Bitcoin News Weekly #27

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LATEST NEWS

🙌 Adoption:

• Bitcoin balances on exchanges drop to a six-year low, declining by 8% since January 1st, 2024.

• Coinbase introduces Lightning Network support powered by Lightspark, enabling users to enjoy instant and low-cost BTC transfers.

• Block (Square) will allocate 10% of its monthly gross profit from bitcoin-related products to buying bitcoin for investment.

⚖️ Legal:

• US DoJ arrests Roger Ver, a prominent early advocate of Bitcoin, on charges of mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns.

• UK Police will no longer be required to make an arrest before seizing crypto from a suspect.

• MicroStrategy releases "did:btc", an "orange checkmark for your email" that uses the Bitcoin blockchain to verify a user's identity online.

📈 Markets:

• 13F filings reveal:

  • Artemis Wealth Advisors holds 150,000 shares of Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (~$5.8 million), making it the eleventh-largest position in its portfolio.

  • First United Bank from Oklahoma ($13.5B AUM) and Stock Yards Bank & Trust from Kentucky ($8B AUM) report ownership of Bitcoin ETF shares.

  • Harel Investments, an Israeli insurance company with a market cap of $7B, also has exposure to the Bitcoin ETF.

• Morgan Stanley files with the SEC to get Bitcoin ETF exposure for 12 of its funds.

• Hong Kong launches Bitcoin ETFs and acquire 4,200 BTC since launch.

⛏️ Mining:

• Alliance Resources, a Nasdaq-listed coal mining company with a $2.8 billion market cap, engages in Bitcoin mining and currently holds 425 BTC.

• Kenya's President confirms Marathon is consulting with national authorities about Bitcoin mining in the country.

• Elizabeth Warren suggests that Iran may have generated up to $1 billion in 2021 through Bitcoin mining.

🗳️ Politics:

• Interest payments on US debt are expected to reach $1.7 trillion by next year if rates remain stable.

• Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Jared Bernstein, cannot explain the process of money creation in the US.

• OpenSats receives a donation of $21 million from #startsmall, Jack Dorsey’s philanthropic initiative.

Bam’s 2 Sats:

What an eventful week it's been! It kicked off with a bearish tone as notable outflows were noticed from all spot Bitcoin ETFs, not solely from GBTC. BlackRock notably ended its streak of inflows, recording five consecutive days of zero net flows and finally showing its first negative flow day on May 1, 2024. However, there was a swift turnaround by the end of the week. GBTC saw an inflow for the first time since becoming an ETF, coinciding with the price rebounding to $64,000 after retracing approximately 22% from its all-time high.

Naturally, pinpointing the exact reasons for Bitcoin's behavior is challenging. I wish I knew why GBTC experienced inflows, or why anyone would opt for it over alternatives with significantly lower fees. Nonetheless, we can gain insight into broader trends. Some points of interest for me include:

• On April 22nd, Mr. 100 sold 1000 BTC before the crash. Then, on May 2nd, the "unknown nation state" resumed accumulating bitcoin vigorously, acquiring 4,340 BTC in just one day. This accumulation, equivalent to nearly 10 days worth of bitcoin issuance, is quite impressive.

• Mr. 100 wasn't the only one. In total, whale entities accumulated 47,000 BTC during the same day, capitalizing on the dip in prices.

  

  Source: @Ki_young_ju

• Tether reported purchasing approximately 8,700 bitcoin in Q1 2024, resulting in a buying pressure of roughly 95 bitcoin per day.

• Taking a look at the Federal Reserve, it appears that the money supply has begun to increase once more. This marks the first occurrence since 2022 and typically correlates with the appreciation of asset prices.
  

  

  Source: FRED

• Finally, an embarrassing video circulated on Twitter featuring Jared Bernstein, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, the primary agency advising Biden on economic policy. Bernstein struggled to explain that the Government essentially sells bonds, bought by the Federal Reserve through money printing, effectively creating money out of thin air through a complex relationship between the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and banks—a concept even he found difficult to articulate.

My point is that we're witnessing a resurgence of bullish sentiment. The reality is, we're faced with two options: either hold onto dollars, which the US Government has borrowed or created at a staggering rate of $99,802 per second over the past year, or invest those dollars in bitcoin—an asset that demands energy input to produce 450 bitcoin per day, with a capped supply of 21 million.

Observing the market behavior and the numerous institutions disclosing their Bitcoin ETF holdings in their 13F filings, it's evident where the demand lies. It's better to keep stacking sats instead of waiting for unpredictable miracle dips.

Stay Humble & Stack Sats,
Bam

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