All eyes were on Europe this week, particularly France.

Not only was Paris engulfed in protests, but we also learned more about the supply-chain attack targeting Ledger, the French hardware wallet giant.

According to Ledger, a highly sophisticated criminal syndicate spent months planting malicious implants in genuine devices sold through Southeast Asian resellers, backed by a multimillion-dollar operation built to drain users' Bitcoin.

Speaking of criminals, longtime Bitcoin detractor and HEX founder Richard Heart was reportedly arrested this week in Istanbul, the city straddling Europe and Asia, while wanted by Interpol. Authorities reportedly discovered more than $7 million in assets and an arsenal of weapons.

And as a final cherry on top for French Bitcoiners, the French government advanced legislation that would require anyone holding more than €100,000 in Bitcoin to disclose their holdings to authorities.

In a country where tax officials have already been caught selling Bitcoin holders’ personal information to organized crime, such a requirement could make France’s already alarming wrench attack problem even worse.

Other stories this week include

Imagine buying a hardware wallet to protect your Bitcoin, only to discover the device may have been compromised before it ever reached you.

That’s the nightmare scenario raised by recent reports of malicious implants discovered in Ledger devices sold through third-party resellers.

It also reminds us that Bitcoin self-custody is about more than holding your own keys. It’s about trusting the tools that protect them.

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It’s been over a year since Bitcoin reached its last all-time high, and while the infamous four-year cycle hasn’t played out quite as it has in the past, there are signs that a new bull market could be taking shape, as Fidelity’s Jurrien Timmer recently pointed out.

What’s still missing, however, is a clear narrative to drive it.

In the comments, many wondered what the next narrative might be. Bitcoin as pristine collateral? Bitcoin payments? Or perhaps a comeback for Bitcoin treasury companies?

That remains to be seen.

Last cycle, Bitcoin treasury companies (BTCTCs) were all the rage, with some delivering returns of 10x or more and attracting enormous amounts of retail capital.

Some might even argue they stole the spotlight from Bitcoin itself, trading at staggering premiums to the value of the Bitcoin on their balance sheets.

Of course, not all performed equally, and many will likely never reclaim their previous highs. Some, including Sequans and Satsuma Technology, have exited the Bitcoin treasury trade entirely, while others, like Empery Digital, have sold substantial holdings to repay debt or pursue other ventures.

Perhaps most importantly, many retail investors arrived late to the trade, only to become exit liquidity for those who got in earlier.

That’s not to say these companies can’t present enormous opportunities for traders, but ultimately, they are not Bitcoin.

Now that we're emerging from the bear market and new narratives are beginning to take shape, I think it's worth examining how Bitcoin treasury companies have evolved into what we might call "BTCTC 2.0."

Before diving in, a quick reminder that none of this is investment advice. The goal is simply to better understand what these companies are doing, particularly if we find ourselves navigating another period of wild volatility.

If these companies start outperforming Bitcoin again, the hype could quickly return, along with the excessive premiums that led so many investors to buy near the top when they might have been better off simply holding Bitcoin.

The next generation of BTCTCs began taking shape last year when Strategy introduced STRC, its variable-rate preferred stock offering a dividend initially paid monthly, then twice a month, and now scheduled to be paid daily beginning November 2, pending shareholder approval. Its annualized dividend rate currently stands at 12%.

Soon after came Strive’s SATA, which introduced something previously considered unlikely: daily dividend payments.

The move helped generate significant interest in the instrument. Despite Bitcoin’s summer lows, SATA quickly returned to par, allowing Strive to ramp up issuance and aggressively accumulate Bitcoin, particularly over the past couple of months.

Strive’s Bitcoin holdings have grown an impressive 4.67x this year, from 7,627 BTC to 35,595 BTC, making it the fourth-largest corporate Bitcoin treasury.

And they’re not done yet. With its new SATS preferred stock offering potentially raising $630 million, Strive could soon surpass 40,000 BTC and climb even higher in the corporate Bitcoin treasury rankings.

In my opinion, this could become one of the next big narratives.

These companies are experimenting with a new model, raising capital through perpetual preferred shares rather than traditional debt, with dividend rates they expect to remain below Bitcoin’s long-term rate of appreciation.

Between Strategy and Strive alone, the two companies have accumulated nearly 200,000 BTC this year, equivalent to more than 120% of Bitcoin’s annual issuance. That’s an extraordinary amount of supply absorbed by just two companies, and if Bitcoin’s price starts climbing again, the model could become even more attractive.

With more than a year of dividend payments behind them and cash reserves sufficient to cover roughly 1.8 to 3 years of dividend obligations, these companies are building a track record that could give investors greater confidence in funding further Bitcoin purchases.

That could translate into even more buying pressure. In a sense, BTCTC 2.0 could create a new generation of buyers of last resort, with their continued Bitcoin accumulation potentially helping drive appreciation beyond the yields they’re promising investors.

Of course, none of this comes without risks. But it’s an interesting dynamic to watch, particularly if the market begins rewarding these companies with higher valuations again.

And perhaps, before everyone gets too excited about the companies racing to accumulate Bitcoin, it might be worth buying some of the very thing they’re all competing for.

Let’s keep stacking.
- Bam