Bitcoins - about to hit $5,000 per coin today!

[obsidian]

Noted

One more question.  If Bitcoin is so “bad” compared to ethereum.  Why does it keep going up?

Because Bitcoin is being marketed and mentioned everywhere. Youtube influencers place the Bitcoin name in their video titles more so than any other crypto project. Look at you intentionally capitalize Bitcoin but not Ethereum. That kind of mentality explains part of it.

The SEC under Gensler gave BTC a huge bump and held back ETH and XRP. They labeled SOL a security in one of their filings but that did not really matter to the Solana crowd - I guess.

The fundamentals of Bitcoin are actually not that great. It's becoming more centralized and the POW model where miners get less and less rewards becomes questionable 16-24 years from now, maybe sooner.

The finite supply is not that special either. ZEC has the same finite supply of 21 million as BTC, and better privacy features. But the price sits at a pathetic $49.72 and apparently an of $5,941.80 - lol! It went up to over $750 in 2017. People are still mining ZEC besides all that. They are considering switching ZEC to POS because mining is unprofitable. The same might happen with BTC.

ZEC gets almost no mention by most people. The privacy features of Zcash and Monero is also perhaps a hinderance because governments don't like that. But they still have use cases for people that want anonymity.

[obsidian]

He also bought some Wrapped BTC on Ethereum 

World Liberty Financial now has $207 million ETH, $47 million WBTC and $15 million staked ETH.

From Reddit:

Yeah, because they know in the future everyone just uses ETH, including to buy BTC. Wrapped BTC actually allows users to extract yield from BTC through lending or liquidity provision without going through a shady middleman like blockfi or celsius. BTC on BTC chain does nothing.

Wall Street loves yield so that's where crypto is going.

[gib]

From Reddit:

Yeah, because they know in the future everyone just uses ETH, including to buy BTC. Wrapped BTC actually allows users to extract yield from BTC through lending or liquidity provision without going through a shady middleman like blockfi or celsius. BTC on BTC chain does nothing.

Wall Street loves yield so that's where crypto is going.

All fine so long as BTC continues to dominate as the base-layer of global wealth. Thereafter, people can decide how they wish to transact as they see fit. There will be an infinite number of blockchains they can use for that purpose, but of course only a finite supply of BTC underlying it all. That's why we buy BTC, HODL, and ignore the noise...

[gib]

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/21/investing/meme-coin-trump-crypto-nightcap/index.html

[Griffith]

Trump family may build ‘giant businesses’ on Ethereum

The Trump family may expand its involvement in the cryptocurrency industry by launching an Ethereum-based business.

Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of Consensys, hinted at the development in a Jan. 21 post on X.

“Based on what I am aware of, the Trump family will build one or more giant businesses on Ethereum,” Lubin wrote. “The Trump administration will do what is good for the USA, and that will involve ETH.”

Lubin suggested that the Trump administration might eventually integrate Ethereum technology into government activities, similar to its current use of internet protocols.

While no official announcement has been made, Lubin pointed to some tell-tale signs, including recent Ether purchases by Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) decentralized finance platform.

The WLFI-labelled wallet has amassed 55,341 ETH, worth over $183 million, making Ether the wallet’s largest holding after the Circle’s USD Coin stablecoin, Arkham Intelligence data shows.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-family-ethereum-giant-businesses-lubin

[Griffith]

Ethereum ETF issuers expect staking to be greenlit soon

Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin says issuers are confident that staked Ether ETFs will be approved under new SEC leadership.

Ether exchange-traded funds issuers are hopeful that funds offering staking could “soon” be given the regulatory go-ahead, says Consensys founder Joe Lubin.

“We’ve been in discussions with the ETF providers, and they’re already working hard on that, so they expect that to be greenlit reasonably soon,” Lubin told Cointelegraph in reference to staked Ether ETFs.

The SEC has yet to approve a staked Ether ETF, but this may be about to change under new leadership, according to industry experts.

On Jan. 21, the SEC announced it was creating a crypto task force dedicated to developing a framework for digital assets led by the crypto-friendly Commissioner Hester Peirce.

In a December interview with Coinage, Peirce hinted at a very early pro-crypto shift at the financial regulator under the new administration.

