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Sergio Demian Lerner: Making Bitcoin More Programmable

The founder of Rootstock is working to create a framework for running programs on Bitcoin and enabling the development of more sidechains and Layer 2s.

While the Bitcoin ecosystem has been enjoying a fresh wave of development and engagement over the last two years, some projects have been working to expand the utility of the original blockchain for far longer. One of these is sidechain Rootstock, which launched in 2018.

Founder Sergio Demian Lerner is a Buenos Aires-based programmer known for his early research on Satoshi Nakamoto’s mining activities and later for contributing to the development of Ethereum. Rootstock is now in the midst of its “BitVMX” project, designed to improve Bitcoin’s programmability by harnessing Robin Linus’ BitVM design that was unveiled in late 2023.

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“BitVMX framework provides the foundations to run any CPU on Bitcoin,” the project’s accompanying whitepaper says. BitVMX’s aim is to put the theory behind Linus’ BitVM paradigm into practice by creating a framework for running programs on Bitcoin and enabling the further development of sidechains and layer 2s.

Rootstock plans to complete the project by late Q1 2025, according to a roadmap on its website. “The BitVMX Bridge will revolutionize the bridging technology on Rootstock, by introducing a trust-minimized Bitcoin/Rootstock bridge. This will rely on the 1-of-n honest assumption, and will not require changes to the Bitcoin consensus protocol,” Rootstock explained in its roadmap.

This profile is part of CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2024 package. For all of this year’s nominees, click here [INSERT LINK BEFORE PUBLISHING].

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Fred Thiel: The Michael Saylor of the Bitcoin Mining Industry

The CEO of MARA Holdings has gone all-in on bitcoin, adding billions of dollars worth of the world’s largest cryptocurrency to MARA’s balance sheet.

Under Fred Thiel’s leadership, MARA Holdings (MARA) — previously known as Marathon Digital Holdings — has become not only one of the largest bitcoin miners in the world but also the second-largest corporate owner of bitcoin, with about $3.9 billion worth on its balance sheet.

Thiel joined the mining company in 2018 as a director and was appointed CEO in 2021. Since then, he has navigated through the bull market of 2021 and the subsequent brutal crypto winter. His company has been focused on a bitcoin-centric business model, while other miners had to pivot to artificial intelligence-related computing as the industry faced reduced margins following the recent bitcoin halving event.

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Under Thiel, MARA went all-in on bitcoin by becoming the first miner to follow MicroStrategy executive chairman Michael Saylor’s lead and buy large amounts of the digital asset on the spot market. The company was even able to successfully raise $1 billion recently to buy more bitcoin, making Thiel perhaps the Michael Saylor of the bitcoin mining industry.

Eric Wall, Udi Wertheimer and Francisco Alarcon: Upgrading Bitcoin With Covenants

The founders of the popular Taproot Wizards JPEGs want to do more now to “make bitcoin magical again.”

Taproot Wizards, a collection of 2,108 JPEGs inscribed on Bitcoin using the Ordinals protocol, headed into 2024 on the heels of a $7.5 million seed funding round, which was promptly exceeded by the sale of Quantum Cats, a digital art collection of brightly-colored felines. The sale of 3,000 NFT-like collectibles netted 300 BTC, worth around $13 million at the time and now worth more than double that.

Founded by Eric Wall, Udi Wertheimer and Francisco Alarcon, Taproot Wizards says its mission is to “make bitcoin magical again,” harking back to a 2013 meme describing BTC as “magic internet money.” The project is now turning its focus to upgrading Bitcoin itself using the proposed OP_CAT protocol, a program that was initially built into Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto, but removed after concerns were raised about excessive memory usage and potential vulnerabilities.

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There is now an initiative to upgrade the network by including OP_CAT, which could enable more sophisticated applications on Bitcoin. It works by introducing “covenants,” or rules that can determine how a specific transaction will function. The Taproot Wizards founders are among the biggest proponents of OP_CAT, and created the Quantum Cats collection as a marketing campaign for the proposal.

“CAT-based covenants would allow Bitcoin users to trade between BTC and stablecoins on-chain, borrow with BTC as collateral, bridge their bitcoin to other chains and use new types of layer 2,” says Wertheimer.

XRP, APT, ADA Tumble Another 15%; Investors May Be Paring Longs Ahead of CPI Data

Bitcoin is again outperforming, sliding just 3% back to $95,000.

Cryptocurrencies continued to this week’s decline on Tuesday, with altcoins in near-freefall as bitcoin (BTC) slid further from the $100,000 level.

