The main thing on the cryptocurrency market.
Nine spot bitcoin ETFs control more than 100,000 BTC
Nine spot bitcoins -ETFs hold more than 100,000 BTC in their accounts. This was reported by an analyst at K33Research.
According to experts, as of January 22, 2024, issuers of Bitcoin spot funds own 109,221 BTC. This number includes ETFs from firms such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, Ark 21Shares, Invesco, VanEck, Valkyrie, Franklin Templeton and WisdomTree.
However, K33Research did not take into account the number of bitcoins managed by Grayscale.< /p>
Experts noted that the IBIT fund from BlackRock holds more bitcoins – 40,213 BTC, the second place in this indicator is occupied by FBTC from Fidelity – 34,152 BTC.
At the Sotheby auction' s sold Bitcoin NFT for $254,000
At the Sotheby's auction, which lasted from January 12 to January 22, 2024, an NFT based on the Ordinals protocol was sold for $245,000. The digital artwork, titled Genesis Cat, was created by Taproot Wizards artist Francisco Alarcón.
gmeow pic.twitter.com/MuBP6Zj1G9
— Udi Wertheimer (@udiWertheimer) January 22, 2024
It is known that the final bid for the Genesis Cat lot was more than 12 times higher than its estimated value, which ranged from $15,000 to $20,000.
A Sotheby's representative told CoinDesk that the NFT was sold as part of the Ordinals Curated Sale, where a total of 19 lots were offered, which brought in about $1.1 million.
Taproot Wizards Marketing Director Dan Held stated that profits from sales of Genesis Cat will be paid to the project and the artist.
The US Congress became interested in Meta's plans for cryptocurrency
Member of the US House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Maxine Waters asked Meta for information about possible plans of the corporation in the field of digital assets.
The legislator sent a letter to the CEO and founder of the company, Mark Zuckerberg, as well as COO Javier Olivan. The Commission's top Democrat was concerned about Meta's five active trademark applications focused on blockchain and cryptocurrency. The corporation presented them on March 18, 2022.
Watters believes this situation demonstrates Meta's desire to increase its presence in the digital assets space, which contradicts previous statements from company representatives. In October 2023, they assured the Committee that the corporation had no active projects in the field of cryptocurrencies.
Meta abandoned the plan to issue a stablecoin Diem (first Libra), announced in mid-2019, due to pressure from legislators. In January 2022, the company sold the project for $200 million to the now bankrupt Silvergate Bank.
These patent applications relate to services for trading, exchange, payments, transfers, wallets and related equipment in the field of “blockchain assets”, as well as related software.
In connection with this, Waters requested detailed information from Meta about the plans on Web3 initiatives, including the integration of DLT technology and the launch of a payment platform based on cryptocurrencies.
FINRA found a violation in 70% of reports about crypto assets
US Financial Services Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) stated that approximately 70% of public communications related to cryptocurrencies violate regulatory requirements.
According to the report, since November 2022, FINRA has reviewed more than 500 public communications that mention digital assets. The regulator concluded that many of them contained “false, exaggerated, suggestive, unsubstantiated or misleading statements” that violated Rule 2210.
The document requires, among other things, that broker-dealer communications be honest and meaningful, and also provide a solid basis for evaluating the facts relating to any product or service.
Other potential violations of Rule 2210 include:
- false statements or representations that cryptoassets function like cash or equivalent instruments; comparing cryptoassets with other assets (such as investments in stocks or cash) without providing a reliable basis for comparing the various characteristics and risks of those investments; an explanation of how digital assets work, their main functions and misleading risks; failure to provide accurate valuation information due to a lack of clear explanations of how cryptocurrencies are issued, held, transferred or traded.
According to the report, misinformation about cryptocurrencies occurs in a variety of information sources, from podcasts to commercials.
FINRA is a non-governmental regulatory body, but it is authorized by the US Congress to oversee specific areas related to with investor protection.
