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The Biden Administration Is Easing Cryptocurrency Restrictions (A Vibes Analysis)

Published

8 months ago

21 May, 2024

The Biden Administration Is Easing Cryptocurrency Restrictions (A Vibes Analysis)

The Biden administration’s stance on cryptocurrencies appears to have softened. I feel comfortable saying this, despite the years-long “whole of government” assault on the industry, because of some key breakthroughs in recent weeks.

Note: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates. This is an excerpt from The Node newsletter, a daily roundup of the most crucial crypto news on CoinDesk and beyond. You can sign up to get the full service newsletter here.

First, and perhaps most significantly, Monday’s news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be preparing to approve the commercial exchange traded funds (ETFs). This would represent a major turnaround for an asset class that was presumed dead upon arrival, especially considering that the securities watchdog recently probed major Ethereum-related institutions.

Although much of this is just speculation, based in part on hearsay (i.e. “sources with direct knowledge of the situation”), it is significant that the SEC required potential ETH ETF exchanges to change their documentation quickly. It would be a strange move if the agency intended to reject these requests entirely.

Just yesterday, Bloomberg Intelligence estimated the probability of SEC approval of ETH spot ETFs at 25%. Today, there is a 75% chance that these products – which would likely attract institutional capital into the second-largest crypto asset by market cap, in the same way Bitcoin has benefited from its own ETF cluster – will launch this year. (The SEC is expected to make a decision on VanEck’s spot ether ETF on May 23.)

Second, a bipartisan bill called the Deploying American Blockchains Act of 2023 passed last week. a margin between 334 and 79 by the representatives of the House. While modest in scope, the bill would allow the Secretary of Commerce, currently Gina Raimondo, “to take necessary and appropriate actions to promote the competitiveness of the United States” in the blockchain industry.

This comes ahead of the Senate vote on the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), considered the most significant piece of cryptocurrency legislation with the greatest likelihood of actually becoming law. As my colleague Nikhilesh De astutely points out:

“House Democratic leaders on the Financial Services and Agriculture Committees have told their members that, while they oppose the FIT21 bill, they will not actively rail against it – in other words, they have essentially told their members to vote as they see fit.”

This is similar to recent House and Senate votes to repeal the SEC’s controversial Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, which imposed strict capital requirements on cryptocurrency custodians and all but precluded the possibility of banks entering this space (strongly opposed by both the cryptocurrencies than from that of cryptocurrencies). TradFi Community).

The theory is that when President Joseph Biden promised to veto the measure to repeal SAB121, he cleared the way for members of congress, including prominent Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR). – vote according to conscience.

It remains to be seen whether Biden will veto the measure, despite the fact that the independent Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the SEC inappropriately enforced the guidelines. However, the important thing here is that sound, bipartisan regulation of cryptocurrencies is possible, despite opposition from figures like arch-cytoskeptic Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

By the way, Warren may lose influence in the Biden administration. Yesterday, the president of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Martin Gruenberg announced he would resign after Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherod Brown called for his resignation.

While the move does not directly affect cryptocurrencies, it is worth mentioning that Gruenberg is a known confidant of Senator Warren and their view on cryptocurrencies is largely different. Under Gruenberg’s leadership, for example, the FDIC took a hard line against cryptocurrencies during the 2023 financial crisis that brought down three mid-sized banks.

Although he extensively cited poor risk management and incompetent leadership, the The FDIC also said so Signature Bank’s “association and dependence on cryptocurrency industry deposits” was a major cause of its failure in its report. That same year, the agency officially added cryptocurrencies to its annual report on the risks faced by US banks and began engaging in “robust oversight discussions” with the companies under his charge.

Furthermore, Castle Island Ventures co-founder Nic Carter considers Gruenberg one of the major “architects” of what he called Operation Choke Point 2.0, or a series of maneuvers by the US government to systematically cripple the cryptocurrency industry (the name is a nod to the Obama-era effort to bust unsavory industries). Indeed, following the collapse of FTX, the White House issued its first information sheet related to cryptocurrencies, essentially calling for a crackdown.

