Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s (GBTC) discount to net asset value (NAV) has continued to narrow in the wake of BlackRock’s filing for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, to now hover around 27%.

Bitcoin’s hashrate, a crucial metric of the network’s security and health, has hit a new high of 465 EH/s over the weekend, up from around 406 EH/s on the previous day. The network’s hashrate has been steadily growing, even as prices remain depressed.

A blockchain developer has recently said he has reverse-engineered the source code for Brazil's prototype central bank digital currency (CBDC), and claims to have discovered functionalities within the code that could enable a governing body to freeze funds or deduct from balances.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• GBTC Discount Hits Lowest Level Since May 2022
• Bitcoin Hashrate Hits Record High of 465 EH/s
• Brazil’s CBDC Code Allows Fund Freezing and Balance Adjustment, Developer Claims
• Chart of the Week: BTCUSD’s ~9% Discount on Binance.US

GBTC Discount Hits Lowest Level Since May 2022

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s (GBTC) discount to net asset value (NAV) has continued to narrow in the wake of BlackRock’s filing for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, to now hover around 27%.

The cryptocurrency investment trust, which saw its discount to NAV balloon to an unprecedented near 50% last year, has seen most of this year with a near 40% discount. The trend reversed when BlackRock filed for the ETF in June with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The discount dipped to a 28% low last week, a level that hadn’t been seen since May 2022, and is now at around 27%. The discount is narrowing at a time in which a number of financial behemoths have filed and re-filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF, including Fidelity, BlackRock, WisdomTree, and Invesco.

This surge in optimism has spurred buying activity in the deeply discounted GBTC, which Grayscale had itself sought to convert to a spot Bitcoin ETF almost two years prior. Grayscale's proposal, however, found itself among those rejected by the SEC, which saw Grayscale sue the regulator as a result.

Earlier this week, Grayscale’s legal representatives highlighted the SEC’s decision in late June to authorize a leveraged Bitcoin futures-based ETF, a product they consider to be "even riskier" than the previously approved Bitcoin futures ETFs.

Bitcoin Hashrate Hits Record High of 465 EH/s

Bitcoin’s hashrate, a crucial metric of the network’s security and health, has hit a new high of 465 EH/s over the weekend, up from around 406 EH/s on the previous day. The network’s hashrate has been steadily growing, even as prices remain depressed.

The hashrate measures the estimated computational power used to support the Bitcoin ecosystem, encompassing vital operations such as mining, generating cryptographic keys, and validating blocks of transactions

Thorough analysis of the hash rate can provide insights into the network's resistance to hostile takeovers, specifically the feared 51% attack, where an entity gains control over more than half of the network's computing power.

A higher hash rate equates to a stronger, more secure network, with better defenses against any attempts to undermine its security. As the hash rate rises, the complexity and cost of potential attacks also increase, making the network increasingly bulletproof against ill-intentioned actors.

More hashrate, however, entails increased miner competition, leading to greater investments in the mining hardware and cooling systems used to participate in the cryptocurrency Proof-of-Work (PoW) hashing algorithm.

Brazil’s CBDC Code Allows Fund Freezing and Balance Adjustment, Developer Claims

A blockchain developer has recently said he has reverse-engineered the source code for Brazil's prototype central bank digital currency (CBDC), and claims to have discovered functionalities within the code that could enable a governing body to freeze funds or deduct from balances.

Pedro Magalhães, founder of tech consulting firm Iora Labs, contended there may be scenarios in which such functionalities could prove useful. The source code for the CBDC, the Real Digital, was uploaded on GitHub on July 6 by Brazil’s central bank, which clarified the project is designed for testing purposes only and the current architecture will still undergo modifications.

After the code was uploaded, Magalhães announced that a reverse-engineer of the code revealed intriguing features in the code, including the capacity to freeze and unfreeze accounts, adjust balances, transfer Real Digital between addresses, and generate or destroy Real Digital from a particular address.

Magalhães noted that the code lacks clarity regarding the specific conditions under which tokens could be frozen and, most critically, who has the authority to execute it. While the CBDC has been controversial, Magalhães has suggested it could offer certain benefits, highlighting taxes would become more traceable, allowing the public to scrutinize how these funds are used.

Central Bank of Brazil economist Fabio Araujo argued in July 2022 that the Digital Real could potentially prevent bank runs and provide entrepreneurs with a more secure and dependable environment for innovation.

Chart of the Week: BTCUSD’s ~9% Discount on Binance.US

This week's featured Chart of the Week casts a spotlight on the significant price disparity between fiat pairs trading on Binance.US compared to the wider market. The BTC/USD pair on the exchange is currently trading at a 9.5% discount compared to CCCAGG's standard price for Bitcoin

Similarly, USDT and USDC are trading at an 8.88% discount. This comes after the recent actions taken by the SEC, which led the exchange to cease fiat operations and suspend fiat currency deposits in June.

Discover extensive market insights on our Trade Data page, covering 300+ exchanges & 300,000 currency pairs.

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