The latest moves in crypto markets, in context By Lyllah Ledesma, CoinDesk reporter Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. |
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Happy Tuesday! Here's what you need to know today in crypto: |
- It was a slow start for the first day of trading for futures-based ether ETFs. VanEck's Ethereum Strategy ETF traded about $425,000 in volume.
- Grayscale moves to convert its Ethereum Trust into a spot ether ETF.
- Sam Bankman-Fried's trial for fraud is due to start Tuesday morning Eastern time.
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CoinDesk Market Index (CMI): 1,129 −2.8%
Bitcoin (BTC): $27,523 −2.7%
Ether (ETC): $1,654 −4.2%
S&P 500: 4,288.39 +0.0%
Gold: $1,841 +0.6%
Nikkei 225: $1,841 +0.6% |
It was a slow start for futures-based ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on their first day of trading. A total of nine of the ETFs offering exposure to ether futures came to market on Monday. Five will hold only ether futures, while four will hold a mix of bitcoin and ether futures. One of those funds, Valkyrie's Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF) – soon to be renamed – has been in existence for about two years as a bitcoin-only fund, but is changing its strategy to include ether. The rest of the vehicles are new to market. "Pretty meh volume for the Ether Futures ETFs as a group," said Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. Among the more popular of the new ETFs today, VanEck's Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT) traded just shy of 25,000 shares at a price roughly averaging $17 per share on Monday for a total dollar volume of just $425,000. For comparison, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) – which launched in October 2021 amid a raging crypto bull market – reported trading volume of more than $1 billion on its first day. |
Grayscale Investments in conjunction with NYSE Arca has filed for approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to convert the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) to a spot ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF). Grayscale's Ethereum trust is the largest ether investment product in the world, with almost $5 billion in assets under management. "At Grayscale, our unwavering commitment is to offer investors transparent and regulated access to crypto through product structures that are familiar," said Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein in a statement. "As we file to convert ETHE to an ETF, the natural next step in the product's evolution, we recognize this as an important moment to bring Ethereum even further into the U.S. regulatory perimeter." Former crypto boss Sam Bankman-Fried wants to stop the government from calling multiple witnesses, including company investors and a Ukrainian customer left bereft by the collapse of his FTX exchange, according to court filings made just hours before his trial is due to begin. Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of fraud after FTX filed for bankruptcy in November, doesn't want former company insiders testifying about the meaning of supposedly "coded" expressions used as part of an alleged conspiracy to misuse customer funds. While prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice want former customers and investors to testify about how they understood FTX would safeguard their assets, Bankman-Fried's lawyer Mark Cohen said in a filing made public Tuesday that the request was "premature," and would prompt members of the jury to conclusions they should draw for themselves. |
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Market Insight: BTC Drops Below $28K on Profit Taking |
Bitcoin (BTC) fell under the $28,000 level early Tuesday just hours after crossing it at the start of the week as profit-taking and changing on-chain metrics dampened a continuation of price rises. BTC traded just over $27,600 in Asian afternoon hours on Tuesday. In the past 24 hours, Ether (ETH) dropped 3.5% amid a dismal first day of ETH futures ETF trading in the U.S. XRP and BNB Chain's BNB slumped 2.7%, while dogecoin (DOGE) and Tron network's TRX fell as much as 4%. Rollbit's RLB tokens jumped 8%, continuing a multi-day run amid increased token demand and higher platform revenues. |
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- Historically October has been considered a bullish month for bitcoin with some analysts referring to it as "Uptober".
- In October 2021 the cryptocurrency gained almost 40% and in October 2022 bitcoin saw monthly gains of 5%.
- Source: TradingView.
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Senator Lummis, Representative Hill and More to Join CoinDesk's State of Crypto Event |
Several legislators shaping the future of digital assets policy have committed to joining CoinDesk's inaugural State of Crypto: Policy and Regulation, including Sen. Lummis, Rep. Hill, Rep. McHenry, Rep. Thompson, Rep Torres and many more.
State of Crypto is a one-day boutique event uniting key policymakers, regulators and government officials with legal, policy and compliance executives representing the largest and most influential TradFi and DeFi leaders in asset management and financial services.
The gathering provides an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate, dissect and ultimately shape crypto regulatory frameworks that support a vibrant, secure and healthy future for the digital economy.
Are you a GC, CCO, CLO, COO or head of policy or government affairs evaluating or actively investing in digital assets? Join State of Crypto: Policy and Regulation to help drive crypto policy forward collaboratively. Save 10% with code FM10. Learn more and register. |
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Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments. |
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Slow Start For Ether Futures ETFs