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Bitcoin spikes to highs of $30k amid fake spot ETF news. BlackRock has confirmed its spot Bitcoin ETF application remains under review. Over $130 million shorts were liquidated as the price of Bitcoin shot to near $30k on Monday A relatively quiet crypto market sparked into a frenzy for a few minutes on Monday as news spread that the Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) had approved the first Bitcoin ETF . Bitcoin price soared more than 10% within no time as major crypto news accounts on X seized on the news, with BTC rising to $30,000 on crypto exchange Coinbase. This was Bitcoin’s highest level since August 9. Spot Bitcoin ETF approval was ‘fake’ First, Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terret posted on her X account that BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF had not been approved. She cited a statement from the $9 trillion asset manager that indeed its “application is still under review.”  Bloomberg and the Wall Stre...

Slack conversations between Terraform Labs' co-founders Do Kwon and Daniel Shin have exposed their contemplation of orchestrating fraudulent transactions on the Terra blockchain. Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon has refuted the significance of Slack messages as evidence , which involved discussions with his co-founder Daniel Shin about manipulating transactions on the Terra blockchain to attract investors. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) included the Slack conversation between the two co-founders, which was dated back to September 2019, in a recent court filing. Slack message report between Do Kwon and Daniel Shin. Source: Docdroid The message report suggests the two co-founders were brainstorming strategies to increase investor interest in the Terra blockchain. However, Kwon showed the intention of influencing transactions to create a more appealing image: “I can just create fake transactions that look real.” Kwon further elaborates that these transact...

The potential for a Bitcoin Exchange-Trust Fund ( ETF ) getting the green light this year took a hit with revelations that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) might abstain from such endorsements. In a recent post, Bloomberg’s seasoned analyst, James Seffyat, shed light on this. He emphasized that recent SEC activities hint at no forthcoming ETF approvals 2023. Particularly concerning to observers was the SEC’s decision to bypass pending second deadlines and postpone the ARK 21Shares ETF filing. This move, Seffyat speculates, signals the likelihood of the SEC stalling all forthcoming filings. Major ETF filings from BlackRock, Bitwise, VanEck, Invesco, Wisdomtree, Fidelity, and Valkyrie are slated for October deliberation. Pondering the reasoning behind the SEC ’s early delay, Seffyat posits two possibilities. The impending U.S. Federal Government shutdown might prompt the SEC to clear its slate. With an anticipated furlough affecting 90% of the SE...

During a Sep. 27 hearing, policymakers hammered Gary Gensler over the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) non-compliance with requests for documents including records related to bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Rep. Patrick McHenry voiced skepticism regarding Gensler’s commitment to remedying bipartisan legislative concerns and protecting investors, noting that Congress’s patience was “wearing thin”. @SECGov Chair @GaryGensler continues his blatant disregard for Congress in pursuit of a radical agenda that threatens the integrity of our financial markets, protection of investors, & our economic competitiveness. Our patience is wearing thin. #WATCH my opening remarks ️ pic.twitter.com/MTJIdNaBGD — Patrick McHenry (@PatrickMcHenry) September 27, 2023 “Bitcoin does not meet the Howey test which is the law of the land about being an investment contract,” Gensler said about treating Bitcoin as a security. The SEC ...

Coinbase has decided to further dig in its heels against regulatory pressure from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with CEO Brian Armstrong calling out the commission’s chair Gary Gensler, and the crypto exchange’s legal chief hitting back at an SEC proposal that would amend custody rules for registered investment advisors (RIAs). In a 23-page letter to the SEC, Coinbase’s legal head Paul Grewal outlined many ways in which the exchange doesn’t agree with major revisions proposed to the investment adviser custody rule. Grewal explained that the SEC is seemingly making assumptions about crypto that would do harm to investors. “While we agree with some of the measures outlined in the Proposal, we are concerned that, in its current form, the Proposal makes unwarranted assumptions about custodial practices based on the Commission’s experience with securities ,” the letter stated. “These assumptions are not necessary or appropriate, and could be detrimental to consumer prote...

MicroStrategy plans to sell 750 million shares of stock to acquire more Bitcoin (BTC). Its current portfolio holds a total of 152,800 BTC. The company report ed its intention to acquire more BTC in an SEC filing on August 1. MicroStrategy report ed $22.2 million in net income, increasing its revenue by far compared to last year’s period, with a net loss of 1.1 billion. The company had 152,800 bitcoins by July 31, valued at 4.5 billion USD. MicroStrategy’s CEO, Michael Saylor, shared updates on Twitter regarding the company’s intention to acquire more Bitcoin. In July, @MicroStrategy acquired an additional 467 BTC for $14.4 million and now holds 152,800 BTC. Please join us at 5pm ET as we discuss our Q2 2023 financial results and answer questions about the outlook for #BusinessIntelligence and #Bitcoin. $MSTR https://t.co/SCHeBJ80TH — Michael Saylor️ (@saylor) August 1, 2023 Bitcoin performance during Q2 The second quarter of the year has been a good peri...

