Late yesterday the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially approved Ethereum spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to begin trading today! Following in Bitcoin's footsteps, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency will now be accessible to investors through traditional markets.

Here's the list of the newly approved Ethereum ETFs and where you can find them:

• Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH) - New York Stock Exchange
• Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET) - CBOE Exchange
• VanEck Ethereum ETF (ETHV) - CBOE Exchange
• Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW) - New York Stock Exchange
• 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF (CETH) - CBOE Exchange
• Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) - CBOE Exchange
• iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) - Nasdaq
• Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF (QETH) - CBOE Exchange

In addition to these, the SEC has also given the green light for Grayscale to convert its Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) to a spot ETF, which is a big deal for those tracking crypto investments.

For those of you who are new to ETFs, or exchange-traded fund, is an investment fund that owns the underlying asset it represents—in this case, Ethereum. When you buy shares of an Ethereum ETF, you are essentially buying a portion of the Ethereum owned by the ETF, which is managed by a financial company. This way, you can invest in Ethereum without needing to buy, store, or manage the cryptocurrency yourself.

Major BULL RUN Coming?!

What caught my eye is when looking back to May when the SEC approved Ethereum ETFs (said they will allow them, but did not yet have a launch date) Ethereum made some gains but, but there were multiple positive news stories that month, mainly US traders receiving conformation ETH 2.0 will not be viewed as a Security, and Ethereum's gains in May were mostly credited to news that US exchanges wouldn't have to de-list it.

When Bitcoin ETF's received the same approval investors responded in such large numbers it was actually credited with brining back the bull market. So by the time Bitcoin ETF's launched, most investors reacting to the news did so days/weeks earlier. This also likely had investors assuming 

I don't make price predictions, but I will make a suggestion that you take a look - when the market doesn't react to the announcement, it often means it will react to the launch. 

Those offering the ETH ETF are mostly the same companies that already offer the Bitcoin ETF, and they've done quite well, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars.  They will now promote the ETH ETF to those same investors - and selling a token via an ETF requires the company to actually buy and own the asset. 

So, just something to consider.  

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Author: Oliver Redding
Seattle Newsdesk  / Breaking Crypto News

Crypto liquidations are expected to decrease this month, and the market is predicted to bounce back from August onwards, according to a report from JPMorgan (JPMJPM) released yesterday.

The bank has lowered its estimate of how much money has flowed into the crypto market this year from $12 billion to $8 billion. JPMorgan doubts that the earlier estimate of $12 billion would continue for the rest of the year because the price of Bitcoin (BTC) is quite high compared to its production cost or the price of gold.

“The reduction in the estimated net flow is largely driven by the decline in bitcoin reserves across exchanges over the past month,” said analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou.

Combination of 3 Large Sell-offs are Holding Prices Down...

The sell off's by creditors of Gemini, the now-closed crypto exchange Mt. Gox, and the German government, which has been selling crypto it seized from criminal activities, increased supply, and held prices down.  

But all these sell off's are a one time thing, and have either recently finished selling or will be completed soon. 

JPMorgan’s reduced estimate of $8 billion accounts for $14 billion in new investments into crypto funds by July 9, $5 billion from Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures, and $5.7 billion raised by crypto venture capital funds this year. These amounts are then adjusted by subtracting $17 billion, which accounts for the shift from wallets on exchanges to new spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

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Author: Mark Pippen
London Newsroom
GlobalCryptoPress | Breaking Crypto News

This story somehow never runs out of surprising twists, and this one is massive.

Look back on almost any news coverage, or old posts in online crypto communities made by your average trader - in everyone's mind this was a story about people losing billions.  At one point it was probably true, when the market had just been hit with the Terra/Luna collapse There's no downplaying how much this story changes when it no longer involves anyone losing money.

At one point, every FTX user who had funds sitting on the exchange when it shut down believed they had lost money, with many expecting to hear all of it was gone. 

Searching old posts in online crypto communities made at the time FTX halted trading show there was little hope they would recover any funds they left in FTX controlled wallets.

Now we finally know how the story ends for the users of FTX - they're getting all of it back, and then some.

FTX Owes $11.2 Billion - All of That and More is Ready to Be Paid Out Immediately...

Under new leadership following FTX’s bankruptcy claim and the arrests of its former executives, liquidation of company assets began. This involved mainly dumping massive amounts of crypto over the last few months, enough where the $11.2 billion owed already sits in US dollars they can access anytime. But there’s more to come, as they claim to still have another $2+ billion in crypto that cannot yet be sold.

