2024-10-14 09:19

October could be a harder month for the miners as the network hashrate is currently 11% higher while the bitcoin price is up only about 5%, the report said. Bitcoin mining profitability dropped in September, the bank said. Jefferies said October could be a harder month for the sector as the hashrate has risen 11%, more than offsetting the 5% increase in the bitcoin price. North American listed mining companies mined a larger share of the network in September than August, the report said. Bitcoin (BTC) mining profitability fell in September from the month before, as the average price of the world's largest cryptocurrency was broadly unchanged while the network hashrate rose about 1.7%, Jefferies said in a research report Sunday. The investment bank noted that average daily revenue per exahash fell by 2.6% from the month previous. "October is currently poised to be a harder month with BTC prices only up around 5%, while the network hashrate up +11% more than offsets that growth," analysts Jonathan Petersen and Joe Dickstein wrote. North American listed mining companies mined a larger share of bitcoin in September than August, and comprised 22.2% of the total network, up from 19.9% in August, the report said. This was driven in part by better uptime for these firms who benefitted from lower temperatures. Marathon Digital (MARA) mined the largest number of bitcoin, at 705 tokens, followed by CleanSpark (CLSK), which mined 493, the bank said. Marathon's installed hashrate remained the largest in the sector, and was 36.9 exahashes per second (EH/s) at the end of September, the report noted. Riot Platforms (RIOT) was second with 28.2 (EH/s). Jefferies noted that the "bitcoin election" is coming to its conclusion, and said that irrespective of who wins "we could see incrementally favorable policies toward the industry." https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/10/14/bitcoin-mining-profitability-fell-in-september-jefferies-says/

2024-10-14 09:06

Samara has mandated Pareto Securities to manage bond issuance, which aims to increase bitcoin reserves and expand its investment portfolio. The bond proceeds will fund acquisitions in alternative investment funds and increase Samara's bitcoin position. The 30 million euro ($32.78 million) bond will be listed on both the Oslo and Frankfurt stock exchanges with a minimum subscription of $109,000. Listed-investment firm Samara Asset Group (SRAG) will issue an up to 30 million euro ($32.78 million) bond to buy bitcoin (BTC). Samara has mandated Pareto Securities as the sole manager to organize multiple fixed-income investor meetings. The bond would be a senior secured Nordic bond and the proceeds will be used to expand Samara's diversified portfolio, which includes buying additional stakes in alternative investment funds and increasing its bitcoin holdings. Bitcoin serves as Samara's primary treasury reserve asset. The bond would be issued by Samara Asset Group p.l.c. with Samara Asset Holdings Ltd., a special purpose vehicle (SPV), serving as the bond guarantor. The bond will be listed on the Oslo and Frankfurt stock exchanges, with a minimum subscription requirement of 100,000 euros. Patrik Lowry, CEO of Samara, emphasized the importance of the bond, saying, "“The proceeds will allow Samara to further expand and solidify its already robust balance sheet as we diversify into new emerging technologies through new fund investments. With Bitcoin as our primary treasury reserve asset, we also enhance our liquidity position with bond proceeds.”. Lowry also posted on X and commented, "We are forever #HODL'ers and believe technology best drives humanity forward!" Samara Asset Group's share price was up over 6% at 2.04 euros on Monday. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/10/14/samara-asset-group-plans-up-to-328m-bond-to-expand-bitcoin-holdings/