Bernstein Research said last month it believed that “ETH staking yield [ETFs] will likely be approved” under a crypto-friendly SEC put in place by Trump.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-etf-issuers-staking-etfs-soon-live-joe-lubin

[gib]

[gib]

[SouJerz]

Is there a future with both Ethereum and Bitcoin?  Kind of like we have gold and silver?  Aren’t there things ethereum can do that Bitcoin can’t and vice versa?  Does it have to be so black and white?

[French]

No Ethereum is not Silver, just an alt in decline and impossible to reform.
the only cryptocurrency considered to be silver is and will be Kaspa.
Solana is in another dimension comparable to an integrated digital web 3 solution company. The equivalent of Microsoft Apple Nvidia Amazon.

[gib]

Agree - you cannot compare BTC and Eth like Gold to Silver. It's like comparing a car to a banana because they both happen to be yellow, and asking if a banana could be "almost as good as a car" - they are not even in the same category.

BTC is a global ledger for wealth. ETH is not the "second best" or an alternative to this. Its something entirely different all together, and indeed something which has failed in its initial aims, which can be infinitely duplicated (basically a chain for smart contracts) and has little real world use case adoption that had initially been envisaged. Yes, you can use it to exchange crypto kitties and other things like that...

It is correct that Eth will continue to decline in value compared to BTC though. That should be obvious. Many leading developers have long given up and moved on. Latest example below.

https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/core-dev-nick-conner-quits-amid-ethereum-civil-war/

I would urge everyone here to look at "crypto" in a similar way. There is BTC, and then there is everything else (its just that some of those other things are represented by blockchains - but the vast vast majority of this investments represented by blockchains are entirely worthless and will gravitate to zero over time. (With BTC, this is of course entirely the opposite).

I do think Eth will still exist in some form in a decade, but much more as a legacy chain, which has long since dies and been overtaken, perhaps acquiring some kind of Vitalik meme status or sentimental value, but certainly not anything taken seriously.

[obsidian]

He was forced to leave the Ethereum Foundation and then cofounded Polkadot. Look at the DOT chart - it looks like shit.

Of course this guy will badmouth Ethereum. Just like Charles Hoskinson - who bashes Ethereum every chance he gets because he was kicked out of the ETH Foundation.

[obsidian]

That guy is an idiot. He says: "Ethereum knows very well that it is a security". Ethereum doesn't know anything it is a blockchain. The guy's YouTube channel is called "Bitcoin University". LMAO. What do you expect?! Of course he will badmouth Ethereum.

That video is over 4 months old and Ethereum has not been classified as a security. Gensler himself even said a few weeks ago that the SEC never claimed Ethereum was a security.

Your post is a FAIL!

[obsidian]

Is there a future with both Ethereum and Bitcoin?  Kind of like we have gold and silver?  Aren’t there things ethereum can do that Bitcoin can’t and vice versa?  Does it have to be so black and white?

Considering that Ethereum's TVL dwarfs Bitcoin's the answer is obvious. Ethereum dominates with 52.91%. Bitcoin only has 5.87%.

https://defillama.com/chains

And this is with negative ETH sentiment at an ATH.

[obsidian]

No Ethereum is not Silver, just an alt in decline and impossible to reform.
the only cryptocurrency considered to be silver is and will be Kaspa.
Solana is in another dimension comparable to an integrated digital web 3 solution company. The equivalent of Microsoft Apple Nvidia Amazon.

Solana is a train wreck waiting to happen. The chain is over 300 TB in size. However, obtaining an exact figure is challenging due to the blockchain's continuous growth and the lack of real-time public data on its precise size.

Solana's unique Proof of History (PoH) consensus mechanism timestamps every transaction before it is processed. This requires frequent data writes and contributes to the rapid accumulation of ledger data.

I won't be surprised if we see future crashes with the bloated chain.

[obsidian]

Agree - you cannot compare BTC and Eth like Gold to Silver. It's like comparing a car to a banana because they both happen to be yellow, and asking if a banana could be "almost as good as a car" - they are not even in the same category.

BTC is a global ledger for wealth. ETH is not the "second best" or an alternative to this. Its something entirely different all together, and indeed something which has failed in its initial aims, which can be infinitely duplicated (basically a chain for smart contracts) and has little real world use case adoption that had initially been envisaged. Yes, you can use it to exchange crypto kitties and other things like that...

