Former President Trump is expected to speak at Bitcoin 2024 as he makes his bid to reclaim the presidency. What he plans to say is anyone's guess at this point. He has been a harsh critic of bitcoin in the past, at one point calling it a "scam." He has done a 180 recently, even meeting with US mining firms in June. Trump came away from that meeting saying he wanted all Bitcoin to be made in America. This, of course, is almost impossible as bitcoin chases the lowest cost to produce, which is not guaranteed to be in the US. Many hope he will make a statement committing to make bitcoin a reserve asset if elected. This is exceedingly possible. It can be done simply by transferring the 200,000 bitcoin the US has seized from the DOJ to the Treasury. Whatever he says, it should be an interesting time in Nashville.
With the recent news that Ethereum is getting its own spot ETF alongside Bitcoin, it seems like the old guard is infiltrating the cryptosphere. The top two digital assets will now have their own spot ETFs, allowing traditional investors who were previously hesitant to get involved to gain exposure with just a couple of clicks through their current broker. Is this the direction crypto investing is heading — traditional finance (TradFi) buying spot derivative products? Despite this trend, we still believe the best place to invest is in native tokens. ETFs will inevitably lag behind. It took seven years to progress from listed Bitcoin futures to a spot ETF, and it will likely be years before we see similar options for other cryptocurrencies like Solana, Ripple, BNB, etc. If you're seeking to stay on the cutting edge or delve into assets like PEPE, MOTHER, or DOGE, TradFi won't be of assistance.
Bitcoin has been in the crosshairs of ESG proponents for a while now. They claim that the energy miners use to perform proof of work is extremely damaging to the environment. Consequently, anyone investing within the framework of ESG should reject Bitcoin. While we could argue the merits of ESG to begin with, we won't for now. We will assume that it is a legitimate investing philosophy, and everyone should keep in mind the environmental, social, and governance impact of their investment choices.
Firstly, the energy consumption of mining is relatively small on a global scale. A recent report by KPMG showed that energy usage from mining is equivalent to all the tumble dryers used worldwide. And yet there is no push to force everyone to use clotheslines. The focus on energy consumption also ignores the other two letters that Bitcoin improves upon. The social aspect of Bitcoin cannot be ignored. Approximately 30% of the world's population is unbanked. Bitcoin solves this problem by not requiring a financial intermediary and granting access to anybody with a smartphone and internet connection. Finally, there is governance. Bitcoin's decentralized network, which performs PoW and validates transactions, is the fairest form of governance there is. It is a trustless system where no one entity has undue power. You cannot say the same for the modern corporation. So, ignore the fear-mongering and keep stacking.
