4th January 2025 > > NFK 6 of 9, so-called "de-regulation" & China.

tl;dr

The sixth of the nine NFKs. Ignore the nonsense perpetuated by ill-informed reporting of cryptos. The Chinese pivot to be crypto-friendly is ramping up fast.

Market Snap

Market Wrap

Inflows of $900mm to the spot BTC ETFs yesterday raises the hope that the short-term exodus sparked by Jerome Powell’s negative comments about the future trajectory of US interest rates (about which he is one of the least competent people to speak) is over. With markets back into full-swing from Monday, price action leading up to 20th January is going to be interesting.

Occasional Series – Project K: Ball. NFK 6 of 9

https://www.curiouscryptos.com/projectk

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – The press

The standard of reporting about cryptos in most newspapers and other news outlets is so very poor.

The latest trend for inaccuracy is to claim that under the incoming Trump administration, the crypto industry will become “de-regulated”.

This is utter nonsense.

What we will see is the SEC and the two houses put into place robust and targeted rules and regulations that are far more stringent in most respects than the mish-mash of misunderstanding and obfuscation that exists today. A mish-mash that was a deliberate strategy implemented by Warren and her anti-libertarian and anti-freedom army, which is now fully discredited and soon to be consigned to the dustbin.

There will be some ridiculous rules that are removed, starting with SAB 121 which laughably prevents regulated banks from being able to custody crypto assets for their clients, retail and institutional. That isn’t “de-regulation”, it is simply tearing down an entirely inappropriate barrier based upon the unethical and illegal Operation Choke Point 1.0 that was so beloved by a previous US government.

So, next time you are told that the Wild West of cryptos is about to get, well, more, wild, be sure to correct the messenger, for they know not of what they are saying.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – China

The Chinese pivot towards being crypto-friendly is now in full swing.

Regular readers already know that the liberalisation of the laws around cryptos has been tried out in Hong Kong for much of last year. This could only happen with President Xi’s personal approval, because of the public anti-crypto stance. I guess Xi is under pressure from the many members of the Chinese Politburo who are looking for ways to ensure the safety of the wealth they have accumulated over the last decade or two.

The latest development that confirms the direction of travel is the news that Cango, a financial services firm that makes loans to individuals to buy cars, has paid $400mm to purchase 50 EH/s of BTC mining power, approximately 6% of the global total, making it one of the largest miners. Again, stating the obvious, this could not happen without Xi’s personal approval.

Trump has said he wants to make the US the global hub for BTC mining. It seems Xi has other plans.

This does raise the delightful prospect that China will follow the US in building a strategic reserve of BTC to sit alongside its vast US treasury holdings, last valued at $760bn. A battle between the US and China to buy the ever-dwindling stock of BTC would be very exciting.