‘Nothing left to decide’ — Former SEC chair says Bitcoin ETF is inevitable

A former chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it is “inevitable” that a spot Bitcoin ETF will be approved.

Speaking in a Jan. 8 interview with CNBC, former SEC chair Jay Clayton said that it is now a foregone conclusion that the SEC will approve the first spot Bitcoin ETF for trading in the United States.

For the last ten years, the SEC has denied every application for a spot Bitcoin ETF, citing concerns over potential market manipulation and fraud.

However, Clayton now agrees that an ETF approval is “imminent,” noting that the underlying market dynamics for Bitcoin have improved drastically over the last five years.

#news #btc #sec #etf

Mysterious Bitcoiner spends $64K to inscribe 9MB of data on Bitcoin

An unidentified Bitcoiner has just spent approximately $64,000 in fees to inscribe nearly 9 megabytes of raw binary data on the Bitcoin blockchain.

According to a Jan. 7 post on X (formerly Twitter) from the Ordinals explorer Ord.io, more than 1 Bitcoin was used to create 332 inscriptions at around 11:20 am UTC on Jan. 6 — consisting of “raw binary data.”

However, no one appears to have an answer for what the data shows, with one user even trying to use OpenAI’s ChatGPT to solve it without luck.

“Some people are saying it may be encrypted so potentially impossible/very hard to decrypt FYI,” remarked Leonidas, host of The Ordinal Show, in a Jan. 7 post.

Meanwhile, users are also pondering who inscribed the data in the first place. The Bitcoin address involved in the mysterious inscription spree — “bc1pnp…zwd0th” — is titled “Unnamed” on Ord.io.

#news #btc #wallet

‘Rumor mill’ goes into overdrive for a spot Bitcoin ETF approval tomorrow

Speculation that the SEC is set to approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Friday has reached a fever pitch on social media.

A tweet from Grayscale’s legal chief that he was “just filling out some forms,” in addition to a widely shared tweet from a reporter has fueled speculation that approval could come through within the next day.

Several analysts still expect potential approvals to come next week, however.

In a Jan. 4 post to X (formerly Twitter), TechCrunch reporter Jacquelyn Melinek cited sources “extremely close to the matter” to suggest multiple ETFs would be approved and is “expecting something tomorrow.”

#btc #sec #etf

Cipher Mining buys 16,700 new miners ahead of Bitcoin halving

Bitcoin mining firm Cipher Mining has purchased 16,700 new miners to deliver in the second quarter, with hopes to be “one of the industry winners” of the Bitcoin halving event — expected in April.

Cipher expects to have the latest generation Avalon A1466 miners installed at its Bear and Chief Mountain facilities in Texas in the second quarter as well, bringing the firm’s total self-mining capacity to 8.4 exahashes per second (EH/s), the firm stated on Jan. 3.

Terms of the purchase were reached between Bitcoin mining firm Canaan — the firm selling the Avalon A1466 miners — and joint venture firm Bear LLC and Chief Mountain LLC. Cipher holds a 49% interest in the joint venture.

Cipher and its joint venture partner plan to install half of these miners at the Bear facility and the other half at the Chief facility, representing an expansion of 30 megawatts — 1.25 EH/s — at each mining center.

#news #btc #mining

Michael Saylor begins selling $216M in MicroStrategy stocks for more Bitcoin

MicroStrategy executive chairman Michael Saylor has begun a four-month process of selling $216 million worth of his shares in his firm MicroStrategy, previously stating part of it would be used to buy more Bitcoin

In a Jan. 2 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Saylor disclosed that he had already started selling his 315,000 stock options awards, first granted to him in April 2014. The awarded stock options expire on April 30, 2024.

According to the filing, Saylor began the process on Jan. 2, selling his first tranche of 5,000 shares.

In MicroStrategy’s third-quarter earnings call on Nov. 2, Saylor said he planned to sell 5,000 MSTR shares daily for the next four months, which will go into addressing “personal obligations” and increasing the amount of Bitcoin he owns.

“Exercising this option will allow me to address personal obligations as well as acquire additional Bitcoin to my personal account,” Saylor said on the call. He added that his stake in the company’s equity remains “significant” despite his personal sales.

#news #btc #crypto #MicroStrategy

Dear Galionex investors!

We congratulate you on the year 2024! This year promises to be a promising one for our company, thanks to your support and trust.

We appreciate each of you for believing in our company and participating in its development. In the past year, we have achieved significant successes thanks to your investment, and this year we are aiming for even greater heights.

Thank you for your contribution to the future of Galionex. We are confident that by working together we can reach new heights and bring you and the company the success you deserve.

May 2024 bring you much joy, prosperity and new opportunities. With best wishes and gratitude for your trust!

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