Sam participated in a common practice among VCs where projects offer them a chance to invest early by buying coins at an extremely low price. However, these coins are 'locked' and unable to be traded until a future date.

The biggest chunk of FTX's recent windfall of cash comes from Sam's early investment into Solana, where he’s rumored to have paid 0.20 cents per coin - they’re worth $133 each today, but FTX's bankruptcy team supposedly dumped a large amount when it was trading closer to $200.

Solana was the largest source of funds, worth billions, but FTX held millions of dollars worth of dozens of other coins, selling these off totaled several more billion dollars.

The end result - FTX can pay back all users right now, with a little extra. 

Sam and His Supporters Say This Changes Everything... 

According to his family, Sam is in prison wrongly labeled as someone who caused investors to lose billions. Now that the trial and sentencing are done, we learn no one lost anything, and they're even walking away with a small profit - this is a completely different situation than what he was sent to prison for.

32-year-old Sam is serving a sentence of 25 years, the prime of his life wasted - this is a punishment designed for someone who caused countless people to lose their hard earned money. 

He'll be 57 when released, that is if he survives prison, as his family says his 'social awkwardness' puts him at high risk of becoming the victim of 'extreme violence' from another inmate confusing Sam's awkwardness for rudeness. His cellmate from the NY jail that held Sam during the trial says there were times other inmates indeed targeted him.

Before Sentencing, The Judge Allowed Some FTX Users To Share Stories of How Their Lives Were Ruined...

At the time, the final outcome was still unknown. These users gave stories of their lives being ruined, stating things like "decades worth of savings" were gone forever because of Sam's actions.

These were the kind of stories the judge heard right before sentencing Sam to 25 years in prison.

It does make you wonder - would the sentence be different if these former FTX users only had stories of their funds being inaccessible, then eventually getting all of it back, with a small profit? Honestly, I have a hard time believing it wouldn't.

But Maybe This Shouldn't Change Anything...

Let's imagine the worst-case scenario. Sam, like everyone else, cannot actually predict the future. While his early investments into projects like Solana are bringing in billions in profits today, things also could have gone the other way.

You can say he made smart investments that paid off, as he knew they would, so from his point of view no user funds were ever at risk. But there's just some things he couldn't have known no matter how much research he put into his decisions. For example, what if Solana faced a massive hack? We've seen hacks ruin projects that had the potential to end up among the top 10 tokens - no one can predict the discovery of a new security vulnerability.

If an unforeseen hack did bring down Solana, this would be a story of FTX billions short on what they owe.

So, while things end with no one losing money, Sam did, in fact, gamble with user funds and expose them to potentially losing all of it.

On that note, while he was risking other people's money, did he plan to share the rewards if it all worked out? Of course not. Sam quietly 'borrowed' user funds without them knowing, he would have taken the profits and return what he had borrowed just as quietly as he took it.

We've all Been Damaged By Sam's Actions...

I was not an FTX user, but that didn't matter as we all watched our portfolios go into a nosedive the day FTX halted trading, and those losses weren't recouped for over a year.

But what many are unaware of is that the damages actually continue to the present day. The reason FTX has so much money right now because they dumped their massive stash of coins on the market over the last year, often at times the market was on the rise, bringing that rise to a halt.

In fact, FTX is the reason why we saw Bitcoin ETFs bringing billions of new investments into the market, and the price of Bitcoin barely move. Sam had purchased shares of Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust which automatically was converted into shares of Grayscale's ETF, so when the ETF went live FTX had 22 million shares of it - which they immediately dumped onto the market.

But it was FTX's Solana holdings that became worth billions while Sam was on trial - there's no way to know what Solana's price would be today if FTX hadn't dumped billions of dollars worth - but higher for sure, possibly much higher.

Fact is - Sam is a Liar...

Ironically, his largest broken promise is in print, on one of Sam's strangest marketing decisions.

In Closing...

This is all still sinking in, but when I think about Sam being in prison right now, it feels justified. He deserves some punishment.  Where I'm torn is if in 15 or 20 years from now, I'll feel like it's justified that he's still there. 

From a legal standpoint, the end result of a crime usually makes a massive difference.  For example, imagine someone driving the wrong way on a freeway because they're extremely drunk, and they manage not to kill anyone only because the other drivers swerved to avoid them. Then imagine the same scenario but in this one, the drunk driver kills an innocent driver in a head on collision.  Even though we're fully aware that both literally made the exact same poor choices - one could end up in prison for a few months, and the other for decades.

