- WisdomTree amends S-1 form spot Bitcoin ETF filing as crypto crowd awaits SEC decisions
The global exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider WisdomTree filed an amended S-1 form spot Bitcoin BTC tickers down $36,384 ETF prospectus with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Nov. 16.
The update comes a few months after WisdomTree refiled its spot Bitcoin ETF application in June 2023, proposing a rule change to list and trade shares of the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust on the BZX Exchange by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).
The amended prospectus mentions that the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust ETF will trade under a ticker symbol BTCW, with Coinbase Custody Trust serving as the custodian and will hold all of the trust’s Bitcoin on its behalf.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/wisdomtree-amends-spot-bitcoin-etf
- Global Standards Setter for Securities Regulation Publishes Crypto Markets Policy Recommendations
The International Organization of Securities Commissions, the global standards setter for securities markets regulation, denied crypto industry requests for a bespoke regime for stablecoins while agreeing to demands for greater accountability from so-called financial influencers.
The recommendations for regulating crypto, published Friday after a consultation period that started in May, are meant to help establish a coordinated global regulatory response to the risks posed by crypto asset service providers (CASPs) among the group’s members. Those risks include market abuse, conflict of interest, client asset protection and disclosures, it said at the start of the process.
- FBI Arrests Three Men in Alleged $10 Million Crypto Laundering Scheme
Three men have been charged with laundering over $10 million in cryptocurrency. If found guilty, the three face a maximum of 30 years in federal prison, according to an announcement from the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said on Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Justice charged Zhong Shi Gao, Naifeng Xu, and Fei Jiang with the scheme.
“Schemes like this harm institutions and make it tougher to report suspicious transfers,” FBI Assistant Director James Smith said. “The arrests today serve as a warning to anyone thinking of attempting to engage in bank fraud. The FBI will hold you accountable in the criminal justice system.”
https://decrypt.co/206413/crypto-laundering-scheme-bank-transactions-china-taiwan
- Ripple’s Lawyer and Crypto Community Criticize SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s Remarks
According to Cointelegraph, Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, and various crypto community members have criticized the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairperson Gary Gensler’s recent remarks. On November 16, Gensler shared a video of him conducting a speech at the 2023 Securities Enforcement Forum, where he reiterated the SEC’s mandate and quoted the first SEC chairperson, Joseph P. Kennedy. Gensler emphasized that the government agency should be ‘partners of honest business and prosecutors of dishonesty.’
Alderoty, who is currently engaged in a legal battle against the SEC, responded to Gensler’s remarks, stating that they should be fact-checked and that Gensler has ‘prejudged crypto and has filed suit against others without investigation.’ Alderoty also pointed out that Ripple was sued but was ‘never charged with dishonesty.’ He accused the SEC of being criticized for ‘shady behavior’ and becoming ‘irrelevant’ internationally.
- Tether Charts Strategic Course in Bitcoin Mining, Plans $500 Million Infusion
Under the strategic guidance of Paolo Ardoino, Tether is set to bolster its mining endeavors. The company is earmarking close to half a billion dollars for enhancing its mining facilities and acquiring stakes in other enterprises. Ardoino shared these insights during a Bloomberg interview conducted on Thursday.
Tether, at the helm of the largest stablecoin by market worth, currently manages the third most valuable cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization. This year, the firm started to expand toward the mining sector. In May 2023, the company made a strategic move into “sustainable bitcoin mining operations in Uruguay.” In June, Tether unveiled its investment in a Salvadoran bitcoin mining venture known as “Volcano Energy.”
- AI’s energy consumption concerns echo Bitcoin mining criticisms, says Heatbit founder
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are demanding huge amounts of computing resources as interest in the space grows, but conventional Bitcoin BTC tickers down $36,384 miners are not jumping on the bandwagon just yet.
Speaking to Cointelegraph journalist Joe Hall at Web Summit 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, Heatbit founder Alex Busarov believes that mining farms, data centers and small-scale computing power providers are far more clued up on Bitcoin mining than the nascent AI and ML infrastructure space.
“The reason for that is when people talk about AI, that’s normally the actual application side of AI; it can speak for you, or it can create your voice or whatnot, but people don’t really think of the compute side of AI as much,” Busarov explains.
o-bitcoin-mining-criticisms-says-heatbit-founder
- Dogecoin Futures Open Interest Jumps to 7B DOGE, Indicating Risky Bets
A key metric of dogecoin (DOGE) futures jumped about 40% in the past 24 hours, an indication of higher risk-taking behaviors among traders and one that has historically marked local price tops in crypto markets.
Open interest, or the number of unsettled futures bets, spiked to more than 7 billion DOGE tokens on Friday, reaching levels previously seen in April. These positions are worth $600 million at current prices.
Nearly half of the bets, $275 million worth of futures positions, are placed on Binance, followed by Bybit at $134 million and OKX at $85 million. The longs-to-shorts ratio is 50% on either side, implying traders may have hedged all their bets.
- Crypto Gaming Powers Up: Daily Active Wallets Hit a Million
Crypto-enabled games saw continued growth last month, reaching one million daily unique active wallets (DUAWs) on multiple dates in October, according to a report published Thursday from DappRadar.
In September, blockchain games collectively amassed more than one million DUAWs on three days. In October, blockchain games saw more than one million DUAWs on four days, according to a chart from the crypto data firm, as the overall daily average appeared to tick up gradually over the course of the month.
https://decrypt.co/206392/crypto-gaming-powers-up-daily-active-wallets-hit-million
- Shiba Inu Token Burn Rate Soars by Over 1,300% in 24 Hours, Destroying Over 105 Million Tokens
According to CryptoPotato, the burn rate of Shiba Inu memecoin has surged by over 1,300% in 24 hours, resulting in the destruction of more than 105 million tokens. This move aims to reduce the total supply of SHIB, potentially increasing its scarcity and value. In October, the memecoin burned approximately 1.4 billion tokens, with a record day on October 28 when over 250 million SHIB were removed from circulation.
SHIB’s price has been on an uptrend, increasing by 12% in two weeks and 25% monthly. It has overtaken Bitcoin Cash in market capitalization, entering the top 20 cryptocurrencies. The launch and progress of Shibarium, a layer-2 blockchain solution, may be contributing to SHIB’s recent price rally. The network officially went live at the end of August and has since surpassed 1.5 million total blocks and nearly 4 million total transactions.
- 58 US Lawmakers Probe Biden and Yellen on Hamas’ Crypto Operations
Fifty-eight U.S. lawmakers sent a bipartisan letter to President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday seeking answers regarding Hamas’ crypto operations, including the group’s “ability to utilize digital assets to finance its operations.” The fact-finding letter aims to help Congress gain a better understanding of Hamas’ use of cryptocurrencies.
Noting that Congress needs “greater context around Hamas’s operations,” the lawmakers, including U.S. Representatives Tom Emmer (R-MN), Patrick McHenry (R-NC), French Hill (R-AR), and Ritchie Torres (D-NY), wrote:
Congress must understand the size, scope, and duration of Hamas’s digital asset operations, as well as whether the United States has had success in seizing illicit digital assets.
https://news.bitcoin.com/58-us-lawmakers-probe-biden-and-yellen-on-hamas-crypto-operations/
