- The discussion around the cryptocurrency market is gaining momentum. The SEC wrote back to American politician Tom Emmer. In November 2021, Emmer asked the SEC for clarifications regarding creation of the ETF based on the Bitcoin spot price, i.e. a fund that purchases digital assets on behalf of clients. Chairman SEC Gary Gensler said the SEC continueds to carefully consider the proposal to establish a fund of this type and will take into account all comments.
- So far, the SEC has dismissed 3 proposals for such funds, the last one from WisdomTree. In March this year, the SEC is expected to consider a similar proposal, this time from the NYDIG fund. In the event of a positive decision, the optimistic mood could return to the crypto market as it would indicate a positive attitude of regulators towards digital assets.
- Thanks to the ETF based on the spot price, people who do not have accounts on cryptocurrency exchanges could also invest in Bitcoin. Crypto exchanges are widely known for fraud and hacker attacks, which may discourage some potential investors from opening accounts and investing their funds.
- Fidelity, which launched similar ETF in Canada in December 2021, created another product that allows investments in cryptocurrencies (ETP) in Europe. The fund is currently listed on the German stock exchange and expects to debut on the Swiss stock exchange in the coming weeks.
- A survey organized by Fidelity Digital Assets showed that 90% of institutions investing in Bitcoin expect creation of a spot price ETF (buying cryptocurrency from the market on behalf of the fund's clients) within the next 5 years.
- The number of Ethereum which are currently held on exchanges has dropped to November 2019 levels. Some analysts consider it a positive signal, potentially indicating that investors do not want to get rid of the Ethers they own. At the same time, the number of investors (addresses) with a minimum of 0.01 Ethereum is growing and is currently at all-time high, which indicates growing demand.
- The number of popular 'smart contracts' implemented on the Ethereum network has been growing steadily since July 2021 and reached record levels recently.
- In the middle of the year, Ethereum is to undergo the greatest technological transformation in the history of its blockchain. The developers call it the "difficulty bomb" and refer to the new version as Ethereum 2.0. It is to make the cryptocurrency more ecological (proof of stake) and much harder to extract (increase in difficulty for miners by up to 90%).
- KPMG made direct investments in crypto assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum
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