Ultimately, the choices Sam made led him here, making it hard to feel sorry for him now. So while I won't be campaigning to #FreeSam, I also wouldn't be angry to hear Sam's legal team was able to have the sentence re-evaluated, and reduced by a few years.

If you were the judge overseeing the case - what, if anything, would you change given what you know today? We want to know - share your answer with us on X @TheCryptoPress

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Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

Former president Donald Trump continues to repeat his stance as the crypto-friendly candidate, and it's resulting in votes and donations from the tech world.

Trump has seen the light. 5 years ago the former President was saying crypto was “a disaster waiting to happen” but since then has made a number of pro-crypto statements. 

Trevor Traina, ambassador to Austria during the Trump Administration and current tech executive, tells Reuters that Trump said “he would be the crypto president” at a recent San Francisco fundraiser.

Unexpected Support in 'Liberal' Silicon Valley

As someone in Silicon Valley, I never expected to hear that Trump was in San Francisco, raising millions from the tech elite that were clearly against him in the previous two elections.

But just three days ago, Silicon Valley venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya hosted the former president at Sacks' mansion in the wealthy Pacific Heights neighborhood, where Trump gave a speech, followed by a dinner and reception. The tickets started at $50,000, and the event sold out, ending in $12 million being raised for the campaign.

Trump Arriving in San Francisco earlier this week.

Crypto is among a list of policies that have 'turned off' those now supporting Trump in a city that voted 85% for Biden.

All Happening While Biden's Administration Continues to Advocate Policies that Aren't Just Bad for Crypto - They Expose a Complete Lack of Understanding of How Crypto Works

For example, the first crypto-related proposals exposed that the Biden administration viewed wallet providers the same as banks, saying they should be required to verify the identities of all users. In reality, wallets are simply software that runs entirely on the user's end, different from a bank in every possible way.

The creator of a legitimate crypto wallet is both blind and powerless when it comes to who uses it and what those users are doing. They cannot help the government seize someone's crypto, even with a warrant, because they literally cannot access it. They also cannot prevent anyone from using the wallet they created - if the file to install it is accessible, anyone can use it.

In other words, it is both completely pointless to require wallet creators to demand information from users they have no authority over, and there is no reason for users to comply when ignoring these new requirements has the same end result - them being free to continue using whatever wallet they want.

No one can be surprised that the industry rightfully fears the end result of people writing new laws intended to regulate something they clearly do not understand.

As Trump Warmed Up To Crypto, His Campaign Made Sure to Show It

In 2022, the announcement that he would be running again came with the launch of Trump NFTs on the Ethereum-based platform OpenSea.

In 2023, his financial disclosure filed with the Office of Government Ethics included a crypto wallet with up to $500,000 worth of assets in it - this wallet's value recently broke $5 million in value. Since the wallet address became known, both random users and projects have gifted or airdropped coins to it.

Then last month, his campaign announced they will accept crypto donations for the 2024 election.

There are Legitimate Reasons Any US Leader Should Support Crypto

One major contributing factor to the US's global power is the strength of the US dollar, and one major reason the dollar is so strong is its status as the global 'reserve currency' as well as the official standard currency for purchasing oil from the world's largest supplier - OPEC in the Middle East.

When the global economy is in turmoil, as seen recently during the COVID pandemic, many nations converted their treasury to US dollars. The Federal Reserve was overwhelmed initially, having to scramble to fulfill other countries’ central banks' demands for what is seen as the world's most stable currency.

That word 'stable' is one crypto investors are familiar with - as the US dollar is finding yet another market where it has become the standard for investors looking for a stable currency to both cash out and re-enter trades from.

In fact, when it comes to cryptocurrencies tied to standard fiat money, the top 16 stablecoins are all based on the US dollar, with 'STASIS EURO' at #17 and less than $1 million in daily transactions. The top stablecoin USDT has done $39 billion in the same 24-hour time period.

While the crypto market trades digital versions, the two that account for the overwhelming majority of stablecoin transactions, USDT and USDC, are both publicly audited companies that verify they hold the money to back up the coin. This means as we've watched stablecoin usage skyrocket over the last few years, offline this created new real-world demand for US dollars.

You would think this would result in crypto having no effect on the election, as both sides would support its continued growth. Regardless of what your opinions may be on other issues - it's a fact that only one candidate seems to be getting this one right.

