The European Central Bank (ECB) has published its first progress report on the digital euro preparation phase, highlighting key design features and ongoing developments. The report emphasizes high privacy standards for both online and offline payments, aiming to provide users with a cash-like level of privacy. First Progress Report on the Digital Euro Preparation Phase […]
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Fed Chair Powell Briefs Lawmakers on US Central Bank Digital Currency Progress
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has provided an update to Congress members regarding the Fed’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) work. “If we’re going to have a CBDC, Congress needs to authorize it,” he stressed. Moreover, the Fed chair reportedly said that a framework for stablecoins is needed. Fed Chair Powell on US CBDC and […]
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US Representative French Hill Optimistic on Progress of Crypto Legislation
During a panel discussion at the recent Foundation for Defense of Democracies event, Arkansas Republican French Hill shared a positive update on the trajectory of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act and the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act.
US Representative French Hill Foresees Bright Future for Crypto Bills at FDD Event
In a recent event hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) on Jan. 29, Rep. French Hill, an Arkansas Republican and chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion, shared promising updates on the progress of two significant crypto-related bills.
Rep. Hill, during a panel discussion at the FDD event, conveyed a sense of optimism about the advancement of legislation concerning stablecoins and the broader regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. He noted that by the end of 2023, lawmakers had marked up two bills: the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act and the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act. Both pieces of legislation had progressed out of the House Financial Services Committee in July 2023, setting the stage for a full House vote.
“I still am optimistic that you’ll see those bills come to fruition during ’24,” Hill expressed. His remarks reflected confidence in the bipartisan support and administrative collaboration that has marked the bills’ journey thus far. “Every meeting I’ve attended has been very encouraging,” he added.
The Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act aims to provide a clear regulatory framework for stablecoins. Meanwhile, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act seeks to address the broader market structure of cryptocurrencies. The completion of a “very good working draft” of the regulatory framework bill by the close of 2023 was a significant milestone, according to Hill.
Rep. Hill also discussed the strategic importance of a well-regulated dollar-based stablecoin for the U.S. dollar’s role in international trade, while expressing skepticism about unregulated central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) issued by foreign entities.
Looking forward, 2024 promises to be a critical year for these legislative efforts, especially with the upcoming elections. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for contention, and significant changes in leadership within the Digital Assets subcommittee and the House Financial Services Committee are possible. Current committee chair, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has announced he will not seek reelection.
In the broader political landscape, the 2024 election season is heating up. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate for U.S. president, has declared his opposition to the introduction of a CBDC in the United States, a stance that resonates with some of the concerns expressed by Rep. Hill.
Do you think these two crypto-related bills will be passed in 2024? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Shiba Inu Lead Dev Hints At Major Progress As SHIB Holds Key Support
Shiba Inu lead developer Shytoshi Kusama has hinted at significant progress in the project’s ambitions. Kusama’s statements, shared on X (formerly Twitter), provide insights into the strategic direction of Shiba Inu and its integration with broader internet infrastructure.
Alluding to the fake spot Bitcoin ETF approval news, Kusama stated, “Hey, SHIBARMY! While everyone is focused on approved or not, hacked or not, we remained focused on creating what we said we would: A Network State. Since I’m hearing a lot of Web 3 but not enough WEB, let’s talk about SHIB NAME TOKENS.”
Elaborating on the project’s direction, Kusama highlighted the importance of domains in the digital world: “Domains are the identity layer of the Internet. For 40 years, they have made using the Internet easier for all. If you type http://shib.io into your browser, you go to the Shib website. What if you could do more?”
In a push to gain adoption, Shiba Inu is partnering with D3 to apply for the .shib Top-Level Domain (TLD), aiming to make a significant impact on the internet landscape. “This will allow us to tap into infrastructure that is used by 5.3 BILLION people worldwide,” Kusama noted, emphasizing the extensive reach of this endeavor.
The plan involves utilizing domains to establish a seamless identity layer for Shib across the internet, without necessitating special software, wallets, plugins, or extensions. This move could drastically simplify user interaction with the Shiba Inu ecosystem, potentially revolutionizing digital identity verification and interaction on Web3 platforms.
Kusama envisions a future where .shib domains could be used for various purposes, including hosting websites, sending and receiving emails and digital assets, and serving as usernames on Web3 platforms.
