The world's largest asset management company, BlackRock, saw its Bitcoin ETF (ticker: IBIT) achieve a first-day trading volume of over $1 billion. Fidelity and Invesco quickly followed suit. Within a week, institutional funds poured in, exceeding $4 billion, and the price of Bitcoin surged to over $49,000.

However, amidst the market frenzy, one man in his 90s remained indifferent — Warren Buffett.

This "Oracle of Omaha" had once likened Bitcoin to "rat poison squared" in 2018, asserting that cryptocurrencies "produce nothing." His flagship company, Berkshire Hathaway, still holds no Bitcoin and has even reduced its stake in PayPal, a payment company involved in cryptocurrency.

But curiously, Nu Holdings (NUH), a Brazilian digital bank in which Berkshire has long held shares, quietly launched Bitcoin and Ethereum trading functions in 2023.

"We have never discussed cryptocurrencies," Buffett responded at the 2023 annual shareholders' meeting.

Soros's Double-Edged Game

Equally intriguing is another financial titan — George Soros.

In 2018, he publicly declared Bitcoin a "typical bubble" at the Davos Forum. However, in 2020, his family office quietly invested in Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company that later became a core data supplier for the FBI and IRS.

Even more fascinatingly, after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, the Ukrainian government quickly opened a cryptocurrency donation channel, with one of the technical supporters being the digital transformation department funded by the Soros Foundation.

"Soros's left hand denies Bitcoin in public, while his right hand funds its political applications," an anonymous former employee of the Open Society Foundation revealed to CoinDesk in 2023.

Wall Street's "Surrender Offensive"

The turning point of this crypto war may have been laid as early as 2021.

In May of that year, Goldman Sachs relaunched its cryptocurrency trading desk; in December, JPMorgan released a report acknowledging that Bitcoin could become "digital gold." By 2023, even JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who once called Bitcoin a "fraud," had to admit, "Blockchain technology is real."

But what truly raised eyebrows was a leaked recording of a BlackRock internal meeting in November 2023.

"If we don't participate, our clients will go to competitors who offer cryptocurrencies," BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's voice was clearly audible in the recording.

The Ultimate Question: Suppression or Co-optation?

Now, with the approval of the Bitcoin ETF, cryptocurrencies have officially been integrated into the traditional financial system. But is this a victory for the "decentralization revolution," or a "co-optation plan" by Wall Street's titans?

The answer may lie in three unresolved mysteries:

• Why did the SEC take a decade to approve the Bitcoin ETF? (The Winklevoss brothers first applied in 2013.)

• Who is really behind Tether (USDT)? (The New York Attorney General's Office has accused it of "concealing reserves.")

• How will the Federal Reserve's digital dollar (CBDC) target Bitcoin? (A 2023 White House document mentioned the "necessity of regulation.")

This war, though smokeless, concerns the future of money.

And history tells us — all currency wars ultimately boil down to sovereign credit wars.

Consultation Add-on: Real-World-Assets

The Old Gods' Judgment: Buffett and Wall Street's "Anti-Crypto Crusade"

"Bitcoin has no unique value at all; it produces nothing." — Warren Buffett, 2018 Berkshire Annual Shareholders' Meeting

1.1 Buffett's "Rat Poison" Declaration

May 5, 2018, Omaha, Nebraska, USA: Tens of thousands of investors poured into the CHI Health Center to attend Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders' meeting.

When asked about his views on Bitcoin, Buffett unhesitatingly gave his classic response:

"Bitcoin is rat poison squared."

This analogy was not off the cuff. As early as 2014, he had called Bitcoin a "mirage" on CNBC, warning investors, "Stay away from it; it's essentially a gambling tool."

But what truly shook the market was his 2018 CNBC interview, in which he added:

"If you buy Bitcoin, you're not investing; you're speculating — it's like betting in a casino."

Berkshire's "Zero Crypto" Policy

Reviewing Berkshire Hathaway's annual reports, cryptocurrencies were rarely formally mentioned — until 2020.

In that year's letter to shareholders, Buffett unusually used two sentences to mention digital currencies:

"We will not invest in any assets that do not produce cash flow, including gold, Bitcoin, or other so-called 'stores of value.'"

This seemingly bland statement actually concealed a hidden agenda.

