Bitcoin demonetizes housing and drives prices back down for families.

Grateful for our friends at the La Grange Chamber of Commerce for having the IBC present at their monthly meeting! Thanks to our members Andrew Tilmann and Tom Melehan!

La Grange Park Chamber of Commerce

Speakers — La Grange Park Chamber of Commerce

Cambridge Study: Bitcoin Shows Strong Resilience to Submarine Cable Failures Over 11 Years. Source: arxiv.org/pdf/2602.14372

This recent SEC-CFTC MOU is overwhelmingly positive for #Bitcoin medium-to-long term. It ends jurisdictional turf wars, enables coordinated oversight, data sharing, joint exams/enforcement, and reinforces BTC's commodity status under CFTC. PROS: -Major regulatory clarity: Removes uncertainty/overlaps that deterred institutions; BTC's commodity treatment is solidified with less SEC interference risk. -Accelerates institutional inflows: Unlocks sidelined capital (potentially trillions) via easier ETF expansions, custody, derivatives, and TradFi integration. -Faster product innovation/approvals: Streamlined coordination for new BTC-related products, better surveillance, and reduced duplicative rules. -Boosts U.S. market competitiveness: Helps reverse offshoring; aligns with pro-crypto momentum for mainstream adoption. -Bullish long-term sentiment: Viewed as foundational de-risking event, supporting stronger price foundations. CONS: -Short-term muted impact: Mostly structural (not immediate catalyst); macro factors (e.g., geopolitics, oil shocks) can still dominate near-term price. -Stronger unified enforcement: Coordinated crackdowns on fraud/manipulation could hit gray-area BTC services or bad actors harder. -No full deregulation: Compliance burdens remain heavy for intermediaries; overly conservative joint rules could slow niche BTC innovation. -Implementation delays possible: Benefits depend on execution speed of working groups and harmonization, bureaucracy could frustrate timelines.

Bitcoin Policy Institute — AI Agents Study

Which Money do AI Agents Prefer?

9,072 controlled experiments across 36 frontier AI models reveal surprising monetary preferences.

New Study from BPI: Frontier AI agents prefer bitcoin over stablecoins and other forms of money. BPI tested 36 models over 9000+ conversations, and the AIs overwhelmingly chose to use Bitcoin for their economic activity.

Yesterday, Feb 25, the Illinois Bitcoin Council hit the state capitol in Springfield, IL for a full day of advocacy during the February legislative session. We focused on educating policymakers about #Bitcoin's potential for economic empowerment and fiscal resilience in #Illinois. It was a productive day of meetings, workshops, and real conversations! 🟠 Huge shoutout to our amazing team of #Bitcoin-ers who made this happen: Tolbyus Shephard (Founder of Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve), Yan Pritzker (Co-Founder, Swan Bitcoin), Andrew Tilmann (Bitcoin Scholarship Foundation & Midwest Bitcoin Summit), Brady Pugliese (Unchained Capital), Tim Niemeyer (our President), Mark Hurley (IBC Advocacy Coordinator), and Emmanuel (tech & media support). Grateful for the time with key policymakers who engaged thoughtfully. Special thanks to Senator Steve McClure for sponsoring SB3672 (Local Digital Asset Invest Act), which creates a clear framework for digital asset investments at the state level. In addition to SB3672, we advocated for SB3743 (Community Bitcoin Reserve Act) sponsored by Sen Emil Jones III, which designates the Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve as a state-recognized pilot for community treasuries—the nation's first! These bills aren't competing; they complement each other to clear regulatory gray areas and protect communities, allowing them to build a path towards self-sufficiency. Bills are in assignments now; energy committee next. House & Senate schedules are tricky, but we're pushing forward. The afternoon workshop for the Illinois House GOP was a crucial step to building a sustainable future. A HUGE shout out to Rep. John Cabello for hosting this event! We addressed questions, emphasized long-term horizons, and highlighted how #Bitcoin fixes many of the issues facing our great state. Shout out to Lawrence Lepard for the copies of "The Big Print"! On the federal side, we met with Congresswoman Mary Miller to advocate incorporating similar community reserve and digital asset language into the Clarity Act. What can you do? - Contact your IL legislators to support SB3743 & SB3672; get them moving through committees! - Support the Illinois Bitcoin Council; volunteer your time and/or resources so we can reach our potential. Together, we can paint #Illinois orange! 🟠 Learn more and join us: illinoisbitcoincouncil.org/membership