2024-10-14 08:26

Unlocks increase the total available supply of a certain token but don’t necessarily hit the open market immediately. Approximately $500 million in various cryptocurrencies are scheduled for unlock, potentially impacting their market due to increased supply. The unlocked tokens will be distributed to team members and investors for ecosystem development, with some, like WLD, facing a 7% supply increase. Historical data suggests that significant price changes might occur on average two weeks after the unlock. Nearly $500 million worth of various tokens will be freed to investors, teams, and ecosystem advisors this week, potentially creating downward pressure on prices for these digital assets. Over $80 million in Worldcoin's WLD, $51 million in Arbitrum's ARB, and nearly $40 million each of Eigenlayer's EIGEN and Axis Infinity's AXS are set to be released in the next seven days, TokenUnlocks data shows. The 37 million WLD emission, representing the rate at which new tokens are created over time, will increase the token supply by 7%. The tokens will be distributed to team members, advisors, and investors. Initially, these early contributors' WLD tokens were intended to be subject to a three-year lock-up schedule, which was extended to a five-year schedule in July. Layer 2 network Taiko's $18 million unlock will be the most by supply at 15% of its total. Of the total $500 million in unlocks, the following tokens with a market value of $200 million will be released as a "cliff" - or a colloquial term for a large number of tokens released in one go. Solana's SOL will see $80 million worth unlocked as part of an ongoing "linear" plan, where tokens are emitted and absorbed by the market. Unlocks increase the total available supply of a certain token but don’t necessarily hit the open market immediately. The anticipation of investors or traders expecting token receivers to sell their newly unlocked tokens can lead to a preemptive sell-off, reducing the token price before or as the tokens are unlocked. A 2023 research from TheTie suggests most losses from unlocks typically arise after an average of two weeks from the event. However, if the market perceives the unlock as a sign of project progress or the tokens are expected to be used for staking governance or other utility purposes that do not involve immediate selling, the price might remain stable or increase due to positive sentiment. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/10/14/altcoin-selling-pressure-looms-as-500m-in-token-unlocks-scheduled-this-week/

2024-10-14 08:18

A potential Trump presidency could bode well for one of BTC's top nemesis, the U.S. dollar. A potential Trump administration is unlikely to devalue the dollar deliberately, Trump's go-to man on economics Scott Bessent told Financial Times. Trump's inflationary-imports tariffs plan will be eventually watered down, Bessent added. A new U.S. government potentially headed by Donald Trump would support a strong dollar in line with the U.S.' multi-decade policy, Trump's go-to-economic advisor Scott Bessent told Financial Times (FT) on Sunday, downplaying concerns of dollar devaluation under Trump's presidency. With Election Day fast approaching on Nov. 5, Democrat Kamala Harris is losing ground to supposedly pro-crypto Republican Donald Trump in Polymarket's prediction markets. Early this year, Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, called for a weaker dollar to boost manufacturing. However, Bessent told FT that he doesn't expect Trump to deliberately devalue the USD, stand by the USD as a "reserve currency." Devaluation refers to deliberately depreciating the home currency's exchange rate to boost exports. "The reserve currency can go up and down based on the market. I believe that if you have good economic policies, you're naturally going to have a strong dollar," Bessent added, cautioning he is not speaking for Trump. In other words, the potential Trump presidency, though expected to be positive for digital assets, could be characterized by a resilient dollar, which often caps gains in riskier dollar-denominated assets like cryptocurrencies. South Carolina-based Bessent is the founder of George Soros-seeded global macro investment firm Key Square Group. He is known for making big bucks by betting against the Japanese yen while working as a chief investment officer at Soros' family office from 2011-2015. Trump has recently described Bessent as "one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street" who is "respected by everybody" and a "nice-looking guy." The ex-Soros star is purportedly on Trump's shortlist for the Treasury Secretary position. Bessent also defended Trump's intention to impose across-the-board inflationary tariffs of up to 20% on all imported goods, saying these "extreme positions" will be eventually watered down during discussions with trading partners. "My general view is that at the end of the day, he's a free trader," Bessent told FT. "It's escalate to de-escalate." During the interview, Bessent said Trump is a businessman who understands the economy while calling Trump's rival Kamala Harris "an economic illiterate and her running mate Tim Walz "twice as illiterate." https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/10/14/trumps-new-administration-would-support-strong-dollar-economic-advisor-says/

