Daily Crypto News

2023 Recap: • US judge rules XRP is not a security. • $10 trillion asset manager BlackRock officially files for a Spot Bitcoin & Ethereum ETF. • BlackRock CEO says crypto is digital gold and "Bitcoin is an international asset." • Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty on all charges. • Elon Musk tells advertisers who are trying to blackmail him to "go fu*k yourself." • Russia to use Chinese yuan instead of US dollars to settle trade with Asia, Africa, & Latin America. • FED Chair Jerome Powell says "crypto appears to have staying power as an asset class." • Changpeng Zhao (CZ) resigns as Binance CEO. • Coinbase relists Ripple XRP. • Chinese Yuan overtakes US dollar as most-used currency in China's cross-border transactions for the first time in history. • Saudi Arabia enters trade alliance with China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and four Central Asian nations to step further away from reliance on the US dollar. • Argentina President Javier Milei plans to replace the peso with the US Dollar and shut down the central bank. • Turkish crypto exchange CEO sentenced to 11,196 years in prison for stealing $2 billion in customer funds. • SEC drops lawsuit against Ripple XRP executives. • Crypto asset manager Grayscale wins lawsuit against SEC. • Coinbase sues the SEC, seeking regulatory clarity for the crypto industry. • El Salvador President officially signs bill eliminating all taxes on income, property, and capital gains for technology innovations. • Hong Kong court recognizes cryptocurrencies as property. • Chinese property giant Evergrande files for bankruptcy. • Terra founder Do Kwon arrested in Montenegro. • US Government arrests SafeMoon founders John Karony, Kyle Nagy & Thomas Smith. • BlackRock names JPMorgan as an authorized participant for its Spot Bitcoin ETF. • UK Government plans to establish new digital asset legislation and make the country a crypto hub.

The United States’ main securities regulator could inform spot Bitcoin ETF applicants of approval in the coming days, Reuters said on Dec. 29. According to that report, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may tell applicants on Tuesday, Jan. 2 or Wednesday, Jan. 3 that they have clearance to launch their exchange-traded funds. This would reportedly give those applicants time to prepare for launch on Jan. 10. The SEC must approve or reject an application from Ark/21Shares at that time but could also decide on other pending applications simultaneously. At least a dozen asset managers intend to offer a spot Bitcoin ETF on various exchanges including Nasdaq, Cboe BZX, and NYSE Arca. Reuters did not state which applicants are likely to receive approval but noted that several firms submitted amendments on Dec. 29 in line with a deadline for changes. Firms that submitted amendments then include BlackRock, VanEck, Valkyrie, Bitwise, Invesco, Fidelity, and WisdomTree; other firms including Ark Invest and Grayscale recently submitted amendments as well.