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💰 Solana DEX aggregator Jupiter starts token airdrop, with 10% of supply set to be allocated
Jupiter, a DEX aggregator on Solana blockchain, opened up inital claims for its JUP token airdrop, the project announced on X on Friday. As users started claiming their tokens, some expressed discontent over their allocation on X and Discord, saying they should have received more tokens due to the age of their wallets and how much they used the protocol over the years. The airdrop is designed to distribute four out of 10 billion of JUP, or 40% of the total supply. The project's pseudonymous founder who goes by Meow said on X that the first phase would see 2% of tokens distributed to all wallets, with 7% allocated in a "tiered score based distribution, with score based on adjusted volume." Another 1% would be allocated to community members on Discord and Twitter, and developers. "We believe this breakdown will reward power users and contributors significantly more, while likely giving everyone else a reason to come back and engage," Meow said. According to the founder, Jupiter facilitated $35 billion in cumulative trading volume by October, with 80% of that made by 0.2% of all wallets.
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🇸🇬 Terraform Labs, Do Kwon Fail to Have Singapore Class-Action Suit Rejected: Report
Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon, may be hit with a class-action lawsuit in Singapore after the High Court dismissed an attempt to have it thrown out, Business Times reported on Thursday. Terraform lawyers tried to shift the action to an arbitration process, citing the website's terms of use, according to the Business Times. The lawyers claimed users had foregone the right to trial and to join a class-action suit. The court ruled otherwise. "To our knowledge, this is the furthest a class-action suit has progressed in the world," Mahesh Rai, a director of Drew & Napier, which represents the claimants, said in an interview. "Now we are approaching discovery stage." The suit was filed in September 2022 by Julian Moreno Beltran and Douglas Gan on behalf of 375 others, who claim they lost a combined $57 million. The claimants are alleging fraudulent misrepresentation by Terraform Labs, Do Kwon and his co-founders in their promotion of the algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD (UST), which led them to purchase and stake the tokens and hold on to them as UST lost its peg to the U.S. dollar in May 2022 and plunged to less than $0.10.
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🇰🇵 North Korean Hackers Lazarus Group Stolen $3B in Cryptocurrency
North Korea-linked hacker organization Lazarus Group has stolen $3 billion in cryptocurrency over the past six years, according to a report by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. $1.1 billion was stolen from decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. A September report published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of its Analytic Exchange Program (AEP) also highlighted Lazarus's exploitation of DeFi protocols. The U.S. Treasury Department introduced new sanctions against North Korea's cyber activities, adding 'Sinbad' to the Office of Foreign Assets Control's specially designated sanctions list. Sinbad has been implicated in laundering the cryptocurrencies stolen by the Lazarus Group. The group is known to have used Sinbad's mixer services to hide the origins of the stolen funds. Such mixers obscure individual transaction trails by blending multiple users' transactions. In 2018, they hacked the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, diverting $530 million, and attacked the Central Bank of Malaysia, stealing $390 million.
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💰 AntPool agrees to refund record $3 million Bitcoin transaction fee
Bitcoin mining pool AntPool has agreed to refund the record-breaking $3 million transaction fee it mined last week, pending owner verification. AntPool wrote in the announcement. “The risk control system of AntPool temporarily froze the fee when packaging the transaction. Please contact us before 00:00 (UTC+8) on December 10, 2023 and verify personal identity. After verification, AntPool will refund the fee.” AntPool requested the original owner of the funds to prepare a signing tool, such as Electrum or Bitcoin Core — the most widely used software implementation of the Bitcoin protocol — using the private key of the address that sent the transaction to sign the message “AntPool”, then send the signed text to its support email address. The transaction was mined by AntPool in block 818,087 but it had not publicly commented on the matter until now. The previous record $500,000 fee paid in September was subsequently identified as a “fat finger” overpayment by the crypto services provider Paxos. F2Pool, the miner facilitating that transaction, agreed to reimburse the fee to Paxos.
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💰 Bitcoin long futures open interest held by asset managers hits all-time high
The open interest in bitcoin long futures held by asset managers on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), has reached an all-time high. The current value of the contracts held by asset managers eclipsed the former all-time high. When bitcoin's price reached an all-time high in November 2021 of $68,000, the CME bitcoin long futures open interest held by asset managers at the time went only as high as $1.67 billion. The uptick in open futures contracts suggests asset managers are anticipating bitcoin price appreciation by the time the current contracts expire on the last Friday of December. The open interest from hedge funds going long on bitcoin futures on the CME is also at a high point. Currently, there's $680 million of open interest from hedge funds going long, which remains below the all-time high of $960 million. That said, hedge funds are also responsible for the majority of open interest for short positions for bitcoin futures on the CME. Such hedge funds are responsible for more than $2 billion of open interest in this direction.
