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How insiders are cashing in on a ‘complicated' crypto treasury trend
How insiders are cashing in on a ‘complicated' crypto treasury trend

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Business
  • Yahoo

How insiders are cashing in on a ‘complicated' crypto treasury trend

Bitcoin treasuries are having a moment, but the buzz is hiding how insiders are quietly cashing in while retail investors foot the bill, according to some market stakeholders. Rob Hadick, general partner at crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly, reckons that the sudden wave of companies launching corporate Bitcoin vehicles is a sign of trouble, not triumph. 'The crypto treasury trend is complicated,' Hadick said in a July 21 interview with Coinage Media. 'I got six calls about new treasury vehicles over the weekend. That tells you the froth.' And it's precisely that fervour that's creating distorted incentives, he argued. Bitcoin treasury companies have just one overarching business model and it's to raise money, buy Bitcoin, and hope the stock trades at a premium. It's a playbook popularised by Michael Saylor. The stock of his software company, Strategy, has soared more than tenfold since it began swapping cash for crypto at the end of 2020. That success has triggered crypto's latest gold rush — drawing in everyone from hotel chains to US President Donald Trump's Trump Media to stock up on Bitcoin. More than 150 public companies now hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets, with 24 new firms joining the trend in the past 30 days. Buying a dollar for $1.20 It's not just the volume of deals — it's also how they're structured. Many of these vehicles include 'promotes,' the cut taken by asset managers or early investors before any gains reach shareholders, Hadick said. 'Traditionally, a promote is 10%,' he said. 'I've seen some now where they're up to 20% or more. That's dilution — you're paying $1.20 for $1 of Bitcoin.' Even if Bitcoin performs well, investors could still lag because a sizable chunk of the upside is carved out for insiders. A high promote rewards hype and fundraising over long term value creation, because it lets insiders lock in upside before the asset even performs. The more capital they raise, and the more buzz they generate, the more they earn, regardless of whether the Bitcoin bet actually pays off. Hadick isn't a fan of the model. 'Some of them look like they're just meant to extract value,' he said. Unsustainable valuations He's not the only one concerned. Eliezer Ndinga, head of research at says that while Bitcoin treasuries are becoming more common, the quality varies widely. 'Some of these companies lack products or a vision to support the broader Bitcoin network,' he told DL News on July 17. 'Those firms risk unsustainable valuations and won't trade at significant premiums in the future.' 'Me too' Famed short seller Jim Chanos, who called Enron's collapse in 2001, recently said the crypto market is reliving the 2021 SPAC boom — only this time, it's Bitcoin on the balance sheet instead of blank-check mergers. 'We are seeing SPAC-like 2021 numbers in the Bitcoin treasury market right now,' Chanos said on the Bitcoin Fundamentals podcast last week. 'Hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars a night.' He's shorting the premium between Strategy's stock — the company formerly known as MicroStrategy — and its underlying Bitcoin holdings. 'I believe it's over 130 companies already — and growing,' he said. 'The market can only absorb so much issuance.' Pedro Solimano is DL News' Buenos Aires-based markets correspondent. Got at a tip? Email atpsolimano@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Why institutions are wary of Ethereum treasury plays — for now
Why institutions are wary of Ethereum treasury plays — for now

Yahoo

time13 hours ago

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Why institutions are wary of Ethereum treasury plays — for now

