Bitcoin News Weekly #29

Hey, it's Bam! My aim is to bring you up to speed on all the significant developments in Bitcoin. Haven't subscribed yet? Click below 👇

LATEST NEWS

🙌 Adoption:

• SatoshiPortal, a new Bitcoin wallet that allows users to move funds between Lightning and Liquid without a trusted third party, is revealed at the Canadian Bitcoin Conference.

• Asia hosts its largest-ever Bitcoin conference in Hong Kong, with over half of the 5,500 attendees coming from mainland China.

• Blockstream surpasses 100,000 Greenlight nodes on the Lightning Network, providing Lightning capabilities for partners like Relai and Green Wallet.

⚖️ Legal:

• Vanguard names Salim Ramji, who oversaw BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF filing, as the new CEO.

• Oklahoma signs a bill protecting individuals' fundamental Bitcoin rights, including self-custody, mining, and running a node, while also banning additional taxes when Bitcoin is used as a form of payment.

• Rep. Thomas Massie introduces the "Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act," stating, "The Fed devalues our currency by monetizing the debt, causing inflation."

📈 Markets:

• Bitcoin ETFs see ~$950 billion in inflows this past week, marking the first positive weekly net flow since April, with a total of 14,389 bitcoin purchased (compared to only 3,150 newly mined).

• Additional institutions report their 13F SEC filings by the May 15th deadline:

  • Millennium Management discloses holding ~$2 billion in Bitcoin ETFs, constituting 3% of their $64 billion fund, making it the largest Bitcoin ETF allocation across all institutions.

  • State of Wisconsin Investment Board reveals it holds almost $100 million of IBIT and over $60 million of GBTC.

  • Morgan Stanley discloses a $269 million investment in Grayscale's Bitcoin ETF, seeing it as an “essential component of diversified portfolios.”

• The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the world's largest futures exchange, plans to introduce spot bitcoin trading on its platform.

⛏️ Mining:

• New study reveals that microgrids (MGs) which don't utilize Bitcoin mining end up wasting significant amounts of renewable energy.

• Venezuela seizes multiple Bitcoin mines across the country, blaming the industry's high electricity consumption for recent power outages.

• Antpool finds 10 of 13 blocks between 842892 - 843904.

🗳️ Politics:

• El Salvador maintains its practice of accumulating 1 bitcoin per day and launches a new website for the public to monitor their National Bitcoin Treasury.

• Canada increases capital gains tax to 66% on all profits over CAD 250,000.

• The Senate votes to overturn the SEC’s SAB 121, which prohibits large financial institutions from custodying Bitcoin. The bill now heads to Biden’s desk, where he has promised to veto it.

Bam’s 2 Sats:

Last week, we discussed the "Bitcoin Cheat Code" and the concern of not wanting to become the old grandparent mocked by grandchildren for missing out on the significant opportunity Bitcoin presents. Today, let's delve into why this opportunity is so obvious, why it will siphon value from other monetized commodities, and why its success is inevitable.

As Bitcoin appreciates, we've all heard various perspectives on what Bitcoin represents. Before the approval of the ETFs, it was hailed as a "new asset class," but from an Austrian economics standpoint, it could be seen as a market good.

When a market good is recognized as a new medium of exchange, entrepreneurs are inclined to accumulate more than they typically would based on their speculative assessment of future price appreciation.

The Bitcoin ETFs essentially confirm this notion. As Bitcoin became accessible to institutions, and with transparency from both the ETF issuers and the BItcoin ledger, we can identify the visionaries seeking exposure to this novel asset class.

• 13 out of the top 25 US hedge funds have Bitcoin ETF exposure.

• 11 of the largest 25 Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) do as well.

While it doesn't constitute a majority, the swift adoption in the first quarter is remarkable. Some suggest that the initial $50 billion of inflows is just the tip of the iceberg before more substantial capital enters the market. Speaking of capital flows, even GBTC, which has shed over 50% of its Bitcoin holdings since converting to an ETF, has broken its negative streak and has had tens of millions of dollars of inflows. This aligns with Bitcoin on exchanges reaching new 5-year lows.

To emphasize how early we are in this journey, let's examine the distribution of Bitcoin ETF holdings by country. While a significant portion of the capital originates from the issuers' home country (the USA), it's only a matter of time before the competitive spirit takes hold. As countries observe Bitcoin's rapid appreciation, nations such as El Salvador are actively accumulating for their National Treasury. Additionally, Hong Kong's launch of its own Bitcoin ETFs underscores a global trend towards embracing Bitcoin.

Amid the competition to accumulate an emerging hard asset, everyone's viewpoint is framed within an economic system reliant on fiat currencies that steadily lose value. In a landscape where individuals and institutions grow increasingly concerned about higher inflation rates compared to bond yields, and where all monetized financial instruments are losing their appeal due to potential capital controls, it's only a matter of time before people recognize the value of storing wealth in the world’s premier digital, scarce asset.

When even those in positions of power start expressing fear and questioning the stability of our currency, people begin to take notice and seek alternatives.

"Tiff Macklem, Governor of the central bank of Canada, has issued a warning about the potential collapse of the fiat system."

Coincidentally, there's an asset gaining traction in both media and institutional circles—one that cannot be devalued and possesses gold-like properties, being both digitally native and inherently scarce.

Stay Humble & Stack Sats,
Bam

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