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🇦🇪 Paxos expands to Abu Dhabi with two new in-principle approvals
Crypto firm Paxos continues its international expansion, now snagging two preliminary approvals in Abu Dhabi. Paxos has received two in-principle approvals from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority in the Abu Dhabi Global Market to issue stablecoins and offer crypto brokerage and custody services, the company said Wednesday. The preliminary approvals are for two new entities of Paxos within the ADGM. The full approvals are expected in the first half of next year, a Paxos spokesperson told The Block, adding that those will allow the company to issue new USD-backed as well as other currency-backed stablecoins from Abu Dhabi, although Paxos is currently focused on a new USD-backed stablecoin. The Abu Dhabi expansion plan comes two weeks after Paxos received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore for its new local entity that will launch a new USD-backed stablecoin in the country. Paxos was founded in 2012 and is backed by high-profile investors, including Bank of America, Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Coinbase Ventures.
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🟠 Binance operates without a license in the Philippines, warns country's securities regulator
The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission has warned the public against Binance, saying that the crypto exchange is not registered in the country and operates without the necessary license or authority. Binance has been actively promoting its platform on social media websites to attract Filipinos for investment and trading, the SEC said Tuesday, adding that it is not authorized to do so without required licenses. The SEC further warned that individuals promoting Binance within the Philippines may face criminal liability under the Securities Regulation Code. They may be penalized with a maximum fine of five million pesos (around $90,260) or imprisonment of 21 years or both, the SEC added. "We acknowledge and respect the statement made by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines," a Binance spokesperson told The Block. "At Binance, we are committed to aligning with applicable local regulations. Under our new leadership, we have taken proactive steps to address the SEC's concerns." Binance spokesperson said Stern left the company in July, much before the SEC warning.
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💰 Bitcoin circulating supply in profit hits multi-year high
The amount of circulating bitcoin that is in profit hit a high of over 83% this week, the highest level since November 2021 when the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization reached its all-time high, according to Monday's Bitfinex Alpha report. "The current percentage of bitcoin held in profit is substantially higher than the all-time average of 74%," Bitfinex analysts said. The report added that this indicates the market is in a relatively strong position, "with a large majority of bitcoin holders seeing positive returns on their investment." "With bitcoin trading at yearly highs above $37,000 last week, over 83% of the coin supply was driven back into profitable territory," Glassnode posted on X.com. However, the blockchain analysis firm added that "the magnitude of unrealized profit remains modest, and is not yet sufficient for long-term investors to divest." Recent data from The Block's dashboard also signaled the increased strength of the bitcoin market. For three days last week, the 7-day moving average of total transactions fees on the Ethereum and Bitcoin networks flipped in favor of for the first time since November 2020. "This is providing a source of upward pressure as increasing demand chases limited supply," the analysts added.
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💰 Spot Bitcoin ETFs Have Almost $100M in AUM in Brazil, Led by Hashdex Offering
As investors continue to await approval of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., a check of Brazil finds hefty demand for such vehicles which have been trading in that country for more than two years. Together, those ETFs have $96.8 million of assets under management (AUM) as of November 21, led by Hashdex's Nasdaq Bitcoin Reference Price FDI (BITH11) with $57.8 million in AUM as of November 21, or a market share of about 60%. As comparison, the largest ETF in the nation, iShares Ibovespa Index (BOVA11), has $2.41 billion in AUM and the second largest, the iShares BM&FBOVESPA Small Cap (SMAL11), has $1.19 billion in AUM. For reference, the largest U.S. ETF, the SPDR S&P 500, has roughly $430 billion in AUM. According to Marcelo Sampaio, CEO and founder of Hashdex, the success of bitcoin ETFs in Brazil. “There is a growing positive sentiment across the most sophisticated investors and we’ve been seeing increasing interest from some of the largest institutions whether that be either allocating or considering adding crypto soon to their portfolios,” said Sampaio in an interview with CoinDesk. Hashdex’s spot bitcoin ETF started trading on August 1, 2021.