Because in the same year, Berkshire reduced its stakes in Visa and Mastercard, both of which were actively laying out cryptocurrency payments. More intriguingly, Bank of America, which Berkshire had long held shares in, quietly established a cryptocurrency custody department in 2021.

"Buffett can publicly deny Bitcoin, but he can't stop his companies from adapting to the trend," Bloomberg financial analyst Eric Balchunas remarked in 2022.

1.2 Wall Street's Boycott Campaign

Buffett's stance was not an isolated case. In fact, between 2017 and 2019, Wall Street almost formed a "united front against crypto."

JPMorgan's "Fraud" Accusation

September 12, 2017: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon directly attacked Bitcoin at an investor conference hosted by Barclays Bank:

"Bitcoin is a fraud, worse than the tulip bubble; someone is going to die from it."

This statement caused Bitcoin to plummet by 10% that day.

Ironically, in the same year, JPMorgan filed a blockchain patent (US20180324154) with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to optimize cross-border payment settlements.

"Dimon's public remarks and JPMorgan's private actions are completely contradictory," The Wall Street Journal reported in 2018.

Goldman Sachs' "Flip-Flopping"

Goldman Sachs' attitude was even more fickle.

In May 2018, Goldman Sachs announced the "suspension of its cryptocurrency trading desk plan," citing "regulatory uncertainty." But by March 2021, Reuters revealed that Goldman had resumed cryptocurrency trading and was offering Bitcoin futures and derivatives to clients.

Even more intriguingly, in 2022, Goldman Sachs led a $207 million funding round for blockchain infrastructure company Blockdaemon.

"Goldman Sachs' strategy is simple — suppress market sentiment first, then enter at a lower price," an anonymous former Goldman Sachs employee revealed in a 2023 interview with The Block.

1.3 The Unpublicized Lobbying Documents

Was Wall Street's "anti-crypto" stance merely a market judgment, or was there a more sophisticated financial encirclement behind it?

SEC's Internal Emails

In 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was forced to disclose some internal emails in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. One email from 2017 revealed:

"Morgan Stanley's legal team strongly advised us to delay the approval of the Bitcoin ETF, citing 'unresolved market manipulation risks.'"

Yet, in the same year, Morgan Stanley quietly applied for a patent on "cryptocurrency portfolio management" (US20190080382).

The "Crypto Ambush" on Capitol Hill

In 2021, Bloomberg cited anonymous congressional aides as saying:

"Several Wall Street giants, including JPMorgan and Bank of America, had lobbied the Senate Banking Committee to strengthen the regulation of stablecoins."

The timing of this report was extremely delicate — it coincided with the New York Attorney General's Office's investigation into Tether (USDT) over reserve transparency issues.

"Their (Wall Street banks') real goal is not regulation, but to curb competitors," former CFTC Chairman Christopher Giancarlo said in a 2022 interview.

Chapter Conclusion

Buffett and Wall Street's "anti-crypto crusade" seemed like a moral judgment, but in reality, it concealed a financial power game.

Was Buffett's "rat poison" rhetoric a cover for Berkshire's secret layout?

Was JPMorgan's denunciation of Bitcoin while filing blockchain patents a "double game"?

Was the SEC's delayed approval influenced by lobbying from traditional financial institutions?

Two-Faced Game: Soros Fund and the "Crypto Chameleon"

"Bitcoin is not a currency; it's a typical bubble." — George Soros, Davos Forum 2018

2.1 Public Stance vs. Private Actions

January 25, 2018, Davos, Switzerland: At the World Economic Forum's annual meeting, financial tycoon George Soros was asked about his views on Bitcoin at a private dinner and gave a seemingly resolute answer:

"Cryptocurrencies are a typical bubble; they won't last."

However, two years later, in November 2020, The Wall Street Journal revealed a bombshell:

Soros Fund Management had secretly invested in Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company.

Who is Chainalysis?

It is the largest blockchain surveillance partner of the US government, providing cryptocurrency tracking tools for the FBI, IRS, and the US Treasury.

"Soros publicly denies Bitcoin, but his money flows to the company that monitors Bitcoin," Paul Vigna, an investigative journalist for The Wall Street Journal, remarked in 2021.

