📌 FOMC Mic Drop

5. Grayscale launches Bitcoin miners ETF

The Grayscale Bitcoin Miners ETF (ticker: MNRS) will provide a pure-play way to invest in the bitcoin mining industry. And while there is no doubt that this will be a popular ETF, we would like to remind investors that multiple of its top holdings are currently dealing with shorts and activist investors trying to force these companies to pivot (see here and here).

4. Kraken brings back staking after being shut down by SEC

Staking is back at Kraken, allowing investors to earn up to 17% on their crypto (see rates here). In 2023, Kraken agreed to end its staking service for U.S. customers and pay $30 million to settle SEC charges that it offered unregistered securities. Using Coinbase (COIN) as a proxy, we can see that staking makes up ~10% of their total revenue. That’s a big deal for a public company and another reason we believe a Kraken IPO is incoming.

3. Tesla Marked Up

Tesla’s Q4 earnings revealed it’s now marking its 9,720 BTC to market – a switch enabled by the new FASB rule – bringing its BTC valuation up to $1.076 billion from just $184 million. Talk about paper gains… the move gave TSLA a GAAP income boost of ~$600 million in Q4, increasing net income by 34%. Under the old rules (read explainer), balance sheets were taking hits left and right thanks to bitcoin's price fluctuations, even if the overall trajectory was positive. No more of that nonsense.

2. Trumps Media Empire Leans More Into Crypto

Trump Media (DJT) took a leap into financial services yesterday with the announcement of TruthFi, a $250 million FinTech venture aimed at “patriotic” investments – think manufacturing, energy, and yes — even crypto. “TruthFi is a natural expansion of the Truth Social movement […] now we’re moving into investment products and decentralized finance,” Trump Media CEO and Chairman Devin Nunes said in the release. DJT share prices jumped ~7% on the news.

1. J Pow Mic Drop

While Wall Street focused on the Fed’s rate decision, crypto enthusiasts cheered Jerome Powell’s FOMC remarks. Powell effectively threw cold water on “Operation Choke Point 2.0” by clarifying that U.S. banks are “perfectly able” to serve crypto clients – provided they manage the risks (see full clip here). This follows the House’s new probe into alleged debanking under the Biden administration and the SEC’s recent repeal of SAB 121.