The Breakdown First Five - Friday, August 30, 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. Blackrock’s Second Outflows

Recent weakness in Bitcoin markets have driven the second day of net outflows from Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF. The product hasn’t seen daily outflows since May, at a local bottom. Thursday’s outflow was $13.5M, contributing to $71.8M in outflows across all products. This week is likely to end as the first week of net outflows since last month as Bitcoin stumbles below $59,000. 

4. Crypto.com Global Onramps

Crypto.com has partnered with Standard Chartered to provide global fiat on and offramps across 90 countries. Services will be operated of their regional hub in Dubai dealing in US dollars, euros and United Arab Emirates dirhams. The exchange said this is a major step in global expansion while maintaining the “highest levels of security and compliance.” The service will be roll out for customers in the UAE shortly before expanding to other regions.

3. Dell Still No Coining

Dell computers have reported second quarter earnings with no mention of Bitcoin. Speculation swirled in June after founder Michale Dell tweeted “scarcity creates value”, which he later acknowledged as a nod towards Bitcoin. The company has been accumulating a vast pile of cash amid the AI boom, where they play an infrastructure role. 

2. Bukele Disappointed with Adoption

In an interview with TIME, El Salvador President Bukele said he was disappointed Bitcoin hasn’t seen mass adoption in the nation. Most large corporations use it, as do many of the people, but it hasn’t displaced the dollar. The benefits were still large, improving El Salvador’s “branding” to bring in foreign investment and tourists. All in all, Bukele said the Bitcoin policy was not a “resounding success”, but the “positive outcomes outweigh the negative.” 

1. Trumpfi

Donald Trump announced his plan to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet” using his family’s DeFi project. We still don’t have many details, other than a name - World Liberty Financial. No launch date has been publicized. Trump’s sons have suggested the project will be something to do with tokenized real estate, but the only official description is that it will offer access to “high-yield crypto investments.”