BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF ‘is the best thing to happen’ to BTC, or is it?

June 16, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz was among those over the moon with the news, others warn it could be the start of a major institutional takeover.

BlackRock’s latest filing for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) trust will drive investors’ confidence in Bitcoin and may even be “the best thing that could happen” to BTC, according to some crypto industry observers — but others warn of a hidden cost.

During an interview on June 16, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said the approval of BlackRock’s ETF application would be “the best thing that could happen to $BTC.”

“I say a Hail Mary every night that Larry Fink and @blackrock pull off a @bitcoin ETF," Novogratz reportedly said on a Fox News segment.

Fun being on @LizClaman show!! And yes, @BlackRock getting a $BTC ETF through would be the best thing that could happen to $BTC. https://t.co/2fFBeB9eyo
— Mike Novogratz (@novogratz) June 16, 2023

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency analyst James Edwards of Finder.com — a financial product comparison website — told Cointelegraph that the timing of BlackRock’s filing should provide “confidence” in both Bitcoin as an asset and also Coinbase in its upcoming legal battle fight with the SEC:

“BlackRock's willingness to press on with a Bitcoin ETF at a time when the SEC is on a warpath against crypto is very telling. It shows confidence in Bitcoin’s status as a commodity – rather than a security,” he said, adding:

“It’s unlikely that BlackRock would push forward with an ETF of this nature without serious consultation with regulators and confidence in Bitcoin's future legal status.”

BlackRock’s intention to use Coinbase Custody to control funds should also be seen as a massive confidence booster for Coinbase as it prepares its legal defense, Edwards explained.

He added that BlackRock — the world’s largest asset manager — likely wouldn’t partner with Coinbase had they not been “confident” in Coinbase’s legal position.

The downside

Others argue that the traditional investment giant's latest moves undermine the "ethos" of decentralized cryptocurrencies, or, that the company may find a way to profit from retail investors.

Investor Scott Melker explained in a June 16 interview that such an approval would be a disservice to crypto-native innovators who built the industry:

“As good as this may be for institutional adoption of the space, it kind of violates the ethos, it is a bit of a dishonest push away from the people who built the industry in the United States.”

Cinneamhain Ventures partner and Ethereum bull Adam Cochran believes that BlackRock will swoop in on the “discounted coins” of retail investors, a theory also shared by Melker.

Blackrock ETF… https://t.co/3g77QNdAun
— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) June 15, 2023

Steven Lubka, a managing director at Swan Bitcoin shared a similar view, predicting that BTC will reach $1 million, but few retail investors will reap the rewards because the bulk of BTC will be owned by BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and other ETF issuers.

Melker added that Wall Street firms will continue to move into the space and that U.S. regulators will likely “choose them” over incumbent platforms.

ARK Invest, Grayscale, Fidelity, Galaxy Digital, VanEck, Valkyrie Investments, NYDIG, SkyBridge and WisdomTree are among the other investment firms that have applied to the SEC for similar Bitcoin and cryptocurrency ETFs.

Since the news was first reported, the price of BTC has increased 2.2% to $25,584 at the time of writing.

Interestingly, the Fear & Greed Crypto Index increased from 41 to 47 — leaving the fear zone — following the news of BlackRock’s filing.

Magazine: Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?

Video of SEC chair praising Algorand resurfaces after recently deeming it a security

April 18, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Adam Cochran

Members of the crypto community have called out the SEC Chairman for “shilling” Algorand.

A four-year-old video of United States Securities an Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Genser giving praise to smart contract platform Algorand (ALGO) is circulating on Twitter following the SEC declaring ALGO is an unregistered security.

In the video, Gensler referred to Algorand as a “great technology” while he was contemplating whether a “high performance” smart contract network would be capable of integrating an Uber or Lyft-like application on its platform.

ALGO is one of six tokens that Gensler claimed was an unregistered security in the SEC’s lawsuit against crypto trading platform Bittrex on April 17 that took issue with the Algorand Foundation's initial coin offering (ICO) of ALGO in June 2019.

Cryptocurrency researcher Mason Versluis was one of the first to highlight the video in an April 17 tweet criticizing Gensler for “shilling” ALGO, with others calling out the SEC chair for his apparent hypocrisy.

Gary Gensler was SHILLING $ALGO and now he’s trying to call it a security.

This dude is all over the place, and he’s gotta go ➡️ pic.twitter.com/JmpL9xAZhq
— MASON VERSLUIS (@MasonVersluis) April 17, 2023

Gensler’s praise of Algorand was heard by an audience at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) “Fintech Beyond Crisis” conference held on April 25, 2019.

Gensler worked as a Professor of Global Economics and Management at MIT prior to becoming the SEC’s chair, he acknowledged former MIT colleague and Algorand founder Silvio Micali in the speech — who appeared to be in the crowd.

The video sparked Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran to question the long-standing advice from Gensler for crypto firms to register with the regulator.

6/18

Surely if there is a path to register, a world renown MIT professor who personally knows the Chairman of the SEC can figure it out, or pick up the phone and call the Chairman...
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) April 17, 2023

"Surely if there is a path to register, a world renown MIT professor who personally knows the Chairman of the SEC can figure it out," Cochran tweeted on April 17.

Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett expects Gensler to be questioned over his Algorand comments in his upcoming testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services on April 18.

Other critics choose to mock the situation at hand, highlighting the price decline of ALGO which has seen a 93.8% decline since its launch according to CoinGecko data.

If you bought $100 of Algorand when Gensler told you they could build Uber on it you would now have $5
— db (@tier10k) April 17, 2023

It should be noted that ALGO didn't hit the market until late June 2019, two months after Gensler's speech.

Gensler stated in an April 17 tweet that it has been an “honor” to work at the SEC over the last two years and chose to highlight the 1,500 enforcement actions the regulator has undertaken since he's been at the helm.

Serving at the @SECGov for two years has been an honor.

We’ve filed 1,500 enforcement actions & overseen tens of thousands of registrants.

We’ve proposed rules to make our markets more efficient, competitive, transparent, resilient—and worthy of the public’s trust.

More
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) April 17, 2023

Gensler was sworn into office as SEC chair on April 17, 2021, after U.S. President Joe Biden’s nomination of Gensler was confirmed by the Senate on April 14, 2021.

Magazine:Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom

‘Agent of an anti-crypto agenda’ — Community slams Gensler over Kraken crackdown

February 10, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Adam Cochran

SEC's recent charges against crypto exchange Kraken over its staking program have sent tremors through the crypto industry.

Members of the crypto community seem outraged over the recent charges laid against crypto exchange Kraken in relation to its staking-as-a-service program in the United States.

On Feb. 9, the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it had settled charges with Kraken over “failing to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program,” which it claims is qualified as securities under its purview.

Kraken agreed to settle the charges by paying $30 million in fines and to immediately cease offering staking services to U.S. retail investors, though they will continue to be offered offshore.

The move appears to have attracted the ire of not only the general crypto community but also of investors, politicians and industry executives.

Cinneamhain Ventures partner and Ethereum bull, Adam Cochran, called out SEC chief Gary Gensler, describing him as “an agent of an anti-crypto agenda” rather than a regulator, and questioning why the same standards weren’t applied to Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX:

2/2

Gensler is not a regulator. He is an agent of an anti-crypto agenda, who only aims to wield his power as cudgel for those he doesn't agree with.

So the big question then, is why didn't FTX get this treatment?

Whose pocket is he in?
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) February 9, 2023

In a Feb. 9 statement shared on Twitter, Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, argued that the situation at hand is a textbook example why Congress — not the SEC — should be working with industry players to forge appropriate legislation:

The following statement is attributed to @KMSmithDC in response to today's settlement between the SEC and Kraken:https://t.co/32KysvKfz0 pic.twitter.com/8vkWZXB6a2
— Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn) February 9, 2023

U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer — who has long been a critic of Gary Gensler — reiterated the importance of staking in the crypto ecosystem.

In a Feb. 9 Twitter post, the lawmaker explained that staking services will play an important role in “building the next generation of the internet” and argued that the “purgatory strategy” will hurt “everyday Americans the most,” as they may soon be forced to fetch such services offshore.

Meanwhile, Ryan Sean Adams, the founder of the Ethereum show Bankless, suggested to his 220,800 Twitter followers on Feb. 9 that the SEC could have taken other measures rather than charging Kraken out of the blue:

You could have:

- Mandated proof-of-reserves
- Required staking transparency
- Supported decentralized staking

Instead, we just got another gary g. ban hammer to the head. And we have no confidence you won't come for decentralized staking next.

You're driving it all offshore.
— RYAN SΞAN ADAMS - rsa.eth (@RyanSAdams) February 9, 2023

Other members of the community questioned how Kraken could possibly have registered with the securities regulator, as there was “no clear path” to approve crypto staking.

Others suggested it could impact Ethereum’s consensus layer, given Kraken is the fourth-largest validator on Ethereum, according to on-chain metrics platform Nansen.

However, not all were against the SEC’s decision. Prominent Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor — who has long considered ETH and other proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies to be securities — agreed with Gensler’s analysis that retail investors “lose control” of their tokens when they’re delegated to external staking service providers:

"Not your keys ... " - @GaryGensler. The @SECGov understands the importance of self-custody. https://t.co/oxPkFeJ77k
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) February 9, 2023

Meanwhile, attorney and chief policy officer of the Blockchain Association, Jake Chervinsky, noted that such “settlements are not law” and that Kraken’s decision to settle was likely an economic decision rather than a legal one:

Settlements are not law. They're a decision that the economics of settling are better than fighting, no more.

The SEC thinks staking-as-a-service is a security. Kraken didn't admit or deny either way.

It may be a tough question, but the SEC hasn't answered it either way today.
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) February 9, 2023

The debate comes as the SEC’s charge towards enforcing action against staking service providers prompted Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to say that “regulation by enforcement” would be a “terrible path” for U.S. innovators, as they’ll be forced to push more of their services offshore.

Ethereum Software Company Consensys Collects User Data, Privacy Policy Discloses

November 25, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Adam Cochran

The downside

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