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🔵 Circle seeks to expand USDC presence in Japan with SBI Holdings
Circle, issuer of the USDC stablecoin, partnered with Japanese securities and banking giant SBI Holdings to expand its presence in Japan. SBI VC Trade is currently seeking to register in the country as an electronic payment instruments service in an attempt to circulate USDC stablecoins within Japan — the world’s third-largest economy that’s projected to slip to fourth in the world this year according to the estimates of the International Monetary Fund. SBI Shinsei Bank will also provide banking services to Circle, according to the statement. “This will enable USDC access and liquidity for Japan-based businesses and users,” Circle said in the statement. “Moreover, as part of SBI Group’s digital asset portfolio strategy, SBI Group will also adopt Circle’s Web3 Services solutions such as Programmable Wallet, blockchain infrastructure and smart contract management tools.”. Jeremy Allaire, CEO and co-founder of Circle, said the partnership with SBI Holdings “represents a shared vision for the future of digital currency, and is a significant milestone in Circle’s expansion plans in Japan and Asia Pacific.”
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🟠 Binance's Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao Is a Manageable Flight Risk: U.S. DOJ
The U.S. Department of Justice doesn't want Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao locked up until sentencing, but it doesn't want him to leave the United States either, arguing in a new filing that he's a "flight risk that could be managed." "Based on all the relevant facts, including Mr. Zhao's voluntary self-surrender, his intent to resolve this case, and the sizable bail package he proposed, Judge Tsuchida found that Mr. Zhao presents no risk of flight, even while residing in the UAE," last week's filing said. U.S. Attorneys pushed back on that, arguing that the potential severity of the sentence would give Zhao incentive to flee back to the UAE, which has no extradition treaty with the U.S. Last week, prosecutors said Zhao, as a citizen of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), had "minimal ties to the U.S." and may not return should he be allowed to leave. "The reality is that the top-end of the Guidelines range may be as high as 18 months, and the United States is free to argue for any sentence up to the statutory maximum of ten years," the filing reads. "The penalties he faces at sentencing will no doubt seem significant to him, and that weighs in favor of the reasonable restrictions the United States proposes."
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💰 Bitcoin Transaction Fees Dip Amid November’s Surging Miner Revenues
After reaching a peak of over $18 per transfer on November 16 and 18, 2023, the expense for block space has seen a decline. Data from November 24 shows the average cost per transaction hovered at about $5.89. This represents a significant decrease from the previous day’s average of $14.06 per transfer, underscoring the fluctuating nature of block space costs over the past week. In contrast, a “high priority” transaction is priced at 45 sat/vB, amounting to $2.38 per transaction. Data from Dune Analytics reveals that Ordinal inscriptions continue to flourish, with over 300,000 mints daily following a peak of more than 475,000 inscriptions on November 19. On November 24, a total of 347,791 inscriptions were minted, and as of November 25, bitcoin miners have already processed upwards of 289,000 inscriptions. As of 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on November 25, there are 206,697 unconfirmed transactions, which translates to a backlog of approximately 269 blocks worth of space, as per mempool.space.This surge in inscriptions, combined with the volume of financial transactions, has resulted in the mempool being filled with over 200,000 transfers.
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💰 Ripple partner FOMO Pay secures Hong Kong MSO License
FOMO Pay, a payment solutions provider that has partnered with blockchain firm Ripple, has obtained a Money Service Operator (MSO) License in Hong Kong. The license will enable FOMO Pay to offer payment and remittance services within the region. The company, which is already licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for transfer services, is forging ahead in its mission to establish a comprehensive financial network. Allen Vincent, a senior manager at FOMO Pay, emphasized the company's dedication to enhancing financial innovation. "We are set on cultivating a comprehensive financial network that provides top-notch solutions facilitating business growth," said Vincent. With the new MSO License, FOMO Pay is poised to extend its reach and influence in the Asian financial market, leveraging its partnership with Ripple to enhance its service offerings. The company, which is already licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for transfer services, is forging ahead in its mission to establish a comprehensive financial network. This network aims to deliver high-quality solutions that support business expansion and financial innovation.
