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Bitwise has officially filed an S1 form with the SEC for a Chainlink (LINK) ETF. This is the only LINK ETF application submitted to the financial watchdog. Crypto-based ETFs have become increasingly popular over the last year. The number of crypto ETFs is only expected to surge over the coming years. Will The SEC Approve Bitwise’s Chainlink ETF Application? Source: tokenmetrics The SEC is currently reviewing several crypto-based ETFs. The agency made history last year when it approved Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs for the US market. Bitcoin and Ethereum hit new all-time highs earlier this month, largely due to high ETF inflows. The SEC is now led by Paul Atkins, a pro-cryptocurrency candidate. There is a high chance that the SEC will approve most of the ETF applications they have received, given that there aren’t any issues with the applications. The Chainlink (LINK) ETF could be one of many to be approved by the SEC. Will LINK Rise To a New All-Time High? An ETF app...

The founders of now-collapsed Lithuanian crypto project Bankera (BNK) used funds from its much-hyped initial coin offering (ICO) to buy up luxury real estate, including a villa on the French Riviera and high-end property in Lithuania, leaving unlucky investors a collective €100 million ($113.7 million) out of pocket. This is according to a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Lithuanian outlet 15min. Bankera’s founders Vytautas Karalevičius, Justas Dobiliauskas, and Mantas Mockevičius raised the funds from more than 100,000 investors during the 2017 ICO, promising to create “a bank for the blockchain era.” However, according to the OCCRP, instead of building the promised blockchain-powered bank, the founders appear to have funneled millions into an extensive real estate portfolio via a web of companies and a privately owned Pacific island bank . The ICO proceeds, originally meant to develop cryptocurrency infrastr...

In what is one of the most optimistic outlooks for the leading cryptocurrency, Ark Invest projects that Bitcoin can reach a $2.4 million price by the year 2030. Indeed, the company’s aggressive modeling has placed the major target for the cryptocurrency to reach over the course of the next five years. The asset has certainly struggled since the start of 2025 but was surging before the calendar turned. Specifically, the token reached a six-figure price for the very first time in late 2024, with sentiment reaching an all-time high. Moreover, with favorable regulation on the horizon, that should just be the start for Bitcoin. Source: Proactive Investors Also Read: ARK Invest Bitcoin Purchase: Cathie Wood Bets Big on Crypto With $80M Buy Ark Invests Projects Bitcoin to Reach New Heights In the Next Five Years It has been a rather interesting year for Bitcoin so far. Although the price had struggled mightily in the first three months, things are starting to turn around. With BlackRock ...

A Kamala Harris adviser said the vice president would back policies to help the growth of the crypto industry if she wins November’s election, but the comments were slammed by industry leaders, including Cardano CEO Charles Hoskinson.  “We need specific, tangible actions,” Hoskinson said in an Aug. 21 post on X. “No specific policy or proposal. Just talk. Will Gary be fired? What legislation do you support? What executive actions will be issued? I’m sorry there is ZERO trust.”  Harris To Support Emerging Technologies “She’s going to support policies that ensure that emerging technologies and that sort of industry can continue to grow,” said Brian Nelson, a senior campaign advisor on policy to Kamala Harris, at a roundtable event hosted at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, according to an Aug. 21 report   by Bloomberg. Nate Geraci, the president of the ETF Store, also was critical of Nelson...

The Federal Court of Canada has ruled that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of emergency legislation to suppress the “freedom convoy” protests in 2022, was “unreasonable.” On Jan. 23, a Canadian federal court ruled that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to use Canada’s Emergencies Act to freeze crypto used to support truck convoy protest ers in 2022 was an unjustifiable infringement of civil rights. The Federal Court of Canada particularly deemed the freezing of bank accounts and crypto for individuals associated with the protest unjustified. However, it rejected claims that the government had violated various other rights. Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley noted the government cannot simply invoke the Emergencies Act “because it is convenient, or because it may work better than other tools at their disposal or available to the provinces,” adding that this measure should only be considered as a “tool of l...

Hong Kong’s securities regulator is exploring the possibility of approving crypto spot ETFs, signaling a potential shift in the regulatory landscape in the region. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have published a joint circular, noting a growing number of inquiries interested in launching spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs). While the SFC has granted permission for licensed crypto providers to offer crypto currency futures ETFs in Hong Kong, the regulator hasn’t made the same move for spot ones. However, this time, the SFC has stated that it is “prepared to accept applications for the authorization of other funds with exposure to crypto currencies,” including spot crypto ETFs. You might also like: Hong Kong mulls green bond sale using blockchain “The SFC and the HKMA have reviewed their existing policy for intermediaries which wish to engage in virtual asset-related activities. Th...

Crypto exchange Binance has tightened its listing policy as the number of listed trading instruments declined by 21% in 2023, Kaiko reports. According to a new report published by Diving Into DEXs, Binance is now taking an accelerated approach delisting entities in a rapid pace after its founder and former chief executive Changpeng Zhao settled a $4.3 billion case with U.S. regulators for, among other things, operating an unlicensed exchange. Analysts at Kaiko admitted that Binance was not the only crypto exchange in 2023 to scale down its listing offerings as Coinbase and OKX have delisted some instruments. In the meantime, U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken, on the contrary, slightly increased the number of supported cryptocurrencies, according to Kaiko data. Number of listed cryptocurrencies on Binance vs Binance.US, Coinbase, Kraken and OKX | Source: Kaiko You might also like: Newly published DoJ document reveals Binance’s supervision requirements In mid-October...

