BlackRock Sparks Bitcoin Fever

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Happy Wednesday, folks.

Frankly, today’s story could have made for a long-form premium edition given Shohei type of season that crypto is having rn, but given there were other, more pressing stories to take deep dives on, a normal post will have to do.

Before diving in, I also wanted to highlight Infobot Live, a weekly Spaces hosted by yours truly. We’re breaking down the week’s biggest news in all things tech, regulation, and investing. We’ll also be interviewing a couple of founders from a few YC companies to get their personal takes given their domains, so should really be a fascinating segment.

See ya there.

Crypto Spring: BlackRock's Bold Bitcoin Bet

Don’t look now, but Crypto Winter might be having its Ice Age: The Meltdown moment.

November has historically been a really good year for Bitcoin (and, by association, crypto), and this year has been no different. Though it’s tough to pin down exactly why the sector has seen such a resurgence in price, activity, and volume, the owner of your favorite politician just might playing the lead.

BlackRock, the massive asset manager that holds equity in everything that the light touches is pushing the SEC for a spot Bitcoin ETF approval by January 2024. This would give the crypto community something to celebrate at their BAYC NYE party in spite of the fact that it’s literally just 50 dudes standing around in hoodies.

If (tbh more like when) this approval happens, it’s projected that a cool $200 billion might flood Bitcoin, propelling its price to a dizzying $330,000. Tim Draper is going to be insufferable.

BlackRock is not the first to file for a Spot ETF, and in fact there are about a dozen ETFs being considered (Ark, Invesco, etc), but BR is certainly the most significant. Again, see the fact that they’re paying for every member of Congress’ summer homes.

Plus, it’s not just $BTC that could finally get the green light for a Spot, meaning there might be even more options for exposure to crypto for the many financial advisors handling your parents’ money and pretending they don’t hate their job every single day.

After the institution also filed an iShares Ethereum Trust, Ethereum’s price jumped to $2,000, a 9.18% vault that would make even Jordan Belfort bite his lip.

Since January, the overall crypto market has ballooned by a whopping $600 billion, and it’s estimated that trillions could be injected into the system upon approval as risk-conscious investors will finally have a more regulated, “safer” way to access the asset class without having to worry about some Mad Libs-inspired seed phrase.

In the meantime, while altcoins are still having their Tiger Woods-style renaissance (throwback to the early days of this newsletter…. iykyk), some do expect a bit of pullback for BTC and ETH as the initial euphoria and optimism give way to the impatience of a chronically online, instant gratification-trained investor base.

Upon approval, though? Blue Origin might need to take notes.

Tying this back to startups, we all remember the downright silly valuations and hype around the sector during the 2021 bull market. Much like today’s fundraising environment for AI companies (is this… foreshadowing?), any use of an industry buzzword was immediately met with a blank check from some VC who just learned how to go “split window” on their MacBook Pro.

While it’s unlikely that the market would get that frothy again, a stronger industry as a whole will likely put an end to the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year that crypto has been experiencing thus far.

Missing the days where The Startup Breakdown would, like, breakdown startups?

Miss not, for in all honesty, I could never compete with the depth of coverage that you can get at Venture Scout. Check’em out now 👇️ 

Cheers to another day,

Trey