Bitcoin Miner MARA Holdings Secures $1 Billion Funding for Bitcoin Purchases and Debt Refinancing

Consob Commissioner Federico Cornelli issued a warning about the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies at the opening of a conference held today in Rome. Speaking at the Consob headquarters during the event titled “Italian Investors: Choices Between Advice and Sustainability”.

The warning comes amid a record surge in Bitcoin prices, fuelling speculation among enthusiasts that the cryptocurrency could soon surpass $100,000.

Crypto Bubble Could Leave Investors Unprotected

Federico Cornelli, Consob Commissioner, Source: Consob

Cornelli highlighted the absence of intrinsic value in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. He warned that if the market collapses, investors will have no way to seek compensation from authorities or governments.

He commented: “Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies are highly speculative instruments. Underneath there is nothing. There is no debtor. If the bubble ever bursts one day, no one will come asking the Authorities or governments for compensation.”

Social Media Leads Investment Decisions

The conference coincided with the release of two studies by Consob: the Report on Financial Investments of Italian Households and the Report on the Advisor-Client Relationship. The findings highlighted a significant shift in investment patterns and information sources among Italians.

One report revealed that between 2022 and 2023, the percentage of Italian investors holding cryptocurrencies more than doubled, rising from 8% to 18%. However, the increase in adoption is not always supported by adequate knowledge of the risks involved in these digital assets.

The study also noted a change in how investors obtain information. Social media has become the most popular source, with 36% of respondents relying on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, surpassing the 34% who still turn to traditional print media.

This trend raises concerns, as social media is a key source for younger individuals, women, and those with lower financial literacy or fewer assets—groups identified as particularly vulnerable to high-risk investments.

Financial Education Crucial for Future

Consob and other regulatory authorities have repeatedly warned of the dangers associated with cryptocurrency investments, emphasizing the potential for total capital loss.

Closing the event, Consob Secretary General Nadia Linciano stressed the importance of financial education. “For the future, given the crucial role of financial education, we need to make a greater effort to strengthen and expand the channels through which we convey our content, in order to reach an increasingly wide audience,” she said.

Bitcoin faced a serious challenge hitting $100,000 on Nov. 22 as $300 million in sell-side liquidity blocked the way.

Polymarket blocked French users on Friday, weeks after reports that the country's government was investigating the prediction markets juggernaut for gambling law compliance.

The ban was not reflected in Polymarket's terms of service at press time, but on Friday a reporter using a VPN attempted to access the website from a French server and ran into a digital blockade.

Polymarket fell into the crosshairs of France's national gaming authority the ANJ after a French trader placed massive bets on Donald Trump to win the 2024 U.S. Presidential election.

The fresh ban was first highlighted on social media by French crypto news site The Big Whale.

Polymarket did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did the ANJ.

MicroStrategy’s stock experienced extreme volatility on Thursday, with a dramatic single-day trading range of nearly $139. The day began with an early surge to $535.74, but the momentum abruptly reversed just 13 minutes into the trading session when Citron Research disclosed its short position despite maintaining a bullish stance on Bitcoin.

This announcement triggered an immediate selloff, leading to a steep morning decline followed by sustained downward pressure throughout the trading day. The stock attempted to stabilize several times, as shown by brief plateaus in the chart, but ultimately continued its descent, closing at $396.86 – marking a 25.9% drop from the day’s high.

Well, earlier today, a short time before the market opened, Michael Saylor, the co-founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy Inc. CNBC’s “Squawk Box” to discuss his company’s Bitcoin strategy and to address skepticism from short-sellers.

Saylor described MicroStrategy as a “Bitcoin treasury company,” emphasizing that it operates using a unique financial model powered by Bitcoin volatility. He explained that the company holds approximately $35 billion in Bitcoin, with its value fluctuating significantly. The business generates profit by capitalizing on these fluctuations.

According to Saylor:

• MicroStrategy generates returns by “selling volatility and recycling it back into Bitcoin.”
• The company also strips volatility and risk from fixed-income securities, transferring those elements to common stock, which is designed to deliver “2x Bitcoin performance.”

Saylor explained how MicroStrategy leverages financial instruments to amplify returns. He highlighted two recent transactions:

• At-The-Market Offering (ATM): The company executed a $4.6 billion ATM offering at a 70% Bitcoin spread, resulting in $3 billion in Bitcoin gains over five days. Saylor projected this would translate into $1,225 per share over 10 years.
• Convertible Bond Offering: MicroStrategy raised $3 billion at an 80% Bitcoin spread, producing $2.4 billion in Bitcoin gains. This was estimated to generate $125 per share over a decade.

He argued that these financial maneuvers allow the company to turn fixed-income raises into substantial shareholder returns, assuming Bitcoin prices increase as expected.

