After six full days of trading, the recently approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) currently own 95,000 Bitcoin between them, with assets under management (AUM) getting close to $4 billion. In data released by Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, the capital flood into the recently created ETFs has overtaken the outflows from
Legal researcher Elliott Stein remembers being much more upbeat about bitcoin exchange Coinbase’s prospects of winning after the hearing. In its continuing case against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has suggested that it sees little chance of failing. This is according to Elliott Stein, senior legal analyst at Bloomberg.
After X (previously Twitter) launched a special account for its anticipated payments feature later this year, cryptocurrency commentators are speculating about the possible cryptocurrencies that may be used. The “everything app” X, which was once known as Twitter, created a special account for its impending payments function, which has led the cryptocurrency community to further
January’s stablecoin transfer volume has already exceeded $300 billion, surpassing that of December. On the layer-1 Solana blockchain, the volume of stablecoin transfers has been continuously rising and has already surpassed a previous record this month. As per Artemis, a blockchain analytics company, the transfer volume of stablecoins on Solana has surpassed $300 billion in
Congressman Tom Emmer of the United States concurred with former President Donald Trump that central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, pose a risk to financial privacy.In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on January 19, Emmer, the majority whip of the US House of Representatives, expressed his worries, reiterating President Trump’s reservations regarding CBDCs and their possible impact on financial privacy.During a speech in New Hampshire on January 17, Trump made a promise to stop the US Federal Reserve from implementing a CBDC if he were to win the presidency again. Trump’s strong opposition to CBDCs is due to concerns about the risks of de-banking and the potential for misuse of the currency by political actors. Citing the support of 75 co-sponsors for his CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, Emmer pledged to collaborate with Trump in order to fight what they both see as an increase in government surveillance.If the anti-CBDC bill is approved, it will be an essential measure to restrict government monitoring of people’s financial activities. Even though Trump previously opposed cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and others while in office, he has recently entered the market by launching three nonfungible token (NFT) collections.Through his NFT collecting, Trump has earned 1,075 Ether thus far.His notorious mugshot, taken in August 2023 when he turned himself in to authorities in Georgia, was featured in the most recent collection.Legislation opposing the use of a CBDC as money has been submitted in Tennessee, South Dakota, Utah, and South Carolina.The legislation might seriously impede the creation of a CBDC in the US by excluding it from the definition of money.
Legal action has been brought against Colorado-based pastor Eligio “Eli” Regalado and his spouse Kaitlyn for allegedly scamming investors out of millions of dollars by selling an unregistered cryptocurrency token known as INDXcoin.As a digital asset that is “God-backed,” the token was promoted to pious Christians.Through the token’s sales, the pair reportedly raised over $3.2 million for their internet church, Victorious Grace.The Regalados were accused of fraudulent actions and unlawful securities sales without proper registration by the Colorado Securities Commissioner, who launched a case against them.Consequently, Victorious Grace Church’s assets have been blocked by a Colorado judge.Legal documents show that the Regalados asserted that INDXcoin had enough assets to support its value and was supported by a cryptocurrency index. Aside from the couple’s assertion that the token was backed by God’s promise of victory, the Colorado Securities Commission asserts that the token had little to no basis. “Defendant Eli leveraged the potential investors’ faith,” the complaint said. “He stated that their investments’ success was guaranteed by God.” At first, the Regalados claimed that INDXcoin was immune from securities laws since it was a utility token rather than a security offering.Experts, however, disagreed, claiming that the token met the requirements to be classified as a security.Unfazed, the couple asserted that INDXcoin was declared a utility token by God.Eli Regalado, claiming divine guidance, urged investors who voiced concerns about the lack of returns to hang onto their money.Additionally, the Regalados were in charge of the Kingdom Wealth Exchange, which served as a medium for exchanging INDXcoin for US dollars. According to Colorado officials, the couple regularly terminated the platform in order to avert a bank run.They closed the exchange last year due to a lack of active “stakers.”They then declared that God had commanded them to tell INDXcoin holders to stay invested and refrain from raising doubts about the circumstances.The Regalados are accused of stealing $1.3 million for their own use, such as opulent purchases, cosmetic dentistry, trips, and house improvements, during their fundraising efforts.Eli Regalado acknowledged the accusations in a video that was uploaded on the INDXcoin community website, but he also claimed that a sizeable amount of the money went to the IRS and the home renovation that God had given them permission to perform. On January 29, the Colorado Securities Commissioner has requested a preliminary injunction, and the Regalados are expected to appear in court for that hearing.In its ongoing legal battle with blockchain startup Terraform Labs, the SEC requested last year that a judge rule on whether or not specific cryptocurrencies are securities.A federal judge recently questioned whether the commission would have control over markets it doesn’t have jurisdiction over if it were allowed to apply its regulations on Coinbase in the SEC and Coinbase dispute. “I want to understand how your standard does not sweep in the collectible market or commodities,” U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla told SEC lawyers in the courtroom. “It is