Firms are raising capital, buying Ether, and betting their share prices will rise. But as the momentum builds, one question looms: is there a lasting investor appetite for Ethereum treasuries? Not among institutions, reckons Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets at VanEck. 'Not yet, but maybe that's where the opportunity is,' he said on a recent episode of The Mining Pod. What began with Michael Saylor's Bitcoin-hodling firm, Strategy, has now spread to Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. $1.3 billion The most aggressive entrant so far is SharpLink Gaming, an online casino platform that is betting its balance sheet on Ether. Over the last few weeks, the company has amassed more than $1.3 billion worth of Ether as it buys 'tens of millions of dollars' daily, according to Joe Lubin, the CEO of Consensys and Ethereum co-founder,who recently became the firm's chairman. SharpLink and BitMine Immersion Technologies — a little known Bitcoin miner turned Ethereum treasury — are trading at nearly double the value of their Ether holdings. They're not alone. More than 60 companies now hold Ethereum as a reserve asset, collectively owning over 1.8 million Ether or about $6.2 billion. And while that's still less than what the 157 Bitcoin treasury companies hold, it's growing fast. Big gains For Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, this Ether accumulation is creating a structural imbalance in the market that will spur big gains. 'Since mid-May, exchange-traded products and public companies have bought 2.83 million Ether — 32 times more than what's been newly issued,' Hougan said in a July 22 note to investors. 'No wonder the price of [Ethereum] has soared.' Ethereum has rallied 60%, to about $3,600, in the past 30 days. Ethereum treasury companies have two things going for them, according to market watchers. For one, the space has fewer players than the Bitcoin treasury sector. 'It's less crowded,' said Sigel, which might lure more companies into deploying capital to an Ethereum treasury company. Then there's Ethereum's utility. 'Ethereum is a useful asset,' head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise Jeff Park said in a July 8 interview on the Wolf of All Streets podcast. 'Bitcoin stores value. But Ethereum is productive — it earns yield.' Cash flow is something traditional investors know, and look for. The market decides Still, analysts are not just cautious, but actively sounding the alarm. Even though Ethereum treasuries are a newer phenomenon, they carry echoes of the same concerns that have dogged the Bitcoin playbook: aggressive 'promote' structures that reward insiders, speculative valuations, and frothy markets driven more by narrative than fundamentals. That hasn't slowed the hype. And as Ether prices continue to soar, the market may soon have to decide: are Ethereum treasury companies a new form of financial innovation — or just the latest speculative trade wrapped in a corporate wrapper? Pedro Solimano is DL News' Buenos Aires-based markets correspondent. Got at a tip? Email him at psolimano@ Sign in to access your portfolio

Why famed short seller Jim Chanos is warning Bitcoin treasury companies of SPAC-style risk
Why famed short seller Jim Chanos is warning Bitcoin treasury companies of SPAC-style risk

Yahoo

time14 hours ago

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Why famed short seller Jim Chanos is warning Bitcoin treasury companies of SPAC-style risk

