BitGo: Crypto Water Cooler — Dec 13
GM. It’s Wednesday, December 13.
Newsmakers
The SEC and Spot Bitcoin ETFs: Will They or Won’t They?
The U.S. SEC has received many applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF since 2013 and has rejected them all. But, when TradFi giant BlackRock filed an S-1 in June of this year, the combination of the firm’s industry stature and near perfect track record getting ETFs approved, and its novel proposal to use surveillance sharing agreements to address SEC concerns about market manipulation, sparked new hope.
That hope has sustained a market rally throughout the latter half of the year, buoyed by additional applications from a who’s who of crypto native and TradFi firms: Grayscale; 21Shares & Ark; Bitwise; VanEck; WisdomTree; Invesco & Galaxy; Fidelity; Valkyrie; Global X; Hashdex; and Franklin Templeton. An August district court ruling that ordered the SEC to revisit its “arbitrary and capricious” denial of Grayscale’s application to convert its Bitcoin Trust to an ETF has prompted the agency to give these applications serious consideration.
As the January 10 deadline for the SEC to take action on the 21Shares & Ark application approaches, speculation of a mass approval is running high. Analysts are busy tallying up how much money will flow into the market on the first day — and in the years to come. However, the outcome is far from certain.
The SEC could approve all of the applications, decline all, or approve some and decline others in a group action at any time. It could wait until the deadline for each application and decide them individually. And, it doesn’t have to make a final decision. All it has to do is take action, which could include asking 21Shares & Ark to withdraw the application and refile. It could even extend the deadline.
What we do know is that, in late November, the SEC disclosed that it had met with several money managers including BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, VanEck, Fidelity, Invesco, and 21Shares & Ark about their applications. According to Reuters, the discussions are about substantive issues that are often handled near the end of an application process, including “custody arrangements; creation and redemption mechanisms; and investor risk disclosures.” And, while past meetings have largely been with staff from the trading, markets, and corporate finance divisions, more recent ones have been held in Gary Gensler’s office.
As of mid-November, all but Franklin Templeton and Global X had filed amended applications. Ark & 21Shares has filed a third amended application, and VanEck on Monday filed a fifth amended application, changing their ticker symbol to HODL. BlackRock yesterday updated its application to allow banks to purchase shares with cash. The SEC has requested public comment on applications by Franklin Templeton and Hashdex. All indications are that a serious and detailed consideration is underway, but where it will land — and when — is still an open question.
Read more →Bitcoin Magazine
Stablecoins Are Having a Moment. Here’s Why.
As the price of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other top cryptocurrencies rally, stablecoins are quietly having a moment of their own. In perhaps another sign of crypto winter thawing, the overall stablecoin market cap has expanded for the first time since May of 2022. Data from Glassnode shows that the stablecoin supply increased by almost $5B over the past month to $124B.
Tether’s USDT, the long-time market leader, is driving the lion’s share of this expansion, adding $7B to its market cap since September largely at the expense of rivals. It has now reached an all-time high of over $90B. Its nearest rival, Circle’s USDC, had a circulating supply of over $40B as recently as February; this supply has fallen to $24B at time of writing. Binance’s BUSD has fallen from over $16B in February to just $1.5B today.
Meanwhile, new stablecoins from major fintech and TradFi players have entered the market. PayPal’s PYUSD launched in August; it has been greenlisted by the New York Department of Financial Services — a positive sign since the regulator has been actively delisting other coins. This week, Societe Generale, France’s third-largest bank, became the first regulated European bank to launch a Euro-denominated stablecoin on a crypto exchange; EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) trades on Bitstamp.
Meanwhile, new stablecoins from major fintech and TradFi players have entered the market. Societe Generale, France’s third-largest bank, became the first regulated European bank to launch a Euro-denominated stablecoin EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) on a crypto exchange — Bitstamp. In the U.S. PayPal’s PYUSD launched in August; it has been greenlisted by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Two coins supervised by NYDFS, Gemini’s GUSD and Pax’s USDP received a good rating in the newly released S&P Global stablecoin assessment.
Why now? Fintech and legacy financial players see an opportunity for stablecoins to bridge the gap between fiat and digital payment systems. The bigger story is that the market uptick has drawn new money into the digital asset ecosystem. Stablecoins can also serve as a place for market participants to park their money before converting it to other digital assets, so the influx is a bullish signal. Tanay Ved of CoinMetrics says, “This upward trend can be interpreted as a leading indicator of improving liquidity on-chain, suggesting an environment where more capital is available for deployment.”
Read more →CoinDesk
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks: Revolutionizing Phygital Connectivity?
Decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs) have the potential to transform the world by combining blockchain technology, Web3 decentralization, and crypto rewards in practical real-world applications for the common good. In theory, this could become a decentralized, democratized Internet of Things (IoT). Individuals owning IoT devices transmit data to blockchain protocols in exchange for crypto rewards. DePINs are starting to be used to build, maintain, and operate infrastructure. Currently, the “addressable market” for DePIN is valued at $2.2T with a potential of $3.5T by 2028.
Helium Network, which has nearly two hundred IoT nodes and more than one hundred installations of citizens broadband radio service in NW Arkansas, is a prime example of a DePIN system. Per the CEO of Helium Foundation, Abhay Kumar, use cases include LimeLoop, which uses Helium’s tracking abilities for reusable packaging. Another company monitors exotic car parts as they’re being shipped. In Portugal’s Green Metrics initiative, Helium helped with real-time flood tracking.
German sensor maker Bosch is also exploring DePIN’s potential. They’ve created a small device — the Bosch XDK110 Rapid Prototyping Kit — that can collect data on weather conditions, noise pollution, seismic activity, and light emissions. Each device contains a unique digital identifier that permits interaction with the peaq network. Participants who deploy the sensor can earn crypto rewards by providing data to peaq; rewards can be settled on Fetch.ai, peaq, Polkadot, and — through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs) — on Web2 systems.
MapMetrics is also partnering with peaq, using DePIN in their Solana-compatible navigation app that resembles Google Maps but enhances user privacy.
Read more →Techopedia
News In Brief
领英推荐
Regulation and Security
Business of Crypto
DeFi and Web3
Midweek Market Pulse
Total Market Cap: $1.56T — 7 day change as of Tuesday 12/11/23 Noon EST: +0.0%
Bitcoin (BTC, -6.4%) took a breather after several weeks of upward price action, but the global crypto market cap held its ground at $1.56T as resurgent alt coins picked up the slack. The top digital asset cooled off after a run that took it from below $27,000 in mid-October to a peak above $44,000 on December 9th. On Monday, it endured one of its biggest one-day losses of the year, erasing what had previously been a weekly gain. The selloff begat more selling; futures traders lost $475MM in leveraged long bets and $73MM in short positions on Bitcoin, Ethereum (-4.6%), and other cryptos. Bitcoin is still up over 12% over the past month and nearly 150% year to date.
Avalanche (AVAX, +53.1%) was the week’s major winner and is now up over 97% over the past month. Network volume surged to a nine-month high, as did TVL, which now stands at $937MM, an increase of 46.4% over the past month and a 66% over the past three months. DeFi protocols on Avalanche like Benqi (QI, +253.9%) and Trader Joe (JOE, +24.5%) have seen their TVLs surge, contributing to the network’s rising TVL. There is also likely some element of FOMO as traders who saw Solana’s (SOL, +10.8%) massive run are betting on another fast and cheap proof-of-stake blockchain with rising DeFi activity. CoinShares reports that Institutional funds continue to flow into products that give investors exposure to both Solana and Avalanche.
Other major alt coins like Cardano (ADA, +34.8%) and Polkadot (DOT, +18.7%) also joined the rally in emphatic fashion.
The Last Word
Surveillance Sharing Agreement (SSA)
Noun
: agreement between a crypto exchange and a regulatory body or market surveillance provider
/ An SSA would allow the surveilling body to monitor actions of the crypto exchange to detect and prevent misconduct.
About BitGo
BitGo provides the most secure and scalable solutions for the digital asset economy, offering regulated custody, borrowing and lending, and core infrastructure to investors and builders alike.
Founded in 2013 — the early days of crypto — BitGo pioneered the multi-signature wallet and later built TSS to improve upon other companies’ MPC offerings. Between multi-sig and TSS, BitGo offers the safest technology on the market and safeguards over 600 tokens across a wide variety of blockchains.
Over the years, BitGo has expanded from offering wallets into providing a full-suite solution that lets clients hold assets safely and then put them to work.
BitGo launched BitGo Trust Company in 2018, providing fully regulated, qualified cold storage to complement BitGo Inc’s original hot wallet solution. In 2020, BitGo launched BitGo Prime, which allows its clients to trade, borrow, and lend. Moreover, BitGo also provides access to DeFi, staking, NFT wallets, and beyond, and serves as the world’s sole custodian for WBTC, or wrapped Bitcoin.
Today, BitGo is the leader in digital asset security, custody, and liquidity, providing the operational backbone for more than 1500 institutional clients in over 50 countries — a list that includes many regulated entities and the world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms. BitGo also processes approximately 20% of all global Bitcoin transactions by value.
For more information, please visit www.bitgo.com.
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