GBTC's Discount to NAV: Smallest Margin Since July 2021

• Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust Discount Narrows Amid ETF Optimism
• The U.S. Department of Justice's Stance on Changpeng CZ Zhao
• The Impact of Metaco's Acquisition by Ripple
• Chart of the Day

Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust Discount Narrows Amid ETF Optimism

The price gap for Grayscale's Bitcoin$42,260 -0.64% Trust (GBTC), the biggest bitcoin investment vehicle globally, has decreased to its smallest extent since July 2021. This is due to hopes of an approval of a bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. GBTC shares are now trading at an 8.06% discount to the trust's net asset value (NAV), the nearest it has been to NAV since July 2021, as per Ycharts data. The fund has been trading at a discount since February 2021 and fell to record lows around 50% in December last year. According to a social media post on platform X by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the narrowing is probably due to Grayscale's updated filings/SEC meeting reported Wed.

The U.S. Department of Justice's Stance on Changpeng CZ Zhao

The U.S. Department of Justice has expressed that it doesn't want Changpeng CZ Zhao, the founder of Binance, to be detained until his hearing but insists that he should stay in the U.S. on account of being a flight risk that could be managed. Last week, CZ's legal counsel argued that his voluntary entry into the U.S. to appear before a court, despite being a non-U.S. citizen with UAE and Canadian passports, signifies that he doesn't pose a flight risk. Considering all the relevant facts, including Mr. Zhao's voluntary self-surrender, his intention to resolve this case, and the substantial bail package he proposed, Judge Tsuchida concluded that Mr. Zhao poses no risk of flight, even while living in the UAE, stated the filing from last week.

The Impact of Metaco's Acquisition by Ripple

The news of Metaco, the Swiss digital assets custody firm, being acquired by Ripple earlier this year and its collaboration with HSBC, one of the biggest banks globally, has been positively received by the XRP$0.620 -1.68% army, the collective name for supporters of the U.S. fintech's ledger protocol. These dedicated fans perceive HSBC's choice of custody tech partner as another indication that financial institutions are bound to adopt XRPL and, importantly, the XRP token. However, it's important to note that the assumption that Ripple's recent acquisition influenced HSBC's decision overlooks the fact that Metaco had been engaging with the bank for over 18 months, according to Adrien Treccani, CEO of the Swiss custody firm.

Chart of the Day

The notional open interest, or the dollar value secured in bitcoin's cash-settled futures trading on the CME, has breached the $4 billion mark for the first time in at least a year. This represents almost double the figure from early October, indicating fresh institutional investor activity. CME superseded Binance as the biggest exchange for BTC standard futures earlier this month. - Omkar Godbole

Edited by Jonathan Stoker