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BlackRock CEO Larry Fink recently stated the firm’s intention to make Bitcoin more accessible and affordable. Characterising Bitcoin as an “international asset”, Fink highlighted the current high expense to transact Bitcoin. BlackRock filed an application to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund last month, which triggered a wave of similar filings from other asset management firms. Fink hoped that regulatory authorities would view these filings as a step towards crypto democratisation. Despite initial reservations, Fink now sees Bitcoin as digitising gold. Source: https://www.bloomberg.com

Bitcoin experienced a surge on 6 July, climbing 3.28% to reach a 13-month peak of $31,500. The rise in Bitcoin price is fueled by the asset management giant BlackRock’s plans to launch a US-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Nasdaq refiled BlackRock’s ETF application on 3 July after addressing concerns raised by the US securities regulator over its first submission. Source: https://www.reuters.com

Crypto exchange BitgetX has become a member of the Hong Kong Virtual Asset Consortium (HKVAC), a platform offering ratings and indexes for cryptocurrencies. Fiona Fan, founding member of HKVAC, welcomed the move and said both parties have common objectives to promote the long-term development of the virtual asset industry in Hong Kong. In addition, BitgetX has reiterated its intention to secure a Virtual Service Asset Providers (VASP) under Hong Kong’s new licensing regime regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission to foster a compliant and secure digital asset ecosystem for the global market. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has determined that the bankrupt crypto lender, Celsius Network and its former CEO Alex Mashinsky breached US regulations prior to the company’s collapse, according to Bloomberg’s report. If a majority of the CFTC’s commissioners agree with these findings, the case could be filed in federal court as soon as this month. Investigators assert that Celsius, without registering with regulators, misled investors, while Mashinsky also broke rules. In parallel, Celsius is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Manhattan federal prosecutors. Source: https://www.bloomberg.com

In the face of regulatory hurdles, crypto exchange Binance and its US arm Binance.US have both experienced significant market share declines this year. The ongoing lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has led Binance’s global market share to dip from 60% at the beginning of the year to 52%. Binance.US’s share plummeted from over 22% in April to just 0.9% in June after customers were given a deadline to withdraw their dollar funds, following SEC’s asset freeze request. In contrast, Coinbase’s US market share spiked to 55% in June, benefiting from its role as a surveillance partner for asset managers like Fidelity for a spot bitcoin ETF filing. Source: https://www.reuters.com

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) unveiled regulations on 3 July, requiring cryptocurrency service providers to hold customer assets in statutory trusts by the end of the year. These measures aim to guard against the potential loss or misuse of customers assets and ensure a smooth recovery of assets if a digital payment token (DPT) service provider goes insolvent. The new regulations also require the crypto companies to conduct daily reconciliation of customer assets, have proper record-keeping, maintain access and operational controls to customers’ DPTs in Singapore and ensure that the custody function is operationally independent from other business units. Furthermore, the regulator is considering a ban on crypto service providers from enabling retail customers to lend or stake their DPTs. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has set forth the latest investor protection regulations targeting digital asset service providers. The new rules mandate these platforms to prominently display a trading risks disclaimer warning the customers of the potential risks of cryptocurrency trading. Users must acknowledge these risks before using such services. Notably, the new rules also prohibit service providers from using clients’ funds for lending or investment purposes. The regulations, effective from 31 July, come after a catastrophic cryptocurrency lending crisis in the 2022 bear market that led to the bankruptcy of several crypto lending firms. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

UK Financial Services Minister Andrew Griffith called for a careful approach towards the introduction of a digital pound on 4 July, citing privacy concerns. The finance ministry has begun a joint public consultation with the Bank of England on the potential launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The CBDC initiative must be proceeded with caution, which is the current approach in that joint consultation, said Griffith during a meeting with the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee. He stressed the importance of engaging in a thorough public policy debate in the consultation. Source: https://www.reuters.com

Bitcoin reached its highest level in over a year on 3 July, with the price hitting $31,250. This surge has been spurred by efforts from BlackRock and Nasdaq towards launching a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). In response to the concerns raised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nasdaq has resubmitted its application to the regulator. The bid for launching the US’s first spot Bitcoin ETF by BlackRock signals a significant institutional adoption for cryptocurrency. Nonetheless, Bitcoin and Ethereum are still 55% and 57% down from their all-time highs respectively. The total crypto market capitalisation, however, has grown from $911 billion to $1.25 trillion over the past year. Source: https://decrypt.co

Nasdaq has reportedly refiled the application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list a Bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) by BlackRock Inc. The revised filing, made public on 3 July, stated that Coinbase Global Inc will monitor the market in support of this ETF. This move follows regulatory concerns about the clarity of initial filings by Nasdaq. Coinbase is currently disputing an SEC lawsuit in court, maintaining that the crypto assets traded on its platform are not securities. Source: https://www.reuters.com

US cryptocurrency giant Coinbase saw its shares surge by 13% on 3 July following an announcement from exchange operator Cboe that it was collaborating with Coinbase to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) by asset management firm Fidelity. Cboe resubmitted an application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 30 June, identifying Coinbase as its chosen crypto platform to help the exchange monitor manipulation in the ETF. This move comes in response to the SEC’s concerns over the absence of the crypto-trading platforms’ name in Cboe’s original filing that could aid in detecting fraudulent activities in underlying Bitcoin markets. Source: https://www.reuters.com

Venture capital investments in crypto firms have plunged by over 70% within the past year, as per data from crypto provider RootData. According to the data, there were just 83 projects that received $520 million in June 2023, compared to $1.81 billion spread across 149 rounds last year. Despite this downturn, the infrastructure sector drew $213 million in funding last month, albeit a 50% drop from the previous month. The most active venture capitalist was Coinbase Ventures, with 71 funding rounds in the past year. Industry experts attribute this trend to several factors, including the growing popularity of investment in AI, the crypto turmoils that happened last year, and increasing regulatory scrutiny of the crypto industry. Source: https://decrypt.co