Kategorie: Bitcoin News

• IBIT’s new record comes as Bitcoin achieved a new all-time high of over $76,000 on November 7
• Dary McGovern, COO of Bitcoin native Xapo Bank, said to CoinJournal that Bitcoin’s new record indicates a “broader shift in institutional confidence” seen by BlackRock’s record net inflows
• The 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a daily total net inflow of $1.38 billion, a new record since listing in January

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) exchange-traded fund (ETF) set a new record for inflows, reaching $1.12 billion, topping its previous record of $872 million.

The new record was noted on SoSoValue and comes when Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $76,677 across major exchanges on November 7. Earlier in the week, Bitcoin broke a new all-time high of $75,317 as voting results signalled a Donald Trump win for the White House.

BlackRock’s IBIT net assets now account for $34.29 billion, significantly pushing it ahead of its competitors. In October, BlackRock set a new record when its total assets reached $30 billion in 293 days.

Dary McGovern, COO of Bitcoin native Xapo Bank, said to CoinJournal that Bitcoin’s new record suggests a “broader shift in institutional confidence, with notable market movements such as BlackRock’s record net inflows into its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT),” adding:

“The growing institutional interest underscores Bitcoin’s increasing recognition as a trusted asset class, driven by rising global demand and mainstream adoption. As more investors seek exposure to digital assets, Bitcoin’s role as a store of value and a potential hedge against inflation becomes ever clearer.”

The 12 US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a daily total net inflow of $1.38 billion, also a new record since listing in January.

Nearing Satoshi’s wallet

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted BlackRock’s new record in a post on X, saying: “Even I am surprised it’s that big, by far biggest one day flow of any BTC ETF ever.”

Told y’all it was prob gonna be big, altho even I am surprised it’s that big, by far biggest one day flow of any btc etf ever. https://t.co/Q5MPDMrTYv

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 8, 2024

Balchunas later added that the spot Bitcoin ETFs have taken in a combined $6.7 billion in the past month and $25.5 billion year to date, and are 93% of the way to passing Satoshi Nakamoto’s 1.1 million Bitcoin.

HOOVER CITY: Bitcoin ETFs took in a record-smashing $1.4b yesterday (the Trump effect). $IBIT alone was +$1.1b. That’s +$6.7b in past mo and $25.5b YTD. All told they feasted on about 18k btc in one day (vs 450 mined) and are now 93% of the way to passing Satoshi’s 1.1mil btc. pic.twitter.com/dNLoENlDB3

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 8, 2024

“This confidence suggests that Bitcoin is now seen as a legitimate hedge and growth asset, particularly appealing amid traditional market uncertainties and as regulatory clarity improves,” said James Toledano, COO at Unity, a self-custody crypto wallet, to CoinJournal. “Just look at pension funds in both the UK and US investing in Bitcoin too. Sentiment has changed massively in such a short space of time.”

Grayscale’s GBTC, the second-largest by net assets at $16.80 billion, saw a net inflow of $7.31 million. Fidelity’s FBTC reported $190.92 million and Ark and 21Shares saw $17.61 million.

The post BlackRock’s IBIT sets record $1.1 billion in daily inflows appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Dean Skurka is the president and CEO of WonderFi, a Canadian crypto company
• Skurka was forced into a vehicle in downtown Toronto during rush hour
• He said that client funds and data remain safe and weren’t impacted by the kidnapping

The kidnapped CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency company WonderFi has returned safely after electronically transferring CAD$1 million ($720,000) to his captors.

On Wednesday, at around 6 p.m. during rush hour, Dean Skurka, the president and CEO of WonderFi, was forced into a vehicle in the area of University Avenue and Richmond Street W. in downtown Toronto, reports CBC.

Skurka was ordered to pay the ransom demand of CAD$1 million. He was later released in Centennial Park in Etobicoke, according to a source close to the investigation. Speaking about the kidnapping, Skurka said:

“The safety and security of all of WonderFi’s employees are paramount. Client funds and data remain safe, and were not impacted by this incident.”

According to Jameson Lopp, co-founder and chief security officer of Casa, a security firm focused on protecting crypto users, Skurka’s kidnapping is the 171st case where violence has been used to target crypto holders.

Lopp said:

“As the [Bitcoin] price goes up, more awareness of the space permeates throughout society and as a result, more criminally minded people decide they want to try to figure out what the ROI of executing a physical attack against a known crypto holder is.”

The kidnapping comes at a time when Bitcoin is going through a price rise.

Yesterday, Bitcoin achieved a new all-time high of $76,677 on major crypto exchanges. The new price came amid the US Federal Reserve announcing a 25 basis points interest rate cut.

Earlier in the week, Bitcoin broke a new all-time high of $75,317 as voting results signalled a Donald Trump win for the White House.

The post Kidnapped WonderFi CEO released after paying $720k ransom appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Bitcoin reached a high of $75,317 in the early hours of this morning
• In September, Bernstein analysts predicted Bitcoin to reach between $80,000 and $90,000 by the end of 2024 if Trump won
• Unity’s COO said to CoinJournal said it was “disingenuous” to say Trump winning the US election was the sole reason Bitcoin’s price went up

Bitcoin rose to a record high of over $75,000 early this morning as voting results signalled a Donald Trump win for the White House.

