Powell Rejects Immediate US CBDC Plans

The Breakdown First Five - Friday, March 8, 2024

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. Pantera Loading Up on Solana

Bloomberg reports that Pantera has been raising a $250M fund to purchase locked Solana from the FTX estate. The fund was looking to close the raise in February. They’re getting a steep discount to spot prices, securing tokens at just $59.95, almost 60% off. Investors will be locked up for four years to ensure that token vesting schedules are respected. The massive deal has FTX creditors enraged that their SOL distribution is only around $15 per token.

4. Binance Lists Future Futures

Binance will allow users to bet on which token is next to be listed for futures trading. Rewards are paid out in the form of trading fee rebates, just to make sure that degen energy is conserved. Binance claimed the bets will not influence listing decisions. Bets are limited to $100 and users can change their pick if unsuccessful, so perhaps it's closer to some harmless fun. Still, if you ever needed a sign that we’re in the age of hyper gambling, here it is. 

3. Options Delayed

Options on Bitcoin ETFs have been delayed by the SEC. Many are suggesting that hedge funds and more sophisticated players need options to become available before they can unleash more complex strategies on the market, suggesting that options could be rocket fuel for ETF volume. Options are normally automatically listed after three days of trading, but those rules don’t apply to commodity ETFs. The final approval deadline is on April 24.

2. Kimchi Premium Hits 2-Year High

The notorious South Korean premium has hit 10%, signaling frothy conditions for domestic retail. That’s the highest level in 27 months. The Kimchi premium is largely due to tight capital controls in South Korea, but can get wildly out of control as retail piles in. During the last cycle, it reached above 20% at the height of the bull market. South Korea doesn’t have notable crypto funds, so this is considered a pure retail signal. 

1. Powell: No CBDC on My Watch

Fed Chair Jerome Powell put an end to speculation that a US CBDC might be coming. He said that a financial surveillance tool like the Chinese digital Yuan is “not something we would not stand for, or do, or propose in the United States.” If the Fed does issue digital currency, Powell said they would do it through the banking system. He said people don’t need to worry about a CBDC, adding that “nothing like that is remotely close to happening any time soon.”