Web 3 News
Coinbase COIN 0.00%↑ is launching a $15 million TV ad campaign aimed at promoting the advantages of using cryptocurrency in language that sports fans can understand, per Fox
Coinbase plans to air 3 different ads during the NBA playoffs across 4 different channels
The Binance executive who fled Nigerian custody has been arrested in Kenya and faces extradition to Nigeria, per decrypt
Binance founder CZ has apologized in a letter to the judge overseeing his case saying "there is no excuse for my failure to establish the necessary compliance controls at Binance", per CoinDesk
CZ said would be his only “encounter with the criminal justice system”
U.S. prosecutors are seeking a 36 month sentence for CZ who plead guilty to violating money laundering laws, per Reuters
There were 161 letters of support written on CZ's behalf for his money laundering case, per Court Listener
FTX to auction off their remaining Solana tokens
Mt. Gox creditors are reporting that they expect Mt. Gox will begin distributions of ~142,000 BTC, ~143,000 BCH and ¥69 billion (~$440 million) to creditors on or before October 31, 2024
South Korean crypto exchange Upbit accounts for >80% of South Korea's trading volume and is now a top 5 centralized exchange in the world by trading volume, just behind Coinbase $COIN, per Bloomberg
Japanese public company Metaplanet has now bought ¥1 billion ($6.25 million) worth of Bitcoin, representing ~30% of their market cap
The Hong Kong Bitcoin and Ethereum Spot ETFs will begin trading on April 30th, per Bloomberg
The United Arab Emirates currently leads the Middle East in crypto adoption with ~72% of locals investing in Bitcoin
Swiss National Bank Chairman: "We have not yet decided that we want to invest in Bitcoin"
Venezuela is exploring using cryptocurrency for oil sales, per Reuters
The IRS has proposed a new 1099-DA tax form which would ask filers to disclose if they have an “unhosted wallet” and require users to reveal more KYC information when using them
The FBI has sent out a warning to Americans against using non-KYC digital assets and crypto money transmitting services
The DOJ has made arrests of the founders and CEO of Bitcoin wallet Samouri Wallet and has charged them with conspiracy to commit money laundering, per CoinDesk
The DTCC says that starting next Tuesday ETFs that have Bitcoin or any other crypto assets will have zero collateral value for loans
2 SEC lawyers have now resigned following a federal judge sanctioning and sharply rebuking them for “gross abuse” in the Debt Box digital asset case, per Bloomberg
The judge cited false statements and misrepresentations, as well as a lack of evidence in the case
Consensys (makers of MetaMask wallet) have sued the SEC seeking:
A ruling that Ethereum is not a security
An injunction for SEC to leave ETH developers alone
A ruling that MetaMask is not a broker dealer
Consensys received a Wells notice from the SEC earlier in the month in regards to its MetaMask wallet, and they chose to sue the regulator first
The SEC is seeking $5.3 billion from Terraform Labs and founder Do Kwon, per Unchained Crypto
The SEC is ordering the Kwon and the company to pay the disgorgement and civil penalties after a jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts earlier this month
The Blockchain Association and the Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas have filed a lawsuit against the SEC over the SEC's definition of a dealer
They say in expanding the term “dealer,” the SEC refused to engage with commenters’ questions concerning how the rule would apply to digital assets
The State of Ohio has officially introduced a bill to protect “fundamental Bitcoin rights”, per Satoshi Action Fund including:
Right to buy/sell Bitcoin
Right to mine Bitcoin
Right to run a full node
Right to self-custody digital assets
Ohio is the 16th state this year to do something like this
A bill to protect "fundamental Bitcoin rights" has passed in the House and Senate in the state of Oklahoma, and will head to the Governor to be signed into law, per Satoshi Action Fund
The SPDR Gold ETF GLD 0.00%↑ took 800+ days since inception to achieve the same AUM as BlackRock’s iShares spot Bitcoin ETF IBIT 0.00%↑ in the first 70 days
IBIT 0.00%↑'s daily positive inflow streak ended at 71 days this week there was $0 in net flows into the spot Bitcoin ETF