“You already use domains all over Web3. You use it to access our ecosystem, you use it to access the exchanges where you buy and sell SHIB, LEASH and BONE, you use it to open X to read this tweet. Now imagine if those domains ended in .shib,” Kusama remarked.
Shiba Inu Price Analysis
Simultaneously, the SHIB/USD pair’s technical analysis indicates a cautiously optimistic outlook. The weekly chart reveals a break from a downtrend as well as a thus far successful retest of the breakout. As NewsBTC reported, SHIB broke out of the descending triangle pattern in early December and recorded a new higher high after a series of lower highs from August 2022 to November 2023.
Despite experiencing a retracement of approximately 28% from this local peak, SHIB has displayed resilience by maintaining key support levels on the weekly time frame. Notably, the previous week’s close remained above the triangle’s descending trendline, which is a bullish signal. Additionally, SHIB managed to sustain prices above the 0.236 Fibonacci level at .00000878.
The maintenance of the price above the 20-week EMA is another bullish indicator, especially if SHIB manages to close above this level again this week. Should this trend persist, a retest of the 0.5 Fibonacci level is plausible. However, traders should anticipate significant resistance in the zone between the 0.382 Fibonacci level, approximately .00001050, and .00001063.
In the event of an extended upward trajectory, the 0.618 and 0.786 Fibonacci levels, at about .00001327 and .00001525 respectively, are poised to be the next critical resistance junctures. The ultimate target for bullish momentum could be the August 2022 high of .00001777.
The volume profile reinforces this bullish outlook, revealing a spike in trading activity that coincides with the recent appreciation in price, indicative of robust buying pressure. The RSI’s neutral stance at 53.63 lends flexibility to the market’s directional bias, implying that there is sufficient headroom for price expansion before the asset enters overbought or oversold territory.
Filecoin: Rocky Start Hits Protocol With Slow New Year Progress – Here’s Why
Although the broader market is experiencing a strong start this year, Filecoin has opened the year at a snail’s pace. According to Coingecko, the token is up over 4% in the past 24 hours. However, the week started with FIL bleeding nearly 27%.
With investors uninspired by the ongoing broader market rally, FIL might be in for a rough few months after ending 2023 on a positive note.
On-Chain Growth Prevents A Bigger Disaster
In their most recent blog post, they highlight the recent achievements of the ecosystem. Over 2,442 unique smart contracts deployed on-chain, with over 3,000 projects native on Filecoin. But overall, Filecoin has been fairly silent in terms of development, despite boasting an extremely active developer base with over 15,000 contributors on GitHub.
Swan Chain – a layer-2 protocol powered by Filecoin itself – is the one creating a positive noise. In their recent post on X, the protocol posted a roadmap for this year.
If Swan’s planned roadmap is followed and implemented, it may reverse the overall bearish attitude on FIL. However, this will inevitably take time, costing investors precious moments on the red rather than starting the year on the green.
But 2023 was a bountiful year for Swan Chain. In the blog post detailing the protocol’s achievements last year, their testnets Lagrange and Mars covered different aspects of the ecosystem and saw great success. This might be a sign that investors should be in for the long term rather than expect short-term gains.
Filecoin: More Pain In The Short To Medium-Term?
As of writing, the token is completely in the red after an impressive year-end rally. The bulls are now fighting over control of the .825 price level which will provide a better platform for higher highs in in the long term. However, this may not be the case in the next couple of days.
FIL’s market is dominated by the bears that will inevitably bring the token’s price to sub- if the bearishness continues. But this also presents the opportunity for the bulls to slow the token’s descent until they find strong support for the long haul.
At the moment, .231 will be the point at which the bulls will slow FIL’s downward spiral. If they can hold on to this price level in the long run, investors and traders will see gains trickle in little by little.
Featured image from Shutterstock
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz Expects Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval by January 10, Regulatory Progress After Election
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz expects the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) by Jan. 10 next year. Subsequently, he foresees the cryptocurrency reclaiming its all-time high of ,000 and wouldn’t be surprised if it surpasses that price level. The executive also predicts progress in U.S. crypto regulation, expecting changes in leadership at the Treasury Department and the SEC after the upcoming presidential election.
Mike Novogratz’s Crypto Predictions
The CEO of Galaxy Digital, Mike Novogratz, discussed his perspectives on the crypto market and his expectations regarding the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in an interview with CNBC earlier this week.
