👉 Background: Bitcoin was created by the man and still the myth Satoshi Nakamoto back in 2008. At first, it was a fan-favourite of quirky coders and libertarians, but crypto has become mainstream. In fact, the number of Aussies that hold some form of cryptocurrency is around 20%, according to Fintech Australia, which means its more mainstream than oat milk.‍

👉 What happened: Over the past 15 years, it has gone through a number of incredibly volatile cycles. In early April this year, the price of bitcoin fell to $74,000 USD after Trump’s tariff tantrum. But bitcoin has been rapidly climbing… up 43% since then. And now, bitcoin has hit its all-time high of $110,000 USD.

👉 What else: The driver has been spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, which effectively allows large institutions to get exposure to bitcoin… without actually owning bitcoin.

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What's the key learning?

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💡It took 15 years, but Bitcoin has become institution-accepted.. And maybe even friendly. In January 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETFs.

💡Spot bitcoin ETF's are a way for large institutions to get exposure to bitcoin because holding crypto directly is a nightmare. For large institutions managing money, there’s the risk of losing the crypto password aka private keys and also there’s a heap of regulatory red tape.

💡And these Spot bitcoin ETFs are driving many institutional investors into the market. Get this: since the beginning of the year, the number of bitcoin held by public companies has grown 31% to about $349 billion USD, and that comprises 15% of the total bitcoin supply.