#Bitcoin is for criminals lol https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/2026-crypto-crime-report-introduction/

The Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve is bringing financial sovereignty to one of Chicago's most underserved communities. Altgeld Gardens has been ignored by the legacy system for decades, Tolbyus Shephard's ABR is changing that with Bitcoin education, savings tools, and on-the-ground empowerment. Help us grow this movement: Stripe:

Stripe Checkout

Square: https://checkout.square.site/.../BQTEFWZ3ZAXBA3RK2Z3HQWJ2 By funding the ABR, you're funding hope. ⚡️ 📚

ABR

ABR

Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve — the nation's first community-run Bitcoin reserve, with free ABR Bitcoin School education. Backed by Arch Lending.

We stand at a crossroads in Illinois. Our state's unfunded pension liabilities exceed $140 billion. Year after year, we're promised solutions while debasing the currency that working families depend on. The same forces that inflated away your grandparents' savings are now targeting your children's future. But there is an alternative... The Illinois Bitcoin Council exists to advance honest money in a state addicted to monetary fiction. We are business owners, developers, educators, and citizens who refuse to accept that the best we can hope for is a slower decline. Sound money discipline respects property rights. It lowers time preference. It rewards savings over speculation. It does not ask permission from politicians. If you believe Illinois can lead rather than follow, if you want to build systems that outlast the next election cycle, then you belong here. We are building the educational infrastructure, the policy frameworks, and the professional networks that will define #Bitcoin's role in this state's economic future. The exit from monetary tyranny is being constructed one block at a time. Join us. Not to speculate. To build. 👉 illinoisbitcoincouncil.org/membership

Hey #Bitcoin-ers, help us spread the word! It's early, but #Illinois has two new pieces of legislation introduced... -Community Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB3743) https://ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?DocNum=3743&GAID=18&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=167046&SessionID=114 -Digital Asset Investment Act (SB3672) https://ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?DocNum=3672&GAID=18&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=166866&SessionID=114 IYKYK; Illinois has a bad rap for being hostile to Bitcoin, but that is changing!

The Digital Asset Investment Act has been introduced allowing #Illinois to invest in #Bitcoin and associated products! https://ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/104/SB/10400SB3672.htm

#Bitcoin history is being made in Illinois. The Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve just became the nation's first community-run Bitcoin treasury to gain formal state recognition. Here's the story of how a public housing community built in 1945 is becoming a model for financial sovereignty The Backdrop: Altgeld Gardens was built for African American WWII veterans. It became a stark example of environmental racism: • Surrounded by toxic waste • Highest cancer rates in Illinois • Poverty below $12k per capita • 90% African American population This is where the environmental justice movement was born in 1979. The Pivot: In March 2025, IBC member Tolbyus Shephard founded the Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve. The mission: transform 80 years of economic injustice into generational wealth through a community-controlled Bitcoin treasury. How it works: 1. Acquire and hold Bitcoin in transparent DAO treasury 2. Run revenue programs (financial literacy, trucking ownership) 3. Reinvest 50% of profits to grow the reserve 4. Distribute benefits to residents The Momentum August 2025: IL Rep John Cabello meets with Altgeld leaders October 2025: Illinois House Resolution 0446 recognizes ABR as the nation's first community Bitcoin reserve January 2026: Tolbyus meets with IL House Minority Leader Tony McCombie at the State Capitol February 2026: Senate Bill 3743 introduced — the Community Bitcoin Reserve Act Why This Matters: In communities like Altgeld, Bitcoin is a tool for: • Economic transformation • Financial sovereignty • Community-led development • Breaking cycles of exclusion The Lesson: When traditional institutions have failed a community for 80 years, Bitcoin offers an alternative. The Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve proves it. Credit to Tolbyus Shephard for the vision and relentless advocacy. Proud that the Illinois Bitcoin Council supports this work.

