Democrats Exclude Bitcoin From 2024 Platform | Bitcoin News by CoinCorner

Transcript

The unmined Bitcoin supply is running out as 94% has officially been mined and entered into circulation. Dubai appears to be bullish on crypto by backing the legality of crypto salaries, and data reveals that every Norwegian citizen is now indirectly allocated to Bitcoin.

So let's kick things off by looking at Bitcoin's price. This week, we've had more lacklustre sideways movement continuing from last week, with the price hovering between $58,000 and $62,000 per coin. There was some movement earlier this week on Wednesday as the Fed released their FOMC meeting minutes, implying that rate cuts may be on the horizon. As a result, this caused Bitcoin's price to surge by about 3%. The minutes outlined that if data continued to come in about as expected, it would likely be appropriate to ease policy with a 25 basis point cut. Now, as positive as this is for markets, it appears we need something more significant to break Bitcoin's current sideways pattern.

Moving on from the price, this week we've reached a major milestone in Bitcoin's available supply, as 94% of all Bitcoin that will ever be in circulation has now officially been mined. One of Bitcoin's unique characteristics is that it has a pre-programmed issuance with a falling inflation rate. New Bitcoins are generated through the process of Bitcoin mining, where miners are rewarded with new Bitcoin for verifying transactions on the blockchain. It was designed so that roughly every four years, the Bitcoin mining reward would be cut in half, and this is known as the Bitcoin halving. The initial mining reward during Bitcoin's infancy was 50 Bitcoin per block, and we've now since had four Bitcoin halvings, so the current mining reward is now 3.125 Bitcoin.

Due to this diminishing supply, experts estimate that the last coins will not be mined until the year 2140, at which point miners will then generate income from on-chain fees. This controlled supply rate is a key aspect of Bitcoin's value proposition. As the issuance slows but the demand grows, Bitcoin is designed to become scarcer over time. This offers a potential escape for investors looking to store value in a world with unlimited fiat money printing and currency debasement.

Now, one country that seems to be upping their exposure to Bitcoin is Norway. This week, it was announced that Norway's sovereign wealth fund has around $42 million worth of Bitcoin. The Norges Bank Investment Management Fund, which manages $1.7 trillion reinvesting income from the country's oil reserves, has increased their exposure to Bitcoin by 62% since the start of the year. According to K33 Research Senior Analyst, Vetle Lunde, the fund has made greater allocations to stocks such as Coinbase, MicroStrategy, Block, and Marathon Digital. Lunde suggests that this is the equivalent of around 2,446 Bitcoin, worth $42.99 million, which divided amongst the population equates to $27 worth of Bitcoin per resident.

Now, as exciting as this is, the fund's holdings represent less than 1% of the vast portfolio, and it's suggested that the change in allocation is potentially down to an algorithm-based risk management strategy. However, it does still imply Bitcoin's ongoing success as an asset, which is breaking into traditional diversified portfolios.

Moving on to politics, this week the Democratic Party released their 2024 platform outlining their agenda for the upcoming election. But in the document, they opted to completely leave out any policy relating to Bitcoin and crypto. The decision aligns with the past four years of the Biden-Harris administration's hostility towards the industry, but it had appeared that their stance may have been softening as a way to try and compete for the crypto vote following the development of running opponent Donald Trump becoming a pro-Bitcoin candidate.

We recently saw Trump speak at the world's largest Bitcoin conference in Nashville, and in contrast, the Republican Party has embraced Bitcoin by making it a central component of their party platform. It describes the Democrats' actions as an "unlawful and un-American crypto crackdown," but they have also vowed to protect the right to mine, self-custody digital assets, and oppose the creation of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. As the 2024 election approaches, the absence of Bitcoin and crypto from the Democratic platform is believed to potentially influence the vote of an estimated 50 million Bitcoin and crypto holders across the country who are looking for the best candidate to champion their cause and protect their digital assets.

Now, our final story is coming from Dubai, where in a landmark court ruling, the legality of crypto salaries has been affirmed. The case involved an employee who was being paid in both fiat money and crypto in the form of Ecoin tokens, but following their role being terminated, the individual was still owed some remaining income. They didn't appear to have any issues with the company paying them what they were owed in fiat currency, but they never received the crypto tokens. The employer argued that the salary payments in crypto were not legally enforceable. However, the court found that the employment contract clearly stipulated that the employee was to be paid in both fiat currency and crypto, and the employer was unable to provide sufficient evidence that the Ecoin tokens had been paid.

The ruling really emphasises the importance of clear contractual agreements, but it also shows the UAE's readiness to adapt to modern financial practices. This may pave the way for further integration of digital currencies into the region's legal and economic frameworks.