HUGE: Grayscale's victory against the SEC paves the way for Spot Bitcoin ETF approval ??; The NFT bubble has finally burst ??

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1. The Ultimate Due Diligence Checklist Template ? [use this to streamline the critical DD process & execute smart]
2. Apple should have bought Goldman Sachs’ PFM unit. Here’s why ?? [where’s the value at + lots of deeper dives]
3. License secured: Elon Musk’s ?? is building a crypto wallet ??
4. Robinhood keeps delivering one good news after the other ??
5. Klarna is turning the world pink ????
6. JPMorgan aims to tap into one of the world's largest retail banking markets ??
7. Two more reasons to be bullish about Coinbase ??
8. FinTech M&A is accelerating: 2 deals in 1 day ??

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Last week (28 August - 1 September) was another interesting and intense week in the world of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency. We will look at Grayscale's legal victory that paves the way for Spot Bitcoin ETF approval (it’s a huge win with huge implications); the NFT bubble that has finally burst (in retrospect, it was inevitable), and other interesting news and developments.

Without further ado, let us dive into what happened in the Blockchain & Crypto sector last week. Let’s connect the dots.

HUGE: Grayscale's victory against the SEC paves the way for Spot Bitcoin ETF approval ??

The news?? Asset manager Grayscale Investments has emerged victorious in its lawsuit against the?U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission?(SEC).?

Grayscale’s legal victory regarding the conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a monumental development for the cryptocurrency industry.

Let’s take a look.

More on this ?? In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered the SEC to review and explain its previous rejection of Grayscale's ETF application. The court stated the SEC failed to adequately justify why it approved bitcoin futures ETFs but denied Grayscale's spot bitcoin ETF given the similarities between the two.

Following the positive news of Grayscale's lawsuit victory, Bitcoin experienced a surge in price. BTC jumped immediately from $26.2k to $27.5k.?

?? THE TAKEAWAY

BIG win with BIG implications ?? This is a precedent-setting ruling that opens the door for the likely approval of not only GBTC's conversion to an ETF but also other spot bitcoin ETF applications by major financial institutions like Fidelity and BlackRock. The elimination of GBTC's discount could pour billions into Bitcoin and validate it as a mature investable asset class. Zooming out, this also means greater mainstream adoption, less volatility, and more regulatory clarity for cryptocurrencies. ETF approval may also influence the SEC to become more accommodating toward other crypto-based investment vehicles. This favorable ruling affirms the maturation of Bitcoin as an investable asset. Bullish.

ICYMI: BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF: a game-changer or just hype? ??

More Big names follow BlackRock in filing for a Bitcoin ETF ??

The NFT bubble has finally burst ??

Bye-bye?? NFT platform?Recur?is?shutting down?less than 2 years after securing $50 million in Series A funding at a valuation of $333 million.

NFT startup attributed its decision to the challenges of the crypto winter, despite hosting major brand IPs like Hello Kitty and Nickelodeon.

More on this ?? Recur was established in 2021 as a provider of Web3 "building blocks" for creating in-game assets, loyalty programs, and collectibles utilizing NFTs.

It has secured promising partnerships with Hello Kitty and Nickelodeon characters like Tommy Pickles, yet Recur's ambitions have been curtailed.

Over the coming months, the core features of Recur's platform, including NFT withdrawals, stablecoin cash-outs, and collectible trading on their marketplaces, will gradually phase out. The company acknowledged these difficulties were unexpected and mentioned shifts in the business landscape.

?? THE TAKEAWAY

We can call it? ?? The NFT market's recent setbacks are perfectly exemplified by Recur's announcement, as the popularity of digital collectibles dwindles. Recur’s cited "unforeseen challenges and shifts in the business landscape" are coinciding almost 1:1 with a significant decline in the NFT market. Over the past year, NFT sales on?Ethereum?declined from a peak of over $4.9 billion to around $272 million. Ouch. It seems to be official now and I’m going to call it - the NFT bubble has finally exploded. Let’s now focus on building truly valuable stuff & solving real problems ??

Extra Reads & Quick Bites for Curious Minds ??

• Rising fees on the horizon? ?? Visa and Mastercard have been rumored to increase the fees that many merchants pay when they accept customers’ credit cards. According to The Wall Street Journal, credit card companies are planning to implement fee increases starting in October and April. These increases primarily target online purchases, potentially resulting in US merchants paying an additional $502M in fees each year. CMSPI, a consulting company working with merchants, estimated that network fees would account for slightly over half of this revenue, while the remainder would come from interchange fees, also known as swipe fees. ICYMI: The Finance Giants: Visa vs. Mastercard ??
• Former OpenSea Head of Product Sentenced to Three Months in Prison for Insider NFT Trading ?? Chastain's role involved selecting NFTs to be prominently displayed on OpenSea 's platform. He was found guilty of exploiting his insider knowledge to profit from trading NFTs featured on OpenSea's homepage. He was charged with generating illicit gains of more than $50,000 through insider trading of NFTs by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice. This was the first time that digital assets were used in an insider trading scheme. The charges carried a potential sentence of up to 20 years for each offense. While Chastain's lawyers argued that NFTs are not securities and that the information he used wasn't confidential, the court disagreed and allowed the case to proceed to trial.

Money Moves ??

• San Francisco-based crypto-native fund?Momentum Capital?has secured a $10M?investment from Canada's?BM Fund.
• Digital payments and commerce provider across the MEA region Network International has invested EGP 1 billion to accelerate economic development in Egypt.
• Germany-based Ivy, a company offering a global API for instant bank payments, has secured $20M in a Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures.

Continue reading by subscribing to Linas's Newsletter. You will receive fresh news about FinTech with hot takeaways every day.

P.S. You might enjoy my earlier pieces as well:

?? Top 10 FinTech predictions for 2023 ??

?? Top banking trends to watch in 2023 ??

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About: I am a business developer, sales professional, FinTech strategist, as well as Cryptocurrency and Blockchain enthusiast. I'm highly passionate about Financial Technology and Digital Innovation, and strongly believe that it will change the world for the better. Apart from my daily job at a global payments startup where I'm leading the company's expansion into Europe, I'm an active member of the FinTech community and a TechFin evangelist.

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