It is correct that Eth will continue to decline in value compared to BTC though. That should be obvious. Many leading developers have long given up and moved on. Latest example below.

https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/core-dev-nick-conner-quits-amid-ethereum-civil-war/

I would urge everyone here to look at "crypto" in a similar way. There is BTC, and then there is everything else (its just that some of those other things are represented by blockchains - but the vast vast majority of this investments represented by blockchains are entirely worthless and will gravitate to zero over time. (With BTC, this is of course entirely the opposite).

I do think Eth will still exist in some form in a decade, but much more as a legacy chain, which has long since dies and been overtaken, perhaps acquiring some kind of Vitalik meme status or sentimental value, but certainly not anything taken seriously.

This is all BS that you posted. Ethereum is way more significant than Bitcoin. You can't do shit with Bitcoin. Which is why Trump bought "Wrapped BTC".

BTC is slow, uses a lot of power, and can only do simple transactions. The miners with their ASIC appliances are getting less and less yield and it is questionable if transaction fees will make them solvent in 16-24 years.

[obsidian]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/beccabratcher/2025/01/23/why-the-bitcoin-president-is-really-more-of-an-ethereum-president/

Why The ‘Bitcoin President’ Is Really More Of An ‘Ethereum President’

In a surprising twist that has created controversy in the Bitcoin community, recent moves by President Trump’s newly launched World Liberty Financial have cast fresh light on the differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum.

At the heart of the controversy is a transaction involving wrapped bitcoin and bitcoin, terms that are anything but synonymous.

Trump’s Crypto Acquisitions Exclude Bitcoin
On Jan. 20, Donald Trump Jr. posted a series of strategic token purchases that commemorated the inauguration of his father as the 47th president of the United States. The purchases included:

$47,000,000 in ETH
$47,000,000 in WBTC
$4,700,000 in Aave
$4,700,000 in LINK
$4,700,000 in TRX
$4,700,000 in ENA

At first glance, this might appear to affirm bitcoin’s centrality in Trump’s digital currency realm. However, a closer look reveals that aside from TRX, all tokens are Ethereum-based assets.

Wrapped Bitcoin, for example, is not stored on the bitcoin blockchain but instead exists as an ERC20 token on Ethereum. It is backed 1:1 by bitcoin through a complex minting process that involves trusted custodians and merchant intermediaries.

Wrapped Bitcoin Is Not Bitcoin
The mechanism behind WBTC underscores its multifaceted utility. As outlined in its 2019 whitepaper, WBTC is a fundamentally different version of bitcoin, designed to leverage Ethereum’s expansive decentralized finance ecosystem.

Users who acquire wrapped bitcoin gain exposure to bitcoin’s value while enjoying the benefits of Ethereum’s smart contract capabilities and turing complete functionality. These include lending, borrowing, and yield generation, to name a few.

However the token’s holder does not own bitcoin in the elemental sense. Instead, they possess a derivative that exists only on another chain. This arrangement enhances token interoperability and serves as a clever, if controversial, marketing tool for political figures like Trump.

[obsidian]

I am guessing Trump is not a fan of someone like Saylor controlling 2% of the BTC supply.

Saylor is making a mistake. The more BTC he acquires the more he'll be undermining BTC. Nobody is interested in Saylor-coin. It's in the best interest of all Bitcoiners that he stops with what he has.

[Griffith]

Donald Trump Signs Executive Order To Create Digital Asset Stockpile

The executive order also created a crypto working group that will be responsible for developing this stockpile.

https://coingape.com/donald-trump-signs-executive-order-to-create-national-digital-asset-stockpile/

[deadz]

This thread always delivers the laughs.

[obsidian]

https://cointelegraph.com/news/deutsche-bank-layer-2-blockchain-ethereum-zksync

Deutsche Bank builds L2 blockchain on Ethereum: Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank is building a layer-2 blockchain on Ethereum using ZKsync to enhance compliance in regulated finance.

Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest lender, is reportedly developing its own layer-2 (L2) blockchain on Ethereum using ZKsync technology to address compliance challenges associated with using public blockchains in regulated finance.

The L2 solution, part of Project Dama 2, looks to improve transaction efficiency and secure regulatory safeguards, integrating directly with Ethereum, according to Bloomberg.

Project Dama 2 is part of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Guardian, which brings together 24 financial institutions to explore blockchain-based asset tokenization.

Implications for the financial sector
Deutsche Bank’s solution curates trusted validators and grants regulators special oversight to minimize risks such as interacting with sanctioned entities. The platform is designed to align blockchain transparency with financial compliance requirements.