The Estonia-based firm noted that only one plaintiff in the class action lawsuit is actually based in Colorado where the suit was filed. The company behind Atomic Wallet has asked a United States court to dismiss a class action suit seeking damages from a $100 million hack arguing the claims should’ve been filed in Estonia where it's based. In a Nov. 16 dismissal motion in a Colorado District Court the Estonian firm argued it has “no U.S. ties” and its end-user license agreement required all litigation against it be filed in its home country of Estonia. Atomic also argued that only one user in Colorado was allegedly affected — which wasn The firm also claimed the 5,500 allegedly affected Atomic users agreed to its terms of service which expressly disclaims liability for losses due to theft and limits damages to $50 per user Atomic’s motion to dismiss the class action laid against them. Source: PACER Atomic said the plaintiff’s negligence claims also lack legal merit because a lega...

The country seeks to get out of FATF’s “grey list” by putting more regulatory burden on crypto . Turkey is set to double down on crypto taxation and licensing to persuade the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to remove it from the “grey list,” Reuters has learned, citing sector officials. As per local representatives of the crypto market, Ankara is crafting the new regulatory regime to prevent “abuse of the system” by focusing on licensing standards. The authorities could also put capital adequacy requirements and compliance metrics for custody services, such as proof of reserves. However, the changes are not expected to be applied until sometime in 2024, as the Turkey government earlier said that crypto will be on the agenda for the next year. You might also like: Turkey plans to announce crypto regulation and taxation in 2024 Turkey crypto regulation Turkey has been mulling the idea of crypto regulation since at least May 2...

The U.S. SEC faces recruitment challenges and legal uncertainties as it struggles to hire Bitcoin and crypto experts that are willing to sell their crypto assets. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the agency that makes rules for financial markets, is struggling to hire experts in cryptocurrencies because of a tricky situation: A lot of the qualified people own crypto themselves. JUST IN: SEC is having trouble hiring #Bitcoin and crypto experts , because of a rule that they must sell their assets. pic.twitter.com/OW1qtW3rXa — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) November 6, 2023 The SEC’s ethics rules say that owning these digital assets can prevent these experts from working on crypto-related cases, to avoid any conflict of interest. Because of this rule, many do not want to sell their cryptocurrencies to work for the SEC. This problem is part of a bigger challenge for the SEC. They’re trying to keep up with the fast growth of the crypto world is t...

The SEC must appeal Grayscale’s win in a D.C. Appeals Court on Oct. 13, or it will have to approve — or try to delay — the firm’s Bitcoin ETF bid. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission will soon reach its deadline to appeal the court decision that ruled in favor of Grayscale Investments, forcing the regulator to review the fund manager’s application for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) fund. While many observers don’t believe the securities regulator will attempt to appeal the court’s decision, analysts say there could still be ways for the SEC to delay approval of Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF conversion. On Oct. 13, the SEC must either appeal the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, request the Appeals Court revisit its ruling , or follow the court’s August order and review Grayscale’s bid to change its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF. In an Oct. 12 post responding to an X user's question, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balcun...

Russia’s second-largest bourse is ready to be the first in the country to add support for cryptocurrencies. Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange (SPB Exchange) will list a whole set of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), once the government legalizes the industry, local news agency TASS reports, citing the exchange ’s head Roman Goryunov. Although the time frame was not specified, Goryunov said one day, the world of crypto will merge with the world of traditional financial instruments. He also emphasized the exchange will be the first trading platform to trade crypto in Russia once there’s a clear regulatory framework to work with digital currencies. As Goryunov pointed out, the platform has been mulling crypto-related plans for a while now. “We almost launched a crypto exchange in 2017 and have not changed our mind since then.” Roman Goryunov, Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange head As sanctions against Russia intensify, the authorities seek new ...

This week, The Market Report discusses Grayscale’s victory against the SEC, the impact of Evergrande’s bankruptcy, and what happened to the 16 trillion PEPE tokens reportedly stolen. On the latest episode of The Market Report , Cointelegraph analyst Marcel Pechman delves into Grayscale’s victory against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Even though there’s still no decision regarding the firm’s application for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund, the decision was favorable for Grayscale and its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which has over $16 billion in assets under management. Next, Pechman discusses the impact of Chinese real estate giant Evergrande’s bankruptcy and questions why it took almost two years to announce the company’s inability to repay its debt. According to The Kobeissi Letter, it seems related to China’s recent unexpected cut in interest rates. Pechman reminds viewers that China recently announced several measures to stimulate the stock market. Ul...