Among the worst-hit cryptos were XRP, Polkadot (DOT), Litecoin (LTC), Aptos (APT) and Cardano (ADA), down 15%-18% over the past 24 hours, extending Monday declines. The CoinDesk 20 — an index of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding memecoins, stablecoins and exchange coins — tumbled almost 10% Most cryptos in the index plunged by double-digit percentage amount at the minimum, though Ethereum’s ether (ETH) and Solana’s SOL fell just 8% and 9%, respectively.

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Bitcoin, in comparison, held up relatively well compared to the rest of the market, dipping to $95,000 and down nearly 3% over the past 24 hours.

Cryptocurrencies had already plunged on Monday, triggering one of the largest leverage flushes in years liquidating over $1.5 billion of bullish derivatives positions. Tuesday’s fall so far forced $450 million in liquidations across all digital assets, mostly bullish bets, CoinGlass data shows. Open interest for bitcoin futures remains at record high at almost $58 billion, though it has decreased 6.8% from Sunday.

This week’s sell-off followed a month-long breakneck rally in crypto prices after Donald Trump’s election victory in early November. Some altcoin majors doubled or more in price, while bitcoin crossed the $100,000 threshold for time ever.

Bitcoin’s market cap dominance, which shows BTC’s share of the total cryptocurrency market, spiked to 57.9% on Tuesday, its strongest reading since late November, underscoring the general risk-off move from altcoins towards BTC.

The market moves could be in anticipation of inflation data coming on Wednesday, according to Youholder Chief of Markets Ruslan Lienkha. “The market anticipates a slight uptick in inflation,” he told CoinDesk in an email. “However, if CPI reveals figures higher than expected, it could intensify the ongoing correction across financial markets. In such a scenario, the timing and likelihood of Federal Reserve rate cuts will become a critical focus heading into the new year.”

Stocks, though, haven’t suffered the same way crypto has. After modest declines on Monday, the major U.S. average are flat today.

Hut 8 Rises 12% Pre-Market Amid Social-Media Talk of Partnership With Meta

HUT shares climbed to just under $30 as of 10:00 UTC, over 11.75% higher than its Wednesday closing price of $26.69.

Shares of bitcoin miner Hut 8 (HUT) jumped nearly 12% in pre-market trading amid social media speculation that it is building a data center with Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META).

The shares climbed to just under $30 as of 10:00 UTC. The CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI), which offers broad exposure to the BTC mining sector, rose about 3% higher.

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Neither Miami, Fla.-based Hut nor Menlo Park, Calif.-based Meta has announced a partnership.

**Speculative Post**

Hut 8 appears to be partnering with Meta to develop a groundbreaking AI data center in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. While not officially confirmed, I’m led to believe this collaboration is likely, given the scale and focus of the project. The $12… https://t.co/E3PeEmsVnI pic.twitter.com/47xYttLaxP

— Jarron Jackson (@JarronJackson4) December 11, 2024

Hut 8 is building a data center in West Feliciana Parish, La. at an initial cost of $12 billion, local media has reported.

Earlier this month, Meta said it was planning to build a $10 billion AI data center in Richland Parish, La., Reuters reported.

There are similarities between bitcoin miners and AI data centers in the required equipment, computing power and energy to run it all. Some bitcoin miners have been dedicating resources to AI computation to diversify their revenue streams.

Hut 8 previously announced a $500 million at-the-market (ATM) offering and a $250 million stock-repurchase program. The company has said it mined 94 BTC in November, a 6% month-on-month decrease. It holds 9,122 BTC ($921 million) on the balance sheet, the seventh-largest holder of bitcoin of any publicly traded company.

Neither company immediately responded to CoinDesk’s request for comment.

Relm Insurance Introduces BTC-Denominated Policy for Bitcoin Miners

The aim of the policy is to offer bitcoin miners with financial protection against losses from operational interruptions caused by physical damage to equipment or facilities

Bermuda-registered Relm Insurance has introduced a policy covering bitcoin miners’ for periods of business interruption.

BTC Business Interruption Insurance is denominated in bitcoin, the first such policy to do so, according to an emailed announcement on Thursday.

The aim of the policy is to offer bitcoin miners with financial protection against losses from operational interruptions caused by physical damage to equipment or facilities.

Bitcoin mining companies have faced headwinds in recent months relating to the block reward for producing new BTC being halved and bitcoin’s price being restrained by selling pressure and various geopolitical factors. These challenges could then be compounded by losing capacity to the wear and tear of their machines or outages related to power problems.