Regarding spot bitcoin ETF approvals, the Galaxy Digital boss said:
We are gonna get this ETF before January 10th.
Novogratz added that spot bitcoin ETFs will likely take six to eight weeks after approval to start trading. “After that, it’s just more fuel for a fire,” he stressed, emphasizing: “Crypto stocks are trading like a maniac.”
He preceded to outline the impact of institutions putting 1% of their portfolios into bitcoin or spot bitcoin ETFs. “There isn’t a lot of supply in bitcoin,” he began. “We have customers that are platform customers and [they] buy enough bitcoin every day to take out all the miners,” the executive claimed, adding: “When you think about the supply/demand dynamic, we haven’t really had a situation where you have a global market and you have something of such limited supply and so I think bitcoin can go far higher.” He opined:
I think first stop next year will be the old high, ,000, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it went beyond that.
Commenting on the statements by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) regarding crypto’s use in terrorist financing, he pointed out that this theory has been debunked. “Yes, some crypto is used for bad things, but not nearly as much as fiat,” Novogratz stated, adding: “Jamie Dimon’s bank has paid billion in fines since he’s been there — billion. Add up all of the bad trades with crypto, it doesn’t add up to billion, so should we ban JPMorgan?”
Regarding crypto legislation, he noted that some bills have been introduced in Congress. “There’s a group of Democrats and Republicans in D.C. that want to get legislation through. There’s two pieces of legislation that would really give us a good framework around both stablecoins and the rest of crypto, and it’s Elizabeth Warren and … the Biden White House that’s stopping that.”
Nonetheless, the Galaxy Digital CEO believes that progress will be made after the U.S. presidential election next year, stating:
I think post this election, we will either have a new administration, either Democrat or Republican. But even if Biden wins, my guess is there’s a new Secretary of Treasury and a new head of the SEC that will finally make some progress.
What do you think about the statements by Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz? Let us know in the comments section below.
Report of SEC’s Spot Bitcoin ETF Advice Fuels Hope for Approval — Crypto Industry Views It as ‘Real Progress’
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly provided specific guidance to exchanges seeking to list and trade spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on what they should do next. “This is real progress,” said one crypto exchange insider. “The cash vs in-kind debate looks to be finding clarity.”
SEC’s Advice Regarding Spot Bitcoin ETFs
Optimism for spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) surged again on Friday after a report of the SEC engaging with exchanges to provide guidance on spot bitcoin ETF applications emerged.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas shared on social media platform X that he is hearing chatter suggesting that the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets engaged in discussions with exchanges this week, advising them to use the cash creation method, instead of the in-kind method, for spot bitcoin ETFs. Moreover, the securities regulator reportedly asked exchanges to file amendments to reflect this change in the next couple of weeks. Balchunas noted that this is a good sign.
ETF units can be created in-kind or in cash. In cash creation, authorized participants provide cash to the ETF issuer in exchange for new ETF units.
The Bloomberg ETF analyst noted that “Cash creates makes sense” in his opinion because broker-dealers “can’t deal in bitcoin so doing cash creates puts onus on issuers to transact in bitcoin and keeps broker-dealers from having to use unregistered subsidiaries or third party firms” to deal with BTC. He added that it’s “Less limitations for them overall.”
Balchunas continued: “Only 2-3 filers had planned cash creates, the rest wanted to do in-kind. So [they] may have to adjust or risk delay.” Emphasizing that this development “doesn’t change our 90% odds up or down” of spot bitcoin ETF approval, he said it is a “good sign” that the approval process is progressing and the SEC “has a path forward in the plumbing that they are comfortable with.”
Many people in the crypto space view the SEC’s advice as positive. Marshall Beard, Chief Strategy Officer at crypto exchange Gemini, commented:
This is real progress. The cash vs in-kind debate looks to be finding clarity. For reference as well, the Canadian spot ETFs have been using the cash create model for years now.
However, some argue that in-kind creates are much better than cash creates. Gabor Gurbacs, strategy advisor at Vaneck, stressed that the SEC’s cash creates advice is “a sign that regulators don’t/unwilling [to] understand and accept the best aspects of ETFs and bitcoin.” He emphasized: “In-kind creates are simply much more efficient. Anyone managing an ETF knows this.”
