New Year, New SEC: Spot Bitcoin ETFs Approved in Landmark Decision by US Regulator
White Star Capital Digital Assets Fund - Newsletter #157
After months of anticipation and delays, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the first spot bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) in a long-awaited and landmark decision that will draw new retail and institutional investors into the crypto market.
The securities regulator cleared all 11 pending ETFs to list. Whilst spot Bitcoin ETFs have been available in other markets, the US approvals will be a game changer for global institutional and retail adoption. Previously, anyone wanting to own BTC would have to create a digital wallet or open an account at a crypto trading platform like Coinbase or Binance. US investors will now be able to gain direct exposure to the coin through a regulated product, from the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, and Invesco.
The greenlight from regulators has been anticipated for several months, as we’ve covered in this newsletter, and the price of Bitcoin has jumped about 70% since October as investors speculate the broad use of ETFs would drive liquidity into the market. Bitcoin was trading 3% higher at about $47,000 on Thursday morning, nearly 3x the $16,000 trough it hit in December 2022.
So optimism in for the 2024 crypto markets is running high. Standard Chartered analysts this week said the ETFs could draw $50bn to $100bn this year alone, potentially driving its price to $100,000. The price of Ethereum, the second-most popular cryptocurrency, has also risen on similar speculation that fund managers will create ETFs around it. We’re excited for the year ahead and the continuing bridging of Web2 and Web3 worlds.
🔦 White Star & Portfolio Spotlight
Thala’s Liquid Staking Token (sthAPT) can now be used as collateral with a 150% Collateral Ratio for minting the MOD (Move Dollar) stablecoin
The sthAPT vault already has $8.6m subscribed.
$ALEX is listed on KuCoin
ALEX/USDT trading pair is now live.
🏦 Enterprises & Institutions
Fidelity lowers proposed spot bitcoin ETF fee to 0.25% amid fee race
Fidelity plans to also provide a fee waiver until July 31, according to its latest filing.
BitPay allows customers to pay for goods and bills with BNB, Chainlink and others
BitPay is making it possible for customers to use tokens like Uniswap and Chainlink if they want to purchase goods or pay bills.
VanEck seeds potential spot bitcoin ETF with $72.5 million, while Bitwise lines up $200 million of interest
Prospective spot bitcoin ETF issuers revealed new details about initial funding amounts in the latest round of amended forms that came in early Monday.
Japan’s e-commerce giant Mercari plans to accept BTC payments
The online second-hand goods marketplace has already launched its in-app bitcoin exchange for users last year.
⚖️ Government & Regulation
Upbit Singapore wins full digital asset license from MAS
Upbit’s South Korean exchange processes nearly half of spot cryptocurrency transactions in the local market, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Crypto Custodian BitGo Wins In-Principle Approval as Major Payments Institution in Singapore
BitGo was also recently named by Hashdex as the custodian in its application to become an issuer of a spot exchange-traded fund.
CFTC advisory committee advances recommendations urging a timely focus on DeFi
The CFTC’s Technology Advisory Committee voted during a meeting to make recommendations, which some say is the first substantial report on DeFi by a government advisory committee.
Bitfinex will remove products and services for some UK customers
The cryptocurrency exchange said the changes are in response to UK regulatory requirements.
Former SEC chair calls bitcoin ETF approval ‘inevitable’
Jay Clayton rebuffed spot bitcoin ETFs during his term, but he thinks the SEC is ready to give the green light
India to block URLs of Kraken, Binance, 7 other crypto firms
India’s Financial Intelligence Unit moved to block the URLs of nine crypto exchanges
Hong Kong to create regulatory regime for stablecoin issuers
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is in the final stages of stablecoin regulation it began work on in January 2022
Honduras special zone officially recognizes Bitcoin as a unit of account
Próspera’s tax commissioner, Jorge Colindres, said the development would expand the financial and monetary freedom for individuals in the area.
💰 Funding & Exits
Crypto custodian Finoa raises $15 million in strategic funding round at flat valuation of $100 million
German crypto firm Finoa raised $15 million in a round co-led by Maven 11 and Balderton.
OKX Ventures Announces A Round Investment in Polyhedra to Advance Web3 Interoperability Infrastructure
Polyhedra Network is focused on building the next generation of infrastructure for Web3, with a focus on interoperability, scalability and privacy, using advanced zero-knowledge (ZK) proof technology.
Altitude secures $6.1M in seed funding to make DeFi loans more efficient
In addition to concluding the seed round Altitude gears up for the private beta in early 2024, this follows successful on chain tests through the past few months.
BRC20.COM RAISES $1.5 MILLION TO PROVIDE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BITCOIN TOKENS
Newly launched Bitcoin tokens platform BRC20.com has raised $1.5 million in funding led by UTXO Management, the asset management arm of Bitcoin Magazine’s parent company BTC Inc.
Etherscan buys Solana block explorer Solscan
Solscan and Etherscan “share a vision of providing credibly neutral and equitable access to blockchain data,” the teams say.
Layer1 DLT Platform Grape Raises $35 Million in Funding
Grape, a leading Layer One Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform, has secured a $35 million investment from the global investment group, LDA Capital.
🚀 Project Launches & Updates
Bitcoin miner CleanSpark to launch in-house trading desk
“It just makes financial sense to do it in-house,” Bradford said. He added that more miners may launch trading desks in-house “that way, you can manage it with your own risk profiles and expertise and keep a really close eye on it.”
Visa announces web3 loyalty rewards partnership with SmartMedia Technologies
Payments giant Visa has launched a web3 loyalty reward system it says can boost customer engagement.
🔥 Other Bits We're Excited About
In-person businesses accepting bitcoin nearly tripled in 2023
There are currently over 6,000 vendors that accept bitcoin around the world, with many located in Latin America.
Arbitrum surpasses Ethereum in daily decentralised exchange volume for first time
Ethereum layer 2 networks like Arbitrum help to scale Ethereum while relying on its mainnet’s security architecture.