Weekly regulatory corner

In the US, all eyes are on what is happening around BTC ETFs. Meanwhile, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has loudly criticized the SEC’s actions. While China continues to tinker with its own CBDC, Russia is finally also considering cautious steps into the crypto world. Last week in the regulatory overview.

First BTC ETF starts on NYSE

October 19, 2021 will probably go down in the annals of the crypto world. After all, the deal ran with that ProShares BTC Strategy ETF at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the trading symbol BITO at. This was the first time that a BTC ETF received the blessing of the US stock exchange regulator SEC. The crypto markets responded promptly. The introduction of the financial product based on BTC futures contracts prompted the No. 1 cryptocurrency to rise to new heights. On Wednesday, October 20, BTC was quoted at an impressive 67,277 US dollars, the highest value in its success story to date. SEC boss Gensler had already leaked in advance that ETF applications based on futures had higher chances of approval than ETFs that are directly linked to the BTC rate. An investigation of Bitwise Asset Management Last week also showed that the BTC futures market is the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is not only more secure in regulatory terms, but also has the lead in terms of pricing compared to the spot market.

Valkyrie is following suit with BTC ETF on NASDAQ

That ProShares was not the only horse in the ETF race, is hardly surprising. Also the BTC financial product from the house Valkyrie received the official go of the SEC on October 21. Trading in the Valkyrie BTC Strategy ETF at the NASDAQ start in New York. Small delicacy: the trade abbreviation BTFD refers to the meme slogan “Buy the fucking Dip”; to German: “Buy the damn dip.” It calls on Hodler to buy more if the price drops. Next to Valkyrie the ETFs rise from Van Eck and Invesco also soon into the race. Industry giant Grayscale also announced plans to convert its own BTC Trust into an ETF as well. The latest news about BTC ETFs can be found in the associated news ticker from BTC-ECHO.

Ripple CEO criticizes SEC

That the SEC Has finally cleared the way for BTC ETFs, you may have earned a sympathy bonus from parts of the crypto community. But at least that one RippleCEO Brad Garlinghouse remains an opponent of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In view of the ongoing legal dispute between the crypto company and the tax authorities, such an attitude is not incomprehensible. So it’s not surprising that Garlinghouse with his virtual appearance in the course of DC Fintech Week had a few swipes against the SEC up his sleeve. The fact that ETH has overtaken XRP in the race for the second largest cryptocurrency is due to the Ripple-Boss on the action of the regulatory authority: “In the past few years, XRP has been the second most valuable digital asset. When it became clear that the SEC ETH had given a carte blanche, ETH has obviously exploded and this clarity helped. “

China is pushing E-Yuan adaptation

The e-yuan is coming. This message has been driving CBDC projects in other countries for a long time. A report from Financial Times suggests, however, that the Chinese government is dissatisfied with the pace of the pilot projects already underway. Beijing called companies like MC Donalds, Visa and Nike therefore to expand the tests. So far it has been particularly US franchise giants like Subway, Starbucks and just MC Donaldswho have favourited E-Yuan Payments. However, as part of the Olympic Winter Games, which will take place in Beijing in February 2022, the Chinese central bank is planning the next major test run. The fact that China prefers a central CBDC to BTC hardly seems surprising to some. After all, the state digital currency should give the rulers an insight into the payment behavior of their citizens.

Russia: cryptocurrencies against the US dollar?

During NATO on October 21 Deterrent scenarios against Russia, a Kremlin representative pondered last week about measures to curb the US dollar dominance in foreign trade and the domestic economy. In response to US sanctions, Russia has long been working on reducing its own US dollar reserves. In an interview with the news agency Interfax Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksander Pankin now indicated that, in addition to national and regional currencies, “in the future, presumably also some digital assets” could be considered as alternatives to the US dollar. The containment of the US dollar is not an end in itself, it takes place much more as a protective reflex. Pankin also said that no comparable measures are in the works against the euro. The talk of “digital assets” is vague. At least it cannot be ruled out that Pankin is targeting BTC and Co. President Putin gave opposite CNBC meanwhile to understand that the time for crypto payments in the energy business has not yet come.