The Running Of The Bulls 🐂🪨⛔️

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1/12/24: The Running Of The Bulls 🐂🪨⛔️Valko

Specs’ Insights

Bitcoin ETFs Start With a Bang: $4.5 Billion on Day One of Trading - Decrypt

BlackRock stole the Bitcoin ETF show, but Grayscale also won big. The crypto-native fund enjoyed its best day of trading ever.

⌐◪-◪ → Looks like the spot Bitcoin ETF’s first day was a success, with over $4.5B in trading volume. Additionally, Bitcoin futures ETF volumes hit an all-time high of $2B yesterday, after a previous high of $1.4B.

Here are a few other things that happened, which frankly shouldn't come as much of a surprise. It all makes sense.

BlackRock's ETF dominated day one, with $1B in volume, accounting for roughly 20% of the total volume. Bitwise saw $238M in volume, previously holding the title for the lowest ETF fees at 0.20%, but was overtaken by Franklin Templeton, who slashed their fees to 0.19%.

We also observed a drop in Coinbase, MicroStrategy, and Bitcoin mining stocks, where investors may be locking in profits and shifting to BTC ETFs. JPMorgan believes BTC ETFs will attract up to $36B in rotational capital before the dust settles on the ETF launches.

Overall, it was a very strong day with lots of traction and attention from the media.

⌐◪-◪ → BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, is very bullish on Bitcoin and crypto, with a fairly open mind relative to his peers, like Jamie Dimon, who hate crypto.

More specifically, Larry said, "I’m a believer in #cryptocurrency as an asset class, not a currency." While this might not be the same grand vision crypto natives have, it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

Larry also said he sees value in having a spot Ethereum ETF - which means we can most definitely expect BlackRock to help drive that across the finish line later this year.It’s really refreshing to have a leader on Wall Street stand up for crypto and help pave the way for the future of finance and the free world.

Investment Giant Vanguard Blocks Clients From Buying Bitcoin ETFs

An attempt to purchase BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) through Vanguard failed.

⌐◪-◪ → Okay, now that I've hit you with the good news, it's time for some bad news.

Two financial giants, Vanguard and Merrill Lynch, are blocking their users from trading Bitcoin ETFs. I reckon there are more too, these are just the big ones. Eric Balchunas explains why in this video.

While this is definitely disappointing, it's not a surprise either. It's naive to think everyone was going to play friendly and not put up a fight.

Fortunately, the free market is doing its thing, and tons of customers are already closing their accounts. Love that.

Meanwhile, Robinhood has already listed all 11 spot BTC ETFs in their app, staying true to their mission of democratizing finance for all.

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