To be sure, there are some important caveats to consider here. First, Gruenberg resigned under political pressure following Wall Street Journal report on widespread evidence of sexual harassment at the FDIC. The 70-year-old himself has not been accused of harassment, yet he has allowed a toxic workplace culture to fester – which is why Senator Brown called for his ouster (which Senator Warren called “politically motivated”).

All of this is to say that cryptocurrencies are not a motivating factor here, although some political commentators see Gruenberg’s situation as a sign of the Warren camp’s waning influence. For example, John Deaton, who is challenging Senator Warren for his senatorial seat this November, said it was “shameful” how Warren “circled the wagons to keep one of his fallen puppets in place.” misfortune.”

It is also important to note that Congress is not the White House, and the White House is not the SEC. In other words, there is no real reason to assume that the Biden administration is suddenly telling Gary Gensler or lawmakers to go easy on cryptocurrencies. These are all discrete events, but they are all positive developments for cryptocurrencies.

As for the possibility of ETH ETF approval, the current thinking is that the SEC resisted it because it was not having productive meetings with potential issuers. And “the fact that their meetings have become productive more recently does not necessarily mean there has been a policy reversal,” as CoinDesk politics expert Jesse Hamilton put it.

But what if there really was a driving force behind all these developments? What explains the widespread sea change? And why would a Democrat-controlled government suddenly become pro-crypto now?

“The backdrop to all of this is an election in which the standard-bearer of the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump, explicitly appealed to crypto voters as part of his strategy,” De said.

Indeed, the former president has apparently sensed that the crypto contingent is some sort of wealthy political force and has curryed favor with it. There are some cynics who argue that the billionaire real estate developer is primarily motivated by his stock markets (Trump has issued several series NFTs and holds a fair amount of ETH and other tokens), but that seems like an unnecessarily narrow view.

The alignment makes perfect sense: Cryptocurrencies get people’s attention. And Trump likes to get attention. Cryptocurrencies also make a certain type of people angry, and these happen to be the same people Trump likes to make angry. Cryptocurrency supporters also like powerful people who are willing to speak positively about cryptocurrencies. And Trump likes praise for him.

And while both parties could conceivably claim cryptocurrency’s “apolitical” narrative for their own, there’s something to the idea that the industry’s somewhat contradictory situation is rooted in Occupy Wall Street-era populism while simultaneously more frequently associated with the “hilariously rich” is undeniably Trumpian. To some extent, I’m surprised it took Trump this long to convince himself.

Which brings us to the main point: why now? It is clear that Trump has come out in support of cryptocurrencies because it is a wedge issue that he can use against his rival, President Biden. While the general public is likely not informed of the concrete politics of cryptocurrency regulation, a surprising number of registered voters hold cryptocurrencies and have positive sentiment towards them. In particular, nearly 25% of self-identified independent voters (i.e. the “swing voter” key) have purchased cryptocurrencies. And that number will only increase over time, especially after the launch of crypto ETFs.

On the other side of the equation, as Trump has cast himself as an opposition figure to the Biden administration’s slow simmering war on cryptocurrencies (which has literally won over at least a handful of voters who despise his other policies), the most simple to To solve the problem, Biden needs to do a 180 on cryptocurrencies himself or just make it less of a problem.

This is compounded by the fact that, while most Americans still don’t interact with or care much about cryptocurrencies, there have been a series of missteps by regulators that have garnered something almost akin to sympathy for the industry. The most serious problem is the SEC’s handling of the approval of bitcoin ETFs, which has been called “arbitrary and capricious” by an appeals court.

But there is a growing sense that this same dismissive and biased view underlies all of the Biden administration’s crypto efforts. Americans want cryptocurrencies to be safe and well regulated, they want consumer protection; they don’t want arcane debates about whether an asset is a security.

Furthermore, it is conceivable that a strong reaction to the industry’s catastrophic failures in 2022 was politically advantageous, but now that prices are rising again, a heavy-handed approach seems both a waste of government resources and potentially excessive. This is not to mention the fact that provoking the cryptocurrency industry always elicits a negative reaction from industry insiders.

