Autor Cointelegraph By Felix Ng

Grayscale hires former Solicitor General to help force Bitcoin ETF approval

Grayscale hires former Solicitor General to help force Bitcoin ETF approval

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 8, 2022 |

Grayscale Investments has hired a former U.S. Solicitor General in preparation for a potential legal spat with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), should the regulator reject its application for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) on July 6.The company has been waiting on a decision from the SEC to convert its flagship $19.8 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot-based ETF, since filing its application to the regulator on October 19, 2021. The SEC has pushed back its decision on multiple occasions, once in December and again in February. A final decision on the application is expected on July 6. Jake Chervinsky, head of policy at the crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association said adding such firepower to Grayscale’s legal team was a “strong move”, and that the SEC would have little chance of “surviving a legal challenge” if it decided to knock back approval now. Strong move. @Grayscale means business.The SEC’s deadline to approve or deny the application to convert GBTC to an ETF is July 6. No doubt, it should be approved. I don’t see how the SEC survives a legal challenge if not, especially one led by Don Verrilli.Mark your calendar. https://t.co/ZbZ7oTXhHR— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) June 7, 2022In March, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein told Bloomberg that his firm would consider a lawsuit under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) should the application for its Bitcoin Spot ETF be denied by the financial regulator.He has been a vocal critic of the regulator, which approved crypto futures ETF products in October 2021 but is yet to do so for a spot ETF equivalent. Donald B. Verrilli Jr., the new hire, is a former U.S. Solicitor General who served from 2011 to 2016 under Barack Obama’s administration. He is currently a partner in Californian law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, and founded its Washington D.C. Office in 2016. On Twitter, Grayscale explained that the lawyer has been involved in more than 50 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including several that dealt directly with Administrative Procedure Act (APA) violations.He will serve as a senior legal strategist, working alongside its attorneys at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and its in-house counsel, including Craig Salm, who serves as chief legal officer. Don’s legal acumen is unmatched. There’s no better advocate we could have to join our legal strategy team with @DavisPolkReg as we continue advocating to convert $GBTC to a spot #Bitcoin ETF. https://t.co/ZruXc1aiQ6— Craig Salm (@CraigSalm) June 7, 2022

Grayscale described Verrilli as one of the nation’s most experienced attorneys with “a deep understanding of legal theory, administrative procedure, and the practical matters of working with the judiciary branch.”“We are thrilled that he is joining our team as we work towards a positive resolution for investors and the general public.”As we enter the final month before a response is due on our application to convert $GBTC to an ETF, we have retained Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., former Solicitor General of the United States, as additional legal counsel. A short on why:— Grayscale (@Grayscale) June 7, 2022

Meanwhile Citadel Securities, a market maker that could provide liquidity for crypto ETFs such as that proposed by Grayscale on Tuesday said it was open to supporting crypto ETFs but won’t do so without regulators’ approval. “We will be ready if and when those products are approved, but we are taking a measured approach,” said Citadel ETF head Kelly Brennan said in an interview with Bloomberg. Market makers are key liquidity providers in the ETF ecosystem as they ensure continuous and efficient ETF trading. Related: Why the world needs a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US: 21Shares CEO explainsElsewhere in the world, crypto-linked ETFs have been gaining increasing popularity, with total assets invested in crypto ETFs and exchange-traded products (ETP) globally reaching $16.28 billion by the end of Q1 2022, according to data from ETF research firm ETFGI.In February 2021, Canada debuted its first-ever Bitcoin ETF, the Purpose Bitcoin ETF, becoming one of the first countries in the world to adopt a spot Bitcoin ETF.On May 12, Australia launched its first spot crypto ETFs, including a Bitcoin ETF from Cosmos Asset Management, plus BTC and Ether (ETH) spot ETFs from 21Shares. Another two crypto-backed ETFs were launched on Monday, June 6. In May, Grayscale began trading its first European ETF, called Grayscale Future of Finance UCITS ETF, which has listings on the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana as well as Deutsche Börse’s electronic trading platform Xetra.

