SEC Sees Increased ETF Interest Despite Regulation by Enforcement
Bitcoin exchange-traded fund-related news continued to draw interest this week. After the Blackrock Inc. (BLK) filing and the surprise approval of the Volatility Shares Trust 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF, Cboe BZX Exchange refiled the request to seek SEC approval for the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust. Previously, the SEC turned down the Fidelity West Origin Bitcoin Trust filing.
Market reaction to the increase in ETF activity was bullish, with BTC striking a current-year high of $31,475.
However, spot BTC ETF-related news on Friday dampened the mood. The SEC reportedly considered the BTC spot ETF applications lacking clarity and comprehensiveness. According to the Wall Street Journal, the SEC told NASDAQ and Cboe the Blackrock and Fidelity applications filings, among others, were inadequate.
One area of SEC focus was the lack of surveillance-sharing agreements or appropriate details about the surveillance-sharing agreements. 21Shares, ARK Invest, Blackrock, Fidelity, Invesco, Valkyrie, and WisdomTree all reportedly amended and refiled their applications on Friday.
The mixed news left BTC flat for the week. From Monday to Friday, BTC fell by 0.27% to $30,466, with the SEC news seeing BTC slide from a Friday high of $31,291 to sub-$30,000 before steadying.
However, for H1 2023, BTC surged by 84.54%, outmuscling the total crypto market and the NASDAQ Composite Index.
Binance Woes Continued to Test the Appetite for Cryptos
It was another mixed week for Binance. On Wednesday, the exchange announced Paysafe Payment Solutions Limited’s decision to end EUR services in September. Increasing regulatory scrutiny following the SEC charges against Binance.US, Binance, and Binance CEO CZ is having a ripple effect across Europe.
Last week, Binance.US announced the temporary resolution to the USD withdrawal problem. Failure to find a new European banking partner would further erode Binance’s market share.
Despite the gloomy news, binance coin (BNB) recovered from a current week low of $224.6 to wrap up Friday at $240.4. This week, BNB is up 0.59%.
XRP Bucked the Broader Market Trend on SEC v Ripple Silence
It was another quiet week for XRP. There were no updates from the ongoing SEC v Ripple case to provide direction. The lack of Court rulings left XRP in a bearish trend pattern, with the XRP Community seeing the chances of a settlement vanish after the SEC released the William Hinman speech-related documents.
While the SEC v Ripple case remains the focal point, Ripple-related news has cushioned the downside. However, reports of US banking giant Citigroup (C) reviewing its custody partnership with Metaco after one year was also bearish.
Ripple agreed to acquire Swiss crypto custody platform Metaco for $250 million in May.
For the current week, XRP is down 3.59% to $0.4727.
Coinbase Takes Center Stage in the ETF Space
Coinbase (COIN) was back in the news on Friday. Just weeks after the SEC filed charges against the NASDAQ-listed platform, Cboe’s BZX Exchange named Coinbase its surveillance-sharing agreement partner. ARK Invest, Fidelity, and Invesco are among the big names filing Bitcoin ETF applications through Cboe’s BZX Exchange.
It is unclear whether the selection of Coinbase will influence the SEC’s decision.
While ending Friday with a 1.21% loss, COIN jumped by 16.4% in the week ending June 30, the best weekly outing since March 13 (+40.31%).
