Last week at the BIS Innovation Summit 2024, Israeli historian, philosopher, and bestselling author Yuval Noah Harari shared his views on bitcoin and electronic currency. During his presentation, Harari emphasized his disapproval of bitcoin, stating it is its money “built on distrust.” Yuval Harari Voices Concerns Over Bitcoin Yuval Noah Harari has openly stated his […]
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Grayscale Withdraws Ethereum ETF Proposal Amid Skepticism Over SEC Approval
Grayscale has retracted its application to list its ethereum trust, known as ETHE, as detailed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. James Seyffart, a Bloomberg analyst specializing in exchange-traded funds (ETF), expressed puzzlement over Grayscale’s decision to do so. Grayscale’s Strategic Ethereum Trust Retraction Filing Raises Questions Per a filing with […]
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Ethereum Spot ETFs Approval Skepticism Persists, As ETH Recovers
Ethereum Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) approval odds continue to witness notable pessimism as the cryptocurrency space awaits the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision on the products scheduled for May.
The expectation surrounding the SEC’s decision highlights how important ETF approval is in terms of giving conventional investors more convenient access to Ethereum’s spot market. Presently, data from Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market, shows that ETH ETF approval odds have fallen to a mere 11%.
Pessimism Deepens As Ethereum ETFs Remain Uncertain
As the May deadline draws near, doubt and skepticism loom large on the horizon, casting a dark shadow for the products. One of the most recent figures to voice doubts about the SEC’s willingness to approve the exchange-traded products this May is Nate Geraci, the president of ETF Store.
According to Geraci, the regulatory watchdog is eerily silent on Ethereum spot ETFs. He further suggested that the products might not be approved due to the SEC’s significantly lower level of engagement with ETF issuers than in previous interactions.
“Logic says that is correct, but also wonder if SEC learned a lesson from clown show with spot Bitcoin ETFs,” he added. Thus, he has pointed out two possible options for the products, which are either an approval or lawsuit from the Commission.
Commenting on the president’s insights, a pseudonymous X user questioned if there is a possibility that activities are taking place behind closed doors in order to avoid disrupting the pre-launch market. Geraci responded, saying he believes that could be possible, drawing attention to Van Eck CEO Jan Van Eck’s review, which might prove otherwise.
It is worth noting that Van Eck is one of the earliest firms to submit its application for an Ethereum exchange product. Even though the company was the first to file for an application, Jan Van Eck is pessimistic about the approval of the ETPs, saying they will probably be rejected in May.
He stated:
The way the legal process goes is the regulators will give you comments on your application, and that happened for weeks and weeks before the Bitcoin ETFs. And right now, pins are dropping as far as Ethereum is concerned.
In light of this, investors prepare for an unpredictable result while managing market swings and modifying their investment plans in the face of changing regulations.
ETH Price Sees Positive Movement
While Ethereum ETFs might be experiencing negative sentiment, ETH, on the other hand, has witnessed a positive uptick lately. ETH has revisited the ,000 level again after falling as low as ,888 during the weekend.
Today, ETH price rose by over 4%, reaching around ,234, indicating potential for further price recovery. At the time of writing, Ethereum was trading at ,215, demonstrating an increase of 1.40% in the past day.
Also, the asset’s market cap and trading volume are up by 1.40% and 5.96% in the last 24 hours. Given the anticipated impact of the recently concluded Bitcoin Halving on cryptocurrencies, ETH could be poised for noteworthy moves in the coming months.
XRP Price Could Surge from New Acquisition, Amid Community Skepticism
Recently, Ripple announced the acquisition of Standard Custody & Trust Company, a digital asset custodian. The company aims to expand into different sectors beyond its core payments network business.
This development may become the key catalyst in driving the price of XRP to new heights, addressing historical challenges of price declines and stagnant growth.
Ripple’s Acquisition Sets Stage For Potential XRP Price Surge
On Tuesday, February 13, Ripple disclosed the formal agreement to acquire Standard Custody to continually expand its offerings and pursue smart acquisitions to capitalize on present and future market opportunities.
The acquisition of Standard Custody signals Ripple’s commitment to serving its customers and fostering growth and security in the Ripple ecosystem. By implementing a digital asset custodian, Ripple can provide secure storage and management of digital assets like XRP.
Additionally, a cryptocurrency custodian can potentially boost confidence in investors and financial institutions. This increased trust may attract substantial institutional investors into the XRP ecosystem, potentially driving up demand and triggering a price increase for XRP.
According to CoinMarketCap, XRP is priced at .5, reflecting a 0.95% decrease in the last 24 hours and an 8.87% drop over the past month.
Despite bullish market trends, the cryptocurrency has lingered around the .5 price for months, leading to a shift in investor sentiment and confidence. Some members of the XRP community have also accused the cryptocurrency of being purposefully suppressed.
In light of this, Ripple’s strategic acquisition has the potential to act as a catalyst, boosting the price of XRP. The digital asset custodian could introduce an element of stability to the XRP ecosystem, addressing regulatory uncertainties plaguing the ecosystem.
Consequently, this may positively influence the general perception of XRP, attracting favorable sentiments and institutional investors and potentially contributing to an upward price movement.
