September — Week #4

🤑 Markets

1. MicroStrategy Outshines Tech Giants with Bitcoin: MicroStrategy has outperformed leading S&P 500 companies, including Nvidia and Arista Networks, with a 1,071% growth driven by its strategic investment in Bitcoin, despite recent volatility in BTC prices[4,. The company's "buy the dip" strategy and substantial Bitcoin holdings, now totaling 226,500 BTC, have been key factors in its exceptional performance and resilience in the market.
2. Bitcoin Miner Sends BTC to Kraken: An early Bitcoin miner, inactive since shortly after Bitcoin's inception, has reactivated and transferred 10 BTC to the Kraken exchange. This activity involves coins that have been dormant for over a decade, highlighting a rare movement of old, untouched Bitcoin holdings.
3. U.S. Bitcoin ETFs Accumulate $390.7 Million Daily: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced net inflows of $390.7 million over four days, with $136 million on September 24 alone, marking four consecutive days of inflows. BlackRock's IBIT led the inflows with $98.8 million.
4. Bitcoin's Long-Term Holders Set Record High: Bitcoin's long-term holders are adding to their portfolios, reflecting increased confidence in the coin, which could sustain and drive the current bull rally as indicators like declining exchange reserves and rising network activity support bullish sentiment. Despite some signs of potential price correction, such as a high fear and greed index, the overall market sentiment and holder behavior suggest a positive outlook for Bitcoin's price, potentially pushing it higher.
5. Bitcoin's $5.8B Options Expiry Sparks Market Swings: A quarterly options expiry for Bitcoin, valued at $5.8 billion, is set to occur on Friday at 08:00 UTC, which may lead to market volatility according to Deribit. Deribit's CEO, Luuk Strijers, estimated that around 20% of the expiring BTC options will be profitable.

🧑‍⚖️ Policy & Regulation

1. SEC Approves Options Trading for BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the listing and trading of options on BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) on Nasdaq, allowing for physically settled options with American-style exercise and setting position limits at 25,000 contracts to address market manipulation and risk concerns. This approval expands the range of Bitcoin-linked financial products, providing investors with additional tools to manage their exposure to Bitcoin price movements and potentially attracting more institutional and retail investors to the market.
2. Coinbase Launches cbBTC, Tokenized Bitcoin Product: Coinbase has launched cbBTC, a tokenized Bitcoin product, amid controversy surrounding BitGo's Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), with cbBTC becoming the third-largest wrapped BTC token in just one week since its launch. Concerns about cbBTC's terms of service were addressed by Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer, who clarified that customers would be fully reimbursed for lost Bitcoin, although the company would not be liable for external losses from complex trades or leveraged positions.

⚙️ Technology

1. Leveraging Bitcoin's Security for Trustless Transfers: Bitcoin's robust security model, including the use of Bitcoin scripts and covenants, can be leveraged to enable secure and trustless asset transfers across different blockchain networks. This approach aims to enhance cross-chain security by utilizing the reliable and decentralized nature of the Bitcoin blockchain.

🌈 Adoption

1. Arthur Hayes Funds Another Bitcoin Developer: Arthur Hayes's family office, Maelstrom, has awarded a 1-year grant to Bitcoin developer Jon Atack, enabling him to work full-time on Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs). This grant is part of Maelstrom's program to support full-time developers, aiming to strengthen the Bitcoin ecosystem by encouraging more dedicated work on its core infrastructure.
2. PayPal Expands Crypto Services for US Merchants: PayPal has expanded its crypto services, allowing US merchants to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies, directly from their PayPal accounts. This service enables users to manage their cryptocurrency transactions, including buying, selling, and transferring, with added security measures to prevent unauthorized transfers and potential reimbursement for such incidents.

📅 Bitcoin Events Coming Up

Bitcoin Meetup - Central Jakarta

🗓️ When: October 1, 2024
📍 Where: Central Jakarta, Indonesia
This is a casual, in-person Bitcoin meetup in Jakarta. The event is designed for informal discussions about the future of money, decentralized finance, and other related topics. It welcomes a diverse range of attendees, including seasoned Bitcoin enthusiasts, libertarian advocates, curious investors, crypto founders, developers, and anyone interested in learning more about Bitcoin. There will be no presentations or pitches, just casual chats and the opportunity to meet like-minded people who share a passion for sound money and innovative tech.

Bitcoin Oasis

🗓️ When: October 4-5, 2024
📍 Where: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Bitcoin Oasis is an event that brings together Bitcoin enthusiasts and industry experts to discuss the latest trends, technologies, and opportunities within the Bitcoin ecosystem. The event includes networking opportunities, presentations, and discussions tailored to the Middle East and North Africa region.

Future of Bitcoin Conference 2024

🗓️ When: October 5, 2024
📍 Where: Antwerp, Belgium
The Future of Bitcoin Conference 2024 is a focused event dedicated to discussing the future and current state of Bitcoin. While specific details on speakers and topics are not provided in the sources, it is expected to be a comprehensive event where attendees can gain insights from industry experts and network with other Bitcoin enthusiasts.

Bitcoin Amsterdam 2024

🗓️ When: October 9-10, 2024
📍 Where: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bitcoin Amsterdam 2024 is an event that gathers the Bitcoin community to discuss various aspects of the technology and its ecosystem. The conference includes presentations, networking opportunities, and discussions on the latest developments in Bitcoin. Specific speakers and topics are to be announced.

Bitcoin MENA

🗓️ When: October 9-10, 2024
📍 Where: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Bitcoin MENA is an event focused on the Bitcoin ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa region. It provides a platform for networking, learning, and discussing the future of Bitcoin, with a focus on regional perspectives and opportunities.

Unconfiscatable 2024

🗓️ When: October 2024
📍 Where: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Unconfiscatable 2024 is a conference that brings together high-profile speakers from the Bitcoin world to discuss various aspects of the technology, including scalability, privacy, finance, investing, trading, laws, and regulation. The event focuses on learning, teaching, and networking with fellow Bitcoin enthusiasts while also highlighting the differences between Bitcoin and other blockchains that do not use Proof of Work.

Amplify 2024 – Bitcoin & Digital Infrastructure Summit

🗓️ When: October 2024
📍 Where: Columbus, OH, USA
Amplify 2024 is the annual summit for the Ohio Blockchain Council, aimed at championing Ohio as a leader in Bitcoin and digital infrastructure transformation. The summit provides opportunities to network with industry leaders and experts from companies developing Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining technologies. It covers a broad range of topics related to Bitcoin and digital infrastructure.

TABConf 2024 (The Atlanta Bitcoin Conference)

🗓️ When: October 24-25, 2024
📍 Where: Atlanta, GA, USA
TABConf 2024 brings together the best and brightest minds in the Bitcoin world to share insights, knowledge, and experience about the latest developments. The conference is suitable for both seasoned core developers and newcomers, offering a platform to connect with like-minded individuals and learn from experts. Speakers and specific topics are to be announced.

🤔🤔 Wanna learn more? Check out the BLOCKTALK!