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One day after BlackRock made a splash last week by putting forward a plan to launch a spot bitcoin ETF, crypto-focused asset manager Bitwise re-upped its own similar bid. The filings are the latest of their kind in a decade-long saga as the SEC has never allowed a spot bitcoin ETF to hit the US market — despite efforts from the Winklevoss twins, Fidelity and a slew of other would-be issuers.  But the latest proposed products by BlackRock and Bitwise are a bit different from one another. Bitwise filed for a spot bitcoin ETF in October 2021 — a proposal ultimately rejected by the SEC in June 2022.  The Friday filing by NYSE Arca — the would-be listing exchange for the Bitwise product — added more legal Analysis around the surveillance of bitcoin via the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures markets, according to Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research at Morningstar. “The timing of the filing seems likely to jump in the queue behind BlackRock should the SEC app...

One of the people involved in the 2020 Twitter hack that targeted President Obama, Elon Musk, and other high profile accounts has been extradited from the UK to the US. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering, among other charges. The Southern District of New York is accusing Joseph James O’Connor, whose handle was “PlugwalkJoe,” of stealing and laundering approximately $794,000 worth of cryptocurrency from an unnamed Manhattan-based crypto company.  This scheme, which involved a SIM card swap hack of one of the company’s executives, took place between approximately March 2019 and May 2019, according to a Justice Department press release. After that, O’Connor and his co-conspirators initiated dozens of transfers to launder the stolen crypto, which included approximately 770 bitcoin cash (BCH), 6,363 litecoin (LTC), 407 ether (ETH) and 7 bitcoin (BTC), according to the November 2021 indictment.  Following the theft of the funds, the next phase of the scam was to gain ac...

Hong Kong is set to implement a new licensing system for virtual asset providers. It aims to regulate the virtual asset industry and protect investors comprehensively. Hong Kong’s regulation showcases the typical ‘one country, two systems.’ In an executive dinner in Bangkok, Liang Fengyi, CEO of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), announced that Hong Kong’s new licensing system for virtual asset service providers will be implemented this month.  The regulatory framework aims to comprehensively cover all aspects of virtual assets, ensuring investor protection while addressing the risks faced by financial institutions. Collin Wu, a prominent Chinese report, brought the development to the crypto community. Leung Fung-yee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission, said that the goal is not to make Hong Kong a cryptocurrency trading hub, but also recognizes that crypto trading is an important part of the virtual asse...

Interest in crypto assets continues to improve as traditional financial firms (TradFi) flock to the industry. BlackRock iShares spot Bitcoin ETF filing started a chain reaction as many financial giants such as Valkyrie Investments, Invesco, WisdomTree, and Bitwise move to file Bitcoin ETF. Institutional flurry to crypto was witnessed around the globe. advertisement In addition, crypto exchange EDX Markets-backed by Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Charles Schwab also announced its launch on Tuesday. Also Read: JPMorgan Launches Euro Blockchain Payments Using JPM Coin Bitcoin Price Sets for Rally to $35K Traders are eyeing Bitcoin to fill the CME Bitcoin Futures gap between $34455 and $35180. CME gap refers to a price discrepancy that arises between the closing price of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin futures market on Friday and the opening price on Sunday. Recommended Articles ...

FlokiFi locker upgrade integrates payments, referral programs, and burn functionality, boosting ecosystem growth. Integration with top lending protocol reduces sell pressure, allowing FLOKI holders to borrow against their tokens. Floki market experiences bullish momentum, reaching a 7-day high of $0.00002919. FlokiFi locker, the central element of the Floki ecosystem, has announced a slew of updates. Recently submitted to Certik for review, the upgrade reportedly integrates native payments, referral programs, burn functionality, and lock extensions. Moreover, it supports V3 Positions LPs, making it the most significant advancement in the FlokiFi locker’s journey. Lending and Borrowing With $FLOKI Tokens Another development lies in integrating with the BNB chain’s top lending protocol. Once the final parameters are set, Floki holders can borrow stablecoins and other crypto assets against their $FLOKI tokens. Consequently, this integration signif...

Also Read: Crypto Participation Report On Fortune 100 Companies Will Shock You advertisement These developments are undoubtedly bound to create long term ripple effects in Crypto Market , considering the massive reach these big players have in the mainstream financial world. For example, Blackrock alone managers assets of hundreds of companies across sectors and around the world. The ‘Crypto Blueprint’ John Deaton, the attorney representing XRP Token holders in the Ripple Vs SEC lawsuit, recalled SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s old interview in which US investor Tim Draper speculated on what could be the possible blueprint to crypto adoption. Draper could be seen telling Gensler that the incumbents (banks) would initially sue crypto businesses, then exert media pressure and leverage government regulators to slow its progress before eventually adopting the space. Hence, Deaton indicated that Draper’s prediction draws parallel with the recent...

Despite facing ongoing legal scrutiny in the United States, Ripple, a leading blockchain company, has been actively seeking opportunities to expand its presence in other countries. In a major development, the firm has obtained regulatory approval to conduct its operations in Singapore. This marks another step in its global expansion strategy. Ripple has confirmed that it has been granted in-principle approval for a Major Payment Institution License by the Monetary Authority of Singapore [MAS]. Serving as both the central bank and regulatory body of Singapore, MAS’s approval enables Ripple to provide regulated digital payment token products and services. Additionally, Ripple plans to expand the adoption of its crypto-enabled On-Demand Liquidity [ODL] platform among its customers. Stu Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer of Ripple said, “We’re pleased that Singapore has taken a forward-looking approach to how to regulate digital assets. With their licensing framework, they have figured out how ...

