US Treasury sanctions confirm Bitcoin works
- US Treasury sanctions on Iranian firms prove Bitcoin is a functional global settlement layer.
- Privacy defense in court backfires as user faces prison for wiping phone data.
- AI payments bypass Bitcoin, favoring speculative chains despite Bitcoin’s security.
The US Treasury just validated Bitcoin’s utility - by trying to stop it. On Jul 30, 2026, the Office of Foreign Asset Control sanctioned Iranian maritime firms for accepting Bitcoin in insurance payments, confirming the network is now a live conduit for energy trade near the Strait of Hormuz. Host Mr. B on Bitcoin And called it a backhanded endorsement: the world’s most powerful financial enforcer doesn’t ban what doesn’t work.
The move signals a shift. Bitcoin is no longer theoretical. It’s operational in sanctioned corridors where traditional rails fail. As Mr. B noted, the Treasury’s action admits that digital assets are settling real-world transactions in one of the most strategically sensitive regions on Earth.
"If the US wants to punish people for using Bitcoin while also trying to build a strategic reserve, the message is muddled. The money is too good to ignore but too free to allow."
- Mr. B, Bitcoin And
The same week, another case exposed the legal risks of digital self-defense. Samuel Tunic faces five years in prison for using a duress pin on Graphene OS to wipe his phone during a border search. The prosecution argues that making data irrecoverable violates federal statutes - a stance that equates privacy tools with obstruction. The case underscores a growing rift: you can have cryptographic sovereignty, but the state may still punish you for exercising it.
Meanwhile, agentic AI payments are launching - and skipping Bitcoin. MoonPay’s Paybox, released Jul 29, lets AI agents like ChatGPT and Claude execute transactions, but only on Solana and EVM chains. David Bennett mocked the omission: the most secure monetary network is being treated as legacy infrastructure. By routing autonomous payments through speculative altcoins, developers are prioritizing short-term liquidity over long-term soundness.
"Building agentic payments while excluding Bitcoin is absurd. You're choosing shitcoins over the most secure settlement layer on the planet."
- David Bennett, Bitcoin And
Michael Saylor, meanwhile, doubled down on protocol purity. He framed BIP 110 - a proposal to filter non-financial data - as a constitutional crisis, arguing that any change to consensus rules for ideological reasons sets a dangerous precedent. Miners have since signaled less than 2% support for the proposal, a collapse that reflects Saylor’s influence. Bitcoin’s immutability, once a niche dogma, is now a legal and geopolitical reality.
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FED Up | Bitcoin News • Jul 30
- The US Treasury sanctioned two Iranian maritime firms, Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, for using Bitcoin and other digital assets to bypass Western sanctions and finance the IRGC.
- Hormuz Safe's website, observed in May, reportedly offered digital maritime insurance policies payable in Bitcoin; Fars News Agency suggested the platform could generate over $10 billion in revenue from shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Samuel Tunic faces up to five years in federal prison for using a Graphene OS duress code to wipe his Google Pixel phone during a warrantless border search in January 2025, prompting Graphene OS to assert its system's legality.
Also discussed on this episode: (12)
Regulation (3)
- The American Arbitration Association launched a specialist "Web3 Panel" for blockchain and digital asset disputes, featuring arbitrators with expertise in law, technology, academia, litigation, and AI-driven autonomous transactions.
- Australia's eSafety Commissioner initiated legal proceedings against Telegram, alleging it breached the Online Safety Act by failing to remove pro-terror content and prevent repeat violations, potentially incurring fines up to 54.6 million AUD.
- Bipartisan efforts continue on the Clarity Act, with Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and law enforcement groups supporting proposed changes aimed at defining crypto regulations and potentially protecting software developers from liability for user illicit activity.
Fed (1)
- The Federal Reserve maintained the federal funds rate at 3.5% to 3.75%, resulting in a slight increase in Bitcoin's price, though three of twelve FOMC members favored a 0.25% hike.
Markets (1)
- David Bennett observes increasing investor demands for capital back from private credit firms, with late 2025 seeing the highest demand ever, following previous stress points in 2020 and 2022.
Education (1)
- The National Council of Teachers of English voted to dissolve the Conference on College Composition and Communication, a move David Bennett links to Harvard's decision to cut its writing center and the rise of AI, fearing a decline in literacy and critical thinking.
