Former President Donald Trump’s BTC-Based NFT Collection Was Minted Over The Weekend - Trump Has Signaled A More Pragmatic Tone On Crypto & Has Individuals In His Orbit That Are Friendly To The Space
Donald Trump’s weekend minting of BTC-based Ordinals ETFs is in connection to his ‘Mugshot edition’ collection launched in December. The purchase of the Polygon-based NFTs in December awarded buyers with the Ordinal, which was due to be minted at a later date. Trump’s foray into NFTs came after a presidential term during which his administration took relatively antagonistic policy positions on BTC and crypto more broadly. 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.
However, in 2024, Trump’s position towards crypto has notably softened. In a Fox News town hall event in February, asked if he supports BTC due to his anti-CBDC stance, Trump responded that he sees greater adoption of BTC occurring and that he can ‘live with it.’ In addition, Trump has numerous BTC proponents in his orbit. For example, Trump’s largest donor is Tim Mellon, a member of the Mellon family which founded BNY Mellon. The bank launched crypto custody services in 2022 and was revealed last week to hold IBIT and GBTC on behalf of clients. Additionally, Mellon is also the largest donor to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who made his first public appearance as a candidate at Bitcoin Miami last year.
Last month, Kevin Warsh, Kevin Hassett and Art Laffer were revealed to be on a short-list of names for Fed chairman. All three have made statements in support of BTC to varying degrees. In a 2021 CNBC interview, Warsh said that if ‘bitcoin never existed gold would be rallying even more right now, but I guess if you are under 40 bitcoin is your new gold.’ Hasset is one of three advisors, alongside former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, to crypto-focused One River Asset Management. Laffer is the most outwardly pro-BTC and has appeared on several ARK Invest discussions alongside Cathie Wood with themes such as ‘Bitcoin and the History of Money.’ For example, in one such episode last year Laffer described crypto as a ‘market reaction to poor policies.’
Trump’s shortlist of candidates for vice president also includes numerous individuals that have been either outright pro BTC or broadly friendly: Gregg Abbott, Tucker Carlson, Vivek Ramamswamy, and Tulsi Gabbard.
Takeaway: It is unclear what kind of policy positions towards crypto Trump will ultimately adopt. It is also unclear if crypto will emerge as a topic as the US presidential election ramps up.
CRYPTO HEADLINES
BlackRock’s spot BTC ETF (NASDAQ: IBIT) posted its third consecutive day of net zero flows on Friday. Fidelity’s ETF (CBOE: FBTC) had its second consecutive day of outflows, with USD -2.8M, while the 10 US-listed products on aggregate had three consecutive days of outflows to finish the week. - link - @FarsideInvestors
BTC infrastructure firm ACINQ is removing its non-custodial wallet Phoenix from US app stores. The company said the move is due to announcements from US authorities regulating money service businesses which may implicate ‘self-custodial wallet providers, Lightning (Network) service providers, or even Lightning nodes.’ - link - @ACINQ
zkSNACKs is banning US users from its privacy-focused Wasabi Wallet, amid legal pressures. Last week, US authorities arrested the two founders of Samourai Wallet. The founders were accused of operating an unregistered money transmitting business that executed USD 2B in transactions and laundered over USD 100M ‘in criminal proceeds.’ - link - @CoinDesk
Australia may approve spot-BTC ETFs by late 2024. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg writes that ASX Ltd. expects to approve the products this calendar year, with applications from issuers including Van Eck, BetaShares, and DigitalX. - link - @Bloomberg
According to Visa, Circle's USDC surpassed Tether's USDt in transaction volume for 2024. Using an internal calculation which aims to adjust for artificial inflation, Visa estimates USDC posted a volume of USD 456B while USDt saw USD 89B. - link - @Bloomberg
Crypto-focused bank Custodia contested a Wyoming judge's verdict to deny a Federal Reserve master account. The firm’s appeal challenges a decision granting the Fed control over such accounts, critical for US financial system entry. Founded by Caitlin Long and vying for access under Wyoming law since 2020, Custodia faced rejection in January 2023. - link - @TheBlock
Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) set the collateral value of crypto ETFs to zero, starting April 30, 2024. The announcement, made on April 26, is part of DTCC’s annual line-of-credit facility renewal. - link - @Cointelegraph
South Korea's recently formed crypto investigative unit may formalize into an official government department. Formed in July 2023, it addresses the 49% rise in suspicious digital asset transactions. Future talks in May will deliberate on its formal establishment and crypto market oversight, with potential life sentences for major crimes. - link - @TheBlock
Yuga Labs, the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, underwent a reorganization led by CEO Greg Solano, resulting in staff reductions. The project’s co-founder said the restructuring is poised to create an efficient, crypto-centric workforce, emphasizing 3D gaming expansion and prioritizing innovation over bureaucracy. - link - @GregSolano
TOP ARTICLES
Bloomberg: Bitcoin Falls To One-Week Low As The 2024 Crypto Revival Stalls
FT: Vomiting Frogs And Other ‘Dust’ Prove Vexing For US Bitcoin ETFs
OPEN-SOURCE RESEARCH / LONG-READ OF THE DAY
Bitcoin ETF Bandwagon Heads to Australia After $53 Billion Haul in US, Bloomberg, April 28, 2024
Bloomberg discusses efforts to launch crypto-based ETFs in Australia.
CRYPTO MULTIMEDIA
Consensys Sues the SEC: Will It End Gensler's ‘Unlawful Power Grab’? Unchained Podcast, April 24, 2024
Laura Brookover, Senior Counsel and Head of Litigation and Investigations at Consensys, talks about the firm's decision to sue the SEC.
CHART OF THE DAY
Google searches for ‘bitcoin’ in Japan have followed patterns similar to other developed countries despite the currency woes the nation is currently experiencing…
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