Hodler’s Digest, January 7-13 – Cointelegraph Magazine

This week's main news

Spot Bitcoin ETF will receive official approval from the SEC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has officially approved the United States' first regulated venue for bitcoin-exchange-traded funds. On January 10, the regulator approved applications from ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Valkyrie, BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise and Franklin Templeton – a day after a false announcement posted from the SEC's official Twitter account caused havoc. on the markets. The first day of trading reached a total of more than $4.5 billion across ten ETFs, with Grayscale Bitcoin Trust as the top performer, handling $2.3 billion in volume on the first day.

SEC didn't have 2FA enabled: The X Security Group posted a fake Bitcoin ETF

The US SEC did not have two-factor authentication on the original X account, which the hacker could use and print fake credentials for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). According to X (formerly Twitter), an anonymous actor took control of the phone number associated with the account and used it to access the SEC's official X page. This type of hacking is commonly known as SIM Swap. Following the security breach, senators asked the SEC to report to Congress within the next few days. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the security breach.

Venezuela's ill-fated petro coin will expire on January 15th after 6 years.

Venezuela's national cryptocurrency, the Petro, will stop working on January 15, according to press reports. The coin was It was created in 2018 to help the country evade US sanctions, but has never been widely used. The state-run, oil-backed crypto, the bolivar, the country's fiat currency, launched after US sanctions eased significantly and bitcoin gained a stronger foothold in the country. The Petro was not a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Venezuela's central bank announced plans to create a CBCC in 2021, but those plans never materialized.

Sam Bankman-Fried will retain new counsel before the sentencing hearing begins

Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried has filed a notice in federal court that he has retained new counsel ahead of a sentencing hearing on seven felony charges. In a Jan. 9 filing, Torrey Young and Mark Mucasey of Mucasey Young LLP said they are representing Bankman-Fried. SBF's legal team also filed a sealed document, which could indicate a possible appeal against the conviction in November. A jury last October found Bankman-Fried guilty of seven counts of wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for March 28 before New York Judge Louis Kaplan.

USDC Issuing Circle Files for IPO in the United States: Report

Circle Internet Financial, a USD Coin distributor, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, Reuters reports. The company expects to proceed with the IPO after the US Securities and Exchange Commission completes the review process, which is still dependent on market conditions. In the year In 2021, Circle announced plans to go public in an initial $4.5 billion merger with Concorde Acquisitions Corp., a blank check company. The transaction was later terminated.

Winners and losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) at $43,619, Ether (ETH) at $2,528 and XRP at $0.57. According to CoinMarketCap, the total market cap is $1.7 trillion.

Among the largest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers for the week were Ethereum Name Service (ENS) at 72.21%, Ethereum Classic (ETC) at 45.25%, and Sui (SUI) at 37.28%.

The top three altcoin losers of the week were Klaytn (KLAY) at -20.20%, THORChain (RUNE) at -10.88% and SATS (100SATS) at -10.64%.

Be sure to read Cointelegraph's market analysis for more information on crypto prices.

The most memorable quotes

“‘Giving orders [spot Bitcoin ETFs] Expedited Approval' is over. thank god.”

Eric Balchunas, ETF analyst at Bloomberg

“Our bull issue, and we think the bull issue opportunity has increased with this SEC approval, our bull issue is $1.5 million in 2030.”

Kathy Wood, CEO of ARK Investments

“While we approve the listing and trading of certain Bitcoin ETP shares today, we are not endorsing or endorsing Bitcoin.”

US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler

“We believe tokenization has the potential to transform the way investments are managed and traded.”

Victor Jung, head of digital assets at Hamilton Lane

“The actions taken today are a significant improvement on the SEC's enforcement record.”

Patrick McHenry, US representative

“We believe crypto values ​​are American values. Blockchain technology has demonstrated the potential to enhance financial inclusion. […] And offer new wealth-building opportunities outside of Wall Street.

Christine Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association

Forecast of the week

Bitcoin Price Sells After ETF Approval – Have Investors Turned To Ambience?

The price of Bitcoin fell by 6.8% between January 11 and January 12, after the adoption of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in place of a sell-the-news-type event that confirmed the bearish theory. After a 75% rally in 90 days to the first trade on January 11th, the much awaited event happened. This partly explains the lack of excitement and the subsequent price adjustment to $43,180.iN.

After several attempts to break above $47,000 last week, traders are questioning whether investors are becoming weak. On the one hand, there is some reason behind the fear, namely that market makers and whales who tried to run the position in front of ETF issuers by buying before launch may be forced to sell at a loss – if this hypothesis is correct. Additionally, Bitcoin miners may feel pressured to sell some of their holdings as the halving is less than 100 days away.

There is uncertainty about how the Bitcoin ETF will perform after the weekend due to market volatility. Inadequate information on how ETFs work can lead to panic selling, contributing to the recent price declines in the cryptocurrency market.

FUD of the week

Apple India has banned 9 other crypto exchanges Binance after the announcement of FIU

Apple's App Store in India has banned crypto exchange apps Binance, KuCoin, Bitget, Huobi, OKX, Gate.io and MEXC weeks after the Indian government issued non-compliance notices to nearly a dozen offshore crypto exchanges. These exchange apps are no longer accessible to new users in India. The Financial Intelligence Unit of India's Ministry of Finance issued a notice in late December about exchanges operating illegally in the country.

Vanguard Users Threaten To Close Accounts After Ignoring Bitcoin ETFs

Asset manager Vanguard says it will no longer offer its new Bitcoin ETFs on the brokerage platform because they don't fit with its traditional offerings, pushing some clients out the door. “Spot bitcoin ETFs are not available for purchase on the Vanguard platform,” he said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal. The company, however, has indirect exposure to Bitcoin as it is one of MicroStrategy's largest shareholders. The stock is also available through at least five mutual funds offered by Vanguard.

Ethereum raises air threat over Vitalik's plan to increase gas limit

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin supports a “modest” 33% gas limit increase to improve network flow. His proposal includes increasing the gas limit from the current 30 million to 40 million. Ethereum developers, node operators and users, have yet to agree on that opinion, which will have a negative impact on the network.

The best magazine sections of the week

MakerDAO plans to bring back ‘DeFi summer' – Rune Christensen

“We want to bring back DeFi winter, but this time, it won't end and go to zero.”

6 questions for the 20-year-old founder of Selix, Daniel Servade

Daniel Servadei, the 20-year-old founder of payments firm Celix, spoke to Cointelegraph about his experience in the cryptocurrency industry.

Web3 Player: 1 Trillion Notcoins Farmed In, Neopet Meets ICP, Trickshot Blitz Is Awesome

Sandbox's founder anticipates Web3 gaming growth by joining traditional companies, while Neopet's founder is concerned with industry innovation.

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Editorial staff

Cointelegraph magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.