Family Office's Crypto Layout

Even more intriguingly, Soros Capital, Soros's family office, hired a former Goldman Sachs cryptocurrency trader as an investment advisor in 2021.

In 2023, CoinDesk cited a former Soros Fund employee as saying:

"Our team was asked to study the potential use of Bitcoin in regime change, especially in countries with fragile financial systems."

2.2 Eastern Europe's Crypto Testing Ground

Soros's crypto strategy can perhaps be glimpsed through his political activities.

Ukraine's "Crypto War Fund"

February 2022: As the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, the Ukrainian government quickly announced it would accept cryptocurrency donations and raised over $100 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum within three days.

Few noticed that among the technical advisors of Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation, several individuals were from think tanks funded by the Soros Foundation.

"This is no coincidence; Soros's foundation has long funded democratic movements in Eastern Europe, and cryptocurrency has become a tool to bypass financial blockades," a former US diplomat to Ukraine said in an anonymous interview in 2023.

Serbia's "Protest Coin"

In 2020, during anti-government protests in Serbia, protesters whose bank accounts were frozen turned to Bitcoin fundraising.

The BBC's investigation found that some donation channels were associated with NGOs supported by Soros.

"Cryptocurrency in authoritarian countries acts like fax machines and shortwave radios in the past," a former Soros Foundation program officer revealed in 2022.

2.3 Clues from the CIA

Is Soros's crypto layout merely a commercial consideration, or does it involve deeper geopolitical games?

Chainalysis's "Government Contracts"

In 2022, US court documents revealed that Chainalysis had signed a $10 million data analysis contract with the FBI to track terrorist financing.

More crucially, Chainalysis's clients also included In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA.

"This is not an ordinary tech company; it is the blockchain eye of the US intelligence system," a former CIA technical analyst said in a 2023 interview.

The "Soros Telegram" from WikiLeaks

In 2016, WikiLeaks exposed internal emails from the Soros Foundation, which discussed:

"Can digital currencies replace fiat currencies in closed societies?"

One memo even suggested:

"Pilot cryptocurrency aid programs in countries with hyperinflation, such as Venezuela and Zimbabwe."

Three years later, Bitcoin trading volume in Venezuela surged by 400%.

Chapter Conclusion

Soros's crypto strategy is far more complex than it appears on the surface:

Publicly denying Bitcoin while investing in Chainalysis, which monitors Bitcoin

Funding Ukraine's crypto fundraising while pushing "protest coins" in Serbia

The foundation researching the subversive potential of digital currencies, while Chainalysis serves US intelligence agencies

Is this a mere commercial act, or the prelude to a "digital cold war"?

Shadow War: Tether and the Offshore Dollar Hegemony

"Tether is not an ordinary company; it is the biggest black box in the global financial system." — Former US Treasury Official, anonymous interview in 2023

3.1 USDT's Military-Grade Funding Chain

In 2014, a company named Tether Limited was quietly established, registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Its goal was simple: to create a "stablecoin" pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, namely USDT.

Ten years later, Tether has become the most powerful invisible giant in the cryptocurrency market — with a market value exceeding $110 billion and daily settlement volume surpassing that of Visa and JPMorgan.

But its fund flows have always been shrouded in mystery.

The "Ghost Bank" in the Bahamas

In 2021, the New York Attorney General's Office (NYAG) revealed in a report:

"Tether had channeled funds through Noble Bank in the Bahamas, which was associated with multiple offshore shell companies."

Noble Bank's client list was a "dark web" of the crypto world — including Bitfinex (Tether's sister exchange), crypto platforms suspected of money laundering, and several entities sanctioned by the US.

"This is not a bank; it is a hub of a financial labyrinth," an NYAG investigator testified in court in 2021.

The "Partial Reserve" Lie

In 2019, Tether claimed that its USDT was "100% backed by US dollar reserves."

But in 2021, NYAG's forced disclosure showed:

*Only 74% of USDT was backed by "cash and cash equivalents"

The remainder included commercial papers ($6.5 billion) and even Bitcoin collateral.

Even more astonishingly, Bloomberg's 2021 investigation found:

"Tether and Bitfinex shared an executive team and had transferred $850 million through a shell company called Crypto Capital."

