BlackRock does not buy BTC, Tether imposes sanctions, and the US GDP has declined - let’s sum up the results of the week.

💸 Cryptocurrencies

📍 BlackRock has not purchased BTC for its ETF for three days in a row; the total volume of funds in spot ETFs has been declining since April 11.

The market tries to ignore this situation, reassuring itself that BlackRock is not selling. BTC price is holding up in anticipation of the start of ETF trading in Hong Kong on April 30 🥺

📍 Tether will freeze all addresses associated with companies and individuals on the US Treasury sanctions list. This statement had to be made after a Reuters publication about Venezuela circumventing sanctions using USDT.

And here in the USA they want to pass a law that will limit the amount of funds from the issuer of a stablecoin in the amount of $10 billion. Unless, of course, Tether receives a banking license in the USA 🪀

📍 CoinShares estimated the current cost of BTC mining after halving to be $53k, and mining difficulty set a new record.

Public mining companies prepared in advance for the halving and are now feeling great, as long as the price does not move towards this $53k 😇

💵 Finance

📍 In the first quarter of 2024, US GDP grew by 1.6%, which is below the forecast of 2.5%.

The soft landing of the economy promised by Powell no longer looks like a priority scenario, but the Fed is in no hurry to cut rates due to indicators of rising inflation 🗽

📍 The S&P 500 earnings season is going well and the index has returned to growth, but companies have to surprise investors:
▪️ Tesla rose 11% despite a poor quarterly report due to its promise to release a budget electric car in 2025.
▪️ Alphabet added 10%, announcing the first dividends in its history.
▪️ Meta fell 12% on a better-than-expected report after reporting growth in AI spending to $40 billion 🤦‍♂️

📍 The US regulator closed Republic First Bancorp, selling it and all its giblets to Fulton Bank.

Regional US banks are still at a loss, and after the Fed’s free liquidity program is curtailed, new bankruptcies are a matter of time 💀