#SEC

On the morning of July 13, Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of the now-bankrupt crypto lender Celsius, was reportedly arrested. The news broke minutes after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against the crypto lender on the same day. The company’s token dropped 6% upon hearing the news. The former CEO was arrested following an investigation into the company’s collapse. Celsius Network initiated the process of filing for bankruptcy on July 14 of the previous year. Investigators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission found Mashinsky guilty of breaking numerous U.S. regulations prior to the company’s implosion in 2022. The investigation into the troubled crypto lender began after the New York Attorney General sued Mashinsky on January 5. The lawsuit alleged that the former CEO misled investors and caused billions of dollars in losses.

On Friday, Fidelity Investments and several other firms submitted revised applications for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deemed the initial filings inadequate. The companies, including Invesco, VanEck, 21Shares, and WisdomTree, are part of a group of eight firms aiming to launch the first wave of US spot Bitcoin ETFs. BlackRock kickstarted the trend with its unexpected filing in mid-June. In the latest filings, all five firms indicated that Coinbase Global Inc. will provide market surveillance for their ETFs, a detail that was missing from their previous applications.

A Twitter user (@hufhaus9) has created a visual timeline outlining the SEC’s response deadlines for the approval of BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF. Just 10 days ago, the renowned global investment firm with $10 trillion in assets applied for a groundbreaking Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund in the United States. First deadline: August 12, 2023 Second deadline: September 26, 2023 Third deadline: December 25, 2023 Final decision: February 23, 2024 If granted approval, BlackRock will be able to purchase BTC directly from the spot market, potentially utilizing platforms like Coinbase, on behalf of its clients. With the BTC halving and these deadlines coinciding, the first quarter of 2024 promises to be an exciting period!