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💰 Bitcoin Lightning App ‘Wallet of Satoshi’ Exits US Market
Wallets of Satoshi said it remains hopeful that future developments will enable the app to revisit and possibly resume our operations in the United States. A prominent Bitcoin Lightning wallet provider – Wallet of Satoshi – announced its decision to remove its app from the US Apple and Google app stores. In a Twitter post addressed to the community, Wallet of Satoshi clarified that it will cease catering to customers in the country. This sparked speculation that the decision might be linked to a growing hostility from US regulatory authorities toward the cryptocurrency industry. The latest development comes after several crypto users flagged the disappearance of Wallet of Satoshi (WoS) from Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store in the United States, which coincided with the app approaching a milestone of over a million transactions this month. On November 24th, various users and members of the crypto community took to Twitter to share their experiences attempting to locate the WoS app, reporting either no search results or being redirected to alternative wallet applications. Notably, the app remained available for download on Apple’s App Store in other countries. Bitcoin layer 2 – Lightning Network – has surged by 1,200% in the last two years. Hence, Wallet of Satoshi’s decision to exit the US market is seen as a blow to the space.
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📊 Not Just Bitcoin: MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Coinbase (COIN) Soar to Highest Prices Since 2022
MSTR recently reclaimed the $500 level, while COIN trade well above $100. After the atrocious 2022, which saw market prices decline by more than 50% in months amid geo-political tension and industry collapses, almost all crypto-related companies, projects, and assets were struggling at the start of 2023. Two of the giants connected to the space – Coinbase, the largest US-based crypto exchange, and MicroStrategy – the biggest corporate holder of BTC, had their shares’ prices slashed to multi-month lows. COIN entered 2023 at $34, while MSTR was at $145. However, the new year began with a lot more optimism, and both companies’ stocks went on a roll alongside the rest of the market. It took COIN six months to surge past $100, but the stock lost its momentum in the subsequent market retracement. Nevertheless, the highly positive October and November pushed it back north, and CON recently registered its highest price in well over a year at $115. It’s worth noting that these multi-month peaks coincided with similar developments for bitcoin as the primary cryptocurrency recently jumped to $38,500 for the first time in 18 months. MicroStrategy’s multi-billion dollar bitcoin bet stood deep in the red, with the unrealized losses exceeding $1 billion at one point.
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💰 Grayscale Setting Up for Bitcoin ETF Race by Hiring Industry Veteran from Invesco
Crypto asset manager Grayscale has hired former Invesco Head of Americas John Hoffman to lead its distribution and partnerships team, six weeks before a decision is set to come out on whether the company will be allowed to launch a spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded-fund (ETF). “The Grayscale team is thrilled to have John Hoffman join us as Managing Director and Head of Distribution and Strategic Partnerships. Invesco is one of the biggest issuers of ETFs in the U.S. with currently over 200 ETFs traded on U.S. markets and roughly $425 billion in assets under management (AUM). The company recently suffered another big departure. Anna Paglia, who served as global head of ETFs, indexed strategies, SMAs and models at Invesco for the past seven years, left to join State Street Global Advisors - the investment management division of State Street - as executive vice president and chief business officer. Grayscale is hoping to convert its GBTC bitcoin trust into an ETF in January, when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decides whether to approve the launch of 13 potential spot bitcoin ETFs, including that of BlackRock, Invesco, and Franklin, among others.
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🇧🇷 Brazil to Impose 15% Tax on Crypto Earnings Held on Offshore Exchanges: Report
The Brazilian Senate approved new income-tax regulations that could mean citizens will face paying up to 15% on earnings from cryptocurrencies held on international exchanges, Yahoo Finance reported Thursday. The regulation, if sanctioned by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, could be effective as of Jan. 1. The bill has been approved by the Chamber of Deputies. The bill is awaiting presidential approval. Those affected will be Brazilians earning more than $1,200 from foreign exchanges and investment funds with a single shareholder. According to Yahoo Finance, the government set a revenue target of $4 billion for these taxes in the new year. Brazilian Senator Rogerio Marinho criticized the law, stating that the government introduced a tax due to poor management, according to the report. Cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular in Brazil with the country ranking ninth in terms of crypto adoption according to a Chainalysis report. CoinDesk recently reported that the nation also has around $100 million in assets under management for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
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🟠 Binance's 'VIP' traders were forewarned of $4 billion settlement penalty: Bloomberg
Binance's biggest traders, attending a conference in Singapore this September, were privy to the crypto exchange's forthcoming settlement with U.S. authorities during a luxurious private dinner.The exclusive gathering, held in the sophisticated 1880 members-only club, saw a select group of market makers and traders, referred to as VIPs, gain insight into Binance's impending legal turmoil amidst a setting of American Angus beef and Australian truffles, according to several attendees, Bloomberg reported. The attendees broke off into smaller groups and reportedly quizzed Binance executives on the company’s legal troubles, raising the likelihood of a $4 billion fine and leaving convinced the firm could afford and would pay it. Binance’s now-former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was notably absent, while Richard Teng — who replaced Zhao as CEO last week — was there but asked not to be identified discussing the private gathering, according to Bloomberg. However, the bottom line was that Binance would survive. A Binance spokesperson told Bloomberg the depiction of the event was inaccurate but declined to identify which aspects were wrong. Binance did not respond to a request for comment from The Block.
