The Treasury Is Expanding The Patriot Act To Attack Bitcoin Self Custody

Marty's Bent

We warned a couple of months ago when the Trump administration's "Crypto Brief" was released that there was some language in the brief that advised the government to expand the Patriot Act to account for digital assets. Well, it looks like FinCen and the Treasury have been working on guidelines and a rough outline is shared above courtesy of The Rage, and they are absolutely horrid.

It seems that FinCen and the Treasury are preparing to outlaw the use of CoinJoin, atomic swaps, single address use, and transaction broadcast timing delays. All of which are common best use practices that I would recommend any bitcoiner leveraging self-custody practice. This is an all out attack on financial privacy within bitcoin. If enacted, any user who leverages these tools will be flagged as a suspicious, any attempts to send a UTXO that has touched any of these tools will be rejected by regulated services, and could potentially be sent to prison.

This is an absurd affront to common sensibilities and freedom in the digital age. The fact that they want to prevent people from using single addresses for individual UTXOs is patently absurd. Not only is it a massive infringement on privacy, but it makes bitcoin usage less economically efficient and degrades the security of every bitcoiner. Loading up a single address with too many UTXOs degrades the entropy of a public-private key pair and makes it easier to brute force a user's private key.

Instead of expanding the Patriot Act, it should be abolished. Instead of trying to eliminate financial privacy for the 99.9% of law abiding citizens in this country, the government should be actively trying to foster an environment in which it can be improved. The proposed solutions will do nothing but put good Americans in harm's way and degrade the security of their savings.

We shouldn't have to live in a world where standards cater to the lowest common denominator, in this case criminals, that make things worse off for the overwhelming majority of the population. It's crazy that this even has to be said. The onus is on law enforcement to be so good at their jobs that they are able to prevent crimes from happening before they occur and effectively bring criminals to heel after they commit crimes. It shouldn't be on a neutral protocol and the industry being built on top of it that, when used effectively, provides people with a stable monetary system that respects user privacy and equips them with the tools to receive and spend in a way that provides them with peace of mind.

Why should everyone have to suffer because of a few bad apples? Isn't that letting the terrorist win?

Bitcoin Is Becoming Less Volatile as It Integrates Into Traditional Finance Infrastructure

Mel Mattison revealed a fascinating shift in Bitcoin's market dynamics that challenges conventional crypto wisdom. He pointed out that Bitcoin futures now exhibit lower volatility than platinum futures - a remarkable transformation for an asset once synonymous with wild price swings. The proliferation of ETFs, options, futures, and other traditional financial instruments has fundamentally altered Bitcoin's behavior, creating what Mel calls "volatility suppression." This institutionalization comes with trade-offs: while reducing dramatic downswings, it also caps explosive upside potential.

"Bitcoin is becoming a TradFi security instrument and it's getting TradFi vol." - Mel Mattison

Mel argued that the relationship between volatility and returns means investors must recalibrate expectations. Where 100% annual gains once seemed routine, he now considers 50% returns "massive" for this new era of Bitcoin. This maturation reflects Bitcoin's evolution from speculative experiment to financial infrastructure - less exciting perhaps, but ultimately more sustainable for long-term adoption.

Check out the full podcast here for more on China's gold strategy, Fed independence battles, and housing market manipulation plans.

Headlines of the Day

New Bill for Strategic Bitcoin Reserve - via X

SEC to Host Crypto Roundtable October 17 - via X

Research Proposes Bitcoin for Mars Trade Standard - via X

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Final thought...

Rest in peace, Charlie Kirk. Pray for humanity and for peace.

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