Golden Morning Post | The U.S. proposes to ban the government from launching new digital asset ETFs using China's blockchains 21Shares and ARK Invest

Headlines

▌****New U.S. bill proposes to ban the government from using China-developed blockchain and USDT

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a new bill, CLARITY, that would prohibit federal government officials from doing business with Chinese blockchain companies, and it also explicitly prohibits U.S. government officials from transacting with iFinex, the parent company of Tether, the issuer of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin. The bill also prohibits U.S. officials from transacting with The Spartan Network, The Conflux Network, and Red Date Technology Co., the company behind the digital yuan.

It is reported that the CLARITY bill was jointly introduced by U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Virginia), both of whom do not belong to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and do not hold important positions in committees.

▌****21Shares and ARK Invest Launch New Digital Asset ETF Suite, Trading Starts Next Week

21Shares and ARK Invest have announced that they will launch a new suite of digital asset ETFs, with a total of five ETF products. Leveraging on-chain signals and the crypto-native experience of both companies, these ETFs aim to achieve long-term capital appreciation through strategic investments in Bitcoin and Ethereum futures contracts and the application of blockchain technology. According to the prospectus, the ETFs will be listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) and will begin trading next week.

According to the website, the five products are: ARK 21Shares Active Bitcoin Futures Strategy ETF (symbol: ARKA); ARK 21Shares Active On-Chain Bitcoin Strategy ETF (Symbol: ARKC); ARK 21Shares Active Bitcoin Ethereum Strategy ETF (symbol: ARKY); ARK 21Shares Active Ethereum Futures Strategy ETF (symbol: ARKZ); ARK 21Shares Blockchain & Digital Economy Innovation ETF (Symbol: ARKD).

Quotes

As of press time, according to CoinMarketCap data:

BTC was last traded at $35,626.6, with an intraday change**+1****.12%**;

ETH last traded at $1,888.49, with an intraday change**-0.03%**;

BNB was last traded at $246.62, with an intraday change**+0****.31%**;

XRP was last traded at $0.6875, with an intraday change**+0****.47%**;

DOGE last traded at $0.0753, with an intraday change**+1****.74%**;

ADA last traded at $0.3577, intraday change**+0****.73%**;

SOL was last traded at $43.124, with an intraday change**+0****.82%**.

POLICY

▌****U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer Includes Cryptocurrency Provisions in House Budget Bill

Rep. Tom Emmer, Republican of Minnesota, is pushing through an amendment to how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) uses funds. Emmer’s amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Grants Act, which passed by verbal vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, prohibits securities regulators from using their budgets to take enforcement action against crypto companies until Congress passes legislation that grants the SEC jurisdiction over asset classes.

“The unique characteristics of digital assets make it difficult for the asset class to fit into any existing regulatory framework, but that doesn’t mean that the federal bureaucracy with the most taxpayer-funded resources can crack down on crypto through enforcement,” Emmer said. ”

▌****Source: SEC has started negotiations with Grayscale on the details of GBTC conversion to ETF

According to a person familiar with the matter, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has entered talks with Grayscale on the details of the company’s application to convert its trust product GBTC into a spot bitcoin ETF, which could have a significant impact on the crypto industry.

Since winning the court case, Grayscale has been in contact with the SEC’s trading markets division, as well as the Corporation Finance division, both of which will play a role in developing and approving the company’s ETF filings, the person said, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Craig Salm, Grayscale’s chief legal officer, said: “At the moment we are only focused on a constructive re-engagement with the trading markets sector, and there are still some things that need to be resolved.” Salm also noted that other applicants, including BlackRock and Fidelity, appear to be making progress in the SEC’s registration negotiations with their own, saying, “It’s just a matter of time, not if.” ”

▌******U.S. House of Representatives Panel Announces Hearing on Cryptocurrency Crimes on November 15

According to market sources, the U.S. House of Representatives panel announced that it will hold a hearing on cryptocurrency crimes on November 15.

