The Breakdown First Five - Friday, February 16, 2024

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. Warren Waves the Satoshi Flag

Elizabeth Warren appears to have signed off on a commemorative US flag flown over Congress to honor Satoshi Nakomoto on the 15th anniversary of the launch of Bitcoin. The ‘well actually’ crowd noted that anyone can access this service for the price of a small donation, but the prank is still hilarious. Viewings of the signed certificate and the flag are on display at Pubkey in New York. 

4. Saylor In The Money

After stacking through the bear market, Microstrategy is now $4B in profit. At least on paper. Saylor famously said he wasn’t going to sell now that he has found the hardest money on earth, because “it’s going up forever, Laura.” Microstrategy now has 190,000 Bitcoin on its balance sheet and, with a rising premium, likely has the latitude to sell more stock to fund another round of purchases. 

3. Circle Urges Crackdown

At a Congressional hearing on illicit finance, Circle and Coinbase have urged the government to “ensure it is using its authorities”. The point was that bad actors are using offshore firms with less compliance oversight. Circle mentioned “US touchpoints” and the need for “democratic values” when referencing the dollar. Tether was specifically mentioned, with Circle asserting that the US government does have authority to take action and should be “looking at this seriously.”

2. Waller: Stablecoins Perpetuate Dollar Dominance

Fed Governor Christopher Waller has praised stablecoins as a tool of global dollar hegemony. In a speech on the dollar's international role, Waller said that stablecoins and their use in DeFi would “simply strengthen the dominant role of the dollar.” The point of Wallers speech is that the rumors of dollar demise are vastly exaggerated, with stablecoins as one of the prime examples. 

1. Coinbase Crushes Earnings

Coinbase has reported super hot Q4 earnings, blowing Wall street expectations out of the water. 

Big beats on revenues, profits and volume. Operating income came in at $273M, the first profitable quarter in two years. Retail volume was up 164% off an admittedly small base, enough to indicate returning customers. Operating costs were slashed by $2.9B annually.