RA George’s Post

It's crypto market recap time!!!🕺 TLDR - there seems to be a lack of a catalyst in moving the market, although the Spot Bitcoin ETF decisions in October are getting some investors positioning themselves for that news. Having been disappointed once already, the majority seem less enthusiastic. The biggest news this week seems to be the extension of Mt Gox payout by another year and it's a year since the Ethereum merge, and while technically a massive success, the fundamentals have not bled into the markets and ETH is largely aimless. Ok into the detail... 🔘 Japan’s largest investment bank Nomura is launching a Bitcoin fund to give institutions long term exposure to the digital asset. 🔘 Perma-Bull MicroStrategy has bought another $147m worth of Bitcoin at around $27k per BTC since August. 🔘 Bitcoin investment house NYDIG has noticed a big spike in the volatility of ‘At the Money’ options around the key dates for a BTC ETF decision from the SEC. 🔘 Vitalik’s hope for Ethereum this decade is that we go on to build something that ‘mainstream’ people want to use. He also states that crypto fulfils that promise today in emerging economies. Chainalysis research supports this with low to middle income countries having much more activity. 🔘 Paypal's new stablecoin PYUSD is being rolled out to payment app Venmo in the coming weeks. 🔘 FTX is suing SBF’s parents to claw back $26m in gifts and property. 🔘 South Korea reported that they have $99bn in digital assets held ‘overseas’, this in response to plans to tax digital assets. 🔘 USDT issuer, Tether Holdings has resumed the practice of lending USDT to a few selected clients to ‘manage their clients’ liquidity’. At $200m it’s not massive but the practice is frowned on. 🔘 Messari reports that staked ETH has now hit 22% of total supply since the Merge. 🔘 Mt Gox Trustee has extended the payment deadline by a year. 🔘 Bybit is exiting the UK market after the local regulator, the FCA, issued a final warning to crypto players to market to consumers in a fair and accurate manner with risk warnings. 🔘 Tim Draper is launching a Web3 and crypto venture studio. 🔘 Greyscale has filed for an ETH futures ETF, meanwhile European player Coinshares is moving into the US with a digital asset hedge fund. 🔘 Coinbase has been approved by the bank of Spain to be a custodian and crypto exchange. 🔘 Google cloud has added another 11 blockchains to its public data sets BigQuery. 🔘 Republicans in the US have created and endorsed an ‘anti CBDC’ bill due to concerns about the growth of a surveillance state. 🔘 A developer has open-sourced an EVM protocol for private payments and transfers of any asset, including ERC20 and ERC721 tokens. TLDR; Vitalik’s stealth addresses are here. 🔘 Circle has renamed USD Coin and EUROC to USDC and EURC. See you next week 🚀

Giving fund managers easier access to bitcoin is already a contentious topic for regulators. It is nothing next to the Pandora’s box that could be opened with its crypto peer ether. The price of bitcoin has surged roughly 14% this past month to around $42,000. Investors believe U.S. regulators will soon green light exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, that hold spot bitcoins, bringing billions of dollars into the market. Ether has gained 10% over the same period. Though officials last week delayed the decision whether to allow spot ether ETFs, whose prospective providers include  BlackRock and Invesco, traders increasingly think it inevitable that whatever goes for bitcoin will go for the second-most-popular cryptocurrency. One sign of this is that Grayscale’s bitcoin and ether trusts now trade at 11% and 14% respective discounts to the cryptocurrency they own, implying fairly similar chances of getting converted into an ETF.The problem is that bitcoin and ether aren’t two peas in the same pod. Bitcoin validates transactions by having computer servers, known as “miners,” solve complex problems. This uses up massive amounts of energy and more water than all of New York City. To solve this conundrum, ether’s Ethereum network switched last year to a “proof-of-stake” system. Anyone who owns ether can vouch for the accuracy of transactions and get rewards. The only requirement is to lock up or “stake” their holdings, as one would do with currency in a bank time deposit. This is a key difference. A spot bitcoin ETF can simply own bitcoin and leave mining to miners, just like a spot gold ETF owns bullion and doesn’t care about digging up new metal. An ether ETF, on the other hand, needs to decide how to deal with the yield that comes from the right to validate. Crypto developers liken this yield to the “benchmark rate” paid by the Federal Reserve on U.S. dollars. Reality is more complicated. Verifying transactions oneself is a pain, so many prefer to stake through exchanges. Shares in  Coinbase have shot up since the start of November in part because of expectations that prospective ETF managers will run their portfolios this way. Also, the rewards the Ethereum network offers for staking fall as more ether is staked. A massive influx of funds would push them lower and, because validating has some fixed costs, force many small players out of the market.Raw Stake Yields fall as more ether gets locked in to generate returns, benefitting big players witheconomies of scale Total ether staked Switch to proof-of-stake system 2022 '23 0 20 40 60 $80 billion Ether staking, annualized daily yield Source: Attestant Note: Yields are a 30-day rolling average.

