Trump’s Bitcoin Boost, SEC Showdown, and Crypto Party Newcomers 🚀

What’s up fam 🖖

Welcome to another edition of your favorite weekly news round-up…… From Coinigy, whenever and wherever you’re reading this.

So it looks like our orange-haired ex-president will not be leaving the crypto spotlight, at least not anytime soon, especially when he’s made a promise that could be a game-changer for Bitcoin mining. We will wait to see how that goes.

Meanwhile, Coinbase is going head to head against the SEC again, unsurprisingly. At the same time, South Korea’s pension fund is going all-in on crypto stocks. 

And in other news, Mastercard is joining the crypto party with MetaMask. Self-custody meets retail spending? Now that’s what we call innovation. I guess the crypto party will keep housing more guests every now and then as everyone wants in.

Here are the Highlights:

• Trump’s energy promise could be Bitcoin mining’s savior
• Coinbase takes on the SEC over DEX regulation
• Mastercard enables crypto spending from MetaMask wallet
• South Korea’s pension fund makes big bets on MicroStrategy and Coinbase

Bitcoin mining is in peril, but Trump can save it by keeping this campaign promise

Bitcoin miner centralization threatens Bitcoin, but former President Donald Trump’s pledge to slash energy prices can ensure its decentralization. Bitcoin mining pools, the majority of Bitcoin mining being done, appear to be centralized in China around a handful of entities—with Chinese mining pools making up approximately 54% of the Bitcoin hashrate, according to blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant.  News reports about China banning the mining of crypto assets exaggerated the situation on the ground. The country still dominates the hash rate, largely thanks to its cheap electricity and infrastructure. 

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SEC Faces Opposition from Coinbase Over DEX Regulation Proposal

Coinbase, the leading U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, has opposed a rule offered by the Securities and Exchange Commission that will control decentralized exchanges. Coinbase submitted concerns over the agency’s proposal to expand the definition of exchange. The policy would put DEXs to the same needs as traditional financial exchanges. This move has brought opposition from Coinbase, which claims that the rule could strain innovation in the cryptocurrency space.

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Mastercard, MetaMask and Baanx have collaborated to provide a pilot debit card enabling users that self custody their cryptocurrency to spend it at retail outlets. The cryptocurrency is automatically converted to Euros or Pounds at the point of sale. Earlier this year MetaMask reported 30 million monthly active users. Initially the card is digital only. However, given that in Europe it’s easy to use digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, that’s a practical approach for the pilot.

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Third largest pension fund globally invests $80M in MicroStrategy and Coinbase

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) holds more than $80 million worth of MicroStrategy and Coinbase shares, according to a new filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Aug. 13 filing revealed that the NPS purchased 24,500 shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) for about $33.75 million during the second quarter ending June 30. The fund also holds over 229,807 shares of Coinbase, valued at more than $51 million. This marks a significant increase from last year when NPS only held Coinbase shares. At that time, the fund had over 280,000 Coinbase shares worth approximately $20 million, yielding a 40% profit on its investment.

Read More.

Other Highlights Worth Mentioning

94% of Bitcoin’s total supply has now been mined – CryptoSlate

75% of Bitcoin Hasn’t Moved in 6+ Months, Signaling Strong HODLing Trend – Bitcoin Magazine

Canadian crypto exchange gambled away $9.5M of users’ Bitcoin and Ether – Cointelegraph

Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Registers ‘Dacc.eth’ Amid Call for Responsible AI Development – BeInCrypto

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• Source: https://insights.coinigy.com/trumps-bitcoin-boost-sec-showdown-and-crypto-party-newcomers/