The largest custodian bank in the world, BNY Mellon, has now disclosed Bitcoin ETF exposure through BlackRock's IBIT 0.00%↑ and Grayscale's GBTC 0.00%↑, per an SEC filing
The SEC has delayed their decision and opened the comment period on whether or not to allow options trading on spot Bitcoin ETFs
One of Satoshi Nakamoto’s first collaborators, Martti Malmi, disclosed never before seen emails with Satoshi including ideas like:
There is no need to promote "anonymity"
Bitcoin as an investment
Bitcoin proof of work consumes less energy than the traditional finance
POW is the only way to do a P2P e-cash w/o 3rd party
13 years ago this week, Satoshi Nakamoto announced that they "moved on to other things", and stepped away from Bitcoin, never to be heard from again
Despite the halving last week, Bitcoin has reached a new all-time high hash rate
Since the Bitcoin halving, more than 8,000 Runes etch have been created on Bitcoin, resulting in more than 1.4 million Runes-related transactions
Runes transactions account for 40%-70% of the total number of transactions post-halving
Bitcoin daily transactions have reached a new all-time high this week for a single day
Bitcoin is on track for its first negative monthly close since August 2023, per Barchart
The first Satoshi of Bitcoin's fourth halving block sold via auction for 33.3 BTC worth over $2.1 million
Block SQ 0.00%↑ has announced they are building a Bitcoin mining rig
Square SQ 0.00%↑ announced that sellers will now be able to automatically convert 1-10% of their daily sales into bitcoin with Cash App
Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑ revealed they sold none of their ~$711 million worth of Bitcoin as of the end of Q1 2024
Bitcoin layer-2 Merlin Chain has seen their TVL (total valued locked) grow by ~2,000% over the last 30 days, per Blockworks
Magic Eden currently has the highest market share (42%) of trading volume in the NFT and Ordinal space
U.S. issuers and other firms expect the SEC to deny their applications to launch spot Ethereum ETFs after discouraging meetings with the agency in recent weeks, per Reuters
Crypto Punk #635 sold for 4,000 $ETH (worth ~$12,405,000) this week
Yuga Labs (makers of Bored Ape NFTs) has "lost its way" says their CEO as they revealed layoffs, per decrypt
Meme coin project Shiba Inu $SHIB has raised $12 million to build a privacy-focused blockchain $TREAT
Franklin Templeton has tokenized a $380 million treasuries fund on the Polygon $MATIC and Stellar $XLM blockchains, offering shares as $BENJI tokens
Each token represents a share of the $FOBXX and is tradable on the Polygon and Stellar blockchains
Stablecoins are on track to have 100 million holder addresses in the next few months
Worldcoin $WLD, the eyeball-scanning crypto project co-founded by Sam Altman, is looking to team up with major names in tech, including OpenAI, per Bloomberg
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he is calling for the entire U.S. budget to be put on a blockchain so that every American can view every budget item in the entire budget at any time 24 hours a day, per decrypt
Stripe has announced it will bring back crypto payments starting with $USDC
Pantera Capital is seeking a $1 billion capital raise for a crypto fund, per Bloomberg
Macroeconomic News
Coffee prices have reached a new all-time high, per Barchart
The U.S. currently produces more oil than any other country in the world, per Apollo
Gold trading volume in China is 5x the volume in 2023, per Bloomberg
China's U.S. Treasury holdings have fallen to their lowest level in 15 years, per the U.S. Department of the Treasury
South Korea is preparing a new monitoring system to detect illegal stock short selling, per Reuters
Russia to seize $440 million from JPMorgan JPM 0.00%↑
UBS is planning to cut ~8% of its Swiss positions over the next 5 years following its acquisition of Credit Suisse, starting in June
~50-60% of former Credit Suisse staff will be laid off within the next 5 months
Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑ has cut prices in a number of major markets including China and Germany following price cuts in the U.S., per Reuters
U.S. natural gas consumption set both annual and monthly records during 2023, per the EIA
Yields on 10-year Treasuries have been above the S&P 500 earnings yield for 3 straight weeks, the first time this has happened since 2002, per Jonestrading
