This week was full of hustle, anticipation, and excitement as many major developments came into existence and one of the major eye-capturing events was the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETF by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This approval news circulated tremendously on social media sites despite this many other major things happened in the crypto space this week. So, in this article, we will study the roundup news of this week.
SEC Issued FOMO
The week started with the news of the SEC which issued a warning against FOMO, right ahead of Spot Bitcoin ETF approval. In a Friday tweet, regulators issued a warning no go to “FOMO” to cautious investors not make any investment just based on high speculations. There was high anticipation among the investors this week due to Bitcoin ETFs and this also resulted in a temporary surge in Bitcoin price which recently crossed almost $48k during approval time.
Upbit Singapore Secured License from MAS
The largest crypto exchange in South Korea Upbit secured a major institution license (MPI) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The news was announced on January 08 on the Upbit website. MPI license will facilitate institutions to provide crypto and fiat-related services. This proved to be a major expansion of Upbit with enhanced security.
BlackRock Decided to Lay off 600 Employees
During the high speculative mode of spot Bitcoin ETF approval, financial giant Blackrock took a massive step by announcing a workforce reduction of approximately 3% which sadly affected 600 employees. This was part of the company’s strategy to reallocate resources and maintain speed with technological changes.
Valkyrie, Wisdomtree, Invesco/Galaxy, iShares, Ark/21Shares, and VanEck, submitted updated S1-filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the launch of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This comes as there was final countdown began for Spot Bitcoin ETF approval. This same week BlackRock and VanEck submitted their revised application for spot Bitcoin ETF. The revised application consisted of several raised during the initial commentary phase. Many of them reduced their fees during this time when BlackRock was charging 0.3%.
Standard Chartered Predicted $50 to $100 Million Trading Inflows
When the bitcoin ETF approval was near, many prominent industry experts and analysts predicted its high surge and some of them warned investors to be cautious during the time due to high volatility. Standard Chartered also anticipated that Bitcoin inflows could be $50 million to $100 million. The reason behind this prediction was approval of spot bitcoin ETFs provides institutional investors with a regulated and secure way to invest in Bitcoin and another reason was approval facilitates retail investors with a way to invest in Bitcoin.
US CPI inflation surges to 3.4% in December
The United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) has recorded a substantial uprise, reaching 3.4% in December. This figure exceeds the previous month’s high of 3.1%, marking a significant uptick in inflation that has caught the attention of financial markets.
SEC Twitter Account Hack
When all the people of the crypto industry were holding their breath and were eagerly waiting for spot Bitcoin ETF approval. Then there was false news that shocked the whole crypto industry that Bitcoin had been approved and after some time, it was confirmed that the SEC’s Twitter account had been hacked. The news that was published was false, and this news shocked the whole industry.
All the spot Bitcoin ETF Applications were approved
On January 11 Securities and Exchange Commission approved all Bitcoin ETF applications after long chaos and endless debate. At once approved all eleven (11) spot applications that were filed by ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Valkyrie, BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex, and Franklin Templeton.
South Koreans Continue Ban On Crypto
Spot Bitcoin ETF approval gained tremendous popularity within the crypto industry but this has not impressed Korean regulators as they continue the crypto ban. The reason behind this crucial step is regulators said they don’t want any short-term benefits that might risk investors’ investments. They indicated some concerns like illegal fund outflows, money laundering, and speculative nature that lead to false hope.
Do Kown Ask for Delay in SEC Fraud Case
This news came as a new development as Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, requested a delay of his trial in the United States District Court, shifting the original date from January 29 to March 2024. The reason behind seeking a delay, he explained he wanted to stand trial in person.
Circle Files for IPO
Circle creator of USDC stablecoin filed for IPO. The company filed a draft S-1 document with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), paving the way for a potential initial public offering (IPO).
So, these are all breaking news of the week and among them, Spot Bitcoin ETF approval created a buzz in the crypto world.
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