Donald Trump's Pivot On BTC
The Daily Crypto Update for Institutional Investors
On Thursday, In A Fox News ‘Town Hall’ US Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Discussed BTC, Remarking ‘I Can Live With It,’ ‘You’re Seeing Something That’s Interesting,’ But That He Ultimately ‘Likes The Dollar’ - BTC Halvings, Which Take Place Every Four Years, Align With US Presidential Elections
Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked Trump if ‘the next logical step for you to embrace bitcoin’ due to his recently revealed anti-CBDC stance. Ingraham added that BTC ‘obviously is decentralized, the government can't get its hands on it.’ Trump responded with the following: ‘A lot of people are doing it. I always like the one currency. I like the dollar. But a lot of people are doing it, and frankly, it has taken a life of its own. You probably have to do some regulation, as you know, but many people are embracing it, and more and more, I am seeing people wanting to pay in Bitcoin, and you are seeing something that's interesting. I can live with it one way or the other. I've always liked one really powerful thing, and that's called the dollar.’
Trump’s tepid openness to BTC is a seeming turnaround for the former president. According to a book published by his former national security advisor John Bolton, Trump instructed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to target BTC for fraud during his presidency. Additionally, Trump posted on X that he is ‘not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies’ in 2019. His comments on X aligned with the scrutiny of Meta's Libra cryptocurrency project, which he also criticized, asserting the US has one real currency that is dependable and strong.
Among Republican presidential candidates, BTC has been a relatively common topic during the primaries. For instance, last year former candidate Vivek Ramaswamy released a crypto policy plan while Trump has continued to release Polygon and BTC-based NFT collections. A potential US CBDC has also been a prominent topic. In January, Trump discussed CBDCs for the first time and pledged to ‘never allow the creation of a [CBDC]’ following Ramaswamy endorsing him. Trump would later credit Ramaswamy for the new-found CBDC position. Trump has confirmed that Ramaswamy is on a Vice President shortlist along with former Hawaii Representative Tusli Gabard. Ramaswamy and Gabard both spoke at the Bitcoin Miami conference last year, along with candidate Robert F. Kennedy. Most recently, this weekend El Salvador president Nayib Bukele, and Argentina president Javier Milei spoke at a conservative political event in the US which was attended by Donald Trump. The two leaders are not known to have discussed BTC.
Takeaway: BTC halvings, a moment that has been used by proponents to highlight the asset’s main selling points, takes place every four years and coincides with US presidential elections. Some BTC proponents have seen the prominence of BTC within the primaries are portending greater focus on the asset during the general election. While previous halvings have been niche events, the 2024 halving could coincide with newfound political relevance for BTC during the US presidential elections.
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CRYPTO HEADLINES
US-listed spot BTC ETFs had USD 583.3M of net inflows during last week’s four trading sessions. The funds have now had net inflows of USD 5.5B since their launch on January 11, largely driven by BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, and Ark Invest, despite Grayscale’s USD 7.44B of outflows. - link - @BitMEXResearch
Avalanche suffered a four-hour outage over the weekend due to a software bug. The disruption halted block production, until the network’s developers pushed an upgrade to patch the bug. Kevin Sekniqi, co-founder of Avalanche developer Ava Labs, described the issue as ‘a gossip-related mempool management bug, which is purely a code-related bug, and not an issue with performance handling.’ - link - @TheBlock
FTX has resolved a lawsuit by agreeing to sell back a European startup to its founders for USD 32.7M. After acquiring the Swiss startup Digital Assets AG for USD 323M in 2021, FTX's efforts to recoup the acquisition cost led to legal battles, with FTX alleging misuse of customer funds for the purchase and the founders demanding USD 256.6M. - link - @Reuters