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💰 Trust Wallet reports Bitcoin node issue behind failed user transactions
Binance-owned Trust Wallet has reported experiencing a Bitcoin node issue, leading to users experiencing failed or delayed transactions and missing transactional history in the wallet app. The non-custodial wallet provider attributed the issue to a recent surge in Bitcoin transactions. “Increased transactions per block in the Bitcoin network are putting pressure on nodes, causing instability across providers,” the team posted on X. Trust Wallet said it was closely monitoring the situation, but “users may experience missing transaction history for the Bitcoin-blockbook chain, up to six hours, and failed transactions.” Bitcoin Blockbook, initially developed to support Trezor wallets, is a blockchain indexer and backend solution for cryptocurrency wallets, enabling efficient queries for specific information, like transaction history or wallet balances. In response to the post, some users complained the issue had already been ongoing for several hours. Trust Wallet said it was working diligently to address the issue. However, there has been no update since yesterday.
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💰 MicroStrategy buys $593.3 million in bitcoin, may raise up to $750 million in new stock sale
MicroStrategy, a software firm best known for its bitcoin holdings, has purchased more of the digital asset and may raise additional funds through the sale of new shares. Between Nov. 1 and Nov. 29, it purchased an additional 16,130 bitcoin for $593.3 million, with an average price of $36,785 per token, the company said in a filing. Founder and Chairman Michael Saylor said in a post on X that the company now "hodls" 174,540 bitcoin that was acquired at an average price of $30,252 each. The company said it may raise up to $750 million through the sale of new Class A common stock shares. Between Nov. 1 and Nov. 29, it purchased an additional 16,130 bitcoin for $593.3 million, with an average price of $36,785 per token, the company said in a filing. Founder and Chairman Michael Saylor said in a post on X that the company now "hodls" 174,540 bitcoin that was acquired at an average price of $30,252 each. Bitcoin was mostly flat on Thursday, trading at $37,652 at 11:35 a.m. ET, according to The Block data. The world's largest digital asset by market capitalization is up 10% over the past month and 122.8% over the past year. The company said it may raise up to $750 million through the sale of new Class A common stock shares.
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🟠 Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo sued for allegedly promoting unregistered securities on Binance
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is being sued over his involvement in allegedly promoting unregistered securities on Binance, according to a recent class action lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In 2022, Ronaldo entered into a multi-year agreement with Binance, launching his first-ever NFT collection ahead of the soccer World Cup. He has since become a prominent figure in Binance’s advertising campaigns. The lawsuit alleges that Ronaldo engaged in a "sustained and aggressive" promotional campaign for Binance, claiming that these promotions were “deceptive and unlawful.” The plaintiffs argue that Ronaldo, knowingly or unknowingly, assisted Binance in “soliciting investments in unregistered securities by encouraging his millions of followers, fans and supporters to invest with the Binance platform,” aiding and abetting the company’s alleged fraudulent activities and causing them to suffer losses. Binance last week, which probed into alleged money laundering, fraud and sanctions violations. The crypto exchange will pay a $4.3 billion fine, marking one of the largest corporate settlements in U.S. history.
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🪙 Chainlink upgrades staking mechanism with 45 million LINK pool
Decentralized computing protocol Chainlink has upgraded its native staking mechanism, launching Chainlink Staking v0.2 with an expanded pool size of 45 million A nine-day "priority migration" period begins today for existing v0.1 stakers to transition their staked LINK and rewards to the new version. Access will then expand to other participants via early access and general access stages from Dec. 7 and Dec. 11, respectively, enabling users to stake up to 15,000 LINK, according to a statement. Chainlink is the most widely used oracle network in crypto, providing external real-world data to blockchain applications. Chainlink staking first went live in December, increasing utility for the token and enabling LINK holders to back the performance of oracle services and earn rewards for helping to secure the network. It was initially solely accessible for staking to secure the Ethereum ETH/USD price feed, with a pool capped at 25 million LINK tokens. The new version is designed to provide a more flexible unbonding mechanism — allowing stakers to withdraw their staked tokens more efficiently — and improved security guarantees. Its modular architecture aims to facilitate greater adaptability, making it easier to incorporate future upgrades and improvements.