So Now, Gulf Investors Too, Are Officially Expected, To Be Betting Big. On The Recently Approved, SEC Bitcoin ETFs... 📌📌 Gulf sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors are expected to expand their portfolios to include crypto, after the recently approved, Spot Bitcoin ETF's were given the green light. The US based SEC, approved the trading of 11 Spot Bitcoin ETFs, issued by global asset management companies such as BlackRock, Invesco, Grayscale, Fidelity, and Franklin. A notable shift in digital asset adoption by TradFi institutions. An ETF is traded on regulated stock exchanges, like individual stocks are bought and sold. Value of an ETF rises and falls as the underlying asset increases or decreases in price. Allowing investments in assets, such as gold or an index of stocks, without having to buy it. The fund provider owns the assets, and he sells shares to investors. #MarketTroubles... 📈 📉 The failure of some crypto exchanges, ie, FTX, has shaken the crypto market. Whose founder SBF, was found guilty of stealing $8 Billion in customer deposits from the exchange. Also, former Binance CEO CZ pleaded guilty to breaking AML laws as part of a $4.3 Billion settlement. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $4.5 Billion in trading volume on their debut day. Manuel Villegas, digital assets analyst at, Julius Baer, argued, as markets respond optimistically, investors should expect a “fee war” as asset managers fight for market share. Calling Bitcoin’s fundamentals “very sound”, citing long term holder accumulation, slowing miner supply growth, expectations that the US’s rapid monetary tightening cycle is ending, and the impending halving of block-rewards. The next Bitcoin halving, which cuts new Bitcoin supply by 50% every 4 years, is also slated for May. #RisksRemain... 🚨 🚨 Bitcoin, currently stands above $42K, it's value fell to less than half in 2022 after hitting a high of $69K in 2021. Chainanalysis data showed, MENA, has the 6th largest crypto economy. Estimated at $390 Billion in on-chain value received between July 2022 and June 2023, representing 7.2% of global transaction value during that period. Bybit, based in Dubai, said institutions on its platform nearly doubled their Bitcoin allocations in 2023. That said, some continue to label Bitcoin as a high risk investment. Vanguard, blocked users from trading Bitcoin ETFs. A Dubai-based fintech founder and former Wall Street banker, called Bitcoin ETFs a “new Wall Street scam”, saying, “they're collecting investor funds and fees without offering actual BTC holdings, defying the very principle of decentralisation”. Sarwa Chawan argued, the SEC’s move “legitimises the asset class, after the FTX fallout and the 2022 crypto crash, it doesn’t change the volatility, but changes how it’s managed. SEC's, Gary Gensler clarified, the ETF approvals were not an endorsement of Bitcoin, which he called a “speculative, volatile asset”. #theMIDDLEEASTandDIGITALASSETS... 💰 💰 #LFGDIGITALASSETS... 🚀 🚀

So Now, Gulf Investors Too, Are Officially Expected, To Be Betting Big. On The Recently Approved, SEC Bitcoin ETFs... 📌📌 Gulf sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors are expected to expand their portfolios to include crypto, after the recently approved, Spot Bitcoin ETF's were given the green light. The US based SEC, approved the trading of 11 Spot Bitcoin ETFs, issued by global asset management companies such as BlackRock, Invesco, Grayscale, Fidelity, and Franklin. A notable shift in digital asset adoption by TradFi institutions. An ETF is traded on regulated stock exchanges, like individual stocks are bought and sold. Value of an ETF rises and falls as the underlying asset increases or decreases in price. Allowing investments in assets, such as gold or an index of stocks, without having to buy it. The fund provider owns the assets, and he sells shares to investors. #MarketTroubles... 