BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has reportedly overtaken the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to become the largest ETF tracking Bitcoin’s price.
As of May 28, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw inflows of $102.5 million, while GBTC experienced an outflow of $105 million.
This inflow increased BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF holdings to 288,670 Bitcoin.
In comparison, Grayscale now holds 287,450 Bitcoin, a significant drop from the 620,000 Bitcoin it held at the time of its conversion in January, according to data from HODL15Capital and the Apollo Bitcoin Tracker.
A Bloomberg report on May 29, based on its compiled data, indicated that BlackRock’s fund held $19.68 billion in Bitcoin as of Tuesday, slightly more than Grayscale’s $19.65 billion. Fidelity’s ETF offering was further behind at $11.1 billion.
“There is a new king in the land of Bitcoin ETFs & its BlackRock,” HODL15Capital noted.
Both ETFs launched in January, and since then, BlackRock’s ETF has dominated inflows among all 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Bitcoin’s price rose by 1.1% on the day, reaching $68,550, as reported by CoinMarketCap.
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Regulatory filings reveal that in the first quarter, BlackRock’s income and bond-focused funds acquired shares of its spot Bitcoin ETF.
BlackRock’s Strategic Income Opportunities Fund (BSIIX) invested $3.56 million in the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), while its Strategic Global Bond Fund (MAWIX) bought $485,000 worth, according to May 28 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Globally, spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold over one million Bitcoin valued at more than $68 billion, which represents approximately 5.10% of the circulating Bitcoin supply.
Attention is also focused on the potential launch of spot Ether ETFs, which analysts predict could begin trading as early as mid-June.
These ETFs are currently undergoing the S-1 approval process, the final step before they can start trading on their respective stock exchanges.
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Technology company Nvidia‘s (NVDA) outperformance of Bitcoin over the past ten years is not expected to continue into the next decade, according to several crypto executives.
“Near zero chance of Nvidia outperforming Bitcoin over the next 10 years,” argued Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten in a May 24 X post.
“I’d pick Bitcoin over Nvidia for the next ten years, personally,” investment strategist Lyn Alden stated, after pointing out on X that NVDA “is one of the few assets that has outperformed Bitcoin over a 10-year time period.”
From May 23, 2014, to May 23, 2024, Nvidia — known for producing chips used to train and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) models — achieved a return of 21,558%, while Bitcoin returned 13,048%, as per Statmuse data.
Over the last three months, following the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on January 10, Bitcoin has slightly outperformed Nvidia with returns of 31.7% compared to Nvidia’s 30.2%.
The Kobeissi Letter highlighted that a $10,000 investment in Nvidia stock in 1999 would be worth $25.3 million today, as mentioned in a May 24 X post.
READ MORE: Bitcoin and Ether Dip 3.5% Amid Institutional ETF Approval and Market Uncertainty
Daniel Sempere Pico speculated whether Nvidia was seen as an even riskier investment back in 2014 when both Bitcoin and AI were less mainstream.
“Don’t know if the whole AI thing could have been predicted by anyone back in 2014, but there were some people who could already see Bitcoin’s potential,” Pico explained.
“If we were to go back to 2014, I wonder which one we’d think is more risky and less obvious to achieve such incredible returns,” he added.
However, the co-founder of 21st.capital, known as “Sina” on X, argued that financial assets generally have broader network effects than AI as more people begin to use them.
“There are no network effects in AI. There are multiple layers of network effects in money,” Sina argued in a May 24 post.
While there are optimistic predictions for Bitcoin’s performance over the next 24 months, some experts also warn of potential significant corrections.
On March 4, Cointelegraph reported that former physics professor Giovanni Santostasi, using his “Power Law” model, predicts that Bitcoin could peak at $210,000 in January 2026 before falling to as low as $60,000 afterward.
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The Argentine government is collaborating with El Salvador to gain insights from its experience with Bitcoin adoption and other cryptocurrency activities.
The National Securities Commission (CNV) of Argentina met with El Salvador’s National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD) to discuss crypto adoption and regulation in both countries, according to an official CNV announcement.
On May 23, CNV president Roberto Silva, vice president Patricia Boedo, and CNAD president Juan Carlos Reyes reviewed El Salvador’s experience as the first nation to make Bitcoin legal tender in September 2021.
The meeting focused on exchanging views and strategies regarding cryptocurrency use in global economies, with particular attention to El Salvador’s Bitcoin implementation.
CNV president Silva noted that El Salvador is not only a global pioneer in Bitcoin adoption but also a leader in the wider cryptocurrency sector.
He emphasized the value of the insights provided by CNAD, which manages and regulates El Salvador’s digital asset market. Silva stated:
READ MORE: Bitcoin White Paper Reuploaded to Bitcoin.org After Craig Wright’s Failed Satoshi Claim
“We want to strengthen ties with the Republic of El Salvador, and therefore, we are going to explore the possibility of signing collaboration agreements with them.”
