Stay in the loop with our weekly crypto digest as we get you up to speed on the hottest trends and events in the crypto space.
Here’s what happened in crypto this week:
MicroStrategy Reports Q2 Net Loss But Boosts Bitcoin Holdings By 226,500 BTC
MicroStrategy released its second-quarter earnings report, noting a net loss of $102.6 million. The company, co-founded by Michael Saylor, reported a total revenue of $111.4 million and a loss of $200 million in the second quarter of 2024, compared to a loss of $26.7 million at the same time last year.
MicroStrategy also said it acquired an additional 169 BTC in July for $11.4 million, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 226,500 BTC, worth around $14.7 billion. Each Bitcoin was purchased at an average price of $36,821. Since the beginning of the second quarter of 2024, MicroStrategy said it had acquired 12,222 Bitcoin for $805.2 million.
Coinbase Reports $1.4 Billion In Revenue
In its Q2 2024 earnings report, Coinbase reported a massive surge in second-quarter transactional revenue to $780.9 million from $327.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Coinbase’s subscription and services revenue also rose to $780.9 million, compared with $327.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Consequently, total revenue was just shy of $1.5 billion, more than double last year’s second quarter. However, transaction revenue slipped from Q1, when it hit $1.076.7 billion, leading to total revenue of $1,637.6 billion.
Riot Platforms’ Bitcoin Production Drops 52%, Reports $84.4M Loss
Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms lost $84 million in Q2 due to the Bitcoin halving in April.
The halving cut the reward for Bitcoin miners in half, making it more costly to mine. Because of increased costs, Riot now spends 5X what it spent pre-halving to mine a single BTC.
However, despite the overall reduction in Bitcoin production across the industry, the company achieved $70.0 million in revenue for the quarter and sustained robust gross margins within its core Bitcoin mining operations.
OpenEden Introduces Tokenized US Treasury Bills Onto The XRP Ledger
Tokenization platform OpenEden has introduced tokenized US Treasury Bills (T-Bills) to the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
OpenEden’s TBILL tokens are invested in short-term US Treasury Bills and reverse repurchase agreements, ensuring the highest level of security and regulatory compliance.
Ripple Labs will allocate $10M to invest in OpenEden’s TBILL tokens as part of a larger fund.
Morgan Stanley Will Allow Advisors To Offer Bitcoin ETFs To Clients
According to a recent report by CNBC, Financial services giant Morgan Stanley is reportedly giving wealth advisors approval to offer Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to wealthy clients.
Anonymous sources familiar with the matter said that the firm’s vast network of approximately 15,000 financial advisors will be authorized to pitch shares in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund to suitable investors.
However, Morgan Stanley will only offer clients with a net worth of at least $1.5 million and the will to take speculative investing risks.
Japan’s Stock Market Suffers Worst Losses Since 1987
Japan’s stock market led Asian shares to plunge further on Monday, August 5th, as a global sell-off intensified following weak US jobs data. The Nikkei 225 fell 7.4% in afternoon trade, pushing its losses to 22% since early July. The index is poised to enter bear market territory, defined as a 20% pullback from recent highs.
With interest rates having been extremely low in Japan for decades, many investors have borrowed cash cheaply, converted it to other currencies, and invested in higher-yielding assets. Just last week, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised interest rates by 15 basis points (bps) to 0.25% in its second hike this year and announced plans to taper its bond buying. Traders expect more rate hikes later this year as the central bank tries to contain inflation.
However, the BoJ recently issued a statement indicating a pause in its rate hike program. BoJ deputy governor Shinichi Uchida said the central bank ‘needs to maintain monetary easing with the current policy interest rate for the time being.’
Taiwan’s Stock Market Suffers Worst Losses Since 1967
Taiwan stocks fell more than 8% on Monday, August 5th, as global markets tanked after poor US jobs data fuelling recession fears.
The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, dived 8.35%, or 1,807.21 points, to 19,830.88 by the close, with market-heavyweight chip giant TSMC off more than nine percent.
In addition, fears over the escalating conflict in the Middle East also prompted investors to dump their stocks.
Capula Management Discloses $500 Million Spot Bitcoin ETF Holdings
According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Europe’s fourth-largest hedge fund, Capula Investment Management, has reported owning $464 million in spot Bitcoin ETF shares.
Capula Investment Management owned shares in spot bitcoin ETFs issued by BlackRock and Fidelity. The filing reflected the firm’s holdings as of June 30th, the end of Q2.
Other large hedge funds have also reported owning spot bitcoin ETF shares, including Millennium Management, which reported earlier this year that it owned nearly $2 billion worth of shares in the crypto-based ETFs.
BlackRock Files For Options On Spot Ethereum ETFs
BlackRock and Nasdaq recently filed with the US SEC to introduce options for the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF. Options are financial instruments that give holders the right to buy or sell an asset, such as a stock or exchange-traded product, at a pre-determined price by a set date.
Nasdaq’s proposed rule change is aimed solely at ETHA, the only Ether ETF listed on Nasdaq’s electronic exchange. Other Ether ETFs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange’s (NYSE) Arca or the Cboe. The comments on the rule change proposal are due in 21 days.
Elon Musk Will Interview Donald Trump On August 12th
In a Truth Social post, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk will interview him on Monday night, August 12th.
The interview comes as the former president seeks a return to the White House. He runs against Vice President Kamala Harris, who announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
Musk confirmed that the interview will occur on his platform X (formerly Twitter). In January 2021, Trump was banned from Twitter during the final days of his term. Trump’s X account was reinstated on the platform the following year after Musk’s takeover.
Ripple Labs To Pay $125M, Officially Ending The SEC’s Lawsuit Against The Company
Judge Analisa Torres has ordered Ripple Labs to pay $125 million as a penalty in the long-drawn lawsuit with the US SEC.
This landmark ruling marks an end to months of speculation in which many predicted a settlement was imminent.
In addition to the fine, Judge Torres also imposed an injunction against future securities law violations. She said that while she does not judge that Ripple violated any laws after the SEC filed its lawsuit, the company may well “cross the line” in a section referring to Ripple’s “on-demand liquidity” offerings.
The SEC will likely appeal the July 2023 ruling now that the judge has imposed a sentence after the same judge denied the SEC’s motion for an interlocutory appeal last year.
Final Thoughts
So that’s it for this week!
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Have a fantastic week ahead!