With a nearly 1.40% advance on Saturday, Bitcoin (BTC) saw a significant uptick as the weekend progressed, closing at $41,700.Even with this encouraging trend, The New York Times continues to be pessimistic about Bitcoin’s future.The RBI Governor has cautioned investors to proceed with caution, citing cryptocurrencies as a risk to the stability of the Indian Rupee, adding to the cautious stance.A $2.3 million loss by the cryptocurrency exchange Debiex as a result of purported romance scams has been filed to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), underscoring the weaknesses in the cryptocurrency market.In addition, there is concern that the strength of the US Dollar Index (DXY) could pose a threat to the rebound of Bitcoin, especially in light of the selling pressure exerted by Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). With so many different variables at work, investors are wondering if now is the right time to invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum as the latter approaches the $2,500 threshold.
The attorneys for Ripple contended that the US Securities and Exchange Commission had more than enough opportunities to acquire more papers prior to the deadline. Attorneys for Ripple Labs have maintained that the request for further financial papers to be examined by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is unfounded. They maintained that the
The US watchdog referred to Debiex as a “bogus digital asset platform” and brought civil claims against the exchange for allegedly embezzling money. Exchange of cryptocurrencies Regulators in the United States are investigating Debiex, claiming that top employees set up intimate ties with prospective clients in order to steal their money. The U.S. Commodity Futures
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reportedly in early talks with G42, based in Abu Dhabi, and SoftBank Group, based in Japan. Sources familiar with the plans revealed on January 19 that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman intends to use the money generated for a chip business to construct a number of semiconductor production facilities. In an
Ten million dollars have been raised in two seed rounds by Root Protocol, a digital identity service that aims to standardize access to Web3 platforms.Animoca Brands led the investment rounds, which valued Root at $100 million. A number of other prominent investors, including CMS Holdings, Ankr Network, Signum Capital, and angel investors Tekin Salimi and Meltem Demirors, also contributed. An e-mail announcement shared with CoinDesk on Friday states that Root Protocol is developing a Web3 operating system that will function as a digital identity aggregator, aiming to become “a one-stop station for all things decentralized identity” and facilitate access to various Web3 platforms. During the recent 18 months’ bear market, funding for Web3 projects decreased because investors may have viewed them as risky and unproven.When roots grow a healthy amount during the seed stage, it could indicate that something has changed. “Securing $10 million was indeed an accomplishment for a Web3 project, especially considering the challenges many projects faced during bear markets,” a Root spokesperson told CoinDesk in an emailed statement. “The funding rounds for Root drew significant attention due to the involvement of various investment ventures and long term relationship with our
Following a distributed denial-of-service attack on Friday, the cryptocurrency exchange HTX and its HTX DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) have resumed operations. The HTX advisor and cryptocurrency tycoon Justin Sun said on his X account that the services had been restored following an almost 15-minute interruption. The purpose of a denial-of-service (DDoS) assault is to overwhelm
As a specialist in artificial intelligence (AI) for the Vatican, Friar Paolo Benanti is a Franciscan friar. He has described the technology as “absolutely positive” as a result of human intelligence and skill, but he has raised ethical questions.As stated by the monk, government laws based on “ethical considerations” should follow the advancement of AI, even though he is a strong proponent of the technology, according to an AP report published on January 18. “I have a deep understanding that there is no neutral technology because any tool could become a weapon.” Benanti holds a degree in moral theology and has experience in engineering.He claims to be passionate about the “ethics of technology” and advises the Pope on the subject; on December 15, the Pope published a 3,400-word letter alerting the world to the perils of technology. In addition, the Vatican AI specialist leads an AI committee that provides advice to the Italian government and is a member of the United Nations Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence. His primary worries regarding the ethical implications of AI have less to do with users of the technology and more to do with the regulation of technology and the “appropriate level of use” within societal contexts. “Today this technology could corrode our social ties, our ability to live together as a species. So there is a need for proper governance – and here the answer is entirely ethical and
