Trudeau Surrenders
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is resigning as Canada’s leader. A Bitcoiner is poised to replace him.
Beaver Bullets:
- Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as Canada’s Prime Minister. His approval rate has dropped from 65% in 2016 to 22%, largely due to inflationary economic policies leading to increased housing and food prices.
- Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has gained support, polling at 44%, appealing to Bitcoin advocates by opposing inflation and frivolous government spending.
- Meanwhile, a Texas man was ordered to surrender his Bitcoin private keys following a tax fraud conviction.
- Bitcoin ETFs inflows continue, suggesting growing institutional interest.
1. Trudeau To Resign As Canadian PM
With his popularity plummeting and his party abandoning him, Justin Trudeau – our nation’s leader of eight years – is finally leaving the stage as we roll into 2025.
“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Monday.
The leader’s popularity has plummeted over the course of his term. In September 2016, his approval rating ran as high as 65%. Today, it’s just 22%.
He lost his country’s support for many reasons, chief among them being his highly inflationary economic policies – the sort that Bitcoiners have long despised. Housing prices have soared under his watch, doubling since 2015. Food prices have spiked, and the Canadian dollar has continued to lose value against the USD.
Chrystia Freeland, his finance minister and longtime right-hand, left his cabinet in December due to discontent over his ‘gimmicky’ economic ideas, like a two-month sales tax pause and free CAD $250 checks for Canadian citizens. He and that same finance minister were, of course, also responsible for freezing Canadians’ bank accounts during the 2022 freedom convoy protest, which a court found had violated the nation’s charter.
The most devastating of all, however, is that Trudeau’s Conservative political opponent is vastly more popular than him. Under Pierre Poilievre, Conservatives are now polling at a whopping 44%, compared to the Liberal party’s 20%, and the NDP’s 19%.
Poilievre is a star among Bitcoiners as he – unlike Trudeau – is a vocal critic of inflationary policies, overspending, and fiat money.
During his 2022 party leadership race, delivered a speech on the history of fiat currency, leaving the gold standard, and why bitcoin is “higher quality” money. Trudeau repeatedly mocked Poilievre later for his support of bitcoin, though that stance has since aged like milk.
Poilievre has even received support from Elon Musk, who is poised to lead the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, for the Canadian’s commitment to cutting government waste.
With Trump’s recent U.S. Presidential victory and Poilievre’s seemingly imminent ascent to Canadian PM, the trajectory is clear: Bitcoiners are taking over.
2. Court Orders Man To Forfeit Private Keys
An early Bitcoin investor from Texas convicted of tax fraud was sentenced to two years in prison for underreporting capital gains from Bitcoin sales.
The crazy part? The court’s order for Ahlgren to surrender the private keys to his Bitcoin wallets, which hold assets valued at around $124 million.
“[…] instead of paying the taxes he knew were due, he lied to his accountant about the extent of a large portion of his gains,” said the DOJ in a press release in December, when Ahgren was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison.
The latest action is meant to recover $1 million in restitution following the December conviction. Ahlgren and his associates can only use funds within the wallets to finance “normal living expenses” – otherwise, they’ll need court approval to move funds.
The order serves as a stark reminder that self-custody, while valuable, doesn’t leave you immune to the law.
3. Bitcoin ETF Flows Roar In 2025
We’re just a few days away from the one-year anniversary of U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs, and flows remain steady and strong.
BlackRock, Fidelity, and other ETF managers have absorbed over $1.75 billion since the start of the year, including $976 million on Monday alone (when Trudeau announced his resignation). These impressive flows come despite the choppiness of the broader Bitcoin market, with BTC descending to $93,000 again as of Wednesday.
BlackRock now holds $53.8 billion within its fund, and is by far the fastest ETF to ever reach the $50 billion milestone.
4. Fidelity Predicts “Nation States” Are Coming For Bitcoin
The USD $4.9 trillion asset manager Fidelity predicted in a recent research paper that “nation states and governments” might be Bitcoin’s next big source of demand.
“One might wonder who the next significant investor might be to add bitcoin to their portfolios… enter nation-states and governments” wrote Fidelity Digital Assets research analyst Matt Hogan. “We anticipate more nation-states, central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and government treasuries will look to establish strategic positions in Bitcoin.”
It’s already a public fact that Trump plans to establish a U.S. Bitcoin reserve. Should he follow through on this plan, Hogan believes other nations could start “accumulating in secret,” so as not to influence the price too heavily.
Who knows: if Poilievre is such a Bitcoin bull, maybe he’ll back the idea of establishing a Canadian Bitcoin reserve.
Stay humble,
Andrew
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