Again, all of this is mere speculation: There is no direct evidence that Biden is reversing course. It is significant that a major piece of cryptocurrency legislation has reached this point, that the approval of ETH ETFs is back in play, and that Trump has won over “single-issue” cryptocurrency voters. Think of it as a vibrational analysis, a theory that can never be proven but may strengthen if more positive advances like this occur.

Ultimately, politics, like cryptocurrencies, is all about vibes.

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News

Ether Drops Further After ETF Launch

Published

6 months ago

23 July, 2024

Blocksight Staff

Bitcoin Surpasses $66,000 Thanks to Strong ETF Flows

Key points

Spot ether ETFs began trading in the U.S. today, with the funds initially having more than $10 billion in collective assets under management.
Analysts expect the launch of spot ether ETFs to have a net negative impact on the underlying price of ether in the near term, due to expected outflows from the pre-existing Grayscale Ethereum Trust.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to see strong inflows, with BlackRock’s IBIT alone seeing more than $500 million in inflows on Monday.
Franklin Templeton, a spot ETF issuer on bitcoin and ether, has invested in a project that intends to bring Ethereum technology to Bitcoin.

Nine-point ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs)) started trading on the stock market on Tuesday, but all the optimism ahead of their approval did not translate into gains for the cryptocurrency markets.

Ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, dropped less than 1% around the $3,400 level as of 1:30 PM ET, while Bitcoin (BTC) fell more than 2% to around $66,000.

Ether ETFs’ Debut Isn’t as Flashy as Bitcoin ETFs’

Spot ether ETFs began trading at just over $10 billion assets under management (AUM)), according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart, most of that money is in the current Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) which has now been converted into an ETF.

“In the long term, Grayscale will simultaneously have the highest and lowest fees in the market. The asset manager’s decision to keep its ETHE fee at 2.5% could lead to outflows from the fund,” Kaiko Research said in a note on Monday.

Outflows from ETHE, if they occur, would be similar to those faced by Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) after spot bitcoin ETFs began trading in January of this year, most likely due to high fees for the two original funds. Grayscale’s existing fund charges 2.5% fees, while a new “mini” ether ETF will charge 0.15% and commissions for other ETFs are set at 0.25% or less.

Such outflows could impact the price of ether and market sentiment.

“There could be a pullback shortly after the launch of Ethereum spot ETFs, i.e. outflows from Grayscale Ether Trust could dampen market sentiment in the short term,” Jupiter Zheng, a partner at Hashkey Capital’s liquid fund, told The Block.

But Grayscale remains optimistic.

“Compared to the splashy debut of spot bitcoin ETPs in January, the launch of ethereum ETPs has been relatively muted,” said Zach Pandl, Grayscale’s head of research, adding that investors may be “undervaluing” ether ETFs that are “coming to the U.S. market in tandem with a shift in U.S. cryptocurrency policy and the adoption of tokenization by major financial institutions.”

Bitcoin ETF Inflows Continue to Rise

As for bitcoin, there is clearly no lack of demand for spot ETFs, such as BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBITS) recorded its sixth-largest day of inflows in its short history on Monday, at $526.7 million, according to data from Farside Investors. Daily inflows for the overall spot bitcoin ETF market also hit their highest level since June 5.

In particular, asset manager Franklin Templeton, which has issued both bitcoin and ether ETFs, appears to have decided to cover its back when it comes to Ethereum by investing in Bitlayer, a way to implement Ethereum technology on a second-layer Bitcoin network, according to CoinDesk.

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News

Spot Ether ETFs Start Trading Today: Here’s What You Need to Know

Published

6 months ago

23 July, 2024

Blocksight Staff

Spot Ether ETFs Start Trading Today: Here's What You Need to Know

Key points

Spot ether ETFs will begin trading on U.S. exchanges on Tuesday. Nine ETFs will trade on Cboe BZX, Nasdaq and NYSE Arca.
Ether ETFs offer investors exposure to the price of their underlying assets.
Commissions on these new ETFs generally range from 0.15% to 0.25%.
These ETFs do not provide exposure to Ethereum staking.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially approved nine ether spots (ETH)exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for trading on U.S. exchanges. Trading for these new cryptocurrency investment vehicles begins today. Here’s everything you need to know.

