Welcome to the Easy Bitcoin Newsletter by HardBlock - the easiest way to digest all the best bits of Bitcoin each and every fortnight... 🟧

PRICE + NETWORK STATS

BTC Price: TODAY: ~$94,000

(approximate live range ~A$92,000–A$95,000 based on recent exchange data)

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​LAST TIME: ~$91,000 (Last Newsletter)​
​LAST YEAR: ~$179,000 (1 Year Ago)

*Historical references are approximate and used for narrative comparison.

Since we last met, dear hard money appreciator, Bitcoin has shuffled about around the low-$92,000s and up into the low-$95,000 Dollarydoo neighbourhood... which was kinda exciting for a moment. Not exactly a moon launch, but a welcome bit of upward momentum. As the hype from the Bitcoin Treasury Companies slowly dies, spot Bitcoin remains roughly half the price it was this time last year, while the network continues doing what it was engineered to do; issuing fewer coins, securing blocks and ignoring all the noise. Perfect.

Forget price tracking. Keep stacking. 🥞

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Bitcoin Market Cap: ~A$1.89 trillion
​Money Supply: ~20,059,497 BTC
​Percentage Issued: ~95.52%

Only ~4.48% BTC left to be mined!

Hashrate: ~771 EH/s
​Difficulty:👇~0.83% on 26th July 2026

⚒️ Learn more about Bitcoin mining ⚒️

AFFORDABLE HOMES, IF YOU
USE THE CORRECT MEASURE

Between early 2020 and early 2026, Australian property prices rose sharply. Yet when measured in Bitcoin rather than Dollarydoos, the same houses and units became dramatically cheaper.

This doesn't mean homes lost their inherent usefulness or even their economic value. What it shows is that “muh house price only goes up” can tell us as much about the type of money being used as the asset being measured.

What Happens When we Change the Ruler?

​Fidelity Digital Assets recently compared the price of an average American home in US dollars and Bitcoin.

From Q1 2020 to Q1 2026, the median US home rose from about US$323,000 to US$447,000. However, when measured in Bitcoin, its price fell from more than 50 BTC to fewer than 5 BTC.

The point is simple: sometimes it is not only the asset changing in value. The unit used to measure it may also be changing.

Applying the same comparison to Australia produces a similar result.

Sydney’s median (MEDIAN!) house rose from approximately A$1.17 million in Q1 2020 to A$1.79 million in Q1 2026. Brisbane’s more than doubled, from around A$585,000 to A$1.21 million. Adelaide climbed from approximately A$542,000 to A$1.10 million, while Perth rose from A$527,000 to almost A$1.18 million (MILLION!).

Units generally recorded smaller gains in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, but rose strongly in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

By the conventional measure, property owners became "wealthier". For prospective buyers saving in dollars, the target moved further (and further) away.

Australian Property Priced in Bitcoin

On 31 March 2020, one Bitcoin was worth ~A$10,549. By 31st March 2026, it was worth ~A$98,770.

Using those prices, Sydney’s median house fell from costing more than 100 BTC to fewer than 20 BTC. In Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, a median house that required roughly 50 BTC in early 2020 could be purchased for around 11–12 BTC six years later.

Across all eight capital cities, houses and units became approximately 76% to 88% cheaper in Bitcoin terms, despite becoming substantially more expensive in Australian dollars.

Looked at as a simple capital-city average, a median house fell from around 68 BTC to approximately 11 BTC.

Bitcoin can move sharply over a single day, so we also tested the result using average BTC/AUD prices throughout each quarter. The individual figures changed slightly, but the conclusion did not: capital-city property still became approximately 75% to 87% cheaper in Bitcoin.

The result is not dependent on one conveniently selected date.

n.b. It's not all Money Printing

This doesn't mean every increase in Australian property prices was caused solely by currency debasement. Australia experienced genuine housing pressures. Unbridled population growth accelerated after borders reopened, construction failed to keep pace, credit conditions influenced borrowing capacity, and remote work increased demand for regional and lifestyle markets.

These forces helped push up prices across both capital cities and areas such as the Gold Coast, Byron Bay, Newcastle, Wollongong, Geelong, Townsville and Bunbury.

Houses and units also behaved differently. Detached homes contain more scarce land, while units can theoretically be supplied more readily. Where houses outperformed, land scarcity and buyer preferences mattered. Where units also rose strongly, population growth and affordability pressures were likely more influential.

But even after accounting for these factors, Bitcoin increased in purchasing power far faster than Australian housing.

The Trend is your Friend

That matters for Australians still saving for a home.

Holding cash may feel stable, but the target has continued moving away. Bitcoin has been volatile, sometimes painfully so, yet over this six-year period it bought substantially more housing... not less.

Past performance cannot guarantee the next six years, and money needed for an imminent deposit should be managed carefully. But for someone saving over the longer term, the direction is difficult to ignore.

