Bitcoin ETF race has a new player, Binance ends support for BUSD, and more: Hodler’s Digest: Nov. 26 – Dec. 2
Top Stories This Week
Bitcoin ETF race gets 13th entrant, BlackRock revises ETF model
Asset manager Pando Asset has become an unexpected late entrant into the spot Bitcoin ETF race in the United States. On Nov. 29, Pando submitted a Form S-1 — used to register securities with the agency — to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the Pando Asset Spot Bitcoin Trust. Like other ETF bids, the trust aims to track Bitcoin’s price with the custody arm of the crypto exchange Coinbase to hold Bitcoin on behalf of the trust. Pando is the 13th applicant for an approved spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. and joins the race with a dozen others, including BlackRock, ARK Invest and Grayscale.
Binance will end support for BUSD stablecoin in December
Crypto exchange Binance is winding down the services for its native stablecoin, Binance USD (BUSD). According to an announcement, the exchange will cease support for all BUSD products following Paxos halting the minting of new coins. Binance said users should withdraw or convert their existing BUSD into other assets before Dec. 15, prior to it beginning the process of disabling withdrawals for BUSD on Dec. 31. At that point, existing balances will automatically be converted into First Digital USD for certain users.
CME Bitcoin futures show investors betting on $40K BTC price
The demand of institutional investors for Bitcoin (BTC) became evident on Nov. 10 as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin futures flipped Binance’s BTC futures markets in terms of size. According to BTC derivatives metrics, those investors are showing strong confidence in Bitcoin’s potential to break above the $40,000 mark in the short term. CME’s current Bitcoin futures open interest stands at $4.35 billion, the highest since November 2021, when Bitcoin hit its all-time high of $69,000 — a clear indication of heightened interest. The impressive 125% surge in CME’s BTC futures open interest from $1.93 billion in mid-October is undoubtedly tied to the anticipation of the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
ChatGPT’s first year marked by existential fear, lawsuits and boardroom drama
With ChatGPT, OpenAI has developed the most popular artificial intelligence tool in the world. It was launched a year ago, on Nov. 30, 2022, and catapulted to 100 million monthly users within its first three months. In just 12 months, ChatGPT’s existence has contributed to narratives surrounding the extinction of humankind, accusations that OpenAI built it by allegedly committing mass-scale copyright infringement, and a tumultuous CEO firing and rehiring that pundits are still trying to understand.
FTX and Alameda Research cash out $10.8M to Binance, Coinbase, Wintermut
Wallets linked to defunct crypto trading firms FTX and Alameda Research moved $10.8 million to accounts in Binance, Coinbase and Wintermute using eight cryptocurrencies. Blockchain analysis firm Spot On Chain spotted the movement, estimating that the defunct entities have transferred $551 million since Oct. 24 using 59 different cryptocurrency tokens. The funds’ movement dates back to March, when FTX and Alameda began the process of recovering assets for investors.
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $38,673, Ether (ETH) at $2,084 and XRP at $0.61. The total market cap is at $1.45 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are TerraClassicUSD (USTC) at 294.40%, Terra Classic (LUNC) at 85.78% and IOTA (IOTA) at 31.53%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are Blur (BLUR) at 21.87%, dYdX (ethDYDX) at 13.90% and Gas (GAS) at 10.06%.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Read also
Most Memorable Quotations
“I think [Binance’s settlement with the SEC is] a net positive for their company. I think it’s a net positive for our industry.”
Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital
“Obviously, the treatment of CZ and Binance is absurd and only highlights the arbitrary nature of punishment at the hands of the state.”
Arthur Hayes, entrepreneur and former CEO of BitMEX
“Let us not forget that ‘innovation versus regulation’ is a false dichotomy that has for years been peddled by tech companies to evade meaningful accountability and binding regulation.”
Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International
“AI is […] a new type of mind that is rapidly gaining in intelligence, and it stands a serious chance of overtaking humans’ mental faculties and becoming the new apex species on the planet.”
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum
“Don’t be a loser. Get out of FAKE money system. Get into gold, silver, Bitcoin now…. Before it’s too late.”
Robert Kiyosaki, author and entrepreneur
“[Blast] crossed lines in both messaging and execution.”
Dan Robinson, head of research at Paradigm
Prediction of the week
Bitcoin ETF will drive 165% BTC price gain in 2024 — Standard Chartered
Bitcoin is in line to trade at six figures by the end of 2024, the latest forecast from Standard Chartered concludes. Thanks to the United States potentially approving Bitcoin spot price ETFs, BTC/USD has the ability to almost treble from its current $37,700 over the coming 12 months.
