Day: June 19, 2024

This post was originally published on this site

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has concluded its investigation into Ethereum 2.0, according to a late Tuesday announcement by cryptocurrency firm ConsenSys on social media platform X. ConsenSys had previously filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the SEC’s regulation of the Ethereum blockchain.

ConsenSys founder Joseph Lubin hailed the SEC’s decision as “a significant victory” for Ethereum. “While we welcome this development, it’s not enough. We must remain vigilant and continue advocating for clear and fair regulations that enable innovation to flourish,” Lubin, who also co-founded the cryptocurrency Ether, stated on X.

Despite the SEC’s decision, ConsenSys plans to continue its lawsuit to seek a court ruling that the SEC lacks legal authority to regulate the user-controlled software interfaces built on Ethereum or the Ethereum blockchain itself.

An SEC spokesperson declined to comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation.

Last month, the SEC approved applications from Nasdaq, CBOE, and NYSE to list spot Ether ETFs, a surprising win for the cryptocurrency industry, which had anticipated rejections.

Featured Image: Freepik

Please See Disclaimer

This post was originally published on this site

Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) has integrated its multi-chain layer-2 network, Anduro, with the decentralized exchange network Portal to Bitcoin. This integration aims to enhance the utility of the Bitcoin network by enabling atomic swaps, which allow for peer-to-peer transactions of cryptocurrencies across different blockchains.

Marathon, a publicly-traded bitcoin miner, began incubating Anduro in February, describing it as “a platform built on the Bitcoin network that allows for the creation of multiple sidechains.” The integration with the San Francisco-based fintech provider and subsequent renaming to Portal to Bitcoin was announced in an email shared with CoinDesk on Wednesday.

Previously known as Portal, the company raised $34 million in a seed round in March. It leverages the Bitcoin layer-2 network Lightning to facilitate atomic swaps, enabling users to convert assets like Ethereum (ETH) into Bitcoin (BTC).

This development brings greater utility to Bitcoin, a feature common among Ethereum-based assets and other blockchains but relatively new to Bitcoin. Anduro’s integration with Portal to Bitcoin may also offer new revenue streams for miners. By using merge-mining, participating miners can earn Bitcoin-denominated revenue from transactions on these sidechains while continuing to mine Bitcoin on the base layer.

“Integrating Portal to Bitcoin enhances the utility of Bitcoin and presents new opportunities for revenue generation for miners,” said a Marathon spokesperson.

Featured Image: Freepik

Please See Disclaimer

This post was originally published on this site

Hashdex has submitted a proposal to the Securities and Exchange Commission to create an exchange-traded fund that would include both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). The proposed ETF, named Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF, aims to offer investors exposure to the two leading cryptocurrencies, reflecting their distribution in the Nasdaq Crypto Index.

The ETF would be composed of approximately 70.54% Bitcoin and 29.46% Ethereum, adhering to a market-cap-weighted strategy that mirrors the broader cryptocurrency market as represented by the Nasdaq Crypto Index.

This initiative marks a significant advancement in integrating digital assets into conventional financial instruments, potentially broadening the accessibility of cryptocurrencies to a wider range of investors. The fund will be backed by custodians Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) Custody Trust Company and BitGo Trust Company and will maintain cash reserves.

While initially focusing on Bitcoin and Ethereum, the ETF may consider including additional digital assets in the future, pending SEC approval. This proposal arrives during a favorable regulatory climate, following the SEC’s approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs and the anticipated introduction of Ethereum ETFs in the U.S. market.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler recently indicated to a Senate committee that Ethereum ETFs might begin trading by this summer.

Featured Image: Freepik

Please See Disclaimer

This post was originally published on this site

Jump Crypto has added $10 million to a U.S. political action committee focused on promoting pro-crypto candidates in Congress. This brings the total contributions from Jump, a Chicago-based investment firm, to $15 million, and raises the PAC’s total funds to nearly $169 million as of Wednesday, according to spokesman Josh Vlasto.

The significant fundraising effort by Fairshake and its affiliated PACs has positioned the crypto industry with one of the most influential campaign-finance operations for the 2024 elections. These super PACs have been heavily investing in primary campaigns, helping their preferred candidates advance toward likely general-election victories in November.

“The crypto and blockchain communities have united to form a sustainable bipartisan coalition and an effective long-term operation,” Vlasto stated. “We will continue to support candidates committed to responsible regulation that drives innovation, creates jobs, and maintains America’s global leadership.”

A spokeswoman for Jump Crypto declined to comment on the donation. This substantial contribution follows recent matching $25-million donations from major crypto firms Coinbase Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN), Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz.

As of the May 31 Federal Election Commission filing, Fairshake and its related PACs—Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress—held $109 million. With less than five months until the final voting, Vlasto confirmed the PACs do not plan to support presidential candidates, instead focusing on proven congressional incumbents and crypto-friendly candidates.

Recent votes in Congress have provided clearer indicators of lawmakers’ stances on crypto. In May, the House passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, the first comprehensive crypto oversight legislation to clear either chamber. Its future in the Senate remains uncertain, but the vote revealed which House members support crypto regulations.

