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Bitcoin miner profits drop as halving, power costs weigh — JPMorgan
Bitcoin miners are struggling to maintain profits as the Bitcoin network’s April halving and rising power costs weigh on miner production, according to a new JPMorgan report. The second quarter of 2023 “was a historic quarter, as Bitcoin miners navigated the 4th Bitcoin halving event, which cut the number of daily coins mined (and all else equal, the daily revenue opportunity) in half, resulting in lower margins and profitability across our coverage universe,” according to the report, written by analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce.
Bitcoin’s weekend rally fizzles under $64K — Pro traders take neutral positions
Bitcoin BTC tickers down $59,090 gained 6.2% on Aug. 23, pushing its price to levels unseen in three weeks, and has since maintained the $63,000 support level. Despite this positive price movement, BTC derivatives traders appear to be relatively unmoved, indicating a lingering skepticism regarding the sustainability of this trend. Bitcoin to stock market correlation in check Some market participants attributed the ongoing macroeconomic factors as the primary drivers for the crypto market's behavior, with investors eagerly awaiting the United States Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates in September.
Analysts come unglued ahead of Nvidia earnings call — $10T within 5 years
Tech giant Nvidia will hold its second-quarter earnings call on Aug. 28, and analysts are having a field day discussing the potential implications. With investors expecting to see profits of more than double year-over-year as well as record-breaking revenue, many stock market insiders are calling it the event of the year. Nvidia’s stock has been on a rocket to the moon for the past two years. In 2022, at its lowest, the company’s stocks dropped to around $11 a share, giving it a market capitalization of approximately $250 billion. In the mid-2024 market, that would place it slightly beneath Toyota in cap value. As of Aug. 23, Nvidia is trading at $128.52. This makes it the second most valuable company in the world by market cap ($3.166 trillion), trailing only Apple ($3.443 trillion).
PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin hits $1B market cap
PayPal’s US dollar-pegged stablecoin, PayPal USD, has surpassed $1 billion in total market capitalization, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Launched in 2023, PayPal USD PYUSD tickers down $1.00 is backed 1:1 by US dollars and is issued by Paxos Trust Company, a US-regulated crypto custodian. It competes with other regulated, dollar-backed stablecoins such as Circle Internet Financial’s USD Coin USDC tickers down $1.00 . “The shift toward digital currencies requires a stable instrument that is both digitally native and easily connected to fiat currency like the US dollar,” said Dan Schulman, PayPal’s president and CEO, in a 2023 statement.
Bitwise Bitcoin ETF to absorb $120M Osprey Bitcoin Trust
The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) will soon add an additional $120 million of Bitcoin to its assets under management after acquiring the assets of the Osprey Bitcoin Trust (OBTC). The deal, revealed in an Aug. 27 joint statement between Bitwise Asset Management and Osprey Funds, has seen the two enter into an asset purchase agreement. Part of the transaction will see OBTC unitholders receive shares of BITB as they liquidate their shares of OBTC. Subject to closing conditions, it is expected to close “later this year.” Osprey Funds, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, began trading its OBTC on the OTC market in February 2021 and has been available to United States investors with a management fee of 0.49%.
HashKey adds AVA and LINK trading for Hong Kong retail investors
Retail cryptocurrency investors in Hong Kong have expanded investment options with the approval of the listing of the Avalanche and Chainlink coins on Hashkey, one of only two fully licensed exchanges in the jurisdiction. Until now, retail offerings in Hong Kong were limited to Bitcoin and Ether. Professional investors — individuals with a portfolio worth at least 8 million Hong Kong dollars (slightly more than $1 million) or representatives of financial institutions — have a much wider selection of cryptocurrencies to choose from.
Crypto advocates criticize SEC notice to OpenSea
Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea has received a Wells notice from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A South Korean crypto entrepreneur, accused of stealing $826 million from crypto investors, was stabbed in the neck by an alleged victim during a court hearing. Meanwhile, The Open Network has been pushed offline, with a new memecoin blamed for the outage.