Month: April 2024

In celebration of the historic fourth Bitcoin halving and to ring in a new epoch in sound money, Bitcoin Magazine and Kraken are pleased to present the Bitcoin Halving Livestream. This event will bring together prominent voices in the Bitcoin space including Barstool CEO Dave Portnoy, Strike CEO Jack Mallers, Bitcoin Magazine Institutional Lead Dylan LeClair, and Ten31 Managing Partner Matt Odell.

This halving event – projected to occur between April 19, 2024 – will occur as Bitcoin reaches block 840,000, marking the point at which its relative supply issuance will drop below that of gold for the first time. Previous halvings have historically acted as a turning point in the market as the reduction in newly issued coins has been met with surging demand for the currency throughout each prior halving cycle.

This time around, the halving has been preceded by a new all-time high, an occurrence that has never happened since Bitcoin’s inception in January 2009. Between the launch of Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States (arguably the most successful ETF debut in history) by major financial institutions, and a potential resurgence in inflation, the Bitcoin bulls are on parade driving the market higher into uncharted territory.

Other guests slated to appear on the livestream are Bitcoin Magazine Chief Content Officer Pete Rizzo, Human Rights Foundation Director of Financial Freedom Christian Keroles, Simply Bitcoin Founder Nico Moran, Bitcoin Magazine Correspondent Isabella Santos, and Pomp Investments Founder Anthony Pompliano.

Click here for more information on the Bitcoin Halving Livestream powered by Kraken

In the countdown to Bitcoin’s fourth epoch, Livestream guests will review the Top 21 Moments of the past four years, as voted on by Bitcoin Magazine readers. Top moments include the rise of the Laser Eyes meme, MicroStrategy unveiling of its bitcoin-based treasury strategy, and the notorious rise and fall of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. In partnership with Nitrobetting, Bitcoin Magazine will be awarding a 1 BTC prize pool for the Bitcoin Halving Challenge to contestants who most closely predict the price of the currency at Block 840,000.

Viewers will be able to count down to the halving with some of the biggest names in the space and commemorate the growth of Bitcoin with a New Year’s Eve-style celebration with Bitcoiners from around the world. The full roster of Livestream participants can be seen on www.BitcoinHalving.com and viewers can tune in on the Bitcoin Magazine YouTube channel, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Rumble and Facebook.

Bitcoin has come a long way since the last halving in 2020, and it’s time to kick things up a notch as the world marches toward hyperbitcoinization. Don’t miss the Bitcoin Halving Livestream powered by Kraken so you can say you were there for the dawn of a new era in Bitcoin. 

For more information, visit www.BitcoinHalving.com and tune into the Livestream beginning at Bitcoin block height 839,974.

Tribalism has existed for as long as tribes themselves. For as long as humans have been organizing into social groups, we’ve been hating on the group in the next valley. Even though we have much more in common with them than we would care to admit.

It is not surprising therefore that bitcoiners and ethereans should hold a long-standing rivalry. As the largest blockchain ecosystems, each running on distinct architecture and supporting distinct use cases, there are fundamental differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum.

These differences aren’t just technical but also cultural. Just as flora and fauna on Madagascar evolved differently from that on larger land masses, distinct crypto tribes form their own culture, memes, and ideology over time. Eventually, like Montagues and Capulets, they can’t even recall why they disliked one another in the first place.

But it wasn’t always that way: and it doesn’t have to stay this way. There are signs that the rivalry that has polarized bitcoiners and ethereans is starting to thaw. If these frenemies can bury the hatchet and work together, it will make web3 a better place for everyone.

From Divergence to Convergence

It’s easy to forget that Ethereum was born out of Bitcoin. Vitalik Buterin cut his teeth at Bitcoin Magazine and was a regular poster on the Bitcointalk forum. When the Ethereum ICO was held in 2014, funds were raised at a ratio of 2,000 ETH per BTC. It’s also easy to forget that many of the use cases now synonymous with Ethereum have Bitcoin ancestors, such as NFT precursor Colored Coins. Even the concept of a Layer 2 has Bitcoin beginnings. But all that’s ancient history now.

BTC has assumed the mantle of store of value and global reserve currency, while ETH has become the fuel that launched 100 EVM chains and 10,000 tokens. Along the way, the continental drift pushing the two ecosystems apart has been expedited by Ethereum’s move to Proof of Stake, leaving Bitcoin as the only top 20 coin aside from DOGE still wedded to Proof of Work.

