It’s been another busy week for crypto, bitcoin, and decentralized finance. Here’s a rundown of the latest developments.
Grayscale Investments Plans To Bring World First Bitcoin ETF To U.S. Market
Grayscale Investments looks set to bring the world’s first spot Bitcoin ETF to the U.S. market. Academics, investors, and crypto industry insiders expect it will win the battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has received more than 11,000 letters from leading influencers in support of the asset manager’s plans. In June, Grayscale Investments attempted to convert its existing crypto trust into an ETF. However, the SEC blocked that move, citing a lack of investor protection. Grayscale responded a day later by appealing the decision through the courts. Managers at the company claim that the SEC is imposing “special harshness” on them and that similar products from other vendors haven’t faced the same level of scrutiny. “We make the case that the SEC is arbitrarily treating spot bitcoin EFTs differently from bitcoin future ETFs even though they are subject to the same risks,” the asset manager’s Chief Legal Officer said in a statement.Mastercard will help banks offer cryptocurrency trading
Global payment giant Mastercard is further backing cryptocurrencies with a program that will help financial institutions offer cryptocurrency trading. Mastercard will act as a “bridge” between banks and Paxos, a crypto trading platform currently used by PayPal. Both Mastercard and Paxos will handle regulatory compliance and security, which have been two of the major reasons why banks have been timid with the asset class. Mastercard’s chief digital officer Jorn Lambert told CNBC that current polls show demand for the asset, but roughly 60% of poll respondents feel more comfortable engaging with cryptocurrencies through their existing banks. “There’s a lot of consumers out there that are really interested in this, and intrigued by crypto, but would feel a lot more confident if those services were offered by their financial institutions,” Lambert said.Bitcoin’s Blockchain Grinds To A Halt, Failing To Process Any Transactions For Over An Hour
Slow mining meant that Bitcoin’s (BTC) blockchain ground to a halt on Monday in an incident that lasted over an hour. The cryptocurrency’s network failed to process upwards of 13,000 transactions, inconveniencing both traders and consumers. This action marked a break from the cryptocurrency’s typical cadence of one block every 10 minutes. According to Tadge Dryja, the founder of BTC’s Lightning Networks, such outages can be expected to happen every 34 days or so. As Bitcoins volumes grow, the number of seriously delayed payments could increase, unless miners become more efficient at adding blocks.Bitcoin Finally Lands A Spot In The Guinness World Records
Thanks to its high market capitalization, Bitcoin now has a place in the Guinness World Records in a category the organization is calling “Cryptomania.” Unsurprisingly, it is the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, with others, such as Ethereum and Solana, significantly behind. Guinness World Records also recognizes several other records in the crypto space including “most expensive NFT collectible” and “most valuable fan token.” El Salvador, the first country in the world to classify Bitcoin as legal tender, is mentioned too. For more Bitcoin news and informative articles, visit our archive.
GET IN TOUCH
NASDAQ: MIGI
Contact us today and learn how Mawson can design a digital assets management program tailored to the specific needs of you and your enterprise.
