BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), the world’s largest asset manager, demonstrates its commitment to the digital asset space by launching its inaugural tokenized fund, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL). This move comes on the heels of its recent introduction of a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF).

In collaboration with Securitize Markets, LLC, BlackRock aims to offer qualified investors the opportunity to earn U.S. dollar yields through the BUIDL fund, which will be tokenized on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain as an ERC-20 token.

Robert Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, sees this as a natural progression of their digital assets strategy, emphasizing their focus on providing solutions that address real client needs.

Securitize is set to serve as a pivotal transfer agent and tokenization platform, overseeing tokenized shares and facilitating processes such as Fund subscriptions, redemptions, and distributions. BlackRock has structured the fund under the jurisdiction of the British Virgin Islands, with a minimum investment requirement of $100,000.

Tokenization remains central to BlackRock’s digital asset strategy, with CEO Larry Fink highlighting its potential to revolutionize capital markets. Carlos Domingo, co-founder and CEO of Securitize, views this development as a significant step towards making traditional financial products more accessible through digitization.

The BUIDL token offers various benefits, including enabling ownership issuance and trading on a blockchain, expanding investor access, ensuring instantaneous and transparent settlement, and facilitating transfers across platforms. BNY Mellon will facilitate interoperability between digital and traditional markets.

Designed to maintain a stable value of $1 per token and provide daily accrued dividends, BUIDL invests 100% of its assets in cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements, offering investors yield while holding tokens on the blockchain.

Investors will have the flexibility to transfer tokens to pre-approved counterparts at any time and choose their preferred custody options. Anchorage Digital Bank NA, BitGo, Coinbase, Fireblocks, and other market participants and infrastructure providers in the crypto industry support the launch of BUIDL.

In a testament to community engagement, anonymous donors have sent various tokens and NFTs to the fund’s public Ethereum address, reflecting growing interest and support for BlackRock’s venture into digital assets.

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The momentum of Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) experienced a decline as BlackRock’s inflows dropped significantly. On March 20, BlackRock’s inflows amounted to $49.28 million, while Grayscale’s ETF witnessed higher outflows at $386 million.

For the second consecutive day, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded negative flows. According to data from the financial research platform ‘SosoValue,’ Grayscale’s ETF GBTC observed a substantial outflow of $386 million on March 20. The previous day saw the same ETF recording $443 million in outflows, reflecting intensified selling pressure on Bitcoin.

Other ETFs failed to compensate for the outflow, as per SoSo Value data shared by WuBlockchain. BlackRock’s IBIT recorded the highest inflow at $49.28 million on the same day.

Since the approval of ETFs by the U.S. SEC in January, substantial inflows had been driving Bitcoin’s value upwards. However, the recent decrease in inflows suggested that institutional impact might be contributing to the 8.66% decline in Bitcoin’s price over the last seven days.

Despite Bitcoin trading at $67,018, indicating a resurgence of buying pressure, continued outflows surpassing inflows could potentially drive BTC below $60,000.

Bulls are attempting to counter the bearish sentiment prevailing in the market. Coin Edition noted a noticeable bearish bias based on technical analysis. The 4-hour BTC/USD chart revealed a death cross with the Exponential Moving Average (EMA), where the 20 EMA (blue) dipped below the 50 EMA (yellow), signaling a reinforcement of the downtrend. Bitcoin’s price also fell below the 50 EMA, suggesting a potential halt to the recent uptrend.

As it stands, Bitcoin may experience a decrease, with a potential target of around $58,463 if bulls fail to sustain pressure. Conversely, a surge in buying pressure could propel the coin towards $70,202.

The derivatives market also witnessed significant activity, with Bitcoin’s recovery triggering substantial liquidations. Coinglass reported over $317.55 million worth of BTC contracts liquidated, possibly due to high leverage or insufficient funding fees. Short positions constituted the majority of liquidated positions, while volatility also led to liquidations among longs.

The cascade of liquidations could further impact Bitcoin’s price from a trading perspective, with shorts potentially becoming more aggressive if BTC drops below $60,000.

In summary, the decline in Bitcoin ETF momentum, coupled with technical indicators and derivative market activity, suggests a challenging landscape for the cryptocurrency in the near term.

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Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent surge since the beginning of 2023 has reignited interest in the cryptocurrency realm. The launch of several spot BTC ETFs has propelled the top crypto to establish a new record high on March 14, breaking a historical milestone by achieving this feat over 45 days ahead of its next halving event.

Amidst the current correction phase in the crypto market, traders are eagerly searching for the next catalyst to drive prices higher. Analysts widely point to the impending halving as the potential trigger for the next rally. However, halvings pose a significant challenge for Bitcoin miners, as the 50% reduction in new BTC emissions slashes their revenue in half, prompting many to deactivate inefficient equipment post-halving, leading to a decline in the Bitcoin hash rate.

To gain insights into how miners are preparing for the halving and their subsequent strategies, Kitco Crypto engaged in a discussion with Greg Beard, CEO of Stronghold Digital Mining. Stronghold made history as the first mining company to launch an IPO approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Beard, formerly Head of Energy at Apollo, emphasized the importance of viewing crypto mining as a form of “power arbitrage,” highlighting Stronghold’s ownership of power plants and data centers.