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🟠 Judge says CZ can't return to UAE ahead of sentencing, for now
Former Binance CEO Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao will have to stay in the U.S. ahead of his sentencing in February, at least until a further review is conducted. Judge Richard Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle ordered that a condition that would have allowed Zhao to return to his home in United Arab Emirates before his sentencing be "stayed until such time as this Court resolves the Government’s motion for review," according to a court filing on Monday. Prosecutors had warned that Zhao presented a flight risk, citing his wealth and noting that the UAE has no extradition treaty with the U.S. Zhao pleaded guilty in a Seattle court on Tuesday to violating, and causing a financial institution to violate, the Bank Secrecy Act. He also agreed to pay a $50 million fine. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice settled a connected case with the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance, which probed into alleged money laundering, fraud and sanctions violations. The crypto exchange will pay a $4.3 billion fine, marking one of the largest corporate settlements in U.S. history.
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🪙 Dogecoin Now Held at 5M Crypto Addresses, Though Concentration Remains a Concern
The adoption of joke cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE) continues to grow two years after the coronavirus pandemic that supposedly saw people beat lockdown boredom by gambling millions in non-serious digital assets. The number of cryptocurrency addresses holding DOGE has topped 5 million for the first time, according to data tracked by on-chain analytics firm IntoTheBlock. Meanwhile, the number of active addresses on the network has more than doubled to 168,000, reaching the most since March 2022, and the number of confirmed transactions on the Dogecoin blockchain has jumped to the highest since June, with the tally increasing by 1,000% in the past 10 days. While these figures stand out, the concentration of ownership in DOGE remains an issue. According to BitInfoCharts, fewer than 5,000 addresses control more than 80% of DOGE's supply, which means a relatively few traders have control over the cryptocurrency's price. DOGE's market capitalization has risen 14% to almost $11 billion this month. Greater adoption and usage of cryptocurrency often translate into higher market value.
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💰 Bitcoin spot ETF anticipation fuels largest crypto fund inflows for two years: CoinShares
Crypto fund inflows at asset managers such as 21Shares, CoinShares, Bitwise, Grayscale and ProShares added $346 million last week, the largest jump since the bull market of late 2021, according to CoinShares’ latest report. Last week's addition nearly doubled the $176 million registered in the prior week, compounding a nine-week consecutive run and bringing year-to-date inflows to over $1.5 billion. The surge was fueled by anticipation of a U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETF, CoinShares. Bitcoin investment products accounted for $312 million of the total inflows last week, while short-sellers "continue to capitulate," Butterfill added, with short bitcoin funds seeing a third week of outflows totaling just under $1 million and AUM falling over 60% since a peak in April. ETPs now account for 18% of total spot bitcoin trading volume, well above average, highlighting their growing popularity among investors seeking exposure to digital assets, Butterfill noted. Ether investment products added $34 million last week to a run totaling over $100 million. The four-week inflow streak has almost fully corrected outflows for the year, marking a decisive turn-around in sentiment, Butterfill said.
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💰 Ark Invest GBTC Share Sold To Maintain Strategic Investment Position
This Ark Invest GBTC share sale has strategically reduced the holdings of the Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) to 579,077 GBTC shares for the month of November. The decision to sell GBTC shares is not a novel one for ARK Invest, having done so three times previously, amassing a total of $11 million based on corresponding closing prices. However, the motive behind these sales is to uphold the desired weight of ARK Invest’s investment position. Notably, Grayscale, along with other asset managers like BlackRock, is awaiting regulatory approval. Ark Invest’s strategic selling aligns with its typical market approach, buying crypto stocks during downturns and capitalizing on positive trends for profit. This move coincides with a broader surge in the share prices of Coinbase and GBTC amid the current euphoria in the cryptocurrency market. ARK Invest’s actions reflect a calculated strategy to manage its portfolio in the dynamic crypto landscape, ensuring optimal positioning for potential market shifts. ARK Invest needed to offload a significant number of shares to maintain its fund’s allocation cap, hovering around 9%.
