iShares vaulted to $38B in bitcoin options open interest and into the top-20 U.S. ETFs by AUM, as flows accelerated. Binance packaged trading, custody, and compliance into a turnkey institutional stack and FalconX debuted 24/7 OTC options in BTC, ETH, SOL, and HYPE. On the credit side, Coinbase exceeded $1B in bitcoin-backed loans on an alternative blockchain, while Lava announced a $17m raise. Tether added ~$1B of BTC to reserves, Metaplanet acquired 5,288 BTC, and Strategy lifted holdings to 640,031 BTC.
Bitcoin Update
Bitcoin jumped over 12% on the week, and briefly touched a new all time high of $125,620.
Early Riders Media
Michael, Brian, and Liam discuss the latest in capital formation, market structure, and bitcoin adoption on this week's podcast.
You can find all our episodes on our podcast website as well as listen on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify.
Industry & Institutional Updates
Binance initiated a turn-key “crypto-as-a-service” stack for traditional institutions, bundling trading, custody, and compliance in one package.
BlackRock’s iShares claimed the top spot for open interest on bitcoin options at $38 billion, overtaking Deribit. The ETF also entered the top 20 U.S. ETFs by assets, with its biggest inflow since mid-August.
Tether added roughly $1B of bitcoin to its reserves, bringing their total bitcoin holdings to $9.7 billion, as the supply of USDT neared $175 billion.
Coinbase surpassed $1B in bitcoin-backed loans outstanding via Morpho.
Metaplanet acquired 5,288 bitcoin, lifting holdings to 30,823 total bitcoin.
Strategy purchased 196 bitcoin, bringing holdings to 640,031 bitcoin at a ~$73,983 average cost.
FalconX launched 24/7 OTC crypto options trading with BTC, ETH, SOL and HYPE at launch.
OnePay (Walmart-backed) planned to launch bitcoin and ether trading and custody on mobile later this year, expanding its retail fintech offering.
Sygnum unveiled a Bitcoin Yield Fund, targeting institution-grade bitcoin income strategies.
Lava raised $17M through an extended Series A for it bitcoin lending platform.
Regulatory Updates
U.S. Treasury issued new guidance clarifying that unrealized gains on digital asset holdings will not be subject to the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT), sparing companies like Strategy from large unrealized tax bills.
U.K. Government seeks to retain ~$7B in seized bitcoin, while delivering back to defrauded citizens only the dollar amount at the time of fraud between 2015-2017.
New York City tested $10,000-$12,000 basic-income disbursements in USDC on base, evaluating cost and speed benefits.
Chart of the Week
Luke Gromen highlighted the 'Debasement Trade' since COVID, detailing the relative flat performance of most equities when priced in gold, and capital destruction of all asset classes when priced in bitcoin.
Find this valuable? Please forward this to someone in your network who may find benefit from the information.
Early Riders is the first bitcoin-denominated venture firm, raising, holding, investing, and returning capital in bitcoin. Learn more about how to get involved www.earlyriders.com.
Make sure to keep up with all our research at earlyriders.com/research.
Subscribe to Keep Reading
Get the full piece, plus all the latest Early Riders research, letters, and the Open Range weekly, delivered directly to your inbox.
Subscribing is free, and this device stays unlocked once you do.