Bitcoin Pumps Past $35,000 as the Spot ETF Approval Is Looking Increasingly Likely

October has a special place in the heart of the Bitcoin community. The month is known as “Uptober” because, historically, the price of Bitcoin has typically rallied in October, often reaching new all-time highs. 

October 2023 was no different, with the value of the “orange coin” shooting up by 27% off the back of headlines surrounding the potential (long overdue) approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. 

The Market Is Starting to Price in a Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval 🚀

News surrounding the most recent spot Bitcoin ETF filings have arguably been the biggest market movers for Bitcoin in the past few months. 

That was also the case in October. 📈

We saw amendments to spot Bitcoin ETF filings from several financial institutions, 

we witnessed a win for crypto asset manager Grayscale, which managed not to get appealed by the SEC in their ongoing lawsuit to get their Bitcoin Trust turned into an ETF, and we observed positive media coverage of Bitcoin we’ve enjoyed in the past months. 

In the past few weeks, we could really see a shift in mainstream financial media towards Bitcoin. There’s a different tone from what we’re used to with negative press about Bitcoin’s energy usage or how it apparently is being used by criminals typically dominated coverage. 

Although this is great, it can also be dangerous as people tend to be reactive and not verify the information they’ve been given. 

Ironic if you think about it. 

Doesn’t the Bitcoin community love to say, “Don’t Trust. Verify?!” 

Crypto media outlet Cointelegraph reported on October 16 that the SEC had approved BlackRock’s iShares Spot Bitcoin ETF. They based this news on a Telegram message by a now-deleted account and later published the misinformation on their website. 

They were not the only media outlet that did so; Reuters also wrote a similar piece. 

Cointelegraph later apologized and clarified what happened. At that point, the Bitcoin price rallied by 10% in minutes.

Once the news that it was misinformation was out, the price dropped again and traded at the same price point as before. 

However, it sparked more Bitcoin ETF coverage at prominent financial media outlets, such as CNBC, Fox News Business, and Bloomberg. 

For the next couple of days, we saw interviews from Wall Street giants such as Larry Fink on CNBC, where he praised Bitcoin as a flight to quality, or ARK Invests’ Cathie Wood on CNBC, who’s been advocating for Bitcoin’s role in traditional finance institutions, discussing the potential of these ETFs and how there is significant demand. 

But if the price of Bitcoin is trading up 10% on misinformation without proof, what will happen once the real news breaks? 

The demand is here! 

While the SEC has been anti-Bitcoin ETF, it eventually approved a Bitcoin Futures-based ETF, so it will only be a matter of time before they approve a spot ETF as well. 

At least, that’s what the market is pricing in, judging by the recent rally based on Bitcoin ETF-related news. 

No one knows what the future holds. However, looking at Bitcoin’s price development after the “fake news” incident earlier this month, it’s clear that there is demand for these ETFs and that the market is starting to price them in. 

Since October 16, the Bitcoin price has been increasing steadily, even surpassing $35,000 at one point and reaching a new yearly all-time high.

As I’ve posted and written about for many months, it all comes down to the SEC and when they’ll approve these ETFs. Time to move on, Gary, and give the people what they want!

Fiat Currencies Find Their Way Onto the Ever Growing Lightning Network ⚡

Besides the spot Bitcoin ETF news, this month has also been very exciting for the Lightning Network ecosystem. 

Earlier this month, River released a new research report in which they took a closer look at the Lightning Network and how it’s being used in the ecosystem. In the report, River states that the Lightning Network grew by 1,212% in two years and went into a lot of detail on how it managed to do so. 

The demand for low-cost, near-instant Bitcoin payments is on the rise. 📈

Digging into the report, you will also find a section on how Lightning can be used for specific content use cases, such as implementing it on a website and being able to pay for the content, for in-game rewards, or using it for cross-border payments. 

If you speak to people on the ground in the Global South, they generally use Lightning to send and receive remittances. 

They often can’t hold on to their Bitcoin for long because they need to spend their money on everyday goods. Hence, they often prefer stablecoins to hold money in USDT or USDC, often on other blockchains, such as Ethereum (where they then face higher transaction fees). 

Fortunately, they will soon be able to use the low-cost infrastructure of the Lighting Network thanks to the latest news from Lightning Labs. 

Lightning Labs has been working on an implementation called Taproot Assets, which allows users to issue tokens on top of the Lightning Network. The tokens can have specialized use cases or be pegged to fiat currencies, creating stablecoins on Lightning.  

In other words, thanks to Taproot Assets, we can send fiat currencies or balances on the Lightning Network. This is exciting not only for the remittances market but also for significant payment providers globally. 

Lightning is significantly cheaper for merchants and consumers than current payment providers. It’s also much more programmable and can be implemented into almost anything. 

It could change how we engage online or even pay for services. 

However, so far, you have only been able to send Bitcoin on it and nothing else. If we can now create systems and infrastructure where people will pay in fiat and use the Lightning Network to settle, many more opportunities arise. And that’s just on the payment side of things.

Users in the Global South will have a Bitcoin wallet now and the opportunity to have direct exposure to stronger fiat currencies than what they pay with locally. Although the U.S. dollar is a giant Ponzi, I’ve written about this in the past, it’s still the most dominant currency out there.  

CBDCs: The Hidden Threat to Our Financial Freedom 🎙️

My latest episode for the Proof of Words podcast is with Joe Martin, where we talked about CBDCs. 

We explored the real-world implications of CBDCs, the surveillance state, and the need for alternative payment systems like Bitcoin.

 We revealed how CBDCs may be weaponized by governments and used as a tool for tyranny, with frightening examples from both the left and the right of the political spectrum. 

Also, we discussed the importance of grassroots awareness and opposition to CBDCs, as well as the potential for a more decentralized and private financial future through Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Your Stacker in Sats,

Patrick Lowry