WuBlockchain Weekly: Spot Bitcoin ETF Resolution Delayed and Top10 News

1. SEC Delays Decision on Seven Spot Bitcoin ETFs Including BlackRock and Fidelity link

On September 1st, according to TheBlock, the SEC announced on Thursday that it would delay decisions on seven applications for physically-backed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) due to the agency’s recent review of a large number of applications. The decision deadline for Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust has also been extended to October 16th; the decision deadlines for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust Fund, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust Fund, VanEck Bitcoin Trust Fund, WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust Fund, and Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF have been extended to October 17th; Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund has been postponed to October 19th.

2. Court Orders SEC to Review Grayscale GBTC Conversion to ETF Decision link

On August 29th, a U.S. court ruled that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must review its decision on allowing Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to convert to an ETF. Previously, the SEC had rejected Grayscale’s application. This ruling is seen as a positive signal for the cryptocurrency market, leading to short-term price increases in cryptocurrencies and short-term options. However, it does not automatically mean that GBTC will convert into a spot ETF.

On August 31st, according to Bloomberg, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein stated that the company’s need to resubmit an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pending final authorization and operational procedures. This authorization is expected to be issued within 45 days of the ruling.

3. Binance’s Weekly Summary

a. Binance Contemplates Full Exit from Russian Market link

On August 29th, according to The Wall Street Journal, Binance is reevaluating its operations in Russia, including the possibility of a complete exit from the market. A spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal, “All options are on the table, including a complete exit.” Previously, Binance had halted its P2P services to sanctioned Russian banks.

b. Binance’s Head of Asia-Pacific, Leon Foong, Resigns link

On August 31st, according to Bloomberg citing sources, Leon Foong, the Head of Binance Asia-Pacific, has resigned. In recent months, several top executives at Binance, including its Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillman and Chief Legal Officer Hon Ng, have resigned following increased regulatory scrutiny and enforcement actions by authorities in the United States and Australia over alleged regulatory violations.

c. Binance Announces Phased Withdrawal of Support for BUSD link

On August 31st, Binance issued an announcement stating that due to Paxos ceasing the issuance of new BUSD tokens, Binance will gradually cease support for BUSD. Users are encouraged to convert their BUSD assets into other assets supported on the Binance platform before February 2024. Users can trade their BUSD assets for FDUSD on the Binance spot market or flash pool trading platform.

d. Binance Launches New Service ‘Send Cash’ in Latin America link

On August 30th, Binance launched a new platform in Latin America called “Send Cash.” This platform allows users to transfer cryptocurrencies across nine Latin American countries using Binance Pay. With the assistance of licensed transfer processing providers, users can have funds directly deposited into their bank accounts, enabling them to send money to family and friends more conveniently. The platform was initially rolled out in Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Argentina, Costa Rica, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Mexico.

e. Binance Mining Pool Launches Ordinals Engraving Service link

On August 31st, Binance Mining Pool launched the Ordinals engraving service. With this feature, users can append additional data to individual satoshis, creating digital art stored on the Bitcoin blockchain. Additionally, users need to have a Taproot address before using this service.

4. HashKey Opens Retail Trading, Plans to List HKD Pairs in the Coming Weeks link

On August 28th, HashKey Exchange, a licensed exchange in Hong Kong, opened BTC/USD and ETH/USD trading pairs to retail investors and also started supporting deposits and withdrawals. Currently, users can trade on all pairs with zero trading fees.

The platform currently supports deposits and withdrawals in Hong Kong dollars (HKD), and users can use these for KYC verification. HashKey Exchange announced on August 31st that it does not yet support trading on HKD trading pairs but will be launching HKD trading pairs in the coming weeks.

5. New Cryptocurrency Travel Rules in the UK Are Now in Effect link

On September 1st, the new cryptocurrency travel rules in the UK came into effect. Cryptocurrency businesses in the UK may now begin to temporarily withhold certain crypto transfers to comply with the new crypto travel rules, which were developed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June 2019 and were legislatively implemented in the UK in July 2022.

Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in the UK are required to collect, verify, and share information on all transfers involving over 1,000 euros (EUR) in value. If they receive incoming payments from individuals or entities in overseas jurisdictions that have not yet implemented travel rules, VASPs must conduct a “risk-based assessment” to determine whether to provide cryptocurrency to the beneficiary. These rules also apply to UK individuals wishing to make payments abroad. Other countries that have adopted travel rules include the United States, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, Canada, South Africa, the Netherlands, and Estonia.

