Weekly Outlook: Win or No Win

Trump’s speech was positive, just as expected and perhaps even more so than expected.

It’s no surprise, as Trump has already stated that he supports crypto. However, considering how experienced he is in show business, it’s clear that he’s telling us exactly what we want to hear. I think we all know that we shouldn’t trust everything politicians say.

We see the effects of Trump’s introduction of Bitcoin into politics in every field. The new Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is said to be giving messages of normalization after seeing the impact of crypto on Trump’s campaign. We have already started to see a transition to a neutral policy by leaving the crises experienced with the private sector behind and re-establishing dialogue channels. Therefore, whether Trump wins or not, Bitcoin has already won. It is quite clear that we are in a period where crypto hatred does not bring votes. Therefore, no sensible politician will express an opinion to continue anti-crypto policies.

These views are not just a theoretical reality, they also work in practice. For example, Roger Marshall, one of the senators who sponsored Elizabeth Warren’s anti-crypto bill, has already switched to the pro-crypto side, withdrawing his support for the law.

The fact that Bitcoin is independent and does not have an owner or manager is the biggest trump card of our sector. Because there is no question of the sector definitely making an agreement or making an alliance with Trump. Bitcoin is open to everyone, everyone can participate, everyone can own a piece of it. Therefore, it is never too late for Kamala Harris. She does not need to attract or convince businessmen or a certain group to stand by Bitcoin. Bitcoin already opens its arms to both Democrats and Republicans. Therefore, no matter who wins, Bitcoin has already won the election.

Now let’s get to Trump’s promises:

Making the US the center of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencyGetting ahead in global competition by providing cheap electricity to minersNot selling Bitcoins held by the government, even establishing a strategic reserveNot allowing CBDCPreparing a special regulatory infrastructure for cryptocurrencies within the first 100 days, taking into account the views of the private sectorFiring SEC Chairman GenslerEnding anti-crypto policies from day one

In short, Trump said word for word what we wanted to hear. Of course, he also made manipulative comments about the price going up constantly, but let’s not focus on that part. Even if he did half of what he said, it would mean that good days are waiting for us.

The Account Abstraction feature, which was recently introduced to Ethereum, has transformed wallets into smart wallets, enabling previously unachievable functions. This feature, which has paved the way for companies to use cryptocurrency wallets in their business models, is also finding a place in R&D studies.

In a study published by Toyota, which works on Account Abstraction, automations such as defining a wallet for each car, defining multiple accesses to these wallets where additional features, licenses, and permissions related to the car will be defined as NFTs (for example: Toyota itself, the vehicle owner, the spouse-child of the vehicle owner, etc.) are foreseen. Transaction requests can be sent to these wallets of smart cars, which are currently being gradually integrated through applications on the phone, again through these applications. In addition, it is planned that vehicles will communicate with each other through these wallets.

Telegram is also planning a business model based on this wallet development. In USDT and Notcoin transactions made via smart wallets called W5, there will be no need to hold TON for transaction fees. Transaction fees can be paid with USDT and with Notcoin when sending Notcoin.

Finally, Proton, known for its VPN and e-mail products, has also released a cryptocurrency wallet. In addition to being a classic non-custodial wallet, transfers can be made from this wallet using e-mail addresses. During the transfer, it is sufficient for both parties to have a Proton wallet. A kind of convenience similar to ENS is being introduced. It is said that this feature, currently limited to Bitcoin, will be diversified in the future.

As the infrastructure and adoption of cryptocurrencies accelerate, adoption of cryptocurrencies increases in two ways.

The emergence of ETFs has eliminated the regulatory gap that caused concern for public institutions and corporations, paving the way for investments in Bitcoin and Ethereum. We have seen the results of this in the reports sent to the SEC. Many unrelated companies related to crypto have invested by purchasing Bitcoin ETFs. Now, the mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, has announced that the necessary applications have been made to the SEC regarding the use of 2% of the city’s retirement fund for Bitcoin investments. Therefore, the adaptation to cryptocurrencies from the traditional side continues unabated.

The latest decision at Ethena exemplifies the two-way adaptation I mentioned. In other words, the adaptation from crypto to traditional products. Ethena wants to use the hundreds of millions of dollars of USDT it holds as collateral for its stablecoin, in addition to the $45 million it holds in its reserve fund, to purchase BUIDL. BUIDL represents Blackrock’s own tokenized fund. Therefore, this move means that a cryptocurrency-based product is collateralized by a traditional private company investment vehicle.

After Uniswap, Aave also began discussing a proposal to distribute a portion of the platform’s revenues to those who hold or stake AAVE by purchasing AAVE from the market. Ferrari began accepting cryptocurrency payments in the EU after the US. Payments are made via Bitpay. Although cryptocurrency payments are accepted, Ferrari does not hold cryptocurrency. Payments are converted into USD or Euros and delivered to Ferrari. BitForex exchange, which disappeared with $57 million in user assets, announced that they are not active because they are under investigation by the Chinese police and that the assets will be available soon. It was stated that purchases and sales will not be opened and new users will not be accepted.