Additionally, both chambers voted to overturn the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto account policy, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 12. Although President Joe Biden vetoed this effort, it showed 11 Senate Democrats joining Republicans against the SEC policy and the White House’s stance.

These votes demonstrated unexpected support from Democrats and are being used to evaluate lawmakers. Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group started by Coinbase, uses a grading system to rate politicians. For example, Sen. Mark Warner received a “D” grade for his no vote on the SAB 121 resolution, while Sen. Chuck Grassley earned a “B” grade for supporting it.

“Recent votes have helped us educate our advocates on politicians’ positions on crypto,” said Sabrina Siddiqui, a spokesman for Stand With Crypto. She noted that the group reached over a million online members earlier than expected due to strong interest in these key votes.

Featured Image: Freepik

Please See Disclaimer

This post was originally published on this site

Crypto investment firm Pantera Capital aims to raise $1 billion for a new fund dedicated to revitalizing the crypto industry. Cosmo Jiang, Pantera Capital’s portfolio manager, revealed that over $200 million of this fund is allocated for investments in artificial intelligence projects.

In a recent interview with DL News, Jiang expressed his belief that AI will become integral to every crypto company, likening it to the necessity of a website for modern businesses. “Investing in AI firms will soon be as standard as investing in companies with websites,” Jiang stated.

Pantera Capital is therefore on the lookout for projects that leverage AI to enhance blockchain technology and vice versa.

Pantera Capital, which counts major companies like Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), Circle, and Bitstamp in its portfolio, plans to significantly increase its investment in AI-related blockchain projects with the new fund. Jiang noted that their previous fund allocated around 15% to 20% of its capital to such projects, and expects the new fund to allocate even more.

If this trend continues, Pantera Capital could potentially invest over $200 million in AI-adjacent crypto projects over the next decade. Although Jiang did not confirm an exact figure, he acknowledged it as a reasonable estimate.

The fusion of AI and blockchain technologies has captured significant interest, with predictions suggesting it could contribute about $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Investors have already funneled over $98.8 million into this sector since the start of 2024. The market value of AI tokens has reached $26 billion, and Bitcoin miners are exploring ways to supply processing power for training AI tools used by Silicon Valley giants.

Pantera Capital is not the only entity recognizing the potential of AI and blockchain convergence. Hedge fund manager Brevan Howard is also actively exploring opportunities in this space.

In a related development, three major AI blockchain firms—SingularityNET, Fetch.ai, and Ocean Protocol—are planning to merge their crypto tokens to create a decentralized AI platform. The proposed ASI token is expected to have a fully diluted value of approximately $7.5 billion. While the merger plans require community approval, an official announcement could come as early as Wednesday. The merged entity, the Superintelligence Collective, will guide their collaborative efforts while allowing the companies to maintain their individual operations.

However, there is some skepticism regarding AI-related crypto tokens. A recent research report by leading crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) suggested that the surge in the AI token market might be driven more by hype than by genuine utility. The report indicated that the value of many AI tokens could be overstated due to the prevailing focus on the AI industry and that these tokens might lack sustainable demand-side drivers in the near to medium term.

Featured Image: Freepik

Please See Disclaimer

This post was originally published on this site

Long-term bitcoin holders and miners have been significant sellers in the past two weeks, with little sign of renewed demand, according to on-chain analysis firm CryptoQuant in a report shared with CoinDesk.

CryptoQuant’s data shows that whales—large holders of bitcoin—sold over $1.2 billion worth of BTC recently, likely through brokers rather than on the open market.

“Traders are not increasing their Bitcoin holdings, and large holders’ (whales) demand growth is still lacking strength,” analysts noted. “Stablecoin liquidity has continued to slow, growing at its slowest pace since November 2023.”

These traders have been reducing their holdings since BTC prices peaked over $70,000 in late May, as indicated by declining UTXO age bands tracked by CryptoQuant.

Unspent Transaction Outputs are created in every Bitcoin transaction and are used by traders to analyze buying and selling patterns. A decrease in UTXO age usually signals increased Bitcoin activity and selling, while an increase suggests more holding.

Market observers suggest that miners are shifting focus to the booming artificial intelligence sector, leading to the sale of their bitcoin rewards. Both the AI and cryptocurrency sectors rely heavily on powerful computing chips.

“One of the biggest trends since Bitcoin halving this year is that miners are increasingly moving towards the AI business,” shared Lucy Hu, senior analyst at Metalpha, a crypto fund, in a Telegram message. “The reduction in mining rewards has pushed miners to explore other revenue streams. With AI firms needing energy-intensive data centers, Bitcoin miners are boosting revenue through sales to AI companies.”

Since June 5, BTC prices have dropped from $71,000 to just over $65,000 as of Wednesday, influenced by a strong dollar, a shift away from riskier assets, and growth in traditional stock indices. Additionally, U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds tracking Bitcoin recorded net outflows of over $600 million last week, marking their worst performance since late April.

Some traders have warned that BTC could fall to as low as $60,000 without new growth catalysts.

Currently, BTC is down 0.6% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. Meanwhile, the CoinDesk 20, an index of the largest tokens, is up 1.2%.

Featured Image: Freepik

Please See Disclaimer