In their filing, the legal practitioners advocated for the Court to steadfastly adhere to the established definition of the term 'investment contract' when interpreting its scope. A group of six legal scholars specializing in securities law and related domains have submitted an amicus brief in favor of crypto exchange Coinbase in its legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). An amicus brief is a legal instrument submitted to the court which originates from a party not directly engaged in the pertinent case. Its typical purpose is to provide supplementary arguments in favor of one side of the lawsuit while underscoring the wider implications that the case may carry beyond the immediate litigants. The group of legal scholars presented their amicus brief to the U.S. District Court situated in the Southern District of New York. Leveraging their understanding of securities laws, they embarked upon the task of shedding light on the intricate historica...

The crypto exchange’s move to withdraw its license in Germany comes amid reports that the exchange faced rejection from regulators. Binance has withdrawn its cryptocurrency custody license application in Germany. The exchange confirmed its withdrawal to Cointelegraph on July 26, nearly a month after reports of rejections from The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). On June 29, BaFin reportedly rejected the crypto exchange’s custody license . However, at the time, it was unclear whether the regulator officially denied Binance’s application or if it verbally informed the company. However, Binance has now confirmed that it has formally withdraw n its license application . A spokesperson from Binance told Cointelegraph that it intends to re-apply for a license in Germany, with changes to its application reflecting the changes in the regulatory environment: “Binance confirms that it has proactively withdrawn its BaFin application. The situation, both in the global ...

The passing of the Virtual Assets Act by the National Assembly in South Korea has prompted the government to enhance accounting transparency for virtual asset transactions, enabling companies issuing or holding virtual assets to disclose clear and detailed information. On July 11, the South Korea Financial Services Commission reviewed and approved the exposure draft for revising Corporate Accounting Standards No. 1001, incorporating mandatory disclosure requirements for virtual assets and establishing guidelines for the accounting treatment of virtual assets. New rules in South Korea Following the recent passage of South Korea’s Virtual Assets Act by the National Assembly, preparations are underway for implementing new rules.  The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has announced an amendment to the country’s Corporate Accounting Standards, prompting a Korean Accounting Standards Board review. These steps are being taken to establish comprehensive regulations for...

Some DAO members joked about the situation while others believed there may be an ulterior motive at play. BarnBridge DAO members have been told to pause “all work” related to the project after a reported probe by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In a July 6 post to the platform’s Discord channel, Douglas Park, a lawyer for the decentralized autonomous organization revealed the news to members. “I am letting you know that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating BarnBridge DAO and individuals associated with the DAO,” Park said. pic.twitter.com/ChsjBuGEzM — BarnBridge (@Barn_Bridge) July 7, 2023 In order to “reduce potential further legal liability,” Park suggested “all work” on BarnBridge-related products should stop — including the closure of liquidity pools — and that individuals should not receive compensation for work flowing from the investment efforts of the DAO. Co-founder Tyler Ward, presumably dubbed “Lord Tyler” on Discord, c...

South Korea’s crypto bill aims to establish a basis for imposing penalties and liability for damages caused by unfair cryptocurrency trading. South Korea’s government is taking steps to protect crypto currency investors from implosions like Do Kwon’s Terra ecosystem by passing a new crypto bill. On June 30, the National Assembly passed the Virtual Asset User Protection legislation. The bill is designed to regulate unfair trade practices and protect crypto investors, the local news agency SBS Biz reported. The legislation reportedly integrates 19 crypto-related bills, providing a unified bill defining digital assets and imposing penalties for illicit trading activities like using undisclosed information, market manipulation and other unfair trading practices in crypto. According to local media, the main point of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act is to apply the Capital Market Act first to virtual assets with a securities nature. The legislation also aims to establish a basis for...

Jay Clayton, who served as SEC chair from May 2017 to December 2020, went on CNBC’s Squawk Box for a general discussion Monday. And Clayton, not the hosts, was the one who pivoted the interview from Wagner’s rebellion in Russia to bring up the regulatory environment in the US. He planted a flag of vehement disagreement with the way the US government is choosing to bring about regulatory change. That is, through court actions he says government agencies “think they’re going to lose.” “What you’re hearing from the leaders of the regulatory organizations is if we’re not losing cases, if we’re not being pushed back on by the courts, we’re not doing enough,” Clayton said. He continued, “That is a fundamental shift in how we, as Americans, view the role of the government. I don’t want to be in a place where I know the government is going to bring cases they think they’re going to lose. Imagine you’re the person who is the subject of that case.” Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder and preside...

A federal judge has temporarily halted a proposed deal between Voyager and Binance.US in order to give the government more time to pursue appeals that challenge the deal. Voyager Digital’s $1 billion sale to Binance.US has been temporarily halted by a federal judge after a request by the United States government for an emergency stay. The request for an emergency stay was granted by Judge Jennifer Rearden of the U.S. District Court in New York on March 27, meaning the potential deal between Voyager and Binance.US will now need to wait until at least a decision is made on the Department of Justice’s appeal against the bankruptcy plan. District Court Judge Jennifer Rearden granted approval of the U.S. DOJ’s emergency motion. Source: Court Listener The DOJ filed the emergency application for a stay on March 17. This motion was promptly challenged by Voyager Digital and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors on March 20 and responded to again by the DOJ in a final “reply” motion on...