n n n ‘. concat(e. i18n. t(“search. voice. recognition_retry”),’n
Yahoo Finance Crypto Reporter David Hollerith takes a look at Riot’s and Marathon’s plans to expand its crypto mining operations in 2024 and Cathie Wood’s recent sale of ARK Invest’s remaining Grayscale (GBTC) shares.
Shares of Bitcoin (BTC-USD) mining operators Riot Blockchain (RIOT) and Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) went into the red on Thursday morning. Stocks reversed course after making big gains ahead of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval. of a spot bitcoin ETF.
Yahoo Finance Crypto Reporter David Hollerith takes a look at Riot’s and Marathon’s plans to expand its crypto mining operations in 2024 and Cathie Wood’s recent sale of ARK Invest’s remaining Grayscale (GBTC) shares.
For more information and the latest market actions, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
[VIDEO LOGO]
RACHELLE AKUFFO: Bitcoin mining corporate stocks are reversing course this morning. This comes after miners saw double-digit gains stemming from hopes of a Bitcoin Spot ETF and a positive outlook for cryptocurrencies in 2024. Yahoo Finance’s David Hollerith will give us more details. Hi David.
DAVID HOLLERITH: Hi, Rachelle. Bitcoin is down, or slightly up, but it’s been more or less stable over the last week. And the most important thing to know about Bitcoin miners is that they have to borrow a lot of cash to make initial money. Acquire mining equipment. And two notable publicly traded mining companies, Riot and Marathon Digital, have announced acquisitions, Riot for the acquisition of more mining apparatus and Marathon for two new Bitcoin mining sites. So, they’re heavily in debt because they want all that debt. So we can expect their actions to be volatile.
But I would say outside of the on-the-day movements, in general, the amount of investment that these firms are taking, given that they’re so heavily levered, is one more data point we can take around this optimism for what Bitcoin might look like next year. Obviously, there’s the possibility of the Bitcoin Spot ETFs to be potentially launched as soon as January if the SEC grants approval.
But we also gain advantages from a more positive macroeconomic environment, with the option of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike next year. And then also the Bitcoin halving, which is a Bitcoin-like quick source upgrade that happens every four years. Overall, I think it’s a sign, despite the day’s moves, that corporations in the sector are putting a lot more influence on a positive outlook for next year for Bitcoin.
RACHELLE AKUFFO: And David, talking about the symptoms and reading the tea leaves, Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Invest, also sold the remaining 2. 25 million shares of grayscale Bitcoin and bought more than 4 million shares of ProShares Bitcoin. Help us perceive what’s happening there and what it means for the landscape within Bitcoin.
DAVID HOLLERITH: Wood was on Bloomberg TV this morning and he also spoke to us this week. And on Bloomberg, he said GBTC shares were sold out of an abundance of caution, given the uncertainty of whether Grayscale would be able to convert its investment. Accept as true on ETFs, given the tea leaves of a possible approval of those products in January.
He also indicated that GBTC has also done very well this year. Earlier this week, when he spoke to us, he admitted that, in anticipation of the ETF’s move, investors had made attractive profits. And because of the historical drawdown of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, because it is not a full ETF, it has far outperformed Bitcoin this year, so they are in a pretty smart position to profit.
ARK is also in the running to gain SEC approval to issue one of these Spot Bitcoin ETFs. And speaking with our anchor Julie Hyman this week, she would actually admitted that of the dozen or so potential issuers of these products, if they are all to be cleared, there’s still only a chance of one two three or so, is what she said, winners to take market share. The ETF game is all about liquidity.
And I think I’d like to upload something about that as well. We don’t have any main point about it. But given that ARK is potentially launching an ETF – Spot Bitcoin ETF in the near future, it would make sense that ARK could take some of the budget it sold to Grayscale and temporarily park it in BITO. We’re not sure. And maybe, put that money into your own ETF to add a liquidity boost or an edge when those ETFs or if those ETFs are advertised to help them gain market share.
RACHELLE AKUFFO: David Hollerith has us covered, from Bitcoin to banks. Thank you.