Weekly Report | SEC Officially Approves 11 Spot Bitcoin ETFs; A Decade of Challenges for Bitcoin Spot ETFs in the U.S.: The Extreme Tug-of-War Between Crypto Institutions, Wall Street, and the SEC
The SEC officially approves 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs; A decade-long journey for Bitcoin spot ETFs in the U.S.: The extreme tug-of-war between crypto institutions, Wall Street, and the SEC; BlackRock, Fidelity, and others bring spot Bitcoin ETFs, how far is the new round of "institutional bull" market?Organizer: Elvin, ChainCatcher
"What Important Events Happened This Week (1.8-1.14)"
1. SEC Chair Issues Risk Warning to Crypto Investors
According to ChainCatcher, SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued a risk warning to crypto investors on social media, stating that those providing crypto asset investment/services may not comply with applicable laws, including federal securities laws. Investors in crypto asset securities should understand that they may be deprived of key information and other important protections related to their investments. Additionally, investing in crypto assets may carry extremely high risks and is often highly volatile. Many major platforms and crypto assets have already gone bankrupt and/or lost value. Crypto asset investments continue to face significant risks.
Gensler also noted that fraudsters continue to exploit the growing popularity of crypto assets to lure retail investors into scams. These investments are rife with fraud—fake token offerings, Ponzi schemes, and pyramid schemes, as well as blatant theft where project promoters disappear with investors' money.
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2. SEC Chair: Approval of Some Spot Bitcoin ETFs Does Not Constitute Approval or Endorsement of Bitcoin
According to ChainCatcher, SEC Chair Gensler released a statement on the SEC website regarding the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. He stated: "While we have approved the listing and trading of certain spot Bitcoin ETP shares today, we have not approved or endorsed Bitcoin. Investors should remain cautious about the countless risks associated with products related to Bitcoin and its value in the cryptocurrency space."
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3. Hong Kong Listed Company Boyaa Interactive Completes $20 Million Cryptocurrency Transaction on HashKey Exchange
According to ChainCatcher, HashKey Exchange has assisted Hong Kong-listed company Boyaa Interactive (0434.HK) in completing a $20 million cryptocurrency transaction and plans to continue purchasing virtual currencies. This move not only consolidates Boyaa Interactive's position in the digital asset market but also highlights its confidence in the potential of the blockchain and virtual asset industry.
HashKey Exchange, as a licensed virtual asset exchange in Hong Kong, is recognized for its compliance, fund security, and platform safety services. Boyaa Interactive's choice to make large purchases on this platform underscores its high trust in its security and professionalism.
4. SEC Officially Approves 11 Spot Bitcoin ETFs
According to ChainCatcher, Reuters reported that SEC documents show the SEC has approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs. Currently, an SEC document titled "fg-89shlq.pdf" indicates that all 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs have been approved.
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5. Shanghai Tax Bureau's Official WeChat Account Has Removed Articles on "Virtual Currency Taxation"
According to ChainCatcher, the Shanghai Tax Bureau's official WeChat account has deleted an article mentioning that "individuals must pay personal income tax when buying and selling virtual currencies online," for unknown reasons. The article was published a few days ago but was widely circulated on the morning of January 7.
The deleted article pointed out that according to the "Reply on the Issue of Personal Income Tax on Income from Buying and Selling Virtual Currency Online" (Guo Shui Han [2008] No. 818), individuals acquiring virtual currency from players online and selling it at a markup are subject to personal income tax, which should be calculated under the "income from property transfer" category.
Calix, founder of TaxDAO and former tax director of Bitmain, pointed out that the Guo Shui Han [2008] No. 818 document was originally used for game coins, but its application has now been expanded to include Bitcoin and other "virtual currencies." However, there are currently no specific regulations regarding the tax issues related to the transfer of Bitcoin and other assets.
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6. OKLink Data: BTC Halving Countdown Enters 100 Days
According to ChainCatcher, BTC halving is expected to be completed on April 22, 2024, with only 100 days remaining. The current block reward is 6.25 BTC, and after halving, the block reward will be 3.125 BTC. There are currently 14,427 blocks remaining.