A federal judge has approved Binance's USD 4.3B plea deal with the DOJ regarding sanctions and anti-money-laundering law violations. During a hearing, Judge Richard Jones confirmed the fine but withheld a decision on compliance monitoring. The settlement, revealed last November, mandates the fine, a compliance monitor, and former CEO Changpeng Zhao's resignation from the exchange. Zhao faces sentencing for related charges in April. - link - @CoinDesk
BTC miner Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) reported a record total revenue of USD 280.7M in 2023. The company saw a 20% rise in mining revenue to USD 189 million, producing 6,626 BTC during the year. Additional revenues came from engineering and data center hosting, totaling UDS 91.7M. Riot also benefited from UDS 71.2M in power credits. - link - @RIOT
Flare, a layer-1 blockchain, has secured USD 35M in funding from investors including Kenetic and Aves Lair. Specializing in smart contract creation and pricing oracles for DeFi applications, Flare aims to enhance blockchain data utility. - link - @CoinDesk
Omaha-based asset manager Carson Group has chosen to offer four out of ten newly launched US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs. Among the approved are the ETFs issued by BlackRock (NASDAQ: IBIT), Fidelity (CBOE: FBTC), Bitwise (NYSEARCA: BITB), Franklin Templeton (CBOE: EZBC). - link - @Bloomberg
MicroStrategy's (NASDAQ: MSTR) X account was compromised over the weekend, misleading users with a fake token airdrop. The post included a fraudulent link masked as the company’s website, whereby users were asked to share details of their crypto wallets. ZachXBT, an X personality who shares his blockchain data insights, estimates the victims lost USD ~440k worth of crypto. - link - @Cointelegraph
Nigeria has blocked access to several crypto exchanges including Binance and Kraken to mitigate volatility in its local currency. The action by the Nigerian Communications Commission marks a shift from President Bola Tinubu's initial crypto-friendly policies amid economic struggles. The government aims to address the naira's depreciation and regulate digital assets more tightly. - link - @FT
The Texas Blockchain Council is suing the US Department of Energy over a power consumption survey, calling it illegal. The Energy Information Administration's (EIA) request for data from BTC miners, such as Riot Platforms, has been contested due to privacy concerns. The EIA, which will now sequester collected data, aims to understand the industry's energy usage better. The Texas Blockchain Council views the inquiry as a politically motivated attack on private businesses. - link - @Bloomberg
OrdinalsBot announced it has minted the entire supply of a BRC-20 token in a single BTC transaction using BTC miner Marathon Digital’s Slipstream service. OrdinalsBot is a technology infrastructure company which provides API solutions for BTC Ordinals and BRC-20 Holdings.’ The company said the initiative marks a pivotal moment in BTC’s history, showcasing the blockchain's expanding functionality. - link - @OrdinalsBot
Users of crypto exchange BitForex report the exchange going offline after a USD 57M withdrawal linked to the platform’s wallets. Following the alleged withdrawal, BitForex seemingly halted operations and became inaccessible, with reasons for its shutdown unrevealed. The incident follows regulatory flags by Japan last year for operating without registration, and a 2019 Chainalysis report indicating possible fake trading volumes.- link - @TheBlock
TOP ARTICLES
Fortune: Xapo’s Journey Is A Happy Outcome For One Of Crypto’s Most Respected Figures
Bloomberg: How Do You Profit From Bitcoin ETFs? Investors Face Dilemma
OPEN-SOURCE RESEARCH / LONG-READ OF THE DAY
Why Embracing Bitcoin Would Be A Low-Risk, High-Reward Strategy For Trump, Fortune, January 27, 2023
Fortune argues embracing a pro-BTC stance could be politically advantageous for Donald Trump.
CRYPTO MULTIMEDIA
A Spot Ethereum ETF Is 'A Matter Of When, Not A Matter Of If': Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein, CNBC, February 21, 2024
Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein discusses the outlook for a spot ETH ETF listing in the US.
CHART OF THE DAY
Compared to the 2020 BTC halving, the run-up to the 2024 halving has garnered significantly more interest...
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