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Van Buren Capital’s Scott Johnsson

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Scott Johnsson, a general partner and general counsel at Van Buren Capital, believes the U.S. government’s recent move to transfer Bitcoin linked to the defunct Silk Road online marketplace to a Coinbase address means the funds are on the verge of being sold.

In an Aug. 16 post on X, the financial lawyer suggested that there was a high possibility the U.S. Marshal Service, the agency mandated to dispose of digital assets seized and forfeited from criminal activity, was likely in the process of selling Bitcoin (BTC) seized from the Silk Road marketplace.

Johnsson was responding to a post from Founders Fund co-founder Joey Krug, who had shared data from Bitcoin explorer Tokenview, showing more than 19,000 BTC that had been moved into a Coinbase account. The lawyer seemed to agree with Krug’s assertion that the coins were the remaining Silk Road stash yet to be sold. 

Johnsson’s assertion comes soon after the U.S. government transferred about $594 million worth of Bitcoin seized from Silk Road to a Coinbase Prime address, according to data from Arkham Intelligence.

Silk Road founder Ross William Ulbricht was arrested shortly after the marketplace was shut down in 2013.

The original site’s administrators then launched a new website, Silk Road 2.0, but a special police task force also closed it down in 2014.

According to Johnsson, the USMS has been transferring assets to the custodial address as per an established servicing agreement with Coinbase that was made in June.

The lawyer claimed that the agreement requires that USMS assets remain completely segregated, with any transfers to commingled exchange addresses like Coinbase Prime meaning that the agency was likely preparing to sell the BTC assets.

In his post, the lawyer shared snapshots of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General report, which showed that the USMS’s Complex Assets Unit was required to liquidate assets within five business days after they had been forfeited.

Johnsson anticipates the official confirmation of the sale could come with the DOJ’s asset forfeiture program fiscal year 2024 report, due in January 2025. 

Interestingly, he noted that the USMS’s move to dispose of the Silk Road Bitcoin came after former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s recent speech in which he promised not to sell any of the Bitcoin held by the government if he were to win a second term.

The U.S. reportedly holds about $12 billion in BTC, making it the largest government holder of the cryptocurrency, which currently has a market cap of $1.17 trillion.





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BlackRock Says Bitcoin a ‘Unique Diversifier’ Amid Geopolitical, Fiscal and Political Risks

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Finance giant BlackRock is saying that Bitcoin (BTC) is a unique investment opportunity offering investors something much different than traditional assets.

BlackRock, a firm with over $10 trillion in assets under management, says in a new report that Bitcoin could act as a hedge against the United States’ mounting debt and other macroeconomic concerns.

“While Bitcoin has shown instances of short-term co-movements with equities and other ‘risk assets,’ over the longer term its fundamental drivers are starkly different, and in many cases inverted versus most traditional investment assets. As the global investment community grapples with rising geopolitical tensions, concerns over the state of US debt and deficits and increased political instability around the world, Bitcoin may be seen as an increasingly unique diversifier against some of these fiscal, monetary and geopolitical risk factors investors may face elsewhere in their portfolio.”

The report says the appeal of alternative reserve assets is growing amid concerns over the potential impact of US federal deficits and debt on the dollar.

“This dynamic appears to be also taking hold in other countries where debt accumulation has been significant. In our experience with clients to date, this explains a substantial portion of the recent broadening institutional interest in Bitcoin.”

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) launched earlier this year, among other Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Bitcoin ETFs grant traders exposure to the top crypto asset without them having to actually purchase it.

Bitcoin is trading for $62,098 at time of writing, up nearly 4% in the last 24 hours.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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Bitcoin on the Cusp of Breakout Into Parabolic Phase, Says Crypto Analyst – Here’s the Timeline

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A cryptocurrency analyst and trader is saying Bitcoin (BTC) is on the verge of entering a bullish phase over the coming weeks and months.

The analyst pseudonymously known as Rekt Capital tells his 88,100 YouTube subscribers that Bitcoin is “on the cusp of a breakout into the parabolic phase” after spending the past few months in a re-accumulation phase.

According to Rekt Capital, Bitcoin’s parabolic phase lasts a predictable amount of time in every cycle.

“So if we just see that 160 days after the halving is how long this re-accumulation phase lasts and we tend to see a bull market peak 550 days after the halving, then this parabolic phase should last 390 days or so, 400 days or so.

So it is roughly a year of parabolic upside that we see going into the bull market peak. And if that continues, indeed mid-September 2025, mid-October 2025 is when we would see a bull market peak occur for Bitcoin.”

Source: Rekt Capital/X

Bitcoin is trading at $59,958 at time of writing, about 19% below the all-time high of approximately $73,800.

The pseudonymous analyst says that based on historical precedent, Bitcoin could hit a new all-time high over the coming days.

“…but we will reverse towards the upside at some point. And that point is coming quite soon because 160 days after halving is when we see a breakout to new highs.”

The Bitcoin halving occurred around 151 days ago on April 20th.

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Hut 8 deepens Bitmain partnership with launch of new ASIC miner in 2025

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Bitcoin miner Hut 8 is expanding its partnership with Bitmain to introduce a new ASIC miner with direct liquid-to-chip cooling, set to deploy in Q2 2025.

Miami-headquartered crypto mining firm Hut 8 has expanded its partnership with Bitmain, announcing the upcoming launch of the U3S21EXPH, a next-generation ASIC miner capable of reaching up to 860 TH/s.

In a Sept. 19 press release, the company the miner, which is scheduled for deployment in Q2 2025, is the first mass-commercialized ASIC model to feature direct liquid-to-chip cooling in a U-form factor.

“We believe this model represents a more thoughtful approach to capturing the lucrative economics offered by next-generation machines, reducing upfront capital requirements while we continue to pursue growth initiatives in AI infrastructure.”

Asher Genoot, Hut8 chief executive officer

Under the hosting agreement, Hut 8 has the option to purchase all or a portion of the hosted miners in up to three tranches at a fixed price within six months of deployment. If Hut 8 exercises the option in full, the company’s self-mining hashrate is expected to increase from 5.6 EH/s to 20.6 EH/s, the press release reads.

The agreement is designed to minimize upfront capital expenditures and provide flexibility for future purchases, allowing Hut 8 to assess market conditions “before committing additional capital,” per the document.

The news comes after Hut 8 secured a $150 million investment in June from Coatue Management to accelerate its artificial intelligence infrastructure development. At the time, Hut 8 said the investment was made as “many traditional data center operators are failing to meet the surging demand for AI compute capacity due to power shortages.”



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