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It's been classic momentum investing. Everybody is a genius on the way up, but there is another shakeout coming.
 

Bitcoin set for biggest monthly jump since 2020 amid ETF boost​

SINGAPORE/LONDON, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Bitcoin was on track for its biggest monthly gain in more than three years on Thursday and within sight of a record high, propelled by cash rushing into exchange-traded funds.

The approval and launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. this year has opened the asset class to new investors and reignited the excitement that evaporated when prices collapsed in the "crypto winter" of 2022.

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation was last up 3.4% at $62,205, having changed hands at $63,933 overnight, the highest since late 2021.

Bitcoin's monthly gain is more than 47%, its largest since December 2020, and its rally has pulled ether along in its wake. The smaller cryptocurrency topped $3,500 for the first time since April 2022 on Wednesday and was last up 4.3% at $3,466, taking its February increase to 52%.

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Wished I'd have taken a chance back then.

If You Bought $1 Worth Of Bitcoin At Launch, Here's How Much You'd Have Today​

The price of leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) surged in February 2024, hitting levels not witnessed since all-time highs were previously reached in November 2021.

Here's a look back at the history of Bitcoin and how much an early investment in the leading cryptocurrency would be worth today.

What Happened: In October 2008, pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto published a whitepaper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System." The whitepaper provided many key details and explained why Bitcoin was created.

In January 2009, Nakamoto mined the genesis block of the first 50 Bitcoins and the cryptocurrency was officially born.

When Bitcoin was released, there were only two ways to get the cryptocurrency: mine the Bitcoin yourself or use a peer-to-peer transaction.

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Wished I'd have taken a chance back then. ...

November 11, 2013:
...

The Bearing, ever interested in improving his education (as long as he doesn't have to work too hard) is now learning about Bitcoin ("BTC"). Mostly how it works (that is, how to buy them and how to spend them).

A decent guy (a "virtual friend") gave me 0.11 BTC within the past couple of days. He also pointed the way to my downloading Multibit 0.5.14, which allowed me to make a BTC wallet, see just below (all the ones I have seen so far start with a "1"). I also had to download Oracle's Java software, but hey my computer skills are fairly limited, and so far everything has worked OK. ...

***

The FIRST one here at pmbug.com to email me their Bitcoin wallet address will win the 0.005 BTC (now worth about $1.50).
...


BTC was around $300 at the time of that post. @DoChenRollingBearing did send me that 0.005 BTC back then. I wish I had bought more, but back then, it was not easy to acquire if you weren't mining it. Mt. Gox was not an easy experience to navigate (and that was before it blew up).
 


BTC will likely resume it's upward trajectory shortly.
 

Marathon Digital Mines Record-Breaking Bitcoin Block with Runestone Inscription​

In a historic feat, Marathon Digital, a prominent player in the cryptocurrency mining arena, has shattered records by mining the largest-ever Bitcoin block. This monumental achievement showcases the evolving landscape of blockchain technology and its potential for innovation.

The groundbreaking block, mined through Marathon Digital’s Slipstream service, is a testament to the company’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the realm of cryptocurrency. Measuring an impressive 3,990.36 kilobytes, this block represents a milestone in the history of Bitcoin mining.

At the heart of this record-breaking block lies a captivating inscription related to the Runestone airdrop—an event that has captured the attention of cryptocurrency enthusiasts worldwide. The Runestone inscription, embedded within the block, symbolizes the convergence of art, technology, and community within the realm of digital currencies.

Led by Marathon Digital’s Slipstream service and OrdinalsBot—a pioneering platform simplifying the process of inscribing Ordinals—the mining of this colossal block marks a significant moment in the evolution of Bitcoin Ordinals. These innovative tokens, akin to Ethereum-based NFTs, enable the embedding of data, including images and text, onto the immutable Bitcoin blockchain.

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Donald Trump's MAGA Coin Holdings Catapult His Crypto Wealth To $8.79M (CORRECTED)​

Former President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency holdings have experienced a significant boost, jumping by over $1.9 million in value within just 24 hours.

What Happened: This increase is largely attributed to a 22% rise in the value of the MAGA Meme coin (CRYPTO: TRUMP), a token that has recently been in the spotlight.

