Daily News | BlackRock Ranks First in 5 Bitcoin Spot ETF Fund Flow List; MicroStrategy Buys More Bitcoin; APE, INJ, ID and Other Tokens Will Be Unlocked in Large Amounts This Week

2024-01-15, 03:43

[//]:content-type-MARKDOWN-DONOT-DELETE
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/17052994141_12.png)
## Crypto Daily Digest: BlackRock ranks first in Bitcoin spot ETF fund flow, MicroStrategy buys more Bitcoin
The top five fund institutions in terms of <a href="/ru/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> spot ETF cash <a href="/ru/price/flow-flow" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Flow</a> after listing are BlackRock ($497.7 million), Fidelity ($422.3 million), Bitwise ($237.9 million), ARK 21Shares ($105.2 million), and Franklin ($50.1 million).

On the other hand, Michael Saylor, co-founder of MicroStrategy, seems to be developing his own Bitcoin strategy. He has started selling company stocks to acquire more Bitcoin.

It is reported that Michael Saylor sold 3882 to 5000 MicroStrategy stocks on certain days before the SEC approved Bitcoin spot ETFs, earning over $20 million. It is said that this is his first sale of stocks in nearly 12 years. Saylor will use some of the profits from these sales to invest in Bitcoin. According to previous news, Michael Saylor will sell 315,000 MicroStrategy shares worth approximately $216 million. These stocks are part of the stock options that Saylor acquired from the company in 2014.

According to The Block, JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou stated that the SEC must classify ETH as non-securities before approving spot <a href="/ru/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a> ETFs in May. "We believe that in order for the US SEC to approve Ethereum ETF spot in May, Ethereum needs to be classified as a commodity (similar to Bitcoin) rather than a security." "This is far from certain, and I believe the likelihood of the SEC classifying Ethereum as a commodity before May will not exceed 50%."

Previously, another head of digital asset markets at Morgan Stanley, Andrew Peel, stated in a report to investors that the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs marks an important moment for the global financial system to adopt Bitcoin. It is believed that the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs may mark a potential paradigm shift in global understanding and use of digital assets.

Andrew Peel outlined the threats to the current status of the US dollar as a world reserve currency, as 60% of the global foreign exchange reserve balance is held in US dollars. Andrew Peel wrote that some "de-dollarization" threats may weaken the leading position of the US dollar, including the "significant" adoption of Bitcoin globally, and pointed out that 100 million people worldwide hold this cryptocurrency (Andrew Peel claimed that 82 countries have Bitcoin ATMs) in cooperation with large companies such as Tesla and sovereign El Salvador.

In addition, Andrew Peel stated that stablecoin may prove to be a "killer application" of cryptocurrency, pointing out that in recent years, stablecoin transaction volume has been comparable to traditional digital clearing houses such as Visa and PayPal. Both Visa and PayPal have taken measures to adopt stablecoins. Visa has integrated USDC on <a href="/ru/price/solana-sol" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Solana</a>, while PayPal has integrated PYUSD stablecoins.

On January 14th, according to CoinShares' 2023 mining report, Bitcoin's mining computing power increased by 104%, raising questions about its environmental sustainability and profitability, particularly the efficiency of the network and energy costs; The average production cost per Bitcoin is expected to be $37,856 after halving. Most miners will face challenges in terms of sales and administrative expenses, requiring cost reduction to maintain profitability. Unless Bitcoin prices remain above $40,000, only Bitarms, Iris, CleanSpark, TeraWulf, and Cormint can continue to make profits.

According to The Block data, the share of USDT stablecoin issuer <a href="/ru/price/tether-usdt" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Tether</a> in the global stablecoin supply increased from 50% to 71% in 2023. In addition, the company recently has over 95 billion stablecoins in circulation, which is larger than the gross domestic product (GDP) of countries such as Guatemala and Bulgaria. Its current largest competitor, Circle, has a circulation of only 27 billion USDCs, compared to over 48 billion at the beginning of 2023.

According to Token Unlocks data, APE, INJ, ID and other tokens will experience a one-time large unlock this week, with a total release value of approximately $203 million. Among them:

At 0:00 (UTC) on January 16th, Flow will unlock 2.6 million FLOWs (approximately $2.22 million), accounting for 0.18% of the circulating supply;

At 0:00 (UTC) on January 17th, <a href="/ru/price/apecoin-ape" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">ApeCoin</a> will unlock 15.6 million APEs (approximately $22.78 million), accounting for 4.23% of the circulating supply;

At 13:10 (UTC) on January 18th, <a href="/ru/price/axie-infinity-axs" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Axie Infinity</a> will unlock 3.43 million AXS (approximately $28.06 million), accounting for 2.53% of the circulating supply;

At 0:00 (UTC) on January 21st, Objective will unlock 3.67 million INJs (approximately $140 million), accounting for 4.33% of the circulating supply;

At 0:00 (UTC) on January 22nd, SPACE ID will unlock 53.27 million IDs (approximately $16.45 million), accounting for 12.37% of the circulating supply.

