opinion

Crypto SWOT: Harvard University’s endowment has joined hedge funds in snapping up Bitcoin

Kitco Media
By Frank E Holmes
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Crypto SWOT: Harvard University’s endowment has joined hedge funds in snapping up Bitcoin teaser image

Strengths

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was OKB, rising 100%.
  • TeraWulf shares rose as much as 35%, the largest gain since March 2024, after Google acquired the equivalent of an 8% stake in the company. The Bitcoin miner and data center operator signed two 10-year high-performance computing co-location deals with AI cloud platform operator Fluidstack, reports Bloomberg.
  • Bitcoin and Ether are trading near all-time highs as investor demand grows, with Ether recently outperforming Bitcoin. The rally in Ether has been driven by record fund inflows and a growing number of Ether-focused treasury firms, which have absorbed nearly $17 billion worth of Ether, writes Bloomberg.

Weaknesses

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performer for the week was SPX, down 20.72%.
  • A stronger-than-expected inflation reading reminded investors that Bitcoin remains a highly volatile asset, causing it to fall more than 4% after reaching a record high, writes Bloomberg.
  • The UNI price experienced significant volatility over the past 48 hours, declining 9.42% to the current level of $10.89. This downturn followed a broader market selloff that hit the CoinDesk 20 Index on August 14, with Uniswap leading the decline with an 8.2% drop, according to Bloomberg.

Opportunities

  • The recent coordinated movement of stocks and Bitcoin highlights how both speculative market segments and mainstream benchmarks are fueled by the same wave of optimism, according to Bloomberg.

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  • Bullish shares jumped 149% from the IPO price after the digital-asset exchange operator raised $1.1 billion in its offering. The IPO was more than 20 times oversubscribed, with a market value of $13.2 billion based on outstanding shares, according to Bloomberg.
  • Harvard University’s endowment joined hedge funds in snapping up Bitcoin, paving the way for other Ivy League institutions to follow. The iShares Bitcoin ETF was among the securities with the largest aggregated allocations last quarter. Harvard Management built a new $133 million position in the ETF, according to Bloomberg.

Threats

  • Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon pleaded guilty to charges in a U.S. fraud prosecution tied to the $40 billion collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin in 2022. Kwon agreed to forfeit $19.3 million and some properties as part of the plea deal. U.S. prosecutors said the longest sentence they will seek under the plea deal is 12 years, according to Bloomberg.
  • Ethereum treasury firm SharpLink Gaming, backed by blockchain network co-founder Joseph Lubin, saw its shares dip Friday morning after reporting second-quarter earnings. SharpLink disclosed a $103 million net loss for the quarter, with $87.8 million of that attributed to non-cash impairment on the firm’s liquid staked ETH holdings due to GAAP requirements, according to Bloomberg.
  • Digital Currency Group sued Genesis Global Capital LLC to zero out a $1.1 billion note it issued to the fallen crypto lender, saying the obligations under the promissory note have been reduced to zero. DCG said Genesis received large recoveries from the appreciation and liquidation of collateral from Three Arrows Capital, according to Bloomberg.
Kitco Media

Frank E Holmes

Frank Holmes is CEO and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors, Inc., a boutique investment advisory firm based in San Antonio that manages domestic and offshore funds specializing in the natural resources and emerging markets sectors. The company’s no-load mutual funds include the Global Resources Fund (ticker PSPFX), the World Precious Minerals Fund (UNWPX) and the Gold Shares Fund (USERX).

Please consider carefully the fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. For this and other important information, obtain a fund prospectus by visiting www.usfunds.com or by calling 1-800-US-FUNDS (1-800-873-8637). Read it carefully before investing. Distributed by U.S. Global Brokerage, Inc.

All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice. Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor. Foreign and emerging market investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and less public disclosure, as well as economic and political risk.

The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index is an international benchmark tracking the world’s leading gold companies with the intent to provide an investable representative index of publicly-traded international gold companies. The FTSE Gold Mines Index Series encompasses all gold mining companies that have a sustainable and attributable gold production of at least 300,000 ounces a year, and that derive 75% or more of their revenue from mined gold.

Holdings as a percentage of net assets as of 6/30/07: Jiangxi Copper (China Region Opportunity Fund 1.74%); Silvercorp Metals Inc. (World Precious Minerals Fund 2.78%, Global Resources Fund 0.89%, China Region Opportunity Fund 2.42%); Gold Fields Ltd. (Gold Shares Fund 6.05%, World Precious Minerals Fund 2.58%, Global Resources Fund 0.39%); Sino Gold Mining Ltd. (Gold Shares Fund 1.03%, World Precious Minerals Fund 0.58%, China Region Opportunity Fund 0.27%); Anglogold Ashanti (0.0%); Dynasty Gold (0.0%).

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