The Squeeze Is On for Bitcoin’s Most Shorted Stock

Happy Monday Bitcoiners, it's Bam here with another Bitcoin update!

Each week, our team at Bitcoin News saves you time by curating the most impactful events into a concise, easy-to-read update.

Notable events this week include:

• Capital gains taxes on Bitcoin in Australia could soon be eliminated.

• The Lone Star State is launching its own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

• Strive Asset Management is on the hunt for distressed Bitcoin claims.

Let’s dive in⚡

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Latest News 📰

🙌 Adoption

• ProtonMail releases a video demo showing how its 100 million users can now send Bitcoin using nothing but an email address.

• Ordermoon travels through Belgrade, paying for everything with Bitcoin via the Aqua wallet, showcasing seamless payments and Serbia’s growing Bitcoin adoption.

• Jippi launches Pokémon GO-style AR Bitcoin game at Bitcoin 2025 where attendees can earn sats by catching 'Bitcoin Beasts' and answering trivia.

⚖️ Legal

• Strive Funds partners with 117 Castell to pursue discounted Bitcoin exposure through legally adjudicated claims, including Mt. Gox’s approximately 75,000 BTC.

• An Australian judge rules that Bitcoin is a form of money, a landmark decision that could lead to exemptions from capital gains tax.

• A 67-year-old retired artist loses 17.5 BTC to Coinbase impersonators via social engineering attack.

📈 Markets

• Metaplanet becomes the most shorted stock in Japan with over 25% of shares outstanding.

• Ledn is going Bitcoin-only for custodied loans starting July 1, and will sunset ETH and BTC growth accounts to focus on simplicity and security.

• Susquehanna International Group reveals it bought nearly $300 million more Bitcoin ETF in Q1. They now hold $1.3 billion.

🏦 Treasury

• Strategy acquires 7,390 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 576,230 Bitcoin. The company also announced a $2.1 billion STRF at-the-market program to purchase even more.

• The Blockchain Group acquires 227 BTC and now holds 847 BTC.

• KindlyMD shareholders approve merger with Nakamoto, clearing the path for a new publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company, set to launch Q3 2025.

⛏️ Mining

• Sangha Renewables starts building a 19.9-megawatt Bitcoin mining facility in West Texas that will operate at an existing solar site utilizing excess energy.

• Russia’s Bitcoin mining sector now ranks first in global growth and second in total mining volume. BitRiver and Intelion, which control over half the market, generated $200 million in FY2024 revenue.

• Fully mobile Bitcoin mining rig: a Bitaxe and router powered entirely by battery, ready to plug in, pick up, and mine anywhere.

🗳️ Politics

• Panama introduces a new bill that would give citizens the legal right to buy, sell, and use Bitcoin nationwide.

• Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill SB21 has passed the state legislature and now heads to the desk of pro-Bitcoin Governor Greg Abbott to be signed into law.

• Nayib Bukele fires back at critics, revealing a $386 million profit (+132%) on El Salvador’s Bitcoin investment and mocking the IMF’s warnings with, “Don’t take screenshots, take profits.”

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The Corporate Race Is On [Part 3]

This week, Bitcoin surged to new highs, reaching as high as $112,000. However, unlike previous rallies, the buzz feels almost muted. Social media channels such as Twitter and the general media are quiet. In other words, this rally doesn’t seem ‘retail-driven’—it’s corporate.

The corporate race is only accelerating. Every day, new companies join the ‘Strategic Bitcoin Reserve’ movement, while others announce fresh acquisitions, often diluting their shareholders in the process.

But can you blame them? When liquidity is easy to access, it’s the obvious move. Meanwhile, Microstrategy fans spent the week frustrated by the stock price’s relatively lackluster movement, watching Bitcoin hit new highs while MSTR remained flat.

The fireworks were elsewhere in the market. Several Bitcoin treasury stocks surged, especially Metaplanet, which entered short squeeze territory (the dream scenario for every Bitcoin-strategy stockholder).

Metaplanet ripped aggressively to $15, marking a 585% gain YTD and 270% in just five trading days. Unreal.

If you were in on that trade, well done. Hopefully, you locked in some profits before it crashed as low as $5 the very next day.

Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing companies go all in on Bitcoin. Microstrategy, Semler Scientific and Metaplanet together have scooped up a sizable ~590k Bitcoin alone. Every new buyer strengthens the network, making it more secure, resilient, and valuable.

But here’s the problem: the hype is beginning to resemble the “altcoin seasons” of the past. Everyone’s chasing the next rocket ship, handing over their Bitcoin with the hope of getting more back later.

Sure, there’s no magical token promising fairy dust this time. At the end of the day however, we’re still dealing with stocks (i.e. assets with infinite supply) where CEO’s are while selling dilutive shares to buy the Bitcoin you could be stacking yourself. Sounds a lot like token creation, doesn’t it?

Ultimately, most Bitcoin plays will likely perform well when measured against the US Dollar. The real upside is that everyone wants Bitcoin, including institutions.

Just like them, individuals should be focused on how to earn, save, and stack more of this pristine asset. Just remember to move it to cold storage as soon as possible, because everyone wants a piece.

Stay safe and keep on stacking!
-Bam

Japan’s “GameStop on Steroids”

In our latest video, Rob Wallace unpacks the market frenzy driving Metaplanet’s explosive rally over the past week.

Is this the beginning of a short squeeze even bigger than GameStop?