SEC Set to Greenlight Ether-Futures ETFs in Win for Crypto Industry (Bloomberg)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to allow the first exchange-traded funds based on Ether futures, a major win for several firms that long have sought to offer the products. The regulator isn’t likely to block the products, which would be based on futures contracts for the second-largest cryptocurrency, according to people familiar with the matter. Nearly a dozen companies, including Volatility Shares, Bitwise, Roundhill and ProShares, have filed to launch the ETFs.
SpaceX wrote down $373M worth of Bitcoin back in 2021-2022: Report (Cointelegraph)
Aerospace technology firm SpaceX reportedly wrote down the value of Bitcoin it owns by a total of $373 million last year and the year before and may have sold all of its holdings. According to an Aug. 17 report in The Wall Street Journal, SpaceX recorded $373 million worth of Bitcoin holdings on its balance sheet in 2021 and 2022 and has reportedly sold the cryptocurrency. It hasn't been confirmed whether the entire $373 million stash was sold.
Genesis, FTX Strike Deal for $175M Bankruptcy Claim (CoinDesk)
FTX’s Alameda Research can make a claim worth $175 million from the estate of similarly bankrupt crypto company Genesis, according to a legal deal submitted in Wednesday court filings. The deal, which also waives Genesis' parallel claims against FTX, represents a significant reduction from the nearly $4 billion FTX originally sought. Lawyers hope it will help the companies wind up affairs and return funds to customers, after lender Genesis Global Capital filed for bankruptcy in January. Genesis and CoinDesk both belong to the Digital Currency Group.
Mastercard Deepens Tie to CBDCs as Nations Mull Issuing Digital Currencies (CoinDesk)
Payments giant Mastercard has created a forum where crypto industry players can discuss and collaborate on central bank digital currencies, injecting its influential voice into the CBDC conversation as nations around the world consider whether to digitize their money. CBDCs are not cryptocurrencies, but they’re in the same family. They don’t have to be, but they could be based on a blockchain, the ledger technology that powers Bitcoin and the rest of crypto. A CBDC would simply be a digital version of an existing fiat currency like the U.S. dollar, with the imprimatur of the issuing government.
Grayscale Is Hiring for ETF Team as Bitcoin Decision Looms (The Block)
Grayscale Investments appeared to send an optimistic signal about an upcoming ruling in a widely watched lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange Commission that many expect could come as early as tomorrow, saying it's hiring for its ETF team. The digital currency asset manager is seeking a "highly capable, analytical, and proactive Senior Associate, ETFs" to support the development of its ETF business.
Coinbase Finally Wins Approval to List Crypto Futures in U.S. (CoinDesk)
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) can now list crypto futures in the U.S. nearly two years after applying for approval. Coinbase Financial Markets secured approval from the National Futures Association (NFA) to operate a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), according to an announcement on Wednesday. The role of FCMs is to buy or sell futures contracts, similar to that of a market maker. The NFA is a self-regulatory organization with designation from federal derivatives regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Coinbase first applied to join the NFA in September 2021.
BitGo Bucks Crypto Downturn to Raise Funding at $1.75 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg)
In a chaotic year for US crypto companies, a few startups are still raising huge chunks of money. On Wednesday, crypto custody firm BitGo Inc. plans to announce that it has raised $100 million at a $1.75 billion valuation. BitGo secures crypto assets by protecting private keys, sometimes in physical vaults. The company is currently the custodian for the creditors of bankrupt digital asset exchange FTX, while its legal proceedings play out. BitGo’s other customers include financial services firm Swan Bitcoin, blockchain developer Mysten Labs Inc. and apparel giant Nike Inc.
Dubai Fines Three Arrows Founders Over OPNX Crypto Project (Bloomberg)
Dubai authorities fined the co-founders of failed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital in their latest enforcement action against the duo’s new digital-asset exchange OPNX. The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority said it had issued the company a fine of 10 million dirhams ($2.7 million) in May that remains unpaid. The regulator said penalties of 200,000 dirhams ($54,451) for Su Zhu and Kyle Davies along with OPNX co-founder Mark Lamb and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Lamb for failures to abide by the rules for marketing, advertising and promotions have been paid.
