Bitcoin 2025 Conference: Bitcoin buys and other showy bitcoin announcements galore

The Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Las Vegas wrapped up last night, with crypto bigwigs like Jack Mallers and Strategy cofounder Michael Saylor, as well as brothers from the Winklevii to the Trumps, taking the stage. Vice President JD Vance also made an appearance, as did recently pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, who received a standing ovation.  

“Orange is the new gold” was the slogan, and the color was everywhere as the wilder side of crypto conferences was back on display. The Gemini booth displayed orange Cybertrucks that can mine bitcoin, while conference sponsor Steak ’n Shake went with dancing cows. Steak ’n Shake COO Dan Edwards said at the conference that using bitcoin instead of credit cards saved the company 50% of its processing fees since all its US stores began accepting bitcoin as of May 16.

In terms of announcements, some of the major ones from companies included:

•  GameStop announced its much-anticipated first bitcoin purchase of 4,710 bitcoin. (The stock has taken a hit since.)

• Healthcare company KindlyMD, which announced a merger with bitcoin investment company Nakamoto Holdings, also acquired its first symbolic 21 bitcoin.

• Cantor announced its bitcoin financing business had executed its first transactions with FalconX and Maple. The business “expects to make available up to $2 billion of financing in its initial phase,” the press release said.

• In addition, Cantor Fitzgerald Asset Management announced it plans to launch the Cantor Fitzgerald Gold Protected Bitcoin Fund, which will “will combine direct Bitcoin exposure with downside protection based on the price of gold.”

• Strive Asset Management, the company cofounded by Vivek Ramaswamy (which “isn’t a typical Bitcoin treasury company”), announced a $750 million PIPE deal signing. Proceeds are “expected to support the company’s first wave of Bitcoin acquisitions,” according to a press release.

• Jack Dorsey’s Block announced the launch of bitcoin payments on Square. The new feature was available during the conference, and attendees were able to experience it “firsthand at the BTC Inc. merchandise store.” The feature will roll out “in the second half of 2025 and is expected to reach all eligible Square sellers in 2026.”

• Soccer club Paris Saint-Germain, one of the largest in the world, announced it had established a bitcoin reserve. “We put bitcoin in our books. We took our fiat reserves and we actually allocated bitcoin; we still have it in our books. We’re the largest player in the sports ecosystem to kind of that,” club executive and PSG Labs head Pär Helgosson said.

At the national level, Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the government-backed advisory body Pakistan Crypto Council, announced that the country would establish a strategic bitcoin reserve.

Finally, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, slated for a “special announcement,” said the city will be the first one in the world to issue a bitcoin bond.