BTC jumps to $30K on false spot ETF rumors - JP Morgan debuts blockchain collateral settlement

Top crypto market headlines:

• Secret audio, a star witness, and ‘Thai prostitutes’ complicate Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense - 10/15/23 (link)
• Chinese bitcoin mines in US spark national security concerns: NYT - 10/13/23 (link)
• BlockFi CEO points finger at Alameda, FTX for collapse of crypto lender during testimony at SBF trial - 10/13/23 (link)
• U.S. SEC does not plan to appeal court decision on Grayscale bitcoin ETF, source says - 10/13/23 (link)
• Terraform Labs contends Citadel Securities had a hand in its stablecoin collapse - 10/13/23 (link)
• Genesis Halts Withdrawals After Court Orders to Pay $175M to FTX - 10/12/23 (link)
• Ether could reach $8,000 by end-2026, says Standard Chartered Bank - 10/11/23 (link)
• JPMorgan Debuts Blockchain Collateral Settlement in BlackRock-Barclays Trade - 10/11/23 (link)
• Binance's $1 billion crypto recovery fund deployed less than $30 million: Bloomberg - 10/10/23 (link)
• Coinbase, OKX and Binance partner with UK firms as regulations come into force - 10/9/23 (link)

The Week Ahead:

Tuesday 10/17:

• Unemployment Rate AUG?(UK)
• Retail Sales MoM SEP?(US)

Wednesday 10/18:

• GDP Growth Rate YoY Q3?(China)
• Retail Sales YoY SEP?(China)
• Inflation Rate YoY SEP?(UK)
• Building Permits Prel SEP?(US)

Thursday 10/19:

• Balance of Trade SEP?(Japan)
• Fed Chair Powell Speech (US)

Friday 10/20:

• Inflation Rate YoY SEP (Japan)
• Retail Sales MoM SEP?(UK)

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Weekly Insights Report:

Another week, another weird crypto incident! BTC today jumped to $30K before falling back to $28K within minutes after a false tweet by Cointelegraph stated that the SEC approved BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF. The incident led to over $100 million in short/long liquidations in less than an hour. BlackRock immediately confirmed that the report was false.?

The SEC chose not to challenge the federal court's decision favoring Grayscale Investments, thereby allowing the asset manager to convert the Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an ETF. It will also likely enable it to review applications from asset managers like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Invesco, who also have pending applications for similar products.

JP Morgan has launched its Tokenized Collateral Network, a blockchain-based application for investors to transfer assets on-chain after depositing collateral backing them. It recently made its first trade with BlackRock by turning shares of a money market fund into tokens for an OTC trade. The platform is designed to improve transaction efficiency and security and allows quicker collateral movement than traditional methods.

Here are the major highlights from star witness Caroline Ellison’s appearance in court last week regarding SBF’s trial:

• Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison told the court that SBF “directed [her] to commit these crimes” and transfer $14 billion of FTX customers' funds to SBF’s hedge fund;?
• Ellison said Alameda Research had a net asset value of negative $2.7 billion in 2021;
• FTX paid a $150 million bribe to a Chinese official to release frozen trading accounts;
• SBF tried Thai sex worker wallets to unlock frozen funds before bribing Chinese officials;
• She said SBF told her there was a 5% chance he would become President of the United States one day…
• Ellison was asked to prepare 7 different balance sheets (with differing balances) to support Alameda’s loans;
• SBF wanted to raise capital from Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman;
• SBF wanted to get regulators to “crack down” on Binance.

Chinese Bitcoin mines in the U.S. have sparked national security concerns, with one located near a Microsoft data center supporting the Pentagon and an Air Force nuclear missile base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Several mines are linked to the Chinese Communist Party or state-owned entities, often concealed behind shell companies, The New York Times reported. Many of the facilities were set up after China's 2021 mining ban.

In other news, Genesis has been ordered by a US bankruptcy court to pay a $175 million settlement to FTX after a legal dispute resulting from FTX's bankruptcy. This settlement was in response to FTX’s allegations that Genesis owed $3.9 billion to the firm from both loans and withdrawals it had made. Tether, the issuer of USDT, has announced the appointment of Paolo Ardoino as CEO. Former CEO Jean-Louis van der Velde will transition to an advisory role, retaining his position as CEO of Bitfinex.?

On a weekly basis, BTC is down by 2.8% and ETH is down by 4.6%.?

Other major crypto headlines:

• Tether Promotes Paolo Ardoino to CEO - 10/13/23 (link)
• CFTC charges Voyager co-founder Stephen Ehrlich with fraud - 10/12/23 (link)
• Uniswap launches Android wallet beta for Google Play - 10/12/23 (link)
• BlockFi Bankruptcy Judge Says He Wants 3AC’s $284M Claim Resolved in Mediation - 10/10/23 (link)
• Bitfinex Crypto Exchange Owner Makes $150 Million Share Buyback Offer to Hack Victims - 10/10/23 (link)

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