1️⃣ Bitcoin ETF Holders
Bitcoin has seen a roughly 10% rally this week, surpassing $67,000 on Friday due to positive CPI readings and Notable ETF Holdings Disclosures.
- Millennial Managementone of the world's largest hedge funds, has disclosed $2 billion in Bitcoin ETF assets from iShares Bitcoin Trust and BlackRock's Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
- Capital of Bracebridgea hedge fund managing the endowments of Yale and Princeton, announced $262 million in the ARK 21Shares ETF and $81 million in BlackRock's IBIT.
- Item72the owner of the Knicks Steven Cohen's $34 billion hedge fundheld $77.5 million in the Fidelity BTC ETF (FBTC) in the first quarter.
- The Wisconsin Investment Council reported $162 million in Bitcoin ETF holdings.
River Search, a Bitcoin brokerage, shows that 13 of the top 25 US hedge funds purchased BTC ETFs in the first quarter. While these holdings can be a long-term bet on Bitcoin, they can also be used for short-term market making, hedging, or reversing.
![](https://bankless.ghost.io/content/images/2024/05/Xnapper-2024-05-18-10.13.41.png)
2️⃣ Tornado Cash developer sentenced
Privacy was considered a crime this week when Alexey Pertsev, a Tornado Cash developer, was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to 64 months in prison by a Dutch court. The sentence alleges that Pertsev laundered billions through Tornado Cash between 2019 and 2022. Pertsev's co-founder, Roman Storm, faces similar charges in the United States, with his trial scheduled for September.
A sad day for the Netherlands regarding Bankless
Developer Alexey Pertsev was sentenced to prison for privacy software.
![](https://bankless.ghost.io/content/images/2024/05/23c5e14f-4091-416f-befa-49e2b1251215.webp)
3️⃣ Senate votes to overturn SAB 121
The Senate voted 60-38 to repeal SEC SAB 121, which required businesses to record customers' digital assets as liabilities rather than traditional holdings – a major sticking point for adoption. The resolution now heads to President Biden, who has threatened to veto it. This marks an important milestone in crypto legislation, with bipartisan support reflecting growing interest in thoughtfully developing crypto policy. If Biden vetoes it, Congress could attempt to override it, thereby challenging the SEC's position on crypto.
4️⃣ Pump.fun exploit
Popular Solana memecoin launcher Pump.fun suspended operations after costly flash loan exploit 12.3k SOL (~$2 million). Former employee staccoverflow claimed responsibility, citing his disdain for his former bosses and his personal problems. The exploit involved accessing a private key and using flash loans to manipulate memecoin bond curves, then withdrawing liquidity intended for Raydium pools. The platform generated $1.9M in revenue over the two days preceding the exploit, which would cover 95% of the losses, and also toppled Solana in terms of revenue. While, yes, Pump can compensate users, this incident highlights, as always, the importance of private key security.
5️⃣ Roaring Kitty Sparks Meme Coin Frenzy
Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, known for leading the GME short squeeze in 2020, resurfaced on Twitter this week. Following his post, finished 14,500 new tokens on Solana were created on Sunday, setting a record. Gamestop's GME stock also nearly quadrupled before falling. Gill's return has reignited interest in meme stocks and crypto, generating millions in profits for traders. However, some think he's not really backas his YouTube and Reddit accounts remain inactive.