In a year when it has seemed that US officials were determined to put much of the cryptocurrency market out of commission, the beaten-down digital asset industry has finally scored a significant legal win.
A US appeals court’s ruling to overturn the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to block the first exchange-traded fund tied to the spot price of Bitcoin sent the original cryptocurrency soaring more than 7 per cent, its biggest daily gain in months.
It boosted spirits in a sector contending with a near-constant blast of high-profile regulatory enforcement actions, bankruptcies and legal battles.
While it is only one victory against the US in a multipronged campaign, the win by Grayscale Investments shows that the SEC’s approach to policing the grey legal areas of cryptocurrency – what Coinbase Global has called “regulation by enforcement” – is far from foolproof.
Judge Neomi Rao wrote that the regulator’s denial of the ETF was “arbitrary and capricious” because the SEC had failed to explain its different treatment of similar products.
“This ruling is not just about Grayscale or Bitcoin. It sets a precedent for the broader crypto industry,” Ji Kim, general counsel and head of global policy for the Crypto Council for Innovation, said.
“This is big, positive, and precedent-setting news. It provides the obvious reminder that it is critical for regulators to provide much-needed clarity and rationale when making such critical determinations affecting such a significant industry.”
To be sure, the SEC will probably fight the ruling. The ultimate outcome of the case will have little bearing on other parts of the US clampdown on cryptocurrencies, including the watchdog’s legal case against digital-asset exchanges Coinbase and Binance Holdings for allowing trading of other tokens the regulator claims are unregistered securities, among other things. Both companies dispute the SEC’s legal claims.
Recall that a July ruling in another case between the SEC and Ripple Labs led to a similar market pop because it was widely viewed as cryptocurrency-friendly.
But then the SEC moved to appeal and a judge in a separate case sent a conflicting signal, dousing the optimism and making the outcome much less clear.
Tuesday’s court action potentially moves Bitcoin closer to more widespread acceptance in the traditional investment industry.
The court’s decision leaves “no doubt” that spot Bitcoin ETFs are coming to the market, probably in the first quarter of 2024, said Tim Bevan, chief executive at cryptocurrency exchange-traded product provider ETC Group.
In addition to Grayscale’s attempt to convert its closed-end mutual fund into an ETF, the SEC has also received 10 other Bitcoin ETF applications, including from BlackRock, VanEck Digital Assets, WisdomTree Digital Commodity Services and Invesco Capital Management – a number of which have deadlines looming right before this weekend's Labour Day holiday.
Watch: What happened to the Bitcoin price?
“We don’t believe the SEC will act as kingmaker,” Mr Bevan said. “The most likely outcome is a block approval of applications that meet requirements.”
The potential total market for spot Bitcoin ETFs could be somewhere in the neighbourhood of $150 billion, similar to the amount of assets in gold ETFs, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas.
With financial advisers overseeing $30 trillion in assets in the US, it would only take an allocation of about 0.5 per cent to swell Bitcoin ETFs to $150 billion, he said.
“The other thing you have to know is advisers are scared about this transfer of wealth from the Boomers” to the younger generations, Mr Balchunas said on a recent episode of the What Goes Up podcast.
“The advisers are going to want to look hip and cool to what the younger people want,” he said.
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
Company%C2%A0profile
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
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SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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FORSPOKEN
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Baldur's%20Gate%203
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The%20Legend%20of%20Zelda%3A%20Tears%20of%20The%20Kingdom
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Starfield
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Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
SPEC%20SHEET
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RESULT
Brazil 2 Croatia 0
Brazil: Neymar (69'), Firmino (90' 3)
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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