Saylor responded to critiques of MicroStrategy’s heavily leveraged Bitcoin position. Critics argue that a significant drop in Bitcoin’s value could create financial instability. Saylor countered:

• The primary risk is Bitcoin experiencing an “extinction-level event” and going to zero, which he deemed highly unlikely.
• He emphasized that all MicroStrategy shareholders are Bitcoin maximalists or Bitcoin believers who accept the inherent risks of holding the cryptocurrency.

He also pointed out that Bitcoin has historically increased by 60% annually, and his expectation is for 29% annual growth over the next two decades.

Saylor underscored the profitability of MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin-centric model:

• Over two weeks, the company generated $5.4 billion in Bitcoin gains, averaging $500 million per day.
• He characterized MicroStrategy as potentially “the most profitable company in the United States,” given its rapid growth and unique position in the Bitcoin market.

Saylor concluded by reaffirming MicroStrategy’s appeal to Bitcoin enthusiasts. “If you don’t like Bitcoin, you won’t want any part of this. But if you believe in Bitcoin, this is a monster for you,” he said, reiterating the company’s commitment to its Bitcoin-first strategy.

At the time of writing (2:38 p.m. UTC), Bitcoin is trading at around $97,886, up 0.9% in the past 24-hour period, and MSTR is trading at $406.06, up 1.96% on the day.

Featured Image via Pixabay

Gnosis founder Martin Köppelmannn says implementing a web of 128 “native rollups” can save the Ethereum network from being captured by corporate interests and vanishing into obscurity.

Native rollups are layer-2 networks built to Ethereum’s native security standards, meaning that they’re composable, uncensorable, and economically aligned with the original ethos of Ethereum.

Unlike “centralized” rollups, which include L2s like Coinbase-incubated Base, or “based rollups” like Taiko — native rollups offer all of the inherent security and composability of Ethereum.

Native rollups would be “built and governed by” Ethereum core developers, with synchronous reading to the L1 and all data availability, maximum extractable values (MEV), and congestion fees being paid back to the mainnet.

Köppelmannn argues that implementing a swathe of these so-called native rollups could hold the key to solving the problem of liquidity and developer fragmentation that currently plague the network. It would also return the network to the original sharding vision abandoned in favor of rollups.

The proposal received a warm response from the Bankless podcasters Ryan Adams and David Hoffman who praised the approach for “only adding to Ethereum, rebalancing power and making ETH stronger.”

However, Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams said he preferred a “middle ground” approach of an enshrined proof system — which would look like a sequencer agnostic L2 proving system.

However, Adrian Brink, the co-founder of the “intent-centric” blockchain firm Anoma, told Cointelegraph the difference between native and based rollups is largely just “made up” for marketing purposes.

“There is no defined computer science terminology for a ‘native’, ‘based’, or ‘vanilla’ rollup. Based just means the rollup is sequenced by the base layer. Native just means there is a native opcode to verify the rollup’s execution,” he said.

The risks of “centralized” rollups

Köppelmannn is the founder of Gnosis, an Ethereum infrastructure firm that’s heavily prioritized on decentralization. Gnosis is also the firm behind Safe Global and Gnosis Chain which together form the bedrock of infrastructure that much of the Ethereum ecosystem rests on.

Speaking on stage at DevCon in Thailand last week, Köppelmann, clad in a Tornado Cash T-shirt, asserted that Ethereum needs to distance itself from centralized layer-2 rollups and deploy its own web of zk-proven networks, all built to the high standards of Ethereum’s L1.

“I have absolutely the highest respect for Jesse [Pollack] and for what Base and Coinbase are doing but I do think saying ‘we’re bringing the next billion people to Ethereum’ is wrong.”

Köppelmannn warned that Base and any other centralized layer-2 network are in charge of how much profit they make, which gives them different incentives.

“It’s entirely in their hands to control how many fees they charge for transactions, and they’re perfectly capable of doing something where they take a 30% cut,” Köppelmannn said, referring to Apple’s controversial fee on all sales conducted through its App Store.

Why does Ethereum need “native” L2s?

Koppelman said roll-up developers are typically presented with two main choices: centralized rollups which rely on a centralized sequencer or “based” rollups.

Centralized sequencing is good for optimizing UX and fast transactions while “based” rollups are slower but optimize for deeper connectivity to the L1.

“If most assets are not bridged from Ethereum, and the sequencing is also not done by Ethereum, the connection to Ethereum is reduced to occasional checkpointing,” he said.

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.

The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 3219.34, up 3.0% (+95.19) since 4 pm ET on Thursday.

Fourteen of 20 assets are trading higher.

Leaders: XRP (+19.6%) and XLM (+18.9%).

Laggards: RENDER (-2.4%) and NEAR (-2.4%).

The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.