SEC delays BTC ETF decision, Grayscale triumphs SEC, and BitBoy gets the boot: Hodler’s Digest, Aug 27 – Sept 2

Top Stories This Week

Grayscale wins SEC suit for Bitcoin ETF review

Crypto plus manager Grayscale Investments recently scored a large win successful its conflict against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

In an ongoing effort to person its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a Bitcoin exchange-traded money (ETF), the U.S. appeals tribunal justice accepted Grayscale’s statement that the SEC’s rejection of its caller ETF exertion was unfair.

The SEC had alleged that the GBTC didn’t person capable harmless practices and fraud extortion successful place.

Judge Neomi Rao gave the greenish airy to Grayscale’s petition for a 2nd review. 

Previously, Rao said that the SEC did not “offer immoderate explanation” arsenic to wherefore Grayscale was successful the wrong. 

However, the triumph doesn’t automatically mean Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF is simply a done deal. There’s inactive much to come…

BitBoy Crypto marque volition nary longer see YouTuber Ben Armstrong

The genitor institution of Hit Network, the folks down the “BitBoy Crypto” brand, conscionable gave the boot to their nationalist face, Ben Armstrong.

The institution alleged issues of substance maltreatment and fiscal harm arsenic reasons down the decision. 

In a YouTube and societal media announcement, Hit Network revealed that contempt efforts their efforts to enactment Armstrong during his conflict with addiction, they person decided to portion ways.

This follows Armstrong facing a bid of lawsuits successful caller times.

He was successful a class-action suit wherever investors accused him and different influencers of promoting FTX without disclosing however overmuch they were getting paid by the exchange. 

Furthermore, during the lawsuit, determination were claims that Armstrong threatened the plaintiff’s lawyers and adjacent blew disconnected a national judge’s orders to amusement up successful court. The lawsuit was enactment connected clasp successful June.

SEC delays determination connected 6 spot Bitcoin ETF applications

The SEC has chosen to postpone delivering a decision connected six applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs successful the United States. The committee has opted to widen its reappraisal play by an additional, pushing the determination further into October connected the calendar.

Shortly aft the quality broke, the SEC besides enactment BlackRock, the biggest plus manager successful the world, successful the same delayed determination boat.

Bitwise withdraws Bitcoin and Ether Market Cap ETF application

In a astonishing twist pursuing the U.S. SEC’s announcement of delays, Bitwise has submitted a request to retract its exertion for its Bitcoin and Ether Market Cap Weight Strategy ETF.

This exertion was primitively submitted to the SEC connected August 3. It seems that Bitwise is taking a measurement backmost to reconsider its attack contempt the little affirmative marketplace sentiment that followed Grayscale’s caller SEC win.

Robinhood bought backmost Sam Bankman-Fried’s involvement from US gov’t for $606M

Crypto and banal trading level Robinhood scooped up more than 55 cardinal shares of their ain institution that were antecedently owned by Sam Bankman-Fried, the erstwhile CEO of FTX.

The purchase, which outgo Robinhood astir $606 million, was finalized this week aft filing the paperwork with the U.S. SEC. These shares primitively belonged to Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, who is simply a co-founder of FTX done a institution called Emergent Fidelity Technologies. 

However, backmost successful January, the U.S. Department of Justice seized these shares.

The acquisition has been successful the works for a while. Robinhood’s committee of directors gave it the greenish airy successful its Q4 2022 report, and an SEC filing from August confirmed that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York approved the acquisition without immoderate ineligible complications. 

Winners and Losers

At the extremity of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is astatine $25,610, Ether (ETH) astatine $1,618 and XRP (XRP) astatine $0.49. The full marketplace headdress is $1.03 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the apical 3 altcoin gainers of the week are Toncoin (TON) astatine 33.90%, Iota (MIOTA) astatine 13.13% and Maker (MKR) at 12.33%.

The apical 3 altcoin losers of the week are KuCoin Token (KCS) astatine 15.53%, Hedera (HBAR) astatine 15.02% and Astar (ASTR) astatine 12.82%.

For much info connected crypto prices, marque definite to work Cointelegraph’s marketplace analysis.

Most Memorable Quotes

“There are galore cases wherever transparency is simply a feature, but radical bash not privation astir transactions successful the system to beryllium public.”

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase

“Now that the courts are starting to rein successful the SEC a bit, I deliberation there’s immoderate anticipation that the manufacture is benignant of igniting again successful the U.S.”

Jeremy McLaughlin, spouse astatine K&L Gates

“In the end, we volition win. You can’t bargain someone’s institution they built connected their individuality and win.”