Ledger Launches PayPal Integration for Buying Bitcoin and Ether (The Block)
Crypto security firm Ledger announced a new integration that permits U.S. customers to buy cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ether and litecoin using their PayPal account, the company said in a statement. The Paris-based blockchain company said U.S. customers using its Ledger Live app will — while subject to “applicable state law” — be able to buy crypto without verification if they have already purchased digital currency using PayPal.
Shiba Inu’s Ethereum Layer-2 Blockchain Shibarium Goes Live Amid Push for DeFi Growth (CoinDesk)
Shiba Inu developers on Wednesday were set to push live the much-awaited Shibarium blockchain, an Ethereum layer-2 network that uses SHIB tokens as fees, a representative told CoinDesk. Layer 2s are networks built atop a layer 1 blockchain – in this case Ethereum – and designed to provide faster and cheaper transactions for users. Shibarium joins an increasingly crowded blockchain landscape; there are at least 50 other networks hoping to lure users with low fees to an ecosystem focused mainly on financial services and gaming.
Binance to Shut Down Crypto Payments Service Amid Refocus On Core Products (CoinDesk)
Crypto exchange Binance to shut down its buy-and-sell service Binance Connect, formerly known as Bifinity, just one year after its launch, the company said in a statement. The service will be disabled on Aug. 16 as the crypto exchange wants to refocus on its main products and long-term goals, according to Binance.
Crypto Market Maker GSR Scales Back, CFO and Other Top Executives Depart (The Block)
Crypto’s oldest market maker GSR is retreating amidst the bear market. Amid this retrenchment, multiple executives, including c-suite level and department heads, have headed for the exit, according to five sources. Those sources also revealed how the retrenchment is impacting one of the industry’s best known players — one that is especially prominent in the U.S. market. The firm’s Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Hugh is the most recent and perhaps the highest profile departure, the sources said. He joined the market maker in 2021 to help build out the company’s finance function, according to LinkedIn. Hugh did not respond to a request for comment from The Block.
Maker Protocol Revenues Hit 2-Year High of $165M as Interest Rates Soar (Decrypt)
The supply of DAI stablecoin surged to a 5-month high of 5.35 billion, per Makerburn.com data. The steep rise comes amid users, including prominent DeFi entities like Justin Sun and OlympusDAO, rushing to scoop up the increased returns in Maker deposits. Maker is a stablecoin issuing platform on Ethereum and is governed by the MakerDAO community formed of MKR token holders.
Sei Mainnet is Live After Testnet Sees More Than 7.5M Wallets Created (CoinDesk)
Sei Labs, the company behind layer 1 blockchain Sei, has announced that its mainnet is now live after a successful testnet phase. The blockchain's native token SEI also went live today on exchanges such as Binance, Kraken and Huobi, among others. The focus for Sei is to create a chain that offers users the ability to exchange assets easily, said the team behind the blockchain. Whether this means assets for social platforms, games or NFT’s, Sei is hoping to offer the smoothest experience.
Stellar Invests in MoneyGram, Gets Seat on Board (The Block)
The Stellar Development Foundation, the organization building out the Stellar network, said Tuesday that it made a strategic investment in money transfer firm MoneyGram. The move follows a commercial partnership the two entities forged two years ago, where MoneyGram partnered with SDF to facilitate crypto payments and to launch a cash-to-crypto service.
Singapore Watchdog Finalizes Stablecoin Rules (The Block)
The Monetary Authority of Singapore today finalized new rules governing stablecoins. MAS said the framework aims to ensure “a high degree of value stability for stablecoins regulated in Singapore,” in an announcement issued Tuesday afternoon Asia time. The watchdog had kicked off a public consultation on the framework in October last year and said it factored feedback into the new rules’ design. The framework will apply to any single-currency stablecoins pegged to the Singapore Dollar or any other G10 currency issued in Singapore.
ETFs May Account for 10% of Bitcoin Market Value If Approved, Bernstein Says (Bloomberg)
Exchange-traded funds may account for 10% of the market value of Bitcoin within three years if the US approves a fund that invests directly in the cryptocurrency, according to a Sanford C. Bernstein research report. The probability of a spot Bitcoin ETF has risen, Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani wrote in the report Monday. Currently the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust holds about 4% of the Bitcoin outstanding. Bernstein expects that regulatory approval will create its own “growth flywheel” for retail and other institutional flows.