You should become knowledgeable about how to protect your valuables as the world of cryptocurrencies gets more popular. Offline storage, sometimes referred to as cold storage, is one of the greatest ways to accomplish this. Why is offline storage significant, and what does it mean? A secure method of storing cryptocurrency is offline storage, sometimes
According to a study report released on Thursday by financial behemoth JPMorgan (JPM), $1.5 billion has been withdrawing from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), causing Bitcoin BTC to fall by more than 15% since the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were introduced last week. Instead of switching to less expensive spot bitcoin ETFs, analysts under Nikolaos
As the startup blockchain Manta Network released its MANTA currency, it was subjected to a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, which caused the network to lag and cause withdrawal times to be longer than anticipated. The Manta developers stated in an X post that “the network has accumulated a large queue of recent transactions.”
ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) is being replaced by ARK Invest’s newly listed spot bitcoin ETF. A trading notice issued on January 18 states that the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) purchased 365,695 shares of its own bitcoin ETF, ARKB, for $15 million and sold 758,915 shares of BITO, valued at about $15 million.
An effective tool for cryptocurrency investors, cross-chain bridges enable them to transfer their digital assets between several blockchain networks swiftly. While there are many benefits to using these bridges, such as better scalability, more liquidity, and more efficient transactions, there are also some hazards that need to be taken into account. Overview of cross-chain Bridges
As some companies say their redemption requests were rejected, stablecoin TrueUSD (TUSD) continues to sway off its peg, trading as low as 96 cents early on Thursday before rising to 99 cents.Trading data from Binance shows that there has been a negative net flow of $174.5 million due to traders selling $303.5 million in TUSD versus purchases of $129 million. A sizable quantitative cryptocurrency trading company that spoke with CoinDesk over the phone claimed that its redemption requests had been turned down and bemoaned the challenges it was having to convert TUSD into fiat following the collapse of cryptocurrency custodian Prime Trust. A request for comment from TrueUSD spokespeople was not answered.Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, and TUSD have a strong relationship.As a result, information from the on-chain research tool Arkham Intelligence revealed that one of Sun’s wallet addresses sent nearly $60 million to the cryptocurrency exchange Binance in the last five hours, ahead of TUSD’s rise back to the $1 mark. Then $50 million worth of TUSD were removed from Binance and placed into the wallet.Whether this wallet is Sun’s, it has not been independently confirmed by CoinDesk.In the previous two hours, as of late afternoon Hong Kong time, $1.8 million has been injected into TUSD, according to data from Binance.One major challenge for stablecoin issuers is that holders of the cryptocurrency are unable to exchange their stablecoins for US dollars, which undermines market confidence and causes a de-pegging of stocks. Given that Circle had $3.3 billion in USDC reserves at Silicon Valley Bank and that Signature Bank was a crucial component of the redemption infrastructure, during the crypto banking crisis of last spring, Circle’s USDC momentarily de-pegged when SVB failed and regulators closed down Signature Bank.The amount of TUSD in circulation has decreased from about $2.3 billion at the beginning of the year to $1.9 billion, according to data from Glassnode.
As the first of a new wave of bitcoin ETF providers, BlackRock’s (BLK) spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) crossed the $1 billion assets under management threshold on Wednesday. On January 12, trading began for the asset manager’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). “We are excited to see IBIT reach this milestone in its first week,
According to a press release from the firm on Thursday, Kiln, an Ethereum staking platform, has completed a $17 million fundraising round.Along with IOSG, Crypto.com, Wintermute Ventures, KXVC, and LBank, 1kx led the round.The Paris-based company stated that it also includes further funding from current investors.Kiln announced a $17.6 million Series A in November 2022, which was extended with this additional investment. Kiln stated that additional product development and the company’s worldwide expansion—which includes the launch of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore in the first quarter—will be financed by the funds raised. “Our mission is to democratize value creation in the digital assets ecosystem, providing millions of users with easy access to rewards through our platform,” said Laszlo Szabo, CEO and co-founder of Kiln. Since its founding, Kiln has raised $35 million from investors, including contributions from Consensys, GSR, Illuminate Financial, Kraken Ventures, and Avon Ventures.
