Vanguard Doesn't Want a Taste of This Juicy Volume? 😏
In today’s edition: 🖊️ Op-eds by Laura Shin and David Z. Morris, 📈 Circle seeks US listing, 📊 Massive ETF trading volume, 💸 BTC HODLers selling, 💹 ETH rallies, 🔍 NEAR trims its team, and more!
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Opinion 🖊️
Why Spot Bitcoin ETFs Are (But Mostly Aren’t) a Big Deal for Crypto
by Laura Shin
Spot Bitcoin ETFs are launching to much fanfare. But the reason has little to do with the original cryptocurrency’s actual accomplishments, which is why in the long run, this day will be a minor footnote in Bitcoin history.
The SEC’s Bumbling Bitcoin ETF Rollout Was Perfectly On-Brand
by David Z. Morris
Hacks and communication failures were the only appropriate ending to the regulators’ many years of wrongheaded misbehavior.
What’s Poppin’?
by Sage Young, Brandy Betz, and Sam Sriram
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Record $4.6 Billion First Day Trading Volume
Grayscale’s GBTC and iShares IBIT accounted for more than 70% of the $4.6 billion in volume recorded on the first day of trading.
Vanguard Isn’t Allowing Customers to Buy Spot Bitcoin ETFs
The global investment manager said the newly SEC-approved exchange-traded funds “don’t align” with its broader investment offerings.
USDC Stablecoin Issuer Circle Files to Go Public in US
The company previously attempted to go public in 2022 through a SPAC merger but that deal fell through.
Some Bitcoin HODLers Have Cashed Out
Long-term investors have been selling BTC in the last week, after more than a year of buying, according to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode.
Ether Rallies on Optimism Following Spot Bitcoin ETF Approvals
ETH is on the rise due to expectations that a spot Ethereum ETF will get approved next.
NEAR Foundation Cuts 40% of Workforce
The NEAR Foundation has trimmed its headcount as it seeks to consolidate the team into focusing on a “higher-impact set of activities.”
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably heard that spot Bitcoin ETFs were finally approved by the SEC this week. That set the stage for 11 such offerings from the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, and ARK 21Shares to begin trading on Thursday. On this episode of Unchained, Nate Geraci, president of the ETF Store; Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence; and James Seyffart, research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence discussed the initial record trading volumes, the mechanics of how the funds work, the botched roll-out process, the pointed commentary from SEC commissioners, the potential for future Ethereum spot ETFs and predictions for total inflows. Plus, they explain why brokerage firms like Vanguard, Merrill and others were blocking customer access to the ETFs.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
Daily Bits…✍️✍️✍️
🔍 Contradicting initial speculations, UBS and Citibank are set to offer Bitcoin ETF trading to select clients, diverging from Vanguard's restrictive approach.
🏛️ Terra's Do Kwon sought to postpone his SEC trial, aiming for a personal court appearance, following a halt to his extradition process.
🔗 In response to regulatory advisories, major South Korean financial firms, including Samsung Securities and Mirae Asset, have paused trading of international spot Bitcoin ETFs.
📈 Grayscale's GBTC discount narrowed to zero for the first time since February 2021 following SEC approval for ETF conversion.
💸 A trader spent $8.6 million in SOL for 15.92 million dogwifhat tokens, facing an immediate loss despite the memecoin's 118% price rise.
🚀 Berachain, a layer 1 blockchain, opened its testnet to the public, featuring a "proof of liquidity" consensus mechanism and a $42 million funding history.
🔄 After resolving a security breach, Telcoin witnessed a significant surge in deposits, marking a fourfold increase.
🔄 StarkWare CEO Uri Kolodny stepped down due to family health issues, with President Eli Ben-Sasson set to take over as CEO.
Today in Crypto Adoption...
📱 Robinhood integrated all 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs into its platform, catering to both retirement and standard brokerage accounts.
💳 Coinbase partnered with Yellow Card, aiming to broaden its reach across Africa and enhance stablecoin accessibility.
The $$$ Corner…
💡 Pontem secured $6 million in funding to support developers in building apps compatible with both Ethereum Virtual Machine and Move programming language.
What Do You Meme?
Recommended Reads
The Block: The SEC's spot bitcoin ETF finale was a complete disaster. What went wrong? By Tim Copeland
Unchained: What is Gwei in Ethereum?
Fred Krueger on Fidelity vs. BlackRock in the spot Bitcoin ETF battle
📈 Your Market Update 📉
BTC is down 1.6%, trading at $46,146
ETH is up .1%, trading at $2,656
BTC dominance: 48.77%
Crypto market cap: $1.86T
*All data as of today, 06:45 am ET. Source: CoinGecko
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