Data pulled from Arkham Intelligence revealed the former president's crypto assets are now valued at $8.79 million.

This marked an almost 16% increase in just one day, and a substantial $3.71 million leap from its previous valuation of $5.08 million back on Feb. 26, 2024.

The MAGA meme coin's rally over the past week is a key driver behind this uptick, according to figures from DEXScreener.

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Chapters:
00:00 - CNBC Crypto World, March 4, 2024
0:27- Bitcoin soars
2:15- ETHDenver 2024
4:53- SEC's Hester Peirce <-- good stuff - Hester should replace Gensler
 
The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) gobbled up over $778 million worth of bitcoin (BTC) on Tuesday as the fund's investors apparently bought the dip in the world's largest crypto.

IBIT added 12,600 bitcoin, breaking previous daily highs of around 10,000. Data from Nasdaq show that the fund recorded trading volumes of more than 107 million shares, or over $3.6 billion price-weighted, surpassing the previous record high of $3.3 billion from last week.
...
The BlackRock ETF now holds more than 183,000 bitcoin, closing in on MicroStrategy's (MSTR) 193,000 stack.
...


tenor.gif
 

Spain Bans Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Amid Data Collection Concerns​

Spain has banned Worldcoin, a digital ID cryptocurrency venture launched by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, after the country’s privacy watchdog cited concerns over how the company’s eyeball-scanning technology collects and processes biometric data.

The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) issued a precautionary measure Wednesday that prohibits Worldcoin’s activities in the country for up to three months, after the agency received “several complaints” about alleged insufficient information, the collection of data from minors and concerns that consent can’t be withdrawn.

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This is (IMO) some really dumb shit:
[The digital asset known as maga (TRUMP) has experienced significant appreciation, while a newer cryptocurrency, jeo (BODEN), has seen its value skyrocket by 1,597%, as per data from coinmarketcap.com. In the last 24 hours alone, BODEN has witnessed trading volume amounting to $34.50 million on decentralized exchange platforms such as Raydium and Orca.
...


Meme tokens - whether related to dogs or political figures - with zero real world use case or USP are just Ponzi style pump and dump playgrounds. Doesn't mean you can't take advantage of them, but I can't help but think of Idiocracy when watching them pump.
 
  • The ten new ETFs collectively experienced over $648 million in net inflows.
  • Pseudonymous analyst, Altcoin Sherpa, warned of volatility in the upcoming hours/days.
  • Michael Van de Poppe predicts that Ethereum could be the next in line to potentially test an all-time high.
 
According to coinmarketcap.com, Ethereum's all time high was $4,891.70 on Nov 16, 2021. That would be ~$1,120 higher than it's current price - very roughly a 30% gain. That's almost certainly going to happen just following BTC's coattails. If the Dencun upgrade works as expected and if the spot ETH ETFs get approved in May, I expect Ethereum is going to go much higher than that.

It's interesting that the report above mentioned AI crypto plays at the end. I was looking at Fetch.AI (FET) last night as something I might dip my toes on for a little exposure to AI aside from THETA.
 


Bill Text: AZ SCR1016 said:
Whereas, the landscape of financial investments is rapidly evolving with the advent of digital assets like Bitcoin, which has a market cap of approximately one trillion dollars; and

Whereas, digital assets such as Bitcoin gained significant interest in the realm of exchange traded funds (ETFs); and

Whereas, there are large retirement funds that have dedicated significant seed funding for a proposed spot Bitcoin ETF, signaling growing institutional interest in such investment vehicles; and

Whereas, the global assets under management for firms that have filed for a Bitcoin ETF are over 16 trillion dollars; and

Whereas, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved eleven spot Bitcoin ETFs as of January 10, 2024 and the Bitcoin ETFs began trading on January 11, 2024; and

Whereas, pension funds traditionally have exposure to a diverse number of sectors of the economy, including commodities such as gold and silver, which are traditionally invested in via ETFs; and

Whereas, the federal government holds approximately 200,000 Bitcoin; and

Whereas, Arizona's state retirement systems have an obligation to meet the best interests of their members; and

Whereas, the role of Bitcoin and other digital assets in the modern financial ecosystem continues to grow, particularly in the context of ETFs; and

Whereas, it is important that the Arizona State Retirement System and the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System work with the State Treasurer's office to evaluate the potential risks and benefits of investing in Bitcoin and digital asset ETFs, given the evolving regulatory landscape and growing market capitalization.