The latter was at the center of a 2019 money laundering case raided by Polish police.

3.2 Petrodollars vs. Crypto Dollars

Tether's real power lies not in technology, but in its reconstruction of the underlying logic of "how the US dollar rules the world."

Venezuela's "USDT Oil"

In 2023, the US Treasury disclosed in a sanctions report:

"Venezuela's state-owned oil company (PDVSA) used USDT to settle part of its crude oil transactions to evade US financial blockades."

This was not an isolated case. A 2022 UN survey revealed:

*Iran purchased drone parts using USDT.

*Russian arms dealers traded gold in Dubai using USDT.

"Tether has become the new 'petrodollar,' only it operates entirely outside the Federal Reserve system," former OCC Comptroller Brian Brooks said at a 2021 congressional hearing.

Hezbollah's "Crypto Payroll"

In 2022, Hezbollah was reported to use USDT to pay stipends to its armed militants.

These funds were channeled through:

*Dubai exchanges to convert USDT.

*Lebanese OTC vendors to cash out.

*Ultimately flowing into Hezbollah-controlled telecom companies.

*The entire process bypassed the SWIFT system.

"It's faster and harder to track than hawala (traditional underground remittance)," according to a 2023 report from the Israel Institute for National Security Studies.

3.3 The Federal Reserve's Silent Complicity

Facing this "shadow dollar empire," the US official attitude is intriguing.

"Neither confirm nor deny" policy

In 2023, The Financial Times cited an anonymous Fed official:

"We are more concerned with the development of the digital dollar (CBDC) than with cracking down on stablecoins... At least Tether is promoting the globalization of the US dollar."

This attitude explains why:

*In 2021, NYAG only fined Tether $18.5 million (equivalent to its daily profit).

*The US Treasury has never listed USDT on the sanctions list.

The "ultimate form" of offshore dollars

Former OCC Comptroller Brian Brooks revealed in 2021:

"USDT is essentially the blockchain version of offshore dollars; it allows the US dollar hegemony to penetrate corners that SWIFT cannot reach."

Data shows:

*In Africa, USDT has become the preferred choice for remittances.

*In Southeast Asia, it has replaced Western Union.

*In Argentina, people use USDT to save against the peso collapse.

"The Fed hates Tether, but needs Tether even more," according to Chainalysis's chief economist in a 2023 interview.

3.4 The Ultimate Question: Who Controls Tether?

Tether's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, insists it is "fully transparent."

But the following facts are unsettling:

Mysterious Early Investors

The initial signatories of Tether's white paper included:

*Brock Pierce: Founder of "Bitcoin Savings and Trust" (declared a Ponzi scheme by the SEC in 2012).

*Giancarlo Devasini: Bitfinex CFO, former Italian plastic surgeon with no financial background.

DOJ's Secret Investigation

In 2023, Bloomberg revealed that the US Department of Justice was investigating whether:

"Tether executives covered up funding gaps between 2017 and 2019 through false bank records."

*But no indictments have been made to date.

Chinese Capital Mystery

In 2021, Beijing Chain Security Research found:

"A Chinese exchange's USDT premium is highly synchronized with Tether's issuance, suspected of having a priority channel."

*Tether denied it but refused to disclose its list of Asian partners.

Chapter Conclusion

Tether's rise reveals a残酷现实:

*It is more dangerous than Bitcoin — because it replicates the dollar hegemony but is not regulated by any central bank.

*It is more powerful than traditional banks — with daily settlement volumes exceeding $60 billion, comparable to the GDP of a small country.

*It is more secretive than SWIFT — becoming the new vein for sanctions evasion, arms trading, and terrorist financing.

The endgame of this "shadow war" has only two possible outcomes:

*The Fed co-opts Tether, turning it into a "testbed" for the digital dollar.

*USDT spins out of control, becoming the first private financial empire to challenge sovereign currencies.

Raid and Co-optation: Wall Street's "Surrender Offensive"

"If you can't beat them, buy them." — JPMorgan internal memo, 2021

4.1 The Two-Decade Battle for the Bitcoin ETF

In 2013, the Winklevoss brothers (early controversial figures of Facebook) submitted the world's first Bitcoin ETF application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC's response? Rejection.

Reason: "The market lacks regulation and poses manipulation risks."

