M6 Labs Bitcoin Weekly

GM, Anon! The market continues to trade in a range, but it appears that selling pressure is decreasing. There are also numerous developments within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Let's dive in!

Bitcoin Updates & Metrics

• Nayib Bukele secures re-election as President of El Salvador.

• ARK Invest has divested from its Bitcoin futures ETF and purchased $65M worth of its own spot Bitcoin ETF in a strategic move.

• Argentina's President, Javier Milei, has decided to abandon plans for a crypto tax.

• Donald Trump calls CBDCs and artificial intelligence 'dangerous.'

• Invesco and Galaxy Asset Management have lowered the fee for their spot Bitcoin ETF to 0.25% in an effort to attract more investors.

• A WisdomTree executive has downplayed the company's delayed Bitcoin ETF launch.

• Robert F. Kennedy, the first US presidential candidate to accept Bitcoin campaign donations, pledged to end the US push for a central bank digital currency if elected.

• Marathon Digital plans to oust competitor Bitcoin miner Hut 8 from recently acquired locations.

• South Korea's regulator plans to discuss a spot Bitcoin ETF with Gary Gensler.

• Coinbase drops support for BitcoinSV(BSV).

• Bitdeer has appointed Mr. Jihan Wu, the company's Founder and Chairman, as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective March 1, 2024.

• Google is revising its ad policies to permit the advertising of specific cryptocurrency products, potentially opening the door to crypto ads on the platform.

• Amazon is producing a film centered on the $3B Bitfinex hack, exploring the psychology of a crypto hustler connected to the incident.

• The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has set a minimum insurance requirement of 50% for licensed crypto exchanges handling customer assets.

• German authorities have made their largest Bitcoin seizure, totaling $2.17B, in connection with a $2.17B fraud case.

• FTX has been liquidating crypto assets and accumulating cash, with its cash reserves growing to $4.4B by the end of 2023.

• A company that emerged from the bankruptcy estate of Celsius has initiated a Bitcoin mining operation.

• Bitcoin miner GRIID has made its debut on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol 'GRDI.'

• Charles Schwab, the largest personal finance brokerage in the US, allows clients to purchase approved Bitcoin ETFs but has not launched its own.

• The US Department of Energy requests consumption statistics from Bitcoin miners.

• YieldMax has applied to the US SEC to launch a Bitcoin options income strategy ETF (YBIT) listed on the NYSE, based on other spot Bitcoin ETFs.

• An EU agency has stated that crypto firms can sometimes serve non-European users.

• Efforts to establish a climate-conscious spot Bitcoin ETF continue.

• The Inverse Cramer ETF, designed to profit from shorting Jim Cramer's stock tips, will shut down after posting a negative 15% return.

• Harvest Hong Kong, one of China's largest fund managers, has submitted a spot Bitcoin ETF application to the Hong Kong SFC, aiming to launch the first Hong Kong spot Bitcoin ETF after the Chinese New Year on Feb. 10.

The Federal Reserve announced its decision to maintain interest rates at 5.5%. In their statement, the Fed mentioned, "The committee does not anticipate reducing the target range until it has a stronger belief that inflation is steadily progressing towards the 2 percent mark." 

• This unexpected decision led to a minor market downturn, as many had anticipated a rate cut. 

• However, the second interest rate decision scheduled for March indicates a 47% probability of a 25bps rate reduction. 

Coinbase analysts believe that the downward pressures on Bitcoin and the broader crypto market are diminishing, potentially creating a more supportive trading environment. 

• Factors contributing to this include the completion of FTX's bankruptcy estate selling its substantial GBTC holdings and substantial net inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. 

• The report suggests that macroeconomic factors will become more relevant for the digital asset class in the coming weeks. 

• Additionally, the report mentions the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate decision and the possibility of a soft landing for the U.S. economy, along with the Bitcoin halving, which could boost Bitcoin and other tokens in Q2, 2024. 

Inflows & Outflows: Digital asset investment products experienced significant outflows on a global scale, amounting to $500M.