August 2023

The days since Grayscale’s critical court win against the SEC have seen the company face challenges and opportunities. On Aug. 29, a court ruled that the SEC must reconsider Grayscale’s application to transform its GBTC fund into a spot Bitcoin ETF, overturning the SEC’s initial denial on grounds that the decision was “arbitrary and capricious,” […]

The post Grayscale’s AUM soars after court win, but it faces stiff competition in ETF markets appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Quick Take Bitcoin’s ecosystem has witnessed an intriguing trend as the number of unique entities, alternatively known as ‘whales’ in the crypto world, holding a minimum of 1,000 Bitcoin has reached a year-to-date (YTD) high. An estimated 1,611 entities now hold 1,000 or more Bitcoin, a figure that has risen by approximately 500 since June. […]

The post Bitcoin whales make waves by snapping up more coins despite summer price stabilization appeared first on CryptoSlate.

As the crypto market heads toward another Bitcoin halving expected to trigger a bull market, crypto founders are gearing up to start launching their startups in a more profitable climate. If you are one of these startup founders interested in crypto, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has outlined 10 ideas that would lead to profitable businesses. […]

Thailand to give every citizen 10,000 baht in crypto, Delio users unlikely to recover all funds, Vietnam is world’s No.1 country for crypto.

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industrys most important developments.

Thailand’s crypto UBI

Thailand has a national airdrop in the works under which every citizen 16 years and older receives 10,000 baht ($285).

According to local news reports on Aug. 30, Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai party will consult the Bank of Thailand in developing a “utility type 1” token necessary for the airdrop. The solution will be a Know Your Customer blockchain-based infrastructure that sources say will take at least six months to roll out. A 100 baht fee will also be charged per user for the KYC process. In addition, the solution will require the approval of the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission.

Real estate developer and crypto investor Srettha Thavisin was elected as Thailands prime minister on Aug. 22. During campaigning, Thavisin promised to give each person 10,000 baht in basic income stimulus via digital currency” if elected into power. In 2021, Thavisins firm, Sansiri, purchased a 15% stake in Thai asset tokenization provider X Spring for 1.6 billion baht ($45.7 million).

The Thailand Development and Research Institute said funding for the Thavisin Airdrop will come from tax collection in the 2024 fiscal year. The total budget estimate for the project is 560 billion baht ($16 billion).

The airdrop will not be equivalent to fiat baht funds, however. Users reportedly can only spend the digitized tokens within four kilometers of their residence. The tokens will only be valid for a period of six months and cannot be converted into cash or used to settle debts. Thavisins government is expected to assume office by the end of September.

Delio users assets slashed in half

More bad news is coming for users of troubled South Korean Bitcoin lender Delio. 

According to local news reports on Aug. 30, the South Korean crypto lending giant, which holds over $1.2 billion in Bitcoin and Ether, is expecting a recovery rate of just 50% to 70% on its assets. On June 14, Delio suspended deposits and withdrawals after disclosing significant counterparty exposure to fellow South Korean Bitcoin lender Haru Invest.

On June 13, Haru Invest also suspended deposits and withdrawals after allegations of fraudulent activities arose surrounding its operator, B&S Holdings. Haru Invest is currently in bankruptcy proceedings. Likewise, Delio is currently under investigation by the countrys regulatory authorities for allegations of fraud, embezzlement and breach of trust. The platform previously announced that it would resume withdrawals, although no updates on such a timeline have since been given.

Vietnams booming crypto market

Vietnam is currently ranked first in the world in crypto adoption, with up to 19% of its population between the ages of 18 and 64 using digital assets.

Thats according to an Aug. 30 report authored by Vietnamese venture capital firms Kyros Ventures and Coin 68, together with Animoca Brands. Currently, the Southeast Asian country is the home to around 200 blockchain projects and is expected to generate $109.4 million in revenue from crypto exchanges this year. The countrys crypto users are forecast to grow to 12.37 million by 2027.

Among the highlights, 76% of Vietnamese crypto users say that they invest in digital assets based on advice from friends, a number 2.5 times higher than individuals surveyed in the U.S. Nearly 70% of respondents said the crypto bear market would last less than one year or has already ended. Almost half of respondents say that centralized exchanges offer just as much utility as decentralized ones, but 90% of crypto owners use decentralized exchanges.

Binance Japan to list 100 coins

On Aug. 30, Tsuyoshi Chino, CEO of Binance Japan, held an online business briefing discussing the exchanges domestic expansion strategy. During the session, Chino said that Binance Japan would seek to list 100 coins and tokens as soon as possible.”

Local news reports note that Binance Japan currently provides spot trading of cryptocurrencies alongside staking “Simple Earn” programs. The use of margin trading is currently not available unless the exchange obtains a regulatory license. The presentation also revealed that its parent exchange, Binance, has surpassed 150 million in user count, with an average daily trading volume of $65 billion. Earlier this year, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase ceased operations in Japan, citing difficult market conditions.

Shenzhens 15 million yuan for airdrops

In a government-sponsored conference promoting the digital Chinese yuan central bank digital currency, officials from the City of Shenzhen pledged 15 million digital yuan ($2.1 million) for municipal airdrops over the next three years. Binqquan Wei, vice governor of Agricultural Bank of China Shenzhen, said that the digital yuan has proven during trials to be a highly efficient method for consumer transaction receipts via its immutable distributed ledger technology:

“The platform currently has more than 200 merchants, involving 11 key industries such as education and training, catering, pet services, elderly care and sports.”