“We now expect more price upside to materialize before the halving than we previously did, specifically via the earlier-than-expected introduction of US spot ETFs,” Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s head of EM FX research, west and crypto research wrote. “This suggests a risk that the USD 100,000 level could be reached before end-2024.”
The figure continues the consumer banking giant’s already optimistic vision of how Bitcoin will grow in the coming years. In July, research eyed the declining availability of the BTC supply as a reason to believe that much higher prices were in store.
FUD of the Week
Crypto thieves steal $363M in Nov, the most ‘damaging’ month this year
The cryptocurrency industry has now seen its most “damaging” month for crypto thievery, scams and exploits in 2023, with crypto criminals walking away with $363 million in November, according to blockchain security firm CertiK. Around $316.4 million came from exploits alone, flash loans inflicted $45.5 million in damage, and $1.1 million was lost to various exit scams.
Bankless controversy forces founders to burn tokens and separate from DAO
Amid the ongoing controversy around cryptocurrency media firm Bankless and the associated decentralized autonomous organization, BanklessDAO, the founders of Bankless have suggested separating the brand from the DAO. Bankless co-founders David Hoffman and Ryan Sean Adams plan to submit a governance proposal to BanklessDAO to separate the two entities. Hoffman and Adams’ decision to separate Bankless from BanklessDAO came in response to community criticism of BanklessDAO’s application for a grant from Arbitrum.
KyberSwap hacker demands complete control over Kyber company
The hacker behind the $46-million KyberSwap exploit has finally released their conditions for the return of the stolen funds, which include “complete executive control” over the Kyber Network company. On Nov. 30, the KyberSwap hacker sent an on-chain message addressing all relevant and interested parties. The hacker laid out demands, including control over the company, temporary full authority and ownership of its governance mechanism, the KyberDAO, all documents related to the company, and all of the Kyber Network company’s assets.
Read also
Top Magazine Pieces of the Week
Outrage that ChatGPT won’t say slurs, Q* ‘breaks encryption’, 99% fake web: AI Eye
A blizzard of AI bullsh*t is taking over the web from the torrent of human outrage that currently lives there.
Real AI use cases in crypto, No. 3: Smart contract audits & cybersecurity
Experts believe AI will become an invaluable tool for smart contract auditing and cybersecurity — but it’s not there yet.
Pudgy Penguins CEO says praise he gets ‘is actually pretty sad’: NFT Creator
“You can’t really be an angry, miserable person and then go click buy on a Pudgy Penguin.”
Subscribe
The most engaging reads in blockchain. Delivered once a
week.
A new long-awaited child poverty strategy is promising to lift half a million children out of poverty by the end of this parliament – but critics have branded it unambitious.
The headline announcement in the government’s plan is the pledge to lift the two-child benefit cap, announced in Rachel Reeves’s budget last week.
It also includes:
• Providing upfront childcare support for parents on universal credit returning to work
• An £8m fund to end the placement of families in bed and breakfasts beyond a six-week limit
• Reforms to cut the cost of baby formula
• A new legal duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors, and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation
Many of the measures have previously been announced.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Two-child cap ‘a real victory for the left’
The government also pointed to its plan in the budget to cut energy bills by £150 a year, and its previously promised £950m boost to a local authority housing fund, which it says will deliver 5,000 high-quality homes for better temporary accommodation.
Downing Street said the strategy would lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030, saying that would be the biggest reduction in a single parliament since records began.
But charities had been hoping for a 10-year strategy and argue the plan lacks ambition.
A record 4.5 million children (about 31%) are living in poverty in the UK – 900,000 more since 2010/11, according to government figures.
Phillip Anderson, the Strategic Director for External Affairs at the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), told Sky News: “Abolishing the two-child limit is a hell of a centre piece, but beyond that it’s mainly a summary of previously announced policies and commitments.
“The really big thing for me is it misses the opportunity to talk about the longer term. It was supposed to be a 10-year strategy, we wanted to see real ambition and ideally legally binding targets for reducing poverty.
“The government itself says there will still be around four million children living in poverty after these measures and the strategy has very little to say to them.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘A budget for benefits street’
‘Budget for benefits street’ row
The biggest measure in the strategy is the plan to lift the two-child benefit cap from April. This is estimated to lift 450,000 children out of poverty by 2030, at a cost of £3bn.
The government has long been under pressure from backbench Labour MPs to scrap the cap, with most experts arguing that it is the quickest, most cost-effective way to drive-down poverty this parliament.