2024-10-14 07:03

The launch of Monochrome Ethereum ETF follows the crypto investment firm's spot bitcoin ETF, which went live in August. Australia will launch a spot ether ETF following the launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF in August. The ETF will allow in-kind and cash redemptions. Monochrome will launch Australia’s first spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Tuesday. The Monochrome Ethereum ETF (IETH), will debut at 10:00 local time. The ether fund created by Australian crypto investment firm, Monochrome, comes after the launch of its spot bitcoin ETF in August. As of October 10, the bitcoin ETF fund held 165 bitcoin (BTC) worth just over $10 million. Similar to the spot crypto ETFs in Hong Kong, IETH will allow both cash and in-kind applications and redemptions for investors, meaning that investors can buy into and cash out of the fund with ether. As of October 10, Hong Kong’s spot bitcoin and ether ETFs hold net assets of $262.97 million and $35.07 million, respectively. By contrast, U.S.-listed ETFs held bitcoin worth $58.66 billion ether worth $6.74 billion, according to SoSoValue. Several countries have approved listings of spot crypto ETFs after the launch of the funds in the U.S. in January, though all have been significantly smaller in scale than their U.S. counterparts. Last week, South Korea’s news1 also reported that the country’s Financial Services Commission would consider allowing crypto ETFs. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/10/14/australias-first-spot-ether-etf-to-go-live-on-tuesday/

2024-10-14 06:10

Crypto majors moved higher Monday while memecoins led weekend action. PLUS: China stimulus announcements fell short of expectations, but traders’ hopes remain high. Bitcoin climbed above $64,000, with other major cryptocurrencies like ether and Solana's SOL also gaining, although XRP and BNB remained unchanged. Over $100 million in short positions were liquidated due to the price jump. Memecoins like Mog and SPX6900 saw significant gains amidst discussions of a crypto "supercycle." Broader market sentiment leaned towards buying due to positive economic indicators from both China and the U.S., with U.S. equities reaching new highs. Bitcoin (BTC) jumped above $64,000 in Asian hours Monday on the back of renewed hopes of a China stimulus and increased demand in certain bitcoin-based assets, leading a crypto majors move higher. BTC added 2% in the past 24 hours, data shows, with majors ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL rising 3%. XRP and BNB Chain’s BNB remained flat. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid fund tracking the biggest tokens, rose 2.19%. Over $100 million in shorts - or bets against higher prices - were liquidated on the move, CoinGlass data shows. Some memecoins dominated weekend price action as talks of a “supercycle” continued among traders. Mog (MOG) extended seven-day gains to nearly 20%, while SPX6900 - a parody of the S&P500 index - extended gains to 135%. A CoinGecko tracker shows Bitcoin-based memecoins and Runes - a protocol for assets on the blockchain - jumped as much as 10% over the weekend to extended weekly gains above 100% but pared gains in the past 24 hours. Interest in memecoins comes amid low market volatility in more serious crypto sectors, such as layer-2s or storage, and rising negative sentiment around tokens backed by venture capital funds – which are increasingly perceived as overpriced and a bad bet for retail traders. BTC’s move higher came as Chinese stocks ended the morning session higher, buoyed by renewed stimulus hopes. Per Bloomberg, finance Minister Lan Fo’an promised new steps to support the property sector and hinted at greater government borrowing at a Saturday briefing. However, the announcement fell short of expectations and suggested a low probability of continued outflows into China-linked assets. “Bitcoin prices did manage to jump this morning to above $64K as Chinese equities rebounded off the weekend disappointments, so risk sentiment will likely remain in 'buy everything' mode until further notice,” Augustine Fan, head of insights at SOFA, told CoinDesk in a Telegram message. “A strong BTC inflow on Friday might be a positive sign of things to come as we head into the final weeks of the election campaign, but patience will likely be required before we can make new ATHs anytime soon,” Fan said, referring to the U.S. elections scheduled for November 5. U.S. markets saw relatively firmer data last week, with both CPI and PPI on the stronger side. Markets were initially confused by the data impact but ultimately decided that the 'core' inflation trend remained intact, and the curve steepening move continued. U.S. equities made new all-time highs, with high beta names and the dollar breaking out further, as markets continue to expect an over 85% chance of a 25 basis point cut by the Federal Reserve in December. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/10/14/bitcoin-begins-the-week-on-a-high-jumps-above-64k/