The cost to service U.S. Federal debt is now a record high of more than 12% of U.S. government spending, per Apollo
U.S. debt currently sits at ~$34.6 trillion
Since 1968, it takes an average of 8 months from the last rate increase for the Fed to start cutting rates, per Apollo
With the last rate hike being in July 2023, it has now been 10 months out with no rate cuts
The initial reading of the U.S. Q1 2024 GDP came in at 1.6%, below expectations of 2.5%
If this stands on future readings, it will end a 6-quarter streak of 2%+ GDP growth
March PCE inflation, "the Fed's preferred inflation measure", rose to 2.7%, above expectations of 2.6%
Core PCE inflation came in at 2.8%, above expectations of 2.6%
CPI, PPI and PCE inflation have now rose month over month for 2 straight months
The FCC has voted to restore net neutrality, per the Verge
Net neutrality is the idea that internet service providers should not be able to discriminate against different kinds of content by blocking or throttling connection speeds or offering paid prioritization for different internet traffic
The FTC has banned non-compete agreements, per MorePerfectUnion
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has issued a final rule making it illegal for bosses to make workers sign noncompete contracts in any scenario, and voiding nearly all existing noncompete contracts
It is expected to be challenged in court
The DOL has raised the overtime threshold, per MorePerfectUnion
The new rule says that everyone who makes < $58,656 and works 40+ hours a week must be paid time-and-a-half
The July 1 increase updates the present annual salary threshold of $35,568 from 2019
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is polling participants on the possibility of being able to trade stocks 24/7, per FT
A small group of funds has accumulated a large enough short position in the Treasury market that they could destabilize the broader financial system during times of stress, per the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
A record 36% of S&P 500 companies mentioned AI during earnings in Q4 2023, per Goldman Sachs
The percentage of companies that have defaulted on their debt more than 1 time has reached its 2nd highest level since 2008, per the S&P Global Ratings
Stock purchasing by retail investors has fallen to the lowest level since late 2020, per Barchart
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 posted their largest weekly gains since November
The Magnificent 7 companies now hold a record of over $300 billion in cash, per FT
Since 2022, the Magnificent 7's free cash flow has increased by 45%
Apple AAPL 0.00%↑ is close to an agreement with FIFA that would give Apple global TV rights for a major new tournament that is a World Cup-style competition for top teams that will be played for the first time next summer, per NY Times
Apple is developing their own AI server processor using TSMC's (Taiwan Semiconductor) 3nm process and are targeting mass production by the second half of 2025, per MacRumours
Amazon AMZN 0.00%↑ is shutting down their drone delivery service in California, per the Verge
Google GOOGL 0.00%↑ has declared their first ever dividend of 20 cents per share
Oracle ORCL 0.00%↑ is moving their world headquarters to Nashville, TN, per CNBC
Credit card delinquency rates at Discover Financial DFS 0.00%↑, the 6th largest credit card issuer in the U.S. has reached 2008 levels, per Reventure
Credit card delinquency rates from many major issuers are above pre-pandemic levels including Discover, Wells Fargo WFC 0.00%↑, Bank of America BAC 0.00%↑, and Chase JPM 0.00%↑
Wall Street firms including Goldman Sachs GS 0.00%↑ and JPMorgan Chase JPM 0.00%↑ have helped push New York City’s return-to-office rate to almost 80% of its pre-pandemic levels, per Bloomberg
Philadelphia-based First Republic Bank ($6 billion in assets) has failed and been seized by regulators, per WSJ
They failed largely due to their mortgage business
The FDIC estimates it will cost ~$667 million to cover for the failure
SunPower SPWR 0.00%↑ to cut 1,000 jobs which is ~30% of their total workforce
UPS 0.00%↑ earnings:
Revenue is down 5.3% year over year
Operating profit down 36.5% year over year
Whirlpool WHR 0.00%↑ to cut ~1,000 jobs globally
