Executive brief
Bitcoin is trading around the $68,000 level as the market absorbs a significant increase in institutional participation through regulated channels. Recent 13F filings show that Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala expanded its IBIT holdings by 46% to reach $630.7m. This trend of institutional laddering is further evidenced by Laurore Ltd, a previously unknown Hong Kong entity that disclosed a $436.2m stake in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF. These moves suggest that large allocators are using regulated wrappers to scale exposure during price drawdowns. Michael Saylor’s Strategy also continued its aggressive accumulation, purchasing 2,486 BTC to bring its total holdings to 717,131 BTC, while Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon confirmed he now personally owns a small amount of the asset.
Technical infrastructure is undergoing a parallel shift as major players seek greater independence. Coinbase’s Base network announced a departure from the Optimism OP stack toward a unified solution, while creator platform Zora is migrating to Solana to launch attention markets for trading social trends. However, operational risks persist as DeFi lender Moonwell incurred $1.8m in bad debt due to a pricing oracle glitch. Arthur Hayes suggests that while a credit crisis driven by AI displacement is a threat, the subsequent Federal Reserve response will likely drive Bitcoin to new record highs. Investors face a new opportunity in the expansion of prediction market ETFs as Bitwise files for 2028 election products, though they must weigh this against risks like BlackRock’s 18% skim on staked Ethereum rewards.
1) Top 20 news headlines
- Mubadala IBIT holdings jump 46% to $630.7m; the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund increased its share count from 8.7m to 12.7m units.
- Strategy acquires 2,486 BTC for $169m; Michael Saylor’s firm increased its total treasury holdings to 717,131 BTC.
- Laurore Ltd discloses $436.2m BlackRock IBIT stake; the mystery Hong Kong based firm now holds roughly 0.65% of all shares outstanding.
- Goldman Sachs CEO confirms personal Bitcoin ownership; David Solomon revealed he owns a small amount of the cryptocurrency while monitoring its store of value case.
- Base network to depart Optimism for unified tech stack; the Coinbase incubated layer 2 is evolving its foundational software for greater operational control.
- Moonwell hit with $1.8m bad debt after oracle glitch; a misconfigured Chainlink oracle briefly valued cbETH at $1 instead of its $2,200 market price.
- Bitwise files for 2026 and 2028 election prediction market ETFs; the issuer filed to list two funds tracking outcomes for the next US presidential cycle.
- BlackRock ETHB ETF to retain 18% of staking rewards; the proposed fund structure aims to keep up to 95% of its ETH assets staked.
- Zora migrates to Solana for social trend attention markets; the creator platform is launching a new product allowing users to trade tokens linked to internet traction.
- Riot stock jumps 9% on activist AI expansion urge; Starboard Value argued the miner’s 1.7 GW power capacity could drive premium AI hosting deals.
- Brevan Howard digital asset fund posts 30% loss; the BH Digital fund underperformed Bitcoin during its worst year since launching in 2021.
- Canary Capital launches spot Sui ETF with staking; the Nasdaq listed fund offers direct exposure to Sui while passing through proof of stake rewards.
- Hyperliquid creates DeFi policy group with $29m donation; the foundation established an advocacy organization backed by HYPE tokens to influence US rules.
- Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund exits stake in ETHZilla; SEC filings show the venture firm now owns zero shares in the Ethereum treasury company.
- XRP Ledger activates permissioned DEX for institutions; a new amendment allows regulated entities to decide who can place orders on gated trading venues.
- Milo crosses $100m milestone in crypto backed mortgages; the specialist lender completed a record $12m transaction within its zero margin call portfolio.
- Apex Group pilots Trump affiliated WLFI stablecoin; the $3.5t asset firm will test the USD1 stablecoin for fund flows and tokenized asset settlement.
- Kraken acquires token management platform Magna; the acquisition marks the exchange’s sixth deal in 12 months for a platform that hit $60b peak TVL.
- Ark Invest buys $6.9m in Coinbase shares; Cathie Wood’s firm reversed recent sales by purchasing 41,453 shares across three ETFs.
- IRS tax rules confuse 1,000 polled crypto holders; a new survey indicates widespread fear regarding the shift to automatic transaction reporting.
2) BTC and ETH ETF flows
| Metric | BTC | ETH |
|---|---|---|
| Net inflow | -$104,867,618.96 | $48,630,522.25 |
| Value traded | $3,054,077,138.18 | $848,542,143.00 |
| Net assets | $85,519,530,681.18 | $11,466,901,240.40 |
| Cumulative net inflow | $54,223,873,622.81 | $11,696,485,964.17 |
3) X trending news
- Middle East war fears escalate; gold surges above $5,000 per ounce and oil exceeds $64 as evidence suggests a US-Iran conflict is imminent.
- Trump media consolidation reports; the president will reportedly block Netflix’s bid for Warner Bros. and assist Paramount in a major industry shift.
- Buffett trims tech holdings; Berkshire Hathaway sold 77% of its Amazon stake for $1.7b and liquidated $2.7b in Apple shares.
- Eric Trump bullish on Bitcoin; the president’s son predicts Bitcoin will eventually reach a price target of $1m.
- OpenAI projected fiscal losses; the artificial intelligence firm expects to lose more than $100b through the end of the decade.
- Graduate underemployment crisis; nearly 42.5% of recent college graduates are working in roles that do not require a degree.
- Epstein files sentiment poll; a Reuters survey finds that many Americans believe the powerful receive a legal pass following recent document releases.
- Dollar bearishness hits 14 year high; net exposure by global fund managers has fallen to -35 points as reserve diversification continues.