Jim Chanos has seen this movie before — and he says it doesn't end well. The legendary short seller that called the 2001 Enron bankruptcy is now sounding the alarm on the booming market for corporate Bitcoin treasuries. Chanos is comparing it to the SPAC mania of 2021 that raised $90 billion in just three months before crashing spectacularly. Only this time, it's public companies issuing convertible notes and preferred shares to buy Bitcoin — and not much else. 'We are seeing SPAC-like 2021 numbers in the Bitcoin treasury market right now,' Chanos said on the Bitcoin Fundamentals podcast this week, adding that there are reasonably large announcements every day now — 'hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars a night.' It shouldn't be a surprise that Bitcoin treasuries have become all the rage. Since Michael Saylor adopted the scheme for his firm, now-called Strategy, the company's stock has soared more than tenfold. That success has brought in a deluge of other companies that want to mirror the model — and reap the same returns. Some, like former budget hotel operator Metaplanet, scrapped its previous business model in favour of a Bitcoin treasury scheme. Its market capitalisation has ballooned to $6 billion from $13 million in one year. SPAC boom and bust Chanos's warning is warranted. SPACs — those blank-check companies that exploded in 2020 and early 2021 — raised $90 billion in just 90 days at the height of the craze. They promised easy exits, moonshot mergers, and infinite upside. Instead, they delivered one of the most brutal post-hype collapses in modern market history. Indeed, many of them tanked. Electric truck startup Lordstown Motors went public via SPAC, hyped a futuristic factory, only to declare bankruptcy in 2023. Its stock dropped more than 98%. Hydrogen truck play Nikola rocketed on nothing more than a rolling prototype and a catchy narrative. The founder was later convicted of fraud. Shares are down over 95% from their peak. By mid-2022, the De-SPAC Index, which tracks companies post-merger, had cratered more than 75%. 'Me too' trades Chanos, who's shorting the premium between Strategy's stock and its underlying Bitcoin holdings — to then go long on Bitcoin — says capital markets are being flooded with 'me-too' Bitcoin trades. 'Now we have to bring in what's also new in the past handful of months in 2025, and that is the proliferation of me-too strategies,' Chanos said. 'I believe it's over 130 companies already — and growing.' Collectively, 154 public companies control about 863,298 Bitcoin worth around $102 billion. According to 26 firms have become Bitcoin treasuries in the past 30 days. Financial engineering Just as SPACs were built on cheap capital, investor euphoria, and zero business fundamentals, the new wave of Bitcoin treasury companies are being built on clever financial engineering schemes. One example is Strategy's preferred shares. Michael Saylor raised over $1 billion through this model just a few months ago. Preferred stock lands in between debt and common equity. Similar to bonds, preferred shares usually pay a fixed dividend and tend to be considered less risky than common stock. Whereas debt comes with a maturity date — the day when a loan has to be paid — preferred stock does not. Holders of preferred shares usually don't get voting rights, but they do have priority over common shareholders when it comes to dividends. And since preferred stock never matures, Strategy has no need to repay the principal, nor does it face the same refinancing or liquidation risk as it would with traditional debt. For Chanos, it's 'complete financial gibberish.' And just like the SPACs, he warns, it could all implode once the money dries up or sentiment turns. Pedro Solimano is DL News' Buenos Aires-based markets correspondent. Got at a tip? Email atpsolimano@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

XRP Tumbles 8% as Token Sees Resistance at $3 Ahead of ProShares ETF Launch
XRP Tumbles 8% as Token Sees Resistance at $3 Ahead of ProShares ETF Launch

Yahoo

time15-07-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

XRP Tumbles 8% as Token Sees Resistance at $3 Ahead of ProShares ETF Launch

What to know: XRP fell 8% from $3.02 to $2.78 between July 14 06:00 and July 15 05:00, posting a 7% intraday range between $2.80 and $3.02. Morning volume peaked at 216.12M during a coordinated push to $3.02, before systematic profit-taking set in. A late-session recovery from $2.82 to $2.87 (+2%) occurred during the 04:09–05:08 window, with 112.75M in volume — indicating corporate re-entry into support. The drawdown aligns with institutional de-risking ahead of the July 18 ProShares XRP Futures ETF launch. News BackgroundThe SEC's still-unresolved digital asset framework continues to dominate institutional risk models, forcing treasuries to balance early exposure with compliance upcoming ProShares XRP Futures ETF — set for launch on July 18 — has introduced a new capital allocation vector, particularly for pension and endowment that setup, corporate flows spiked in both directions: buying early at $2.95–$3.02, and selling heavily overnight as risk management protocols kicked in. Price Action Summary Range: $3.02 → $2.80 | Volatility: 7% Peak Time: 13:00 — volume hit 216.12M as XRP touched $3.02 Breakdown Zone: $2.95–$2.90 failed to hold during 00:00–03:00 session Final Hour Recovery: XRP rose from $2.82 → $2.87 (+2%) from 04:09–05:08 Volume Support: 112.75M confirms corporate reallocation near $2.87 Technical Analysis Price failed at $3.02 on heavy volume; structure turned bearish on lower highs Overnight breakdown saw algorithmic selling from $2.95 to $2.80 Recovery into close suggests corporate treasury accumulation at $2.82–$2.87 $3.00 remains the psychological resistance that bulls must reclaim Key levels: Support = $2.80 / Resistance = $2.95–$3.02 What Traders Are Watching Can XRP hold above $2.87 ahead of the ProShares launch and ETF-related flows? Reclaiming $3.00 would validate bullish institutional theses tied to payment utility Ongoing regulatory noise could suppress upside until ETF flow clarity emerges Treasury desks remain cautious but active — favoring low-exposure accumulation around volatility bands TakeawayXRP's 8% drop reflects more than volatility — it's corporate positioning in whales and treasuries sold into strength above $3.00, the closing bounce and ETF timeline suggest re-entry setups are forming. If regulatory clarity firms and the ProShares vehicle gains traction, XRP may see renewed inflows — but until then, expect tight risk-managed trading from institutions. Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy. Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen. Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten