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Fed forgets long-term dollar devaluation when pricing eggs in BTC

Fed forgets long-term dollar devaluation when pricing eggs in BTC

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 7, 2022 |

The St. Louis Federal Reserve stirred up a mix of amusement and curiosity from the crypto community on Tuesday, May 7, after publishing a post showing how the cost of eggs in Bitcoin (BTC) has fluctuated over the last 14-months compared to the U.S. dollar. On June 6, the Fed research arm posted a blog post titled “Buying eggs with bitcoins – a look at currency-related price volatility.”The FRED Blog compares egg prices in U.S. dollars vs. bitcoins. Check out the post to see which prices are more stable https://t.co/Qfy9w8zgBk pic.twitter.com/qpFH4ny33S— St. Louis Fed (@stlouisfed) June 6, 2022The post initially features a graph showing the historical price of eggs in U.S. dollars for every month since January 2021, noting that the prices fluctuated between $1.47 and $2.52 over the 14-month period.Source: The FRED® BlogIt then follows this up with a graph showing how Bitcoin has behaved in the same time period, noting that the price fluctuated “much more than it did for the U.S. dollar price.” The report did not stipulate whether the price of eggs had increased or the dollar had devalued, or both, as causes for the trend.”What would the graph look like if we purchased that same carton of eggs with bitcoins instead of U.S. dollars?”Source: The FRED® BlogIt also drew attention to Bitcoin’s transaction fees, which it says can fall between $2 and $50. “Plus, you’d need to add a bitcoin transaction fee, which has been about $2 lately, but which can spike above $50 on occasion. Hopefully, if you were making this purchase with bitcoin, you’d put many many more eggs in your basket,” it wrote.Crypto Twitter reactsThe blog post ultimately drew ire from the crypto community on Twitter, with many arguing that the fed was “cherry-picking” the time period to push the narrative of Bitcoin’s instability, rather than “zooming out”, which would instead show the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar.The Fed wrote a post showing the price of eggs in USD and Bitcoin, comparing them over the last year, showing Bitcoin as more volatile and unpredictable.Only problem was they forgot to zoom outhttps://t.co/WrCyaI4NP6 pic.twitter.com/rJVbedAs2z— Nick Neuman (, ) (@Nneuman) June 6, 2022

A Twitter user going by the name @MapleHodl pointed out the obvious by stating that the USD is continuously depreciating over time and Bitcoin is volatile short term, though appreciating, so “stack yolks accordingly.” Other Twitter users said that for the Fed to even recognize Bitcoin as a unit of account as being a net positive sign for the king crypto.Even the Fed is starting to price consumer goods in BTC. Bullish.Price of eggs going down. No inflation. pic.twitter.com/hbeR38PWdx— Joe Burnett ()³ (@IIICapital) June 6, 2022

“No matter how they put it. They used Bitcoin as a unit of account to compare. That’s really big.”Related: Fed money printer goes into reverse: What does it mean for crypto?The recent post from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis comes as a survey from Bloomberg’s MLIV Pulse on June 6 revealed that crypto and tech stocks are “acutely vulnerable” to quantitative tightening plans by the U.S. central bank aimed at dampening inflation. Source: bloomberg.com“The historic shift is seen as a notable threat to tech equities and digital tokens — both risk-sensitive assets that soared in the Covid-era market mania before cratering in this year’s cross-asset crash.”Since 2009, when Bitcoin first came into existence, the U.S. dollar has lost 26% of its value, tracking an average inflation rate of 2.32% per year since then, according to this inflation calculator. On the other hand, one Bitcoin, which started at a value of $0.00 in 2009, is now worth $29,495 at the time of writing. The below chart shows the purchasing power of one U.S. dollar in today’s terms. In 1913, one U.S. dollar could buy 30 Hershey’s chocolate bars. In 2020, it can buy just one McDonald’s coffee. Additionally, the money supply (M2) in the U.S. has skyrocketed over the last two decades, increasing from 4.6 trillion in 2000 to $19.5 trillion in 2021.USD purchasing power over time – visualcapitalist.com

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Half of Asia's affluent investors have crypto in their portfolio: Report