Chinas central government has been heavily promoting the digital yuan CBDC as a means of stimulating the countrys ailing economy amid a looming recession. In its latest figures, the CBDC has surpassed $123 billion in cumulative transactions since 2021, with test sites running in 17 provinces and 26 districts.

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Five members of IBM Consulting created a list of points that the European Commission could consider to optimize its proposed digital euro legislation.

IBM has some ideas about what it will take to make the digital euro a success, which it shared in a recent blog post. It suggested five items for designers to help the European Central Bank (ECB) digital currency “enter the highly competitive, multifaceted, and heterogeneous payments landscape in the Eurozone.”

Some of IBM's points are already found in the European Commission (EC) legislative proposal. “Build on existing rails,” the first point, is already foreseen in the EC plan, although it can be extended, the five authors said. Simplicity will be key to initial adoption, they reasoned, and familiarity reinforces that.

Intermediaries will also have a role to play in digital euro acceptance, and the digital currency should be designed to accommodate their needs:

“We see a need for a more granular ecosystem of intermediaries. The future intermediary landscape for the digital euro should be envisioned as multi-level. Planning for more than one intermediary between the retail user and ECB’s digital euro components would better support smaller intermediaries.”

Standardization of APIs would simplify integration and encourage competition, the post said.

The EC proposal includes strong offline privacy guarantees that could be extended to online activities to ensure end-to-end transaction privacy, IBM suggested. The proposed legislation offers privacy measures “consistent with current digital payment’s privacy levels.” IBM said privacy rules need to be harmonized with several existing regulations, including reporting thresholds, to ensure that reporting is siloed.

Related: UK financial watchdog announces launch of permanent Digital Sandbox in August

Distributed ledger technology is not essential for the creation of a digital euro, the authors noted, but blockchain technology offers the most benefits. Its operation need not be any more carbon-intensive than non-blockchain systems, they added.

Finally, go slowly but surely, IBM advises. Start with a minimal viable product for faster time to market and a sandbox to deal with the great complexity of the future digital euro’s operating environment.

Pixel Perfect.

Take a look at IBM headquarters from around the globe. #WorldPhotoDay

— IBM (@IBM) August 19, 2023

Magazine: ‘Moral responsibility’: Can blockchain really improve trust in AI?

The world’s largest asset manager has been waiting to offer an exchange-traded fund for its iShares Bitcoin Trust in the United States.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed an application for a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund from global asset manager BlackRock.

BlackRock, a firm with more than $8.5 trillion in assets under management, had a decision on its iShares Bitcoin Trust delayed following an application with the SEC. In June, BlackRock lodged an application for a BTC-backed ETF with Coinbase listed as the planned custodian of the fund’s Bitcoin holdings and the Bank of New York Mellon in charge of its fiat accounts.

BlackRock’s filing outlined the value of the shares in removing “obstacles represented by the complexities and operational burdens involved in a direct investment in Bitcoin.” The ETF delay came after cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale Investments petitioned to have an SEC decision overturned that had originally denied the listing of its over-the-counter Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) on Aug. 29.

Related: Grayscale wins the court battle, but what does this mean for a spot Bitcoin ETF?

Many in the crypto space suggested the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF backed by BlackRock — as the world’s biggest asset manager — would signal a positive development for adoption. The delay — which allows the SEC another 45 days following publication in the Federal Register to approve, deny or delay the BlackRock application again — puts the next deadline on Oct. 17.

A swathe of Bitcoin ETFs were delayed by the SEC on Aug. 31. The commission designated a longer period to review applications from WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, Bitwise, VanEck and Fidelity.

Magazine: SEC calls ETF filings inadequate, Binance loses euro partner and other news: Hodler’s Digest, June 25 – July 1

Additional reporting by Gareth Jenkinson.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) postponed decisions regarding proposed rule changes related to spot Bitcoin ETFs on Aug. 31. The SEC’s latest notices push back decisions on proposed rule changes from Fidelity (Wise Origin), VanEck, WisdomTree, and Invesco, all of which intend to offer a spot Bitcoin ETF via Cboe BZX Exchange. Other […]

The post SEC delays decision on seven spot Bitcoin ETFs, including Blackrock’s appeared first on CryptoSlate.

In a move widely anticipated by industry experts, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced a delay in the review process for WisdomTree’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) application.  Related Reading: US Court Defies SEC Interpretation Of Crypto, XRP Lawyer Weighs In Seven Bitcoin Spot ETF Applications Stalled by SEC Delays According […]

Maker price jumped Thursday, hitting intraday highs above $1,186. MKR was paring some of the gains as crypto slumped, with prices around $1,141 at the time of writing. Data showed whales have been busy since early July, accumulating over 61.5k MKR. Maker (MKR) price has witnessed an impressive upside over the past 24 hours, breaking […]

The post Maker (MKR) gains amid 2-month whale accumulation appeared first on CoinJournal.

USBTC to host 8,500 miners belonging to Celsius at its Alpha Site. Hashrate of these machines is estimated to be 820 petahash (PH). Us Bitcoin Corp expects to be managing over 310,000 miners in total. US Bitcoin Corp is in focus today after the mining company announced a deal with the bankrupt cryptocurrency platform Celsius […]

The post US Bitcoin Corp announces a deal with Celsius Network appeared first on CoinJournal.