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7. SEC Chair: Grayscale Victory is Key to Approval of Bitcoin Spot ETFs
According to ChainCatcher, Gary Gensler, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stated that Grayscale's victory is key to the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs.
In an interview with CNBC, Gensler mentioned that the court's favorable ruling for Grayscale in August 2023 changed the SEC's perspective on Bitcoin spot ETFs. He stated: "For years, we rejected many Bitcoin spot ETF applications, but the situation has changed. I firmly believe in the rule of law and respect the court; considering the court's new ruling, we move forward. I believe this is the most sustainable way forward."
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8. SkyBridge Capital Founder: GBTC Sell-off Drives Bitcoin Price Down
According to ChainCatcher, Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, stated that since the approval and listing of the spot Bitcoin ETF, the price of Bitcoin has declined, partly driven by the sell-off of GBTC. In an interview, Anthony Scaramucci said: "It seems that many people are selling GBTC."
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9. Fox Business: Four Wall Street Financial Institutions Do Not Plan to Offer Clients Spot Bitcoin ETF Investment Services
According to ChainCatcher, Fox Business reported that a few Wall Street financial institutions are blocking retail investors from purchasing spot Bitcoin ETFs. In addition to previously disclosed Vanguard and Merrill Lynch, Edward Jones and Northwestern Mutual, which serve the global Fortune 500, also do not plan to offer their clients investment opportunities in the 11 approved Bitcoin ETFs. Currently, representatives from Merrill Lynch, Edward Jones, and Northwestern Mutual have not responded to requests for comments on this matter.
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10. Analysts: BlackRock Purchased 11,500 Bitcoins During Bitcoin Price Decline, Potentially Causing Supply Crunch
According to ChainCatcher, Invest Answers analyzed that BlackRock has begun shifting its cash supply into Bitcoin, having purchased 11,500 Bitcoins. Considering that only 900 Bitcoins are issued daily, this amount is quite substantial. BlackRock's purchase actually represents a participant absorbing about 13 days' worth of Bitcoin production.
Additionally, Invest Answers noted that the average trading volume of the IBIT Spot ETF over two days was only 25%, so it can be assumed that 46,000 Bitcoins were absorbed in two days (GBTC has an impact on this). If this pace continues, we may face a severe supply crunch.
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11. Data
- The net inflow of Bitcoin spot ETF issuers reached $819 million over two days.
- FTX/Alameda transferred $28.2 million in crypto assets to CEX over the past week.
- The total outflow from GBTC in the two days since the spot Bitcoin ETF listing reached $579 million.
- TRC20-USDT issuance exceeded 50 billion, setting a new historical high.
- The total market cap of USDT surpassed $95 billion, setting a new historical high.
- The cumulative fee income from Ordinals inscriptions exceeded 5,500 BTC, approximately $254 million.
"What Exciting Articles Are Worth Reading This Week (1.8-1.14)"
On January 11, 2024, Beijing time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs, including traditional asset management giants like BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco, and Grayscale, as well as emerging capital firms.
The path to the approval of the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF has been long and winding. From the Winklevoss brothers' first application for a similar Bitcoin ETF in 2013 to the birth of the first U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF in 2024, Wall Street and U.S. regulators have engaged in a decade-long tug-of-war.
On January 11, 2024, Beijing time, the SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco, and Grayscale, allowing traditional and emerging capital to enter the cryptocurrency market through Bitcoin spot ETFs.
SEC Chair Gensler continues to warn about the risks associated with Bitcoin, stating: "While we have approved the listing and trading of certain spot Bitcoin ETP shares today, we have not approved or endorsed Bitcoin. Investors should remain cautious about the countless risks associated with products related to Bitcoin and its value in the cryptocurrency space."
3. "What is the New Token Standard Tiny SPL Promoted by Solana's Founder on Twitter?"
On January 3, Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, who previously popularized Silly, shared a tweet on his social media, bringing attention to a protocol called "Tiny SPL." According to the tweet, Tiny SPL is a new token standard protocol on Solana that introduces a "state compression" method, allowing users to hold tokens on Solana without paying storage rent.