Therefore

Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring:

����� That the Members of the Legislature encourage the Arizona State Retirement System and the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System to:

1. Closely monitor the developments in Bitcoin ETFs and other digital asset ETFs and consider the implications of including such assets in their investment portfolios after, to the extent possible, consulting with any firms that have been granted SEC approval to offer a digital asset ETF.

2. Consider the implications of including a digital asset ETF in their investment portfolios.

3. Submit a comprehensive report on the feasibility, risk and potential benefits of directing a portion of state retirement system monies into digital asset ETFs, including a list of options and recommendations for how this state might safely invest in the digital asset class, to the State Treasurer's office, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives at least three months before the beginning of the fifty-seventh legislature, first regular session.

 
This page is tracking the spot BTC ETF flows in an easy to read chart:


...
According to the fund's latest disclosure, IBIT held 195,985 bitcoin on Friday after another day of significant inflows. ...


You can see Blackrock's disclosure page here (scroll down to holdings to see the BTC "shares"):

 
I see BTC @ 72k this morning. I'm glad I was able to buy a bit more when it dipped back to 63k recently.
 

Bitcoin has 'all the great attributes & none of the defects' of gold: MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor​

Mar 11, 2024

Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy executive chairman, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the latest bitcoin rally, impact of spot bitcoin ETFs on his company, why bitcoin should be considered 'digital property', growth outlook, and more.


6:56

I'm glad I was able to buy a bit more when it dipped back to 63k recently.

Been adding to my Fidelity acct on a regular basis 🍺
 
Saylor : BTC :: Morpheus : Neo

BTC does not have "all" of the great attributes of gold. It's not a bearer instrument:

 
Trump was BTC friendly on CNBC this morning:

 
VanEck will temporarily cut the management fee to zero for its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), HODL, as its assets are well below some of its competitors.

The asset manager said it will drop the fee until March 31, 2025, unless the fund reaches $1.5 billion in assets before that date, VanEck noted in a post on social media platform X.

HODL previously charged investors a fee of 0.2%, which was already one of the lowest among the competitors. For example, BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco, WisdomTree, and Valkyrie charge 0.25%. Only Franklin Templeton charges a lower fee of 0.19%.
...


Zero cost trading?

raw
 
MetaMask, the popular cryptocurrency wallet for the Ethereum blockchain, is testing an entirely on-chain, Mastercard-branded payment card, according to promotional materials and a testing platform seen by CoinDesk.

Such a product would unite two giants of their respective fields. MetaMask is the biggest self-custody wallet with more than 30 million monthly active users, while Mastercard provides key plumbing in the conventional financial system through its credit- and debit-card network spanning the globe.

The MetaMask/Mastercard payment card would be "the first ever truly decentralized web3 payment solution," allowing users to spend their crypto "on everyday purchases, everywhere cards are accepted," according to the marketing materials.

Mastercard and its rival Visa have been quietly courting public blockchain developer communities and self-custody wallet providers of late. Mastercard has been working with hardware wallet firm Ledger as well as MetaMask, CoinDesk reported in October of last year.

Visa, meanwhile, has been working with the USDC stablecoin and the Solana blockchain on cross-border payments and smoothing out wrinkles like paying Ethereum gas fees.
...


*Huge* news if it rolls out to the public. MetaMask is free and widely used, but limited to the Ethereum blockchain (and all the Layer 2 crypto that is built upon it). If MasterCard rolls out a similar solution with Ledger, that would be even more huge as Ledger provides access to virtually every major blockchain.

Building a seemless/easy to use off-ramp for self custody solutions will ignite trade volumes in crypto.
 
...
Zero cost trading?

Asset manager VanEck's spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) saw record daily inflows on Monday after cutting management fees to 0% for a year to make it more attractive.

The VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL) attracted $119 million in fresh funds during the day, adding over 1,600 bitcoin, the most by a wide margin since its launch in January, data compiled by BitMEX Research shows.
...

