Schlagwort: crypto business

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Michigan pension fund discloses $6.6 million in Bitcoin ETFs

  • The State of Michigan Retirement System holds $6.6 million in 21Shares’ ARKB ETF.
  • Michigan pension fund’s disclosure adds to growing number of US state pension funds buying spot Bitcoin ETFs.
  • BTC has surged to $68,000 again amid the Bitcoin 2024 conference.

The State of Michigan Retirement System has disclosed an investment of $6.6 million in ARKB, the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund by 21Shares.

Michigan’s state pension fund revealed the ETF investment in a 13-F form filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Per the filing, the pension fund holds 110,000 ARKB shares, whose equivalent value of $6.6 million represents about 0.004% of the $143 billion the state holds in its pension fund.

US state pension funds add Bitcoin ETFs

The SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs for trading in January 2024, opening the cryptocurrency to further adoption as institutional investors took notice.

Since then, spot BTC ETFs have accumulated over $59.4 billion in total net assets, with these accounting for about 4.59% of the total Bitcoin supply. According to SosoValue data, the spot Bitcoin ETFs market in the US has seen total net inflows of over $17.54 billion.

The growing exposure and adoption is what the State of Michigan’s pension fund suggests with their ETF purchase. However, this isn’t the first US state to dive into the crypto ETF space via Bitcoin.

In May this year, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board disclosed an investment of over $99 million in spot Bitcoin ETF. The filing with the SEC showed the outlay was via BlackRock’s IBIT ETF. 

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has also revealed plans to add Bitcoin ETFs to the city’s pension fund.

Bitcoin price surges

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is set to garner more attention this week amid the Bitcoin 2024 convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the conference on June 27, an event that will likely shed more light on his pro-crypto stance.

Bitcoin, on the other hand, has surged by more than 5% in the past 24 hours to near $68,000 as bulls eye a fresh weekend bounce. The BTC price could retest the $70,000 mark and possibly target the all-time peak seen in March if bulls maintain the upside momentum.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said in a post on X on Friday that Bitcoin’s bull market phase could last well into 2025.

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bitFlyer completes acquisition of FTX Japan

  • bitFlyer has acquired 100% of FTX Japan shares and will rebrand the platform by August 26, 2024.
  • The Tokyo-based crypto exchange will also launch a new crypto custody business via the new subsidiary.

Japanese crypto exchange bitFlyer Holdings has announced the acquisition of FTX Japan, according to an announcement published on July 26.

The Tokyo-based exchange noted that it had completed 100% acquisition of FTX Japan shares, a move that makes the FTX Japan business a “wholly-owned subsidiary” of bitFlyer.

“We are pleased to announce that bitFlyer Holdings has today completed the acquisition of 100% of the outstanding shares of FTX Japan,” the exchange posted on X.

bitFlyer to rebrand FTX Japan

Following the acquisition, bitFlyer will rebrand FTX Japan, with this expected by August 26, 2024. The deal will also see the new subsidiary unveil a new crypto custody business that will offer services with advanced security to institutional investors.

The bitFlyer team added in a statement published on Friday:

“By acquiring all shares and management rights of FTX Japan, we aim to achieve sustainable growth, leveraging synergies within the bitFlyer Group to develop new services, benefiting not only FTX Japan and its customers but all stakeholders of the bitFlyer Group.”

FTX Japan, initially under FTX Japan Holdings, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the collapse of FTX in November 2022.

CoinJournal reported bitFlyer’s plans to acquire FTX Japan in June.

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Jersey City mayor to invest pension fund in Bitcoin ETFs

  • Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop plans to invest pension funds in Bitcoin ETFs.
  • Fulop likens the investment to Wisconsin Pension Fund’s 2% crypto allocation.
  • SEC-approved Bitcoin ETFs see minimal adoption by major financial institutions.

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has announced plans to invest a portion of the city’s pension fund into Bitcoin ETFs.

Fulop, who has held office since 2013, revealed on July 25 that the city’s pension fund is in the process of updating its paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to include this new investment strategy.

Mayor Fulop believes in the potential of blockchain and crypto

In a statement shared on X, Mayor Fulop expressed his long-standing belief in the potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. He did not specify the exact percentage of the fund to be allocated to Bitcoin ETFs but indicated that it would be comparable to the 2% allocation made by the Wisconsin Pension Fund.

Fulop emphasized his confidence in the transformative power of blockchain, describing it as one of the most significant technological innovations since the internet.

Jersey City to join State of Wisconsin in investing in Bitcoin ETFs

Fulop’s move aligns Jersey City with the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, which reported exposure to spot Bitcoin ETFs issued by Grayscale and BlackRock in May. At that time, Wisconsin’s crypto investments amounted to $164 million out of its approximately $156 billion in assets.

The SEC’s approval in January for listing and trading spot Bitcoin ETFs on US exchanges has paved the way for such investments.

However, publicly-run pension funds have been slow to adopt this strategy, with only Wisconsin and Jersey City currently considering crypto ETFs.

Interestingly, Mayor Fulop did not mention any plans to invest in spot Ether ETFs, which began trading in the US on July 23.

Major financial institutions like Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase have made only minimal investments in spot Bitcoin ETFs, amounting to less than $1 million combined — a negligible fraction of their vast asset portfolios.

This initiative by Mayor Fulop marks a significant step for Jersey City, potentially setting a precedent for other municipalities to explore similar investments in the burgeoning field of cryptocurrency.