Lumen Technologies LUMN 0.00%↑ is laying off ~660 employees
Bristol Myers Squibb BMY 0.00%↑ to lay off ~2,200 employees
Clothing retailer Express has filed for bankruptcy
They will close ~95 stores, and ~2,600 jobs could be impacted
Red Lobster is seeking a buyer as it looks to avoid bankruptcy filing, per CNBC
Red Lobster has had multiple owners over the last 10 years after Darden Restaurants divested the chain in 2014
Southwest Airlines LUV 0.00%↑ will cease operations at 4 airports (Bellingham, Cozumel, Houston, and Syracuse) and will cut ~2,000 jobs
President Joe Biden has signed the TikTok divestment-or-ban bill into law
TikTok's CEO said they plan to challenge the law in court
As it currently stands, ByteDance would need to sell or divest TikTok within the next year
Elon Musk's xAI startup has closed a $6 billion funding round, per Bloomberg
X (formerly Twitter) has now secured a Money Transmitter License in 25 states
Fisker FSR 0.00%↑ told employees that 4 automakers are in talks to buy the EV startup, per BI
Stellantis STLA 0.00%↑ is laying off hundreds at their Ram 1500 plant in suburban Detroit
General Motors GM 0.00%↑ has ended their OnStar Smart Driver program after customers complained it violated their privacy, per CNBC
Toyota is moving ahead with plans to manufacture and sell more EVs in the U.S. by investing $1.4 billion at a plant in Indiana, per Bloomberg
Honda Motors will spend ~$11 billion to build out their EV supply chain in Canada, with billions of dollars of financial aid from governments, per Bloomberg
Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑ announced on their earnings call that they are moving up their timeline to make more affordable vehicle models
Rates on new car loans are now at their highest level in 23 years at 8%, per BofA BAC 0.00%↑
The subprime auto loan delinquency rate is ~4% and stands near 2008 levels
The average car body shop repair has now surpassed $1,000, per NADA
California banks have the most exposure to Commercial Real Estate (CRE), per Bloomberg
There were a record number of build-to-rent homes completed in 2023, per ResiClub
U.S. real estate:
96% of mortgages in the U.S. are fixed rate
38.5% of homeowners have no mortgage at all
~40% of homeowners would not be able to afford the home they currently live in if they were to buy it today, per Redfin
The supply of new single-family homes for sale has reached ~477,000, the highest since 2008, and the highest ever outside of the period of 2005-2008, per the Fed
U.S mortgage applications have fallen to the lowest level since 1995, per Reventure
~61% of American workers are currently living paycheck to paycheck, per the Financial Technology Association
Savings rates in the U.S. have fallen from 3.5% to 3.2%, the lowest since November 2022
A record high 22% of Americans are planning a vacation to a foreign country within the next 6 months, per Apollo
Nominal credit card balances set a new recent high and card utilization rates have also risen as consumers stretched credit lines further, per Bloomberg
Inflation is the number one polling issue for 18-29 year olds across all demographics, per Harvard
The cost of day care and preschool increased 4.4% in March year over year, which outpaced the overall inflation rate, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics
The U.S. birth rate has fallen to an all-time low, per the CDC
Disclosures:
I am not a financial advisor, and whatever I post should not be taken as financial advice. It is for education and entertainment purposes only. Anything I post does not constitute an offer to sell or trade, a solicitation to buy, or recommendation for any security, cryptocurrency, digital asset, or related product, nor does it constitute an offer to provide investment advice or other related services by myself or Minerva Digital Asset Education, LLC. I and/or Minerva Digital Asset Education, LLC may have a financial investment with the cryptocurrencies/digital assets discussed. In preparing the content created, no individual financial or investment needs of the viewer have been considered nor is any financial or investment advice being offered. Any views expressed in the posted content were prepared based upon the information available at the time such views were written. Changed, new, and/or additional information could cause such views to change.