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SEC delays set deadline for Bitcoin ETF approval to early 2024

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The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — the financial regulator with the final say over allowing a spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) — may be moving closer to giving the investment vehicle the green light after several years of applications.

In June, the world’s largest asset management firm, BlackRock, added its application to the bundle of Bitcoin (BTC) ETF filings currently being reviewed by the SEC, creating renewed interest among investors in and out of the crypto space. The company later added a “surveillance-sharing agreement” with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase following reports the SEC could be more open to accepting an ETF application under such conditions.

BlackRock is one of many firms with crypto ETF applications in the SEC pipeline. ARK Invest, under CEO Cathie Wood, filed to list its ARK 21Shares spot Bitcoin ETF in May 2023 and received the most recent delay from the SEC on Aug. 11, pushing back the deadline another 21 days as the regulator opens the proposal to public comments.

Under SEC guidelines, the federal regulator has the authority to delay ETF applications for up to 240 days — by opening them to public comment or otherwise — from the first filing in the Federal Register. Even so, the SEC has never approved a spot Bitcoin ETF proposal from any firm in the United States and only started accepting investment vehicles tied to BTC futures in October 2021.

One of the challenges behind getting the SEC to allow a spot crypto ETF may be the nature of the investment vehicle. Bitcoin futures-linked ETFs also enable individuals and companies to invest in the crypto asset without an exchange, while a spot BTC ETF could involve holding Bitcoin within a fund for more direct investment.

Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss were the first to apply for a crypto exchange-traded product listing using their Bitcoin Trust in July 2013, when many regulators might not have even understood digital currencies and the SEC ultimately rejected the application.

Stuart Barton, co-founder and chief investment officer of Volatility Shares — the firm behind the listing of a leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF in June — told Cointelegraph its process of applying with the SEC involved back-and-forth negotiations. The regulator proposed changes to disclosure documents but was generally “cooperative.” He speculated that smaller firms might have more of an edge with the SEC on a spot crypto ETF offering.

“Big companies have been doing the same thing they’ve been doing for years,” said Barton. “Yeah, there are new applications, new filings… they haven’t really moved the argument along.”

At the time of publication, major asset management firms with spot Bitcoin ETF applications under review by the SEC include BlackRock, ARK Invest, Bitwise Asset Management, VanEck, WisdomTree, Invesco and Galaxy Digital, Fidelity and Valkyrie. With the maximum 240-day extension window available to the SEC, the final deadline for ARK’s Bitcoin ETF is in January 2024, while approval or disapproval of all the other firms’ offerings could come as late as March 2024.

Related: SEC decision on Bitcoin ETFs won’t leave out Wall Street giants

Part of the SEC’s seeming reluctance to sign off on a spot crypto ETF could be from the nature of the crypto market in the United States, which, while regulated, has left many lawmakers and industry leaders calling for greater clarity and oversight. The SEC is currently pursuing enforcement cases against Coinbase, Binance and Ripple, and it has already levied financial penalties against firms such as Bittrex. Barton added:

“Both sides are going to bend a little bit. I think the SEC are going to have to be a little bit more open-minded […] There’s going to be a lot more bending, I think, from the crypto side.”

U.S. lawmakers are currently considering legislation to better define the roles the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should have in regulating digital assets. In addition, both the regulator and industry may have to consider court decisions until regulations are better defined, as a judge in the SEC vs. Ripple case largely ruled that XRP was not a security, creating ramifications for everyone dealing with crypto in the United States.

“[The ETF application process] puts the SEC in an incredibly powerful position,” said Barton. “Gensler has a great amount of sway in that; the political makeup of the commission definitely influences that.”

Magazine: Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?

As of August, certain analysts have suggested that the chances of a spot Bitcoin ETF being approved in the U.S. are close to 65% based partly on BlackRock’s application. Both Cathie Wood and Grayscale — the asset manager currently suing the SEC over its ETF application — have hinted that the regulator could approve multiple applications simultaneously to avoid any company having an advantage over another.

Cryptocurrency

Ethereum Foundation, Whales, and Hackers: What’s Driving the ETH Sell-Off?

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TL;DR

  • Whales, hackers, and the Ethereum Foundation wallets moved over $500M in ETH through large sales and withdrawals.
  • Ethereum transfers rose to 4.6M ETH, nearing the monthly high of 5.2M recorded in July.
  • Staking inflows hit 247,900 ETH, the highest in a month, locking more supply from trading.

Large Withdrawals and Whale Activity

Ethereum (ETH) has seen heavy movement from major wallets over the past few days. On-chain data from Lookonchain shows a newly created wallet pulled 17,591 ETH, worth $81.62 million, from Kraken in just two hours. 

Over three days, two new wallets withdrew a combined 71,025 ETH, valued at $330 million, from the exchange.

One of these wallets, address 0x2A92, has withdrawn 53,434 ETH, worth $242.34 million, in two days. This includes a recent purchase of 30,069 ETH, valued at $138.46 million, during a market drop.

Major ETH Holders Offload Millions Amid Price Rally

In contrast, several separate entities have been disposing of some ETH holdings. A wallet tied to a hacker address 0x17E0 sold 4,958 ETH for $22.13 million at $4,463, securing a profit of $9.75 million. Earlier this year, the same address sold 12,282 ETH at $1,932 and later bought back part of the amount at higher prices.

A different whale sold 20,600 ETH for $96.55 million over the past two days, generating a profit of more than $26 million after holding the position for nine months. 

