Bitcoin ETF race has a new player, Binance ends support for BUSD, and more: Hodler’s Digest: Nov. 26 – Dec. 2

Published

1 year ago

December 3, 2023

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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.

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.

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.”

Ana Paula Pereira

Politics

NHS must change policy on allowing trans people on single-sex wards, head of equalities watchdog says

Published

2 hours ago

April 17, 2025

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NHS must change policy on allowing trans people on single-sex wards, head of equalities watchdog says

The NHS must change its policy of allowing transgender people to be on single-sex wards aligned with their gender identity following the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a “woman”, the head of Britain’s equalities watchdog said.

On Wednesday, judges at the UK’s highest court unanimously ruled that the definition of a “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to “a biological woman and biological sex”.

Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chair of the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said the ruling was “enormously consequential” and ensured clarity.

Politics latest: Supreme Court ruling should ‘draw a line’ under debate

She vowed to pursue organisations that do not update their policies, saying they should be “taking care” to look at the “very readable judgment”.

On single-sex hospital wards, Baroness Falkner told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the NHS will “have to change” their 2019 policy, which says transgender patients are entitled to be accommodated on single-sex wards matching how they identify.

She said the court ruling means there is now “no confusion” and the NHS “can start to implement the new legal reasoning and produce their exceptions forthwith”.

Women’s sport and changing rooms

The baroness also said trans women can no longer take part in women’s sport, while single-sex places, such as changing rooms, “must be based on biological sex”.

However, she said there is no law against organisations providing a “third space”, such as unisex toilets, and suggested trans rights organisations “should be using their powers of advocacy to ask for those third spaces”.

In 2021, Baroness Falkner came under criticism from trans and other LGBTIQ+ organisations after she said women had the right to question transgender identity without fear of abuse, stigmatisation or loss of employment.

Some EHRC staff resigned in protest of the body’s “descent into transphobia”, while others defended her, saying she was depoliticising the organisation. Her four-year term was extended for a further 12 months in November by the Labour government.

Public bodies must look at equality laws

Health minister Karin Smyth said public bodies have been told to look at how equality laws are implemented following the ruling.

She told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast: “Obviously, public bodies have been asked to look at their own guidance.

“And we will do that very, very carefully.”

She said the court’s ruling was “very clear” about women’s rights being defined by sex, which she said “will give clarity to companies”.

But she warned against public bodies making statements “that may alarm people”, telling them to take their time to look at their guidance.

The ruling marked the culmination of a long battle between campaign group For Women Scotland and the Scottish government after the group brought a case arguing sex-based protections should only apply to people born female.

Not a triumph of one group over another

Judge Lord Hodge said the ruling should not be read as “a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another”.

He said the Equality Act 2010 “gives transgender people protection, not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, but also against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment in substance in their acquired gender”.

Ms Smyth said those who identify as transgender “will feel concerned” after the ruling but said the Gender Recognition Act still stands and gives people who identify differently to the sex they were born in “the dignity and privacy of presenting differently”.

She said NHS policy of having same sex wards remains, but did not mention the 2019 transgender policy, and said the NHS has been looking at how to support both transgender men and women.

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said the Scottish government “accepts” the judgment and said the ruling “gives clarity”.

Trina Budge, director of For Women Scotland, said it was a “victory for women’s rights” and said the case was “never about trans rights” as transgender people are “fully protected in law”.

“It means there’s absolute clarity in law regarding what a woman is. We know for sure now that we are referring to the biological sex class of women,” she told Sky News.

“And that when we see a women-only space, it means exactly that. Just women. No men. Not even if they have a gender recognition certificate.”

Transgender woman and Scottish Greens activist Ellie Gomersall said the ruling “represents yet another attack on the rights of trans people to live our lives in peace”.

Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman added: “This is a deeply concerning ruling for human rights and a huge blow to some of the most marginalised people in our society.”

LGBT charity Stonewall said there was “deep concern” around the consequences of the ruling.

Politics

Polygon’s Nailwal: Jio partnership to drive real-world Web3 adoption for 450M users

Published

3 hours ago

April 17, 2025

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Polygon’s Nailwal: Jio partnership to drive real-world Web3 adoption for 450M users

As Polygon lays the groundwork for mainstream Web3 adoption in India by bringing blockchain access to over 450 million Reliance Jio users, it remains focused on balancing speed, scalability and affordability, without compromising on decentralization.

Polygon is working with Jio, a telecom giant owned by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, to find ways to infuse blockchain technology into its existing services. The duo is currently adding blockchain-based capabilities to the JioSphere web browser, which would have been expensive, cumbersome and time-consuming via traditional methods.