Relm is licensed to offer indemnification to bitcoin miners in the same currency that they are mining thanks to its Class Innovative Insurer General Business (IIGB) license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

SEC’s Gensler Won’t Reveal his View on Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve, Reiterates Bitcoin Isn’t a Security

Gensler was responding to CNBC’s question on whether the SEC chair was “warming up to top-tier crypto?”

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler reiterated his stance that bitcoin (BTC) is “not a security” but doubled down on his stated position that regulatory clarity exists for the crypto space in an interview with CNBC on Thursday.

“As it relates to bitcoin, my predecessor and I have said, that’s not a security,” Gensler said. “You now have a way that you can actually express that view — buy into that through exchange-traded products.” Such products were approved by the SEC in January, marking a monumental shift in the agency’s approach to the crypto space.

Gensler was responding to CNBC’s Joe Kernen asking whether the SEC chair was “warming up to top-tier crypto?”

“Where are you on what’s called altcoins, there’s 15 or 20 thousand of them. Where are you Joe?” Gensler asked.

Gensler refused to reveal a position on what he thought about Donald Trump’s idea “to keep the current government holdings “as the core of the strategic national bitcoin stockpile.”

“I have a view but given my role and also we are in election season so for the listening public I will stick to my chalk lines which are securities markets and chairman Powell and others can speak to that.”

Apart from bitcoin, Gensler has maintained that the vast majority of other tokens fit the legal definition of securities that are rightfully under the SEC’s jurisdiction. This position remains despite industry push back, lawsuits against the SEC and a recent hammering the SEC got for two hours during a congressional hearing titled “Dazed and Confused: Breaking Down the SEC’s Politicized Approach to Digital Asset.”

Asked by CNBC if the SEC had been regulating by litigation, Gensler once again argued that current laws give his agency the power to oversee the crypto space.

“Not liking the rules is not the same as that there aren’t rules.”

Gensler also said that he didn’t know where bitcoin will be in 20 years but that that he felt “the field is going to have a challenge building trust” which it is “already” when “there’s so many fraudsters, scammers.”

“Look at the leading lights in this field, in the crypto field just two years ago. A number of them are in jail right now, and I’m not just talking about SBF… there’s been tens of billions of dollars of losses and bankruptcies and so forth,” Gensler said on Thursday. “What innovative field in America survives without having building trust in that field and protecting investors or consumers?”

Binance founder Chang Peng “CZ” Zhao, who is currently serving a four-month prison sentence, will be a free man by the end of this week.

Bitcoin Prices Show Positive 30-Day Correlation With China’s Central Bank Balance Sheet

“The new inflow of cash could indirectly push up the price of bitcoin, particularly in the long term perspective,” one analyst said.

Bitcoin (BTC) prices seem to have tracked the growth in the Chinese central bank’s balance sheet over the past eight years, maintaining a notable positive 30-day correlation.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), holds roughly $6.22 trillion worth of U.S. dollars on its balance sheet. At press time, the 30-day correlation coefficient between bitcoin’s price and the PBOC’s balance sheet size was 0.66, according to data source TradingView. Its always been positive except 2016 and from late 2022 to 2023. On the other hand, as of writing, bitcoin had a -0.88 correlation over 30 days with the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, the lowest on record since 2016.

A strong correlation means a co-efficient of 0.6-0.9, and 0.8-1 is considered a very strong correlation. Correlations are a statistical measure of how two variables are related and can be used in financial markets to predict or track asset prices.

The positive correlation is noteworthy as early this week, the PBOC said it was considering injecting up to 1 trillion yuan ($142 billion) of capital into its biggest state banks to increase their capacity to support the struggling economy.

The central bank also cut the reserve requirement ratio for mainland banks by 50 basis points (bps) while lowering the seven-day reverse repo rate – the interest rate at which a central bank borrows funds from commercial banks – by 20 bps to 1.5%.

BTC has gained nearly 3% this week and is up over 10% for the month, according to CoinDesk data. Asian stocks led by China have also surged in the wake of PBOC’s stimulus bazooka. The CSI 300 Index of large-cap shares soared 4.5% on Friday, bringing this week’s gain to 16% in the biggest run since 2008.

Like the U.S., China’s stimulus aims to lower unemployment and spur business growth. The new inflow of cash could indirectly push up the price of Bitcoin, particularly from a long-term perspective, market analyst Nick Ruck told CoinDesk in a Telegram message on Friday.

“The stimulus could lead to increased investment in blockchain companies that may include mining technology and startups,” Ruck said. “Select funds may also be able to increase exposure to crypto-related investments offshore, such as in stock-listed firms and ETFs in Hong Kong.”

