G’day Bitcoiner,

Here’s the week in Bitcoin treasuries.

🇸🇻 El Salvador Teases the World’s First Bitcoin Bank

🚢 Panama Eyes Bitcoin-Powered Panama Canal

📈Efrat Fenigson - From Bitcoin Treasury Sceptic to Believer

🇯🇵 Metaplanet Keeps Stacking, Holds 17,595 BTC

🇸🇻 El Salvador Teases the World’s First Bitcoin Bank
 

El Salvador has just dropped its biggest Bitcoin hint since making BTC legal tender in 2021 - and the Bitcoin world is watching.

On Friday, the country’s official Bitcoin Office posted a single line on X:

That’s it. No roadmap. No dates. Just a tantalising photo of a proposed Bitcoin Bank building and a message designed to light up Bitcoin Twitter - which it did.

The announcement comes as President Nayib Bukele continues to walk a tightrope between his Bitcoin-maxi ambitions and the political reality of dealing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

What Could a Bitcoin Bank Mean?

If realised, this would be the world’s first bank built for Bitcoin from the ground up. Not just a regular bank that lets you “buy a little BTC on the side” - but an institution where deposits, lending, and payments could be denominated in Bitcoin, alongside the U.S. dollar.

It could also revive an older idea from mid-2024 - the proposed Bank for Private Investment - which promised lighter regulation, freer lending rules, and open relationships with foreign banks. That legislation stalled, but Friday’s teaser might be a reboot under a different banner.

And then there’s the bigger picture: Senior Bitcoin adviser Max Keiser says Bitcoin is “absorbing the world’s $400 trillion in stored value” and eroding central bank control. A state-backed Bitcoin bank could be the tip of the spear in that battle.

The Bukele Playbook

Since adopting Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021, El Salvador has:

• Rolled out the government-backed Chivo wallet

• Attracted major players like Tether to set up shop locally

• Accumulated 6,262 BTC (≈ $730M at today’s prices) via its Bitcoin Office

• Marketed itself as the most Bitcoin-friendly jurisdiction on the planet

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Adoption among everyday Salvadorans hasn’t met expectations. Bukele himself admitted to TIME:

And under pressure from the IMF earlier this year, El Salvador agreed to soften its Bitcoin law, remove the requirement for merchants to accept BTC, and even dissolve the Chivo wallet.

Yet here’s the twist: while scaling back “official” Bitcoin-first policies, the government never stopped buying. The Bitcoin Office — which sits outside the formal fiscal sector — has quietly kept stacking sats.

Why This Matters

A Bitcoin Bank in El Salvador isn’t just a banking product - it’s a geopolitical statement. It says: We’re not backing down. Even in the face of IMF conditionality, the plan for a Bitcoin-based parallel financial system is still alive.

And if El Salvador can pull it off? It creates a model for other nations - from Bolivia to the Global South - to integrate Bitcoin into the banking layer without waiting for Wall Street or Brussels to “approve” it.

🔍 Bottom line:
This isn’t about one country building one bank. It’s about setting the stage for Bitcoin to operate inside the financial system, not just parallel to it. If El Salvador launches the world’s first Bitcoin Bank, it’s a milestone that could accelerate the shift of global value into the hardest money on earth.

The IMF might hate it. The banking lobby might fight it. But Bitcoiners? They’ll keep booking flights to San Salvador.

Short ₿its 🌟

🚢 Panama Eyes Bitcoin-Powered Panama Canal

Panama City’s mayor just backed a plan to offer Bitcoin discounts on Panama Canal fees — a move that could turn one of the world’s busiest trade routes into a Bitcoin on-ramp. With $5B in annual canal revenue, even partial BTC payments could supercharge a national strategic reserve. If approved, Panama would cement itself as a global leader in Bitcoin adoption and maritime innovation.

📈From Bitcoin Treasury Sceptic to Believer

Efrat Fenigson - independent journalist and Bitcoin Maximalist - writes in Bitcoin Magazine she once saw public Bitcoin treasury companies as fiat-washed distractions, until Preston Pysh reframed them as “super spreaders of adoption.” By securitizing BTC in transparent, regulated public companies, they quietly push Bitcoin into pensions, bond funds, and legacy portfolios. Fenigson now sees the Great Monetary Reset as already unfolding inside balance sheets.

🇯🇵 Metaplanet Keeps Stacking, Holds 17,595 BTC

Tokyo-listed Metaplanet just bought another 463 BTC for $53.7M, boosting its stash to 17,595 BTC worth $1.78B - currently the 7th largest corporate holding in the world. The buy comes days after announcing plans to raise $3.7B via perpetual preferred shares to fuel its Bitcoin accumulation. CEO Simon Gerovich says the goal is simple: grow Bitcoin per share and maximise long-term shareholder value.

🇬🇧 Smarter Web Company Raises $21M in Bitcoin Bonds

UK-listed Smarter Web Company secured $21M via a fully subscribed Bitcoin-denominated bond backed by French asset manager Tobam, marking a first for UK capital markets. The deal boosts its BTC treasury to 2,050 BTC while minimising shareholder dilution.

🇫🇷 Capital B Boosts Bitcoin Stash to 2,075 BTC

Euronext-listed Capital B added 62 BTC for $7.2M, lifting its holdings to 2,075 BTC and posting a staggering 1,446% YTD Bitcoin yield. The buy follows a $13.3M capital raise to accelerate its Bitcoin Treasury strategy.

💰 Vaultz Capital Grows Bitcoin Treasury to 118 BTC

Vaultz Capital bought 47.85 BTC for £4.27M at an average price of £89,336, bringing its total holdings to 117.85 BTC worth over £10M. The company plans to keep holding Bitcoin as its long-term treasury reserve.

Tweet of The Week

Podcast of The Week

📱 $MSTR’s “iPhone Moment”

In Episode 35 of True North, the Strategy crew called Q2 earnings “the iPhone moment” for Bitcoin-backed investing - where BTC treasuries, perpetual preferreds, and a growing BTC yield curve collide to unlock mainstream capital markets.

With 628,791 BTC on its balance sheet, a $109B market cap, and a playbook to scale through preferred equity, Strategy is positioning Bitcoin as collateral for everything from dividends to corporate war chests.

If you have questions about how Bitcoin could help you or your business, please don’t hesitate to reach out for a free 30-minute consultation 🕒. We're here to help you navigate the future of Bitcoin 💡

Thanks for reading! We hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s edition and look forward to seeing you next week! 👋

Daniel 

for Bitcoin

32 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

https://www.bitcoinonbalance.com/