#Illinois proposes the Community #Bitcoin Reserve Act! The bill creates a state program to hold Bitcoin in multisig cold storage, starting with Tolbyus Shephard’s Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve. BTC cannot be traded or sold without new legislation.

Local businesses in Las Vegas are beginning to accept #Bitcoin payments, following a national trend showing it gaining traction among merchants cutting costs and attracting customers.

Grateful for the opportunity to support Tolbyus Shephard's Altgeld #Bitcoin Reserve at the State Capitol! Thank you to House Minority Leader Tony McCombie and IL Representative John Cabello for their leadership. Special shout out to IBC Advocacy Coordinator & Board member, Mark Hurley, for his support.

#Bitcoin presentation at the Rock of Our Salvation Church in Chicago, Illinois today with Andrew Tilmann & Tolbyus Shephard! https://www.youtube.com/live/QfJjWFKFwNI

CLARITY Act TL;DR

CLARITY Act Update Bitcoin is one of the clearest winners under the Senate Banking Committee's draft digital asset market structure bill. Here's how it specifically affects Bitcoin based on the bill's key classifications & provisions. 1. Classification as a "Network Token" (Non-Ancillary/ Commodity Status) -The bill distinguishes between "ancillary assets" (tokens still tied to significant issuer/entrepreneurial efforts → remain under heavy SEC oversight with disclosure requirements) and "network tokens" (sufficiently decentralized → treated as non-securities/digital commodities under CFTC primary jurisdiction). -Bitcoin is the textbook example of a mature, decentralized network token. Multiple sources and community discussions highlight that BTC automatically qualifies as non-ancillary due to: -No ongoing issuer control (no central foundation or company driving value post-launch). -Long-established decentralization (mining, nodes, governance). -A special grandfathering clause reinforces this: A token is explicitly considered non-ancillary (i.e., not a security) if it was the principal asset of a U.S.-listed exchange-traded product (ETP/ETF) as of January 1, 2026. -Bitcoin spot ETFs have been live and dominant since 2024 → BTC is locked into commodity treatment from day one, removing any lingering SEC securities risk. 2. Practical Impacts for Bitcoin -Regulatory relief and clarity: Ends years of SEC "regulation by enforcement" threats against BTC. Oversight shifts mostly to the more crypto-friendly CFTC (similar to how gold or oil futures are handled). -Easier institutional adoption: Banks and custodians get clearer authority to custody BTC, facilitate spot/derivatives trading, staking/lending (where applicable), and even operate nodes, listed as "incidental to banking" activities. -Self-custody protection: The bill includes strong language prohibiting federal restrictions on self-hosted wallets/vaults, a big philosophical and practical win for Bitcoin's "not your keys, not your coins" ethos. -Bitcoin ATMs/kiosks: New disclosure, refund, and fraud-protection rules apply, which could make the kiosk business more regulated (and potentially more expensive), but this is a minor side-effect compared to the core classification wins. -No major downsides: Unlike many altcoins that might start as "ancillary" and need to decentralize/certify over time (with heavy disclosures in the interim), Bitcoin faces virtually none of these hurdles. 3. Broader Market Context -The bill is seen as extremely bullish for BTC in community and analyst discussions, providing the strongest federal recognition yet that Bitcoin is a commodity, not a security. -It positions the U.S. as more attractive for Bitcoin-related innovation and capital compared to stricter regimes like Europe's MiCA. -While the bill still needs markup (scheduled ~Jan 15, 2026), amendments, and full passage, Bitcoin is the asset with the least uncertainty and the most immediate, ironclad protections.