CNV vice president Boedo, who visited El Salvador in March for discussions on market development, highlighted the importance of El Salvador’s expertise in the crypto industry.
“Argentina is a pioneer in technology and the National Securities Commission understands and wants to work with the industry efficiently and create appropriate regulation,” stated El Salvador’s official Reyes.
This development comes as Argentina advances in regulating its local cryptocurrency market, having implemented registration requirements for crypto firms in April.
The country has been increasingly embracing cryptocurrency since the election of Bitcoin-friendly politician Javier Milei as president in late 2023.
Additionally, in late 2023, Argentina’s foreign affairs minister, Diana Mondino, announced that the government was preparing a decree to legalize the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for payments under specific conditions.
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Technology company Nvidia‘s (NVDA) outperformance of Bitcoin over the past ten years is not expected to continue into the next decade, according to several crypto executives.
“Near zero chance of Nvidia outperforming Bitcoin over the next 10 years,” argued Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten in a May 24 X post.
“I’d pick Bitcoin over Nvidia for the next ten years, personally,” investment strategist Lyn Alden stated, after pointing out on X that NVDA “is one of the few assets that has outperformed Bitcoin over a 10-year time period.”
From May 23, 2014, to May 23, 2024, Nvidia — known for producing chips used to train and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) models — achieved a return of 21,558%, while Bitcoin returned 13,048%, as per Statmuse data.
Over the last three months, following the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on January 10, Bitcoin has slightly outperformed Nvidia with returns of 31.7% compared to Nvidia’s 30.2%.
The Kobeissi Letter highlighted that a $10,000 investment in Nvidia stock in 1999 would be worth $25.3 million today, as mentioned in a May 24 X post.
READ MORE: Bitcoin and Ether Dip 3.5% Amid Institutional ETF Approval and Market Uncertainty
Daniel Sempere Pico speculated whether Nvidia was seen as an even riskier investment back in 2014 when both Bitcoin and AI were less mainstream.
“Don’t know if the whole AI thing could have been predicted by anyone back in 2014, but there were some people who could already see Bitcoin’s potential,” Pico explained.
“If we were to go back to 2014, I wonder which one we’d think is more risky and less obvious to achieve such incredible returns,” he added.
However, the co-founder of 21st.capital, known as “Sina” on X, argued that financial assets generally have broader network effects than AI as more people begin to use them.
“There are no network effects in AI. There are multiple layers of network effects in money,” Sina argued in a May 24 post.
While there are optimistic predictions for Bitcoin’s performance over the next 24 months, some experts also warn of potential significant corrections.
On March 4, Cointelegraph reported that former physics professor Giovanni Santostasi, using his “Power Law” model, predicts that Bitcoin could peak at $210,000 in January 2026 before falling to as low as $60,000 afterward.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
The Bitcoin white paper has been reuploaded to the Bitcoin.org website following Craig Wright’s failed court attempt to prove he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the protocol’s pseudonymous creator.
Hennadii Stepanov, the maintainer of Bitcoin.org, announced the return of the Bitcoin white paper by sharing a link to the PDF on platform X.
Due to legal constraints, Bitcoin.org had to restrict access to the white paper for UK-based users.
Instead, it displayed a poignant quote from Satoshi Nakamoto: “It takes advantage of the nature of information being easy to spread but hard to stifle.”
In 2021, Wright successfully sued Cobra, the anonymous group running the website, for copyright infringement, leading to the removal of the white paper PDF.
Wright won by default after Cobra chose not to defend the case, resulting in Cobra paying £35,000 ($40,100) of Wright’s legal fees. Wright had filed for U.S. copyright registration for the Bitcoin white paper in 2019.
In 2023, Wright sued 13 Bitcoin Core developers and companies including Blockstream, Coinbase, and Block, for copyright violations related to the Bitcoin white paper, its file format, and database rights to the Bitcoin blockchain.
The Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund responded, emphasizing the trend of abusive lawsuits against prominent Bitcoin contributors.
READ MORE: SEC Approves Spot Ether ETFs: A Different Path from Bitcoin ETFs
According to the defense fund, these lawsuits deter development due to the associated time, stress, expenses, and legal risks.
However, Wright’s copyright win is now invalid, as his claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto and authoring the white paper have been decisively debunked.
The detailed ruling came from a case brought against Wright by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a coalition of prominent companies seeking to prevent Wright from asserting ownership over Bitcoin’s core intellectual property.
COPA alleged that Wright engaged in an elaborate scheme of forgery and deceit to fabricate evidence backing his claim of being Nakamoto.
Consequently, Craig Wright’s assets, worth 6.7 million British pounds ($8.4 million), were frozen after a UK court approved a plan to prevent him from evading court expenses.
