Tether reveals controversial reserve holdings, Jack Dorsey offers $5 million for Bitcoin developers, and will the US finally get a Spot Bitcoin ETF? These stories and more, this week in crypto.
BlackRock Files for Spot Bitcoin ETF
Investment giant BlackRock, has filed an application for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund using crypto exchange Coinbase as the custodian for its assets. If approved, the ETF would be the first of its kind in the United States. While Bitcoin futures ETFs have been given the green light by the SEC, none of the numerous spot ETF applications have ever been approved.
Tether Loses Dollar Peg and Reveals Assets
Crypto prices fell after the Federal Reserve announced it would leave interest rates unchanged for now, but with the promise of two more increases before the year is out. The selling pressure caused Tether’s USDT stablecoin to temporarily de-peg from the dollar, trading briefly at 99 cents. Meanwhile, newly released documents offer a surprising look into the stablecoin’s reserves, showing that among the assets backing USDT, Tether Holdings once counted securities issued by Chinese companies.
Request to Freeze Binance.US Assets Rejected
The SEC has been ordered by the court to collaborate with Binance on developing a strategy that would protect assets while enabling the company to conduct business as usual. As part of the suit filed against Binance earlier this month, the SEC requested the court to completely freeze all Binance.US assets. The judge rejected this request because of the severe damage it would cause to Binance’s business operations and its prospects for future success, should the SEC be unable to prove its case.
Unusual Support to SEC’s Crypto Compliance Model
The CEO of little-known exchange, Prometheum, testified before members of Congress claiming that the SEC’s compliance procedure is working. Industry observers are now pouring over the obscure crypto exchange that does not even sell bitcoin or ether, but has become the poster child for compliance in the eyes of the SEC.
Hong Kong: Banks to Support Crypto Firms
HSBC and Standard Chartered have been pressed by Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority to take on crypto clients. The Hong Kong regulator questioned the banks on why they were not accepting crypto exchanges as clients, saying due diligence on potential customers should not create undue burden, particularly for those setting up an office in Hong Kong.
Uniswap v4 Launches to Criticism
The most popular decentralized exchange, Uniswap, launched its fourth version, bringing in new features and customizability. However the license raised questions among the open source Ethereum community, because while the code is publicly available and is allowed to be copied, modified or redistributed, it cannot be used for commercial or production purposes for up to four years.
Bybit Integrates ChatGPT Into Trading Tools
Crypto exchange, Bybit, has integrated ChatGPT to give traders a more comprehensive analysis of market data with a new AI-based feature called “ToolsGPT.” The AI chatbot can be queried for technical analysis, backtested price data, and other essential metrics to help users in their trading decisions.
Jack Dorsey Pledges $5M to Bitcoin Developers
Twitter founder and Block CEO, Jack Dorsey, has pledged $5M to help Bitcoin developers and fuel the Bitcoin ecosystem. Dorsey is giving the money to Brink, an independent nonprofit organization which supports open source developers in the Bitcoin space, with grants that make it possible for developers to work on the network full-time.
That’s what’s happened this week in crypto, see you next week.