The bump won’t be limited to bitcoin, some say, as all riskier assets are expected to get a boost in the coming months.

“It’s all the green light for global risk markets as U.S. equities hit new ATHs for the 3rd time this week, helped by a rapid-fire of furious stimulus to resuscitate the long-struggling Chinese economy,” Augustine Fan, head of insights at SOFA, told CoinDesk. “This has led macro observers to turn explicitly bullish on all risk assets in the interim, with a seemingly globally synchronized easing move that was reminiscent of the easy-money days from the QE era.”

“Naturally, crypto prices are still highly correlated to equity performance. However, investor sentiment seems to have flipped to a ‘buy the dip’ mode, and risk-reward favors a continued rally with no or little downside catalysts in sight,” Fan added.

Bitcoin FOMO is Back: 10X Research’s Markus Thielen

A $10 billion surge in stablecoin minting over the past weeks has flooded the crypto market with liquidity, Thielen noted.

Impressive gains since the U.S. Federal Reserve’s mid-September rate cut have pushed bitcoin (BTC) out of its downtrend and the crypto is now targeting $70,000 and then new record highs, according to a new research report.

“Are you holding enough bitcoin and altcoins to ride the new wave,” is the subtitle of 10X Research’s Markus Thielen’s latest analysis. “With bitcoin breaking above $65,000, we anticipate a swift move toward $70,000, followed by new all-time highs in the near term.”

Thielen took note of a sharp increase in stablecoin minting following the Fed’s July meeting, at which it left rates unchanged but indicated a September easing was likely. Nearly $10 billion in stablecoin minting ensued in the subsequent weeks, said Thielen, flooding the crypto markets with liquidity and sharply surpassing spot ETF flows.

Of particular interest, said Thielen, Circle’s USDC accounted for 40% of recent stablecoin inflows, a far higher share versus Tether’s USDT than is typical. It’s important, he said, as while USDT minting on TRON is typically associated with capital preservation, USDC minting could indicate a rise in DeFi activity.

Noting that 55% of currently mined bitcoins are coming from Chinese mining pools, Thielen said that country’s massive monetary and fiscal stimulus measures – announced just after the Fed rate cut – could trigger large capital outflows from China and into cryptos.

“The likelihood of a Q4 rally is exceptionally high, with gains likely front-loaded,” Thielen concluded. “A major surge could be on the horizon, sparking even more FOMO across the crypto space.”

Bitcoin currently is higher by 2.3% over the past 24 hours and nearly 12% month-over-month to $66,300, its highest level since late July.

Bitcoin Jumps Over $64K Ahead of Powell Speech; IBIT Options Could Provide Longer-Term Boost

Asian markets roared higher and gold notched another record following another round of Chinese fiscal and monetary stimulus.

Bitcoin (BTC) is again setting its sights on the $65,000 level not touched since the first week in August, with a speech later today from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell potentially the next catalyst.

“The market will be following Powell’s speech closely for indications of any shifts in sentiment following last Thursday’s FOMC press conference, which signaled the potential for further easing,” traders at Singapore-based QCP Capital said in a broadcast message.

Powell is expected to speak at 13:30 UTC at the U.S. Treasury Market Conference amid mounting expectations for another U.S. interest rate cut this year. The Fed announced its first round of cuts last week – leading to risk assets such as bitcoin surging – and traders expect a 62% chance of an additional 50 basis point reduction in November, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Gold notched another in what’s become a series of record highs of late, climbing nearly 1% to above $2,700 per ounce. China is reportedly mulling a $142 billion capital injection into its banking system, along with a number of other stimulus measures. The Shanghai Composite soared another 3.6% and is on track for its best week in a decade. U.S. stock index futures are ahead about 1%.

Bitcoin’s appeal is starting to grow among retail and professional investors alike. Data from SoSoValue shows that the total daily net inflows cracked $100 million for the second day in a row for the BTC ETFs, marking a five-day streak of positive net inflows for the funds.

On the other hand, retail bitcoin investors have accumulated 35,000 BTC in the past 30 days, highlighting increased confidence and participation from smaller holders.

Meanwhile, some say the newly-approved options on Blackrock’s Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has primed BTC for further gains ahead.

“The approval would increase liquidity and investor participation in the Bitcoin market, marking a further step toward broader institutional adoption,” onchain analysis firm CryptoQuant shared in a note with CoinDesk. “Indeed, Bitcoin options on the CME recorded a fresh high open interest of almost half a billion on March 12, 2024, growing by almost five-fold from their maximum level in 2023.”