The cap, introduced by Conservative chancellor George Osborne in 2017, means parents can only claim universal credit or tax credits for their first two children. It meant the average affected household losing £4,300 per year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated in 2024.
The government argues that a failure to tackle child poverty holds back the economy, and young people at school, cutting their employment and earning prospects in later life.
However, the Conservatives argue parents on benefits should have to make the same financial choices about children as everyone else.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said: “Work is the best way out poverty but since this government took office, unemployment has risen every single month and this budget for Benefits Street will only make the situation worse. “
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
OBR leak: This has happened before
‘Bring back Sure Start’
Lord Bird, a crossbench peer who founded the Big Issue and grew up in poverty, said while he supported the lifting of the cap there needed to be “more joined up thinking” across government for a longer-term strategy.
He has been pushing for the creation of a government ministry of “poverty prevention and cure”, and for legally binding targets on child poverty.
“You have to be able to measure yourself, you can’t have the government marking its own homework,” he told Sky News.
Lord Bird also said he was a “great believer” in resurrecting Sure Start centres and expanding them beyond early years.
The New Labour programme offered support services for pre-school children and their parents and is widely seen to have improved health and educational outcomes. By its peak in 2009-2010 there were 3,600 centres – the majority of which closed following cuts by the subsequent Conservative government.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Lord Bird on the ‘great distraction’ from child poverty
PM to meet families
Sir Keir Starmer’s government have since announced 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs – but many Labour MPs feel this announcement went under the radar and ministers missed a trick in not calling them “Sure Starts” as it is a name people are familiar with.
The prime minister is expected to meet families and children in Wales on Friday, alongside the Welsh First Minister, to make the case for his strategy and meet those he hopes will benefit from it.
Several other charities have urged ministers to go further. Both Crisis and Shelter called for the government to unfreeze housing benefit and build more social rent homes, while the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, said that “if we are to end child poverty – not just reduce it” measures like free bus travel for school-age children would be needed.
The strategy comes after the government set up a child poverty taskforce in July 2024, which was initially due to report back in May. The taskforce’s findings have not yet been published – only the government’s response.
Sir Keir said: “Too many children are growing up in poverty, held back from getting on in life, and too many families are struggling without the basics: a secure home, warm meals and the support they need to make ends meet.
“I will not stand by and watch that happen, because the cost of doing nothing is too high for children, for families and for Britain.”
A group of former executives from the collapsed crypto-friendly Signature Bank has launched a new blockchain-based, state-chartered bank called N3XT, with the goal of enabling instant 24-hour payments.
N3XT said on Thursday that it aims to settle payments instantly at any time using a private blockchain and offers programmable payments through smart contracts. The company added that its systems have been designed for interoperability with stablecoins, utility tokens, and other digital assets.
Signature Bank founder Scott Shay founded N3XT, which will operate under a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter and will not offer lending services.
Signature Bank was one of three crypto-friendly banks, along with Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Bank, that collapsed in the 2023 US banking crisis due to a bank run and ties to the then-rapidly falling crypto market.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took control of Signature Bank in March 2023, just days after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, saying it had an overreliance on uninsured deposits, weak risk controls and was facing a worsening run on deposits.
N3XT avoiding lending services
Jeffrey Wallis, Signature Bank’s former director of digital asset and Web3 strategy, will be N3XT’s CEO and president and said that crypto innovations are at the heart of the new venture.
“Money should move as seamlessly as information,” he said. “We’re applying crypto innovations to banking to deliver instant, programmable payments for institutional clients.”
N3XT won’t be offering lending, and the bank claims its reserves are also backed one-to-one by cash or short-term US Treasurys, with promises to share reserve holdings daily.
At launch, N3XT lists its client base as unnamed businesses across crypto, foreign exchange, shipping and logistics, and a variety of other sectors.
Crypto venture capital firms backing N3XT
The bank raised three rounds of financing from a range of investors that included Winklevoss Capital, the venture capital firm of Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Paradigm and HACK VC.
Related: Group of EU banks pushes for euro-pegged stablecoin by 2027
Hack co-founder Alexander Pack said in an X post on Thursday his firm is ready to support N3XT and its founders as they emerge from “stealth mode.”
“N3XT’s founders, Scott and Jeff, are forces of nature: they previously built Signature Bank, the biggest and best bank to support the US crypto industry in a regulated way, before the last administration forced them to shut down,” he said.
“Most founders would quit after something like that, but instead they immediately went back to work building N3XT,” Pack added.
Magazine: 6 reasons Jack Dorsey is definitely Satoshi… and 5 reasons he’s not
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024