1573 Institutions Long $BTC, Tariff Woes, and Tech Shutdowns.

Seasonality has not been in the crypto market’s favor this February so far.

February 21, 2025

Yes, we are taking this opportunity to shill a new Arch partnership. Not much else happened that was (that) exciting anyway, so don’t worry…

This Week in Crypto

Starting first with the Bitcoin weekly ETF flows…

These numbers are again not great. I wouldn’t read too much into them though, as the market remains range-bound and investors look for macro clarity amidst the turbulent new administration.

What is worth reading into is the thread below, which summarises the recent 13F filings. Firms and entities with exposure to Bitcoin directly or through ETFs include: Horizon Kinetics, Bracebridge Capital, Tudor Investment Corp, Fortress, Brevan Howard, Discovery Capital Management, Jericho Capital, Hudson Bay, State of Wisconsin Investment Board, State of Michigan Retirement System, Emory University, Pine Ridge Advisors, Capula Management, Cresset Asset Management.

In other news, Arch Partnered with Onramp Bitcoin to offer Bitcoin Backed loans. Onramp offer Bitcoin custody via a Multi Institution Custody model, whereby keys to your assets are distributed between 3 institutions, requiring a 2 of 3 quorum to move any coins.

We’re cohosting a happy hour at our office next Wednesday in SoHo, Manhattan - would love to see as many of you there as possible!

In memecoin world, Brian armstrong wrote a, um, interesting, post, after the Argentinian President Pump n Dumped a shitcoin. Lawyers and opposition in Argentina subsequently accused him of fraud, and the “mastermind” (if you can call him that) behind the launch gave one of the most ridiculous interviews of all time, admitting he made off with $100M. You can almost hear his lawyer clawing his eyes out in the background.

Other headlines:

Late edit: just as this newsletter went to publish two things happened of note:

Firstly, the SEC dismissed litigation against Coinbase:

And secondly, ByBit look like they just got hacked for $1.5B (unconfirmed). This would be the largest crypto heist in history if true. There’s some sick irony in this being the week FTX repayments have begun being disbursed.

This Week in TradFi

A pretty calm week on the domestic front, though investors remain jittery about the ongoing tariffs conversation.

  • U.S. stocks ended slightly down yesterday, with a weak Walmart forecast concerning investors. A resulting selloff across the board brought the Dow down 1.1%, and the S&P broke its two-day streak of record closing highs. Walmart shares themselves dropped 6.5%, alongside Target dropping 2% and Costco dropping 2.6%. 

  • Gold prices on the other hand soared to a record high yesterday, with Spot gold up 0.1% and gold futures up 0.7%. Time to buy a few of those Costco gold bars? 

  • Oil prices also increased slightly yesterday, marking three straight days of gains. Brent futures were up 0.58% and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.44%. Russia and the U.S. recently had their first meeting since the start of the Ukraine War, which may lead to lower oil prices. 

  • Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries fell in December, with both Japan and China cutting their portfolios. Holdings fell to $8.5T in December from $8.6T in November. 

Nothing too exciting on the international front, either, but we’ll throw a bunch of numbers at you anyway:

  • Mexico’s economy contracted 0.6% in Q4, with trade tensions with the U.S. ongoing. This Q4 shrink is the first the country’s had in more than three years, with GDP brought down by an 8.5% decline in farming, fishing, and mining. Manufacturing activities were down 1.5%, but services were up 0.2%. The Bank of Mexico may cut interest rates by 50bps again, given the economy’s contraction, but the official decision will come out on March 27. 

  • In the reverse, the Bank of Japan is considering increasing interest rates in March if President Trump follows through on his tariff threats. Trump’s 10% tax on all Chinese imports has already gone through, though his tariffs on Canada and Mexico imports have been halted. If those go through, as well as his threatened European tariffs, then inflation could rise across the globe. We’ll know more at the BOJ’s next meeting in March.

  • India’s private sector grew at its fastest pace in six months in February due to an increase in services activity. India also faces another low rate of economic expansion this year due to Trump’s tariff threats, so the private sector is a bright spot in what may be a tougher year otherwise. Job creation and overall employment generation are also up, growing at their fastest pace since 2005. 

This Week in Tech

A rough week in tech, with multiple shutdowns. 

AI hardware startup Humane has been partially acquired by HP for $116M, less than half of the $240M they raised in venture capital funding. 

  • Humane’s initial goal was for their AI pin to replace the smartphone. 

  • The pin was initially met with negative reviews from testers when it first launched. Later, the pin’s charging case was found as a fire hazard (not great), and then the head of product engineering left the company to start his own startup. 

  • At one point, returns for the AI pin outpaced its sales, which led to a price drop from $699 to $499. 

  • Now, finally, the startup is discontinuing its sales of its $499 pins. Humane’s alerted customers that their pins will stop functioning by the end of the month. Although apparently “offline features” like (are you ready) battery level will continue to work. At least you can know how charged your now useless gadget is! 

  • Most of the Humane team will join a new group at HP, HP IQ, which is described as an “AI innovation lab focused on building an intelligent ecosystem across HP’s products and services for the future of work”. 

Electric truck maker Nikola has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, after it failed to find a buyer or additional funds. 

  • Back in the day (June 2020), Nikola was valued at $30B after it went public through a SPAC. But, a multitude of scandals surrounding former CEO Trevor Milton brought the company down.

  • Milton was accused of fraud for making exaggerated claims about the company’s electric truck technology. Prosecutors argued that he lied about having built Nikola’s truck from the “ground up”, when actually using batteries that were bought elsewhere. Nikola also went viral after their marketing video that showed a truck driving on its own power, when it actually was rolling downhill. 

  • Short-seller HIndenburg Research then called the company a fraud, which led to Milton stepping down in September 2020. He was then convicted of wire and securities fraud in 2022 and is currently appealing his four-year prison sentence. 

  • The company then paid a $125M penalty in a settlement with the SEC, and it was really never able to recover. The stock collapsed, and the company warned investors at last year’s Q3 earnings that they only had enough cash to support the business through Q1 2025.

  • The company has around $47M in cash on hand to fund the bankruptcy process. Nikola plans to auction its assets, like fuel cell electric trucks and battery electric truck platforms, pending court approval.

As usual, below are some fundraising announcements, M&A, and tech personnel changes that caught our eye:

Arch is building next-gen wealth management platform for individuals holding Alternative Assets. Our flagship product is the crypto-backed loan, which allows you to securely and affordably borrow against your crypto. We also offer access to bank-grade custody, trading and staking services, powered by BitGo.

Disclaimer: None of the above is financial advice, seriously.