Here’s What You Missed in Crypto This Week

As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies get increasing attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks continue to adjust to the shift. Catch up on this week’s top stories highlighting the intersection of these old guard and new school areas of finance with this recap compiled by The Fly.

ROBINHOOD: On Thursday, Robinhood (HOOD) said it is launching the Robinhood Crypto app to all eligible customers in the European Union. The news came just days after the company said in an investor update that crypto trading spiked 75% in November from October.

“It is the only custodial crypto platform where customers will get a percentage of their trading volume back every month, paid in Bitcoin BTC, and can get up to 1 BTC when they sign up and refer a friend,” Robinhood said. “Robinhood Crypto offers buy and sell support for 25+ cryptocurrencies with industry-leading safety and security. It is the lowest cost crypto trading platform in the EU on average. “We believe crypto is the financial framework for tomorrow and that it plays a significant role in our mission to democratize finance for all,” said Johann Kerbrat, GM of Robinhood Crypto. “For this reason, we’re thrilled to expand crypto trading to customers throughout the EU, enabling them to buy and sell their favorite tokens safely and securely. The EU has developed one of the world’s most comprehensive policies for crypto asset regulation, which is why we chose the region to anchor Robinhood Crypto’s international expansion plans….In addition to being the lowest cost crypto trading platform in the EU on average, customers will earn a percentage of every trade back each month, which is paid out in Bitcoin and deposited directly into customer accounts. The amount of BTC paid out is based on the total volume traded in a given month-customers can learn more about this program and can see how much they could receive by visiting the help center.”

BLOCK BITKEY: This week, Bitkey, the self-custody bitcoin wallet built by Block (SQ), launched in more than 95 countries across six continents, widening access to self-custody and empowering people around the world to truly own and manage their bitcoin easily and safely. “Today, the vast majority of the millions of bitcoin owners keep their bitcoin in the custodial platforms or exchanges where they bought it, leaving them under the control of the custodian,” the company said. “Accessing self-custody solutions where people can truly own the keys to their bitcoin still often relies on a complex set of devices or long passwords that people need to remember to be able to recover their money in case of loss. Bitkey includes a mobile app, hardware device, and a set of recovery tools in case the customer loses the phone, their hardware, or both. Built by the Proto team at Block, Bitkey is now available for pre-orders at bitkey.world, with shipping starting in early 2024.”

NOVEMBER BITCOIN PRODUCTION: Several top crypto miners continued to report monthly production numbers over the last week. Digihost (DGHI) said it mined roughly 77 bitcoin in November, with production of daily bitcoin mined during the period rising 26% year-over-year. Bit Digital (BTBT) also announced bitcoin production for the month, producing 142.7 bitcoin in November, up 24% month-on-month.

Meanwhile, Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG) generated November revenue of $7.2M. Stronghold mined 193 bitcoin in November 2023 and generated approximately $700,000 in energy revenue, which represented the equivalent of approximately 19 additional bitcoin based on the average price of bitcoin, during the month. This equated to approximately 212 of bitcoin-equivalent production in November of 2023, up approximately 4% sequentially compared to the approximately 203 bitcoin-equivalent production in October 2023.

Additionally, Riot Platforms (RIOT) said it produced 552 bitcoin in November, with average bitcoin produce per day of 18.4. “Riot continued to increase monthly Bitcoin production in November, mining 552 Bitcoin during the month, a 21% increase over October’s production,” said Jason Les, CEO of Riot. “Despite the headwinds of a nearly 9% increase in network difficulty, the ongoing return of hash rate in Building G at our Rockdale Facility and reduced curtailment activity helped drive this strong increase in our production activity.”

COINBASE RECS: Earlier this week, TD Cowen estimated Coinbase’s (COIN) November spot volume bounce will drive “at most” an incremental $122M of EBITDA to the firm’s Q4 estimate and calls the $11.5B of added market cap since November 3 “an excessive capitalization off this move” given limited visibility on trading durability and the possibility for a lower take-rate mix shift. The Binance settlement with the DOJ hasn’t driven any material impact to Coinbase’s futures volume currently, added the analyst, who kept an Underperform rating and $39 price target on Coinbase shares.

Meanwhile, Needham raised the firm’s price target on Coinbase to $160 from $120 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. Retail crypto engagement is considerably lower than in prior years despite the recent price gains as Google Search Trends show ‘Crypto’ is currently at the same levels as July 2023 and 50% lower than the 2022 average, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm remains positive on Coinbase as an attractive way to play the growing crypto asset universe, which includes overlap in the high growth areas of stablecoins, decentralized finance, non-fungible tokens, borrow/lend applications, and “yield farming.”

RIOT UPGRADE: JPMorgan upgraded Riot Platforms to Neutral from Underweight with a price target of $12, up from $8. Riot earlier his week released a new corporate presentation providing additional details on the company’s recently announced 18 EH/s purchase order and its 2024 outlook, the analyst told investors in a research note. The firm thinks investors will appreciate the increased insight, which it believes solidifies Riot as one of the best positioned and largest U.S.-listed bitcoin mining operators post-halving. JPMorgan cites the company’s added scale and improving fleet efficiency for the upgrade.

CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital, Coinbase, Core Scientific (CORZ), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Marathon Digital (MARA), MicroStrategy (MSTR), Riot Platforms, Stronghold Digital Mining, and TeraWulf (WULF).

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin rose 1.48% this week to $43,938.50 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.