 
BlackRock has opened a new filing with the SEC to purchase more Bitcoin ETFs, according to new filing records by the commission. BlackRock intends to use the new Bitcoin ETFs for its Global Allocation Fund.
...
The latest filing reads: “The Fund may acquire shares in exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) that seek to reflect generally the performance of the price of bitcoin by directly holding bitcoin (“Bitcoin ETPs”), including shares of a Bitcoin ETP sponsored by an affiliate of BlackRock.” It adds, “The Fund will only invest in Bitcoin ETPs that are listed and traded on national securities exchanges.”
...
At the beginning of the week, BlackRock also applied with the SEC to purchase more Bitcoin ETFs for its Strategic Income Opportunities Fund. ...

The SEC has yet to accept BlackRock’s initial request for more ETFs for its SIO Fund. It is up to the commission to approve the latest request for more ETFs.


... Size of Fund (Millions) $17,685.6 M ...


... Size of Fund (Millions) $36,435.6 M ...


Assuming a 1% allocation to their BTC ETF (IBIT), if both applications get approved, that would be another $530M inflow...
 
Community, comradery, geek to hero, rags to riches.........this vid has it all. Halfway through and a good vid, in my opinion. 33 mins long.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda come to mind here.

Where Are the Earliest Bitcoin Investors Now? | CRYPTOLAND Episode 1​

Mar 10, 2022

In 2013, one of the earliest Bitcoin conferences was held in San Jose, when one Bitcoin was worth $118. Now, 1 BTC goes for nearly $40,000, and the cryptocurrency industry has minted a new class of millionaires and billionaires with grand aspirations for the industry and the power it wields.

In this episode of Cryptoland, Motherboard catches up with some of the earliest investors present at the Bitcoin 2013 conference and reckons with how the cryptocurrency industry has evolved over the past decade and looks at where it's going.



Watch all 8 episodes of CRYPTOLAND here: • CRYPTOLAND
 

Crypto wants to sway the Senate. It’s making headway.​


Less than two years ago, politicians scrambled to distance themselves from the cryptocurrency world and its disgraced Washington ambassador Sam Bankman-Fried. Now, with SBF out of the picture and $80 million dangling from new crypto super PACs looking to reshape the Senate, candidates are jumping back on the industry’s bandwagon.

Days after the super PACs announced plans to spend on the U.S. Senate race in Maryland, two leading Democratic contenders are revealing that they’re pro-crypto.

Crypto advocacy isn’t an obvious issue for Rep. David Trone or Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. Neither has ever tweeted the word “crypto” or championed digital asset policy in past roles. Trone last year signed on to a letter led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a leading crypto critic, that pressed the Biden administration to crack down on the use of digital assets in terrorist financing.

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I am looking to go long on a few ETFs if BTC dips to the $50s. Any recommendations?
 
Blackrock (IBIT) is the largest of the spot BTC ETFs, but some have lower fees. There are also futures ETFs. If you really want an ETF, I'd make sure you get the type you want (spot actually backed by the underlying asset).
 
Solana, and to a lesser extent Avalanche, has been tearing it up over the last week whlie most other cryptos took a breather. Solana is trading at almost $200 as I type this. What a crazy run it's had since October of last year (when it was trading in the low 20s).

Some people think it could end up overtaking Ethereum eventually (they compete for the same use case / market in the crypto sphere). Solana's market cap would need to quintuple from here to get there. I wish I had bought more last year when it was sub $20.
 


Developer Burns $10.4 Million in Solana Token Meant for Memecoin Launch​

In a shocking turn of events within the cryptocurrency space, a developer has inadvertently burnt a staggering amount of Solana (SOL) tokens intended for launching a meme coin. The mishap, which resulted in the loss of 535,000 SOL, equivalent to approximately $10.4 million, underscores the risks associated with pre-sale fundraising and the volatile nature of the crypto market.

Pre-sale fundraising has become a common practice in the cryptocurrency world, allowing developers to raise capital for project launches by offering early access to tokens at discounted prices.

However, recent incidents have highlighted the potential pitfalls of this approach, with some developers either absconding with the raised funds or engaging in market manipulation.

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That's insane. I'm guessing he's going to get sued by a whale or two.
 
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