Hong Kong-based Avenir Group has made a bold move in the crypto space by investing $599 million into Bitcoin ETFs. The investment firm now holds 11.3 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust making it the largest institutional holder of Bitcoin ETFs in Asia. This milestone highlights Avenir’s growing influence in the digital asset market and its confidence in the future of cryptocurrency.

The firm’s latest 13F filing shows a sharp increase in its Bitcoin ETF exposure aligning with a broader trend of institutional adoption. According to K33 Research major institutions now hold over 25% of total Bitcoin ETF assets valued at $26.8 billion as of Q4 2024. This wave of institutional interest signals stronger credibility and mainstream acceptance of crypto investments.

Avenir’s investment follows its September launch of a $500 million Crypto Partnership Program designed to support top global trading teams. The move shows Avenir’s clear commitment to financial innovation and long-term growth in the digital asset space.

Source

Since 2019, the Bitcoin Conference Art Gallery has invited artists to do something radical—at least by traditional art world standards: price their work in bitcoin—not as metaphor, but as method. What began as a modest experiment in peer-to-peer art sales has, by 2025, evolved into a growing body of work that reflects the movement’s shifting values, symbols, and cultural debates. With over 65 BTC in cumulative art sales, the gallery hasn’t just challenged legacy pricing—it’s built a visual archive of Bitcoin’s ascent. To price a painting in sats is to assert that value can be sovereign—that creative labor need not pass through fiat institutions or legacy art systems to…

Read more on BitcoinMagazine

JPMorgan analysts reported that Bitcoin is likely to continue gaining ground at gold’s expense in the second half of the year, driven by rising corporate demand and growing support from U.S. states.

According to analysts led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, the ‘debasement trade’—where investors turn to gold and bitcoin to guard against weakening fiat currencies—has turned into a zero-sum contest, where bitcoin is now gaining the upper hand.

“Between mid-February and mid-April gold was rising at the expense of bitcoin, while of the past three weeks we have been observing the opposite, i.e. bitcoin rising at the expense of gold,” said JPMorgan analysts. “In…

Read more on BitcoinMagazine

Lightning Network infrastructure provider, Neutron, is now working with Cobo, a digital asset custody platform, to integrate the Lightning Network into their custody platform, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. This team-up will let Cobo’s clients make quick, cheap Bitcoin payments using Neutron’s Lightning Network API.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Cobo, a trusted leader in custodial services, to further accelerate Bitcoin infrastructure across Asia,” said Albert Buu, CEO of Neutron. “At Neutron, we are committed to providing enterprise businesses with easy and efficient integration into the Lightning Network, enabling next-generation global…

Read more on BitcoinMagazine

Bitcoin could soar to $1 million within three years as financial tensions rise across the globe says Arthur Hayes former BitMEX CEO. In a bold forecast he points to the declining value of US treasuries and strict capital controls as key reasons investors will turn to Bitcoin as a safe haven. Hayes believes these forces will push BTC to unprecedented highs by 2028.

Europe faces growing financial restrictions pushing citizens to rethink how they store and access wealth. Hayes highlights that even China allows private Bitcoin ownership while European governments clamp down on financial freedom. He warns Europeans to act now before more aggressive policies limit personal fund access.

Hayes has consistently projected Bitcoin’s long-term growth with previous targets at $100,000 and beyond. He says macroeconomic conditions like treasury devaluation and repatriation of foreign capital are accelerating the shift toward digital assets. Bitcoin he claims will become the global solution as trust in traditional systems erodes rapidly.

Blog Post

Bahrain’s Al Abraaj Restaurants Group has made history by becoming the first publicly listed company in the Middle East to adopt Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset. The company has partnered with New York-based 10X Capital to follow a Bitcoin Treasury strategy similar to MicroStrategy and Metaplanet.

Al Abraaj purchased 5 Bitcoin and will gradually expand its holdings to boost shareholder value while offering Sharia’a compliant Bitcoin exposure to investors in the Islamic world. This move positions Bahrain as a leader in the region’s crypto adoption supported by progressive financial regulations and a $12.5 million EBITDA in 2024.

Investors across Bahrain Saudi Arabia UAE Kuwait Qatar and Oman can now gain Bitcoin exposure by buying ABRAAJ stock on the Bahrain Bourse. With global access to shares this marks a major shift in digital asset accessibility through public equity and highlights a bold new chapter in Middle East finance.

Source