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🟠 Binance onboarded millions into finance but forgot the paperwork — Columbia professor
Recent events surrounding the crypto exchange Binance sparked significant debate about the United States’ crackdown on crypto firms. According to Omid Malekan, author and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, the U.S. Department of Justice’s approach in the case differs significantly from what is seen in traditional finance. “People who sincerely believe that crypto is some unique enabler of bad people doing bad things don’t understand how the rest of the financial system actually works,”. Malekan also argued that many on Wall Street would be jailed if traditional firms were given the same treatment as Binance in similar cases. Despite criticism, Malekan believes the exchange was still “wrong to lie to its customers and wrong for not being compliant.” Binance and its co-founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, recently reached a multibillion-dollar settlement with the U.S. government for allegedly allowing individuals engaged in illicit activities to move “stolen funds” through the exchange. CZ stepped down as CEO as part of the settlement. The ICIJ organized over 400 journalists from 110 news organizations in 88 countries to investigate banks potentially involved in money laundering.
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🇮🇳 Indian government set to introduce rules against deepfake menace
India is formulating regulations to oversee deepfakes, the country’s Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Nov. 23, expanding on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement the day before about his concerns about the technology. According to a Reuters report, during discussions with academics, industry associations and social media firms, Vaishnaw said the Indian government aims to finish drafting the regulations in the coming weeks. Deepfakes are realistic and often convincing artificial intelligence (AI)-generated videos or audio recordings that manipulate or replace the likeness and voice of a person in an existing video or audio clip. In the initial comments during a G20 virtual summit, Modi urged international leaders to collaborate in regulating AI and expressed worries about the adverse effects of deepfakes on society. In the report, Vaishnaw said the regulatory drafting process will consider penalties for the individual uploading the content and the social media platform where it is posted. This development occurs as nations globally scramble to establish regulations for governing AI.
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💰 Bitcoin Realized Cap Indicates Fresh Capital Inflows: CryptoQuant
Bitcoin’s realized cap is growing at its fastest pace this year as new capital continues to flow into the market. The realized capitalization for bitcoin has recently witnessed significant growth and increment, indicating an improvement in the liquidity conditions of the leading digital asset. According to a report by on-chain market analytics platform CryptoQuant, bitcoin’s growing realized cap and the rising stablecoin market cap are evidence of the influx of new capital into the crypto market. The realized cap is a metric that helps estimate bitcoin’s (BTC) economic weight or actual value by considering the last price at which each asset was last moved or transacted. CryptoQuant found that bitcoin’s realized cap is growing at its fastest pace this year as new capital continues to flow into the market. The metric just turned positive for the first time since October 2022, influencing BTC’s market cap as it has over time. The rising liquidity is evident in BTC’s short-term uptrend, as the asset keeps trading above the cost basis of short-term holders. The crypto analytics platform spotted other bullish signs, like approximately 70% of BTC’s supply staying inactive for over a year. Analysts said the findings show a majority of investors have a holding mentality.
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💰 Bitcoin IRA Savers Have New IRS Contribution Limits in 2024
The IRS raised the contribution limit for individual retirement accounts for 2024. Cryptocurrency investors can now save $500 more in a self-directed Bitcoin IRA. On Nov 1, the IRS announced, “The limit on annual contributions to an IRA increased to $7,000, up from $6,500,” for the 2024 tax year. The 401(k) limit also went up by $500 to $23,000. That means Bitcoin investors who are saving for retirement with a self-directed Bitcoin IRA can now contribute $500 more next year. Saver investors looking to hedge inflation, diversify their portfolio, or add a risk-reward, high-growth tech play to their strategy also get a tax benefit with a Bitcoin IRA or 401(k) account. The main advantage of an IRA is taxpayers can deduct their contribution from the amount of their taxable income. Some 401(k) savers may also have the option to contribute Bitcoin to their 401(k) and get a tax benefit. That is if their employer allows it and works with a pension fund that provides digital asset services. Otherwise, they have to use a self-directed Bitcoin IRA to get a tax deduction. Fidelity Investments, for example, works with 23,000 employers to maintain Bitcoin 401(k) retirement accounts. Its Digital Assets arm provides digital custody services, allowing 401(k) contributors to save for retirement using Bitcoin.
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