Unlocking Bitcoin - Feb. 12, 2025
News on Bitcoin, tokenized financial networks and Sypher Capital
🟢 Sypher Capital News
Sypher Bitcoin Yield Fund Taking Subscriptions for the Second Cohort
Sypher Bitcoin Yield Fund has been taking initial subscriptions from Accredited Investors and Qualified Purchasers over the last week for the next investment cohort. The fund will be taking subscriptions up until approximately February 24, 2025. If you would like to learn more, please email ir@syphercapital.com or feel free to reach out to us personally.
💎 Bitcoin News
Strategic Bitcoin Reserve One of The Admin’s First Priorities
In a press event for the Senate Banking Committee, White House Crypto Czar, David Sacks, noted that Trump’s desire to create a national reserve of Bitcoin will be studied by officials in the administration.
“That is one of the first things we’re going to look at as part of the internal working group in the administration. We’re still waiting for some cabinet members who are on the working group to get confirmed, so we’re still in the very early stages of this. But that is one of the first things we’re going to look at.” - David Sacks
Sacks, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist with a long history of investing in digital asset projects, was tapped by Trump to be the first-ever White House Crypto and Artificial Intelligence Czar. This role gives him a prominent position in shaping the administration’s policies on digital assets.
Trump Media Trademarks “Bitcoin Plus ETF”
Trump Media applied for 6 trademarks on investment products. One of the trademarks include “Truth.Fi Bitcoin Plus ETF.” It’s abundantly clear that President Trump has positioned his entities and assets to benefit from any favorable regulatory developments on Bitcoin and crypto.
Utah Closest State to Enact Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
There are over 20 states which are considering or have proposed bills to enact a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, but Utah is now the closest one to see it come to fruition. The ‘Strategic Bitcoin Reserve’ bill officially passed the Utah House and will now move on to the Senate. The legislation would give the state’s treasurer authority to allocate up to 5% of certain public funds to buy “qualifying digital assets,” such as Bitcoin, high-cap crypto assets and Stablecoins.
Wall Street IB’s Plotting to Get Bigger Into Crypto
Bloomberg reports that Wall Street's major banks are shifting strategy to position themselves to win more crypto deals, driven by the new administration’s embrace of the industry. The article notes that Morgan Stanley, BofA, and RBC have all internally discussed a potential push into facilitating deals for digital asset firms. BofA’s CEO Brian Moynihan said during a CNBC interview earlier this year that banks “will come in hard on the transactional side,” if regulation is established.
Tether Announces Integration with Lightning Network
Tether announced its plan to integrate USDT into Bitcoin, specifically on-chain and on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network to take advantage of its instant, low-cost transactions. Through this protocol, Tether can issue USDT over the Lightning Network and allow Bitcoin software and services to integrate and interact more seamlessly with USDT.
🧐 Sypher Portfolio News
Circle: GENIUS Act to Create Regulatory Framework for Stablecoins
In early February, Sen. Haggerty, Sen. Gillibrand, Sen. Scott and Sen. Lummis were set to introduce a bill to create a regulatory framework for Stablecoins. Stablecoins are seen as a bridge between decentralized finance (“DeFi”) to traditional finance (“TradFi”), as their value is pegged to USD or other stable assets. Stablecoins are digital tokens intended to hold a steady value. Issuers typically promise to hold liquid assets, such as dollars or Treasury bills, in equal value to tokens created. The bill outlines rules for issuing Stablecoin payments and requirements to back Stablecoins with US currency, US treasuries and other assets, according to a draft seen by Bloomberg. The legislation would also require Stablecoin issuers to disclose audited reports every month about their reserves. The Stablecoin industry is dominated by Tether’s $USDT and Circle’s $USDC.1
Circle: Fed’s Waller Supportive of Stablecoins
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he’s supportive of Stablecoins because they are likely to propagate the dollar’s status as a reserve currency, though they need a clear set of rules and regulations. His view is driven by the fact that while Stablecoins can be backed by any currency, they are commonly backed by dollars.
Chainlink: DTCC announces ComposerX
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) clears $2.5 quadrillions of stocks, bonds, and treasuries annually. Recently, they announced ComposerX, a comprehensive suite of platforms designed to streamline token creation and settlement with the objective of accelerating digital asset adoption throughout the financial ecosystem. Many observers believe much of the innovation is driven by Chainlink, given the pilot program they participated in.
CoinGecko data as of February 4, 2025.