- At the beginning of this year, BTC was trading around $16,500. Throughout the year, institutional interest in Bitcoin revived the market.
- MicroStrategy once again purchased 14,620 Bitcoins, making a total cash payment of $615.7 million. The average price per Bitcoin was $42,110.
- The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong issued a statement indicating that it is ready to evaluate applications for funds involving virtual assets.
The year 2023 concludes with busy agendas for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies: What to expect in the first week of 2024?
Notable Developments in the Last Week of 2023
As 2023 comes to an end, positive expectations continue for the Bitcoin market. The price of Bitcoin has gained over 150% this year, reaching above $40,000. At the beginning of the year, BTC was trading around $16,500. Institutional interest in Bitcoin throughout the year has revived the market. Before looking at the developments in the first week of 2024, let’s take a look at what happened in the last week…
MicroStrategy Purchases 14,620 Bitcoins for $615.7 Million
MicroStrategy once again purchased 14,620 Bitcoins, making a total cash payment of $615.7 million. The average price per Bitcoin was $42,110. As of December 26, 2023, MicroStrategy’s total Bitcoin holdings reached 189,150 BTC. This asset was acquired at an approximate cost of $5.9 billion, with an average price of $31,168 per Bitcoin.
Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong: Ready for Approval Applications for Virtual Asset Spot ETFs
The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong issued a statement indicating that it is ready to evaluate applications for funds involving virtual assets. This includes applications for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on virtual asset spot trading. Additionally, the Commission supports funds investing in virtual asset tokens permitted for retail trading on eligible exchanges in Hong Kong and allows virtual asset futures trading on traditional regulated futures exchanges.
Brian Roberts, Head of Securities Product Development at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Exchange (HKEX), mentioned that HKEX is ready to evaluate the opportunities presented by thematic investments. He expressed their commitment to working closely with issuers and stakeholders to smoothly introduce new products to the Hong Kong ETF market. He welcomed the regulatory announcement from the Securities and Futures Commission, emphasizing that Hong Kong has strengthened its position as the first market in Asia to list ETFs for the spot trading of virtual assets and has enhanced its position as a leading digital asset center in the region.
Grayscale Submits Revised S-3 Document; Hashdex Discusses Progress with SEC on Bitcoin ETFs
Grayscale has submitted another revised S-3 document with the aim of converting GBTC to a physically-backed Bitcoin ETF. Grayscale currently complies with the SEC’s requirement for creation/redemption only in cash. Additionally, Hashdex has initiated discussions with the SEC once again regarding an ETF. Unlike routine meetings with the “Trading and Markets” or “Corporate Finance” divisions, this meeting took place directly in the office of SEC Chairman Gensler.
ARK Liquidates All GBTC Assets, Invests Approximately $100 Million in BITO
ARK liquidated the entire GBTC position, the largest asset in ARKW just a month ago. ARK purchased approximately half of the fund with BITO, likely as a liquidity transition tool. BITO is a Bitcoin futures ETF launched by ProShares in October 2021. Speaking about the sale of GBTC assets on BBTV, Cathie Wood mentioned uncertainties regarding taxation and regulation for GBTC and not knowing who would approve it. She also stated, “We know we meet the standards, but we are uncertain about others’ situations. Additionally, the discount has narrowed significantly, providing us with a double advantage.”
Vitalik Assesses Ethereum’s Vision: Building a Free and Open Social Economic System
Vitalik shares a deeper vision of cryptocurrency in a blog post, emphasizing that the goal of cryptocurrency is not just to create isolated tools and games but to build a freer and more open society and economy. Uncontrolled centralization and excessive financialization should not be the essence of cryptocurrency. A part of the Ethereum ecosystem has hosted fervent advocates who, initially entering for the purpose of accumulating wealth, later turned their efforts toward building a more open and decentralized world. The social layer of Ethereum defends a compromise specific to incentive mechanisms, emphasizing a reconciliation without being enslaved to reward mechanisms.
Binance Releases Year-End Report for 2023
Binance released its year-end report, announcing that it gained over 40 million new users and recorded almost 30% annual growth in 2023. By the end of 2023, Binance has 170 million registered users, offering trading for 431 assets through 1,785 trading pairs. The P2P platform currently supports 970 payment methods and 112 fiat currencies, with a yearly trading volume increase of 18%. Approximately $213 million has been spent on compliance and security measures. Binance holds licenses, registrations, and authorizations globally in 18 jurisdictions.
This year, Binance’s investments focused on zero-knowledge proof cryptography, Web3 games, and innovations in the DeFi sector. More than 2,000 applications were submitted to participate in the 2023 incubation and acceleration program, and 36 companies received support.
Tether CEO: $4 Billion Surplus Reserve Obtained in 2023, Plans to Introduce New Products in 2024
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino tweeted that Tether has reached a market cap of $91 billion and added approximately $4 billion to its surplus reserve in 2023. Tether has invested in various projects in the Bitcoin mining sector, including Holpunch, Synonym, Northern Data, and Tether Energy. While planning to introduce new products in 2024, the company will continue to strengthen its existing services.
Trump Team Sells 1,075 ETH for $2.4 Million
Arkham indicates that the team of former US President Trump sold ETH. After accumulating copyright fees for the Trump NFT version for several months, the team began sending ETH to Coinbase three weeks ago, reaching a peak balance of $4 million. According to deposits, the Trump team has sold a total of 1,075 ETH for $2.4 million so far.
According to Mt. Gox Claimants, Refunds in Japanese Yen are Being Made
Mt. Gox claimants report on Reddit that they have started receiving compensation from the long-closed Bitcoin exchange platform. Several posts show that Mt. Gox has started sending refunds in Japanese yen through PayPal. The civil rehabilitation trustee of Mt. Gox mentioned that a system error resulted in some claimants receiving double transfers by mistake. The trustee emphasized that claimants should check their PayPal accounts, verify the amounts mistakenly transferred, and reminded them of their legal obligation to return the funds from the second transfer.
What to Expect Next Week?
As we start 2024, a busy agenda awaits the Bitcoin market: spot Bitcoin ETFs. The SEC is expected to announce its approval for spot Bitcoin ETFs during the first week. According to reports, the decision on spot Bitcoin ETFs is expected to be announced on January 2–3.
If the SEC does not announce a decision within these dates, they will have to make a decision by January 10. The reason is that the final decision day for ARK Invest’s spot Bitcoin ETF is January 10, 2024.
Apart from these news, the Federal Reserve will release the FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday, which could create volatility in the Bitcoin market.
[COINOTAG NEWS]
Important Developments to Follow in the First Week of 2024! 🔥
This news published on COINOTAG PRO 10 seconds ago. pic.twitter.com/t1KfKEwk3j
— COINOTAG NEWS (@coinotagen) December 31, 2023
