🌍 This Week in Web3forGood
TLDR: Strategic crypto reserves?
gm gm,
We’re less than a month into 2025 and the atmosphere around crypto has already significantly, palpably changed. After years of ambiguity, politicians appear to be responding to the new US presidential administration’s signaling of a favorable policy environment for crypto (not to mention that unprecedented EO from last week that guaranteed Americans the right to use open blockchains for the first time), and this is noticeably trickling down to the state level.
Over the last several weeks, we’ve personally seen an uptick in news headlines like “XYZ State/Country Proposes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” (this week, it’s Arizona, Illinois, and Czech Republic — scroll to the Latest News, below, to click the link 👇). So, if you’re like us and have found yourself wondering, “What does this actually mean?”... we have a TLDR one exactly that this week. What does it mean when US states or foreign countries announce that they’re thinking about a crypto reserve? Why are so many talking about it now (it’s about more than Trump).
Politics aside, this of course, is a positive signal for “mainstream adoption,” which we, of course, love.
What are your thoughts? We’d love to hear them.
WAGMI (we are going to make an impact!)
Any typos or mistakes are a result of this newsletter being written by Humans, not AI :)
What’s Inside
📣 Latest News
🔍TLDR: Why are so many governments talking about strategic crypto reserves?
📚 What We’re Thinking About
🔈 Podcasts & Spaces
🚀 Opportunities & Calls to Act
🎪 Events
📡 On Our Radar
✨ And one more thing
📣 Latest News
Transak Empowers Opera’s MiniPay To Expand Stablecoin Accessibility Across Over 50 Countries
Leading Organizations Leverage Filecoin to Safeguard Cultural Heritage
Global Policy, Regulation, and Adoption News
Trump signs executive order promoting crypto, paving way for digital asset stockpile
Coinbase gains approval to expand service offering in Argentina
Arizona Advances Legislation to Create Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
Illinois Introduces Bitcoin Reserve Bill, Joining Growing List of States
Project Updates
🔍TLDR: Why are so many governments talking about strategic crypto reserves?
New to Web3? Welcome! TLDR is where we offer a simplified explanation of a term used often in this newsletter or a big topic in the news this week. If there's anything you're curious about, reply and let us know.
Editor’s Note: This series is written with the summary support of ChatGPT.
When a state or country announces plans to create a strategic Bitcoin or crypto reserve, they’re talking about adding cryptocurrency to their financial safety net, much like gold or foreign currency reserves. This means they see the cryptocurrency that they’re thinking about adding to their reserves as a valuable asset that could help protect the economy, hedge against inflation, and even attract new businesses. Just like investors spread their money across different assets, governments are starting to explore Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a way to reduce their reliance on traditional financial systems, especially the U.S. dollar. Some also view it as a tool to strengthen economic independence and financial innovation.
The main appeal of this strategy when it comes to Bitcoin specifically comes from the currency’s fixed supply—only 21 million will ever exist—making it resistant to inflation and potentially a strong store of value over time. As traditional currencies gradually lose purchasing power, holding Bitcoin could serve as a safeguard against economic instability. Countries facing sanctions or financial restrictions also see Bitcoin as a way to bypass centralized financial systems and maintain access to global markets. If Bitcoin continues to grow in value, early adopters could see significant gains simply by holding onto it.
However, the risks are just as real as the rewards. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, meaning prices can soar or crash dramatically within short periods. A government that invests heavily in Bitcoin today could see its reserve lose half its value overnight. Security is another major concern—since Bitcoin is digital, improper management could lead to hacking or loss of funds. There’s also the issue of liquidity; in a crisis, a government may need to sell quickly, but if the market is crashing at the same time, that could be a serious problem. Some critics argue that crypto is still too unregulated and unpredictable to be part of a national reserve.
Interest in this topic has skyrocketed recently, largely due to Bitcoin’s rising price and increasing global uncertainty. Banking instability, inflation, and shifting geopolitics have prompted governments to rethink how they store wealth. El Salvador has already made a big bet on Bitcoin, and U.S. states like Texas and Wyoming are considering similar moves. At the same time, the trend of de-dollarization—where countries seek alternatives to the U.S. dollar—is gaining traction, and Bitcoin is emerging as one possible solution.
Holding cryptocurrencies as part of a national reserve is a bold move, one that could either deliver massive rewards or backfire in a major way. Whether it’s a forward-thinking strategy or a high-stakes gamble, one thing is certain: cryptocurrency has moved beyond just tech enthusiasts and investors—it’s now part of the global financial conversation.
