Crypto Biz: Bitcoin whales trade keys for comfort
Early Bitcoin holders are swapping self-custody for convenience by converting spot BTC into BlackRock ETFs.Summary
A significant shift is occurring among long-time Bitcoin whales, who are increasingly trading their self-custodied spot positions for shares in spot Bitcoin ETFs, primarily BlackRock's IBIT. This move, confirmed by BlackRock executives, allows early adopters to integrate their exposure into traditional wealth management and private banking relationships, sacrificing private key control for convenience. This trend coincides with on-chain data showing self-custodied Bitcoin breaking a 15-year uptrend as ETF adoption accelerates, partly enabled by recent SEC rule changes allowing in-kind creations/redemptions.
In other crypto business news, Ripple-backed Evernorth Holdings plans to go public via a merger to create an XRP-focused treasury company, aiming to raise over $1 billion. Meanwhile, asset manager Galaxy Digital reported strong Q3 earnings of $505 million net income, driven by increased trading volumes and facilitating a massive 80,000 BTC transaction for an institutional client as part of their estate planning. Finally, global payments platform Wise is exploring stablecoin products, evidenced by its recruitment for a digital asset product lead focused on stablecoin solutions.
(Source：Cointelegraph)