Governments around the world are turning access to your own money into a monitored and conditional system. At the same time, they are building vast centralised databases of your personal data and wealth under the banner of tackling illicit activity and 'consumer protection'. In the US, banks still have to file a full report including Social Security Numbers for any cash transaction over $10,000*, a threshold set in 1970 that makes little sense in 2026. None of this meaningfully targets crime, it creates new vulnerabilities by linking identity, wealth and address. This increases the risk that ordinary people are exposed when breaches and leaks happen all the time. Framed as consumer protection, it is in reality global financial surveillance. The system is broken as @npub1kjfx...ludq from The Digital Chamber lays out on @Roxom TV. *For reference: Canada C$10,000, Australia A$10,000, many European countries have cash payment caps and heavy reporting as low as €3,000 (with an EU wide €10,000 limit coming in 2027).

We are sold KYC, AML and surveillance as protection, while the Bank of England moves to restrict 'unhosted wallets' to keep activity within intermediated systems in the name of stability and control. These rules do little to curb illicit flows but expand data collection, erode privacy, impose costs, and add friction and limit access through banks and intermediaries. Self custody removes that layer entirely, exposing the limits of that approach. When policymakers shaping these rules have never used a wallet or sent a transaction, that gap in understanding gets written into policy. What’s being sold as protection is harm. Further context in the articles below. @fnew @Roxom TV

As geopolitical tensions rise, capital rotates through dollars and gold and increasingly into Bitcoin as confidence in fiat weakens and demand for non-sovereign stores of value grows. That’s when you realise you need assets that sit outside direct government control. As Jasmine Birtles from Money Magpie told me on @Roxom TV: “People aren’t so sure about dollars, but gold and Bitcoin, yes definitely… people are flying to it for safety.” Short term price action comes and goes, but the underlying demand for hard assets persists and the fundamentals remain intact.

Bitcoin as an asset is simple, but the structures built around it are not. From reserves to leverage, these models add layers of risk, and the term 'bitcoin treasury company' is losing meaning fast. My latest Forbes article. https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/03/18/the-structural-risks-of-bitcoin-treasury-companies/

The UK government is pushing digital ID again despite nearly 3 million people opposing it and a four hour parliamentary debate that raised overwhelming cross party concern about this dystopian technology. Linking identity to payments creates the infrastructure for unprecedented financial surveillance and control. Watch this clip where Freddie New warns: “If the government decides to suspend your digital ID and that becomes the gateway to services and payments, you are effectively unpersoned.” Please take a few minutes to submit a response. Consultation:

GOV.UK

Making public services work for you with your digital identity

This consultation seeks views on a proposed national digital ID system for British and Irish citizens and foreign nationals with permission to be i...

Full document:

Making public services work for you with your digital identity - GOV.UK

Closes at 12:30pm on 5 May 2026. @fnew @Bitcoin Policy UK

Cuba’s recent blackout exposed a structural weakness in centralized power grids. When a single plant fails, entire systems can collapse. Distributed energy and flexible demand could help change that. Bitcoin mining plays an unexpected role by acting as a flexible load that stabilizes renewable grids. The same decentralised logic strengthens money and disperses power too. Read my latest Forbes article featuring @Janet Maingi & Rachel Geyer. https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/03/11/cubas-blackout-reveals-grid-flaws-bitcoin-may-fix/

Blantyre, Malawi is where my Bitcoin journey really began, although I had no idea at the time. Growing up, I lived in a quintessential English village and apart from a few holidays, that was largely the extent of my view of the world. When I arrived in Blantyre in 1994, I was struck by the contrast between officials arriving in flashy cars at government buildings while outside, people were struggling and suffering. It was the first time I saw clearly how governments could enrich themselves while failing to look after their own people. That trip stayed with me and gradually shaped how I think about power, money and the state. More than thirty years later, learning that @Africa Bitcoin Conference will take place in Blantyre this year feels remarkable. It brings everything back to where my Bitcoin journey began and to the moment I first saw the problem Bitcoin ultimately addresses ... the need to separate money from the state.

X is already the world’s real time news layer. Deepfakes are erasing trust online and we are rapidly approaching a world where nothing posted can be believed. Open Origins tackles this by stamping photos and videos at the moment they are captured, proving their origin and authenticity using cryptographic traceability. The technology was developed out of research at Cambridge University. If this verification technology were built directly into the X app, every post could carry verifiable origin recorded on a decentralised chain. Anyone could independently check where content came from. This technology is already being used in major newsrooms to protect authentic media from deepfake manipulation. ITN, the producer behind ITV News and Channel 4 News, is using OpenOrigins to protect its archive from deepfake manipulation. The system is designed more like Bitcoin than a traditional company product. It runs as a decentralised protocol with multiple nodes, meaning the verification layer would survive even if the company disappeared. If trust in online media is collapsing, why not solve it at the protocol level? Thanks to Dr Manny Ahmed for joining @Roxom TV and discussing how this problem can be solved. @fnew