Ben Armstrong, erstwhile frontman of BitBoy Crypto

“I decidedly bash deliberation we could spot successful this adjacent rhythm $100,000 outgo per Bitcoin, and that’s based connected if BTC were to seizure adjacent 2 to 5% of gold’s $13 trillion spot successful organization portfolios.”

Sue Ennis, vice president of Hut 8

“We spot constricted downside for crypto markets implicit the adjacent term.”

JPMorgan analysts

“I spoke to a feline the different time that has 80 altcoins successful his portfolio. There’s nary mode an idiosyncratic capitalist tin enactment crossed and cognize precisely what 80 antithetic coins are doing astatine immoderate 1 time.”

Ben Simpson, laminitis of Collective Shift

Prediction of the Week

Bitcoin risks ‘swift’ $23K dive aft BTC terms loses 11% successful August

Data indicates that Bitcoin is connected track for a retest of semipermanent enactment levels pursuing a driblet successful BTC terms arsenic August came to a close.

Reversing the gains witnessed the erstwhile week, BTC/USD is present trading beneath $26,000 arsenic of Sept. 1, according to information from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.

Initially, marketplace participants had reasons to beryllium optimistic arsenic Bitcoin held a cardinal semipermanent trendline and maintained the $27,000 level.

However, a determination by the U.S. SEC to hold respective Bitcoin ETF applications caused a alteration successful sentiment.

Bitcoin swiftly shed $1,000 successful worth implicit conscionable 2 hourly candles.

Traders person been speculating implicit the movements. 

“On-chain information suggests that $BTC lacks beardown enactment beneath the $25,400 mark,” fashionable trader Ali told X (formerly Twitter) subscribers.

On-chain monitoring assets Material Indicators delivered a likewise grim representation for BTC/USD connected regular (D), play (W) and adjacent monthly (M) timeframes.

Using signals from 1 of its proprietary trading tools, Trend Precognition, Material Indicators advised that $24,750 needed to clasp for bulls to person a accidental astatine clinching a rebound.

FUD of the Week

Balancer exploited successful astir $900k aft vulnerability warning.

The Ethereum automated marketplace shaper and decentralized concern protocol, Balancer, confirmed that it had fallen unfortunate to an exploit, resulting successful losses of astir $900,000. 

This incidental occurred soon aft they had disclosed a vulnerability that impacted respective pools.

An Ethereum code allegedly belonging to the attacker has been revealed by blockchain information adept Meier Dolev. Following the exploit, the code received 2 transfers of Dai stablecoin worthy $636,812 and $257,527, respectively, bringing its full equilibrium to implicit $893,978. 

“Balancer is alert of an exploit related to the vulnerability below,” the protocol’s squad posted connected X, adding that portion mitigation measures taken successful caller days had drastically reduced risks, affected pools could not beryllium paused. “To forestall further exploits, users indispensable retreat from affected LPs,” it advised.

Brazilian crypto streamer loses wealth by accidentally exposing backstage key

Brazilian cryptocurrency streamer Fraternidade Crypto is 1 of the latest victims of unsafe self-custody practices, reportedly losing thousands of dollars owed to a backstage cardinal accident. During a livestream connected YouTube, the proprietor of the Fraternidade Crypto channel, Ivan Bianco, unwittingly exposed his backstage cardinal to a self-custodial cryptocurrency wallet.

In the mediate of the livestream related to Bitcoin and blockchain games, Bianco seemingly tried to entree his passwords for the blockchain games level Gala Games done a substance record connected his computer.

Unfortunately for the streamer, his Gala Games passwords were stored successful the aforesaid substance record arsenic the effect operation for his MetaMask wallet, which had a important magnitude of Polygon’s (MATIC).

Exploits, hacks and scams stole astir $1B successful 2023: Report

Cybersecurity steadfast CertiK reported that implicit $997 cardinal was mislaid to flash loan attacks, exit scams, and exploits successful 2023.

Malicious actors targeting the crypto abstraction person taken much than $45 cardinal successful integer assets from their victims successful the period of August unsocial and a full of $997 cardinal year-to-date.

In the report, CertiK highlighted that exit scams took astir $26 million, flash indebtedness attacks took $6.4 million, and exploits took $13.5 cardinal from their victims successful August. The cybersecurity steadfast confirmed that the full losses amounted to implicit $45 million.

How to support your crypto successful a volatile market: Bitcoin OGs and experts measurement in.

Crypto is simply a volatile place. Money can beryllium arsenic easy lost arsenic made done the ups and downs of Bitcoin and the wider market. Bitcoin OGs, veterans and experts supply their opinions, tools and views connected however to support your crypto.