23rd February 2025 > > OpenSea & Altvest Capital.

tl;dr

The SEC’s fake charges against OpenSea have been dropped. Altvest Capital is working hard on behalf of its shareholders.

Market Snap

Market Wrap

The sideways drift continues but with a full week of spot BTF ETF outflows, and the Bybit hack, I gently suggest we are looking pretty good right now, all things considered.

Occasional Series – A Central Banker, until she decided to do something far more useful instead (*)

On December 19, 2016, Christine Lagarde was found guilty of criminal negligence by a French court for her actions as French Finance Minister in 2008. Specifically, she was found wanting by:

1. Failing to challenge the state arbitration payout to Bernard Tapie, a friend of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

2. Not seeking more information about the "shocking arbitration award" of nearly half a billion euros that included €45 million in damages.

3. Misusing public funds by allowing the compensation payment to proceed.

That connection via Sarkozy and his high heels has the stink of corruption and grift, something she will carry for ever more.

Lagarde moved from being Finance Minister to Head of the IMF in 2011, before her conviction. The IMF is one of the most corrupt and damaging institutions that has ever been imagined, forcing poverty and deprivation upon some of the most vulnerable people around the world. As such, she was ideally suited to be its chief.

As is the way with a certain type of politician, committing a crime is no barrier to further elevation. The perma-tanned Lagarde became President of the ECB on 1st November 2019, a role which unfortunately resulted in me being responsible for a project of which she was the sponsor. That was a difficult time for me, I can tell you.

…

(*) Oh, I got that wrong. She is still in her job, causing all of us to be poorer than we would otherwise be.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – And now OpenSea

Yesterday the CCC reported that the SEC has dropped its ill-advised legal action against Coinbase, demonstrating to all that under new management the SEC has re-embraced liberty and freedom as principles worth defending and fighting for.

The same courtesy has also been extended to OpenSea, the leading marketplace for NFTs. The SEC had accused OpenSea of operating as an unlicensed securities broker, a trumped-up charge that would likely have resulted in a third judge describing Gensler as “arbitrary and capricious”. Co-founder and CEO of OpenSea, Devin Finzer, explains on X:

“The SEC is closing its investigation into @OpenSea. This is a win for everyone who is creating and building in our space. Trying to classify NFTs as securities would have been a step backward—one that misinterprets the law and slows innovation. Every creator, big or small, should be able to build freely without unnecessary barriers.”

This move is yet more evidence of the US’s new and loving embrace of the crypto revolution.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – And now Altvest Capital

Altvest Capital, a South African investment company, has joined the ever-growing ranks of corporates who are adding BTC to their balance sheet. It’s X account made this announcement:

“Altvest Capital Makes History with Bitcoin!

Altvest Capital became the first publicly traded listed company in Africa to adopt Bitcoin as a strategic treasury asset, reinforcing our commitment to innovation, resilience, and alternative investments.

With Bitcoin’s scarcity, security, and institutional adoption, Altvest is amongst visionaries like Strategy and Meta planet (sic), forging a new era in corporate treasury management.”

To be fair, the company has bought only 1.00464 BTC but it has plans to grow its crypto stash, as we all do too, but on a grander scale than most of us have capacity for. It has filed for regulatory approval to issue shares to raise R200mm (approximately $10mm) solely for the purpose of buying more BTC.

The direction of travel gets ever clearer.