Welcome back to Chain Reaction.
Happy New Year! The cryptocurrency space is off to a strong start in 2024 as a Bitcoin spot ETF may soon be approved in the United States, according to reporters and ETF analysts. As a result, Bitcoin’s price surpassed $45,000 on Tuesday, reaching its highest level since April 2022. Bitcoin price has since retreated slightly to $44,000 at the time of publication. The total market value of cryptocurrencies grew to $1.68 trillion, the highest level since May 2022.
In other news, the Financial Intelligence Unit, an Indian government agency, said on Thursday that it had issued notices to nine global cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance, Kraken, Kucoin and Mexc, saying they were operating “illegally” in the country and had blocked them their website. More details below.
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web3 this week
- Crypto-optimism in apocalyptic times
- India to Block Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance, Kraken Websites
- Love them or hate them, NFTs are here to stay, thanks to the communities that drive them (TC+)
- Cryptocurrency losses drop more than 50% in 2023 (TC+)
- Data shows hackers stole $2 billion in cryptocurrency in 2023
- Why I’m Cautiously Optimistic About Cryptocurrency in 2024 (TC+)
- As crypto emerges from long winter, why Puma is sticking to its web3 bet (TC+)
latest pod
For this week's news program, Jacqueline As expectations build, we revisit the latest developments in U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF adoption.
Fred Thiel, CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, a digital asset technology company and the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining company, joins to help analyze the latest developments in spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Currently, 14 asset managers, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale and VanEck, are hoping to each obtain SEC approval for their spot Bitcoin ETFs. Now some reports say that could happen soon, given the frequent meetings and updated documents in recent weeks.
We also discuss what a spot Bitcoin ETF means for investors, institutions, and miners, as well as the price of Bitcoin.
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follow the money
- Arkon Energy Raises $110M to Boost U.S. Bitcoin Mining Capacity, Launches AI Cloud Service in Norway
- Web3 gaming company Portal completed a round of strategic financing for an undisclosed amount
- Lending platform Tonka Finance raises $2.5 million in funding
- Animoca Brands invests in racing esports startup Veloce in pre-IPO funding round
The list is compiled based on information from Messari and TechCrunch's own reporting.
What else should we write?
Want to break away from the world of web3? Here are some TechCrunch articles that caught our attention this week.
- 23andMe tells victims it's their fault their data was leaked
- I guess I'm a projector guy now?
- Remember the startups we lost in 2023
- No, spiders don’t want to mate with your viral body butter
- 40+ investors share their top predictions for 2024 (TC+)
follow me on twitter @Jacqmelinek For breaking crypto news, memes, and more.
