The Daily: BlackRock's IBIT sees record $4 billion trading volume following US elections, CZ received offers for Binance stake and more

Happy Thursday! In today's newsletter, BlackRock's IBIT sees record-breaking daily trading volume following the U.S. elections, bitcoin is set to benefit from Donald Trump's presidency, CZ reportedly received offers for his controlling stake in Binance and more.

Meanwhile, we take a look at what's next for the crypto industry following Trump's election victory.

Let's get started.

BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF sees record $4 billion trading volume following US elections

BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF, IBIT, recorded its largest daily trading volume of $4.1 billion after U.S. Election Day, which saw pro-crypto Republican candidate Donald Trump reclaim the White House.

• "For context, that's more volume than stocks like Berkshire, Netflix or Visa saw today," Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas commented on X.
• The analyst earlier reported that IBIT had experienced $1 billion in trading volume in just the first 20 minutes of trading on the day following Trump's win.
• The trading volume for all 12 spot bitcoin ETFs exceeded $6 billion on Wednesday overall — marking the highest daily total since March.
• "Most of the ETFs did 2x their average. Just an all around banger day for an infant category that never ceases to amaze," Balchunas said.
• The ETFs also registered substantial net inflows on Wednesday, with $621.9 million flowing into the products led by Fidelity's FBTC, which recorded $308.8 million, while Ark Invest's ARKB, Bitwise's BITB and Grayscale's BTC mini trust each booked positive flows of more than $100 million.
• The ETF Store President Nate Geraci predicted that the spot bitcoin ETFs may hit a daily net inflow above $1 billion later this week. "Let's see flows for the rest of the week. Gut says the record will still be broken," Geraci wrote on X.

Bitcoin to benefit from Trump presidency and MicroStrategy's plan

JPMorgan analysts expect bitcoin to benefit from Donald Trump's second term as President, in what they described as the "debasement trade."

• The debasement trade "is likely to be reinforced by both tariffs and geopolitical tensions as well as an expansionary fiscal policy ('debt debasement')," analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said.
• It refers to an investment strategy that benefits from the devaluation or weakening of a currency, typically due to inflationary or expansionary fiscal policies, boosting bitcoin as a store of value.
• Bitcoin is predicted to get a further boost thanks to MicroStrategy's ambitious $42 billion acquisition plan over the next few years, the analysts noted.

CZ reportedly received offers for his controlling stake in Binance

Former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao has received offers for his controlling stake in the crypto exchange but did not disclose if he plans to sell the shares or to whom, Bloomberg reported.

• CZ's Binance equity constitutes a significant portion of his approximate $53 billion net worth, which surged by $12 billion immediately after the U.S. presidential election, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
• CZ indicated he is open to reviewing offers but has not committed to holding onto his equity in Binance "forever or not."
  In November 2023, CZ pled guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, paid a $50 million fine, stepped down as Binance CEO and served a four-month prison sentence as part of a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Coinbase premium flips positive, indicating rising US bitcoin demand

Coinbase's bitcoin premium has turned positive for the first time in weeks, signaling renewed demand from U.S. investors, according to an analyst.

• "Trump's victory brought back U.S. investor bitcoin demand, and the Coinbase premium got positive for the first time since Oct. 18," CryptoQuant Head of Research Julio Moreno told The Block.
• The positive premium on Coinbase, a popular platform for U.S.-based investors, suggests increased buying interest — especially from professional players who use Coinbase for large transactions.
• Additionally, institutional activity has surged, with CME bitcoin futures open interest hitting an all-time high and bitcoin options OI increasing to $25.2 billion — nearing its March peak.

French Polymarket whale estimated to make $79 million on US election bets amid reports of France looking to ban the platform

A pseudonymous French Polymarket whale, known as "Théo" or "Fredi9999," made at least an estimated $79 million in profit from U.S. election bets, mainly wagering on a Donald Trump victory, according to Chainalysis.

• Théo commissioned alternative polling asking people, "who are your neighbors voting for?" rather than "who are you voting for?" showing overperformance for Trump compared to traditional polls.
• Meanwhile, the French gambling authority, ANJ, told The Block it is investigating Polymarket for compliance with national betting laws, potentially leading to a ban on access to the decentralized predictions platform in the country amid scrutiny of Théo's activity.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. FOMC member Michelle Bowman will speak at 11 a.m. ET on Friday.
• Bitcoin conference NiceHashX kicks off in the Slovenian Alps. Staking Summit 2024 gets underway in Bangkok.

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