ChainCatcher news, Cboe plans to launch the first cash-settled index options related to the spot Bitcoin price on December 2.These options will be regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and will be based on the new Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index (Ticker: CBTX), which is the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF index in the market: a modified market capitalization-weighted index designed to track the performance of a basket of spot Bitcoin ETFs listed in the U.S.The design of the Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index is also related to the price of spot Bitcoin, making it a representative measure of the asset.Previous news, CBOE plans to launch the first cash-settled options product related to spot Bitcoin next week.

ChainCatcher news, according to Coindesk, based on two memos released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange will be allowed to list and trade options for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC), and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB).Cboe Global Markets has been approved to list and trade options for the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB). A few weeks ago, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq's rule proposal allowing options for BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) to be listed and traded.Many market participants believe that options trading on Bitcoin ETFs will increase institutional interest in cryptocurrencies and enhance overall liquidity.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Ripple Labs announced on Thursday that the company will appeal the ongoing case against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of maintaining its legal defense while the SEC's appeal in the case is under review by the appellate court.Earlier this month, the SEC filed a notice of appeal regarding the long-standing case against Ripple, which the regulatory agency first sued in December 2020. Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty stated that Ripple's appeal aims to ensure that the company retains its views and arguments in the case, but he did not elaborate on what the company might argue in its motion. He said, "We are doing this to ensure that we leave no room for arguments, including the argument that an investment contract cannot exist without the fundamental rights and obligations in the contract."Similar to the documents submitted by the SEC last week, Ripple's initial filing is merely a notice indicating that a more comprehensive argument will be submitted in the future. Alderoty stated that both parties will fill out a form in the coming weeks to provide "a fairly high-level description" of their arguments, but neither the regulatory agency nor the company will disclose specific details before submitting their opening statements. The SEC's brief may be released around the end of January, while Ripple's opening brief (which will be combined with its opposition to the SEC's brief) will be released at a later time.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, after an investigation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged TrueCoin LLC and TrustToken Inc., the companies behind TrueUSD, with making false statements about the stablecoin being fully backed by U.S. dollars or equivalent currencies. It has been reported that a significant portion of the reserves supporting TrueUSD is invested in a high-risk offshore fund. Representatives of TrueUSD did not respond to requests for comment.Austin Campbell, head of a blockchain consulting firm, wrote on X: "The first rule is not to deceive your investors and users, and this clearly violates that rule. It's ironic that TrueUSD would do this." If, as Campbell suggests, the SEC's charges against TrueUSD are accurate, then this is a textbook case of fraud, not necessarily unique to "cryptocurrency." However, due to the branding effect of "cryptocurrency," TrueUSD can be said to reflect a problem unique to the cryptocurrency space.The media mentioned a previous report stating that TrueUSD's ownership structure is complex and opaque, with control shifting to an offshore entity named Techteryx Ltd., and its reserves being moved to a bank in the Bahamas. At that time, the company told the media that it moved funds to the Bahamas because the banking conditions for U.S. cryptocurrency firms were deteriorating. The failures of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank had put many cryptocurrency companies in a difficult position. Like many U.S. cryptocurrency firms, TrueUSD's parent company was also eager to find new solutions to hold cash. In other industries, people would generally reject such moves; however, in the case of TrueUSD, many agreed. The reason people fall into this hype and misconception is that a core principle of cryptocurrency is that it is trustless, meaning you do not need to trust any third party. Therefore, people believe that assets on the blockchain offer a better solution than traditional finance.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Mark Palmer of investment bank and research firm Benchmark stated that the recent support for the development of the cryptocurrency sector may encourage MicroStrategy to start generating revenue by lending out a portion of its Bitcoin holdings. MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has mentioned the idea of lending some of MicroStrategy's Bitcoin for yield, but he believes it is not feasible due to the lack of counterparties with sufficient financial strength and robust balance sheets, which makes him hesitant to take this step. Benchmark's Mark Palmer pointed out that this situation may soon change.At a public hearing last week, Senator Cynthia Lummis's chief legal advisor revealed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has granted a conditional exemption to Bank of New York Mellon from the agency's SAB 121 guidance, which requires entities that choose to custody crypto assets to list them on their balance sheets and create corresponding liabilities equal to the value of the cryptocurrencies. The largest custodian in the U.S., Bank of New York Mellon, seems to have obtained cryptocurrency custody permission. Palmer stated that if the SEC's lenient stance on digital assets and the growing institutional interest extends beyond financial institutions like Bank of New York Mellon to corporations, then MicroStrategy may soon be able to engage with large institutional counterparties to lend Bitcoin and feel more confident in repaying loans.In a report on Tuesday, Palmer wrote: "The revenue generated by MSTR from lending a portion of its Bitcoin holdings could offset the annual interest on its debt, and if the company is willing to lend out more Bitcoin, it could use the related revenue as another way to increase its holdings without involving any concerns about leverage or dilution." Palmer noted that after issuing convertible bonds and exiting preferred notes, MicroStrategy may gain greater flexibility in accessing capital markets due to its reduced interest expenses and increased unencumbered Bitcoin reserves. He wrote: "While the premium at which MSTR trades relative to its net asset value (NAV) is a point of contention among investors, we believe that the flywheel effect emerging from its Bitcoin acquisition strategy supports the argument that the premium is justified, and this is a feature of the strategy rather than a flaw."

