After several weeks of price declines for the world’s largest cryptoasset, bitcoin had a lowkey rebound last week, moving up back above the $26,000 level. 

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Bitcoin (BITCOMP) began the week around $25,600, having been largely in retreat since the end of May, but this trend has modestly reversed, with the cryptoasset up around 2% over seven days. The market likely benefited from the suggestion that rate hikes in the US were pausing, but the reaction overall was muted. 

Ether (ETH-X) saw no such rebound, falling around 1.4% over the week, now trading around $1,700, down from $1,730 at the beginning of last week. Ether finished relatively flat but saw a big dip midweek, however the price recovered somewhat by the end of the weekend. 

Britcoin one step closer

CBDCs or ‘central bank digital currencies’ have been much discussed for some time now in the crypto sphere, but as of yet, few major versions have come to fruition. But a UK pound version, so-called ‘Britcoin’ looks one step closer to realization. 

The Bank of England has concluded an experiment with the Bank for international Settlements (BIS) called Project Rosalind looking at the viability of a UK digital pound. The study found such a CBDC could help make payments for individuals cheaper and more efficient, while firms would be able to offer new kinds of financial products and reduce incidences of fraud. 

It’s easy to conflate CBDCs with the wider crypto market but in essence they aren’t very similar, especially when it comes to processes such as decentralization and value underpinning. CBDCs are very much a centralized response to the burgeoning cryptoasset market, and while could prove useful are not fundamentally the same as crypto such as bitcoin or ether. 

Bitcoin miner exchange flow hits five-year high

The flow of bitcoin miners’ cryptoassets onto exchanges has hit a five-year high according to crypto data firm Glassnode. 

The shift suggests a large number of miners are looking to cash in on their cryptoasset holdings and ‘readying their powder’ by placing assets on exchange. It is difficult to interpret whether this is a good or bad signal for the market - miners may be looking to cash in ahead of an anticipated fall in value or may be betting on a rise in the price of the cryptoasset and preparing to take advantage. 

That being said, miners still hold large amounts of bitcoin, worth roughly $50 billion. Glassnode’s data indicates that bitcoin exchange outflows are ahead of inflows at a three-month low which would suggest investors overall are holding tight with their cryptoassets for now. 

BlackRock applies for bitcoin spot ETF

Major global asset manager BlackRock (BLK) has applied to list a bitcoin spot price ETF in the US. It isn’t the first financial institution to do so, and unlikely the last, but it possibly has a better chance than other smaller entities to succeed in meeting the regulatory hurdles. 

The potential for a bitcoin spot ETF to move the market is not hugely clear and reliant on demand. But BlackRock manages an eye-watering amount of the world’s capital so the success of a spot ETF could unlock enormous amounts of liquidity in the market for bitcoin. 

The spot ETF from the firm comes with some pretty hefty caveats, such as the inclusion of surveillance data sharing to prevent market manipulation. Bitcoin proponents will likely baulk at this as against the spirit of the decentralized asset, but it might likely be the price of getting such a product to market.

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