In today’s edition, we’re taking a break from DeFi and decentralized protocols to focus on TradFi.
With COIN and MSTR making moves, more eyes are on these stocks as proxies to BTC and crypto in general.
BTC miners are also seeing some traction, providing an interesting option for those who want to play the Bitcoin halving specifically.
Stay alert, stay informed ⬇
Crypto Market Update:
- Top Gainer (24H) in the top 50 mcap: Toncoin $TON increased in price by 1.6%.
- Top Loser (24H) in the top 50 mcap: Cosmos $ATOM is down -8.5%.
- The total crypto market cap has seen a decrease by 2.3% to stand at $1.36T.
- BTC dominance in the market is currently at 52.9%.
- The median gas price on Ethereum over the past 24 hours has been 32 gwei.
News:
- Bitcoin User Reports $3M Hack Linked to Record Fee: A Bitcoin user claims a hacker stole 139 BTC, linked to a record $3.1 million transaction fee.
- ARK Invest Sells $5M in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Shares: ARK Invest offloads over 163,000 shares in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, capitalizing on the narrowing discount to net asset value and banking $5 million.
- U.K. Embraces Tokenized Funds: A U.K. Technology Working Group report sets the stage for the implementation of tokenized funds, emphasizing regulatory clarity.
- New Binance CEO Focuses on User Commitment: Following a $4.3 billion DOJ settlement, Richard Teng, the new CEO of Binance, emphasizes user service and regulatory collaboration.
BTC Halving
The $BTC halving is drawing closer and closer; it is currently slated to happen on April 17, 2024.
With this in mind along with an expected Bitcoin ETF, many are beginning to place their bets on BTC, and related assets.
Diminishing returns following each halving can be observed
The last new bitcoin will be mined sometime around the year 2140
BTC Miners
The same way stocks like COIN can benefit from increased crypto volumes and attention, Bitcoin miners have the same beta to Bitcoin.
It’s worth mentioning that there is an ecosystem of projects built on top of Bitcoin that have gained traction this year, such as Ordinals ($ORDI) and Stacks ($STX).
Miners may appear as a simpler way to bet on the Bitcoin halving than diving into onchain options.
Gold miners are an established way that traders and investors use as a proxy to play Gold.
While crypto natives might see $ETH, $SOL, etc. as the crypto equivalent way to get downstream exposure to $BTC, non-natives may not.
Miners are also available on exchanges like Robinhood, Webull, etc. which is significant as creating a crypto exchange account may be a barrier to entry for the crypto curious.
In contrast, Robinhood delisted $SOL, $MATIC, and $ADA.
Marathon Digital Holdings ($MARA)
Marketcap: $2.51B
Price: $11.27
Marathon Digital, originally Marathon Patent Group, was founded in 2010. In 2021, they adjusted course by changing their name to Marathon Digital Holdings and purchasing BTC along with BTC miners.
Riot Blockchain ($RIOT)
Marketcap: $2.44B
Price: $11.83
Riot Blockchain started off as a biotech company. The company made its pivot to crypto in 2017, starting a series of acquisitions of crypto exchanges, mining companies, and blockchain-related businesses.
CleanSpark ($CLSK)
Marketcap: $0.85B
Price: $5.57
Cleanspark is headquartered in Nevada, with 5 mining facilities in Georgia and one in New York. The company owns and operates these facilities which “primarily run on low-carbon power”, hence the name ‘Cleanspark’.
Microstrategy ($MSTR)
Marketcap: $6.98B
Price: $495.30
While it’s not a miner, Microstrategy is still definitely worth a mention as a US-based company that directly holds $BTC.
Micheal Saylor remains a key figurehead in support of Bitcoin.
It’s been disclosed that Microstrategy holds 158,245 BTC, worth ~$5.85B.
Coinbase ($COIN)
Marketcap: $25.68B
Price: $119.90
Some may see crypto stocks like Coinbase ($COIN) as a way to gain exposure to the crypto market at large.
COIN may be appealing for several reasons:
The stock is easily accessible to trade on Robinhood, among other brokers.
Coinbase stands to gain from institutional interest in crypto, which appears to be increasing.
It provides exposure to the market at large
Similarly valued coins include $BNB, $XRP, and $SOL.
All 3 of these assets have their own specific pros and cons, and cannot be used as a barometer of the market at large the same way COIN potentially could.
With CZ stepping down as CEO of Binance, some may see more room for Coinbase to take marketshare.
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