ChainCatcher news, Green United LLC failed to dismiss the lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused its executives of implementing a fraudulent cryptocurrency mining scheme that defrauded investors of $18 million. Defendants Wright Thurston and Kristoffer Krohn are alleged to have falsely sold non-existent mining equipment, promoting "green boxes" and "green nodes" as tools for mining GREEN tokens.On September 23, Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen ruled that the defendants failed to rebut the SEC's allegations, denying the motion to dismiss the fraud charges against Thurston, noting that the distribution of GREEN tokens to investors relied solely on Thurston's personal decisions.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has shown a significant increase in enforcement actions in the cryptocurrency industry in 2024. According to a report released by Social Capital Markets, the total fines imposed by the SEC on cryptocurrency companies and executives this year have surged to $4.7 billion, a staggering 3018% increase from $150.3 million in 2023.The report indicates that the SEC has carried out 11 enforcement actions this year, a decrease of 19 from the previous fiscal year, but the total fines have reached a historic high. Notably, the $4.47 billion settlement reached by the SEC in June 2024 with Terraform Labs and its former CEO Do Kwon constitutes the "largest single enforcement action to date."Data analysis shows that the SEC is shifting towards a strategic adjustment targeting high-impact cases. Since 2020, 46% of the total fines have been below $1 million, while 30% fall within the range of $1 million to $10 million. It is worth noting that the SEC's $1.24 billion enforcement action against Telegram in 2019 (which included a $18.5 million civil penalty and $1.2 billion in asset recovery) led to an almost 2000% year-on-year increase in the average fine amount for that year, exceeding $70 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is no longer seeking to restart the hedge fund trading fee disclosure rule.

ChainCatcher news, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicts that regardless of the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler will be removed from his position.Garlinghouse discussed U.S. crypto policy in light of the November elections, stating, "Technology should bridge political divides, and I expect that as the election progresses, cryptocurrency will become more bipartisan."He noted that while the Republican Party has taken a more proactive stance on cryptocurrency, some Democratic leaders also believe that these technologies are key to maintaining America's technological leadership.

ChainCatcher news, Grayscale and Bitwise jointly submitted a rule change proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow trading of options on the Bitwise Ethereum ETF, Grayscale Ethereum Trust, and Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust.The filing states that these options will provide investors with an additional, relatively low-cost investment tool, while serving as a hedging instrument to meet investors' demand for Ethereum products and positions. The public comment period for the proposal will expire in 21 days. Several companies are also seeking trading approval for spot Bitcoin ETF options, but have not yet been granted approval.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Andrew Left, the founder of financial research firm Citron Research, has been charged with securities fraud, allegedly misleading retail investors to profit $16 million through "bait and switch" stock recommendations.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged on July 26 that Left is a strong cryptocurrency skeptic who used social media and television appearances to promote stocks in which he held short or long positions. This created a false impression, and in many cases, his actions were exactly the opposite.The regulator added, "This fraudulent conduct deceived investors and allowed Left to use his Citron Research reports and tweets as catalysts to reap short-term profits."It is reported that in February, after the cryptocurrency exchange temporarily halted on February 28, Left's Citron called for shorting Coinbase stock.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune magazine, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to end its investigation into New York stablecoin issuer Paxos, determining that BUSD is not a security.On July 9, Jorge Tenreiro, acting head of the crypto assets and cyber unit, stated in a letter to Fortune that he had no intention of recommending enforcement action. Over the past year, the SEC had issued a Wells notice to Paxos, which is a notification that enforcement action is forthcoming, regarding Paxos's partnership with Binance to issue the dollar-backed BUSD stablecoin.Paxos's Chief Strategy Officer Walter Hessert said in an interview, "The formal termination of this investigation is a huge relief for us. This has been our expectation all along, and it should indeed create more certainty in the market, as we see more and more large enterprises joining."

ChainCatcher news, Coinbase announced on Thursday that it will file a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) after failing to obtain information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).Coinbase hired the consulting firm History Associates Inc. to submit the FOIA request and filed a lawsuit on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, targeting the SEC and FDIC, accusing the federal financial regulators of attempting to sever the ties between the cryptocurrency industry and the banking sector. The FOIA request was made under the Freedom of Information Act, which allows the public to request records from any federal agency.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, based on documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bain Capital plans to launch its second crypto fund. Bain Capital declined to comment on the new fund through its PR agency, citing compliance issues.Bain Capital launched its first crypto fund in March 2022, a $560 million fund that coincided with the massive crash of the crypto market triggered by the collapse of Do Kwon's Luna. Despite subsequently experiencing a crypto winter, Bain Capital remained an active investor during 2022 and 2023, participating in multiple funding rounds for projects such as Sam Altman's $115 million Worldcoin financing, privacy protocol Nocturne Labs, and decentralized exchange aggregator Flood.

ChainCatcher news, JPMorgan expects that the SEC will not approve other cryptocurrency ETFs after the spot Ethereum ETF.JPMorgan's Managing Director and Global Market Strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou stated, "We are skeptical about this. Given the ambiguity of whether Ethereum should be classified as a security, the SEC's decision to approve the ETH ETF is already quite strained. We believe the SEC will not further approve Solana or other token ETFs, as the SEC is more strongly inclined (compared to Ethereum) to consider tokens other than Bitcoin and Ethereum as securities. Unless U.S. policymakers ultimately pass legislation determining that most cryptocurrencies are not securities, the SEC may approve other cryptocurrency ETFs, but there is currently no such legislation."