Half of Asia's affluent investors have crypto in their portfolio: Report

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 7, 2022 |

Affluent investors in Asia are neither shy nor ignorant about crypto, with research revealing that 52% of them held some form of a digital asset during Q1 2022. According to research from Accenture published on June 6, digital assets, which include cryptocurrencies, stable coins, and crypto funds, made up on average 7% of the surveyed investors’ portfolios, making it the fifth-largest asset class for investors in Asia. It was more than they allocated to foreign currencies, commodities, and collectibles, and in some cases was on par with or exceeded the amount invested in private equity/venture capital and hedge funds. Accenture said the survey was conducted with more than 3,200 clients across China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. The company defines an affluent investor as anyone that manages investable assets of between US$100,000 to $1 million. Investors in Thailand and Indonesia had the largest percentage of digital assets in their portfolios compared to their peers.Source: accenture.comThough half of the investors in Asia were already holding digital assets in Q1 2022, Accenture’s research indicates that a further 21% are expected to invest in them by the end of 2022, meaning as many as 73% of wealthy Asian investors could hold a digital asset by the end of the year. “Digital assets represent a rare, clear industry white space with significant business opportunity.”Wealth managers holding backHowever, the firm found that wealth management firms, those that provide financial planning, tax, investment advice, and estate planning to their clients, have been slow to board the crypto train. 67% of wealth management firms said they have no plans to offer digital asset products or services. “For wealth management firms, digital assets are a US$54bn revenue opportunity— that most are ignoring.”Wealth management firms cited a lack of belief and understanding of digital assets, a wait-and-see mindset, and the operational complexity of launching a digital asset offering as the main reason for holding back, leading them to prioritize other initiatives instead. Source: accenture.comAccenture said the lack of engagement by firms means that investors have been forced to get their financial advice about crypto from unreliable sources.“This lack of engagement by firms means many clients are seeking advice about digital assets on unregulated forums, including peer-to-peer advice on social media.”Related: Social media blamed for $1B in crypto scam losses in 2021However, Accenture has stressed the importance for wealth management firms to push forward into the digital asset space, or risk being left behind. “While many firms are hesitant to enter the digital assets space, and for a range of reasons, their competitors have shown that success is possible.”Asia’s investors have been warming up to crypto, particularly in the last year. In April, a report by Gemini cryptocurrency exchange found that crypto adoption skyrocketed in 2021, particularly in countries such as India and Hong Kong. Around 45% of respondents in the Asia Pacific purchased their first crypto in 2021.

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Australian Mayor downplays crypto volatility, recommends it for rates payments

Australian Mayor downplays crypto volatility, recommends it for rates payments

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 6, 2022 |

Tom Tate, the Mayor of Gold Coast, Australia, has suggested that cryptocurrency could be used by residents to pay local taxes in future years, though critics have flagged volatility and the recent market crash as a cause for concern. “Why can’t we pay rates on cryptocurrency if the risk is not high?” said Tate, speaking to local media outlet ABC News on June 5, just over a week before the council is due to hand down its annual budget. “The volatility is not that bad.”Tate was elected as Mayor of the Gold Coast, Australia’s sixth-largest city in 2012, and has proven a popular choice since then, as he was re-elected for a second term in 2016 and a third term in 2020. He added that the move hasn’t been confirmed but they were looking ahead. “It sends a signal that we’re innovative and bring in the younger generation … [but] I’m not saying we’re doing it, I’m just saying we’re always looking at the next level.”However, critics have argued that the price volatility of cryptocurrencies amidst a market crash could dampen enthusiasm to take crypto as payment. Speaking to ABC News, Blockchain Australia’s Adam Poulton noted that the council would need to look at its risk appetite before deciding to take cryptocurrency as payment. “The last thing they’d want to do is accept $2,000 worth of rates, hold it in Bitcoin, and for the Bitcoin price to halve,” he said.The Mayor’s comments come as an increasing number of cities and countries across the world have started to consider allowing crypto and central bank digital currencies to be used to pay local taxes and rates. Related: Aussie banks ANZ and NAB won’t ‘endorse’ retail speculation on cryptoIn April, the Bahamian prime minister Philip Davis announced plans to allow residents to pay taxes through the use of the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Sand Dollar. In the same month, it was revealed that residents in three major Chinese cities have begun paying tax, stamp duty, and social security premiums using the country’s CBDC, the digital yuan. Other regions that have announced it is either considering, or would be adopting cryptocurrencies for tax payments include the Swiss city of Lugano, Buenos Aires, Colorado, Rio de Janeiro, and The Central African Republic.

