Bye Biden

The current U.S. president is on his way out the door, removing yet another one of Bitcoin’s price headwinds.

Beaver Bulletin · July 24, 2024 · By Andrew Throuvalis

1. U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he has dropped out of the 2024 Presidential race, making way for a new nominee to lead the Democratic Party. 

As a leader who never had a good word to say about Bitcoin, his departure is likely a positive sign for crypto at large.

Historically, Biden has proposed heavy and discouraging taxes on Bitcoin miners, blocked a resolution that would free banks to custody Bitcoin, and instead placed the “highest urgency” on researching and developing a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

He’s also the same man who appointed Gary Gensler – the current SEC chairman who blocked the approval of a U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF for years.

With Biden gone, all such efforts to stonewall Bitcoin’s growth and adoption may be interrupted.

The Bitcoin price initially dumped on the news, as it was still unclear who might replace Biden to potentially defeat Donald Trump – his pro-crypto opponent on the other side of the aisle.

It later rebounded, however, to over $68,000 USD as Biden and a slew of other Democrat voices united to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the new nominee – someone polling no better against Trump than Biden did.

Harris’s own views on Bitcoin remain shrouded in mystery, but other highly progressive politicians of her type tend to disfavor it due to exaggerated claims of its criminal usage and environmental harm.

Still, should she win the Presidency in November, she has an opportunity to pivot from Biden’s hostile stance.

Yet that doesn’t look likely – since Harris immediately received endorsement from Capitol Hill’s most ant-crypto politician, Elizabeth Warren.

2. Mt. Gox has sent out over 50,000 BTC belonging to customers. Blockchain data shows that the bankrupt exchange had 90,344 BTC left in its wallet as of Tuesday, down from 141,686 BTC from two weeks ago.

Starting July 16, crypto exchange Kraken confirmed that it had received coins – estimated at 48,641 BTC – from Mt. Gox, and would begin distributions to customers within “7-14 days.” 

Early this week, Mt. Gox also sent thousands of coins to Bitstamp, which has said it would begin distributions “as soon as possible.”

I noted earlier this month how most of the market selloff related to Mt. Gox was just speculative panic rather than the actual sale of funds. Only now have real distributions begun in earnest, and frankly, Bitcoin’s price is holding up quite well.

With the German government also finished selling its 50,000 BTC, the clouds hanging over Bitcoin’s price in July are just about clear.

3. DeFi Technologies (DEFI), a publicly traded fintech company in Canada, acquired another CAD $8.2 million in BTC.

The company announced late last week that it added 94.4 BTC to its treasury, bringing its total holdings up to 204.34 BTC.

Last month, the company made headlines after announcing that Bitcoin would be its “primary treasury reserve asset” and buying 110 BTC to get itself started.

The second purchase confirms that DeFi Technologies isn’t just talk, and didn’t get into Bitcoin just for a quick pump.

Instead, they’ve adopted Beaver’s outlook on Bitcoin: the ultimate savings technology for protecting your future wealth. The endgame of investing – not the beginning.

“Bitcoin remains a cornerstone of our treasury due to its established status as a store of value and hedge against inflation,” said DeFi Technologies after the buy.

Going by the Bitcoin ETFs, it looks like DeFi Technologies isn’t the only institution loading up on Bitcoin, either.

4. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, absorbed $526 million in net inflows on Monday. 

That’s IBIT’s highest daily inflow since Bitcoin’s all-time high in March and comes as Bitcoins steadily climb back towards $70,000 apiece.

It also follows roughly two weeks of consistent inflows into BlackRock’s fund of over $100 million per day. Rival funds like Fidelity’s FBTC have also seen steady flows, amassing $141 million on Friday. 

BlackRock’s fund now controls over 327,000 BTC worth $21.6 billion, according to Arkham Intelligence, despite first hitting the market this year.

Consistent inflows to the fund could be a sign that a long-awaited “second wave” of investment into the ETFs is around the corner, readying the market for another leg higher.

Stay humble,

Andrew