Balchunas further noted: “My point on cash creates was that I could see the SEC’s POV [point of view] for wanting it but from investor’s POV in-kind arguably better in terms of the spread and taxation.” He concluded that we could see some issuers pushing for the in-kind process, adding that they may even succeed in engagement with the SEC staff.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler recently stated that the securities regulator is considering eight to 10 spot bitcoin ETF applications. A number of people expect the SEC to approve multiple spot bitcoin ETFs at once early next year.
What do you think about the SEC advising exchanges to use cash creates for spot bitcoin ETFs? Let us know in the comments section below.
ECB Official Shares Digital Euro Progress, Concerns Over Paypal’s Stablecoin
European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Fabio Panetta has warned about stablecoins issued by private providers, such as Paypal. He also provided an update on the progress of the digital euro. “At the ECB, our investigation phase is now in its final stage, preparing the ground for the Governing Council to decide whether to move to the next phase of the project,” he said.
ECB Executive Board Member on Digital Euro and Stablecoins
Fabio Panetta, member of the executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB), discussed stablecoins and the digital euro on Monday during his introductory statement at the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament.
Noting that the ECB officially launched the digital euro investigation phase in October 2021, he said, “We have made considerable progress since then.” Panetta added:
At the ECB, our investigation phase is now in its final stage, preparing the ground for the Governing Council to decide whether to move to the next phase of the project.
“Our response to the technological revolution in payments cannot be to stand still,” he emphasized. “In the absence of a digital euro, the emergence of potentially dominant private actors in the digital payments market could have a strong impact on the financial sector.”
Panetta warned: “This is a real possibility, as demonstrated by Paypal’s recent decision to launch its own U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin for use in digital payments.” The ECB executive board member continued:
Private providers of payment services, including Paypal, have no incentive to limit the take-up of their stablecoins or the range of services they provide. Quite the opposite: their objective is to expand their customer base and gain market share.
He also expressed concerns that private providers may have no incentive to make their payment solutions compatible with those used today. He further cautioned that “while the market entry of big techs or other large payment providers may initially promote innovation, competition could be severely hampered if they attain a monopolistic position, as we have seen in other digital sectors.”
On the contrary, Panetta argued: “This would not be the case with a digital euro. A digital euro would be introduced by public authorities, under a European regulatory framework. It would pay due attention to orderly adjustments in the financial sector while offering payment service providers a platform for innovations with pan-euro area reach.”
The ECB executive board member noted:
Furthermore, unlike the stablecoins issued by big techs, the digital euro would be distributed by banks and other payment service providers, which would maintain their relationship with their customers.
Panetta concluded that the ECB will report on the findings of the investigation phase next month and the Governing Council will then decide whether to move to the next phase of the digital euro project. “If we do move to the next phase, the ECB and the national central banks of all euro area countries will continue to analyze digital euro functionalities and eventually move towards developing and testing technical solutions and business arrangements to be ready to start issuing a digital euro, if and when warranted,” he detailed.
What do you think about the statements by ECB executive board member Fabio Panetta regarding the digital euro and stablecoins issued by companies like Paypal? Let us know in the comments section below.
Lawmakers Object to Federal Reserve’s Stablecoin Guidelines — Say They Undermine Legislative Progress
Several U.S. lawmakers have objected to the Federal Reserve’s stablecoin regulatory guidelines, which they believe “will undoubtedly deter financial institutions from participating in the digital asset ecosystem.” According to the lawmakers, “The Fed has chosen to effectively prevent banks from issuing payments stablecoins — or engaging in the payment stablecoin ecosystem.”
Fed’s Efforts ‘Subvert Progress Made by Congress’
Three U.S. representatives sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell regarding stablecoin regulation last week. The letter, dated Aug. 23, was signed by Patrick McHenry (R-NC), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee; French Hill (R-AR), chairman of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion; and Bill Huizenga (R-MI), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Congressman Hill stated Monday on the social media platform X:
I sent a letter alongside Rep. Patrick McHenry and Rep. Bill Huizenga to the Federal Reserve objecting to their efforts to undermine the Financial Services Committee’s progress on stablecoin legislation. The Fed has chosen to effectively prevent banks from issuing payment stablecoins.
