SEC Kicks the Bitcoin ETF Down the Road Again, Legal NFT Battle + More News
Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Regulation news
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the deadline of four bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for 45 days, citing the requirement for additional time to decide whether to accept the 19b-4 applications. The approval of the ETFs — Global X Bitcoin Trust, Valkyrie XBTO Bitcoin Futures Fund, WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust, and Kryptoin Bitcoin ETF – has been rescheduled to these respective dates: November 21, December 8, December 11, and December 24. (Learn more: Not Ideal, but ‘Better Than Nothing’ – Market Awaits ‘Paper Bitcoin’ ETF)
- US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he does not intend to ban cryptocurrencies, but that stablecoins need greater regulatory oversight in a House Financial Services Committee meeting. Additionally, the Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the Internal Revenue Service was in the process of issuing detailed regulations that will define cryptocurrencies for tax-accounting purposes.
- Crypto exchange Independent Reserve has received a Major Payment Institution License in Singapore from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act (PSA) to operate as a regulated provider for Digital Payment Token (DPT) Services. The team added that Singapore’s environment would thoroughly address investor protection concerns including the safe custody of assets, know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, and market manipulation.
- DBS Bank’s brokerage arm DBS Vickers (DBSV) has also received formal approval from the MAS under the PSA to provide digital payment token services as a Major Payment Institution. This will enable DBSV, as a member of DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx), to directly support asset managers and companies to trade in digital payment tokens through DDEx.
- The French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) is warning the public about the risks of fraud associated with the initial coin offering (ICO) prepared by the company Air Next. The watchdog said that they have not issued a visa for any token offering by the company, which has allegedly been directly marketed to the public in France and is “subject to criminal penalties.”
NFTs news
- Art collector Amir Soleymani (aka ‘mondoir’) has filed a legal suit in London against NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway alleging that its auction terms for Beeple’s Abundance, won by Ethereum’s co-founder Taylor Gerring (aka ‘tgerring’) for USD 1.2m, were unfair and void for illegality. After the Abundance auction closed and Soleymani was the third-highest bidder, Nifty Gateway claimed that he’d “won” an edition of the Beeple piece for which he was asked to pay but refused, so Nifty Gateway proceeded to freeze his NFT collection on their site, composed of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of NFTs he had bought previously, according to Soleymani.
- Blockchain fan engagement platform Raiinmaker has partnered with multimedia firm Cosmic Wire to support several climate charities through the creation of six special non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The tokens will be based on the work of popular street artist Banksy, with tokens tied to the iconic remnants of the creator’s original Spy Booth wall mural.
Investments news
- DeFi and stablecoin platform Kokoa Finance has raised USD 2.3m in a seed investment round led by Hashed. They said that the funding will be used to build the backbone of DeFi on Klaytn, the blockchain launched by South Korean giant Kakao.
CBDCs news
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has postponed the launch of its digital currency, the eNaira, according to two Nigerian publications. Both said that the CBN postponed the launch in deference to the 61st anniversary of Nigerian independence on October 1, but the new launch date is unclear.
DeFi news
- Blockchain middleware platform BIFROST has announced the launch of what they say is the world’s first native BTC lending on decentralized finance (DeFi), connecting both Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) networks. BiFi, a project powered by BIFROST, is a DeFi lending platform that works across native chains, enabling users to lend and borrow digital assets directly from one native chain to another.
Career news
- Payment services company Circle has named Devron Brown to be its senior director for global policy. Dante Disparte, Chief of strategy and Head of Global Policy at Circle, added that Brown is a “fintech whisperer” who has helped shape US policy on financial inclusion, innovation, and integrity.
Mining news
- The director of Tehran’s stock exchange announced his resignation after cryptocurrency mining machines were uncovered at the offices of the organization, according to Iran International. The outlet added that the government’s official news website IRNA states that the director was fired.
