10th January 2025 > > The US BTC stash, & Standard Chartered.

tl;dr

Will the US government roundtrip a sale and a buy of a decent chunk of BTC at a loss to the taxpayer? Standard Chartered is upping its EU crypto game.

Market Snap

Market Wrap

BTC whales have added 34,000 BTC over the last month, whilst short-term coins have been on the move at a loss from purchase price. This suggests that the speculators who got excited about prices over $100k have been selling into $90+k bids from stronger hands, which is a healthy scenario if true.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – The US government’s stash of BTC

It’s a little embarrassing to admit that in my rush to circulate the CCC yesterday (for personal reasons) I missed this news which dragged down the price of BTC:

Announcing sales upfront is never the greatest of ideas.

Announcing this sale less than a fortnight before the new administration gets going, which has vowed not to sell any of the US government’s stash of BTC in advance of setting up a BTC strategic reserve funds isn’t the best of looks.

If the sale goes ahead, and the US government later buys back at a higher price, then that would be a monumental waste of taxpayers’ dollars.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered is the latest company to take advantage of the EU’s new crypto regulatory framework, MiCA.

A new subsidiary based in Luxembourg has received a license under MiCA that allows it to provide crypto custody services throughout the EU:

https://www.sc.com/en/press-release/standard-chartered-granted-licence-in-luxembourg-to-offer-digital-asset-custody-services/

Margaret Harwood-Jones, Global Head of Financing & Securities Services, Standard Chartered explains:

“We are really excited to be able to offer our digital asset custody services to the EU region, enabling us to support our clients with a product that is changing the landscape of traditional finance, whilst also providing the level of security that comes with being an appropriately regulated entity. We are incredibly proud to be paving the way for our institutional clients to access the digital asset ecosystem.”

The lack of regulated, secure, and insured custody of crypto-assets has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks to crypto adoption by institutional investors within the EU. As more of these solutions come into existence, the greater the number of institutions who will now be able to get involved. Remember, Standard Chartered has launched this initiative in response to client demand, and not just for the sake of it.

Crypto adoption is only just getting going.