In their letter, the lawmakers expressed concerns regarding “the Federal Reserve Board’s recent Supervision and Regulation Letters titled ‘Creation of Novel Activities Supervision Program’ (SR 23-7) and ‘Supervisory Nonobjection Process for State Member Banks Seeking to Engage in Certain Activities Involving Dollar Tokens’ (SR23-8).” Both letters were issued on Aug. 8. The lawmakers stressed:
We are concerned that these actions are being taken to subvert progress made by Congress to establish a payment stablecoin regulatory regime. Moreover, if these letters are left in place, they will undoubtedly deter financial institutions from participating in the digital asset ecosystem.
Noting that the House Committee on Financial Services recently passed a bill titled “Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act,” which has bipartisan support, the congressmen stated that “instead of working with Congress to establish a workable regime, less than two weeks after the Committee’s action, the Fed released SR 23-7 and SR 23-8.”
The lawmakers explained that the Fed’s Novel Activities Supervision Program “appears designed to impose additional regulatory burdens on banking institutions to engage with crypto assets and to provide the Fed with additional tools to deny crypto asset-related activities.”
Moreover, they pointed out that “SR 23-7 and SR 23-8 were not issued in accordance with the notice and comment process as required under the Administrative Procedure Act. This guidance represents an effort by the Fed to set policy without being held accountable to market participants and the public, which is unacceptable.”
The lawmakers concluded their letter to Chair Powell with a request for written answers to a number of questions pertaining to SR 23-7 and SR 23-8. They include how the Fed intends to “implement a fair and consistent process for determining which banking organizations will be subject to supervisory examinations.” The congressmen also asked the Federal Reserve chairman to provide documents pertaining to SR 23-7 and SR 23-8, including all related records and communications among employees and all related records and communications of Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr.
The lawmakers emphasized:
By issuing the letters, the Fed has chosen to effectively prevent banks from issuing payments stablecoins — or engaging in the payment stablecoin ecosystem.
What do you think about the lawmakers opposing the Federal Reserve’s stablecoin regulatory guidelines? Let us know in the comments section below.
Bitcoin Makes Progress in Clearing Backlog, but Lightning Network Capacity and Channels Dropped Amid Congestion
In the past week, the Bitcoin network has made progress in resolving its congestion issues. On May 7, 2023, the number of unconfirmed transactions reached an all-time high of over 500,000 transfers, causing a major backlog. However, as of today, that number has been reduced to 263,406. Currently, 184 blocks need to be cleared to process the majority of transactions that are still stuck in the network’s mempool.
Congestion Woes Ease on Bitcoin Network
The long queue of transactions is finally starting to subside as bitcoin miners have started catching up with some of the backlog. As we reported three days ago, Bitcoin.com News noted the beginning of the congestion-clearing process, with unconfirmed transactions dropping from over 500,000 on May 7 to just above 300,000 on Thursday, May 11.
According to mempool.io statistics, high-priority transactions were priced at per transfer, while low-priority transactions cost .23 per transfer at that time. Current statistics on May 14 show that onchain fees have significantly subsided on the Bitcoin blockchain over the past three days. Just a few days ago, a high-priority transaction would have cost , but today, that fee has dropped to .83.
A medium-priority transfer is now priced at .79, while a low-priority transaction can cost around .75. This is a significant improvement, with high-priority onchain fees sliding by 72.33% over the past 72 hours. Additionally, the number of unconfirmed transactions stuck in the queue has reduced to 263,406, which is just above half of what it held on May 7.
Lightning Network Capacity and Channels Drop
On May 9, the number of transactions was around 413,420, which means that 36.28% of the backlog has been cleared in the past five days. While fees skyrocketed to roughly per transaction on May 7 and have been quite volatile lately, the Lightning Network’s capacity did not improve. In fact, the number of BTC locked into the Lightning Network dropped from 5,463 BTC on May 5 to today’s capacity of 5,415 BTC on May 14.
The dip indicates that roughly .28 million in value left the Lightning Network amid the transaction backlog chaos. On May 8, the Lightning Network boasted 73,352 unique channels. However, that number has since decreased to the current 71,286 unique channels. According to mempool.space’s Lightning Network metrics, roughly 5,057 BTC in capacity is on clearnet, while 253 BTC of capacity is using Tor. The remaining Lightning Network capacity is identified as “other.”
What are your thoughts on the recent developments in the Bitcoin network and the Lightning Network’s capacity? Share your insights in the comments section below.