6. Omani Government Announces Nearly $800 Million New Investment in Crypto Mining Business link

In August, the Omani government made an announcement of a substantial investment amounting to nearly $800 million in the cryptocurrency mining sector. This investment encompasses a significant transaction valued at $300 million with the Abu Dhabi-based Phoenix Group, aimed at the development of a robust 150-megawatt cryptocurrency mining facility. Additionally, they have allocated $370 million for the establishment of a fresh cryptocurrency mining hub within the Salalah Free Zone, with plans to deploy 15,000 mining machines by October.

7. Animoca Brands Releases 2022 Financial Report: Holds $2.26 Billion in Crypto Assets link

On August 28th, Animoca Brands unveiled its financial report for the year 2022, which revealed that as of December 31, 2022, Animoca Brands held a total of $2.26 billion in cryptocurrency assets. This encompassed cash and stablecoin balances amounting to $191 million, as well as liquid digital assets valued at $469 million. Furthermore, it included an off-balance sheet token reserve of $1.6 billion belonging to all other Web3 subsidiary companies held by Animoca Brands. In comparison to the close of the previous year, Animoca Brands has witnessed remarkable growth in its cryptocurrency assets, surging by $1.2 billion to reach a total of $3.46 billion by April 30, 2023.

8. OnlyFans Report: Bought $19.9 Million Worth of ETH, Experienced an $8.45 Million Impairment link

The popular subscription platform OnlyFans witnessed a remarkable surge in its annual revenue for the year 2022, experiencing a growth of 17%, reaching a total of $1.1 billion. Moreover, the company’s pre-tax profits soared by 21%, reaching an impressive figure of $525 million. In its financial report, the company revealed that it had strategically allocated a portion of its funds towards the acquisition of the cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH). According to the financial data provided, OnlyFans had acquired Ethereum valued at $19.889 million. As of November 30, 2022, the purchased Ethereum had incurred a depreciation of $8.455 million, reflecting an adjusted book value of $11.434 million.

9. AML Expert: Tornado Cash Accusations Seem to Focus on the User Interface, Not the Smart Contracts link

On August 30th, according to Coindesk, Craig Timm, a senior executive at the American Association of Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, indicated that the Department of Justice seemed to emphasize that the issue lay with the Tornado Cash user interface rather than the smart contract itself. It appears that charges might be less likely to be filed if there is no user interface. However, on the other hand, the indictment emphasized that the defendant profited from the TORN tokens used in the operation of Tornado Cash services. It even discussed the necessity of artificially inflating the price of TORN and converting held TORN tokens into stablecoins. This represents a significant blow to the defendant, providing a compelling argument to the jury that they were not merely engaged in software development but were driven by profit motives.

10. Recent Week Sees High Crypto Outflows and Lowest NFT Trading Volume in Two Years

a. Crypto Investment Products Witness Highest Weekly Outflow of $168 Million in the Past Three Months link

CoinShares’ report reveals that in the past week (Week 34 of 2023, from August 20th to August 26th), there was a total outflow of funds from digital asset investment products amounting to $168 million, marking the largest outflow since March of this year. Specifically, Bitcoin investment products saw an outflow of $149 million, while Ethereum investment products had an outflow of $16.8 million. Furthermore, the total outflow from digital asset investment products in August 2023 amounted to $278 million.

b. Last Week’s Total NFT Market Trading Volume Hits a New Two-Year Low at Around $73.2 Million link

According to the @hildobby_ data panel, in the past week (from August 21st to August 27th), the total trading volume in the global NFT market was approximately $73.2 million, marking a new low in the past two years. Additionally, the number of NFT trading users across the entire network has been fluctuating around 50,000 in recent weeks, also reaching the lowest levels in nearly two years.

Fundraising

IronMill has successfully completed a $2.6 million Pre-Seed round of financing with gumi Cryptos Capital as the lead investor. link
Web3 marketing startup DeForm secured $4.6 million in seed funding with Kindred Ventures as the lead investor. link
The metaverse construction project STELSI announced the completion of a strategic financing round led by NGC Ventures. link
NFT startup FirstMate raised $3.75 million in funding with Dragonfly Capital as the lead investor. link
DRiP completed a $3 million seed round of financing with participation from Placeholder and others. link
Tancang Technology secured a Pre-Series A round of financing in the tens of millions of dollars, with China Mobile Capital leading the investment. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.