Data from CoinMarketCap shows Bitcoin achieved a high of $75,317 around 6:25 this morning. Before the election results started coming in last night, Bitcoin was trading at around $69,000.

However, as the evening progressed and into the early morning, Bitcoin continued an upward trajectory before reaching its new all-time high.

Bitcoin’s last all-time high took place in March when it reached $73,000.

 

Data from AP News shows Trump has taken 277 of the electoral results compared to Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ 224.

Will the price rise continue?

While the new high comes amid the US election results, many will be wondering whether this upward movement will continue. In September, Bernstein analysts predicted that Bitcoin could reach between $80,000 and $90,000 by the end of 2024 if Trump won the presidential election.

According to James Toldeano, COO of self-custody wallet Unity, people need to realize that data based on the 2012, 2016, and 2020 US elections doesn’t reveal consistent patterns for the crypto market concerning election results.

“Some have looked at the 2020 election and seen the price rise from $13,760 prior to the election on November 1, to $19,698 following the election on December 1, and immediately asserted it was the election that drove the increase,” said Toldeano to Coinjournal.

In reality, Toldeano added, several factors contributed to the price rise, including US stimulus payments, increasing interest from companies like MicroStrategy buying Bitcoin, and people seeing Bitcoin as a safe investment during the Covid pandemic.

“While the election happened during this time, it’s disingenuous to say it directly caused the price increase,” he said.

In the long-term, it won’t be the election that moves the crypto market, but “broader macroeconomic events, technological advancements, shifting market sentiment, and factors outside of the next President’s control,” Toldeano explained.

Pro-crypto

Former US President Donald Trump has come across as more crypto-friendly compared to Harris.

Back in May, Trump promised that, if he was re-elected, he’d free Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road creator. Ulbricht has already served 11 years in prison. In August, Trump also promised to make America the “crypto capital of the planet.”

In September, Trump became the first US president to use the Bitcoin network. He achieved this after sending a Bitcoin transaction at PubKey, a crypto-themed bar in New York ahead of his campaign rally in Long Island.

On the flip side, Harris has been muted about her stance on crypto despite saying her administration would support a crypto regulatory framework if she became the next US president.

“Incoming President Trump has the power to save crypto in the US where urgent change is needed,” said Jesper Johansen, CEO and founder of Northstake, an Ethereum staking marketplace, to Coinjournal.

“First amongst the new administration’s priorities should be to define staking as an opportunity for US investors,” Johansen continued. “The question still lingers: is staking a commodity or a security?”

Johansen said that $6 billion is sitting in Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which aren’t being staked, meaning investors are missing out on economic opportunities. According to Johansen, this could be one of the reasons why the uptake of Ethereum ETFs hasn’t been as popular as Bitcoin ETFs.

“Once these core issues have been solved, changes are needed within the SEC to ensure that crypto is viewed as a vehicle of innovation, rather than something to be feared,” he added.

Ahead of the election, Trump said he’d remove Gary Gensler, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); however, it remains to be seen whether this will happen because the SEC is an independent federal agency.

At the time of publishing, Bitcoin is trading at around $74,000.

The post Unity COO: It’s “disingenuous” to say Trump’s win directly caused Bitcoin price rise appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Bitcoin spiked to above $75,400, a new all-time high.
• This came as Donald Trump clinched the US presidency, beating Kamala Harris.

Bitcoin rose to new all-time high above $75,000 as world leaders began to congratulate Donald Trump as the winner and president-elect in the 2024 US election.

As Trump took a decisive lead with key wins in Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina, pushing his Electoral College votes past the 270 mark, Bitcoin price rocketed past $75k to hit a new all-time high above$75,400.

The flagship cryptocurrency has since retraced below $74k, but its sharp surge had over half a billion dollars liquidated. Per Coinglass, 124,734 traders saw their positions liquidated in the past 24 hours, with total liquidations at more than $557 million.

BTC liquidations stood at over $273 million, with more than 70% of that – $211 million – in shorts. Crypto is overall extremely bullish on a Trump presidency and analysts say dips in coming months will offer buy opportunities.

Trump’s pro-crypto stance

As the election cycle slowly comes to an end, key to the crypto industry is that the most “pro-crypto” candidate has won. World leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, India’s Narendra Modi and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, have all congratulated Trump on his victory.

Dear Donald and Melania Trump,

Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback!

Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.

This is a huge victory!

In true friendship,… pic.twitter.com/B54NSo2BMA

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) November 6, 2024

The US president-elect has also given a victory speech.

But while the market celebrates, what remains to be seen is whether he keeps the pledges he made during the campaign. These include two pledges for “day one” in office: fire US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler and commute the sentence of Ross Ulbright.

Last night, Donald Trump pledged to commute my sentence on day 1, if reelected. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

After 11 years in prison, it is hard to express how I feel at this moment. It is thanks to your undying support that I may get a second chance.

— Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) May 26, 2024

He also said he’d make the US the world’s BTC mining hub, support a strategic Bitcoin reserve effort and never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Despite these pledges, industry experts say a Trump White House will be more supportive of crypto in general. The number of pro-crypto Senate and House Representaives has also increased significantly to suggest the road to regulatory clarity has likely opened up.

 

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