😮 🎯 Is the SEC Eyeing Liquid Staking Protocols?
In today’s edition: 🗳️ Spot ether ETFs postponed until post-election?, 🏦 BlackRock, Securitize apply for Arbitrum's asset program, ⬇️ Ethereum gas fees at historic lows, and more!
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Bits + Bips: Does Macroeconomics Point to a Potential Crypto Supercycle?
Is the market underweighting the potential for the total crypto market cap to go to $10 trillion in the next few years? Yes, say these traders and analysts.
In this first episode of Bits + Bips, hosts James Seyffart, Alex Kruger, and Joe McCann explain why the macroeconomics could point to the markets actually being in a crypto supercycle.
They discuss the recent Federal Reserve meeting and its impact on the markets, as well as the irony that leveraged Ethereum futures ETFs will likely be approved while spot Ethereum ETFs will likely not. James also reveals his pet theory on where the SEC is going with its investigation into ether. They cover why the bottoming of emerging market currencies in Asia is good for Bitcoin, dismiss the recent Wells notice issued to Robinhood, and speculate that Tether may be the most profitable company per employee in the world.
Agreeing that the current market cycle is different, Seyffart and McCann suggest that there is still a long way to go, and assert that the market may be underweighting the possibility that crypto goes to a $10 trillion market cap in the next few years.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
What’s Poppin’?
by Kollen Post, Kari McMahon, and Sage Young
Could the SEC Have a Case Against Liquid Staking Protocols?
With Consensys receiving a Wells notice from the SEC alleging it operated an unregistered securities broker — via MetaMask Staking — does that also put its partners, Lido and Rocket Pool, in the firing line, too?
Why Spot Ether ETFs Will Likely Have to Wait Until After the Presidential Election to Be Approved
Grayscale withdrawing its application for an ether futures ETF was likely a big blow to the entire field of applicants seeking approval for spot ether ETFs, analysts say.
BlackRock and Securitize Submit Application for Arbitrum’s Program Focused on Real-World Asset Diversification
Securitize is the distributor of BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund, which has seen over $382 million in deposits, per analytics platform rwa.xyz. It has applied “on behalf of BlackRock” to Arbitrum’s Stable Treasury Endowment Program (STEP).
Why Ethereum Gas Fees Have Fallen to Their Lowest Level Since 2020
The low price of transacting on Ethereum is a result of the flight of activity away from the base layer to Ethereum’s layer 2 networks, particularly following the Dencun upgrade that occurred in March.
Digital Asset Lender Ledn Processed Record $690 Million in Loans in Q1 2024
The explosive growth of loans facilitated by Ledn can be attributed to bitcoin’s price surge, which increased the borrowing power of bitcoiners, as well as the SEC approving several spot bitcoin ETFs earlier this year.
Daily Bits…✍️✍️✍️
👨⚖️ Kraken requested that a U.S. court dismiss SEC claims to prevent major changes in the country's financial regulatory framework, emphasizing jurisdiction issues over the cryptocurrencies it offers.
😮 The White House plans to nominate CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson for a key Treasury role, aiming to strengthen policies including cybersecurity and consumer protection within the financial sector.
🚗 Binance retained a high-rolling, Lamborghini-loving client accused of market manipulation and dismissed the internal investigator who uncovered the suspicious activity, despite prior commitments to user safety and market integrity.
📉 Marathon Digital missed its Q1 revenue targets due to operational issues, resulting in a decrease in bitcoin mining output and a slight drop in stock value.
🏦 Binance was fined $4.3 million by Canadian regulators for failing to adhere to administrative and reporting regulations for large transactions.
💻 Uniswap's frontend has seen reduced popularity after Uniswap Labs increased its swap fee on the Ethereum interface.
💹 Digital Currency Group (DCG) reported a 51% increase in revenue to $229 million in Q1 2024, driven by a resurgence in crypto prices and gains across its subsidiaries.
💸 The scammer who stole $71 million of wrapped bitcoin, via a poisoning attack, reached out to the victim and sent 51 ETH as a partial repayment.
The $$$ Corner…
🛡️ Arcium raised $5.5 million to develop a “confidential computing” network, enhancing privacy and security for blockchain applications.
🌾 AgriDex secured $5 million in funding to introduce the agricultural sector to the blockchain, allowing crop transactions to be secured with NFTs on its Solana-based platform. Sub-Sarahan African agricultural group African Crops and South African vineyard group Oldenburg Vineyards participated in the pre-seed round.
What Do You Meme?
📈 Your Market Update 📉
BTC is up 3.5%, trading at $63,150
ETH is up 1.9%, trading at $3,032
BTC dominance: 50.61%
Crypto market cap: $2.45T
*All data as of today, 07:53 am ET. Source: CoinGecko
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