What new ether ETFs are starting to trade today?

Spot ether ETFs starting trading today can be found at Quotation, NYSE Arkand Cboe BZX. Here’s a breakdown of each ETF you can find on these three exchanges, along with the fund tickers:

Cboe BZX will list the Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF (QETH), the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF (CETH), the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH), the Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET) and the VanEck Ethereum ETF (ETHV).

Nasdaq will have the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) created by BlackRock, which also operates the largest spot bitcoin ETF under the ticker IBIT.

NYSE Arca will list the Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW) and the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE). The Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH), which will begin trading on the same exchange.

How does an ether ETF work?

Spot ether ETFs are intended to offer exposure to the price of ether held by the funds. Ether is the underlying cryptocurrency of the Ethereal network, the second largest crypto network by market capitalization.

ETF buyers are buying shares of funds that hold ether on behalf of their shareholders. Different spot ether ETFs use different data sources when it comes to setting the price of ether. Grayscale Ethereum Trust, for example, uses the CoinDesk Ether Price Index.

None of the ETFs launching today include pointed etherwhich represents a potential opportunity cost associated with choosing an ETF over other options such as self-custody or a traditional cryptocurrency exchange.

Ether staking currently has an annual return of 3.32%, according to the Compass Staking Yield Reference Index Ethereum. However, it is possible that the SEC will eventually approve Ether staking held by ETFs.

How can I trade Ether ETFs?

ETFs can simplify the trading process for investors. In the case of cryptocurrencies, instead of taking full custody of the ether and taking care of your own private keysSpot ether ETFs allow investors to purchase the cryptocurrency underlying the Ethereum network through traditional brokerage accounts.

Today, not all brokers may offer their clients spot ETFs on cryptocurrencies.

What are the fees for ether ETFs?

The fees associated with each individual spot ether ETF were previously revealed In the S-1 OR S-3 (depending on the specific ETF) deposit associated with the offerings. These fees are 0.25% or less for all but one.

The Grayscale Ethereum Trust, which converts to an ETF, has a fee of 2.5%. The Grayscale Mini Ethereum Trust has the lowest fee at 0.15%. These fees are charged on an annual basis for the provider’s management of the fund and are in line with what was previously seen with spot bitcoin ETFs.

Brokers may also charge their own fees for cryptocurrency trading.

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News

Kamala Harris Odds Surge Amid $81M Fundraise. What Does It Mean for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies?

Published

6 months ago

23 July, 2024

Blocksight Staff

Kamala Harris Odds Surge Amid $81M Fundraise. What Does It Mean for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies?

Market odds and memecoins related to US Vice President Kamala Harris have soared as the latest round of donations tied to the Democratic campaign raised $81 million in 24 hours, bolstering sentiment among some traders.

The odds of Harris being declared the Democratic nominee have risen further to 90% on cryptocurrency betting app Polymarket, up from 80% on Monday and setting a new high.

Previously, in early July, bettors were only betting on 8%, but that changed on Saturday when incumbent President Joe Biden announced he would no longer run in the November election. Biden then approved Harris as a candidate.

Polymarket traders placed $28.6 million in bets in favor of Harris, the data showsThe second favorite is Michelle Obama.

Somewhere else, Memecoin KAMA based on Solanaa political meme token modeled after Harris, has jumped 62% to set a new all-time high of 2 cents at a market cap of $27 million. The token is up a whopping 4,000% from its June 18 low of $0.00061, buoyed primarily by the possibility of Harris becoming president.

As such, Harris has yet to publicly comment on cryptocurrencies or her strategy for the growing market. On the other hand, Republican candidate Donald Trump has expressed support for the cryptocurrency market and is expected to appear at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on Saturday.

