90% of Bitcoin's 21 million total supply has already been mined
When Bitcoin launched in 2009, its developer, Satoshi, envisioned that there would be 21 million coins, which now forms the total expected supply of Bitcoin. These coins were to be gradually released until February 2140 via mining on the network.
The rationale for pegging Bitcoin to a fixed supply was to create a mechanism to consistently drive the price of Bitcoin. However, as Bitcoin gained more popularity, there was a surge in the number of miners, leading to the faster than anticipated mining of Bitcoin.
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WisdomTree amends Bitcoin ETF application, naming US Bank as custodian
New York-based asset manager WisdomTree has amended its filing for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the Securities and Exchange Commission to name U.S. Bank as its custodian.
In a Wednesday filing, WisdomTree listed U.S. Bank National Association as the custodian for shares of its Bitcoin (BTC) trust. The filing is an amendment to its March 11 registration for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund submitted to the SEC prior to U.S. Bank offering crypto custody services for institutional investors.
On Dec. 2, the SEC rejected a proposed rule change from the Cboe BZX Exchange to list and trade shares of WisdomTree’s Bitcoin Trust. It’s unclear if the recent amendment is aimed at resetting the clock on a new spot Bitcoin ETF application, given WisdomTree waited 265 days between its initial filing and the SEC rejection. A separate ETF application for WisdomTree’s Ethereum Trust submitted to the SEC in May is still under review.
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Valkyrie launches ETF to track Bitcoin balance sheet stocks
A new exchange-traded fund (ETF) from crypto manager Valkyrie invests in companies with big bitcoin bags, according to a regulatory filing published Wednesday.
Balance Sheet Opportunities ETF, trading as VBB on Nasdaq, is long on MicroStrategy, Square, Tesla and other crypto industry bulls. An actively managed thematic ETF, it steers clear of bitcoin futures, sticking only to equities that invest in the coin.
The ETF is the latest example of mainstream financial instruments with a crypto tilt and comes at a time when about $70 billion worth of bitcoin is sitting on corporate balance sheets.
VBB probably won’t command the billion-dollar inflows that U.S. bitcoin futures ETFs garnered in their watershed November debut, Steve McClurg, Valkyrie’s chief investment officer, told CoinDesk. Still, he said the more traditional structure has a “bigger market” to tap.
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Bitcoin sheds 'dumb money' as retail buys most BTC since March 2020 crash
Bitcoin (BTC) is back in fashion for regular investors at $48,000 as data confirms the biggest buying spree since March 2020.
In a tweet on Dec. 14, statistician Willy Woo eyed a key trend that had previously been absent from the Bitcoin market for over 18 months.
Retail adds BTC like it’s March 2020. After crashing to $3,600 in March 2020, BTC/USD was a hot pick for those able and willing to invest — and now, that phenomenon is back.
The changes in balances for wallets holding 1 BTC or less — typically suggesting smallscale investors — have reached their highest since March 2020.
While the circumstances remain the same — coronavirus fears and macro market jitters over central bank policy — the major difference at the end of 2021 is that Bitcoin costs $48,000, not $3,600.
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Why is Bitcoin dropping if it's an 'inflation hedge'?
This morning, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released updated numbers for its inflation-tracking Consumer Price Index (CPI), showing U.S. inflation has hit a 6.8% annualized rate. That adds up to the highest year-over-year inflation rate since 1982, which is decidedly not great. Among other implications, the number is another nail in the coffin of U.S. President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” social spending package.
And asset markets? Wall Street had already priced in 6.7% inflation, so the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been pretty much stable as of this writing. Gold saw a modest but noticeable morning bump, while gold futures have seen a choppy but decent runup over the last six months as inflation fears gestated.
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