Episode Details

It’s Veterans Day and I kept it tight but packed. I open with China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center accusing the U.S. of being behind the 2020 LuBian mining pool hack, after DOJ filed what it calls the largest-ever forfeiture—127k+ BTC tied to Prince Group’s Chen Zhi now in U.S. custody. I walk through what Arkham surfaced, the timeline quirks, and why a direct, state-to-state Bitcoin theft accusation is a geopolitical first worth watching.

Then we head to Brazil, where the central bank finalized a sweeping crypto framework that licenses VASPs, classifies many crypto and stablecoin flows as foreign exchange, and imposes capital and reporting rules. I hit the industry pushback and what it means on the ground. From there, a lighter detour into the perennial “McRib effect” meme as McDonald’s revives the sandwich and crypto Twitter runs with correlations. I close with the big adoption beats: Square flipping on Bitcoin payments for millions of sellers (with a new merchant map inside Cash App) and SoFi becoming the first nationally chartered U.S. bank to offer retail crypto trading—plus fresh survey data showing institutions increasing digital asset exposure.

• Cointelegraph — China raises alarm over alleged US role in LuBian hack: https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-raises-alarm-united-states-lubian-127k-bitcoin-hack
• China National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) — official notice hub (example report page): https://www.cverc.org.cn/zxdt/report20250420.htm
• U.S. Department of Justice (EDNY) — Indictment of Prince Group’s Chen Zhi and related 127,271 BTC forfeiture filing: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/chairman-prince-group-indicted-operating-cambodian-forced-labor-scam-compounds-engaged
• Arkham Intelligence — Announcement and entity tracker for LuBian hack: https://info.arkm.com/announcements/arkham-uncovers
• CoinDesk — Brazil’s central bank sets crypto rules, capital bars and FX treatment: https://www.coindesk.com/tr/policy/2025/11/11/brazil-s-central-bank-sets-crypto-rules-establishes-up-to-usd7m-capital-bar-for-firms/
• Reuters — Brazil central bank tightens rules for virtual assets and stablecoin FX treatment: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-central-bank-tightens-rules-virtual-assets-cryptocurrency-2025-11-10/
• McDonald’s USA — McRib product page: https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/product/mcrib.html
• McRib Locator — community sightings map: https://mcriblocator.com/
• Square (Block) — Press release: Block to roll out bitcoin payments on Square: https://squareup.com/us/en/press/block-to-roll-out-bitcoin-payments-on-square
• Cointelegraph — Jack Dorsey’s Square opens 4M merchants to Bitcoin: https://cointelegraph.com/news/jack-dorsey-square-merchants-bitcoin
• BTC Map — open-source map of Bitcoin-accepting merchants: