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Crypto News Updates: Bitcoin prices hit a fresh milestone, hitting nearly $47,000 level, ahead of the highly speculated Bitcoin ETF approval by The SEC. If spot Bitcoin ETFs get the nod from the SEC, they will trade at an 8% premium to their net asset value, according to Reggie Brown, Head of ETF Trading at market maker GST.
The remarks came as would-be Bitcoin ETF issuers, including the likes of BlackRock, Valkyrie, VanEck, and Fidelity, among others, filed amended S-1 applications with the US securities watchdog, in hopes of receiving approval to launch their spot Bitcoin products.
In the interim, according to public documents, Bitwise has lowered its sponsor fee to 0.2% from an earlier fee of 0.24%.
Making headlines in crypto news, Bitcoin also made a ‘Golden Cross’ for the first time in its history, hinting towards a bullish trend in the market.
Meanwhile, SEC Chair Gary Gensler posted another cautionary tweet on platform X, warning investors about the “risk involved” in crypto assets. The tweet comes a day after Gensler had posted a thread on platform X warning the market about the “FOMO” of digital currencies.
According to a report by FOX news, leading securities attorneys representing the SEC claim that Gary Gensler’s latest remarks hint to an upcoming approval of spot Bitcoin ETF.
JUST IN: Top securities lawyers dealing with the SEC say Gary Gensler's recent comments prelude to an imminent approval, FOX Business reports. pic.twitter.com/GiVtkbXU2L
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) January 9, 2024
The Evmos Foundation has effectively recovered 59.4 million tokens, worth $7.6 million, from its former co-founder, Akash Khosla.
The German cryptocurrency custodian Finoa raised $15 million in a strategic financing round that Balderton Capital and Maven 11 Capital led, according to an exclusive report by The Block.
After last week’s leverage shakeout, K33 Research says there is less chance that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s expected decisions on bitcoin spot ETF applications will be a sell-the-news event.
In an ongoing effort to position social media platform X alongside banks like Wells Fargo, Elon Musk will eventually provide payments feature this year.
Elon Musk finally confirms X WILL launch payments option this year – in continued drive to turn platform into replacement for banks like Wells Fargo https://t.co/euTlulkwEZ pic.twitter.com/4zhhuYUnsv
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) January 9, 2024
Fox Corp., one of the largest media firms in the U.S., has publicly debuted a new blockchain platform called Verify to help media companies track how their content is being used online. The company plans to use the Verify Protocol to negotiate deals licensing its content.
According to statistics from Nayibtracker, El Salvador is sitting on over $11 million in unrealized earnings on its bitcoin (BTC) investment after experiencing a two-year loss.
According to the public documents, Bitwise has lowered its sponsor fee to 0.2% from an earlier fee of 0.24%. Bitwise has still kept its 6-month fee free period up to $1 billion in assets.
*BITWISE LOWERS SPONSOR FEE FROM 0.24% TO 0.2% IN AMENDED S-1 FORM, KEEPS 6-MONTH FEE FREE PERIOD UP TO $1 BILLION IN ASSETS – THE BLOCK PRO
— The Block Pro Headlines (@theblockupdates) January 9, 2024
SEC Chair Gary Gensler posted another cautionary tweet on platform X, warnings investors about the “risk involved” in crypto assets. The tweet comes a day after Gensler had posted a thread on platform X warning market about the “FOMO” of digital currencies.
If you're considering an investment involving crypto assets, be cautious.
Crypto asset securities may be marketed as new opportunities but there are serious risks involved.
Read @SEC_Investor_Ed's Director Take:
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024
Invesco US And Galaxy are the latest to jump on the bandwagon amended filings for spot Bitcoin ETF approval. Just like their peers, Invesco and Galaxy have submitted a modified version of their S-1 application with the SEC.
Now @InvescoUS & @galaxyhq too https://t.co/Be6BCsWlP1
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 9, 2024
Celsius Network has transferred ETH worth $90 million to CoinBase account and Falcon-X in the last week. It still holds more than $108 million worth ETH still.
JUST IN: @CELSIUSNETWORK TRANSFERRED $90 MILLION IN $ETH TO @COINBASE AND FALCON-X IN LAST WEEK, BUT STILL HOLDS MORE THAN $108 MILLION
— BSCN Headlines (@BSCNheadlines) January 9, 2024
Phishing scammers have recently begun to target communities like Tron (TRX), Solana (SOL), and Ethereum (ETH). Their previous focus was using EVM chains to carry out cryptocurrency schemes. Nevertheless, the pattern has shifted subsequent to their penetration into reputable cryptocurrency communities.
