💸 BlackRock’s IBIT overtook Grayscale’s GBTC as the largest U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF by AuM; PYUSD launched on Solana

Blackrock’s IBIT overtook Grayscale’s GBTC as the largest U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF; Bitcoin ETPs held more than 1 million BTC; PayPal’s stablecoin (PYUSD) launched on Solana.

Quick Take

• Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) now hold more than 1 million BTC with over 85% in the U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs; PayPal’s stablecoin (PYUSD) launched on Solana; Mastercard launched its crypto credentials P2P pilot program to streamline crypto transactions.
• BlackRock’s IBIT overtook Grayscale’s GBTC as the largest U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF in terms of AuM. U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs had fourteen straight days of inflows, with a weekly net inflow (past five trading days) totalling US$423 million, down from $1,057 million net inflow the week before. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF’s (GBTC) weekly net outflow settled at $261 million last week.
• On the macro side, U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index increased 2.7% in April year-on-year, in-line with expectations. Consumer spending was up 0.2% monthly in April, down from 0.7% increase in March. Latest data on CME Fedwatch Tool shows a 54% probability of rate cut in September (slightly up from last week’s 49%). 
• Notable updates: Fetch.ai (FET), Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNET finalised the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI) merger to be completed on 13 June, 2024; the Crypto.com App listed Turbo (TURBO) and Lisk (LSK).
• Notable events in the coming week: ECB monetary policy statement and interest rate decision (6 Jun).

Weekly Market Index

All three crypto market indices decreased last week. Price index decreased by -1.01%, while volume and volatility indices decreased more drastically by -33.07% and -34.96%, respectively. Volume changes were led by DOGE (-44.95%), while volatility changes were led by ETH (-73.89%).

Chart of the Week

BlackRock’s IBIT overtook Grayscale’s GBTC as the largest U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF in terms of the number of BTC held on 29 May. As of 31 May, IBIT held 287,381 BTC ($19.5 billion), more than GBTC’s 285,689 BTC ($19.4 billion). This coincided with news that Blackrock added IBIT into its income and bond-focused funds in Q1 2024.

Weekly Performance

BTC and ETH decreased by -1.3% and -1.6%, respectively, in the past seven days. The price action for other selected top market cap tokens was mostly negative. ETC (-9.6%) led the drop while LINK (+5.3%) led the gains. 

Selected key categories were mixed in terms of market capitalisation changes in the past seven days, with the artificial intelligence category leading gains.

News Highlights

• Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) collectively held more than 1 million BTC (1,002,343 BTC, worth an estimated $68 billion) as of 24 May, which is ~5% of BTC’s circulating supply. This includes 855,619 BTC held by U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs and the remaining held by ETPs offered in Canada, Germany, Brazil and other countries. 
• PayPal brought the PYUSD stablecoin to Solana, after it first launched on Ethereum in August 2023. This is intended to make PYUSD transactions faster and cheaper to use, and also enables ‘confidential transfers’, which means merchants can provide confidentiality for transaction amounts to their consumers while maintaining visibility for regulatory purposes.
• Mastercard launched its crypto credentials P2P pilot program which aims to streamline crypto transactions and limit user error. This enables users to send and receive crypto using a Mastercard Crypto Credential Alias rather than blockchain addresses. 
• BlackRock added its U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, into its income and bond-focused funds in Q1 2024. The funds include BlackRock’s Strategic Income Opportunities Fund (BSIIX) and its Strategic Global Bond Fund (MAWIX), which held $3.6 million and $485,000 worth of IBIT, respectively.

Recent Research Reports

• Expanding Ethereum’s Frontier: Restaking And EigenLayer’s Ecosystem (An Analysis of Restaking Dynamics): EigenLayer pioneers the ETH restaking narrative, driving the liquid restaking market to grow to $8 billion TVL. This report delves into EigenLayer’s ecosystem, its restaking mechanism, and the newly launched EIGEN token.
• Tokenisation of RWAs & Yield-Bearing Stablecoins: RWA tokenisation signifies a bridge between TradFi and the digital asset space. We explore the tokenisation of securities and its application in yield-bearing stablecoins, which have both gained much attention recently.
• Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha [March 2024]: Asset classes were up in March, with crypto outperforming significantly. US and EU central banks kept interest rates unchanged.

Recent University Articles

• What Is the Floki Meme Coin and How to Buy FLOKI: Explore Floki, a successful token that evolved from a simple meme coin to utility-rich cryptocurrency, renowned for its engaging community and charitable initiatives.
• 10 Most Popular Layer-1 Tokens of 2024: Layer-1 blockchains form the backbone of the cryptocurrency space. Here’s an overview of the most important Layer-1 crypto tokens to know in 2024.
• What Is the Theta Crypto Token and How Does It Work?: Theta Network has drawn big tech into the crypto space, with partnerships including Google, Samsung, and Sony. Here’s how the Theta crypto token (THETA) works.

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