A 22-year-old Grand Haven man has agreed to forfeit about $630,000 in cryptocurrency and cash as well as give up his computer tower after pleading guilty to dark web buying and selling of stolen mPerks account access information.

Nicholas Mui pleaded guilty Monday to conducting a criminal enterprise in the Kent County Circuit Court.

Thousands of Meijer customers were compromised in the crime, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in January, and Meijer was forced to make the customers whole to the tune of more than $1 million.

The investigation, which began in the spring, was led by Meijer investigators, Michigan State Police and the attorney general’s FORCE (Focused Organized Retail Crime Enforcement) team.

“Their complex investigation has been instrumental in securing hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution and safeguarding a loyalty program used by many across our state,” Nessel said Tuesday.

Mui is expected to be sentenced Sept. 5. As part of his plea agreement, one count of using a computer to commit a crime and seven counts of identity theft were dropped.

Mui was accused of acquiring mPerks account information from the dark web and then selling the data to people who later used the points on Meijer purchases. At the time of his arraignment, officials said they had seized about $20,000 in cash and $460,000 in digital currency wallets.

Nessel’s office and Michigan State Police were contacted last spring by Meijer, which had received complaints from multiple customers saying their mPerks points had been wiped from their accounts. mPerks is a loyalty program through which Meijer customers can accumulate points to use as store credits.

During their investigation, officials found account login information and the points contained in those accounts were being marketed in encrypted chats and foreign online markets, Nessel said earlier this year. One seller, “Alphaland,” stood out in the number of sales being performed of mPerks in exchange for cryptocurrency and digital currency.

Alphaland, when tracked by investigators, was found to have more than 300 digital currency wallets using five different cryptocurrencies, but primarily using Bitcoin, Nessel said.

Officials tracked the seller’s activity to Mui’s home in Ottawa County. Mui allegedly cross-checked the login information with mPerks to determine how much each account obtained and then advertised the login information and account contents online.

Officials believe the information sold online was not obtained through a direct breach of Meijer’s system, but likely through an earlier largescale breach of separate software such as MyFitness Pal, which had 150 million accounts affected in a 2018 breach.

A software was likely used to analyze the data from the separate breach and crosscheck that stolen login information against other accounts, such as mPerks, that may have used the same username and password.

eleblanc@detroitnews.com

Bitcoin’s recent surge past the critical $60k mark sparked widespread excitement across altcoins, shifting sentiments from red to green. However, whether this signals a confirmed bullish breakout remains uncertain.”

Analyst Lark Davis opened up about the recent developments in Bitcoin’s price action and pointed out that Bitcoin has successfully broken out of a downtrend, moving past the 200-day EMA, and blasting through the $60k and $62k levels, as well as the 50-day and 100-day exponential moving averages.

He supported the bullish outlook, noting the potential for a technical retest around $63,000 to test the 50-day and 100-day as support, or even around $62,000. Despite the bullish sentiment, Davis reminded everyone that markets do not move in a straight line and corrections are natural.

The key level to watch is $72,000. Davis expressed excitement about the bullish momentum and the positive market reaction, citing factors like potential rate cuts, rising global liquidity, increasing regulatory clarity, and the possibility of a pro-crypto U.S. presidency. He warned that despite the excitement, Bitcoin is still ranging sideways until it breaks the $72,000 level.

The analyst then opened up about the possibility that recent price action could represent a spring in a Wyckoff reaccumulation pattern, potentially pushing Bitcoin to a target range of $90k to $100k in the next market cycle. He once again explained the importance of breaking the $72,000 level for a confirmed bullish breakout.

Davis also gave a quick update on some of the top-performing altcoins recently. Meme coins stole the spotlight with MCoin surging 20%, Floki up 12%, Dogwifhat climbing 15%, and Pepe rising 16% in just 24 hours. 