Grayscale’s legal victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) renews optimism for a US Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), boosting trading, investor sentiment , and overall financial market s. The crypto and wider crypto-related stock markets are relatively firm hours after Grayscale’s win against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the District Court of Colombia. On Aug. 29, a trio of federal judges in Washington, effectively overturned the SEC’s decision to block Grayscale’s sport Bitcoin ETF rollout. With this landmark victory, the crypto community senses that the first-ever Bitcoin ETF in the US is imminent, and it has triggered cascading impacts on market sentiment and dynamics. JUST IN The D.C. Circuit ruled in favor of @Grayscale in our lawsuit challenging the SEC's decision to deny $GBTC's conversion to an ETF! Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with us, especially our investors. We are grateful for your suppo...

Spot Bitcoin ETF: the Hard Take SEC ’s former Office of Internet Enforcement Chief John Reed Stark shared his opinion about this possibility on X (formerly Twitter). advertisement In his opinion, Stark believes that the current administration of the U.S. SEC is not likely to approve a spot BTC ETF due to some compelling reasons. He claimed that some of these reasons have been properly documented by experts from the non-partisan and nonprofit organization Better Market in their August 8, 2023 SEC Comment Letters.  Will the SEC Approve Any Of The Recent Bitcoin Spot ETF Applications? People often ask for my opinion on whether the SEC will approve any of the recent spate of bitcoin spot ETF applications, which is an interesting and important question. Recommended Articles Crypto Presale Projects For 2023 To Invest; Updated List Must R...

The SEC has postponed its decision on the Ark Invest & 21Shares Bitcoin ETF proposal as it’s soliciting feedback from the public . The recent actions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) towards the spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF proposal by Ark Invest and 21Shares have garnered significant attention. Contrary to widespread anticipation, the SEC did not deliver a clear verdict – neither an approval nor a rejection. You might also like: What is Bitcoin ETF and which companies applied for it in the US? As revealed in their official documentation, the SEC has initiated “proceedings” to decide on the future of this Bitcoin ETF conclusively. The move follows several proposals the SEC has encountered in the past few months. Significantly, such initiation of proceedings doesn’t necessarily reveal the SEC’s stance on the matter. It merely underscores their commitment to a thorough examination, as the document emphasizes the absence of any fin...

The crypto community saw history being scripted yesterday. The judge in the SEC-Ripple case gave a mixed verdict, but the main takeaway was the declaration of XRP as a non-security. The sales on exchanges; sales by employees; distributions to developers, charities, etc. were off the radar. However, the judge ruled that the institutional sales of the tokens violated federal securities laws. Nevertheless, this will be contested in court again during subsequent proceedings. The only thing the Court found constitutes an investment contract is past direct XRP sales to institutional clients. There will be further court proceedings only on these institutional sales per the Court’s order. — Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) July 13, 2023 Also Read: Spot Bitcoin ETF ‘Rejections’ Might Not Stop BTC’s Bull Run: Why? Coinbase volume spikes: Courtesy XRP? On the heels of the landmark ruling, several exchanges started considering re-listing the asset. Coinb...

Industry stakeholders seek clarity regarding the implications of taxation and its connection to the recognition of cryptocurrency and associated procedures. The president of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN), Obinna Iwunna, has commented on the implementation progress of the Finance Act, 2023, signed into law on May 28. According to Iwunna, the successful execution of the law will be challenging due to its premature introduction. The act introduces a series of tax reforms aimed at modernizing the country’s fiscal framework. Among its provisions was the introduction of a 10% tax on gains from the disposal of digital assets, including crypto currencies. In a Cointelegraph interview, Iwunna criticized the idea of implementing a 10% tax on cryptocurrencies in the current uncertain climate, likening it to putting the cart before the horse. He highlighted the ongoing issue with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) instructing commercial banks not to facil...

The firm said it received an investigative subpoena in December regarding its crypto listings, crypto custody and platform operations. Robinhood Markets has confirmed that it had received an investigative subpoena from the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) over its digital asset business' crypto listings , custody and platform operations. In a 10-K filing, the brokerage said it received the investigative subpoena in December shortly after crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy in November, and after "several other major cryptocurrency trading venues and lending platforms earlier in 2022," including Three Arrows Capital, Voyager Digital Holdings and Celsius Network. The investigative subpoena was in relation to its cryptocurrency listings and custody services, which they said came in response to the crypto bankruptcies last year: "In December 2022, following the 2022 Crypto Bankruptcies, we received an investigative subpoena from the SEC regardi...

One Ethereum bull hopes the launch will help onboard a host of other crypto companies and financial institutions onto Ethereum. The Ethereum community appears to have taken a bullish view of Coinbase’s newly announced layer-2 network, Base, which has been described as a “massive confidence vote” and a “watershed moment” for the blockchain network.  Secured on Ethereum and powered by layer-2 network Optimism, Base aims to eventually become a network for building decentralized applications (DApps) on the blockchain. The layer-2 network is currently in its testnet phase, according to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. 0/ Hello world. Meet Base, an Ethereum L2 that offers a secure, low-cost, developer-friendly way for anyone, anywhere, to build decentralized apps. Our goal with Base is to make onchain the next online and onboard 1B+ users into the cryptoeconomy.https://t.co/Znuu3o3pJw — Base (@BuildOnBase) February 23, 2023 Members of the crypto community, such as Ryan Sean Adams, host...