Administrators prepare for possible Bitcoin ETF approval as SEC deadline approaches.

The two largest cryptocurrencies start the week evenly, with major altcoins suffering losses amid sell-offs amid pessimism about Chinese activity and conflicting data on the U.S. economy.

The US job market remains strong, so a US interest rate cut may be delayed, according to the report.

Arthur Hayes, co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX, warned in an article that BTC prices will adjust due to changes in liquidity levels in the United States.

Amid macroeconomic uncertainty, the focus of cryptocurrency traders is this week on whether to approve funds with direct exposure to Bitcoin.

Data from Coingecko shows Bitcoin is stable over the 24-hour period, trading at US$44,020.17.

According to the Bitcoin Price Index (IPB), BTC is trading down 0.25% to R$215,811.56 against the real.

Ethereum (ETH) was down 0.4% at US$2,228.65.

Major altcoins such as BNB (-2.7%), XRP (-1.8%), Solana (-3.7%), Cardano (-5.3%), Dogecoin (-2.6%), and TRON (-2.6%) are in deficit. It is being traded as . 0.4%), Chainlink (-0.9%), Avalanche (-4.5%), Polkadot (-3.1%), Polygon (-6.3%), Shiba Inu (-4.5%).

Approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF could come this week.

Asset managers, stock exchanges and the SEC, US CVM discussed final adjustments to the registration language for spot Bitcoin index funds on Friday (5), a step that could lead to approval of the so-called ETFs tomorrow (9) or Wednesday. (10) Sources told Reuters.

Prospective Bitcoin ETF issuers have until Monday morning to submit final amendments to their pending applications, Bloomberg News reported.

The SEC’s legal decision deadline is January 10th, and the market believes that the SEC will be able to approve multiple ETFs at once. Fox Business said products from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, which is set to announce layoffs, could launch as soon as Wednesday.

According to Bloomberg analysts, the probability that funds with direct exposure to the largest cryptocurrencies will receive approval from the SEC has risen to more than 90%. On the other hand, CoinDesk emphasized that the probability is 85% on betting platform Polymarket.

If your ETF is one of the selected ETFs, VanEck managers have promised to pass on 5% of the potential profits from that product to Brink, the organization supporting the development of the Bitcoin code.

Coinbase expands to Europe

According to The Block, Coinbase is in the process of acquiring a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) licensed company to expand its derivatives offerings in the European Union.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and could close by the end of 2024, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange said in a statement. The name of the Cyprus-based company was not disclosed.

The license will allow Coinbase, which currently only operates spot trading in the EU, to offer cryptocurrency-linked derivatives in Europe.

Meanwhile, administrator Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest continues to reduce its exposure to Coinbase stock. This time it sold for $20.6 million.

Other Cryptocurrency Highlights

The number of merchants accepting Bitcoin for payments tripled last year compared to 2022, according to BTC Map data shared by The Block. According to the report, more than 6,300 retailers globally already accept the largest cryptocurrency, many of which are located in Latin America.

One example that highlights the growing adoption of BTC is Japanese e-commerce giant Mercari. The digital platform, which focuses on used products and has more than 22 million monthly active users, plans to allow purchases with Bitcoin starting in June this year, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

A G20-led initiative to speed up cross-border payments could encourage financial crime and make sanctions against Russia and other countries more difficult to enforce, warned the UK research program Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing. Plans to make digital payment systems more efficient by 2027 do not take into account increased vulnerability to criminal networks and money laundering risks, according to the report.

In another study published on Friday (5), TRM Labs found that North Korea-linked hackers stole at least US$600 million worth of cryptocurrency in 2023. If confirmed, this total would be around $700 million due to other hacks perpetrated by North Koreans late last year.

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