He then turned to Solana, noting its dominance in decentralized exchanges (DEXs), where it now commands 30% of the total trading volume across all blockchains. Davis expressed a longstanding belief that only a few blockchains will ultimately capture most user activity, questioning the proliferation of competing platforms with limited adoption beyond initial hype.

Local cryptocurrency exchange operators are ramping up their regulatory measures as the introduction of the virtual asset user protection law nears in South Korea.

On Tuesday, the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance, a body of five top local crypto exchange operators, introduced a guideline that advises exchanges to monitor abnormal transactions. It further released a revision of the guideline on the internal control standards of the exchange operators.

The movement comes as the Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users is to be enacted in Korea on Friday, requiring virtual asset service providers here to keep guard against abnormal transactions, including unusual fluctuations in the prices or trading volumes of listed coins. They are required to report the cases to financial regulators and take measures to protect users.

In line with the efforts, Bithumb Korea, operator of the country’s No. 2 cryptocurrency exchange, said Tuesday it had launched a monitoring committee the previous day, to keep guard against market disturbance. The committee is headed by CEO Lee Jae-won.

“The committee will be operated year-round to respond to abnormal transactions and unfair trade practices,” said Jang Doo-sik, head of the market oversight division at the company.

“Bithumb will work to keep a closer and more systematic watch on the market,” Jang said.

With the establishment, Bithumb Korea has a total of five committees, also watching over its compliance, supervising user protection, ensuring prevention of money laundering and internal control.

Earlier this month, the operator also introduced a reward to encourage individuals to report on employees’ engagement in unfair trading practices. The reward goes up to 300 million won ($220,000).

Dunamu, operator of Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, has also been working on strengthening its control system in recent months. In the first half of this year, it started to operate a system that keeps a record of asking prices of trading.

“Under the new law, exchanges have to keep account of asking prices, along with other details of the orders such as the date and time. Upbit was the first to operate the track system among local exchanges, even before the enactment of the user protection law,” an official from Dunamu said.

Along with the implementation of monitoring systems under the new law, tighter regulations will be imposed on the local virtual asset market from Friday.

As part of the movement, local exchanges are to reexamine the listing of some 600 coins traded here. The exchanges are to screen listed coins for six months from Friday, to drop coins that lack credibility, with insufficient information on issuance and distribution volume. After the six-month period, the exchanges are to conduct the screening every three months.

BlockDAG has unveiled its latest development update, Dev Release 73, which shares significant recap regarding the enhancements to the X1 Miner app. These updates are aimed at improving performance, streamlining user experience, and bolstering the app’s mining capabilities. With a focus on user engagement and efficiency, BlockDAG continues to solidify its position as a leader in the crypto mining industry. This latest release is particularly exciting for investors, as predictions indicate the potential for BDAG to reach $30 by 2030, turning daily X1 mining efforts into $600 per day earnings.

Understanding BlockDAG: A Revolution in Crypto Mining

BlockDAG has been at the forefront of crypto innovation, offering a unique and user-friendly mining experience. The X1 Miner app, available on the App Store, is a testament to this commitment. It allows users to mine BDAG coins effortlessly from their smartphones.

BlockDAG’s X1 Miner employs a cloud-based mobile mining application, leveraging an energy-efficient consensus algorithm. This ensures that users can mine without draining their battery or consuming excessive data. With the capability to earn up to 20 BDAG coins per day, the app is not only functional but also profitable for its users. The mining process is further enhanced by the app’s compatibility across various devices, ensuring a smooth experience regardless of the user’s choice of platform.

The success of BlockDAG’s presale underscores the community’s confidence in the project. Starting at Batch 1 with a price of $0.001, the presale has now reached Batch 20, priced at $0.015. So far, BlockDAG has raised $58.3 million, with a total supply of over 12.1 billion BDAG coins. Additionally, the sale of over 9,100 miners has brought in $3.7 million. These figures highlight the growing interest and investment in BlockDAG, positioning it for significant growth in the coming years.

