The Breakdown First Five - Wednesday, July 24, 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. Kraken’s Gox Distribution

Kraken customers have their Mt Gox Bitcoin in their accounts and ready to trade. Around $3B worth of Bitcoin has now been returned to creditors and we get to see what comes of years of FUD around the Mt Gox unlock. So far, it seems like not much. Bitcoin was down a little as the news broke in the morning but nothing out of the ordinary. Volumes seem within typical ranges and liquidity is reasonable. 

4. Dimon Won’t Be Treasury Secretary

Trump has disavowed Jamie Dimon as a potential Treasury Secretary, stating he doesn’t know where that vicious rumor started but it was probably spread by the radical left. The rumor in fact started from a Trump interview published by Bloomberg. At the time it seemed more like an off the cuff statement and it seems Trump has no memory of considering Dimon at all. No word on whether Dimon’s changed stance on Bitcoin, but that’s probably also fake news. 

3. Cuban the Crypto Whisperer

Mark Cuban apparently has the ear of the Harris campaign on crypto policy. He told Politico that he has fielded “multiple questions from her camp about crypto.” Cuban was also fanning the idea that Harris will be “far more open to business” and willing to engage with the tech industry. The comments come as a wave of silicon valley Democrats renew their enthusiasm for the party in hopes of a substantial shift in tone. 

2. Strong Day 1 for ETH ETFs

The Ethereum ETFs had a solid first day. Volume topped $1.3B, around 28% of the Bitcoin ETF launch. Net inflows came in at $107M, Blackrock leading with $266M. Grayscale outflows were brutal, losing $484M, around 5% of starting AUM. The surprise outperformer was Bitwise, who managed an impressive $204M in net inflows. Total inflows were around 16% of the Bitcoin ETF debut, but vastly outpaced any other ETF launched over the past year.

1. Kamala @ Bitcoin2024?

Kamala Harris is in talks to make an appearance at the Bitcoin Conference according to organizer David Bailey. The speculation launched a frenzied discussion around the policy changes that would be needed for Harris to avoid being booed off the stage. Wishlists included freeing Ross, dropping active lawsuits and ending Chokepoint 2.0. The main ask was of course firing Gary Gensler. No news on whether Harris will accept the invitation at this stage.