The Women of Bitcoin Summit (4–5 March) beautifully demonstrated how Bitcoin is a key catalyst for resilient, sustainable energy and infrastructure. The key focus for my panel was how Bitcoin mining serves as a flexible load to stabilise grids and make renewables viable and energy cheaper. We discussing the problems mining solves, the tech and the economics. Big shoutout and thank you to the virtual global event, organised by @nat brunell @Efrat Fenigson @Christine Marie and massive thanks to Antidote in London for hosting the in person event. It was the perfect venue as the UK's Bitcoin only accelerator and builder hub. In a room of founders and strategists shaping the next economy, these important conversations on energy and finance are advancing Bitcoin's role in a better future. The future is bright, the future is orange. It was a killer panel with Christine Marie Turner, Janet Maingi and @Lisa Hough whose experience and expertise proves Bitcoin mining is grid gold. ⚡️

Wall Street w*nkers chasing ETFs, treasury plays and number go up should probably skip this video. Bitcoin was never built for their game. It exists as freedom money, the uncensorable tool no government or bank can seize when they weaponise traditional finance. Digital IDs, CBDCs, surveillance states and online controls are already closing in, deciding who gets economic access. When accounts freeze and dissent gets shut down, your shares and institutional products will not save you. Only self custody Bitcoin does. I've interviewed people who escaped dictatorships while on government wanted lists with every conventional door locked and Bitcoin let them move value, survive and rebuild. We must separate real Bitcoin freedom from the Wall Street grift. When things break, self custodied Bitcoin is the lifeline. As @alana said on @Roxom TV: “Why do we keep pretending we can carry on with the same structures that led us into this hell hole? We need to move forward and we have the right tools to do it.”

Investor protection should not mean blocking access and forcing exits. The timeline: - Pre-2021: Retail investors could hold crypto ETNs inside ISAs. - Jan 2021: FCA bans ETNs for retail investors. - 2024: US spot Bitcoin ETFs approved, unlocking major markets. - 2025: UK reverses the ETN ban after years of campaigning. - April 6 2026: HMRC reclassifies crypto ETNs into IFISAs that most mainstream platforms do not offer. Major providers such as Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell currently do not support IFISAs for crypto ETNs, leaving many investors with limited or no transfer options. Buy before the deadline and you may still face forced liquidation if your provider cannot hold the product under the new rules. Markets need clarity and access, not moving goalposts. @fnew

France is living proof that excessive KYC + data leaks = wrench attack epidemic. You can see that stats at

Gart Stats - Database of Physical Attacks Involving Cryptocurrency Since 2014

thanks to @Gart . https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/02/20/how-regulation-and-data-collection-are-creating-physical-security-risk/

Bitcoin transactions are transparent by design, but identity is not meant to be. The growing accumulation of KYC data, public records and repeated breaches is creating a direct personal security vulnerability. Torture, weapons, family intimidation and coercion are no longer rare. Risk is increasingly shifting from institutions to individuals. In 2025, 76 documented 'wrench attacks' were recorded globally, a 77% increase from 2024. France jumped from 4 total cases (2017–2024) to 20 in a single year. My latest Forbes piece examines the data and discusses how regulation, data aggregation and coercion are colliding in ways policymakers did not anticipate. Full article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/02/20/how-regulation-and-data-collection-are-creating-physical-security-risk/

"The UK is getting the balance wrong by failing to differentiate clearly between Bitcoin and other crypto assets and by not offering timely, actionable guidance." As I highlighted to Cointelegraph, Gemini's departure from the UK is a warning sign for policymakers chasing crypto hub dreams. Firms like Gemini are focusing on markets like the US and Singapore, where high compliance costs and limited opportunities don't outweigh the benefits. Businesses will stay and scale here if the economics make sense. It's time for clearer rules, faster guidance, and real differentiation to make the UK competitive again. Full article:

Cointelegraph

Gemini Exit Tests UK’s Unfinished Crypto Rules, Global Hub Aims

Gemini’s UK exit has intensified scrutiny of Britain’s slow‑moving crypto regime, as the FCA consults on new prudential rules ahead of a 2027...

“Gemini’s exit seems to be about friction. The company is leaving the UK, Europe and Australia while focusing on the US and Singapore, which tells you capital is moving to jurisdictions where firms can operate with clarity and scale. Prolonged regulatory uncertainty in the UK makes it harder to hire, invest and build compliant operations, and that has real consequences.” This is what I told Payment Expert on Gemini's exits. Gemini is describing a regulatory regime that is more expensive and less certain than alternatives, leaving firms to reallocate to where they are treated best. If the FCA and UK policymakers want innovation here, they need to fix that rather than celebrate frameworks that chase business away. Full article: https://paymentexpert.com/2026/02/06/gemini-lay-offs-exits-three-markets/

Gemini has announced it is leaving the UK, alongside exits from Europe and Australia, and is refocusing on the US and Singapore. I discussed exactly this risk at the Financial Times Digital Assets Summit last May. This is what happens when compliance becomes cumbersome and prohibitively expensive. Smaller companies are pushed out first. Over time large and established businesses reassess whether it makes sense to continue operating in an environment where regulatory uncertainty, cost and process complexity keep increasing. Gemini is not a small startup, it is one of the largest regulated exchanges to have operated in the UK. When firms of this size choose to concentrate activity in jurisdictions they view as more business friendly, it reflects how growth conditions, capital allocation, and long term viability are being weighed. What we are seeing is business leaving the UK, reduced competition, slower growth, and fewer companies choosing to build here. This is an important moment for policymakers and regulators to reflect on how current frameworks are affecting business confidence, competition, and growth in the UK. https://support.gemini.com/hc/en-gb/articles/46255474469275-Gemini-closing-accounts-in-the-UK-EU-and-Australia-Everything-you-need-to-know