The Daily: Grayscale's new AI fund, Trump's NFT tease, Germany's bitcoin selloff nets $2.9 billion and more

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The Block2024/07/17 18:31

By:James Hunt

Grayscale launches new fund for decentralized artificial intelligence.Trump says he wants U.S. in charge of crypto before China, teases another NFT launch.German government’s bitcoin selloff nets $2.9 billion as film piracy case marches on.The following is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Wednesday! In today's Daily, Grayscale launches a decentralized AI fund, Donald Trump teases another NFT collection, the German government confirms it netted $2.9 billion from bitcoin sales and more.

Let's get started.

Grayscale launches new decentralized AI fund

Grayscale has launched a decentralized AI fund focused on the intersection of AI and crypto.

The Grayscale Decentralized AI Fund's initial basket includes Bittensor, Filecoin, Livepeer, Near and Render.
Near, Filecoin and Render are the top-weighted assets in the fund, respectively, which will rebalance quarterly to adapt to the evolving AI and crypto landscape.
Grayscale Head of Product and Research Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary said these blockchain-based AI-related protocols "embody the principles of decentralization, accessibility and transparency."
The asset manager added that the fund will focus on financing projects in three areas: chatbots, generative images and other decentralized AI uses; addressing centralized AI problems like deep fakes and misinformation; and AI-related infrastructure like GPU computation, data storage and decentralized marketplaces.
Grayscale previously launched a Near-focused trust in May, and its spot Bitcoin ETF, GBTC, is the second-largest behind BlackRock's IBIT by assets under management.

Trump wants US in charge of crypto before China, teases another NFT launch

In a recent Bloomberg Businessweek interview, Donald Trump said that the U.S. should take the lead in the global cryptocurrency race before China does.

"If I throw it aside, it’s going to be picked up in another country, most likely China," Trump said. "So you have to look at it — what I want, again, is what is good for the country."
The Republican presidential nominee added that crypto is "not going away," and said he plans on releasing another set of NFTs. "I did it three times [and] I’m going to do another one because the people want me to do another one."
Trump previously launched trading card-themed NFTs that gave certain buyers various perks, such as a piece of his suit or admission to a dinner event with him.

German government confirms bitcoin selloff netted $2.9 billion

German authorities confirmed on Wednesday it sold nearly 50,000 bitcoins , netting around $2.9 billion as part of a plan to offload seized assets from the film piracy site Movie2K.

The coordinated sale, managed with the support of the Federal Criminal Police Office via exchanges including Bitstamp, Coinbase and Kraken, took place between June 19 and July 12.
Germany's efforts to sell the assets were closely tracked, with its associated bitcoin wallets reaching a zero balance last Friday, according to blockchain analytics platform Arkham.
Although the Movie2K case has not been concluded, German authorities said the urgent sale was legally required to avoid the risk of significant loss in value of around ten percent or more.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs post $422 million in net inflows, largest since early June

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs reported $422.5 million in net inflows on Tuesday, the largest since early June, extending their positive streak to eight days.

BlackRock's IBIT led the inflows with $260.2 million, its highest since June 6, generating around $1 billion in trading volume.
Fidelity's FBTC and Ark Invest's ARKB also witnessed significant net inflows, adding $61.1 million and $29.8 million, respectively.
No funds reported net outflows on Tuesday and the combined U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have now amassed a total net inflow of $16.5 billion since their launch in January.

Bitwise CIO predicts ETF inflows will push ether prices to all-time highs above $5,000

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said spot ETF inflows could have a bigger impact on ether than they did on bitcoin.

Ethereum's effective 0% inflation rate over the past year and lower selling pressure from stakers compared to bitcoin miners will amplify the price impact of ETF inflows, according to the Bitwise CIO.
Hougan predicted that inflows from spot Ethereum ETFs, expected to launch on July 23, will push ether’s price to all-time highs above $5,000 by the end of the year.

In the next 24 hours

The ECB's latest interest rate decision is due at 8:15 a.m. ET on Thursday. U.S. jobless claims figures follow at 8:30 a.m.

ECB President Christine Lagarde will speak at 10:15 a.m. U.S. FOMC members Mary Daly and Michelle Bowman follow at 6:05 p.m. and 7:45 p.m., respectively.

Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

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