BTC is currently trading around $70,300 and ETH around $3,750. Notable gainers in the last 24 hours are WIF, GALA, and SAFE. The global crypto market cap is $2.74T, up 0.4% over the last day. DeFi Total Value Locked is ~$105b and BTC dominance is around 55%.
While crypto prices are relatively stable, there continues to be positive movement related to the potential approval of the spot Ethereum ETFs. Most notably, several prospective issuers amended their 19b-4 filings over the last day, with the biggest change being the removal of staking. In addition, VanEck’s spot Ethereum ETF was listed on the DTCC, in what is an important step in the process. Looking ahead, the SEC may approve the 19b-4 filings anytime before Thursday (a decision on VanEck’s is due then), but the issuers also need SEC approval of their S-1 registration statements for the ETFs to launch. While the timeline for the potential approval of the S-1s is less clear, the Bloomberg ETF analysts believe it may come within two weeks.
In addition to the spot Ethereum ETFs, there is also a lot of activity on the political front around the FIT21 bill that seeks to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets in the US and is being voted on in the House of Representatives today. Notably, House democratic leaders have stated they won’t try to convince members of their party to vote against the bill (ie. whip against). In addition, while SEC Chair Gensler voiced strong opposition to FIT21 and the White House stated it lacks sufficient consumer and investor protections, the White House will reportedly not issue a veto threat against it and further stated that it “is eager to work with Congress to ensure a comprehensive and balanced regulatory framework for digital assets.” Overall, FIT21 is expected to pass in the House today, but at least as of last week, was said to face an uphill battle in the Senate.
Notable news includes: The UK FCA approved WisdomTree’s proposed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs, and WisdomTree revealed plans to list them on the London Stock Exchange on May 28; the discount on the Grayscale Ethereum Trust narrowed to a 3-year low of just 7%; institutional staking platform Kiln unveiled a restaking feature via its Ledger Live app; Coinbase announced plans to launch gold and oil futures trading; crypto technology provider Taurus expanded to North America; Casper Labs announced it will integrate its new Prove AI product with IBM’s Watson.governance platform; MetaMask is reportedly working to integrate native Bitcoin into the wallet; Ethereum L2 Starknet revealed plans for an Ethereum-compatible Layer 2 called Kakarot; Uniswap Labs filed a 40-page response to the SEC’s Wells Notice; and, Whales Market released a memecoin launchpad.
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Author:
Brian Rudick, Senior Strategist | Twitter, Telegram, LinkedIn
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