Spot Bitcoin ETF, TrueUSD, Coinbase vs. SEC

Spot Bitcoin ​ETFs recorded impressive inflows this week as the digital currency continues to battle its decline near the $41,000 level. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency scene has seen updates on the Coinbase and SEC cases.

First Week of Trading: Spot Bitcoin​​ETF

• This week marked the first trading week for the recently approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Most products saw significant inflows, with BlackRock’s IBIT recording $500 million and Fidelity’s FBTC recording $421 million, according to a January 16 report.

• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which already ordered investments before converting to an ETF, was the only Bitcoin ETF to record daily net outflows totaling $579 million as of January 16. This is due to high fees. At 1.5%.

• As another interesting indicator, the data shows that as of January 16, the total volume of all spot Bitcoin ETFs was worth $1.8 billion. This is almost four times the total trading volume ($450 million) of 500 ETFs launched last year.

• The January 18 report highlighted that on the fourth day of trading, these instruments collectively attracted $2.9 billion, excluding GBTC. Products from BlackRock, Fidelity, and Bitwise saw the highest inflows, while GBTC recorded outflows.

• On the fifth day of trading, GBTC saw an outflow of 10,824 BTC, worth an average of $445 million. However, there were other inflows from other ETFs and the overall market saw inflows of 10,667 BTC worth $439 million.

Thailand, Singapore, South Korea Bitcoin ETFs Appear on Scene

• Amid growing markets, Asian countries have disclosed positions on spot Bitcoin ETFs this week. On January 17, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) banned investors from trading ETFs in international markets, citing the market’s nascent stage.

• Additionally, Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, warned investors in the city-state on January 18 not to purchase or trade spot Bitcoin ETF products on international markets.

• Meanwhile, the South Korean president requested the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to reconsider its position on spot ETF products. Please note that the FSC has previously advised investors not to trade the product.

ongoing discussion

• Amid the impressive performance of the new spot BTC ETF product, there has been a lot of discussion this week surrounding the investment vehicle. Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein predicted this week that less than five of the 11 existing spot BTC ETFs will survive in the long term.

• The market may soon see the opening of options trading on ETF products as the US SEC has granted Nasdaq’s 19b-4 application to commence derivatives trading on the investment products. The agency has now opened a 21-day window for public feedback.

• The discussion has primarily focused on spot Bitcoin ETFs, but this week Fidelity anticipated the SEC’s decision on the filing of a spot Ethereum ETF. In typical fashion, the SEC postponed its filing decision and set a new deadline of March 5.

Dimon’s Advice for Bitcoin Investors

• Despite JPMorgan Chase & Co. being one of BlackRock’s IBIT approved participants, the bank’s CEO Jamie Dimon continues to criticize Bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency industry.
• Dimon, 67, told CNBC that he advises investors not to participate in BTC.

• Meanwhile, Bitcoin continued to struggle this week after falling from $48,000 on January 11. As market turmoil continued, miners began selling bags, disposing of 10,233 BTC on January 17th. This marked the largest single-day decline in miners’ reserves. For over a year.

BTC Battle $41,000

• After slumping from a high of $48,969, Bitcoin has been struggling against a psychologically important price reference point. However, the asset failed to stem the decline in this regard.

• Despite this massive failure, BTC has continued to defend the $41,000 area, preventing a drop below this level. The asset recorded a breach on January 19, dropping to $40,280. However, it recovered quickly and recovered to the $41,000 level.

• Amid the drop to $40,280, the broader cryptocurrency futures and perpetual markets saw massive liquidations worth $252 million on January 19, with Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) accounting for the majority of this figure.

• IntoTheBlock published a report highlighting the reasons for the BTC decline. They cited increased movement of long-term holders, BTC inflows into centralized exchanges, selling by long-term holders, and movement of BTC between wallets.

• However, the drop sparked a “buy the dip” campaign from Bitcoin miners. After offloading 10,233 BTC on January 17, the Bitcoin collapse left miners accumulating 12,058 BTC worth $494 million on January 19.

TrueUSD is different from the dollar.

• Meanwhile, this week saw the first cases involving depegs of mainstream stablecoins as market turmoil continued. The most recent victim was TrueUSD, which fell to $0.985 on January 16, according to CoinGecko data.

• According to the report, one of the reasons for the depegging event was a large-scale breach involving stablecoins.

• Data shows that market participants were converting bags of TrueUSD to USDT, generating $340 million worth of sales in a 24-hour period as of January 16. TrueUSD is trading at $0.9872 at the time of this report.

Coinbase vs. SEC

• Coinbase’s legal battle with the US SEC also made headlines this week. Coinbase is seeking to have the SEC’s case dismissed through a hearing on January 17. The Wall Street Journal reported on January 16 that Coinbase’s request to dismiss may not be granted.

• At the hearing, Judge Katherine Polk Failla, who presided over the case, criticized the SEC’s use of the Securities Act of 1933, a 90-year-old law, to regulate nascent technologies such as cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin.
• Immediately after the hearing, prominent litigation analyst Elliott Stein asserted that the judge would likely grant Coinbase’s request to dismiss the case. Recall that the SEC’s lawsuit alleges that Coinbase offered unregistered securities on its exchange platform.

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