Real Vision’s chief crypto analyst says that Bitcoin (BTC) may soon print a series of rallies as macroeconomic conditions could ease later this year.

In a new thread, crypto strategist Jamie Coutts tells his 37,300 followers on the social media platform X that market liquidity is expected to increase in the second half of 2025, which may pump Bitcoin.

“The bottom line, though, is that if Bitcoin can rally through the worst liquidity withdrawal in decades, it’s primed for more significant moves as conditions ease through the rest of the year. Watch the blue line [Base Money Liquidity to Debt Ratio] begin to tick higher in 2H (second half) of the year.”

In addition to predicting money supply will increase faster than US debt, he also predicts that Bitcoin adoption will increase among US banks and sovereign wealth funds, helping to increase the value of the flagship crypto asset.

“More likely, base money outpaces government debt growth. What happens if base money expands faster than U.S. debt growth? In some reality, that might steady the ship and dampen the fear fueling Bitcoin adoption. But, in my view, that only hits the margins.

Meanwhile, deeper Bitcoin integration at both sovereign and banking levels is inevitable. Ultimately, US structural deficits are not changing. The US government will need to find new and inventive ways to ensure there is a bid for their debt.”

Bitcoin is trading for $84,090 at time of writing, flat on the day.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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The Department of Treasury has lifted Sanctions on Tornado Cash, the Ethereum based smart contract mixer, following a series of legal defeats and administrative challenges.

“Based on the Administration’s review of the novel legal and policy issues raised by use of financial sanctions against financial and commercial activity occurring within evolving technology and legal environments, we have exercised our discretion to remove the economic sanctions against Tornado Cash as reflected in Treasury’s Monday filing in Van Loon v. Department of the Treasury,” the Treasury Department stated. 

Quick Overview of the Tornado Cash Story

Tornado Cash was launched in 2019 as a decentralized protocol to enhance transaction privacy on Ethereum. 

In August 2022, the mixer was added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list, which includes sanctioned individuals and entities. U.S. law enforcement alleged that Tornado Cash facilitated over $7 billion in money laundering, including funds linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. 

This led to a ban on U.S. persons using the service and legal action against its co-founders, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, who were indicted in 2023 for money laundering tied to over $1 billion in transactions. 

Six Tornado Cash users, backed by Coinbase, sued the Treasury, challenging the sanctions. 

A Texas federal court ruled in January 2025 that the smart contracts couldn’t be sanctioned, a decision upheld by the Fifth Circuit in November 2024. 

Today the Treasury officially lifted the sanctions, citing evolving legal and technological considerations, though it expressed concern about ongoing illicit crypto activities and reinforced its intent and authority to continue DPRK sanctions.

Tension Continues

The Treasury nevertheless reinforced its intent to enforce sanctions against Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), an ongoing source of geopolitical tension given the recent $1 billion+ hack from Bybit argued to have been executed by Lazarous, a hacking group with DRKP ties.

“We remain deeply concerned about the significant state-sponsored hacking and money laundering campaign aimed at stealing, acquiring, and deploying digital assets for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Kim regime,” the agency stated. 

“Treasury will continue to monitor closely any transactions that may benefit malicious cyber actors or the DPRK, and U.S. persons should exercise caution before engaging in transactions that present such risks.”

Although the lifted sanction appears to be good news for financial privacy software developers, it is too early to tell what this means for the Bitcoin and crypto industry in general, or whether it will have an effect on upcoming court cases like those against the Samurai Wallet developers.

“Digital assets present enormous opportunities for innovation and value creation for the American people,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Securing the digital asset industry from abuse by North Korea and other illicit actors is essential to establishing U.S. leadership and ensuring that the American people can benefit from financial innovation and inclusion.”

A billion-dollar bank is warning customers after a cybersecurity breach affecting thousands of customers.

In a filing with the Office of the Maine Attorney General, Western Alliance Bank says an unauthorized actor exploited a vulnerability in a third-party file transfer software system it uses.

The breach, which was discovered in late January and happened in October, impacts 21,899 customers, according to the filing.

“Western Alliance learned that an unauthorized actor had potentially accessed some of Western Alliance’s data on January 27, 2025. Our investigation determined that the unauthorized actor acquired certain files from the systems from October 12, 2024, to October 24, 2024…

On February 21, 2025, we determined that the files contained some of your personal information, including your name and Social Security number. The files may have also contained your date of birth, financial account number, driver’s license number, tax identification number, and/or passport, if you provided it to Western Alliance.”

The bank says it has informed law enforcement about the data breach and is offering customers a 12-month complimentary membership to an identity-theft protection service.

Western Alliance Bank currently has approximately $81 billion in total assets, according to the Federal Reserve.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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