Crypto
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Everyone wants a piece of the bitcoin action now, from Trump Media to gold miners

Bitcoin stockpiles grow, Trump Media files for a bitcoin ETFs, and a gold mining company is pivoting to digital gold.

bitcoin may be down 7% from its all-time high on May 22, but that doesn’t seem to be dampening enthusiasm among the crypto crowd.

A newcomer on the bitcoin treasury scene, Twenty One Capital, just added a bunch of tokens to its reserve. The company, headed by Jack Mallers, believes it will be a superior vehicle to Michael Saylor’s bitcoin holding company, Strategy, and now holds 37,230 bitcoin.

Mallers announced the company’s proof of reserve is live, posting, “Anyone in the world can now audit and verify that we own the #Bitcoin we say we do.”

The move marks a drastic contrast to Saylor, who has said that having a proof of reserves was a “bad idea” and “dangerous.”

“No institutional-grade or enterprise security analyst would think it’s a good idea to publish all of the wallet addresses, such that you could be traced back and forth,” he said when asked about the idea at Bitcoin 2025.

Regardless, last week, Arkham Intelligence identified (and published) 87% of Strategy’s holdings.

Meanwhile, Trump Media & Technology Group filed for a spot bitcoin ETF with the SEC today. Shares were down more than 6% this afternoon (but that might be due to something else).

The Truth Social Bitcoin ETF will be listed on NYSE Arca, pending approval. Yorkville America Digital is listed as its sponsor, while Crypto.com will serve as the ETF’s bitcoin custodian, according to a press release.

Interestingly, as Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas noted, the risk section of the prospectus has a “regulatory uncertainty/headwinds” portion, which includes “how President Trump launched the crypto task force and a bitcoin strategic reserve. Pretty sure the first time ever the advisor is in the risk section... it’s all so surreal.”

Across the pond, London-listed Bluebird Mining Ventures, a company formerly focused on “bringing historic mines back into production, announced a strategy shift to “convert gold into digital gold.”

Aidan Bishop, executive director and interim CEO, told Sherwood News that this was driven by several factors, including the recognition that bitcoin is a superior store of value to physical gold.

“Whilst gold has industrial applications and for jewelry, I expect that bitcoin as an asset size will, over time, exceed that of gold. Therefore, there is a clear opportunity to convert physical gold into what some describe as ‘digital gold,’” he added. “This factor, along with my journey into bitcoin as well as the need for the company to be invigorated, were the primary reasons.”

Others making sure they are staying orange-hot include:

  • Semler Scientific acquired 185 bitcoin for $20 million, and now holds 4,449 bitcoin.

  • Metaplanet acquired 1,088 bitcoin, and now holds 8,888 bitcoin.

  • Solar energy company SolarBank announced the launch of a bitcoin treasury strategy inspired by Strategy and SharpLink.

  • Korean media company K-Wave Media announced “a securities purchase agreement with Bitcoin Strategic Reserve KWM LLC, providing for the sale by the Company of up to $500 million of ordinary shares.”

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Payward, parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, puts plans for IPO on hold

Payward, crypto exchange Kraken’s parent company, has paused its plans for an initial public offering until market conditions improve, according to a report from CoinDesk that cited two people with knowledge of the matter. 

Since the firm announced in November its preparation for an IPO of its common stock, the total market capitalization of the crypto industry has shed around $652.2 billion, from $3.2 trillion to $2.5 trillion as of Wednesday, data from CoinGecko shows. 

The news comes two weeks after Kraken received approval for a master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, allowing the crypto exchange to connect to the Fed’s payment infrastructure used by traditional banks and credit unions. 

Last year, Kraken raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation from institutional investors such as Jane Street and Citadel Securities.

The news comes two weeks after Kraken received approval for a master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, allowing the crypto exchange to connect to the Fed’s payment infrastructure used by traditional banks and credit unions. 

Last year, Kraken raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation from institutional investors such as Jane Street and Citadel Securities.

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SEC and CFTC issue new guidance on how securities laws apply to crypto assets

On Tuesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, together with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, issued an interpretation clarifying how federal securities law applies to crypto assets, a first step toward developing a clearer regulatory framework. 

The interpretive guidance introduces a token taxonomy for different types of cryptocurrencies, with SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins adding that “most crypto assets are not themselves securities.”

Examples of a digital commodity, “a crypto asset that is intrinsically linked to and derives its value from the programmatic operation of a crypto system that is ‘functional,’” include:

The guidance also includes definitions of digital collectibles (such as NFTs), stablecoins, digital tools, and digital securities (such as tokenized real-world assets and stocks).

This is a monumental step in the mainstream adoption of the industry and clears a hurdle in how crypto can operate going forward, according to David Pakman, head of venture investments at CoinFund. “This will allow new token designs with the confidence that their existence does not require registration with the SEC, etc.,” Pakman told Sherwood News.

Despite the clarification efforts from the two organizations, the market capitalization of the crypto industry has dropped about 2% in the last 24 hours as each of the tokens mentioned in the guidance are trading lower in the period, data from CoinGecko shows.

The joint agency action also complements congressional efforts to turn a crypto market structure framework into law. With the goal of providing regulations on the offer and sale of digital commodities, the CLARITY Act passed the House of Representatives last year and is now sitting in the Senate.

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