SEC May Approve Spot Bitcoin ETF in Few Days: Law Decoded
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has begun accepting spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on exchanges for approval. 19b-4 updates to spot BTC ETF applications from asset managers BlackRock, Valkyrie, Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, VanEck and WisdomTree. Most companies have filed S-1 amendments with the SEC, including Valkyrie, WisdomTree, BlackRock, VanEck, Invesco and Grayscale, ARK Invest and 21Shares. Some experts predict that final approval for the position will fall before January 10 – from ARK Invest and 21Shares.
However, according to a survey from ETF issuer Bitwise, 39% of US-based financial advisors believe a Bitcoin ETF will be approved this year. Despite this pessimism, most research-backed advisors expect the Bitcoin ETF to be approved eventually. 22% said approval would come in 2025, and 24% said “after 2025.” Another 2% said approval would come in 2023, although that prediction did not materialize. Taken together, this indicates that 87% believe the full ETF will eventually be approved. 12% answered “never” when asked this question.
In fact, some see the approval as a “historic mistake.” Dennis Kelleher, CEO of the Stock Markets charity, urged the SEC not to allow a Bitcoin ETF, stating that it goes against the core principles of the regulatory body. Kelleher stressed that if the SEC were to approve a Bitcoin ETF, potential fraud could lead to high risks for investors. “The approval of these places' Bitcoin ETPs not only exposes investors to a market contaminated by fraud and fraud,” he said.
AI will affect legal work, Supreme Court justice predicts
US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts predicts that artificial intelligence (AI) will “significantly” affect the legal profession in his final report of the year to the Supreme Court. Roberts added AI as a major focus of his personal statement in his annual summary, in which he predicted that judges “will be around for a while,” but with the same confidence, “I predict that the judiciary, especially at the trial level, will be significantly affected by AI.” Instead, he wrote, it raises awareness about the role of AI.Roberts noted that as the technology improves, courts will have to “consider its proper use” in litigation.
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The IRS will require reporting of $10,000 crypto transactions this year
Aspects of the infrastructure bill signed by US President Joe Biden are now in effect, including provisions requiring most digital asset transactions worth more than $10,000 to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by Congress in 2021 and signed by President Biden expands requirements for brokers to own multiple crypto exchanges and require custodians to report transactions of more than $10,000 to the IRS. The bill would require crypto brokers to disclose personal information to the IRS within 15 days, including the sender's name, address and social security number. The requirements to reduce the size of the tax gap in the United States were planned to be implemented in January 2023, to allow companies to send reports to the IRS in 2024. Without guidance from the IRS, they find it difficult to comply with reporting requirements. He speculated that filers would try to comply with the law but could be found guilty of a crime.
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South Korea may ban credit card payments for crypto.
South Korea's top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), has proposed changing the country's credit financing laws to prevent domestic citizens from buying cryptocurrencies with credit cards. The FSC cited concerns about illegal withdrawal and money laundering from South Korean citizens buying kriptovalyutnyh foreign currency. Under current law, domestic crypto exchanges only allow transactions between virtual assets through deposit and withdrawal accounts where the user's identity can be verified, but these rules do not apply to foreign crypto exchanges. The financial services regulator is seeking public comment on the proposal until February 13. It aims to go through the review and resolution process and implement it in the first half of 2024.
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