However, some expect Harris or the Democratic Party to mention the sector in the coming weeks, which could impact price action.

“While he has not yet received the official nomination, there is consensus that last night’s development is in line with current Democratic strategy,” cryptocurrency trading firm Wintermute said in a Monday note emailed to CoinDesk. “Keep an eye on Democrats’ comments on this issue in the coming days.

“The prevailing assumption is that Harris will win the nomination and any deviation from this expectation could cause market volatility,” the firm added.

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Top 30x Cryptocurrency and Coin Presales Today: Artemis Coin at #1, Others Are: BlockDAG, 99Bitcoin, eTukTuk, and WienerAI

Published

6 months ago

23 July, 2024

Blocksight Staff

Top 30x Cryptocurrency and Coin Presales Today: Artemis Coin at #1, Others Are: BlockDAG, 99Bitcoin, eTukTuk, and WienerAI

The cryptocurrency market has seen a lot of growth and imagination lately, with new ventures popping up regularly. A critical pattern in this space is the rise of crypto pre-sales, which give backers the opportunity to get involved with promising projects early on. Artemis is a standout option for crypto investors looking to expand their portfolios amid the many pre-sales currently underway.

Cryptocurrency presales, commonly referred to as initial coin offerings (ICOs), allow blockchain ventures to raise capital by offering their local tokens to early backers before they become available on open exchanges. Investors can take advantage of these presales by purchasing tokens at a lower price. If the project is successful and the token’s value increases, investors stand to receive significant returns.

>>> Explore the best cryptocurrency pre-sales to buy now <<

The Ultimate List of the Top 5 Cryptocurrency Pre-Sales to Invest In

Artemis: The aim of Artemis (ARTMS) will become the cryptocurrency equivalent of eBay or Amazon. The upcoming Phase 4 will see the launch of the Artemis Framework, which will serve as a stage for digital money exchanges where buyers, sellers, specialized organizations and those seeking administration can participate in coherent exchanges.
DAG Block: uses Directed Acyclic Graph technology to increase blockchain scalability.
99bitcoin: operates as a crypto learning platform
WienerAI uses AI-powered trading bots for precise market analysis.
eTukTuk focuses on environmentally sustainable transportation options, such as electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

We have determined that Artemis is the best new cryptocurrency presale for investment after conducting extensive research. It presents itself as the unrivaled cryptocurrency presale choice currently open.

>> Visit the best cryptocurrency pre-sale to invest in now <<

Top 5 Crypto Pre-Sales and Best Cryptocurrencies for Investment Today

Artemis (ARTMS) is attempting to establish itself as the cryptocurrency version of eBay or Amazon. The Artemis Crypto System, which will act as a platform for cryptocurrency transactions, will be launched in Phase 4. Buyers, sellers, service providers, and requesters will all benefit from seamless trading with this system. Customers will be able to purchase things, such as mobile phones using digital money, as well as sell products such as involved bicycles and get paid in cryptocurrency. Additionally, crypto money can be used to pay for administrations such as clinical consultations, legitimate care, and freelance work. Artemis Coin will act as the main currency of the ecosystem, with Bitcoin and other well-known cryptocurrencies from various blockchain networks backing it.

Artemis Coin has increased in price from 0.00055 to 0.00101 from 0.00094. Artemis may be attractive to individuals looking to recoup losses in Bitcoin, as predicted by cryptocurrency analysts. At this point, it seems to present an interesting presale opportunity.

>>> Visit the best cryptocurrency pre-sale to invest in now <<

The world of digital currency pre-sales is an exciting and exciting opportunity that could open the door to game-changing blockchain projects. Projects in this article, like Artemis Coin, offer the opportunity to shape the future of various industries and the potential for significant returns as the industry develops.

However, it is imperative to approach these investments with caution, thorough research, portfolio diversification, and awareness of the risks. You can explore the digital currency pre-sale scene with greater certainty and increase your chances of identifying and profiting from the most promising venture opportunities by following the advice and methods in this article.

>>> Join the best cryptocurrency pre-sale to invest in now <<

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