The house became dearer in dollars and cheaper in Bitcoin.

Over this period, Bitcoin was not merely another investment beside the property market. It was the stronger savings technology for catching it.

TLDR: Save in the money that has been buying more house over time - not less. 🏡 🟧

Australians are working harder just to stay in one place, while inflation, tax complexity, rising costs, and shifting rules make planning harder.

That’s why we’re launching The War On Savings this tax time — a campaign about the broken savings bargain, and why Bitcoin matters as a practical savings technology.

Start small. Learn Bitcoin.

Help friends and family earn their first sats.

New users get $10 free Bitcoin when they sign up to HardBlock. Fight back and orange pill someone today. 🪖💸

GO WITH THE FLOW

Why did the price suddenly start running? Well, after a difficult few months, demand for US spot Bitcoin ETFs is beginning to recover. It is an encouraging shift, although one week of buying does not confirm a new sustained uptrend.

Bitcoin climbed towards AU$95,000 this week, reaching its highest level in almost seven weeks despite escalating conflict between the US and Iran, higher oil prices and the prospect of further American trade tariffs.

At the same time, US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded five consecutive days of net inflows... their longest positive run since early May. Around US$727 million entered the funds over the five sessions, including US$226.9 million on the final day.

Some suggest that investors are becoming more willing to buy after the recent sell-off (🤯). But the broader picture remains mixed. The ETFs were still nearly US$5 billion in net outflows for the year, and analysts cautioned that the latest activity may represent easing selling pressure rather than a full return of institutional demand.

TLDR: Bitcoin’s current recovery is welcome, but it is too early to declare the downturn over. 🎉

IF YOU WANT BTC,
COME AND CLAIM IT

Whether you hold a stablecoin, Bitcoin ETF or exchange balance, the structure around the asset determines who ultimately has control...

US authorities ordered the freezing of more than US$130 million held in four wallets linked to Iran’s central bank. Despite being widely described as a “crypto” freeze, the funds were not Bitcoin. They were USDT issued by Tether on the Tron network.

Tether was able to blacklist the wallets and prevent the tokens from moving because USDT is centrally issued and includes administrative controls. Bitcoin has no company or central issuer capable of freezing coins at the network level.

But that distinction only holds when Bitcoin is genuinely owned.

​Onramp’s latest research argues that exchange balances, ETF shares and structured products provide exposure to Bitcoin’s price, but remain claims managed by another party. Each introduces a custodian, administrator or counterparty between the investor and the asset.

Direct ownership is different. Bitcoin held under keys you control does not depend on an issuer approving access, honouring a redemption or keeping an account open. Self-custody carries responsibility, while collaborative custody solutions - like GuardBlock - can distribute risk without surrendering control to one institution.

TLDR: Owning something that follows Bitcoin’s price is not the same as owning Bitcoin itself.

​Buy real BTC from HardBlock 🟧

THE RULER'S BROKEN. YOUR MONEY IS ON FIRE. BLAME FIAT.

Australia’s jobs market remains relatively strong, yet workers have lost purchasing power. When wages buy less and major assets cost more, simply saving harder may not be enough...

Australia’s unemployment rate was 4.4% in May, below the OECD average of 4.9%. But beneath that resilience sits a more troubling result: real hourly wages - pay adjusted for inflation - have fallen by approximately 5% since Q1 2021, one of the steepest declines among developed countries. The OECD also expects renewed energy-price pressures to make further real-wage gains difficult.

Which brings us back to our lead story...

Over roughly the same period, Australian homes became substantially dearer in dollars. Workers were earning money that bought less while trying to save for assets that cost more. That is the problem from both directions: diminished purchasing power and a target moving steadily away.

Bitcoin does not fix housing supply, wage growth or the cost of construction. But the numbers show that it has offered Australians a much stronger way to save across time. Homes rose in dollars while falling dramatically in Bitcoin.

TLDR: When the money you earn buys less each year, the money you save in matters more than ever.
​
​Fight back against the War on Savings 🪖🇦🇺

Have You Read This?

The UnCommunist Manifesto: One of the most influential books in history got it all wrong. This book provides a distinct counterpoint and the definitive answer to the question, 'were Marx and Engles a couple of unwashed losers?'. Yes. This is the book you've been looking for - and the antidote to the nihilism, despair, and chaos people are facing in today's commie filled world. 📙

Listen: ABP117
BIP-110: SAVING MANKIND OR PURITY COPE?

Join DJ + Mike, JP and Michael Dunworth as they discuss none of the above, but rather debate the BIP-110 controversy
​Click to Listen.​

Need More Bitcoin Podcasts in your life?

Tune in to these outstanding shows:

• ​Discovering Bitcoin​​​
• ​Honest Money Show​​​​​
• ​​Regenerative Health​​

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