Summary
Adam Sharp and Vin Narayanan kick off this week’s Crypto Monitor with a look into bitcoin whales. A large number of dormant bitcoin accounts that had been inactive for six months to 2 1/2 years have suddenly started trading again over the past few months. These accounts now hold about 60% of the circulating price of bitcoin (hence the term “whales”). Adam has a theory as to what sparked the movement.
Despite having to delay its launch in light of the government shutdown, digital assets platform Bakkt is still moving full speed ahead. Bakkt, operated by the Intercontinental Exchange, has been acquiring assets from an electronic trading services company called Rosenthal Collins Group. The move shows it’s committed to the market, solidifying its infrastructure so it’s ready to move forward when the time comes – a very good sign.
A rumor that Russia plans to buy $10 billion of bitcoin to dodge U.S. sanctions certainly caught our attention this week… But Adam has suggested in the past that such a move wouldn’t necessarily be surprising. With Russia, China and other countries using their own currencies to conduct international trade, the de-dollarization of the world seems to be accelerating.
The Winklevoss twins recently said if the right rules were in place, bitcoin could challenge gold as the top alternative store of value. Given the vast difference in market cap (gold has been around an awful lot longer than bitcoin), it would take a long time for bitcoin to get to that level. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t feasible.
If you’re interested in a particular topic, we’ve listed the time code on the right so you can skip directly to it in the video.
- Bitcoin whales re-emerge (00:55)
- Bakkt isn’t slowing down (5:06)
- Rumor: Russia buying bitcoin to dodge U.S. sanctions (9:23)
- Could bitcoin challenge gold? (12:06)
- mailbag@earlyinvesting.com (14:19)
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