Why an L2 blockchain?
L2 blockchains operate on top of primary layer-1 networks like Ethereum, enabling faster and cheaper transactions.

The technology offers regulatory tools such as “super admin rights,” enabling financial regulators to monitor and audit transactions when required.

[obsidian]

https://decrypt.co/302364/ethereum-taps-wall-street-veteran-lead-revival-institutional-push

Ethereum Taps Wall Street Veteran Vivek Raman to Drive Institutional Push
Etherealize, backed by Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation, aims to make Ethereum the top blockchain for Wall Street.

A new Ethereum-focused startup backed by founder Vitalik Buterin aims to win over Wall Street as the network attempts to keep up with broader developments in the crypto industry.

Etherealize, founded by former Nomura and UBS bond trader Vivek Raman, announced its launch Wednesday evening in New York.

"All roads flow through ETH. We'll show the world why," the company wrote in a statement posted on X.

The startup describes itself as an "institutional marketing and product arm" for the Ethereum ecosystem.

"In terms of Wall St assets, we're focused on bringing entire asset classes onchain, starting with the credit markets," Raman told Decrypt.

While Bitcoin benefits from mainstream adoption and potential government reserves, Ethereum's new Wall Street liaison faces the challenge of articulating the network's value proposition to institutional investors who have so far favored its older rival.

 “We think the future of all assets is tokenization, and Ethereum is the most secure blockchain for high-value tokenized assets,” Raman noted after Decrypt asked about the firm's long-term prospects for the ecosystem.

Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation have been identified as key investors, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday. While the foundation confirmed its investment in Etherealize, neither party disclosed the funding amount.

The need for "safety, security, reliability, and a track record" among financial institutions can be satiated by Ethereum, Raman said in his interview with Bloomberg. Ethereum is the "only blockchain that stood the test of time," Raman claimed.

Growing pains

Over the past week, community concerns around the Ethereum Foundation's (EF) leadership and overall effectiveness have raised issues, comparing Ethereum to other projects and ecosystems in the industry.

Community members accuse the foundation of maintaining a bloated budget while failing to utilize its $900 million in Ether holdings or adequately support network developers.

In response, Buterin acknowledged ongoing leadership changes but later pushed back against toxic criticism, particularly toward EF Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi.

[obsidian]

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-etf-issuers-staking-etfs-soon-live-joe-lubin

Ethereum ETF issuers expect staking to be greenlit soon: Joe Lubin
Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin says issuers are confident that staked Ether ETFs will be approved under new SEC leadership.

Ether exchange-traded funds issuers are hopeful that funds offering staking could “soon” be given the regulatory go-ahead, says Consensys founder Joe Lubin.

“We’ve been in discussions with the ETF providers, and they’re already working hard on that, so they expect that to be greenlit reasonably soon,” Lubin told Cointelegraph in reference to staked Ether ETH ETFs.

The Ethereum co-founder added fund issuers are “working hard on creating the best solutions” for customers to deal with “any complexities around staking and slashing.”

“I think it’s going to be great for the technology and the ecosystem because they are leaning in to enable us to — as an ecosystem — do a better, more robust, more diversified job,” he said. “I think it’s going to lead to greater client diversity as well.”

The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot Ether ETFs last year, and nine products were launched in July. The funds had a slow start compared to their Bitcoin counterparts and currently have a cumulative inflow of around $2.7 billion.

The SEC has yet to approve a staked Ether ETF, but this may be about to change under new leadership, according to industry experts.

[obsidian]

This might be huge for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, etc.

https://beincrypto.com/sec-sab-122-banks-to-custody-bitcoin/

Breaking SEC Revokes SAB 121 Policy Allowing Banks to Custody Crypto

- The SEC’s new SAB 122 removes the requirement for banks to treat customer crypto-assets as liabilities, making compliance simpler.
- This change allows banks to safely custody Bitcoin and other crypto-assets without heavy financial burdens.
- The policy shift signals a pro-crypto stance in the US, with regulators easing restrictions and encouraging growth after years of hesitation.

The SEC announced Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 122, canceling the previous guidance under SAB 121, which discouraged banks from holding Bitcoin in custody.

This means banks and traditional financial institutions can now offer crypto services without significant regulatory hurdles.

[obsidian]

https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/sec-commissioner-hester-pierce-sheds-light-on-ethereum-etf-staking-under-new-administration-202412210155