Celsius to Poll Customers on Launching New User-Owned Company (Bloomberg)
Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network LLC won court permission to start polling account holders on its proposal to restart as a new user-owned company and distribute an estimated $2 billion of Bitcoin and Ether. US Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn said Monday he’d allow Celsius to begin sending ballots to account holders alongside other voting materials meant to provide a plain-language explanation of the company’s plan to repay customers. Glenn said his approval is contingent upon company advisers providing additional information about the volatility of the crypto industry and challenges that could hinder Celsius’ crypto mining operation.
Prosecutors Allege Bankman-Fried Used Customer Funds for $100 Million in Political Contributions (The Block)
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried faces seven counts of conspiracy and fraud in the latest indictment against him brought by U.S. prosecutors that alleges he used stolen customer funds to spend over $100 million for political contributions. To conceal the source of the funds used for the donations, some of those political contributions were made in the names of FTX executives, the Justice Department said in a superseding indictment filed on Monday.
Binance US Seeks Protective Order Against 'Fishing Expedition' by SEC (Decrypt)
Binance.US has filed a motion seeking a protective order to limit the scope of discovery sought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its case against the cryptocurrency exchange. In June, the U.S. arm of Binance—operating under the names BAM Trading Services and BAM Management US Holdings—entered into a consent order with the SEC after the agency sought to freeze all of its assets over concerns about the security of customer digital assets held by the company.
Bankman-Fried in Custody After Bail Is Revoked Over Leaks (Bloomberg)
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is in custody after a federal judge said that the embattled crypto mogul likely tried to tamper with two witnesses while on bail. US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan revoked the 31-year-old’s bail following a hearing in Manhattan on Friday. Bankman-Fried took off his jacket, tie and shoelaces, and was immediately placed in handcuffs as marshals escorted him out of the courtroom. His mother cried in the public gallery and was comforted by Bankman-Fried’s father.
Visa Tests Way to Make Paying Ethereum Gas Fees Easier (CoinDesk)
Paying fees for transactions on the Ethereum blockchain is too complicated for most people. That's the belief of credit-card giant Visa (V). It has completed testing a new way to allow users to pay the fees, known as "gas fees," in fiat currency with their credit card, the company wrote in a blog post on Thursday. The payments company said blockchain technology could “shape the future of money movement” and has gained significant adoption in the past few years. However, facilitating transactions on-chain remains too complex for most users.
Paradigm, a16z File Brief Supporting Coinbase in Battle With SEC (The Block)
Two tech focused venture capital firms say they are concerned about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s alleged overreach in the crypto industry. Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, and Paradigm filed a joint amicus brief on Friday supporting crypto exchange Coinbase, which was charged in June for allegedly operating as an unregistered exchange, broker and clearing agency. “The SEC’s regulatory overreach, coupled with the unpredictability and arbitrariness of its actions, threatens the development of blockchain technology in the United States,” the firms said in their brief.
Pending Grayscale Ruling Could Tip Balance in Race for Bitcoin ETF (The Block)
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Friday move to further delay a decision on an application for a spot bitcoin ETF from Ark Invest and 21Shares may not have come as a total surprise, but experts say a looming court ruling and questions posed by the agency could make all the difference. A final ruling in a lawsuit brought by Grayscale Investments against the SEC last year for rejecting its proposal to convert its flagship fund, GBTC, into a spot bitcoin ETF could play a role, said Nathan Geraci, president of The ETF Store, an advisory firm. Grayscale presented oral arguments in March, accusing the SEC of contradicting itself by allowing bitcoin futures ETFs and not similar spot bitcoin products.
VC Fund Headed by Former Binance Strategy Chief Closes First Fund at $50 Million (The Block)
A joint venture focused on early-stage stage investment in crypto startups — led by former Binance strategy chief Gin Chao — closed its first fund at over $50 million. A partnership between NoLimit Holdings and private equity firm ClearVue Partners, CVP NoLimit Fund I closed on July 25, according to an announcement today. The Block reported in October 2022 that NoLimit was pitching investors to raise $100 million for the fund.