Furthermore, analysts and experts are predicting that BlockDAG will potentially reach $30 by 2030. This means the X1 miner app’s capability of churning out 20 BDAG coins per day will translate to $600 daily.

Dev Release 73: Key Enhancements and Optimizations

The latest Dev Release 73 brings a series of pivotal improvements to the X1 Miner app. The week started with a sprint planning meeting where the development team outlined their goals, focusing on enhancing application performance and user experience. One of the major updates includes the introduction of a caching mechanism that stores frequently accessed data, enabling the app to retrieve information more efficiently and provide a smoother user experience.

The leaderboard functionality has also been optimized for quicker load times and a more responsive interface, allowing users to view their rankings in real time. Additionally, a new status symbol has been added to provide users with detailed information about their activities within the app, enhancing transparency and clarity.

BlockDAG’s commitment to a fair and robust consensus process is evident in the improvements made to the Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism. These enhancements aim to improve fairness, scalability, decentralization, and security, strengthening the overall system. Furthermore, pagination has been added to the referral module, addressing previous limitations and allowing users to navigate through their referrals more easily. The pull-to-refresh functionality on the groups and leaderboard pages also improves user experience by enabling data updates with a simple gesture.

Midweek, a planned demo for the blockchain explorer was successfully conducted, with the team currently addressing feedback to ensure continuous improvement. The week concluded with the exciting news of Apple’s approval of the BlockDAG X1 Miner app, making it globally available for download. This approval underscores the app’s quality and the team’s dedication to addressing user feedback and queries promptly.

Wrapping Things Up

BlockDAG’s Dev Release 73 represents a significant leap forward in enhancing the X1 Miner app, making it more efficient and user-friendly. With these updates, users can expect a smoother mining experience, enhanced transparency, and improved app performance. BlockDAG’s successful presale, which has raised over $58.3 million and reached Batch 20 at $0.015, showcases the growing confidence in BDAG’s potential. The projected $30 price for BDAG by 2030 further fuels investor optimism, making X1 miners’ daily mining efforts potentially worth up to $600. As BlockDAG continues to innovate and improve, it solidifies its position as a leader in the crypto mining industry, offering substantial returns and a robust platform for users and investors alike.

Join BlockDAG Presale Now:

Website: https://blockdag.network

Presale: https://purchase.blockdag.network

Telegram: https://t.me/blockDAGnetworkOfficial

Discord: https://discord.gg/Q7BxghMVyu

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Investing.com — Comments from Fed chief Jerome Powell have cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in September. Investors will look to retail sales data for confirmation of a slowing economy, while there are more bank earnings to digest during the session. Meanwhile bitcoin has gained as traders see a Trump presidential victory as more likely after the assassination attempt.

1. Cementing a September rate cut

Confidence is growing that the will agree to an interest rate cut in September, after Chairman ’s reasonably dovish comments on Monday.

In what could be his last public comments before the Fed goes into a blackout ahead of its July 30-31 policy meeting, Powell remained cautious but suggested that recent inflation data have been in the right direction for the inflation rate to return to the Fed’s target of 2%.

“In the second quarter, actually, we did make some more progress” on taming inflation, Powell said at an event at the Economic Club of Washington. “We’ve had three better readings, and if you average them, that’s a pretty good place.”

Powell also said he does not see the U.S. economy hitting major economic turbulence or an outright recession.

The comments were enough for markets to once again shift rate expectations, with traders anticipating 68 basis points of easing this year. A rate cut in September is now fully priced in, the CME FedWatch tool showed.

2. Futures slip ahead of retail sales data

U.S. stock futures slipped back Tuesday from record levels, as investors look for more clues about the health of the U.S. economy in the form of retail sales and bank earnings. 

By 04:10 ET (08:10 GMT), the contract was 40 points, or 0.1%, lower, dropped 9 points, or 0.2%, and fell by 22 points, or 0.2%.

