Bitcoin Roundup

Scott Marmoll · January 2, 2026

Bitcoin Limps Into New Year at $87,000, Down 30% From All-Time Highs

It has now been 87 days since bitcoin hit its most recent all-time-high of just over $126k. Based on sentiment in the space, you would guess that the most recent all-time-high was years ago. 2025 was a strong reminder that the most efficient strategy with bitcoin is to spend less than you earn, and dollar cost average the excess into bitcoin, such that you are gaining exposure regardless of price volatility. Folks who employed that strategy in 2025 had a peaceful year. Comparatively, chasing the hype of “bitcoin treasury companies”, more aptly named “leveraged bitcoin equities” (a term coined by @cory klipsten, I believe), has resulted in horrible performance in 2025. Strategy, the largest and most well-known example, was down roughly 50% in 2025. Looking ahead to 2026, the macro setup is arguably the best it has ever been for bitcoin. President Trump is set to install what will likely be indistinguishable from a literal marionette as new Chair of the Federal Reserve, and he has been highly vocal about his belief that interest rates should be lowered considerably. Expect hard asset prices to respond accordingly.

Taxation Is A Humiliation Ritual

Some people are surprised that there is fraud in the system. I encourage those folks to explore the concept of moral hazard. Economist Milton Friedman famously described this scenario, stating that when one spends someone else’s money on someone else, there is no concern about the cost or quality of the expenditure, as the spender does not bear the risk or benefit. It is almost certain that the fraud being uncovered in Minnesota is a tiny fraction of the overall theft occurring in the system. Remember that every year, when tax receipts are insufficient to cover the federal budget, they literally print the difference into existence with a computer keystroke. There is no reason to expect anyone managing the distribution of this capital to treat it with any concern whatsoever. It isn’t their money, and the money isn’t even real. If they mismanage it, they will just print more. I have a lot of respect for the people calling for a tax revolt. The Founding Fathers were willing to die to fight against a considerably smaller degree of theft in their system. They would not be proud of where we are today as a nation.