ORC-20 can be simply understood as an upgraded version of BRC20. The limitations of BRC-20 have led to the birth of ORC-20, which is a new token standard on the Bitcoin blockchain that offers greater flexibility, scalability, and security.
5. "Illusion of Scarcity: Why NFTs Are Neither Good Investments Nor Good Businesses"
The real business model of NFTs is not about buying and selling scarcity and collectible value, but rather using misleading information to attract a very small number of ultimate buyers—winning trust with high-priced NFTs and selling other NFTs at falsely assessed prices. This article discusses not only NFTs but also the many illusions in the market that remain to be uncovered.
6. "Can Bitcoin Layer 2 Take Over Inscriptions to Become the Next 'Hot Narrative'?"
Inscriptions have been popular for some time, and after the meme and miner frenzy, the market is starting to look for new opportunities in the #BTC ecosystem, with many believing that the next breakout point will be Bitcoin Layer 2. This article is divided into four parts: 1. Bitcoin Layer 2 from ten years ago; 2. Development of Bitcoin Layer 2; 3. Analysis of several new Bitcoin Layer 2 projects in the market, including ZTC Global (@ZTCGlobal), B² Network (@BsquaredNetwork), BL2 (@BL2_official); 4. Related summary.
7. "RoochBTC - Implementing Bitcoin Layer 2 with On-Chain Indexers"
The fairness of Bitcoin inscriptions has encouraged the organic development of a community that believes in a decentralized future. For Rooch, our mission is to accelerate this process by providing more application scenarios for this community.
In this article, I want to discuss all possible solutions for building more functional Bitcoin applications. Additionally, we will propose a new solution that utilizes on-chain indexers to build fully on-chain applications that integrate Bitcoin assets such as Ordinals and BRC20. We will also share some recent updates from Rooch regarding the launch of the Bitcoin testnet RoochBTC.
8. "In-Depth Exploration of the Bitcoin Layer 2 Concept"
As the narrative around BTC scaling continues to evolve, a variety of BTC Layer 2 projects have emerged. Layer 2 is gradually transforming from a technology-driven blockchain scaling route into a vague marketing label.
This article will provide a simple technical overview of projects labeled as BTC Layer 2. It is important to note that in this market dominated by hype, the impact of technology on market trends is often secondary. Additionally, due to the author's limitations, some technical viewpoints may differ from external opinions.
9. "Why Are Altcoins Experiencing a General Decline?"
"This market is really hard to navigate," the crypto market has once again welcomed a "bull market correction" in the altcoin sector.
On the first working day of 2024, market enthusiasm peaked after Bitcoin strongly broke through $45,000, but just one day later, the industry suddenly faced a long-unseen "bull market correction." On January 3, Bitcoin's price rapidly fell below $42,000, with liquidations across the network increasing to $451 million, leaving many investors who had just fully invested in tears. In the new week, the altcoin market was even more dismal, with most coins falling back to last week's flash crash levels or even lower. This article explores the reasons behind the decline of altcoins from multiple perspectives.
In today's crypto world, modular blockchains have become a major narrative. Crypto researcher Dan Smith has conducted an in-depth study of the data situation of the modular blockchain Celestia and detailed its fees, user demand, and charging model.
11. "Cregis Research: 2023 Bitcoin Ecosystem Survey Report"
This report focuses on exploring the scaling protocols of the Bitcoin main chain, Layer 2 solutions, and Turing completeness solutions, aiming to reveal the diversity and technological innovation of the Bitcoin network.
12. "A Summary of Favorable Factors and Potential Targets in the ETH Ecosystem"
On January 11, the SEC announced the approval of 11 Bitcoin ETFs, marking a milestone event that opens a new chapter for the crypto industry. The crypto market is set to welcome more capital inflows, and with the "biggest shoe" dropping in the Bitcoin ecosystem, the market is now turning its expectations to the ETH ecosystem. This article summarizes the favorable factors and key targets in the ETH ecosystem for the coming months.