The main indices closed higher on Monday, with the blue chip closing at a new record high, as investors were buoyed by the perceived increased likelihood of a Republican president, which could pave the way for favorable tax and fiscal policies for investors. 

There are more earnings to digest Tuesday, mainly from the banking sector, but a lot of focus will also be on the release of the U.S. data for June.

This is expected to show a fall of 0.3% on a monthly basis, as consumers struggle with elevated interest rates and high prices. 

3. Trump selects Vance as running mate

Donald Trump reentered the spotlight on Monday, receiving a rapturous welcome on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, just a few days after surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Trump was officially nominated to be the party’s 2024 presidential candidate, and announced U.S. Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate.

The four-day convention will culminate with Trump’s prime-time address on Thursday, when he formally accepts the party’s nomination to face President Joe Biden in a rematch of their 2020 race.

The attack has bolstered expectations of a Trump victory in the November election, particularly in the wake of Biden’s weak performance in the first debate between the two players last month.

President Biden gave an interview to NBC on Monday, dismissing concerns about his mental health  and indicated that he had no intention of dropping his bid for reelection.  

The race between Trump and Biden remains close, according to public opinion polls, though Trump leads in several swing states likely to decide the election.

4. More bank earnings

The banking sector will remain in focus Tuesday, with the likes of Bank of America (NYSE:), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) and Charles Schwab (NYSE:) scheduled to report quarterly earnings before the open.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) stated, on Monday, that its profit more than doubled in the second quarter on strong debt underwriting and fixed-income trading, but slipped from a bumper first quarter when earnings were the highest since 2021.

The resilience of the U.S. economy has given corporate executives the confidence to pursue acquisitions, debt sales and stock offerings.

“We expect that stock investors will be focusing on Q2’s earnings reporting season over the rest of this month through early August,” said analysts at Yardeni Research, in a note.

“If earnings turn out to be better than expected (as we project), then the bull market should broaden as investors continue to discount cuts in the federal funds rate later this year, as they did on Thursday and Friday. The breadth of positive three-month forward earnings growth rates among the companies continues to widen.”

5. Bitcoin in demand

price rose on Tuesday, adding to the previous session’s gains, buoyed by the prospect of friendlier crypto regulations in the U.S. if Donald Trump was to win a second term in the 2024 presidential race. 

At 04:10 ET (08:10 GMT), Bitcoin rose 0.3% to $63,115, gaining almost 9% this week, and almost 50% year to date.

Speculation over Trump helped the token rise past concerns over selling pressure from distributions by defunct crypto exchange Mt Gox, which had seen Bitcoin crash to as low as $54,000 earlier in July.

Bitcoin’s rebound came after a failed assassination attempt on Trump, over the weekend, was seen as greatly boosting the former president’s popularity.

Trump has maintained a largely supportive stance towards the crypto industry, recently stating that the future of Bitcoin should be built in the U.S. and not overseas.

This contrasts with a slew of crackdowns against the industry by the SEC and the Department of Justice in recent years.

 

Solana-based meme coin Dogwifhat (WIF) has taken the cryptocurrency market by storm, becoming the best-performing asset in the first half of the year, as the Shiba Inu puppy-inspired token has outperformed Bitcoin’s (BTC) 48% surge since January, making it the top returner among approximately 70 coins with market caps over $1 billion. 

Dogwifhat (WIF) Leads The Pack

According to Forbes, Dogwifhat has emerged as the leading performer among the group of coins, with a market cap of more than $1 billion, recording a 1,300% gain from a low of $0.111 since December 2023.

Close behind is Pepe (PEPE), recording gains of nearly 800%. At the same time, another meme coin that has significantly increased is Floki Inu (FLOKI), named after Elon Musk’s Shiba Inu dog, recording a 418% increase over the same period. Similarly, Shiba Inu (SHIB) has seen a 67% increase. 

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While meme coins dominate the spotlight, the report notes that several tokens outside the meme coin realm have also showcased remarkable rallies, surpassing Bitcoin’s performance. 