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Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

It's over for the infamous Craig Wright, one of Bitcoin's early developers who actually did work with Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, then in recent years begun to claim he was Satoshi himself.

 A ruling by a High Court judge in London on Monday (May 20) determined that the Australian computer scientist Craig Wright provided false testimony and fabricated documents to substantiate his unsubstantiated assertion of being the inventor of bitcoin.

Judge James Mellor, in a decision rendered in March and with reasons outlined on Monday as reported by Reuters, concluded that the evidence did not support Wright's claim to be the pseudonymous "Satoshi Nakamoto" behind bitcoin's creation. The judge found that Wright had been deceitful and had forged documentation to bolster his inventor claim, and that Wright's legal actions against bitcoin developers as well as his expressed views on bitcoin contradicted his purported status.

Developers Feel Relief Following Ruling...

Wright's legal attempt, had it succeeded, would have given him the right to sue anyone who built anything on Bitcoin's network, as he would become the copyright holder to Bitcoin's code.

In a blog post on Monday following the ruling, a Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) spokesperson said that the judgment "forensically demolishes Wright's fraudulent claims."

"This decision is a watershed moment for the open-source community and even more importantly, a definitive win for the truth," a COPA spokesperson said. "Developers can now continue their important work maintaining, iterating on and improving the bitcoin network without risking their personal livelihoods or fearing costly and time-consuming litigation from Craig Wright."

Wright Vows To Appeal...

On X (formerly Twitter), Wright stated on Monday: "I fully intend to appeal the decision of the court on the matter of the identity issue. I would like to acknowledge and thank all my supporters for their unwavering encouragement and support."

Wright first came forward with his claim to be bitcoin's creator in May 2016, making the assertion to three publications — the BBC, The Economist, and GQ — and sending digitally signed messages using cryptographic keys created during bitcoin's early development days.

"These are the blocks used to send 10 bitcoins to Hal Finney in January [2009] as the first bitcoin transaction," Wright stated at the time during his demonstration.

However, by December 2019, when a Florida judge ruled that Wright's late partner was entitled to half of the bitcoins Wright mined through 2013 and half of the related intellectual property, some crypto experts were skeptical of Wright's claims, viewing them as fraudulent.


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Author: Mark Pippen
London Newsroom
GlobalCryptoPress | Breaking Crypto News

 Late Sunday night in the US, Coinbase users were greeted with the following message:

Coinbase is temporarily unavailable. Our servers are busy. We’re looking into it and expect our usual service to return soon. Your funds are safe.

In what was billed as the "biggest bitcoin vs gold debate in history," and moderated by Ran of Crypto Banter, the event featured four financial heavyweights squaring off to argue the merits and flaws of bitcoin and gold as potential future stores of value and mediums of exchange. 

In one corner were the bitcoin backers - Eric Voorhees, an early bitcoin adopter and founder of ShapeShift, and Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital and former White House spokesman. They championed bitcoin as a revolutionary, decentralized digital currency outside government control.

"Bitcoin is radical, it's rebellious, it's non-compliant, it's American," Scaramucci proclaimed. Voorhees added "Anything that moves the world away from centralized control of money to market-based control of money is something I would be in favor of."

In the other corner were gold advocates Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Asset Management who famously predicted the 2008 housing crash, and economist Nouriel Roubini. They argued bitcoin has no intrinsic value and is essentially "digital fools gold."

"Bitcoin can't do anything that gold can do...You can't have digital gold, you can't make jewelry out of it," Schiff stated. Roubini bluntly called bitcoin "a damned speculative asset - that's it."

Schiff and Roubini repeated the same anti-crypto talking points they've been saying for the last 10 years... unfortunately, in 7 out of those 10 years Bitcoin outperformed all other investments.

How can anyone with a track record that includes 7 years of advising investors to avoid the most profitable investment still be taken seriously?

The intense 2+ hour debate covered a wide range of topics around modern monetary theory, inflation, the economic outlook, role of governments, and the fundamental value propositions of bitcoin vs gold.

Voorhees and Scaramucci made the case that bitcoin's fixed supply of 21 million coins and properties like pseudo-anonymity give it immense value as "a non-debasable monetary commodity." As Scaramucci said, "We took [the working class] from aspirational to desperation in 35 years" due to currency inflation.

However, Schiff and Roubini countered that bitcoin fails all the tests of being a true currency. "It's not a unit of account, not a scalable means of payment, and not a stable store of value...it can never be money," Roubini argued.