The Bitcoin white paper is now subject to an MIT open-source license, allowing anyone to reuse and modify the code for any purpose.
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Bitcoin stayed near key price levels into the May 26 weekly close, with weekend trading centering around $69,000.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed a strong performance by BTC/USD, which briefly surpassed $69,500 before consolidating.
Despite some market predictions for a weekend upside, resistance zones kept gains in check.
“As price is ranging around ~$69K, there’s some liquidity building up on both sides,” noted popular trader Daan Crypto Trades in his latest analysis on X (formerly Twitter).
“Most notably: $68.3K & $69.8K. Good levels to watch in the short term going into next week.”
An accompanying chart highlighted liquidity concentrations for the BTC/USDT perpetual swaps pair on Binance, the largest global exchange.
Across BTC order books, liquidity was increasing around the spot price, leading to lower volatility but raising the chances of a liquidity raid later.
Keith Alan, co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators, emphasized the importance of turning $69,000 into support.
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“Bitcoin lost $69k again. It’s our strongest and most important resistance level on the chart,” he stated in his latest X post. “I’d like to see a weekly close above $69k to gain some confidence in a measured move to $73k.”
Alan noted that U.S. markets would be closed on May 27 for the Memorial Day holiday.
Regarding resistance, popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital focused on levels above $71,000. Updating X subscribers on BTC price action after the April block subsidy halving, he confirmed that the market had exited the “danger zone” typically seen after such events. However, he warned that bulls are not entirely out of trouble.
“Since the Bitcoin Post-Halving ‘Danger Zone’ ended, Bitcoin broke out to $71500.
“However, ~$71500 is where the Range High resistance of the Macro Re-Accumulation Range is and this is where Bitcoin rejected from,” Rekt Capital explained.
“The consolidation continues, and history suggests it will continue for several more weeks between $60000 and $70000.”
If this happens, the May monthly close could still end in the red, aligning with the trend of the past three years, according to data from monitoring resource CoinGlass.
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MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor has recently shifted his stance on spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), suggesting that the U.S. regulator’s recent approval is beneficial for Bitcoin as well.
“Is this good for Bitcoin or not? Yeah, I think it’s good for Bitcoin, in fact, I think it may be better for Bitcoin because I think that we are politically much more powerful supported by the entire crypto industry,” Saylor told Bitcoin podcaster Peter McCormack on the May 25 episode of the What Bitcoin Did podcast.
“They serve as another line of defense for Bitcoin,” he continued, following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of eight spot Ether ETFs on May 23.
Saylor emphasized that this move will “accelerate institutional adoption,” as previously hesitant investors will now see crypto as a legitimate asset class.
He explained that while capital will be allocated across various crypto assets, Bitcoin will receive the majority, being “the leader” of cryptocurrencies.
“I think mainstream investors will say oh there is a crypto asset class now, maybe we’ll allocate 5% or 10% to the crypto asset class, but Bitcoin will be 60% or 70% of that,” he claimed.
READ MORE: SEC Approval of Spot Ether ETFs Signals Ether May Not Be a Security, Experts Say
Saylor acknowledged his change in perspective on spot Ether ETFs, having previously believed there was little chance of SEC approval.
“Two weeks before, the world looked like Bitcoin was going to be the only asset securitized and offered as a spot ETF by the Wall Street establishment and it was going to spread as the one legitimate crypto asset,” he explained.
Earlier, on May 3, Cointelegraph reported Saylor’s prediction that the SEC would classify ETH as a security, along with BNB, Solana, XRP, and Cardano.
“None of [these tokens] will ever be wrapped by a spot ETF, none of them will be accepted by Wall Street, none of them will be accepted by mainstream institutional investors as crypto assets,” said Saylor.
Saylor’s revised stance on the What Bitcoin Did podcast drew attention from the crypto community.
“Changing his tune a bit,” Bitcoin commercial litigator Joe Carlasare commented in a May 25 X post.
“Is the next step Saylor buying ETH? That’s a serious 180,” added crypto analyst Ricky Bobbyy.
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The United States should aim for the top spot in the cryptocurrency industry, according to former U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Our country must be the leader in the field, there is no second place,” Trump asserted in a May 25 post on Truth Social, a social media platform owned by Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG).
Expressing his enthusiasm for the burgeoning industry, Trump stated, “I am very positive and open minded to cryptocurrency companies, and all things related to this new and burgeoning industry.”
He then criticized the current president, Joe Biden, his opponent in the upcoming 2024 presidential election, scheduled for November 4.
“CROOKED JOE BIDEN, ON THE OTHER HAND, THE WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY, WANTS IT TO DIE A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH. THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN WITH ME!” Trump proclaimed.
These remarks were made ahead of his planned speech at the Libertarian Party’s National Convention in Washington on the same day.
