The 49th Bitcoinomics Newsletter

02 January 2023 - 08 January 2023 week Bitcoin & Economic News

Jan 08, 2023

This newsletter contains charts and other interesting pictures too. Some Email clients auto-block pictures, so don’t forget to enable them!

First I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Bitcoin News

TL;DR
Bitcoin Miners’ Revenue Hits $9.55 Billion in 2022
BlackRock lends $17 Million to bankrupt Bitcoin miner Core Scientific
Judge ruled that Celsius users gave up legal rights to their BTC

Bitcoin Miners’ Revenue Hits $9.55 Billion in 2022
Miners in 2022 were dealing with a variety of issues, including defaulted loans, quarterly losses, and soaring bitcoin hashrates that reached all-time highs. All these factors were affecting the profitability of the miners and were causing sell pressure.
The falling Bitcoin price had a major effect on the income and profits of miners. Even though the $9.55 billion in revenue in 2022 seems like a large number, it is comparatively lower than that of 2021.
Over the course of 2021, bitcoin miners made more than $15 billion in revenue, according to the data from the block. This was actually considered to be a 206% year-over-year increase.
This was mainly due to the skyrocketing prices of bitcoin in 2021. BTC touched an all-time high of $68,789 on November 10, 2021. It is currently 75.69% down from its all-time high. The troubled market conditions in 2022 witnessed several miners selling off and several other firms closing down.
BlackRock lends $17 Million to bankrupt Bitcoin miner Core Scientific
The largest miner in terms of hash power, Core Scientific, filed for Chapter 11 on December 21st. The decision was made at a time when miners were generally dealing with high electricity costs and low Bitcoin (BTC) prices.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made on December 30th, 2022, investment juggernaut BlackRock (BLK) pledged $17 million to bankrupt Bitcoin miner Core Scientific (CORZ) as part of a new $75 million loan from the miner’s secured convertible note holders.
BlackRock is currently the largest shareholder in Core Scientific and as of December 29th, the company had $37.9 million in secured convertible notes. The filing states that the most recent $17 million loan is part of the new $75 million convertible notes that are a part of Core Scientific’s scheduled bankruptcy process.
Judge ruled that Celsius users gave up legal rights to their BTC
There is no better example for “Not your keys, not your coins!” than the recent precedent decision made by the U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn:
The Celsius users gave up legal rights to their BTC by using the platform and all the $4.2 billion of crypto deposits are now property of Celsius.
“Earn Assets in Earn Accounts constitute property of the Estates, and that the Debtors may sell stablecoins outside of the ordinary course of business,” Judge Glenn wrote in his ruling.
Let me explain this in an easy way: All your funds in a foreign company’s wallet are not yours anymore! If anything happens your money is lost in case of a bankruptcy or if the CEO or the owners of the company want them.

Global Economic News

TL;DR
Germany’s Trade Surplus and the Import Prices are falling massively which shows a start of a recession
There is no more question: The Recession already started in the US

Germany’s Trade Surplus and the Import Prices are falling massively which shows a start of a recession
“Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a huge medium-term hit to Germany. The trade surplus in Nov. 2022 is at Nov. 2008 levels. So - even after the worst of the energy shock has faded - Germany is back in the equivalent of the global financial crisis. Germany has to reinvent itself…” by Robin Brooks, Chief Economist at IIF
“Good Morning from Germany, where peak inflation narrative gets another favorable number: Import Prices plunged 4.5% MoM in Nov, biggest decrease ever. Compared to the previous year, import prices slowed to +14.5% YoY from 23.5% in Oct and 29.8% in Sep.” by Holger Zschaepitz, journalist at Welt
There is no more question: The Recession already started in the US
“Now Big Tech has also lost all Corona gains. The combined market capitalization of Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Amazon (AMAMA) has fallen from $10.2tn to $5.9tn now.” by Holger Zschaepitz, journalist at Welt
“The savings will cushion the downturn” What savings? By Andreas Steno Larsen, CEO at Steno Research
30% Of All Realtors Could Quit During Housing Crash: "biggest bubble ever in housing."

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Bitcoin price speculations

These are just speculations, no investment advice!

“BITCOIN BULL RUN STARTS. $500K” by @AurelienOhayon

“Active supply can move between price levels pretty quickly but this is truly a massive bar — 11,5% of all Bitcoin in circulation sits at current price level.” by @therationalroot

Bitcoin Shorts

Funny Bitcoin short stories

Mark Cuban: Bitcoin is a store of value and a good investment. A gold bar "is useless."
14 years ago today (3rd Jan), the first Bitcoin was mined.
Leading Argentine Presidential Candidate: Bitcoin represents the return of money to the private sector. We can eliminate the Central Bank. (video)
Switzerland’s City of Lugano says citizens and visitors can now live there using only Bitcoin as "hundreds" of merchants accept BTC.
“420” by @ChartsBTC
All 21 million Bitcoin in one image
“Singer Lily Allen turning down 200,000 Bitcoin to play live on Second Life
Over $3,000,000,000 today” by @pete_rizzo_
“Bitcoin mining saving lives again. My techs love the "hot room".” by @HodlAlabamGhost
“In the year 1900, when the automobile was 14 years old, horse and carriage dominated the streets. That changed soon after. Today, bitcoin is 14 years old.” by @TuurDemeester
“The Bitcoin Strategy is Winning for MicroStrategy.” by Michael Saylor
Billions of people have no bank accounts, no IDs, and no access to financial services. Bitcoin fixes that with a click of a button. Here’s an incredible example of BitcoinEkasi making a real difference in the community of Mossel Bay, South Africa (video).
“Just a little Throwback Thursday showing “phase 2” of our fully immersion-cooled Bitcoin mining facility in Norcross, GA.” (video) by Cleanspark Inc.
The Silent Bitcoin Revolution Of Africa (video)