## Macro: Will "terrorist data" determine the market pricing for the March interest rate cut this Wednesday?
Last week, despite Federal Reserve officials cracking down on market expectations of "ahead of schedule" interest rate cuts and the release of slightly higher than expected CPI data, the market remained firm in its expectations for the Fed's rate cuts. According to the Federal Reserve observation tool used by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the market expects the Fed to cut interest rates six times this year, with a probability of the first rate cut occurring in March being 83%.

In addition, the ongoing months-long conflict between Palestine and Israel will still affect market vision. On Thursday, the joint airstrike by the United States and Britain on the Yemeni Hussein armed forces has raised concerns about "shipping disruptions" and further escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude oil has returned to above $80, while gold has also risen to $2,050 due to safe haven demand and market bets on the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts.

This week, investors will closely monitor "terrorist data" to continue "correcting" their expectations for the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut, and the gradual start of the US stock market earnings season will continue to attract market attention. In addition, whether the US government will really shut down and whether the tension in the Middle East will further escalate will still be the focus of investor attention.

Last week, despite several Federal Reserve officials, including several FOMC vote commissioners this year, appearing to "shout" and continuing to oppose market expectations for the Fed's interest rate cut as early as March, stating that it was still too early to believe inflation was continuing to cool, these words of Federal Reserve officials were largely ignored.

What's even more exciting is that the US CPI data in December last year rebounded beyond expectations, and the market's expectations for the Fed's interest rate cut increased instead of decreasing. After Friday's PPI data fell significantly short of expectations, traders once again increased their bets on the Fed's interest rate cut this year, with an expected full year rate cut of 160 basis points.

It is worth noting that the attitude of the "three leaders" of the Federal Reserve and the Chairman of the New York Federal Reserve, Williams, has softened compared to before, believing that interest rates are already sufficiently restrictive. When there is confidence in inflation reaching 2%, the Federal Reserve can lower interest rates, and the speed of rate cuts depends on economic conditions.

As for the policy path of the Federal Reserve this year, Akerman, the billionaire investor who made profits by shorting US treasury bond bonds last year and CEO of Panxing Plaza Capital Management Company, believes that the Federal Reserve must cut interest rates as soon as possible. He said:

"Currently, with inflation significantly cooling down, real interest rates are very high. Therefore, I believe they must take action in advance, and the number of rate cuts may certainly exceed three."

According to the Federal Reserve observation tool of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, traders predict that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates six times this year, with a probability of 83% that the first rate cut will occur in March.

However, there is controversy over whether this viewpoint is accurate. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest asset management firm, said earlier on Friday that he believes central bank governors will hesitate to take action too quickly.

This week, upcoming Federal Reserve officials are likely to continue emphasizing reliance on data and stating that market expectations are too far ahead. And the market will definitely continue to focus on the magnitude of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut. For gold, it will benefit from the market's bet on the Fed's interest rate cut, but analyst Christopher Yates advises investors to remain cautious.

He said that from an emotional and position perspective, gold prices are hovering at historical highs, but emotions are not like that. Overall, this is a very bullish situation, which means that investors have more bullish space before the market reaches a certain level of extreme <a href="/ru/price/optimism-op" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Optimism</a>, which is a sign of the market's peak.

This Wednesday, the US retail sales data, known as "terrifying data," will soon become the focus of the market.

Although consumer spending in the United States has slowed down after last summer's surge, it will not plummet. Retail sales in November increased by 0.3% month on month, and the December data scheduled for Wednesday is expected to show a similar growth rate.

In the past 12 months, American consumers have been proven to be a "more resilient beast," with only 3 months having negative data, with the most recent being in October at -0.2%.

The rebound in retail sales data in November was mainly driven by sales of food services, bars, and sports goods, while sales at gas stations slowed down by 2.9%. Despite the resilience of spending, consumers do seem to be slowing down compared to the very robust spending patterns we saw in the third quarter.

However, if "terrorist data" records similar growth rates again, the market may re-priced the possibility of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in March.

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:**Byron B.**, Gate.io Researcher
<div>Translator:Joy Z.
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
</div>