This dragged on for a decade.

The SEC's Internal Struggle

In 2023, the SEC was forced to disclose some documents in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, and a 2017 memo revealed:

"Legal teams from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and other institutions met with SEC officials multiple times, emphasizing that the Bitcoin ETF was 'not ready yet.'"

Ironically, these banks were quietly making moves at the time:

*Goldman Sachs had already begun OTC Bitcoin futures trading.

*Morgan Stanley applied for a "cryptocurrency trust" patent.

"They (Wall Street) needed time to build their positions before they could greenlight the ETF," a former SEC lawyer said in an anonymous interview in 2023.

BlackRock's "Final Blow"

In June 2023, BlackRock suddenly submitted a Bitcoin ETF application.

The market instantly heated up.

Because BlackRock was different — it managed $10 trillion in assets, and its relationship with the SEC was well-known. Its CEO, Larry Fink, had publicly opposed cryptocurrencies but changed his tune in 2022:

"Bitcoin could become 'digital gold.'"

In January 2024, the SEC finally approved.

But a 2023 BlackRock internal meeting recording obtained by Bloomberg revealed the truth:

"Clients are leaving; if we don't offer cryptocurrency services, they will go to Coinbase or even Binance," Larry Fink, BlackRock's CEO.

4.2 JPMorgan's Blockchain Gamble

In 2019, JPMorgan launched JPM Coin, claiming to "revolutionize cross-border payments."

Five years later, what's the reality?

*Daily trading volume is only $200 million (less than the hourly settlement volume of USDT).

*Customers are limited to "internal institutions" (such as JPMorgan's own branches).

"Intentional Restriction" Strategy

In 2024, blockchain media The Block cited a former JPMorgan employee as saying:

"Bank executives required JPM Coin to 'not grow too fast' to avoid threatening traditional remittance services."

JPMorgan's real intention might be hidden in another initiative —

*In 2023, it became the largest market maker for Bitcoin futures, accounting for 35% of CME's open interest.

"They don't want to replace banks with blockchain; they want to better control the flow of funds with blockchain," The Wall Street Journal reported in March 2024.

4.3 Goldman Sachs' Derivatives Trap

In 2021, when Goldman Sachs relaunched its cryptocurrency trading desk, the market thought it would heavily invest in Bitcoin.

The reality was the opposite.

"Market Maker's Double Role"

Skew data shows that in 2023, Goldman Sachs accounted for 38% of the Bitcoin options market, but:

*90% of trades were short-term contracts (expiring in 7-30 days).

*80% of positions were short.

More crucially, in 2022, a user on Reddit who claimed to be a former Goldman Sachs trader revealed:

"We suppressed spot prices through block trades and then harvested retail investors in the options market."

*(The post was deleted after 12 hours, but the archive remains.)

"Compliance Fence" Tactic

While trading crypto derivatives, Goldman Sachs also submitted reports to the SEC warning that:

"Bitcoin lacks intrinsic value and is not suitable for retail investors."

*In 2023, it even assisted the SEC in suing Coinbase, accusing it of listing "unregistered securities."

"First, use regulation to suppress the market, then use derivatives to control prices — this is Wall Street's century-old trick," a former CFTC chairman said in an interview in 2024.

4.4 Ultimate Co-optation: From Suppression to Monopoly

Wall Street's "surrender" is actually a carefully designed financial encirclement:

2017-2021: Suppression Phase

Publicly denouncing Bitcoin

Lobbying the SEC to delay ETF approval

2021-2023: Layout Phase

Secretly establishing trading teams

Applying for blockchain patents

2024 and beyond: Monopoly Phase

Controlling Bitcoin pricing power through ETFs

Manipulating market volatility with derivatives

"Now they (Wall Street) are the referees, the players, and the casino owners," a former Bitcoin developer said in an anonymous interview in 2024.

Chapter Conclusion

The winner of this "surrender offensive" was already predetermined:

BlackRock/Fidelity collect 1.5% annual fees through ETFs (expected annual revenue exceeding $5 billion)

JPMorgan/Goldman Sachs control prices through derivatives

The SEC gains new regulatory powers

And the losers?

They might be the ordinary investors who thought "Wall Street's entry equals Bitcoin's freedom."