📈 📉 The failure of some crypto exchanges, ie, FTX, has shaken the crypto market. Whose founder SBF, was found guilty of stealing $8 Billion in customer deposits from the exchange. Also, former Binance CEO CZ pleaded guilty to breaking AML laws as part of a $4.3 Billion settlement. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $4.5 Billion in trading volume on their debut day. Manuel Villegas, digital assets analyst at, Julius Baer, argued, as markets respond optimistically, investors should expect a “fee war” as asset managers fight for market share. Calling Bitcoin’s fundamentals “very sound”, citing long term holder accumulation, slowing miner supply growth, expectations that the US’s rapid monetary tightening cycle is ending, and the impending halving of block-rewards. The next Bitcoin halving, which cuts new Bitcoin supply by 50% every 4 years, is also slated for May. #RisksRemain... 🚨 🚨 Bitcoin, currently stands above $42K, it's value fell to less than half in 2022 after hitting a high of $69K in 2021. Chainanalysis data showed, MENA, has the 6th largest crypto economy. Estimated at $390 Billion in on-chain value received between July 2022 and June 2023, representing 7.2% of global transaction value during that period. Bybit, based in Dubai, said institutions on its platform nearly doubled their Bitcoin allocations in 2023. That said, some continue to label Bitcoin as a high risk investment. Vanguard, blocked users from trading Bitcoin ETFs. A Dubai-based fintech founder and former Wall Street banker, called Bitcoin ETFs a “new Wall Street scam”, saying, “they're collecting investor funds and fees without offering actual BTC holdings, defying the very principle of decentralisation”. Sarwa Chawan argued, the SEC’s move “legitimises the asset class, after the FTX fallout and the 2022 crypto crash, it doesn’t change the volatility, but changes how it’s managed. SEC's, Gary Gensler clarified, the ETF approvals were not an endorsement of Bitcoin, which he called a “speculative, volatile asset”. #theMIDDLEEASTandDIGITALASSETS... 💰 💰 #LFGDIGITALASSETS... 🚀 🚀

All of this happened in crypto this week 👇 1️⃣ Developers are fleeing crypto. Data from the a16z's State of Crypto Index shows that crypto developers have nearly halved from their peak last year; from 36,500 active devs in January 2022 to just 19,630 active devs in September 2023. 2️⃣ JPM said Ethereum has become more centralized. "The rise in Ethereum staking since the Merge and Shanghai upgrades has come at a cost as the Ethereum network became more centralized and as the overall staking yield declined," JPMorgan analysts said. 3️⃣ Polygon Co-Founder steps away from his full-time duties. Jaynti Kanani, a co-founder of Polygon, recently announced on X that he will be stepping back from the day-to-day responsibilities to pursue new adventures. 4️⃣ Ex-BlackRock Exec says SEC likely to approve all spot bitcoin ETFs at once. "I don't think they're going to want to give anybody first mover advantage," said Martin Bednall, former MD at BlackRock and now CEO of Jacobi Asset Management. 5️⃣ SBF & other FTX Execs committed financial crimes, Co-Founder Wang testifies. “We gave special privileges to Alameda Research to allow it to withdraw unlimited funds from FTX and lied about it,” Wang said. 6️⃣ CFTC Behnam focuses on DeFi CFTC Chair Behnam stated the need to focus on DeFi in a speech. Coinbase CEO has previously urged protocols to fight back, adding that CFTC should “not be creating enforcement actions against DeFi protocols.” 