3Commas Weekly Crypto Industry Updates September 13th, 2024

Let's discuss what has happened in the crypto industry in the second week of September 2024.

MicroStrategy now holds $14.14B worth of BTC

MicroStrategy, a publicly traded business intelligence and software company, has announced they acquired approximately 18,300 Bitcoin worth $1.1B between Aug. 6 and Sept. 12, 2024.

The $1.11B bitcoin buy was made at an average price of $60,408 per Bitcoin including expenses and fees, this purchase was possible after MicroStrategy sold eight million company shares through a sales agreement.

MicroStrategy now holds a total of 226,500 BTC worth close to $14B according to Bitcoin Treasuries data.

Why does it matter?

It’s a strong signal of institutional trust in the continuing growth of Bitcoin as a good asset for storing wealth. 

Coinbase launches ‘cbBTC’ wrapped Bitcoin digital asset.

On Sept. 12, Coinbase announced the launch of cbBTC—a wrapped Bitcoin product. The cbBTC is fully backed by physical Bitcoin held by the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

The cbBTC launch went live a few weeks after BitGo announced changes to the structure of its Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) product. The new product was launched on the Ethereum network, as well as Coinbase’s layer-2 scaling platform, Base for decentralized finance Market. 

Why does it matter?

The idea of wrapped Bitcoin on Ethereum and Base network will help to deepen the decentralized financial market of digital assets, creating liquidity and asset exposure for decentralized trading and investments.

UK government introduces bill to clarify crypto’s legal status

In a Sept. 11 notice, the UK government announced that the Property Bill would create clarity on the legal status of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), cryptocurrency and carbon credits. 

The legislation has proposed that the government will create an additional category for property under UK law, to assess whether digital assets including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be classified as “things”.

Why does it matter?

It's a welcoming development for investors as regulators are looking to create a conducive environment for trading and investing in digital assets.

Japan’s Metaplanet buys more Bitcoin as its Bitcoin stash nears 400 BTC

3Commas News reported earlier in August, the plans of Metaplanet to buy more bitcoin. The Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has now purchased more Bitcoin, bringing the total Bitcoin that it holds to nearly 400 Bitcoin and sending its share price on a 5.9% rally on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The firm said on Sept. 10 that it purchased 38.46 Bitcoin for $2.1M (300M Japanese yen), bringing its total buys to 398.8 Bitcoin — worth $23M.

The company's stock price has increased to 480% since it unveiled its Bitcoin strategy in April. This is the tenth Bitcoin purchase since its first on April 23, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data

Why does it matter? 

There is an increased inflow of investment from traditional investors and financial institutions into the crypto market in a bid to acquire Bitcoin due to its limited supply.

Central Bank of UAE approves custodial risk insurance products for the region. 

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has approved a new product allowing OneDegree to provide digital assets custodial risk insurance. 

OneDegree, a Hong Kong-based insurance provider and the UAE’s Dubai Insurance announced that they have started providing digital asset custodial risk insurance to their customers in UAE. 

“Custodial risk insurance covers Web3 exchanges, custodians, asset managers, etc., against the risk of losing access to customers’ digital assets. This may be caused by a hacking event, physical damage to the storage media or internal fraud.”

Why does it matter?

This new product will encourage traditional and institutional investors to test the cryptocurrency market which will boost the market growth and foster the growth of the crypto industry.

Conclusion: 

What we’re seeing is that across the world, there is an increase in financial institutions' involvement in the crypto industry. Institutions now that were previously not high on crypto are now buying more Bitcoin. Also, the government is making laws to ensure the protection of investors against bad actors in the crypto industry.