While the differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum are stark, they are not irreconcilable. One of the most fascinating aspects of the chains’ evolving use cases is the way in which each has emulated the other. Ethereum is well on its way to becoming a somewhat stable store of value of its own, and looks poised to follow Bitcoin in receiving an ETF.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, has belatedly spawned its own multi-chain and multi-token ecosystem thanks to Ordinals, BRC20, Runes, Stacks, and similar protocols. Bitcoin-native DeFi and NFTs are now a thing – even if most maximalists aren’t on board. While it remains to be seen whether Bitcoin DeFi takes off, it’s clear that there’s now more that unites the two chains than divides them. Bitcoin and Ethereum have moved in opposing directions over the years but their paths are finally starting to converge.

Choose Tech, Not Tribalism

Rather than arguing over whose tech trumps whose, or who implemented it first, there are clear benefits to the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities setting aside their differences. Just as globalism diminished petty tribalism (even if we simply swapped hating the guy in the next valley for hating internet strangers), the multi-chain era has rendered blockchain wars pointless.

Bitcoin and Ethereum are no longer isolated islands but interconnected hubs that routinely exchange value through bridges, portals, and wrappers. Isn’t it time they started swapping developer talent too? The onus is on builders to find ways that both technology stacks can enhance one another. This is the key to scaling web3 and growing adoption.

The rise of Ordinals has shown there is strong interest in utilizing the Bitcoin network as more than simply a means to store value. But building out further utility natively is complex since the network is not Turing complete by nature and its simplistic UTXO model and limited block space cannot handle complex data and calculations.

While there have been many avenues explored for scaling Bitcoin, they all relied on a level of centralization until the Taproot upgrade which brought Schnorr Signature and MAST contracts. These upgrades have made it possible to design fully trustless bridges between the Bitcoin ecosystem and other networks, allowing for truly decentralized scaling solutions to be realized.

The Ethereum ecosystem is already home to a robust suite of tools, smart contracts and applications that can be utilized to bring further compatibility and functionality to Bitcoin. It makes far more sense for Bitcoin to inherit the technology that already exists for certain functions rather than rebuild them from the ground up.

Scale Bitcoin, Enhance Ethereum

An obvious solution to scaling Bitcoin at the consumer level and building out new use cases is to utilize the functionality enabled by Taproot to create trustless bridges between Bitcoin and EVM-compatible networks. This can create a wave of new opportunities for both ecosystems by unlocking new ways for Bitcoin holders to engage while increasing the liquidity within Ethereum-based chains.

While the possibility of utilizing EVM-compatible technology to scale the Bitcoin ecosystem is promising, perhaps the biggest challenge to overcome will not be technological but cultural. While human ingenuity is boundless, our tendency to drag one another down like a bucket of crabs remains deeply ingrained.

All crypto communities should strive to shun the cutthroat behaviors web2 was built on and find ways to collaborate. Only once this is done can web3 realize its full potential. As Biggie put it, “Can’t we just all get along?”

This is a guest post by Yves La Rose. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Hong Kong has reportedly approved its first spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with multiple issuers announcing they received permission to launch Bitcoin ETFs.

China Asset Management, Bosera Capital and other applicants posted on social media that they got clearance to list spot Bitcoin ETFs in Hong Kong. However, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has yet to release an official list of approved issuers.

According to the posts, the SFC greenlit China Asset Management to offer spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in partnership with OSL and BOCI International. Other approved issuers include Harvest Global Investments, HashKey Capital, and Bosera Asset Management.

The news mirrors the success of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., which launched in January and quickly attracted over $200 billion in trading volume. Hong Kong’s approval marks a milestone as Asia’s first jurisdiction to embrace spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The ETFs provide exposure to actual Bitcoin rather than derivatives, offering investors direct access to the assets. They also present a regulated investment vehicle that mitigates some of Bitcoin’s risks.

By approving the ETFs, Hong Kong cements its Bitcoin-friendly stance amid ongoing efforts to become a finance hub. The accessibly traded funds could stimulate significant retail and institutional demand.

However, an official SFC announcement remains pending. Some of the social media posts sharing the alleged approval have since been deleted. The opacity around permissions could contribute to market uncertainty in the near term.

Nonetheless, the reported approvals signal a willingness by Hong Kong’s regulators to meet surging investor appetite for Bitcoin. The ETFs’ launch will mark a major milestone for Bitcoin adoption and maturity in Asia.