▌**********SEC investigates whether Jump Crypto president signed a secret agreement with Do Kwon during the UST crash**

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened an investigation into whether Jump Crypto President Kanav Kariya entered into a secret agreement with Terraform Labs’ Do Kwon during the collapse of stablecoin TerraUSD.

As part of an ongoing civil lawsuit against Terraform Labs by the SEC, SEC attorney Devon Staren removed Kanav Kariya from his post in August, Staren said Kwon and Kariya signed an agreement on May 23, 2021 (a few weeks after UST’s depegging) under the terms that Jump would help restore UST’s peg by purchasing tokens in exchange, Kwon will allegedly amend Jump’s LUNA loan agreement and remove the exercise conditions. Kanav Kariya declined to answer the question.

▌****Spanish Securities Market Commission opens an investigation into crypto advertising violations for the first time

Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) has filed a lawsuit against the country’s technology provider, Miolos SL, for running two cryptocurrency-related advertising campaigns between September and November last year, the first time in the country’s history that a case has been opened against crypto ad violations, according to Reuters.

CNMV alleges that Miolos SL failed to include warnings and relevant information about the risky nature of cryptoassets. Prior to the launch of the campaign, the company failed to communicate with regulators. A CNMV regulator said: "This is the first time that a sanctions process has been initiated for non-compliance with the Notice of Regulation of Advertising for Cryptoassets. ”

According to Reuters, CNMV is also investigating four other incidents related to possible similar crypto ad breaches.

▌****U.S. Senators Propose Bill to Protect Bitcoin’s Self-Custody Rights

U.S. Senator Ted Budd has introduced a new bill, Keep Your Coins Act, to protect citizens’ right to self-custody of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The bill wants to protect the rights of individuals to use cryptocurrency assets for trading without having to utilize third-party intermediaries. In addition, Ted Budd said that the bill aims to prevent third-party risks for consumers during the FTX crash.

“As consumers face new challenges and risks associated with using digital currencies, we should empower individuals to maintain control of their digital assets,” Budd said in a statement. This approach will promote financial freedom and a more decentralized cryptocurrency ecosystem. ”

▌European Banking Authority Publishes Draft Guidance for Stablecoin Issuers

As mandated by the recently adopted Cryptoasset Market Regulation (MiCA) policy, the European Banking Authority on Wednesday released draft guidance for stablecoin issuers, which outlines how issuers of stablecoins (which regulators refer to as Asset Reference Tokens (ART)) and other cryptocurrencies should structure their risk management and recovery plans.

“All issuers should include a depegging risk indicator designed to track the alignment between the market price of the token and the market value of the reference asset,” the draft reads. The regulator stipulates that in order to deal with “adverse circumstances” that may affect the company’s compliance with regulatory standards, appropriate measures must be put in place to ensure that token holders are adequately compensated. The EBA recommends that issuers should include at least one recovery option to enhance their capital position and one recovery option designed to improve the issuer’s liquidity position.

The consultation period on the Exposure Draft will close on February 8, and the EBA also invites interested parties to participate in a public hearing on January 30.

Blockchain Applications

▌****Near Foundation Launches New Data Availability Solution NEAR DA

The Near Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the Blockchain Near protocol, has announced the launch of “NEAR DA”, a new “data availability” solution designed to reduce the burden on the Ethereum blockchain to store and propagate large amounts of data, processing data generated by Ethereum’s fast-growing network or L2 network. THE PROJECT SAYS IT COULD BE 8,000 TIMES CHEAPER TO PUBLISH DATA ON NEAR DA THAN ON ETHEREUM.

Initial users of NEAR DA include Starknet’s Madara, Caldera, and Movement Labs.

