forks has slowed down significantly over the years, the last one having been Taproot in 2021. But it seems this has more to do with a lack of interest in the potential upgrades that’ve been proposed since then, rather than it…

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