Stacked-backed TWITCH is exploding with 24-hour gains surpassing 7,500% on Wednesday. Trading on DEXTools, a decentralized that offers investors and traders market analytics and related tools, TWITCH is exchanging hands at $0.000000176. The token boasts incredible stats with a 24-hour volume of more than $400,000 supported by liquidity worth $41,000, according to live price data from DEXTools. TWITCH?USD price chart | DEXTools Crypto whales are scooping up TWITCH tokens even before they are listed on exchanges, with total buys amounting to 530 while total sales stand at 330. What is TWITCH Token? If you are a gamer or a content creator, or an investor you probably know about Twitch, the popular video streaming platform for gaming content. But did you know that there is a new platform that aims to be the Twitch for web3 gamers? It’s called Stacked, and it’s powered by $TWITCH, a crypto token that rewards creators and users for engaging with web3 gaming content. On...

Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage Ethereum, one of the world’s leading blockchain platforms, is contemplating a monumental change to its validator limit. The current threshold of 32 ETH per validator may see a substantial increase to 2,048 ETH, a proposal that has sparked intense debate within the Ethereum community. Proposed Increase in Ethereum’s Validator Limit Sparks Debate – Balancing Efficiency, Decentralization, and Future-Proofing The proposed increase in the validator limit for Ethereum is driven by a key objective: enhancing the network’s efficiency. Currently, validators encounter limitations on the range of stakes they can hold, which affects their ability to contribute optimally to the network. This limitation has led to the proliferation of multiple validators within large-scale staking operations. By raising the maximum effective validator balance, Ethereum aims to streamline operations, reduce comple...

Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage Tagomi, a brokerage firm that manages digital currencies, was reported to have been acquired by Coinbase, the big U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, for $150 million. However, it turns out that this is not the case, despite sources telling CoinDesk otherwise this Friday. That said, Tagomi had been looking for buyers, so it isn’t entirely out of the blue that Coinbase would have purchased it. Instead, as CoinTelegraph reports, they asked Rachael Horwitz, the VP of communications at Coinbase, who responded that this claim is “100% false.” Conversely, it seems that Tagomi was looking at other companies to buy them, though Coinbase would have eliminated some good competition by purchasing Tagomi up. After all, Tagomi’s Features would make fantastic additions to Coinbase’s Pro exchange add-on. That said, Tagomi has already recently partnered with Binance, one of the biggest excha...

After the stellar rise of Pepe Coin, a new meme token is turning heads in the investors’ community named Wall Street Memes (WSM). The token is experiencing a rush in buying despite being in presale. Investors believe taking an early entry position opens up avenues to earn $1 million or more. Therefore, a handful of investors don’t want to miss the opportunity as they believe it could rally hard after launch. Pepe Coin is one such example where the first three weeks post-launch delivered phenomenal gains. Also Read: Shiba Inu: Can You Be a Millionaire by Owning Just 1,000 SHIB Tokens? $1,000 Investment in Wall Street Memes (WSM) Could Turn to $1 Million? Source: Twitter Wall Street Memes token is priced at $0.0295 currently in stage 16 of the presale. The token could be launched in the markets in a few days and its fate in the indices will be decided. For an investment of $1,000 now, investors get to accumulate nearly 33,900 WSM tokens. A lso Read: Shiba Inu: You Can Become a SHIB Milli...

Cardano price is down today, continuing its decline for a fourth week in a row amid rate hike fears, SEC crackdown and a recovering U.S. dollar. The price of Cardano (ADA) is down over 3% on June 19 after dropping over 30% in the past two weeks. Is ADA price headed for its fourth red weekly candle in a row?  No respite for Cardano price bulls On June 19, ADA price fell over 3% to daily lows of $0.257 as traders continued to assess Cardano's mention in the list of crypto assets that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) considers "unregistered securities." ADAUSD daily price chart. Source: TradingView In addition, Federal Reserve's hawkish guidance last week didn't help ADA price either, with another 50 basis points hike now likely in 2023. Higher rates typically decrease investors' appetite for risk assets, such as Cardano. Meanwhile, open interest in the ADA-linked derivatives has dropped to around $111 million, the lowest since January 2021....

The Singapore-based exchange, also one of the top-10 crypto trading marketplaces, is operating proprietary trading as well as market-making teams, said five people familiar with the matter to Financial Times. advertisement In most markets, separate private companies are behind market-making and prop trading activities. Also, the exchanges here match the buyers with the sellers at the most competitive and transparent price. However, the US regulators have started clamping down on exchanges that support internal market-making activities. Earlier this month, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged crypto exchange Binance for using a trading firm operated by chief executive Changpeng Zhao and engaging in “manipulative trading that artificially inflated the platform’s trading volume”. The SEC Chair Gary Gensler said: “These trading platforms, they call themselves exchanges, are commingling a number of functions. In traditi...