Bitcoin vs Bitcoin ETF

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The Blends Briefs
TL’DR: Here’s a sneak peek into today’s newsletter

• Investing in Bitcoin vs Bitcoin ETF

• Google to invest $2 Billion in Open AI competitor, Antrhopic

• Another $4.4 million in crypto stolen

• Solana is predicted to exceed $3K by 2030

• USDT Makes Up 80% of Brazil's 2023 Cryptocurrency Transactions

• All-time high in Turkey and Nigeria

• Dictionomics: Bitcoin ETF

A must-have
Investing in Bitcoin vs Bitcoin ETF

Investing in bitcoin directly means buying and holding the cryptocurrency in a digital wallet, while a bitcoin spot ETF is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of bitcoin. The main difference between the two is that investing in bitcoin directly gives the investor full ownership and control of their bitcoins, while investing in a bitcoin spot ETF gives the investor exposure to the price movements of bitcoin without actually owning the underlying asset.

Some advantages of investing in Bitcoin directly are that the investor can benefit from the potential long-term appreciation of Bitcoin, avoid paying management fees or commissions to a fund provider, and have more flexibility and security in managing their Bitcoins. Some disadvantages are that the investor has to deal with the technical and operational challenges of storing and transferring bitcoins, such as hacking, theft, or loss of private keys, and that the investor has to pay taxes on any capital gains or income from their bitcoins.

Some advantages of investing in a bitcoin spot ETF are that investors can access the bitcoin market through a regulated and transparent investment vehicle, avoid the hassle and risk of dealing with bitcoins directly, and diversify their portfolio with an alternative asset class. Some disadvantages are that the investor does not have full ownership or control of their bitcoins, has to pay fees or commissions to the fund provider, and may face tracking errors or liquidity issues with the ETF.

Global Biscuits

Google to invest $2 Billion in Open AI competitor, Antrhopic.
Google is elevating its investment in Anthropic, the developers of Claude AI, with a significant $2 billion commitment in two payments of $500 million and another of $1.5 billion. This investment marks a considerable increase from Google's previous $400 million funding in Anthropic. The move follows Amazon's commitment of $4 billion to Anthropic. The investment highlights the competitive AI landscape among tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. While Google and Amazon are supporting Anthropic, Microsoft continues its partnership with OpenAI. Additionally, Google launched its AI chatbot, Bard, challenging products like Claude AI and ChatGPT. Alongside investments, Google initiated the Digital Futures Project with a $20 million fund to support responsible AI development.

Another $4.4 million in crypto was stolen.
A recent LastPass data breach has led to a significant increase in financial losses, with a reported theft of $4.4 million in crypto from 80 compromised wallets affecting at least 25 victims. The breach, initially occurring in 2022, impacted LastPass, a password storage software, affecting long-term users who stored their crypto wallet keys or seeds within the platform. LastPass reported an attacker leveraged stolen information from an earlier breach to decrypt stored customer information and warned about the vulnerability of encrypted customer vault data if the attacker guesses the master password. Cybersecurity reports indicated over $35 million in cryptocurrency had been stolen from approximately 150 victims due to the breach. LastPass faced a class-action lawsuit in January 2023 for theft of around $53,000 in Bitcoin following the August 2022 breach. Security researchers recommended immediate migration of crypto assets for anyone who had stored wallet seeds or private keys in LastPass to mitigate the risks of further losses.

Solana is predicted to exceed $3K by 2030
The Crypto asset management firm VanEck projects a massive potential for Solana (SOL) by 2030, anticipating over a 10,000% price surge to $3,211.28, assuming the network onboards 100 million users and captures a portion of Ethereum's success. The estimates foresee the potential revenue for Solana investors to reach $8 billion. Despite its association with the bankrupt FTX, SOL has shown a robust 200% YTD growth and established significant partnerships with major players like Visa and Shopify to streamline payment processes. Solana also plays a crucial role as an ecosystem partner for the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, indicating its broader acceptance in the global financial landscape.

Tastes of the regions

USDT Makes Up 80% of Brazil's 2023 Cryptocurrency Transactions.
In Brazil, the adoption of the stablecoin Tether (USDT) has experienced significant growth, making up 80% of all cryptocurrency transactions in the country in 2023, according to data from Brazil's revenue service agency. As of mid-October, USDT transactions this year amounted to approximately $55 billion, nearly double the volume of Bitcoin transactions, which stood at around $30 billion. This surge in USDT adoption began in 2021, and it overtook Bitcoin's volume for the first time in July 2022. The Brazilian tax agency monitors cryptocurrency activities using AI and network analysis to detect suspicious transactions and track traders' locations. The government has also passed legislation to tax crypto investments held by citizens overseas, starting in 2024. This legislation will apply a 15% tax rate to earnings overseas between 6,000 and 50,000 reais ($10,000), while amounts above this threshold will face a 22.5% tax. Moreover, capital gains from crypto sales exceeding 35,000 reais ($7,000) per month are subject to a progressive tax bracket ranging from 15% to 22.50%.

All-time high in Turkey and Nigeria.
Bitcoin has surged to all-time highs against the Turkish lira and the Nigerian naira due to declining national fiat currencies and economic instability. Despite trading 50% below its peak in U.S. dollar terms, Bitcoin has reached record prices in Turkey at 960,000 lira (TRY) and 27.4 million in Nigeria (NGN). Local crypto exchanges saw a $40 million volume in Bitcoin trading on October 26, while the naira and lira have experienced a substantial decrease against the U.S. dollar in recent months. Inflation rates have risen significantly in both countries, with Nigeria experiencing a 25% increase and Turkey a staggering 51%, leading to a decline in the purchasing power of their fiat currencies and driving demand for Bitcoin as an alternative asset. Nigeria and Turkey have notable crypto adoption levels, with Nigeria ranked second in active DeFi and crypto trading users, according to Chainalysis, while Turkey ranked twelfth among twenty countries. The recent speculation regarding a potential spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval in the U.S. led to significant Bitcoin price jumps and heightened options activity, resulting in considerable volatility in the market.

Dictionomics
BITCOIN ETF

Bitcoin ETF is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of Bitcoin and allows investors to buy and sell shares of the fund on a regulated market. Bitcoin ETFs aim to provide exposure to Bitcoin without requiring investors to deal with the technical aspects of buying, storing and securing the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin ETFs are seen as a way to increase the adoption and liquidity of Bitcoin, as well as to reduce its volatility and regulatory risks.

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