A partnership has been formed between the $2 billion-valued Sui Foundation, the company behind layer-1 blockchain Sui, and Stork, an off-chain data feed oracle. For dealers and builders, the partnership seeks to improve speed and access to unique index and mark prices. App developers, decentralised exchanges (DEXs), and lending protocols developing on Sui’s blockchain will
To increase liquidity on its WOO X exchange, Woo said that it has closed a $9 million round from several present and potential market makers on the platform. “Since our DMM programme launched in August of last year, we are excited to discuss the extended relationship of market makers on WOO X. Notably, these top
Decentralised finance protocol (DeFi) In a recent interview, CEO and creator Sam Kazemian of Frax Finance, which is home to one of the biggest stablecoins in the world, stated that the company plans to launch Fraxtal, its layer 2 blockchain, in February. “We are currently in the first week of February.” It will be supported
Over the past week, the market has experienced a decline of about 7% due to the gradual implementation of the newly approved Bitcoin ETF.Although many of the skeptics’ predictions regarding the price of bitcoin following the introduction of the ETF have come true, Jurrien Timmer of Fidelity believes the sell-off will not last much longer.The present movements in the price of bitcoin, according to Timmer, Fidelity’s Director of Global Macro, point more toward a short-term positioning adjustment than a long-term trend reversal. According to Timmer, the price of bitcoin is currently fair and is influenced by the rate at which the economy’s real interest rates are rising as well as how quickly its network is expanding. Longer-term prospects are promising. Timmer anticipates a stabilization of the recent gains, contrary to several forecasts that suggest bitcoin may decline and find support between $32K and $38K. “The short-term question is whether this a sell-the-news moment. My guess is that it will take a little time to consolidate the recent gains, now that the big moment has arrived,” Timmer posted on X. “There were more than a few participants who ‘equitized’ future spot positions through either the futures market
On Tuesday, ARK Invest purchased shares worth $15.9 million in its own spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which was just listed. 365,427 shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) were added to the Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) by Cathie Wood’s investing firm. Tuesday’s closing price for ARKB shares was $43.51, down around 11%
Proponents of cryptocurrency have been fixated on “de-dollarization,” a concept that refers to a move away from the US dollar (USD) serving as the world’s reserve currency, ever since bitcoin (BTC) first appeared more than ten years ago.The calls became more urgent last year as the federal debt reached a record $34 trillion and some smaller banks in the United States experienced difficulties.Data, however, indicates that the dollar continued to be the most widely used currency in cross-border transactions, with demand for US government bonds remaining stable on a global scale. “USD’s share in international SWIFT transactions surged in 2023 to reach its highest level in more than ten years. In contrast, the EUR share collapsed, and that of the JPY and GBP moderated,” Credit Agricole’s G10 FX strategy team said in a note to clients on Monday. “The growing importance of the USD as
Since spot ETFs recently made their debut in the United States, smaller cryptocurrencies are having their moment while bitcoin (BTC) trades listless. Notable examples are KLAY, the utility token of the Layer 1 blockchain network Klaytn, which is supported by the massive Korean internet company Kakao, and CHZ, the native token of the Chiliz network,
According to executives at Magic Leap, a mixed reality business that has raised $3.9 billion, including a recent $590 million investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the metaverse will take off once it correctly fits with what the market requires. In an interview with Venture Beat, Magic Leap’s CEO Ross Rosenberg and CTO Daniel
Interoperability service Following a brief halt in trading due to an alleged $3.3 million exploit, Socket and its bridging platform Bungee resumed operations early on Wednesday. Developers stated that the vulnerability happened because attackers were aiming for wallets that had infinite permissions to Socket contracts. Apps that use blockchain technology to access tokens—or a particular
