🪙🤯 U.S. Bitcoin ETFs see $4.6B in Volume on Day 1!
Happy Wednesday all,
Bitcoin ETFs got approved after last week’s Hump Days, and the money just poured in. What’s interesting is a lot of the ETFs use Coinbase to house their Bitcoin, and Coinbase stock is down 10.16% following the approval.
Definitely take a look at the tax plan article by the Wall Street Journal linked below. I found it really interesting to see what each side had in mind in terms of tax plans, and the gap between the two parties is quite wide.
Enjoy this week’s Hump Days!
- Humphrey, Rickie & Tim
👀 Eye-Catching Headlines
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says global consensus on AI is emerging (CNBC)
NVDA’s red-hot 2024 start a bright spot as S&P 500 eyes record (Bloomberg)
Hertz makes ‘agile’ decision to shift strategy and sell EVs, Teslas (CNBC)
Elon Musk wants more control of Tesla, seeks 25% voting power (CNBC)
Retirement savers are putting more money into stocks, survey shows (Bloomberg)
Inflation edges up in December after rapid cooling most of 2023 (WSJ)
Apple’s Vision Pro headset could sell out quickly at launch, top analysts predicts (CNBC)
The Weekly Brief
1. U.S. Bitcoin ETFs see $4.6B in Volume on First Day of Trading (Reuters)
Investors poured into U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs after they were approved by the U.S. securities regulator on Wednesday.
The products will test whether digital assets - which are still viewed as risky by professionals - can gain broader acceptance as an investment.
Grayscale, Blackrock, and Fidelity dominated trading volumes, the LSEG data showed.
The approval sparked intense competition as issuers fought for market share, many of whom slashed the fees for their products well below the industry standard.
Fees on the new ETFs range from 0.2% to 1.5%, with many issuers offering to waive fees entirely for some time.
2. $6T in Taxes Are at Stake in This Year’s Elections (WSJ)
President Biden and Republicans support starkly different tax plans come election time.
Republicans generally want to extend all expiring tax cuts from the 2017 law signed by Trump.
Biden proposed extending Trump’s tax cuts for households making under $400,000 annually but said the rest should expire.
This plan includes tax increases that haven’t entirely been detailed and would generate more than $2T beyond forecasts.
The corporate tax rate would go from 21% to 28%, and the top individual rate would go to 39.6% from 37%.
3. China’s Population Drops for Second Year, With Record Low Birth Rate (Reuters)
China’s population fell for a second consecutive year on the back of a record-low birth rate and a wave of Covid deaths.
The National Bureau of Statistics said the total number of people in China dropped by 2.08M, or 0.15%.
New births fell 5.7% to 9.02M, and the birth rate was a record low, with 6.39 births per 1,000 people.
High childcare and education costs put many Chinese couples off having children, while uncertainty in the job market discourages women from pausing their careers.
Local governments have announced measures to encourage childbirth, including tax deductions, longer maternity leave, and housing subsidies.