BlackRock's assets hit record $12.53trln on second-quarter market rally
BlackRock's assets hit record $12.53trln on second-quarter market rally

Zawya

time15-07-2025

  • Business
  • Zawya

BlackRock's assets hit record $12.53trln on second-quarter market rally

BlackRock's assets under management hit a new high in the second quarter as global markets rallied on the prospect of trade deals and interest-rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve, brushing aside earlier tariff-related jitters. Shares of the company rose 1.1% in premarket trading. A robust labor market, a healthy consumer and hopes that President Donald Trump would ease some of his harsher trade measures pushed major U.S. indices to all-time highs through the end of June. That marked a sharp reversal from early April, when tumult in U.S. trade and geopolitical policy battered confidence and fueled recession fears, concerns that BlackRock CEO Larry Fink echoed at the time. The benchmark S&P 500 index rose 10.57% in the second quarter of 2025 after escaping bear market territory. BlackRock's assets under management rose to $12.53 trillion in the quarter ended June 30, from $10.65 trillion last year. However, long-term net inflows fell to $46 billion in the quarter, down 9.8%. As equities rallied, fixed-income products saw outflows of $4.66 billion, BlackRock said. Trends for the business are being closely scrutinized, given the turbulence in U.S. treasuries this quarter. The benchmark 10-year yield recorded one of its biggest weekly increases since 2001 after the "Liberation Day" shock. BlackRock's fixed-income executives expressed concerns last month that ballooning U.S. debt could suppress appetite for longer-dated treasuries and the dollar, which recorded its worst first-half performance this year since 1973. Widely considered safe haven assets, treasuries and the greenback have also suffered as markets price in tax cuts and spending hikes from Trump's recently passed "Big Beautiful Bill", which nonpartisan analysts predict will add more than $3 trillion to the country's $36.2 trillion debt. A weaker dollar tends to boost returns from foreign-currency assets. BlackRock recorded a positive foreign exchange impact of $171.52 billion in the quarter, compared with a $35.45 billion downward revision in the year-ago period. Its performance fees fell 42.7% to $94 million in the reported period, after falling nearly 71% in the first quarter. The low-cost investments juggernaut has been pivoting towards private markets and tech-enabled portfolio solutions to offset slowing growth in exchange-traded funds, a core part of its business through its iShares franchise. Fees on private assets provide higher margin revenue compared to those from ETFs, where BlackRock faces intense competition and fee compression as the market matures. Private markets saw inflows of $6.82 billion in the quarter. The New York-based firm said at its investor day last month that its private markets and technology businesses would make up 30% or more of its total revenue by 2030, up from 15% in 2024. As part of this push, BlackRock last month unveiled plans to include private assets in its retirement plans, which account for more than half of the money the company manages. The move follows peer State Street, which also launched a similar offering along with alternative asset manager Apollo in April. Technology services revenue rose 26.3% to $499 million, reflecting the first full quarter of data provider Preqin, which BlackRock bought in a $3.2 billion deal last year. The deal closed on March 3, 2025. Its total revenue - most of which is earned as a percentage of assets under management - rose to $5.42 billion from $4.81 billion a year ago. BlackRock's total expenses rose to $3.69 billion from $3.01 billion last year. Adjusted profit came in at $1.88 billion, or $12.05 per share, for the three months ended June 30, up from $1.55 billion, or $10.36 per share, a year earlier. (Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru and Anirban Sen in New York; Editing by Pooja Desai)

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