Bitcoin Hits $52K, Regains $1T Market Cap.

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

• Bitcoin Spot ETFs are outperforming Gold ETFs from 20 years ago.

• How the ‘Halving’ could impact Bitcoin?

• Bitcoin hits $52K, regains $1T market cap.

• Indonesia picks crypto-friendly team in Presidential Election.

• Australian police officer accused of stealing $4 Million worth of Bitcoin from drug dealer's wallet.

• Crypto crime reports in South Korea jumped 49% in 2023.

• Dictionomics:  Defi Trust Wallets

Global Biscuits

Bitcoin Spot ETFs are outperforming Gold ETFs from 20 years ago.
Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States have made a significant mark by surpassing $3 billion in net flows just one month after their launch, outpacing the historical performance of gold ETFs from two decades ago. Excluding Grayscale's fund, which has experienced outflows as investors cash out, Bitcoin ETF inflows are approaching $10 billion, according to BitMEX Research. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that it took nearly two years for the GLD ETF to absorb the same capital that Bitcoin ETFs have attracted in just 32 days since their launch. The recent surge in Bitcoin ETF inflows, totaling roughly $450 million per day, has been driven by slowing outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and investors rotating into newer and cheaper ETFs from BlackRock and Fidelity. Despite gold remaining the dominant commodity ETF with $90 billion in assets, Bitcoin ETFs now hold over $30 billion, signaling their growing prominence in the investment landscape.

How the ‘Halving’ could impact Bitcoin?
The upcoming Bitcoin halving event, expected in mid-April, reduces blockchain rewards paid to miners and aims to maintain Bitcoin's scarcity. Historically, halvings have generated optimism and positive price action due to increased scarcity and attention in the crypto space, attracting new investors. However, the magnitude of price increases from halvings may diminish over time as the market matures. Bitcoin mining faces immediate challenges with reduced block rewards, potentially leading to industry consolidation, especially impacting smaller miners. In the long term, miners will transition to relying solely on transaction fees once all 21 million Bitcoins are mined, requiring adaptation to sustain profitability. Despite Bitcoin's evolution into a store of value with regulated markets and ETFs, investors should temper expectations due to decreased volatility and changes in market dynamics since its inception in 2009.

Bitcoin hits $52K, regains $1T market cap.
Bitcoin surged to $52,000, reclaiming a $1 trillion market cap after 26 months, despite a brief dip below $50,000 due to U.S. inflation data. Altcoins like Cardano's ADA and dogecoin led the rebound, with Ether rising above $2,750. Options traders are bullish, eyeing $75,000 for Bitcoin, while some target $64,000 in the coming weeks, supported by demand from spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). BlackRock's IBIT saw nearly $500 million in inflows, contrasting with Genesis receiving court approval to sell $1.3 billion in GBTC holdings. Analysts anticipate BTC's uptrend to continue if it holds the $46,000 support level, though they caution about potential momentum slowdowns.

Tastes of the regions

Indonesia picks crypto-friendly team in Presidential Election.
Former defense minister Prabowo Subianto and his vice-presidential running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, have emerged victorious in Indonesia's presidential election, securing nearly 60% of votes according to "Quick Counts" by independent pollsters. Gibran, known for his pro-crypto stance, emphasized during the campaign the potential of crypto and blockchain to create job opportunities, particularly for the younger generation. The win suggests a continuation of Indonesia's crypto-friendly policies, initially established under the incumbent president, Joko Widodo, who is controversially Gibran's father. The government under Widodo has sought to leverage local interest in crypto to boost the economy, with more registered crypto investors than stock traders in the country. Prabowo and Gibran aim to tighten tax compliance supervision among stock and crypto traders while supporting the development of young experts in blockchain and cryptocurrency, signaling a potential continuation and expansion of crypto-friendly regulations in Indonesia.

Australian police officer accused of stealing $4 Million worth of Bitcoin from drug dealer's wallet.
An Australian police officer is facing charges for allegedly stealing 81 bitcoin, valued at AU$6.3 million ($4 million), from the Trezor wallet of a suspected illegal steroid dealer during a drug trafficking investigation named Operation Viridian on January 25, 2019. The officer, William Wheatley from the Australian Federal Police’s cyber crime division, was contacted for assistance with the seized wallet during the raid. Detectives later discovered that the bitcoin had been transferred to other addresses, leading them to suspect Wheatley's involvement. Despite initial struggles by police to trace the crypto due to resource limitations, they eventually linked the bitcoin to Wheatley through an IP address associated with the AFP headquarters. Wheatley allegedly transferred the bitcoin days after the seizure and deposited the funds into his bank accounts between 2019 and 2022. He faces charges of theft, dishonestly benefiting himself, and dealing with property suspected to be linked to crime, with his defense describing the case as circumstantial. Wheatley is scheduled to appear at a committal hearing this week at a Melbourne Magistrate Court.

Crypto crime reports in South Korea jumped 49% in 2023.
South Korean authorities recorded a significant increase of 48.8% in reports of suspicious transactions from cryptocurrency service providers in 2023 compared to the previous year, with 16,076 cases flagged for potential involvement in money laundering, market manipulation, or illegal drug trades, according to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The FIU attributed the rise to enhanced communication with local firms to encourage such reporting and noted a 90% increase in suspected crypto crime cases handed over to law enforcement for investigation. In response to the surge in crypto-related crimes, the FIU aims to establish a new system to immediately suspend suspicious virtual asset transactions before they are investigated by prosecutors, with preliminary research set to conclude by March. Additionally, the Korea Customs Office reported that approximately 88% of illegal foreign exchange transactions involved virtual assets, some using cryptocurrencies to conceal settlements and evade taxes. To address these challenges, a new team dedicated to tackling cryptocurrency crimes has been formed by the customs authority. Furthermore, the Financial Services Commission issued a warning that crypto criminals could face severe penalties, including life imprisonment, under the country's new law for the protection of crypto investors, effective from July 19.

Dictionomics: Defi Trust Wallets

Defi Trust wallets are a type of decentralized cryptocurrency wallets that allow users to store and manage their digital assets without relying on a third-party intermediary. For example, a user can use a Defi Trust wallet to store their Ether (ETH) and access various DApps on the Ethereum network. DApps are applications that run on a blockchain and offer various services such as lending, borrowing, trading, and investing. Defi Trust wallets enable users to interact with these DApps and protocols directly from their wallets, without having to trust or depend on a centralized entity. Defi Trust wallets are designed to provide users with more control, security, and transparency over their funds and transactions.

One of the most popular Defi Trust wallets is Trust Wallet, which was developed by Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Trust Wallet supports a wide range of digital assets, including Trust Wallet Token (TWT), which is the native utility token of the wallet. TWT can be used to access premium features, discounts, and rewards within the wallet ecosystem. According to CoinGecko, the fully diluted valuation of Trust Wallet (TWT) is $1,120,339,495 as of February 15, 2024. This is a statistical representation of the maximum market cap, assuming the maximum number of 1 Billion TWT tokens are in circulation today. 

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