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Social media blamed for $1B in crypto scam losses in 2021

Social media blamed for $1B in crypto scam losses in 2021

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 6, 2022 |

The Federal Trade Commission has labeled social media and crypto a “combustible combination for fraud,” with nearly half of all crypto-related scams originating from social media platforms in 2021. Published on June 3, the report found that as much as $1 billion in crypto have been lost to scammers throughout the year, which was more than a five-fold increase from 2020, and nearly sixty times up from 2018. New analysis finds consumers reported losing more than $1 billion in #cryptocurrency to scams since 2021. Most of the losses consumers reported were to bogus cryptocurrency investment scams: https://t.co/MYGTcaw1aS #DataSpotlight /1— FTC (@FTC) June 3, 2022As of March 31, 2022, the amount of crypto lost was already approaching half of the 2021 figure, showing that momentum doesn’t appear to be slowing.The FTC found that Instagram (32%), Facebook (26%), Whatsapp (9%), and Telegram (7%) were the top platforms used for crypto scams.Interestingly, Twitter, the social media platform widely adopted by the crypto-community, was not mentioned despite being littered with spam and scam bots touting fake crypto-giveaways.Based on fraud reports to FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network, the most common type of crypto scam was Investment Related Fraud, making up $575 million of the total $1 billion figure.“These scams often falsely promise potential investors that they can earn huge returns by investing in their cryptocurrency schemes, but people report losing all the money they ‘invest.’”According to the FTC, common investment scams include cases in which a so-called “investment manager” contacts a consumer, promising to grow their money – but only if the consumer buys cryptocurrency and transfers it into their online account. Other methods include impersonating a celebrity who can multiply any cryptocurrency that a consumer sends them or promises of free cash or cryptocurrency. The FTC also lists scams that involve investment in fake art, gems and rare coins, bogus investment seminars and advice, and other miscellaneous investment scams as part of this group. The next largest crypto-scam-related losses came from Romance Scams at $185 million, in which a love interest tries to entice someone into investing into a crypto scam. Business and Government Impersonation Scams came in third at a total of $133 million, in which scammers will target consumers claiming that their money is at risk due to fraud or a government investigation.“These scams can start with a text about a supposedly unauthorized Amazon purchase, or an alarming online pop-up made to look like a security alert from Microsoft. From there, people are reportedly told the fraud is extensive and their money is at risk.”The scammers will then pretend to be a representative of the bank to secure the person’s crypto. In other cases, scammers have impersonated border patrol agents reportedly telling people their fiat accounts are frozen as part of a drug trafficking investigation. These scammers tell people the only way to protect their money is to put it in crypto. They’re directed to take out cash and feed it into a crypto ATM and are tricked into sending it to the scammers’ wallet address instead.The report found that people aged 20 to 49 were most likely to lose crypto to a scammer, with those in their 30s the hardest hit, making up 35% of total reported fraud losses. Related: A life after crime: What happens to crypto seized in criminal investigations?The amount of crypto lost rises up according to age group, with the median individual reported cryptocurrency losses for those in their 70s reaching up to $11,708, compared to just $1,000 for 18-19-year-olds.An article on the FTC’s Consumer Advice website details a number of ways to avoid cryptocurrency scams: Only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency. No legitimate business is going to demand you send cryptocurrency in advance – not to buy something, and not to protect your money. That’s always a scam.Only scammers will guarantee profits or big returns. Don’t trust people who promise you can quickly and easily make money in the crypto markets.Never mix online dating and investment advice. If you meet someone on a dating site or app, and they want to show you how to invest in crypto, or ask you to send them crypto, that’s a scam.

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