Beard emphasized the evolving landscape of the crypto-mining industry and the necessity for miners to assess energy demands on local power grids. Stronghold’s unique approach allows them to swiftly adapt to fluctuating energy prices by turning off data centers during periods of expensive power and selling excess energy to the grid. Beard highlighted the impact of renewable energy sources on energy price volatility and underscored Bitcoin mines’ role as grid-scale batteries, providing stability to power grids.

Regarding Stronghold’s revenue diversification efforts, Beard mentioned ventures into carbon sequestration, coal ash sales, and exploring alternative fuel sources. He contrasted Stronghold’s resilience with the challenges faced by miners lacking their infrastructure, emphasizing the importance of creating additional industrial applications beyond Bitcoin mining.

Criticism towards Bitcoin mining’s energy consumption has overshadowed its contribution to improving energy efficiency and environmental remediation efforts. Beard emphasized Stronghold’s commitment to cleaning up waste coal sites and converting them into power generation facilities. However, he lamented the lack of recognition from ESG investors, highlighting a disparity between investor perceptions and environmental impact.

Addressing concerns over Bitcoin mining centralization, Beard downplayed the risk of a concentrated mining power disrupting Bitcoin’s decentralized nature, citing potential consolidation among public miners. He projected significant consolidation post-halving, with outdated machines being phased out for more efficient models, ultimately driving the industry towards industrial-scale operations.

Beard also discussed potential challenges posed by government regulations, including President Biden’s proposed tax on Bitcoin miners’ power consumption. He cautioned against singling out Bitcoin miners for taxation, warning of unintended consequences on innovation and economic growth.

Looking ahead, Beard anticipated Bitcoin ETFs’ role in driving price volatility, particularly with their obligation to purchase underlying assets upon investor demand. He underscored Bitcoin’s defensive appeal for populations facing economic instability due to inflation and mounting global debt.

As governments grapple with soaring debt levels, Beard highlighted the inflationary implications of printing money to service debt, expressing concern for future economic stability. Despite uncertainties, Beard remained optimistic about Bitcoin’s potential as a hedge against economic turmoil, emphasizing its role in preserving wealth amidst fiscal uncertainties.

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The market cap of real-world assets (RWA) has surged to $5.54 billion, marking a remarkable increase of over 31% in the last 24 hours. Similarly, the memecoin market cap has also witnessed a notable uptick, rising by over 16% during the same period. Among the top five memecoins, excluding Shiba Inu, all have recorded double-digit gains.

The RWA token market cap’s significant surge is evident across the top performers in the sub-sector. Notably, the native token of the Polymesh blockchain experienced a staggering 86.5% surge, followed by Centrifuge with a rise of 46.5%, and Ondo with a notable increase of 33% within the past 24 hours. Polymesh, a blockchain project tailored for security tokens, is one of the many protocols engaged in the tokenization of real-world assets, facilitating the conversion of asset rights into digital tokens on a blockchain.

Real-world assets span a broad spectrum, encompassing tangible and intangible items ranging from physical properties to patents and copyrights. The tokenization of these assets holds the promise of revolutionizing their handling and trading, potentially leading to increased liquidity, accessibility, and efficiency in asset management.

In the realm of memecoins, the market cap has also surged by 16.0% over the past day. Notably, all of the top five memecoins by market capitalization have witnessed significant gains, except for Shiba Inu, which saw a more modest 7% increase within the same period.

Among the top five memecoins, Floki has displayed the most remarkable rally, surging by over 38% within the past 24 hours, as per data from The Block’s Price Page at 6:19 a.m. ET.

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CoinGecko Research has identified the Solana network as the leading blockchain ecosystem of the year thus far. According to their report published on Wednesday, the layer 1 blockchain now commands 49.3% of global crypto investor interest in chain-specific narratives.

The report attributes Solana’s dominant mindshare to its resurgence back to 2021 highs, coupled with the impressive performance of key ecosystem project tokens such as Pyth and native meme coins like dogwifhat.

Thursday’s Coinbase market update further underscores Solana’s significance, revealing approximately $11 billion in transactions conducted on the Solana blockchain in just 24 hours on Monday. This surge in activity was driven by a plethora of smaller tokens, notably meme coins.

Memecoin Craze Fuels Solana Network Activity

Solana’s recent surge in activity has been primarily observed on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Jupiter and Raydium, where traders have been actively engaging with meme coins such as Bonk and Slerf. For close to four months, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) built on Solana have been consistently capturing a larger portion of the market compared to Ethereum-based DEXs such as Uniswap.

Tristan Frizza, Founder of Zeta Markets, commented on the spike in onchain meme coin speculation, highlighting coins like Slerf achieving staggering market caps of over $500 million within hours. This frenzy has largely been facilitated by automated market makers like Raydium, Orca, and the Jupiter aggregator, which enable token creators to swiftly establish new liquidity pools and trade these tokens.

In the past week, Solana’s onchain volumes have witnessed a significant surge, accompanied by a notable increase in network fees. As per The Block’s Data Dashboard, the daily transaction fees on the Solana network have been steadily increasing since the start of March, culminating in a record high of $5.08 million on Monday.

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