Pantera Capital to buy $200m Bitcoin through BitWise ETF. The transaction comes at a time when whale movements in the market are increasing amid bullish sentiments around Bitcoin ETF approval.
NEW: Pantera Capital to buy $200m #Bitcoin through BitWise ETF.
— Radar🚨 (@RadarHits) January 9, 2024
New payment interface for cryptocurrency users, featuring support for more than a dozen additional coins, was unveiled by BitPay on Tuesday. Users of the BitPay platform will now be able to pay with community-driven assets such as VERSE (VERSE), Cronos (CRO), Binance Coin (BNB), Chainlink (LINK), Uniswap (UNI), Basic Attention Token (BAT), and many more.
According to Steven McClurg, co-founder of Valkyrie Investments, the spot Bitcoin ETF is anticipated to get SEC approval by the end of Wednesday and start trading on Thursday morning. The first ten ETFs will launch simultaneously.
Following the suit in the latest S-1 amendments, Grayscale has filled its fifth amendment to its spot Bitcoin ETF application with The SEC.
JUST IN: Grayscale filed their fifth amendment to their spot #Bitcoin ETF with the SEC 🇺🇸
All issuers are racing to get theirs in before tomorrows deadline 🔥 pic.twitter.com/g9PAf5PLZW
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) January 9, 2024
Latest in the suit, ARK 21Shares has submitted an amended S-1 filing, following competitors like Blackrock and VanEck. According to public filings, the SEC received the seventh modification to ARK 21Shares’ application for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 ARK 21Shares filed their seventh amendment to their spot #Bitcoin ETF with the SEC 👀 pic.twitter.com/9lDhqAwecH
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) January 9, 2024
CEO of the Blockchain Association Kristin Smith responded to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s concerns on Tuesday about hiring in a public letter. In the letter, Smith said ” While Blockchain Association does not currently employ anyone with the credentials listed in your first question, we are fortunate and proud to count many former military, national security, intelligence officers, and law enforcement professionals among our membership. “
Bitcoin made a ‘Golden Cross’ for the first time in its history, hinting towards a bullish trend in the market. A golden cross is an indicator when the 50-week moving average crosses over the 200-week moving average.
JUST IN: #Bitcoin made a 'Golden Cross' for the first time in its history, with the 50 week MA crossing over the 200 week MA.
Bullish! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/94yh2UnyML
— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) January 9, 2024
FIU-registered Indian exchange, CoinDCX declared that it would set aside $1 million to Treasury Funds to help investors move their assets from offshore exchanges that do not comply with the FIU.
A brand-new gaming coin named Xai (XAI) was added to Binance’s platform on Tuesday. Following its listing on Binance, the price of XAI increased by almost 7% and reached a record high.
Crypto markets are seeing a surge in hefty transactions as bullish sentiments in the market rise, ahead of SEC’s decision on the spot Bitcoin ETF approval. In one such transaction, over $127 million have been transferred into an unknown account on Binance.
126,983,901 #USDT (127,072,789 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Binance
Read more at @CMNisal
— CMNisal (@CMNisal) January 9, 2024
Both Blackrock and VanEck have submitted updated S-1 forms for ETF applications ahead of the anticipated date of the approval of the Bitcoin ETF. The last-minute filing modifications occur right before the SEC’s anticipated final ruling on January 10.
BREAKING:🚨🇺🇸BLACKROCK, VANECK FILE AMENDED S-1 FORMS FOR SPOT #BITCOIN ETF APPLICATIONS
— Crypto Macro (@cryptomacro14) January 9, 2024
Streaming platform Netflix is riding the hype around digital currency with the launch of the crypto based documentary called “Bitcoined”. The storyline of the series revolves around The Miami crypto brothers who ran a multimillion-dollar initial coin offering (ICO) and will eventually face 100 years in prison.
🍿 Netflix has debuted a new crypto documentary, Bitconned.
The story of Miami #crypto bros facing 100 years in prison for running multi-million dollar ICO.
🔥 Read more at @CMNisal #CMNisal pic.twitter.com/Je7KOUgaT0
— CMNisal (@CMNisal) January 9, 2024
While the final decision on spot Bitcoin ETFs is still pending, the open interest in Bitcoin futures continues to rise, surpassing $19.5 billion as of January 9, 2024, data from CoinGlass shows.
