FTX Trial: Singh's Testimony

Markets React to ETF Chatter; Binance Faces Israel's Hamas-Related Freeze

Yesterday brought market volatility when a fake tweet claimed BlackRock received bitcoin ETF approval, liquidating $100 million in shorts. However, there are justified hopes from the actual news that the SEC will not appeal Grayscale’s bitcoin ETF. The markets continue to respond strongly to ETF headlines, both real and imagined. With this context, here is the latest industry news...

Market Update

Markets are mostly flat today. You can check real time trending news for updates.

Drama unfolds in FTX courtroom as executives implicate SBF. Former FTX executive Nishad Singh testified against founder Sam Bankman-Fried in court this week. Singh revealed discovering an $8 billion hole in FTX's finances months before bankruptcy but still approving transactions from user deposits. His testimony is part of the prosecution's fraud and conspiracy case against Bankman-Fried.

Binance halts UK user registration over regulatory requirements. Binance announced it will stop accepting new users in the UK due to legal directives from the country's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Current UK users can still access Binance services, but new products will be unavailable during this regulatory transition.

Fidelity utilizes EY's blockchain analytics tool. Fidelity is now using EY's "Blockchain Analyzer: Reconciler" to query on-chain data for risk management. The web-based dashboard allows organizations to independently source blockchain data to inform internal risk procedures.

Ark Invest's Cathie Wood critiques SEC's Bitcoin ETF approvals. Wood believes SEC Chair Gary Gensler, not the agency itself, is impeding spot bitcoin ETF approvals. She expects the SEC to approve several bitcoin ETFs together rather than individually.

Roblox integrates XRP payments via BitPay. The online gaming platform Roblox, with over 200 million monthly users, now allows XRP transactions through a BitPay integration. This connects crypto wallets to Roblox's payment system.

Reed's Law emphasizes crypto community power. Reed's Law posits network value grows exponentially with subgroups, contrasting Metcalfe's Law linking value to total users squared. This underscores the importance of community for cryptocurrencies.

California crypto bill boosts bitcoin price. An upcoming 2025 California crypto regulation bill benefited bitcoin's price, signaling long-term industry growth prospects.

Bitcoin dominance rate poses altcoin challenges. Bitcoin's market dominance is rising to its highest since April 2021, presenting obstacles for altcoins' previous growth.

BlackRock CEO highlights crypto interest. BlackRock's Larry Fink said a false report sparking a bitcoin rally showed substantial latent crypto demand. He cited worldwide client interest in crypto exposure.

Solana ecosystem funding highlights momentum. Squads Labs, developer of Solana multisig protocol Squads, raised $5.7 million led by Placeholder VC. This demonstrates ongoing development of Solana's ecosystem.

Israel freezes Binance accounts over Hamas concerns. Israel froze over 100 Binance accounts for suspected Hamas ties, requesting information on 200 more crypto accounts. This targets fund flows to the classified terrorist group.

Lido Finance ends Solana staking service. A token holder vote led Lido to close its Solana staking service over high costs and market competition. The company said this was not a permanent goodbye.

That's all for today's digest. For the latest and greatest, remember to keep an eye on Coinfeeds. Here's to another day of crypto adventures!