ETH, the token of the Ethereum network, is up 51% and is poised for potential gains after the expected full approval of the spot Ethereum ETF market, similar to Bitcoin, anticipated to be traded in the coming weeks. 

Binance Coin (BNB), issued by the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has also surged 81%, outperforming BTC’s price action despite recent regulatory and legal challenges faced by billionaire former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who is currently serving a 6-month sentence following a plea deal with US authorities in 2023.

Meme Coin Bonanza

While WIF has become the star performer with a 1,306% increase, its market cap has also made a notable recovery in recent months after losing a high of almost $4 billion to currently reach a market cap of $2.1 billion, which has secured Dogwifhat’s 54th place in the top 100 cryptocurrencies on the market. 

Pepe also follows behind WIF in this key financial metric, reaching a market cap of $5 billion. However, the two are far behind Dogecoin (DOGE) and SHIB’s market cap figures, which currently stand at $17 billion and $10 billion, respectively, being the largest meme coins in the crypto market. 

Related Reading

Other coins, such as Artificial Superintelligence Alliance, also outperformed the largest cryptocurrency on the market, surging 545% to reach a market cap of $3.6 billion during the same period, while Floki experienced a growth of 392% to reach a market cap of $1.6 billion following the recent market slump recorded since March and April highs. 

At the time of writing, WIF continues to rally and is trading at $1.899, up over 14% in the last 24 hours. However, the meme coin is trading 60% below its all-time high of $4.83, set in March 2024. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

The altcoin market had been trending down over the past two weeks, but a key indicator reveals that the recent drawdown could indicate a “relative momentum bottom,” which, if history repeats, could soon see a “concerted take-off,” according to crypto analysts. 

The crypto Top 200 Equal Weight Index is “still trending down, but the Altseason indicator shows that the recent washout when it hit 10% was likely a relative momentum bottom,” according to Chief Crypto Analyst at Real Vision Jamie Coutts.

The crypto Top 200 Equal Weight Index is an equally weighted index that seeks to track the performance of the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization from that of Bitcoin.

Coutts shared the chart below, showing that the index has been trending downward, with the Altseason Indicator reaching a low of 10%. This meant that “only 10% of the top 200 were outperforming BTC on a 90-day look back,” the analyst explained.

Historically, this has marked a bottom for the market, preceding a sustained rally in altcoins.

“Altcoins could still bounce around these levels for a while before we see a concerted take-off, many have started to build decent bases. ”

Coutts also considered another indicator across the broader crypto market—the daily active user (DAU) count—to support his prediction about the direction of the altcoin market.

DAU is a metric that reflects the number of unique public addresses transacting on a blockchain each day.

Coutts noted that the DAU count across all blockchains is up 97% year-to-date, suggesting that “growth continues unabated.”

More users means more user fees which translates to “higher asset prices,” he stated.

“I think some Altcoins out there are ready for round 2,” popular crypto analyst Moustache said in a July 15 post, adding that the highly anticipated launch of spot Ethereum ETFs could provide the required hindwings.

In an earlier post, Moustache shared the following chart showing that the altcoin market cap was repeating a similar setup as in 2020 before embarking on “their strongest wave in the bull run.”

It’s still Bitcoin season

The Bitcoin dominance chart — measuring BTC’s market share relative to the overall crypto market — is one of the indicators commonly used to indicate whether the altseason has begun. It can provide traders with the overall investor sentiment and risk appetite in the market.

This indicator had been on an upward trend since the beginning of 2024, reaching a three-year high of 56.5% on April 13. At the time of publication, BTC dominance is at 54%, indicating that it is still Bitcoin season.

This means altcoins are still underperforming Bitcoin.

According to data from Blockchain Center, only 37% of the top 50 altcoins have outperformed BTC during the last three-month period. Although this is a positive sign, it is still not enough to declare an altcoin season. For an altseason to be declared, this percentage has to move above 75%.

