The Bitcoin mining industry is financing its expensive pivot to AI data centers with convertible debt that sometimes features a 0% coupon. Bitcoin (BTC) miners have raised $11 billion in convertible debt — corporate debt that is convertible to stocks — over the last year, amid a pivot into artificial intelligence data centers. Miners completed 18 convertible bond deals following the April 2024 Bitcoin halving that slashed the block reward by 50%, according to TheMinerMag. The average convertible bond issue more than doubled, with mining companies MARA, Cipher Mining, IREN and TeraWulf each raising $1 billion through single bond issues. Some offerings have featured coupons as low as 0%, signaling investors’ willingness to waive interest payments in exchange for potential equity upside. Read more
With retail access restored, crypto exchange-traded notes issuers slash fees to historic lows, signaling an intensifying battle for UK market dominance. The United Kingdom has opened the floodgates for crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) to retail investors — a market that was previously limited to professional traders — sparking a price war among issuers vying for market share, according to the Financial Times. In a report published on Thursday, the FT said several Bitcoin ETN issuers have slashed their fees to as low as 0.05%, describing the resulting competition as a “cut-throat battle” for investors. Meanwhile, other crypto-linked ETNs continue to charge annual fees of up to 2.5%. The fee war follows the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) decision to lift its 2021 ban on retail access to crypto-linked funds, a change that took effect on Oct. 8. Read more
Bitcoin MACD’s bearish crossover and the duration after BTC’s last halving could be signs that the 2025 bull run is over, or is this time different? Key takeaways: Bitcoin’s bearish MACD cross and engulfing candle on the three-week chart signal a cycle top. Market analysts suggest that 558 days post-2024 halving indicate the Bitcoin bull cycle’s top is imminent. Read more