The Breakdown First Five - Thursday, July 25, 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. Revolut Secures UK Banking License

Crypto-friendly neobank Revolut has been granted their UK banking license after a three year wait. The firm has long been a cornerstone of the British crypto industry but operated as a non bank fintech platform. The new licensing will allow them to expand their services and slowly integrate crypto into more traditional banking operations. 

4. Fold to SPAC

Bitcoin savings and rewards company Fold plans to go public via SPAC later this year. The deal has been approved by the board and will value the company at $365M. This will be the first major public exit for a Bitcoin only venture backed company, with Ten31 the major investors. The company plans to hold their treasury partially in Bitcoin. 

3. Proton Wallet

Proton has unveiled a self-custodial Bitcoin wallet. The company is best known for their internet privacy products, Proton Mail and Proton VPN. The wallet will be open source and allow users to send Bitcoin via linked email addresses. The aim is to make a beginner friendly wallet. It seems the attack on onchain privacy in US scuttled plans to maximize privacy, with critics pointing to the obvious limitations.

2. Bitstamp Gox Distribution

Bitstamp have confirmed they will begin distributing Mt Gox Bitcoin to creditors today. The distribution could take up to one week. UK based individuals will not be included in this round and will need to wait a “few months.” Based on on-chain data it seems Bitstamp has received around $2.5B worth of Bitcoin. Kraken confirmed $3B in Bitcoin was distributed on Monday. 

1. Nasdaq Meltdown

The Nasdaq Composite Index had its worst day since 2022, falling 3.6%. The index is now more than 7% off recent highs as big tech leaders crumble. Tesla earnings were a debacle, reporting declining profits and lacking direction on automated driving. The stock was down 12%, its largest single day fall since 2020. Small cap outperformance continues, with the Russell 2000 only taking a 2.1% decline. Bitcoin held up relatively well until an evening crash.