READ MORE: Bitcoin and Ether Dip 3.5% Amid Institutional ETF Approval and Market Uncertainty
Trump’s recent positive stance on crypto has heightened industry expectations about his potential electoral success.
According to Polymarket, a New York-based crypto prediction platform, Trump currently has a 56% chance of winning the election, while President Joe Biden holds a 38% chance.
This comes shortly after Trump announced that his presidential campaign would accept cryptocurrency donations.
On May 21, the Trump 2024 campaign launched a fundraising page allowing eligible donors to contribute in crypto via the Coinbase Commerce platform.
The website displayed logos for several cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, Dogecoin, Shiba, XRP, USD Coin, SOL, and 0x (ZRX).
In addition to his public endorsements of crypto, Trump has reportedly engaged with crypto enthusiasts.
Cointelegraph recently reported that individuals who purchased Trump’s “Mugshot” non-fungible tokens (NFTs) had the chance to dine with him on May 8 at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
This dinner was part of the agreement associated with buying the digital trading cards, which feature his mugshot taken during his surrender at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia.
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Bitcoin and Ether both experienced a 3.5% drop on May 24, disappointing many who anticipated a market boost from a significant institutional development.
According to Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, BTC hovered near $67,000, while ETH was priced at $3,670.
The expected market reaction to the U.S. regulators’ approval of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) did not materialize.
This landmark decision for the crypto industry marks a significant policy reversal by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
However, the ETFs are not yet ready for trading, as additional preparations are required, which analysts suggest could take several weeks, pushing the potential launch to mid-June.
James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas, ETF analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence, discussed the possibility of a mid-June launch for the ETFs.
Consequently, BTC/USD and ETH/USD did not see a significant upward movement, instead retracting from local highs as the daily trading session closed.
Market participants were particularly interested in the interplay between Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Battles to Hold $69,000 as Analysts Eye Potential Retracement
Daan Crypto Trades, a well-known trader, highlighted the impact of Ethereum’s recent rally on Bitcoin’s market dominance.
“With the recent $ETH rally, we’ve seen #Bitcoin Dominance head back down,” he stated on X.
“This has been in an up trend for about 1.5 years and if there’s anything that could reverse this trend it would be ETH leading on the back of an ETF being approved. 52% and 48% are the main levels.”
Other traders echoed this sentiment, suggesting that a shift in dominance could signal the beginning of an “altseason.”
Bitcoin’s dominance reached 57% in mid-April, its highest in over two years, just before the block subsidy halving event.
Popular trader Skew analyzed potential support levels for BTC, identifying a key zone around $66,000. In his May 23 analysis, he noted significant bid liquidity on Binance, the largest global exchange.
“Seeing some initial spot demand around $66K – $65K, reaction is key as well to gauge absorption of sellers. Spot supply remains around current high $72K – $76K,” he confirmed.
Skew emphasized that the recent price movements were primarily driven by spot exchanges, particularly highlighting Binance and Coinbase, the largest U.S. trading platform.
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Approximately $2.7 billion in Bitcoin and Ether options are set to expire on May 24, offering key insights into market sentiment.
According to Greeks.live on X, 21,000 Bitcoin options are expiring, with a put/call ratio of 0.88.
This shows a near-even balance between buyers and sellers, with a slight lean towards call options.
The maximum pain point, or the price at which most option buyers would incur losses, is $67,000, totaling a nominal value of $1.4 billion.
While the upcoming 21,000 contract expiry is significant, it is overshadowed by a larger event on May 31, when $4.3 billion worth of options are set to expire, according to Deribit.
Deribit data shows that long positions dominate open interest (OI), with $830 million tied to the $70,000 strike price.
Higher strike prices also show significant OI, notably $843 million at the $100,000 mark, indicating a bullish sentiment among traders.
The $60,000 strike price stands out with $388 million in open interest, the most notable for put contracts.
This substantial OI suggests many contracts remain unsettled, showing that bulls are confident in much higher Bitcoin prices.
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OI represents the unresolved value of contracts awaiting settlement.
The options expiry event also impacts Ether, with 350,000 contracts expiring, representing a notional value of $1.3 billion.
The put/call ratio of 0.58 and a max pain point of $3,200 suggest a slightly bullish tone, with more call options expiring than put options.
Greeks.live reports that Ethereum recently led the crypto rally, driven by ETF progress, with a one-day 20% rise.
The short-term options implied volatility (IV) reached 150%, much higher than Bitcoin’s current IV for the same period.
However, a divergence between Bitcoin and Ethereum is evident.
While Ethereum’s bullish sentiment remains strong, maintaining high IV levels for each major term is challenging from a market trading and structure perspective.
This suggests that calendar spreads might be a better choice. In contrast, Bitcoin appears more balanced between long and short positions, with stronger forces selling calls.
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