TLDR: Some foreign governments and US states are exploring Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as strategic reserves to hedge against inflation, reduce reliance on traditional financial systems, and enhance economic independence, but the approach carries significant risks due to volatility, security concerns, and regulatory uncertainty.
📚 What We’re Thinking About
📱 The internet we have, and the one we want. (The Atlantic $)
🪄 By understanding how perceptions of “magicalness” shape people’s openness to AI, we can help develop and deploy new AI-based products and services that take the way people view AI into account, and help them understand the benefits and risks of AI. (The Conversation)
🤝 Creating inclusive financial futures: How crypto empowers communities. (Fortune)
💸 Pathway 2035 for Financial Innovation. (Swiss Financial Innovation Desk)
🤖 How Chinese AI Startup DeepSeek Made a Model that Rivals OpenAI. (Wired)
🔈 Podcasts & Spaces
Crypto Altruists Podcast - Episode 189 - How to DAO: Practical Strategies for Building High Impact Web3 Communities
Crypto Altruists Trailblazers of Octant - Episode 4 - Greenpill Dev Guild - Scaling the Regen Movement with Web3 Coordination Tools
Green Pill - Season 7, Episode 12 - The Future of Token Launches W/ Justice
The Blockchain Socialist - How to do resilient Global Collaboration on decentralized protocols with Jake Hartnell
🚀 Opportunities & Calls to Act
Apply: OP Labs is hiring a Chief of Staff.
Publish: Cryptoeconomic Systems is seeking submissions for its 2025 issue (Volume 4, Issue 1). Blockchain research in any discipline is eligible.
Subscribe: Global Blockchain Business Council’s USA's Monthly Newsletter spotlights state associations, leaders in U.S. innovation and regulation, as well as activities and developments taking place across the country.
Subscribe: @civilmonkey created a Telegram channel for all things ReFi.
Co-Live: The Commons Hub is hosting Winter Co-Living (in the Austrian Alps near Reichenau an der Rax) from January 3rd – April 21st.
🎪 Events
🆕= New to the roundup this week
Virtual
Open Source Innovation: How GG22 Grantees are Shaping the Future is happening February 5. 🆕
Climate Coordination Network is partnering with Octant for Epoch 7 Climate Round and will be hosting X Spaces spotlighting various projects over the next few weeks (the first was yesterday with Kokonut Network - listen to the replay). Keep an eye out for an announcement for dates/times for the series from @climate_program. 🆕
@civilmonkey’s Curated X Spaces focus on using Web3 for positive impact in the real world (+ recordings).
IRL
ETHiopia in happening now through February 21 in Addis Ababa.
Oasis Oncahin is happening January 30 - February 2 in Nassau, Bahamas.
FEMHACK [NYC]: All-Female Hackathon is happening February 8 in NYC. 🆕
Africa Tech Summit is happening February 12-13 in Nairobi.
General Forum on Ethereum Localism is happening February 21-23 in Boulder, CO. 🆕
ETHDenver is happening February 23 - March 2 in Denver.
Policy Week by Blockchain APAC is happening March 10-14 in Sydney. 🆕
The Stable Summit is happening February 26 in Denver.
SheFi Summit is happening February 26 in Denver.
Schelling Point is happening February 27 in Denver.
Ethereum San Francisco Week 2025 is happening March 10-16 across San Francisco.
Funding the Commons is happening March 15 in San Francisco. 🆕
FIL Dev Summit 6 is happening May 12-13 in Toronto.
All Tech Is Human x Consulate General of Finland New York will host a curated gathering on strengthening multistakeholder collaboration in Responsible AI on May 21st in NYC.
Collaborative Finance Gathering is happening June 16-20 at The Commons Hub in Austria. 🆕
Recurring
Monthly Earth Day is a global event that happens on the 22nd every month, not just once a year. Get involved next on February 22 and share on X to @HighlyArtistic with the hashtag #MonthlyEarthDay.
Hosting an event that you’d like to see listed? Reply here or send us a DM.
📡 On Our Radar
The Society Library is a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution dedicated to improving humanity’s relationship to information.
Octant Climate Epoch, in partnership with Climate Coordination Network (CCN) is Octant’s first themed round, and it’s all about tackling the climate crisis.
BAM (Bold African Movement) supports the growth of emerging tech talents & projects across Africa (Blockchain / AI).
Coala Pay is a last mile money movement and management platform purpose-built for the international aid sector.
✨ And One More Thing
CARBON Copy maintains and updates an awesome database of ReFi Projects.