Cryptocurrency

▌****Bloomberg analysts: It may take weeks or even months between the approval and launch of spot bitcoin ETFs

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart posted on the X platform that the launch of a spot bitcoin ETF needs to complete two paths. Even if the 19b-4 (Change of Trading Rules) is approved, the S-1 (Registration Statement) will still require approval from the Corp Fin Division, and there is no sign of completion at this time. It can take weeks or even months between approval and launch.

▌****Bloomberg analysts: SEC will open an “eight-day window” to approve spot bitcoin ETFs on November 9

Bloomberg analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas said that starting on November 9, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will open a short window that may approve all 12 spot bitcoin ETFs, including Grayscale’s GBTC, which will be open for at least eight days until the end of November 17.

Analysts said they still believe there is a 90% chance of approval on January 10 next year, even if it is not approved this month. But theoretically, between now and January 10, 2024, the SEC can make a decision on the top nine issuers on the list at any time.

▌******BIS Report: Stablecoins are not a safe store of value

Economists and analysts at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said in a report released Wednesday that stablecoins are not a safe store of value.

Stablecoins are typically pegged to assets such as the U.S. dollar, and the report says: “None of the stablecoins evaluated in this article were able to maintain their closing price at the level pegged to them.”

The paper examines stablecoins such as Pax Gold, USD Coin, Tether, and others, and also mentions the collapse of the Terra algorithmic stablecoin UST, which sent shockwaves through the entire cryptocurrency market and led to losses for the industry last year. “The lack of transparency about the availability and quality of these reserves could undermine trust in the credibility of stablecoins and their ability to maintain a peg exchange rate,” the report said.

▌**********Marathon Digital’s third-quarter earnings beat expectations, revenue fell short of expectations**

Marathon Digital Inc. (MARA), one of the largest Bitcoin miners in North America, beat earnings in the third quarter, but revenue fell short of expectations.

According to FactSet data, the miner reported third-quarter earnings of $0.35 per share, while analysts expected a loss of $0.11 per share. Third-quarter revenue was $97.8 million versus $99.6 million expected. Marathon produced 3,490 BTC in Q3, up from 2,926 in Q2 and 616 in Q3 a year ago. The company sold 66% of the bitcoin produced in the third quarter to cover operating costs, the statement said.

The company also said it expects Bitcoin mining hashrate to reach 26 EH/s in 2023 and expects its hashrate to grow by about 30% by 2024. If the company can meet this goal, it will become the largest publicly traded mining company in terms of computing power.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Economic Daily: Financial institutions are “excellent” not “more”

At present, the number of banking financial institutions in China has exceeded 4,500. A large number of people should be powerful, but the actual situation is that the quality and efficiency of financial services for the real economy are not high. The demand for credit in some key areas has not been effectively met, and the level of financial services needs to be improved. Support large state-owned financial institutions to become better and stronger, so that they can give full play to the role of “head goose”, actively fulfill their social responsibilities, and be the main force in serving the real economy and maintaining the ballast of financial stability; Support small and medium-sized financial institutions to take root in the local area and serve the local community, so that they can give full play to their geographical advantages and accurately serve long-tail customers; Strengthen the functional positioning of policy-based financial institutions, so that they can effectively improve the quality and efficiency of serving the national strategy and serving the real economy; Give full play to the functions of the insurance industry as an economic shock absorber and social stabilizer, so that it can play an important role in environmental protection, scientific and technological innovation, post-disaster reconstruction and other fields. (Golden Ten Data APP)

Golden Encyclopedia

What is the metadata in a blockchain transaction? **

The additional data or information that can be attached to a crypto transaction on the blockchain is known as metadata in a blockchain transaction. Metadata is data about data. In the context of blockchain transactions, it contains information that is not directly related to the transfer of cryptocurrencies but can provide additional functionality to the transaction. There are two types of on-chain metadata and off-chain metadata.

**Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, the content of the articles published by Golden Finance is for informational reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish the right investment philosophy and be sure to raise your awareness of risks. **

Source: Golden Finance