While no minds seemed changed by the intense back-and-forth, it encapsulated the broader ideological battle between bitcoin's freedom philosophy and gold's traditional role. 

With bitcoin's market cap over $1.2 trillion, this debate is no longer hypothetical. Its outcome will shape monetary systems, investing, privacy and decentralization for years ahead.

I tried my best to summarize the debate that ran slight over 2 hours long, but if you want to see every minute for yourself, you can view an archive of the live stream on Crypto Banter's Youtube Channel. 

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Author: Oliver Redding
Seattle Newsdesk  / Breaking Crypto News

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA -  Biswap is a decentralized exchange on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC).  They offer trading, liquidity mining, yield farming, NFTs, Lotto, Games, a Launch Pad and more.  As you can see it's a project with a lot going on! on BSC. Today we'll look at this and more in our BiSwap Review...

The price of Bitcoin has plummeted more than 7.5% in the last 24 hours, plunging to around $62,000 on several major exchanges.

At the time of this publication, Bitcoin is trading at approximately $64,300 per unit.

Bitcoin's downfall was not an isolated event. The S&P 500 index, which comprises the largest American companies, also experienced a significant decline in the past week, accentuated on the last business day. The same occurred with markets in other countries, indicating a global market reaction.

The primary apparent reason for these market movements is the escalating tensions in the Middle East, specifically the conflict in Israel and the potential for a larger-scale conflict brewing, as Iran has launched attacks.

What Could Reverse the Trend?

The imminent approval of Bitcoin ETFs in Hong Kong, one of the world's five largest financial markets, could be a turning point. The impact of such a measure would be substantial, as it could potentially influence the Chinese government to relax restrictions on the use of digital assets.

Additionally, the next Bitcoin halving event, which reduces the issuance of BTC per mined block by half, is just days away. This event typically generates significant media attention and visibility for Bitcoin, serving as a remarkable marketing opportunity.

Furthermore, each halving reminds the market that Bitcoin is a scarce asset and that the available quantity for acquisition will become increasingly limited, which has historically acted as an upward catalyst for its price in the medium and long term.

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Author: Mark Pippen
London Newsroom
GlobalCryptoPress | Breaking Crypto News

On numerous occasions, China has banned various activities with bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies, including trading, transactions, and mining. For this reason, in mainland China, the launch of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on this type of financial asset is not permitted.

However, Hong Kong, while part of China, is considered a 'special administrative region' able to govern itself separately from mainland China in certain cases, one of which is the ability to regulate Hong Kong-based investment firms. When it comes to crypto, Hong Kong allows companies and residents to invest, putting them at odds with mainland China, where crypto remains banned.

Bitcoin ETF's via Hong Kong....

Financial news outlets in China are now reporting that financial giants such as Harvest Fund and Southern Fund have submitted applications to launch bitcoin ETFs through their Hong Kong subsidiaries. Harvest Fund manages more than $230 billion in total assets, while Southern Fund manages over $280 billion.

Additionally, smaller companies like 'Jiashi Fund' are attempting to use their Hong Kong subsidiary, 'Jiashi International,' to offer clients access to a Bitcoin ETF.

Regardless of size, all companies that have applied are now awaiting the decision of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the regulatory authority that will be deciding on these applications.

Approval May Come Soon - Catching Many Off-Guard...

According to reports from China, these firms are expecting to receive approval to launch their Bitcoin ETF products and believe they could be actively promoting them as early as this quarter.

Bitcoin ETF approval in Hong Kong would be another major milestone for Bitcoin, making it easily accessible in one of the world's largest financial markets.

China has been off the radar for most crypto investors, there's been little reason to pay much attention as it's remained firm on their existing ban. While trading continued in Hong Kong, the volume coming from this small beacon of freedom isn't determining any winners and losers.   But ETF's bring the potential for large investments from Chinese corporations, also potentially attracting other Asian nations already active in the Chinese markets. 

An Influence on Mainland China...

If Bitcoin ETFs in Hong Kong turn out to be a success, and especially if they manage to attract international capital, companies in mainland China will likely respond by putting pressure on the government to reconsider their stance toward bitcoin.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will find it difficult to defend his position if the US, European nations, and now Hong Kong companies stake their claim in the multi-billion dollar Bitcoin ETF market, while those in mainland China are forced to remain spectators.

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Author: Adam Lee 
Asia News Desk / Breaking Crypto News