7️⃣ Ether Futures ETFs go live. ETFs from ProShares, VanEck, and others go live, almost two years after the launch of the first bitcoin futures ETF. 8️⃣ Deus X Capital launches with $1B in assets. The company starts with $1 billion in assets, including investments and capital for PE, VC, and digital asset markets. Tim Grant, who was Head of EMEA at Galaxy Digital, is the CEO. 9️⃣ 3AC Su Zhu arrested in Singapore, sentenced to 4 months in prison. Teneo, the firm controlling the liquidation of the defunct crypto hedge fund, said it got a “committal order” against Zhu after he failed to comply with court orders to cooperate. 🔟 Do Kwon admits to faking Terra trading volume. A September 22 SEC filing shows a text message exchange between Do Kwon and Daniel Chin, "I can just create fake transactions that look real...which will generate fees." --- #FTX #DeFi #ethereum 👨⚕️🧪 Read my free newsletter for the next best web3 products, strategies, and trends. Join 14,000+ web3 builders and investors at: https://lnkd.in/e8yTC9qA

I’ve been in the middle of a move and haven’t been able to expound on the recent crypto happenings. After weeks of regulatory negativity toward the tech, TradFi used their monster trump card when BlackRock submitted an application for a Bitcoin ETF. This was followed by several companies - Valkyrie, WisdomTree Asset Management - resubmitting, with language borrowed from Blackrock. Clearly, Blackrock knows something about the regulatory climate, and their ability to get the application approved. The fact that it happens in a bear market also means they aren’t part of the fomo crowd. An approval of the Blackrock Bitcoin ETF would likely send the prices soaring The crypto markets rejoiced, with bitcoin prices jumping back to $30k, and other crypto assets following. In addition, Fidelity quietly launched Crypto for Wealth Managers, which will give financial advisors the ability to easily create accounts for clients, to buy and trade crypto, while keeping under the Fidelity custody umbrella. Huge! The crypto markets rejoiced, with bitcoin prices jumping back to $30k, and other crypto assets following. So many, both in the crypto world, and outside, touted that TradFi is coming to the party. However, bitcoin sitting with a custodian so we can buy an ETF, or sitting at a centralized custodian so advisors can manage is not an example of TradFi coming to the crypto party, or even acknowledging the potential of the technology. This is not the intent or the future of the tech and the system. The value of bitcoin and other cryptoassets is based on the use of the systems and networks that are built. Those use cases include: - payments using blockchain rails - tracking of assets like cash, private investments, cars, homes, loans - data privacy and control - increased participation in the financial system A Bitcoin ETF and crypto custody from Fidelity are the equivalent of, in 1999, allowing an Amazon ETF, or allowing investors to trade the stocks of those companies. It is not an indication of the power of the internet, and the value derived from using Amazon. While it is a step, we will look back on this time as the equivalent of getting on the “Internet” by logging into Compuserve and only having access to their services, but not to all the others in the world participating online. Eventually blockchain use will be the equivalent of being online, which we all are, all the time, without thinking about it. It won’t happen overnight, or with one announcement. Hopefully, the growth in value due to these TradFi steps will cause more investors, and more advisors to learn about the technology, and move us forward toward the ubiquitous use of blockchain technology.