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Donald Trump raises $3 million in crypto in Q2 for his reelection campaign

  • Trump campaign raised $3M in crypto in Q2 2024, led by Winklevoss and Powell donations.
  • Trump 47 Committee reported over $118M raised in crypto and fiat for Q2 2024.
  • Kamala Harris raised $100M in 24 hours after Biden announced he won’t seek reelection.

Former President Donald Trump reelection campaign has garnered $3 million in digital asset donations for the second quarter of 2024 according to the published campaign financial data.

This development marks a notable change from Trump’s previous characterization of Bitcoin as a “scam” in 2021.

The fundraising boost comes as Donald Trump positions himself for another run at the White House, with the Trump 47 Committee reporting substantial contributions from high-profile figures in the cryptocurrency industry.

Winklevoss twins, Kraken co-founder, and former Messari CEO among donors

Leading the list of donors are Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, co-founders of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini. The twins collectively pledged $2 million in Bitcoin on June 20.

Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell followed suit with a commitment of $1 million in Ether (ETH) on June 28.

However, Federal Election Commission (FEC) guidelines necessitated partial refunds for donations exceeding the maximum individual contribution limit of $844,600. Consequently, the Winklevoss twins’ donation was partially refunded, and Powell’s contribution exceeded $844,000.

Among other notable contributors, Ryan Selkis, the former CEO of Messari, donated $50,000 in USD Coin. Selkis stepped down from his role on July 19 after a series of controversial tweets.

Stuart Alderoy, Ripple’s chief legal officer, also contributed $300,000 in XRP. While Alderoy has not publicly endorsed Trump, he has been a vocal critic of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under President Biden’s administration.

In addition to these significant contributions, smaller donations also played a role. These included $500 in Bitcoin from a homemaker in Alabama and various smaller amounts from retirees and self-employed individuals. Michael Belshe, CEO of BitGo, added $50,000 in BTC to the campaign’s coffers.

Donald Trump campaign committee raised $118M in Q2 2024

The Trump 47 Committee reported a total of $118 million raised in both cryptocurrency and fiat for Q2 2024, bringing the campaign’s total fundraising to over $142 million for the year.

The influx of funds comes at a crucial time as Donald Trump seeks to solidify his position within the Republican Party. His campaign has announced his participation in the upcoming Bitcoin Conference in Nashville on July 27, signaling his growing engagement with the crypto community.

Meanwhile, the political landscape saw a major shift as President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee. Harris’s campaign received a staggering $100 million in donations within 24 hours of Biden’s announcement.

As the 2024 election cycle intensifies, the influence of cryptocurrency donations is becoming increasingly apparent. Notably, the political action committee (PAC) Fairshake, funded by industry giants like Coinbase and Ripple, has raised approximately $169 million since its inception, supporting candidates and targeting anti-crypto politicians.

With Trump’s campaign gaining momentum and Harris emerging as a formidable contender, the role of digital assets in American politics continues to evolve, reflecting broader trends in financial and technological integration.

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Pepe, WIF, Bonk minted millionaires: will Poodlana be next?

  • Meme coins have accumulated over $50 billion in assets. 

  • The most popular tokens are the likes of Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Dogwifhat. 

  • Poodlana aims to be the next big thing in the meme coin industry.

Turns out, the easiest way of becoming a millionaire recently has not been investing in private equity or stocks. Instead, many people have turned a few thousands of dollars into millions by investing in meme coins like Pepe, Dogwifhat (WIF), and Bonk. 

Meme coins have soared

Data by CoinGecko shows that meme coins have a combined market cap of over $50 billion, making them bigger than some well-known companies like VICI Properties, Archer Daniels Midland, Lululemon, and Rockwell Automation.

Traditional meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu lead the market cap ranking followed by newer brands like Pepe, Bonk, Brett, Popcat, Cat in a dogs world, and Mog Coin. 

Pepe has a market cap of over $4.7 billion while WIF has a valuation of over $2.3 billion. Bonk, Brett, and Popcat are valued at more than $769 million.

While the real number of millionaires minted by these tokens is not known, analysts believe that it could be in the thousands. For example, an investor who bought WIF tokens worth $10,000 in January 2024 has turned the figure to over $370,000. 

Similarly, an investor who bought Popcat tokens worth $50,000 in January 2024 would now have $9.3 million since the token has gone parabolic.

These tokens have soared over time because of their popularity among the day trader community. They are mostly cheaper than big coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum, meaning that one can buy more. In Popcat’s case, the token was selling for just $0.0043 earlier this year while Bitcoin was trading at over $45,000. 

Poodlana could be the next big thing

A look at the meme coin industry shows several important themes. The industry started with dog-themed tokens, which are still the dominant players. These tokens include the likes of Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Floki.

Cat-themed tokens like Popcat and Cat in a dogs world have also done well. Political tokenslike MAGA and MAGA Hat have also minted millionaires this year.

Poodlana, an upcoming crypto token could be the next big thing in the crypto industry as evidenced by its token sale. The developers have raised over $2.8 million in funds in the past three weeks, making it the fastest-growing meme coin in the industry.

Poodlana aims to disrupt the dog-themed token in three ways. First, unlike Shiba Inu and Floki that are based on Ethereum, it will be a Solana token. Solana has emerged as an important player in the meme coin industry because of its low fees and faster speeds.

Second, Poodlana is based on Poodle, a well-known dog brand in Japan and other Asian countries. Finally, it has positioned itself as a fashion icon, comparing itself with well-known fashion brands like Hermes. 

Poodlana’s approach to its token sale is different from other cryptocurrencies. For one, its token sale will only go on for 30 days and its token will start trading 30 minutes after the token sale ends. Its pre-sale token price will continue rising during this time, meaning that earlier buyers will get more tokens. You can buy the Poodlana token here.

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