This means that although signs of an altcoin season are starting to merge, it might be too early to make the call.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has identified seven unauthorized cryptocurrency exchanges and placed them on its Alert list for conducting unauthorized activities in the region without obtaining the required licenses.

Hong Kong SFC’s Alert List

This public record, also known as the Alert list, has been maintained since January 2020. On July 5, seven unlicensed crypto exchanges were added, bringing the total to 39 entries, with 28 unlicensed crypto exchanges flagged this year alone.

The Hong Kong SFC is in charge of the public record that contains all registered, unregistered, and unlicensed crypto exchanges in the region.

The seven unlicensed crypto exchanges include Taurusemex, Yomaex, Bitones.org, BTEPRO, CEG, XTCQT, and Bstorest.

These unlicensed crypto exchanges are suspected of engaging in fraudulent activities and compromising the safety of investors in line with their registration status with the SFC.

Earlier this year, the SFC advised all crypto exchanges to apply for operational licenses as part of Hong Kong’s broader plan to assume the position of a regulated crypto hub.

The SFC released a regulatory deadline for crypto license applications that elapsed on May 31. Over 22 exchanges submitted their applications, while some others decided to opt out just before the cutoff date.

On May 14, just a few weeks before the deadline, HTX withdrew its Hong Kong application for the second time. Also, in May, Gate.io suspended its crypto licensing application in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Is Determined to Ensure Crypto Regulatory Compliance

Since early 2024, Hong Kong has demonstrated a strong commitment to enforcing regulatory compliance in the crypto trading sector. The region has taken decisive measures to achieve this goal.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) took swift action, mandating the closure of unlicensed crypto exchanges that failed to submit license applications by the specified deadline.

At the same time, the HK government has implemented initiatives to bolster the region’s appeal as a premier hub for crypto and technology investments, fostering a favorable environment for innovation and growth.

In addition, government officials have been actively courting foreign investment, attending conferences, and showcasing Hong Kong’s offshore technology hub to Web3 entrepreneurs.

Polygon investors remain optimistic despite market downturns, while Dogecoin updates continue to draw attention to Elon Musk’s influence. Meanwhile, BlockDAG (BDAG) is revolutionizing mobile mining with the innovative X1 Miner App. Users can mine up to 20 BDAG daily, with additional referral rewards boosting earnings.

The stability in MATIC’s adoption rate suggests the potential for further growth. Elon Musk’s cheeky response to a Dogecoin designer’s critique on X reflects the fun nature of meme-coins. BlockDAG’s innovations, like the ROI Calculators on the website, enhance user experience. This has led to a presale surge, with BlockDAG recently entering Batch 20, achieving a coin price of $0.015, raising $58.3 million, and selling 12.2 billion coins.

Polygon Investors Confident in MATIC’s Recovery

Polygon investors remain confident despite the current crypto market downturn, with a stable adoption rate of 34%. This indicates that Polygon investors firmly believe in the long-term value of MATIC.

Even though the live price of Polygon is $0.55 per MATIC, the continuous interest from Polygon investors highlights their optimism for a potential rebound. The stability in MATIC’s adoption rate, coupled with positive sentiment among Polygon investors, suggests that the recovery and growth of MATIC remain promising despite current challenges.

Recent Dogecoin Updates Highlight Elon Musk’s Influence

Dogecoin updates have recently gained attention due to interactions involving Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk responded to a Dogecoin designer’s critique of President Joe Biden’s public interactions with a cheeky remark on social platform X.

This exchange highlighted Musk’s frequent engagement with the Dogecoin community. Musk was a Biden supporter, but now regrets his decision and leans towards the Republican Party. These Dogecoin updates underscore Musk’s influence and the ongoing dialogue within the ecosystem.