Meanwhile, an Ethereum Foundation-linked wallet, 0xF39d, sold 6,194 ETH worth $28.36 million in the last three days at an average price of $4,578. 

Recent sales from the same wallet included an additional 1,100 ETH and 1,695 ETH for over $12.7 million combined.

Network Activity on the Rise

CryptoQuant data shows Ethereum’s total tokens transferred have been climbing since August 9. After ranging between 1 million and 3 million ETH through late July and early August, transfers have risen to 4.6 million ETH, approaching the monthly high of 5.2 million recorded in mid-July. This increase has occurred alongside a price rally from about $3,400 to $4,600.

Ethereum (ETH) Tokens Transferred (Total)
Source: CryptoQuant

Interestingly, staking inflows generally stayed between 20,000 and 80,000 ETH per day over the past month. On August 14, inflows jumped to 247,900 ETH, the highest in the period. 

At the time, ETH was trading near $4,600. Large staking deposits reduce the amount of ETH available for immediate trading, as staked coins are locked for a set period.

Ethereum (ETH) Staking Inflow Total
Source: CryptoQuant

In the meantime, ETH trades at $4,647 with a 24-hour volume of $68.25 billion, down 2% on the day but up 19% over the week.

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Cryptocurrency

Massive DOGE Whale Activity Hints at $1 Breakout

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TL;DR

  • Whales bought two billion DOGE this week, lifting their combined holdings to 27.6 billion coins.
  • A single 900M DOGE transfer worth $208M to Binance drew attention to large exchange movements.
  • DOGE broke key resistance, with momentum building for a possible push toward the $1 price mark.

Price and Market Moves

Dogecoin (DOGE) traded at $0.23 at press time, slipping 4% over the past day but still showing a 2% gain for the week. Daily turnover came in at about $6.18 billion. 

Meanwhile, the broader crypto market saw over $1 billion in liquidations. Hotter-than-expected US Producer Price Index data pushed traders to scale back expectations of a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut. DOGE had roughly 290,500 coins liquidated during the sell-off.

On the two-week chart, analyst Trader Tardigrade notes that DOGE has cleared a downward-sloping resistance line after completing what appears to be a “wave V” in an Elliott Wave sequence. Similar setups in the past, where prolonged declines stayed within falling channels before breaking higher, have been followed by sharp rallies.

Momentum gauges are also turning up. The Stochastic RSI, which had dropped into oversold territory, is now heading higher. Previous reversals from this zone have coincided with sustained upward moves. The current formation points to a possible run that could carry DOGE past the $1 mark.

Heavy Whale Buying and Large Transfers

As reported by CryptoPotato, blockchain data shows large investors have added two billion DOGE in the past week, spending just under $500 million. That brings their holdings to about 27.6 billion coins, or 18% of the supply. The buying streak has prompted speculation within the community. 

Recently, Whale Alert flagged a 900 million DOGE transfer worth about $208 million into Binance. The tracking indicates that it originated from a wallet connected to the exchange, likely as an internal activity. The address involved holds 2.88 billion DOGE, one of the largest balances on the network.

Ali Martinez also reports that transactions above $1 million reached a one-month high, with activity building since early August and peaking as DOGE traded at $0.25.

Sentiment Building

Analyst Gordon described the current setup as “a nice bit of consolidation” before a potential breakout, adding, 

“This will be one of the first coins normies FLOCK to & the pump will be MASSIVE.”

With whale accumulation rising, high-value transfers increasing, and a bullish technical pattern in play, DOGE is positioned for a potential push toward $1 if momentum holds.

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Cryptocurrency

Ripple Price Analysis: XRP at Risk as Key Support Levels Could Trigger Sharp Drop

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XRP has recently entered a consolidation phase after a strong rally earlier this summer, with the price action now hovering around key resistance levels on both its USDT and BTC pairs. Yet, while momentum has slowed, the charts still indicate a generally bullish structure, with multiple key support levels remaining firmly in place.

Technical Analysis

By ShayanMarkets

The USDT Pair

On the XRP/USDT daily chart, the price is currently trading near the $3.10 mark, facing a strong resistance zone around $3.40. This follows a breakout above the $2.70 range in July, which has now flipped into a support area.

Both the 100-day and 200-day moving averages are also trending upward and recently formed a bullish crossover around $2.45, reinforcing the medium-term bullish sentiment. If the $3.40 resistance breaks, a push toward the critical $4.00 range becomes likely.

However, the RSI hovering near the neutral 50 level suggests a lack of strong momentum for now, meaning a short-term pullback into the $2.80 support zone is still possible.

This zone will be key for maintaining the bullish structure. Losing it could open the door for a deeper correction toward the 200-day moving average located around the $2.40 mark. Yet, as long as the price stays above the moving averages, the broader trend remains bullish.

The BTC Pair

Looking at the XRP/BTC chart, the pair has recently pulled back after hitting the 3,000 SAT resistance, with the price currently around 2,600 SAT.

This follows a clean breakout above the long-term descending channel and a successful retest of its upper boundary, which coincided with the 200-day moving average and the 2,400 SAT support zone. This confluence remains a key bullish technical factor, as holding above it could attract renewed buying pressure.

That said, RSI levels around 48 show that momentum has cooled after the sharp July rally, meaning XRP may continue ranging between 2,400 SAT and 3,000 SAT in the near term. A decisive close above 3,000 SAT would likely open the path to the 3,400 SAT zone, while losing 2,400 SAT could shift the bias back toward 2,000 SAT support. For now, the structure still favors the bulls as long as higher lows remain intact.

 

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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

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