XRP Community Divided As Doubts Emerge
Despite Ripple’s latest announcement and the potential positive impacts the acquisition may have on the ecosystem, the XRP community has remained in doubt, continually voicing out concerns over the depressed state of the cryptocurrency.
Responding to Ripple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brad Garlinghouse’s statement about the company’s plans to acquire Standard Custody, an XRP supporter and investor, identified as “MackAttackXRP” on X (formerly Twitter), expressed skepticism, stating that Ripple’s recent developments were insufficient to generate a positive impact on XRP’s price.
Mack revealed that the price of XRP has been “structurally too low for the past five years.” He mentioned a notable shift in perspectives among XRP community members, with some opting to change their XRP for more promising cryptocurrencies or exit the market altogether.
Another XRP community member expressed his frustration about the cryptocurrency’s price, disclosing that many dedicated supporters of XRP are starting to lose hope for the cryptocurrency and may consider leaving before witnessing any significant price increases for XRP.
Chart from Tradingview
What Does Skepticism for Libra Say About Bitcoin
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FCoin Met With Continued Skepticism: Wash Trading Allegations and ETH Clog
The controversial FCoin exchange came under fire last week as users accused the platform of clogging the Ethereum network. This week is no different, as the exchange has still been met with widespread skepticism.
Ethereum Network Clog Continues
Last week saw the lambasting of FCoin, as cryptocurrency companies like MyCrypto and ICO Drops brought attention to the exchange’s questionable business practices.
Ethereum network is under heavy load due to the voting system for listing on FCoin GPM called "The cumulative deposit number ranking". Voting will takes place every day until the rules are changed pic.twitter.com/7br1TxIrWe
— ICO Drops (@ICODrops) July 2, 2018
According to MyCrypto, a cryptocurrency wallet service, FCoin incentivized its users to deploy thousands of unneeded transactions on to the Ethereum network.
The wallet service issued a series of tweets regarding the issue, writing:
“Basically, they want their users to “vote” for tokens to be listed. Instead of a traditional voting mechanism, they have decided to vote via a “cumulative deposit number ranking. Yup… you heard that right. One deposit = one vote. You’ll never believe what happens next”
This “mind-numbingly despicable” method of voting caused Ethereum fees to rise by over tenfold, with the average transaction fee moving from 20 cents to a high of dollars on Monday.
As a direct result of the network clog, Binance had to temporarily increase gas prices on ERC-20 and ETH withdrawals until the network clears.
Although transaction fees have since seen a rather sharp decline, falling from to .5, many expect for FCoin to continue to enlist this far from optimal voting mechanism.
Why “Cumulative Deposit” Instead Of Normal Voting?
Binance, the world’s most popular exchange, has become well-known for offering a “community coin of the month”, allowing its users to vote for a token in exchange for 0.1 Binance Coin.
This eases blockchain stress, as all voting is done on the exchange’s servers, instead of a decentralized network like Ethereum.
So why didn’t FCoin employ a less intrusive voting method similar to Binance’s “community coin of the month” system?
MyCrypto chalked up the “cumulative deposit” mechanism to an absurd marketing and PR strategy that FCoin may be putting to practice. In a Tweet MyCrypto wrote:
“As we’ve been looking into the recent network congestion / high gas prices, one of the more interesting things to come to light involves a random exchange (whom we will not name as this is likely part of their “PR strategy”)”
You know what they say, “there is no such thing as bad publicity.” Some hypothesize that FCoin has taken this concept and has brought it to extreme levels, angering hundreds of thousands of Ethereum users for a chance at notoriety in cryptocurrency circles.
Absurd Trading Volume Figures: CoinMarketCap Puts The Foot Down
Despite being met with harsh criticism, FCoin has still posted absurd volume figures. Daily volume figures recently peaked at 17.3 billion U.S, but have continued to hold above the equivalent of one million Bitcoin (6.5 Billion) for the past week. At the time of press, FCoin currently has a collective volume of over .6 billion according to Coingecko.
This has led some to wonder, why is there so much volume pouring into a relatively unknown exchange?
Users took to Reddit and Twitter to speculate about the source of these mysterious volume figures. Reddit users, ‘WealthJustin’ and ‘SirRandyMarsh’, alleged that these figures weren’t accurate, and were falsely reported by FCoin. Another Reddit user, ‘GoodGuy91’, reckoned that these figures were the result of wash trading, where market manipulators trade assets back and forth generating artificial volume.
While both allegations could be likely candidates, it is likely that the latter is more accurate. Although FCoin takes a 0.1% market maker and taker fee, the exchange reimburses FCoin trader in full, in the form of their in-house token. This allows for users to essentially create billions of dollars of volume in exchange for FT tokens.
CoinmarketCap, a premier cryptocurrency statistics site, has become well-known for offering vital cryptocurrency figures. In an attempt to hold this reputation, CoinMarketCap has delisted FCoin from the exchange roster, excluding statistics from the Chinese exchange.
It is unclear whether FCoin will smarten up in the future, but for now, the exchange is still expected to fill up the Ethereum network will unwanted transactions.
Image from Shutterstock
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