Maximise Earnings with BlockDAG’s X1 Miner App

BlockDAG’s X1 Miner App is revolutionising mobile mining by transforming smartphones into powerful BDAG coin mining devices. Available on the Apple Store, the X1 app features an innovative energy-saving algorithm that preserves battery life and data, ensuring sustainable and efficient mining. Users can mine up to 20 BDAG daily, with additional earning potential through a referral system that increases mining rates as referred users actively mine. The excitement surrounding the X1 app is palpable, as it enhances mining opportunities and offers rewards for active participation.

Moreover, BlockDAG’s crypto mining calculator helps users visualize their investment growth. For instance, mining 20 BDAG daily would equate to $20 when BlockDAG hits $1, $200 when it reaches $10 in 2025, and $400 when it hits $20 in 2027. The coin amount calculator features a responsive scale that shows the coin value corresponding to the Batch number, allowing users to understand the ROI potential of their BlockDAG assets.

Using the coin amount calculator and the mining profit calculator, users can track their investment growth as BDAG increases in value. This functionality, with the user-friendly BlockDAG website, makes it a standout in the crypto space.

Concluding Thoughts

While Polygon investors maintain their confidence and Dogecoin updates keep the community buzzing, BlockDAG emerges as the superior option with its groundbreaking X1 mobile mining app. This app lets users mine up to 20 BDAG daily and offers enhanced earnings through referrals. With the Coin Amount and Mining Profit Calculators providing an enhanced user experience, BlockDAG sets a new standard in the cryptocurrency world, making it the ultimate choice for investors seeking growth and sustainability.

Join BlockDAG Presale Now:

Website: https://blockdag.network

Presale: https://purchase.blockdag.network

Telegram: https://t.me/blockDAGnetworkOfficial

Discord: https://discord.gg/Q7BxghMVyu

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink gave perhaps his most full-throated endorsement of Bitcoin yet on Monday, dubbing himself a “major believer” in the world’s top cryptocurrency—while simultaneously framing the asset as a choice investment for those with pessimistic outlooks on the world. 

“It is a legitimate financial instrument,” Fink said during an appearance on CNBC Monday morning. “I believe it is an instrument you invest in when you’re more frightened, though.”

Fink’s comments come just two days after a shooter attempted and failed to assassinate former president Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. In the wake of the calamitous event—during which one rally attendee was killed and two others were critically wounded—Bitcoin spiked to its highest point in weeks. 

“Political volatility is a catalyst for Bitcoin buying, and an assassination attempt on the leading Presidential candidate of the U.S. is an affront to democracy globally and reminds people of just how fragile the status quo is today,” Rich Rosenblum, co-founder of trading firm GSR, told Decrypt over the weekend.

While Fink did not reference the Trump shooting on Monday, he did explain that he sees Bitcoin chiefly as an attractive investment for those with a negative view of where the world is headed.

“If you want to hedge hope, Bitcoin is not an instrument for hope,” Fink said. “I look at it as a vehicle in which you’re expressing… [that] you’re more frightened of the world, you’re more frightened [for] your existence.”

The BlackRock CEO made clear that he personally views the world more optimistically. But his company—the largest investment firm in the world, with over $10.6 trillion in assets under management—has gone all-in on crypto in recent months, in some indication of how Fink thinks the rest of the world is thinking. 

Last summer, BlackRock appeared to singlehandedly shake up the fledgling campaign for a spot Bitcoin ETF by filing an application to list the product with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Within months, spot Bitcoin ETFs were a reality on Wall Street, with BlackRock leading the charge.

Those moves played a major part in boosting BlackRock last quarter to its highest value of assets under management ever—an accomplishment that shattered Wall Street’s expectations. 

BlackRock is further poised to soon become one of the first American issuers of spot Ethereum ETFs. The Wall Street giant also launched an Ethereum-based tokenized asset fund in March, which has so far been massively successful.     

In a bizarre twist, the now-deceased individual identified as the Trump rally shooter by the FBI, Thomas Matthew Crooks, appeared in a BlackRock ad in 2022.

Edited by Andrew Hayward