The Daily: Bitcoin's mined supply tops 20 million BTC, Nasdaq partners with Kraken on tokenization initiative, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Monday! Let's start on a lighter note with one of the stranger stories from over the weekend: a startup said it could soon mine the first bitcoin (BTC) in space, with Starcloud planning to send ASIC mining hardware aboard a satellite later this year.

In today's newsletter, Bitcoin's mined supply hits 20 million BTC, Nasdaq partners with Kraken's parent company on tokenized equities, Nigel Farage invests in a UK bitcoin treasury firm led by former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, and more.

Meanwhile, bitcoin briefly slid to around $66,000 as surging oil prices and Middle East tensions rattled global markets before rebounding toward $70,000.

P.S. Don't forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It's a great read — and just like The Daily, it's free to subscribe!

Bitcoin's mined supply hits 20 million milestone, leaving final 1 million BTC to be issued over next 114 years

Seventeen years, two months, and about one week after Bitcoin's January 2009 genesis block, the network has crossed one of its most significant milestones, with its mined supply surpassing 20 million BTC, according to onchain data.

• Amid the gradual deceleration of new issuance as the network advances through successive halvings, the remaining 1 million BTC of its fixed 21 million BTC supply will be gradually released over 114 years, with the final satoshis expected to be mined around 2140.
• The milestone block was mined by the Foundry USA pool, while, notably, 230.09 BTC remain permanently unspendable due to the genesis block subsidy and other script limitations.
• Bitcoin's predictable halving-driven supply schedule, embedded by creator Satoshi Nakamoto, introduces new coins as block subsidy rewards paid to miners who validate transactions and add blocks to the blockchain.
• The April 2024 halving reduced the block subsidy from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, cutting daily issuance to about 450 BTC from roughly 900 BTC previously.
• The next halving is currently estimated for April 11, 2028, according to The Block's Bitcoin Halving Countdown page.

Nasdaq partners with Kraken parent Payward to link tokenized equities with DeFi

Nasdaq has partnered with Kraken's parent company Payward to build infrastructure linking tokenized equity markets with decentralized finance networks.

• The initiative will create an "equities transformation gateway" allowing tokenized equities to move between regulated capital markets and onchain ecosystems.
• Kraken's xStocks framework will power the blockchain infrastructure layer connecting tokenized stocks to DeFi networks in eligible jurisdictions.
• Nasdaq expects its tokenized equity design and related distributed-ledger services to begin rolling out in the first half of 2027.

Nigel Farage invests in UK bitcoin treasury firm led by former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng

Crypto-friendly Reform party leader Nigel Farage invested in the UK-listed bitcoin treasury firm Stack BTC Plc, acquiring an approximate 6.3% stake through his investment vehicle, Thorn In The Side Ltd.

• Stack BTC raised a total of £260,000 ($347,000) from strategic investors, including Farage and Blockchain.com, issuing 5.2 million new ordinary shares priced at £0.05 ($0.07) each to help fund its bitcoin treasury strategy.
• The firm, chaired by former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, also disclosed its first $1.5 million bitcoin purchase of 21 BTC at an average price of $71,594. Kwarteng holds 5.4% of the company.
• Stack BTC trades on the Aquis Stock Exchange under ticker STAK after restructuring last year into a vehicle focused on accumulating bitcoin and acquiring cash-generative businesses.

Zcash Open Development Lab raises $25 million from leading crypto investors Paradigm, a16z and others

Zcash Open Development Lab has raised $25 million in seed funding from investors including Paradigm, a16z crypto, Winklevoss Capital, and Coinbase Ventures.

• The startup emerged after former employees of Electric Coin Company left the Zcash (ZEC) development firm following a dispute with its nonprofit board, Bootstrap.
• ZODL is developing the Zodl wallet, built on the Zashi codebase, which has facilitated more than $600 million in ZEC swaps since October, according to the company.
• Activity tied to the wallet has helped push the Zcash shielded pool supply to around 23% of total supply, reflecting renewed interest in privacy features.

'The second century begins': Michael Saylor's Strategy buys another 17,994 bitcoin for $1.3 billion as holdings reach 738,731 BTC

Michael Saylor's Strategy announced Monday it had purchased another 17,994 BTC for about $1.28 billion at an average price of $70,946, lifting its total holdings to 738,731 BTC.

• The firm funded the latest bitcoin purchases through at-the-market sales of MSTR common stock and STRC perpetual preferred shares.
• Saylor teased the update on Sunday, saying "the second century begins" — referencing that the firm has now made more than 100 sets of bitcoin acquisitions.

In the next 24 hours

• It's quiet on the economic calendar front.
• Magic Eden and Linea are among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.

Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.