The New York Stock Exchange experienced a technical issue on Monday, June 3, which caused A-class shares of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway to appear to be down by almost 100%. This malfunction resulted in trading halts for Berkshire Hathaway, as well as Barrick Gold and Nuscale Power. Despite the quick resolution of the glitch and the resumption of trading for all three stocks on the same day, the incident did not go unnoticed by the crypto community. Many digital asset enthusiasts took to social media to remind Warren Buffett of his previous criticism of Bitcoin, referring to it as a “gambling asset” with zero value. However, crypto community members noted that Bitcoin has never experienced such a dramatic drop, unlike Berkshire Hathaway stock. Notably, Edward Snowden, the whistleblower and advocate for privacy rights, made a statement on Twitter with the iconic line “Bitcoin fixes this,” suggesting that he sees Bitcoin as a solution to various technical vulnerabilities.
Jan3 CEO and renowned Bitcoin enthusiast Samson Mow announced that Monochrome Asset Management’s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) went live on the Cboe Australia exchange. This marks Australia’s first and only ETF holding Bitcoin directly. The new spot Bitcoin ETF is expected to generate inflows of about $1 billion, according to previous reports. Mow highlighted the unique features of IBTC, including the option for global investors to make direct in-kind creations or redemptions, allowing them to exchange their BTC for IBTC and vice versa globally. Additionally, Monochrome has secured partnerships with lending providers in Australia, enabling sophisticated investors to borrow money against their ETF holdings using IBTC as collateral. Mow suggested that borrowing through IBTC may offer a better loan-to-value ratio (LVR) and lower interest rates than traditional coin loans.
Data from the Shibburn website revealed that on the morning of June 3, 21,435,658 SHIB tokens were transferred to dead-end wallets, with only two transactions carrying 21,315,658 and 120,000 SHIB out of circulation. This significant incineration of meme coins caused the Shiba Inu burn rate to increase by 10,990%, a more than 30x rise from the 348% surge observed on Monday. In response to this development, SHIB Discord admin DaVinci issued a warning to the SHIB community. He cautioned against blindly investing in new projects on the ShibaSwap DEX, particularly those claiming affiliation with or backing from the SHIB development team. DaVinci specifically highlighted the TREAT token, advising against investing as it has not been officially launched yet.
The financial and cryptocurrency markets have seen significant developments in recent days, from technical glitches impacting traditional stock exchanges to the launch of innovative Bitcoin ETFs and surges in burn rates for meme tokens like Shiba Inu. These events highlight the interconnected nature of the global financial ecosystem and the growing influence of digital assets in shaping the future of finance. Investors and enthusiasts alike should pay close attention to these developments as they continue to unfold.