AI & Tech (1)
- Anthropic's Claude Mythos AI model discovered a critical flaw in Hawk, a digital signature candidate for quantum-resistant web payments, that halves its key strength after only 60 hours and $100,000 in compute costs, despite two years of human expert review.
Protocol (3)
- Researchers at American Fortress proposed a system using post-quantum zero-knowledge proofs for HD wallets to protect Bitcoin from future quantum attacks without altering existing wallet addresses, by verifying seed phrase ownership.
- David Bennett views Monero and Zcash favorably among altcoins because their developers focused on addressing perceived Bitcoin limitations using different mathematical approaches, rather than solely promoting them as speculative assets.
- Bitcoin's market cap stands at $1.3 trillion, with 20,063,151.14 bitcoins in circulation, an average of 0.02 BTC in fees per block, amidst 85,000 unconfirmed transactions, and a hashrate of 897 exahashes per second.
AI Infrastructure (1)
- David Bennett theorizes that China might be subtly encouraging US AI development and data center construction to strain American natural resources and financial systems, potentially leading to self-inflicted economic collapse, echoing strategies from Sun Tzu's Art of War.
Adoption (1)
- Kid Warps Vanilla Shop offers a 10% discount on its products using the coupon code "BITCOIN," illustrating Bitcoin's direct utility as a payment rail in e-commerce.
"Constitutional" Crisis | Bitcoin News • Jul 29
- Michael Saylor argues Bitcoin's code serves as its constitution, asserting that any changes to consensus rules, such as BIP-110, covenants, or larger blocks, constitute an attack on participants' economic rights.
- BIP-110, a proposal to restrict non-financial data like Ordinals from Bitcoin's blockchain for one year, has minimal miner support. Its mandatory signaling window opens around August 9 at block 961632, but current miner support is only 1.97%, far below the 55% needed.
- MoonPay launched Paybox, an AI payment vault that enables users to connect ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude to make payments directly from conversations, subject to user approval via a passkey.
- Paybox combines crypto wallets and payment cards in a non-custodial vault, supporting transactions across blockchains and DeFi applications using the X402 agent payment standard. It currently supports Solana and EVM-compatible blockchains but excludes Bitcoin and Lightning Network.
Also discussed on this episode: (9)
Russia (1)
- Russian authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for Telegram founder Pavel Durov, accusing him of facilitating terrorist activities by allegedly failing to remove specific channels used by extremist groups.
Diplomacy (1)
- David Bennett questions the global response to Russia's warrant for Durov, noting Interpol's public database does not list him. He suggests a narrative-driven disregard for Russian notices, potentially compromising international safety by ignoring legitimate criminals.
Payments (1)
- Emirates airline now accepts Bitcoin payments for flights via crypto.com's payment feature, aligning with the preferences of a younger, digitally fluent generation. This option is currently limited to eligible UAE residents and bookings in Emirati Dirham.
BTC Markets (2)
- Three Bitcoin holders have sued Apple in California, claiming a counterfeit "Sparrow Wallet" app drained a combined $1.8 million in Bitcoin from their accounts. The lawsuit alleges Apple ranked the fraudulent app and included it in curated cryptocurrency sections.
- Precious metals generally declined, with silver at $57.23. Bitcoin's price is $63,990 per coin, holding a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, with 20,062,657.39 coins in circulation.
Politics (1)
- Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator, is no longer federally employed after being accused of using inside knowledge to profit over $100,000 from bets on Kalshi prediction markets related to Trump's speeches.
Business (1)
- David Bennett showcases OshiGood.us on the "Circle P" segment, highlighting products like "Huddle Butter" made from pecans, maple sugar, sea salt, cinnamon, and black pepper, available for direct Bitcoin purchases.
Energy (1)
- Oil prices show increases: Brent North Sea crude is at $90.73 per barrel, West Texas Intermediate at $85.07, and Merban crude at $86. Natural gas also rose to $2.67 per thousand cubic feet, and gasoline to $3.38 per gallon.
Protocol (1)
- Bitcoin network fees per block are low at 0.02 Bitcoin, with approximately 86,000 unconfirmed transactions across 45 blocks. The network's hashrate is 872 exahashes per second, indicating robust processing power.