All of this happened in crypto this week 👇 1️⃣ SEC approves spot Bitcoin ETFs. Marking a new era, the US SEC has approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETF applications on Wednesday. Trading began Thursday, January 11th, with the first day volume hitting above $5B. 2️⃣ Circle files confidentially for US IPO. The stablecoin issuer behind USDC has filed to go public in the US. The firm previously had a SPAC plan that fell through. At the time, it was valued at $9B. 3️⃣ Vanguard won’t offer spot Bitcoin ETFs. The $7T asset manager said that the spot Bitcoin ETFs are “highly speculative” and didn’t fit with the company’s long-term investing philosophy. The firm also said they have no plans to offer Vanguard Bitcoin ETFs. 4️⃣ Ripple initiates $285M share buyback, valuing the firm at $11B. Ripple Labs plans to buy back $285m worth of shares from its early investors in a transaction that will value the company at $11.3B. Early investors will only be able to sell 6% of their holdings. 5️⃣ Nomura unveils Polygon-powered tokenization platform. Called Libre protocol, the tokenization platform already has a few institutional heavyweight such as Brevan Howard and Hamilton Lane as its customers. 6️⃣ Paxos seeks PayPal stablecoin deployment on Aave. PayPal’s PYUSD plans to launch on Aave in a bid to boost PYUSD’s liquidity. This move came after PYUSD activation on Curve AMM in late December. The temperature check vote on Aave governance happened on January 11th. 7️⃣ CFTC urging a timely focus on DeFi. The agency’s advisory committee voted to submit a report that will urge work to understand DeFi and “advance its responsible and compliant development”. 8️⃣ Standard Chartered predicts $50-100B spot Bitcoin ETFs inflow in 2024. StanChart based its analysis on the impact that gold ETFs had on the asset class. As a result, the price of BTC could potentially soar to $200,000 by the end of 2025. 9️⃣ Apple pulls Binance, Kraken, and other crypto apps from India App Store. At least 9 crypto exchanges had been pulled off from Apple’s App Store in India. This move happened less than two weeks after these firms were flagged for operating ilegally in the country. 🔟 Genesis settles with NYDFS, will pay $8M fine and leave NY. The crypto prime brokerage subsidiary of DCG has reportedly given up its BitLicense and will pay a $8M fine as part of its settlement with the NYDFS. NYDFS stated the firm has failed to meet AML standards. --- 👨⚕️🧪 Read my free newsletter for the next best web3 products, strategies, and trends. Join 14,500+ web3 builders and investors at: https://lnkd.in/gnkk7Q6 #ethereum #bitcoin #ETFs #stablecoin #DeFi

All of this happened in crypto this week 👇 1️⃣ JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon criticizes crypto. The CEO of the largest US bank with $3.3T in asset stated that -if its up to him, he would close down crypto- ; he said this in remarks on Capital Hill during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. 2️⃣ Robinhood launches crypto trading app in Europe. The investment app is launching its crypto trading app in Europe. The app will go live with 25 tokens available to trade. It also offers to repay a percentage of customers’ trading volume each month in Bitcoin, as well as earning referral bonuses in Bitcoin. 3️⃣ Société Générale launches Euro-pegged stablecoin. Société Générale, which is France’s third-largest bank, has launched its native Euro-pegged stablecoin. Called EURCV, the stablecoin will be debuting on Luxembourg-based crypto exchange, Bitstamp. 4️⃣ Thiel-backed One Trading to launch a new crypto trading platform. One Trading, the crypto exchange that was a spin-off from Bitpanda exchange, will officially launch its new trading venue. The new exchanges promises a matching and risk engine that operates at less than 1 microsecond. 5️⃣ Coinbase Wallet enables users to send stablecoins on messaging apps. The publicly listed US exchange has announced changes to its decentralized wallet product that will enable users to send USDC via messaging apps like WhatsApp and iMessage. 6️⃣ Binance withdraws application to manage Abu Dhabi investment fund. The world’s largest crypto exchange has decided not to pursue a license to operate a collective investment fund in Abu Dhabi. The application was withdrawn on November 7, 2023. 7️⃣ Zodia Custody launches new product to connect institutional accounts. The Standard Chartered-backed crypto custody firm announced a new “network of networks” to link together different institutional crypto account. Called “Interchange Connect”,the network provides institutional investors a way to transfer crypto held at different custody firms such as Metaco, Fireblocks, Copper, and many more. 8️⃣ Mantle launches liquid staking protocol. Mantle, the Ethereum layer 2 protocol, has launched its own liquid-staking protocol (LSP). Called mETH, there’s now $220M in total value locked on the LSP. 9️⃣ SEC Delays Decision on Grayscale’s spot Ethereum ETF. The agency said it will push back the decision until January 2024 on whether the spot Ethereum ETF will be approved or not. The deadline might be pushed back even further on January 2024. 