Cardano (ADA) is set for a potential bull run, which could lift the token’s price to as high as $6, renowned crypto analyst Ali Martinez said. According to a post shared by Martinez on X, the current price action of ADA mirrors the patterns seen between 2018 and 2020, and has huge upward potential.
The FTX and Celsius Network are said to have transferred $35 million worth of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to centralized exchanges (CEXs), including Binance, and Coinbase — potentially to cash out or move their holdings to different digital assets. The move coincided with recent price surge in both WBTC and ETH.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Tuesday placed custodian crypto wallet imToken and crypto exchange BKEX on its Investor Alert List. The decision comes amid growing regulatory concerns in Singapore’s crypto landscape.
The SEC was quick to comment on the amended S-1 applications submitted by would-be spot Bitcoin ETF issuers. The move has the crypto industry on the edge, with Perianne Boring, president and founder of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, saying the SEC Chair Gary Gensler could come up with another way to reject spot Bitcoin products.
SEI, the native token of Layer-1 blockchain Sei, made a tremendous comeback, surging 20% over the last 24 hours to $0.75. The token has appreciated a whopping 170% in the last 30 days.
The Shiba Inu (SHIB) burn rate rose by a whopping 900% over the past 24 hours, with nearly 34 million SHIB tokens sent to burn addresses. The development coincided with the price surge in SHIB, with the meme coin having appreciated over 5% to $0.00000952 in the past 24 hours.
The Solana developer ecosystem has maintained steady growth over the past 12 months after witnessing a sharp decline in developer count from all-time high in December 2022. An average of 2500-3000 monthly active developers were building on Solana throughout 2023, recent data from the Solana Foundation showed.
With investors keenly awaiting the SEC’s decision on spot Bitcoin ETFs, Reggie Brown — Head of ETF Trading at GST — said he expects spot Bitcoin products, if approved, to trade at a 8% premium to its net asset value. Furthermore, Brown said it would be difficult to keep ETF prices in equilibrium with underlying Bitcoin holdings, given the SEC’s reluctance to permit direct spot Bitcoin trading by broker-dealers.
the US commodities watchdog, CFTC, has released a report, outlining the emerging risks associated with digital assets, especially within the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. One of the major concerns, the report states, is the lack of accountability within the DeFi sector, which poses risks to consumers, investors, and financial stability.
Despite Bitcoin’s recent price surge, with the OG cryptocurrency zooming past $47,000 levels on Monday for the first time since April 2022, institutional investors are exercising caution and have begun shorting the ETF market.
BONK, a memecoin based on the Solana (SOL) network, has overtaken Shiba Inu in its 24-hour trading volume. Bonk saw a meteoric 158% jump in its trading volumes over the last 24 hours to $324.5 million. By comparison, SHIB’s trading volumes declined to $179.2 million during that period.
The US SEC’s recent comments on pending Spot Bitcoin ETF Form S-1 applications signal a possible delay in their approval, according to Chamber of Digital Commerce President Perianne Boring.
Would-be spot Bitcoin ETF issuers, including the likes of Valkyrie, WisdomTree, BlackRock, and Fidelity, filed amended Forms S-1 with the US securities regulator on Monday, seeking permission to launch their Funds. The SEC has until Jan 10 to decide whether to approve or reject spot Bitcoin products. In anticipation of an approval, VanEck has poured $71.5 million into its proposed Bitcoin ETF.
The announcement by crypto firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) that it had repaid loans worth $1 billion taken from creditors, including $700 million from Genesis, has raised eyebrows, with crypto veteran Vijay Boyapati accusing the DCG of misleading Genesis’ creditors.
Thailand government has gotten the nod to borrow money for its 500 million baht (roughly $14 billion) “digital wallet” program, which involves distributing 10,000 baht (approx. $300 million) to Thai residents. The digital handout scheme, however, has courted controversy, with critics warning that it would push up inflation.
Former SEC chair Jay Clayton told CNBC that that the Bitcoin ETF “approval is inevitable,” adding that the approval could be a huge step not just for Bitcoin but for the financial world.
VanEck, another spot Bitcoin ETF filer, has also added its ETF with the ticker $HODL with the DTCC for clearance.
WisdomTree spot Bitcoin ETF, with the ticker $BTCW, is now listed on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, following Invesco Galaxy’s Bitcoin ETF (BTCO) listing with the DTCC.
People associated with the filings believe that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issuing additional comments on their form S-1s is not much to worry about, amid high hopes on the approval before January 10, 2024.
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