The Bitcoin payment for FIT21 services.
In this week’s recap, U.S. regulators have finally given approval to eight issuers of spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) after a long wait. Bitcoin (BTC) has also reclaimed the $71,000 threshold, and lawmakers have passed the FIT21 bill to bring clarity to crypto regulations.
There have been discussions about the possibility of a Solana ETF following the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs. Daniel Yan, co-founder of Matrixport, suggested that the SEC’s approval of spot Ethereum ETFs could pave the way for a Solana ETF. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart agreed, stating that a Solana ETF could see high demand.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has sent a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, urging him to approve the spot Ethereum ETF filings. This approval could potentially boost the price of Ethereum, with QCP Capital predicting a 60% price spike to $6,000.
The SEC has now approved the filings from BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Bitwise, VanEck, Ark, Invesco Galaxy, and Franklin Templeton. These issuers have submitted adjusted forms to remove staking from their products. However, they still need to get their S-1 registrations approved before trading can begin, which is expected to take weeks to months.
After the approval, some experts have argued that while it may clarify Ethereum’s regulatory status as a non-security, it could make ETH tokens held in funds less productive compared to staking or powering smart contracts. Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s Crypto Research Head, believes that XRP and Solana could be the next cryptocurrencies to see ETF products following the approval of Ethereum products.
In other news, spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen another week of inflows, with a total capital inflow of $1.056 billion last week. WisdomTree, a leading asset manager, has announced that the London Stock Exchange has approved its launch of crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) backed by Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The crypto market has experienced a resurgence, with Bitcoin reaching a one-month high of $71,500. This rally has had a positive effect on altcoins, and the broader crypto DeFi TVL has reached a 2-year high of $105.6 billion. Analysts believe that the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs could push Ethereum to reach $5,000, a new all-time high.
Donald Trump has started accepting donations in cryptocurrency as part of his effort to appeal to the crypto community. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill prohibiting the Federal Reserve from creating a dollar-backed Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The FIT21 bill has also made headlines, with SEC Chair Gensler expressing concerns about its provisions.
Despite these concerns, the House of Representatives has voted in favor of the FIT21 bill, and it will now move to the Senate for further scrutiny. Coinbase has resumed XRP trading in New York after discussions with authorities, and Uniswap has responded to the SEC’s Wells Notice, stating its willingness to fight the agency if necessary.
The crypto community has celebrated Bitcoin Pizza Day, marking the first use of Bitcoin for a real-world purchase. However, Coinbase received criticism for its celebratory effort, which only accepted USDC for pizza sales. The community also mourned the passing of Kabosu, the Shiba Inu dog that inspired the meme on which Dogecoin was built.
In other news, blockchain startups have raised over $258 million in fundraising, with Farcaster’s $150 million series A round being the largest effort. Jian Wen has been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for her involvement in a Bitcoin money laundering plot. The Phantom Wallet has seen a surge in popularity and has surpassed Facebook in Google Play.
Overall, it has been an eventful week in the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