🔟 Franklin Templeton’s CEO comments on crypto and Bitcoin ETFs. The $1.5 trillion asset manager’s CEO commented on its crypto initiatives, including a blockchain-based registered mutual fund, a crypto-focused SMAs, and its current application for a spot Bitcoin ETF. --- #bitcoin #ethereum #coinbase 👨⚕️🧪 Read my free newsletter for the next best web3 products, strategies, and trends. Join 14,500+ web3 builders and investors at: https://lnkd.in/e8yTC9qA

▶ Sources: SEC head Gary Gensler said he is ready to approve one or more spot bitcoin ETFs from large financial firms The BTC dominance index may continue to rise as downside risks increase for many popular crypto-coins. This was reported by Markus Thielen of Matrixport. Earlier this week, the market share of the major cryptocurrency was again at a level exceeding 50%. For more than 2 years in a row, this figure was around 39-49%. And last June, against the backdrop of BlackRock's application to launch a bitcoin-based spot ETF, the cryptocurrency's dominance jumped to a 26-month high of 52%. A little later, the SEC received similar filings from Invesco, Fidelity Investments, WisdomTree and Valkyrie. The likelihood of approval for exchange-traded BTC funds has given industry participants hope for a serious influx of funds into the first cryptocurrency. Matrixport's head of research believes bitcoin is experiencing "potential buying pressure" due to the possible launch of ETFs. That said, altcoins are under pressure, Thielen reported. Among the threats to the trend, he cited a sell-off of assets of bankrupt FTX, falling revenues of the Ethereum protocol and likely unlockings that would help venture capitalists sell coins. "This year, BTC peaked in July and ETH peaked in April. All these bids [for ETFs] haven't really benefited altcoins or even ethereum," Thielen said. Macro analyst Noel Acheson believes there is another favorable factor for BTC - the New York Department of Financial Services' proposed listing rules for cryptocurrency platforms. We are talking about a stricter order of asset placement, while no regulatory problems are expected for bitcoin in this case. Another piece of information has surfaced online that could prove useful to bitcoin enthusiasts. Anonymous sources claim that SEC chief Gary Gensler has told his friends and advisors that he is ready to approve one or more spot bitcoin ETFs from major players. "An SEC insider said that Gary Gensler has told friends and advisers that he would like to gracefully get out of his 'personal Vietnam' by approving one or more spot bitcoin-ETFs from major fund companies where he hopes to get a job after leaving the agency," the sources claimed.

Weekend Reading!!! Hong Kong firm targets spot bitcoin ETF launch in first quarter https://lnkd.in/d9Uy_xGd Terraform Labs files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware https://lnkd.in/dNMbKggU Crypto funds saw outflows last week after debut of bitcoin ETFs https://lnkd.in/dieGFw2h FTX estate sold majority of bankrupt exchange’s Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares https://lnkd.in/dC2phbdz Global crypto owners increased 34% to 580 million by end of 2023, Crypto.com says in report https://lnkd.in/df3TFb_y Franklin Templeton expects its spot bitcoin ETF to gain traction as financial advisors become more familiar with product Bitcoin hovers just under $40,000 as market tracks Grayscale outflows https://lnkd.in/drM5hwVt SEC delays decision timeline for BlackRock's proposed spot Ethereum ETF to March https://lnkd.in/du6eyAXg Solana public blockchain targets enterprises, institutions with token functionality https://lnkd.in/dvaR-u4E Fidelity backed crypto firm EDX Markets passes $1bn a month, eyes Asia https://lnkd.in/dbaJguMb South Korean telecom giant KT shuts down NFT platform, citing business conditions https://lnkd.in/duzVG3wk BIS confirms tokenization project as part of six projects for 2024 https://lnkd.in/dHPb4fDT Singapore AXS users can make payments in digital currencies https://lnkd.in/d7xwwFW9 HGI launches first tokenized fund in Hong Kong https://lnkd.in/dAQVvT3g Julius Baer, Euroclear explore digital asset inheritance https://lnkd.in/d_3srhrP Deutsche Bank backed Taurus opens tokenized securities exchange TDX to retail investors https://lnkd.in/dq4YsHqm Canada proposes rules for funds investing in crypto https://lnkd.in/dawjqWXz The digital pound consultation will drop Thursday, UK official says https://lnkd.in/d4xrMbjP Sri Lanka plans proof of concept for CBDC https://lnkd.in/dpVDy4iK