The Block
Quick Take If Giancarlo secures the position, he would be the first “crypto czar” in the White House. Giancarlo led the U.S. Commodity Futures and Trading Commission from March 2017 to April 2019, where he oversaw the launch of the first bitcoin futures products.
Quick Take A Texas court has order the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to throw out a controversial rule that broadly redefined the term “dealer” in a move that impacted both crypto-focused and traditional finance firms. The Blockchain Association and Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas lodged a lawsuit against the agency in April, the month the expanded rule took effect.
Quick Take The platform would be used for trading digital assets and other payment processing services, according to the filing. The application was filed the same day a report broke that Trump Media & Technology Group was in “advanced talks” to acquire Bakkt.
Quick Take Dogecoin has set a 24-hour perpetual futures trading volume record on Kraken, surpassing Ethereum futures volumes for the first time, an analyst said. XRP’s rising institutional interest is driving diversification strategies, with WisdomTree launching an XRP ETP to capitalize on growing altcoin adoption.
Quick Take The current market structure shows interesting divergences from previous cycles. The following is an excerpt from The Block’s Data and Insights newsletter.
Quick Take Gary Gensler plans to leave on January 20, 2025, according to a statement released by the agency on Thursday. During his time at the SEC, Gensler led efforts to push for central clearing in Treasury markets, implemented changes on executive pay versus performance and forged on with work to shield investors in crypto markets.
SEC “engaging” on Solana ETF applications, sparking optimism for potential approval in 2025.VanEck, 21Shares, and Bitwise lead Solana ETF filings amid pro-crypto White House hopes.SOL token rises 4.6% to $247.91, bolstered by Solana’s strong DeFi ecosystem and demand.
Bitcoin’s 46% surge over the past month, contrasted with gold’s 3% decline, highlights a shifting investor preference toward alternative store-of-value assets, analysts say.Derivatives traders are buying up bitcoin call options ahead of Trump’s inauguration, signaling strong bullish sentiment for the beginning of 2024.
MARA Holdings announced the successful closing of its $1 billion offering of 0% convertible senior notes due 2030.The bitcoin miner plans to allocate around $199 million of the proceeds to repurchase $212 million in principal of its existing convertible notes due 2026. The remaining funds will be used to acquire more bitcoin.
