Bitcoin is now fighting the ECB’s €51.8 billion bond wall for a shrinking pool of capital

Bitcoin traded around $64,000 on July 25 after changing hands near $65,000 around the ECB’s July 23 decision as the central bank kept rates unchanged, its bond portfolios continued shrinking, and euro-area banks tightened access to business and housing credit.The ECB kept its three key interest rates unchanged, leaving the deposit facility rate at 2.25%, the main refinancing rate at 2.40% and the marginal lending facility rate at 2.65%, while the balance-sheet and bank-credit channels continued moving in a restrictive direction.Official monthly data shows that the ECB’s asset purchase program and pandemic emergency purchase program portfolios declined by a combined €39.447 billion in June as maturing securities passed through the balance sheet without reinvestment. The latest weekly figures indicate that the two portfolios had fallen by approximately another €31.1 billion by July 17.The ECB listed €27.039 billion of expected APP redemptions and €24.714 billion of expected PEPP redemptions during the month, producing a combined total of €51.753 billion whose realized value may vary as securities mature and accounting adjustments pass through the portfolios.Those numbers explain why ...