This Week on Unchained: Predictions, Binance's Monitorship, Bitcoin Spot ETFs, and More!
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The Chopping Block: Crypto’s Best and Worst in 2023
This week, after an incredibly eventful year for crypto, The Chopping Block crew makes its picks for the best and worst of 2023, including its biggest winners and losers, biggest surprises, best memes, best or worst pivots, biggest flops, best comeback stories, favorite podcast guests and predictions for 2024. Hear why some in the gang consider Solana to be the year’s biggest winner, Circle the biggest loser, MicroStrategy the best and worst pivot, Coinbase the best comeback and a renewed boom in crypto lending one of the top predictions for 2024.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
The long-awaited approval of a spot bitcoin ETF looks to be mere weeks away, and Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart joins Unchained to discuss the final issues and considerations, especially the battle over whether the new funds will feature in-kind vs. cash creation and redemptions, which appears to be one of the last main sticking points in negotiations between the SEC and fund companies. He also discusses the specific impact of an ETF approval on Grayscale, which runs the $26.6 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, and why he thinks the SEC has thrown in the towel on trying to classify Ethereum as a security.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
The record $4.3 billion settlement between Binance and the U.S. government over charges of money laundering and sanctions violations calls for the world’s largest crypto exchange to maintain an independent compliance monitor for the next five years. Michael Dawson, a partner at WilmerHale, and Dorothy DeWitt, founder and CEO of Tolt Strategies, a former director at the CFTC and former general counsel at Coinbase, dissect the intricacies of this arrangement, delving into the roles and responsibilities of the compliance monitor, the potential impact on Binance’s operations and the broader implications for the crypto industry.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
In Case You Missed It 👀
Here are some of the most important news of this week:
Ledger Library Compromised, Causing Confusion and Panic in Crypto Community
The hardware wallet maker says the vulnerability has been fixed, but users of several dApps and protocols are still being warned against using them until the situation is clearer.
New Accounting Rules Will Allow Firms to Record Crypto Profits as Well as Losses
The guidance will allow companies to record profits when the value of their crypto holdings increases, and not just losses when the value of those holdings falls, as was previously the case.
Crypto Exchange KuCoin to Pay $22M and End New York Services in Lawsuit Settlement
KuCoin will pay a total of $22 million in fines and refunds and cease operations in New York to settle a lawsuit brought by the state’s Attorney General.
Binance SEC Lawsuit Heats Up Despite DOJ Settlement
Binance doubled down on its motion to dismiss an SEC lawsuit on Tuesday in response to an opposing motion filed by the SEC last week.
FTX Objects to $24 Billion IRS Tax Claim
The FTX bankruptcy estate said that the exchange never earned anything near an amount that supports the $24 billion that the IRS claims it is owed in taxes.
Should First-Time Bitcoin Investors Buy Now or Wait for the ETF?
As bitcoin’s price rises, first-time bitcoin investors in the US face a quandary — buy now or wait a month to see if a spot bitcoin ETF gets approved first?
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