Crypto Weekly Roundup: SEC Delays Spot BTC ETF Decisions And More

The SEC’s reluctance to approve spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds has become even more evident, as the agency has pushed back the deadline for its decision on the applications filed by BlackRock and other investment firms. Let’s find out more. 

Ethereum

A cohort of Ethereum staking providers has concurred on a self-imposed limit of 22% of all staked Ether (ETH) to thwart the growing concerns of centralization within the Ethereum network.

Blockchain data indications have revealed that 1inch Investment Fund, the investment arm of 1inch Network, recently acquired a substantial amount of Ether on its crypto wallet.

OnlyFans’ parent company, Fenix International, revealed that between 2021 and 2022, they had purchased almost $20 million of Ether.

DeFi

MakerDAO CEO Rune Christensen has proposed using Solana’s codebase as the foundation for the protocol’s future blockchain, NewChain. 

Instadapp has announced a new offering from their product lineup, Avocado Multisig, a multi-chain multisig wallet that will serve individual crypto enthusiasts to large financial institutions.

Altcoins

Binance exchange has decided to wind down support for its widely recognized stablecoin, BUSD, next year in collaboration with Paxos.

Worldcoin registered a record number of single-day sign-ups in Argentina, a country known for its enthusiasm for crypto and tech innovation. 

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire has announced that its USDC stablecoin will launch natively on the Base Network next week. 

Technology

Blockchain developer Offchain Labs has introduced a new technical implementation called Arbitrum Stylus to support smart contract development in multiple languages. 

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has shared ten emerging ideas in the crypto space that excite him, adding that he wants to put these ideas “out in the ecosystem.” 

Despite initial challenges towards the end of Q1 2023 due to an exploit in the Hedera mainnet, HBAR has seen a surge and is heading for a $1.15 billion token unlock. 

Business

Crypto wallet Argent is working with blockchain partner Starknet to launch a startup incubator, Hito Studios, to allow developer teams to build startups on the latter’s Layer-2 network.

Decentralized lending platform Nexo has announced the launch of a new Mastercard with features tailored for crypto users in the European Economic Area (EEA).

Crypto exchange Binance has set up a dedicated Polish entity that will comply with Belgian regulations to cater to its Belgian clients. 

Elon Musk’s X has received the Rhode Island Currency Transmission License, clearing the way for the platform to provide crypto payments and trading services.

BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset management companies, has invested in four of the five largest Bitcoin miners by market capitalization.

BJ Investment Holdings, the parent company of the Hit Network that controls BitBoy Crypto, has announced that it has severed ties with YouTuber and Influencer Ben Armstrong. 

A mere three weeks post-launch, the decentralized social platform Friend.tech is facing intense scrutiny as key performance metrics have dwindled, leading many to pronounce it as a “dead” platform.

Regulation

The SEC has stated that it is delaying its decision on spot bitcoin applications until at least mid-October. 

In a filing to the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey, BlockFi requested authorization to convert “trade only” assets to stablecoins.

The EOS Network Foundation has announced that it has been granted whitelist approval by the Japan Virtual and Crypto Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA).

United States District Court Judge Katherine Polk Failla has dismissed the class action suit against the decentralized exchange Uniswap, calling ETH a commodity in the dismissal order. 

The Sultanate of Oman has embraced crypto, announcing the investment of millions in cryptocurrency mining operations.

dYdX founder Antonio Juliano has suggested that the crypto space should “give up” on the US markets for the next five to ten years and focus on other markets.

Web3

Google Cloud has announced a seven-year partnership with the government of El Salvador to digitize governmental processes, along with the healthcare and education sectors.

The crypto exchange OKX is planning to enter India for its next Web3 initiative by hiring local developers and talent to expand its team. 

Digital technology, particularly innovations like Web3 and blockchain, is the driving force behind the transformation of the entertainment industry in Hong Kong. 

Security

Hapless Brazilian YouTuber Ivan Bianco accidentally revealed his wallet seed phrases on a livestream, resulting in him losing all his crypto worth around $60K. 

Ethereum automated market maker (AMM) Balancer has put out an official disclosure to confirm that it had been exploited for approximately $900,000. 

Magnate Finance, a lending and borrowing protocol that operates on the Ethereum Layer-2 network Base, has apparently orchestrated a rug pull, stealing millions from protocol users. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.