“We’re building at an insane pace, onboarding massive partners, and pushing blockchain into the mainstream, but with that growth comes the responsibility to make sure we’re doing it the right way,” Polygon’s co-founder, Sandeep Nailwal, said while discussing Polygon’s India-focused initiatives with Cointelegraph.

Preserving decentralization while ensuring system scalability

“Scalability and decentralization don’t have to be either-or, and that’s exactly the balance we’re focused on at Polygon,” Nailwal said as he underscored the importance of keeping the core values of blockchain intact: security, transparency and decentralization.

At the same time, Nailwal revealed that Polygon is investing heavily in zero-knowledge technology to make scaling more seamless across the ecosystem. “The goal is to give developers and users the best of both worlds: faster, cheaper transactions without compromising trust or decentralization,” he added.

As a result of delivering the combination of low fees, fast transactions and decentralized security, Polygon is already powering some of the most active use cases in Web3, from stablecoin payments on Polygon PoS to real-world tokenization with major institutions:

“The key challenge is making blockchain as seamless and accessible as Web2 without compromising what makes it special. That’s why we’re all-in on ZK technology and Agglayer, which let us scale while keeping the ecosystem trustless and interoperable.”

Bringing blockchain tech to millions of users

According to Nailwal, a one-size-fits-all approach does not work when onboarding 450 million users from India’s diverse population. “We’ll be working closely with Jio to develop use cases that truly resonate with their users, and gradually onboard them onto the chain based on these real-world applications,” he added.

Nailwal said that developers never have to compromise on the fundamentals, as Polygon’s infrastructure can scale without sacrificing what makes blockchain powerful in the first place:

“What excites me most is that we’re moving beyond technical discussions about blockchain to solving real problems for real people. These are the use cases that will drive the next wave of adoption.”

“At the end of the day, it’s about more than just technology. We’re here to create a decentralized future that billions of people can actually use. And while that’s a massive challenge, it’s also what excites me the most,” Nailwal said.

Real-world problem solving will drive the next wave of adoption

Rising threats driven by artificial intelligence tools, including deepfakes and other misinformation campaigns, are another use case blockchain technology can help solve. Nailwal said that the escalating threat of misinformation and growing consumer insistence on trusted sources will eventually result in an uptick of blockchain-based verification tools.

Additionally, Nailwal highlighted the growing relevance of Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-based prediction market, in mainstream finance and reporting. “Polymarket’s success is exactly what we’ve been working toward,” he said, adding:

“Prediction markets are proving to be incredibly valuable tools for finance, risk assessment, journalism and even governance. They pull in insights from a wide range of sources, often making them more reliable than traditional polling.”

Nailwal is placing his full bet on blockchain’s immutable nature to transform economic forecasting, policy-making and journalism, among others.

Magazine: Your AI ‘digital twin’ can take meetings and comfort your loved ones

Politics

Binance helps countries with Bitcoin reserves, crypto policies, says CEO

Published

4 hours ago

April 17, 2025

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Binance helps countries with Bitcoin reserves, crypto policies, says CEO

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is involved in discussions on establishing strategic digital asset reserves with several countries, its CEO, Richard Teng, reportedly said.

Binance has been advising multiple governments on establishing strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserves and formulating crypto asset regulations, Teng said in an interview with the Financial Times on April 17.

“We have actually received quite a number of approaches by a few governments and sovereign wealth funds on the establishment of their own crypto reserves,” Teng told the FT.

Teng did not identify any countries but said that the United States is “way ahead on that front.”

US fuels global crypto reserve spree

According to Teng, the main reason for governments approaching Binance for help in handling potential strategic reserves is the new crypto-friendly agenda in the US.

Teng referred to key US crypto policy developments, such as discussions around creating a national Bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile. Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve seeded with BTC forfeited in federal criminal and civil cases.

While governments of Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan have announced collaboration with Binance and former CEO Changpeng Zhao on crypto regulations in the past few weeks, none of the jurisdictions mentioned crypto reserve plans on their agenda.

Binance shifts stance on headquarters

As Binance deepens its involvement in efforts to help countries set up crypto reserves and regulations, it appears to have shifted away from its no-formal-headquarters approach under Zhao.

According to Teng, Binance is “working very hard” on plans for a global headquarters for the exchange.

“It requires serious deliberation and the board and the senior management are spending a lot of time doing the evaluation,” Teng reportedly said, adding: “Hopefully we are able to announce our intentions on that front.”

In 2019, Zhao said that offices and headquarters are “old concepts like SMS and MMS.”

The shift comes as more jurisdictions adopt clearer frameworks for regulating crypto businesses. Binance was subject to heavy scrutiny and investigations by multiple governments in 2020.

Cointelegraph approached Binance for comment regarding its crypto policy collaboration with governments worldwide, but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025