Final Bitcoin ETF Application Filings Get Posted by Major U.S. Exchanges

Releasing them suggests they’re confident the SEC will approve the first U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs soon.

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) appear to be on the verge of launching after the exchanges that will list them filed amended documents, suggesting they expect U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approval in the coming days.

The amended 19b-4 filings, filed on behalf of BlackRock, Grayscale, Fidelity and other issuers, join last month's amended S-1 filings, addressing feedback from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). More than a dozen applicants hope to launch the first spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S.; it's likely multiple issuers will be approved simultaneously.

Judge denies Changpeng Zhao’s 2nd attempt to travel to UAE

 Lawyers representing the former Binance CEO filed a new motion on Dec. 27 with sealed medical information about Changpeng Zhao’s child in Dubai.

Judge denies Changpeng Zhao’s 2nd attempt to travel to UAENEWS

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao will still not be allowed to leave the United States ahead of his sentencing hearing following an order from a federal judge.

In a Dec. 29 ruling as part of a hearing in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, Judge Richard Jones denied a motion from CZ requesting permission to travel outside the country. The reasons for the second motion were unavailable to the public, having been sealed by the court, but CZ’s legal team suggested it involved “medical information regarding Mr. Zhao’s child.”

Crypto Expert Chosen by Erdogan for Turkey’s Central Bank Board

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appointed professor Fatma Ozkul, an expert in crypto assets and blockchain technology, to the central bank’s rate-setting committee.

According to a recent report from Bloomberg, the nomination of Ozkul was announced in a decree on December 22.

Since 2012, Ozkul has been a lecturer at Istanbul’s Marmara University, with a focus on accounting, finance, and auditing. 

Ripple Policy Head Sees Tokenization Fueling Regulatory Boost in APAC

 Rahul Advani, Ripple Labs Inc Policy Director is the latest to give his prediction for crypto in the coming year. Advani expects that tokenization will trigger a boost in regulation within the Asia Pacific region popularly referred to as APAC.

APAC Region to Focus on Crypto Regulation

The Policy Head was clear about his thoughts on tokenization for 2024. He stated that an increased interest in tokenization will make regulation in Decentralized Applications (DApps) all the more a priority in the region. The growing interest in tokenization is already evident in the crypto industry with several crypto projects adopting the technology.

Access to Binance's Law Enforcement Request Panel Is for Sale for $10K

 Binance uses a third-party service called Kodex to validate law enforcement requests.

A bad actor is selling access to Binance’s law enforcement request panel, which provides lawful access to account data, for $10,000 in bitcoin (BTC) or monero (XMR).

Binance provides access via a third-party service called Kodex, commonly used by online financial institutions or social media platforms to validate law enforcement requests and facilitate access.

InfoStealers, a publication covering the Darknet and data breaches, reported that three computers belonging to law enforcement officers from Taiwan, Uganda, and the Philippines were compromised in a global malware campaign in 2023, leading to stolen browser-stored credentials and unauthorized access to Binance’s login panel.

U.S. SEC Denies Coinbase's Push for Crypto Regulations as 'Unwarranted'

The U.S. exchange had formally petitioned the agency to start writing comprehensive crypto rules, but after "careful" consideration, the SEC said no.

The biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.

Coinbase has waited since 2022 for a response from the Securities and Exchange Commission on its formal petition to request tailored regulations for crypto, even seeking to force an answer through the courts, and the rejection has now arrived.

Binance to Pay $4.3B to Settle U.S. Criminal Case; Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao Resigns as CEO and Pleads Guilty in Seattle

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, was criminally charged with breaking sanctions and money-transmitting laws and agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle the allegations in "one of the largest penalties" the U.S. has ever obtained from a corporate defendant.

Founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao pleaded guilty in Seattle to charges he personally faced and agreed to pay a $50 million fine, as well as step down from the CEO job. Richard Teng, a former Abu Dhabi regulator and later Binance's regional markets head, will take over as CEO.