Asset manager VanEck filed a fifth amended application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Dec. 8.

According to the regulator’s database, the amended filing to the S-1 Form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) highlights updates to the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. A spot Bitcoin ETF is an investment vehicle that lets people buy shares in a fund that tracks the price of Bitcoin.

The VanEck ETF is now expected to be listed under “HODL”, which is either a misspelling of “hold” or an acronym for “hold on for dear life.” Bitcoiners use the phrase to describe a strategy of buying and never selling the digital asset. 

I…

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The EU Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the rules governing the use of artificial intelligence on Friday, Dec 8.

The agreement covers the governmental use of AI in biometric surveillance, how to regulate AI systems such as ChatGPT, and the transparency rules to follow before market entry. This covers technical documents, adherence to EU copyright, and sharing training content summaries. 

The EU wants to be the first supranational authority with laws on AI, specifying how it is to be used beneficially while protecting against risks. The deal was struck following a near 24-hour debate on Dec. 8 and 15 hours of negotiations thereafter.

The agreement…

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Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you the most significant developments from the past week.

Cointelegraph interviewed Velvet Capital’s CEO on the challenges facing DeFi and the key barriers it needs to overcome to go mainstream. Cosmos-based Umee and Osmosis merge to create “DeFi Hub,” where Umee’s UX Chain code will be reimplemented on the Osmosis chain, combining features of the two networks.

The Platypus hacker has managed to evade accountability for the $8.5 million exploit on the protocol after claiming to be an ethical hacker. The court allowed the exploiter to walk free.

Despite…

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In spite of the continuous efforts by the government of El Salvador to promote widespread cryptocurrency adoption within the nation, a recent CoinGecko report highlights the limited number of crypto owners in the country.

Published on December 7, the report reiterates that El Salvador stands alone as the only country in the world actively using crypto as legal tender. However, a relatively small percentage of its population currently hold Bitcoin (BTC): 

“Despite these progressive measures, Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador remains relatively low.”

According to data from Triple A, approximately 109,175 people own Bitcoin in El Salvador’s population which consists of 6.36 million. This…

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The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently met with Fidelity to seek additional clarity on its spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) application.

According to a filing published on December 7, two Cboe BZX Exchange representatives, along with six personnel from the SEC and nine individuals from Fidelity, discussed the workings of the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust in the meeting.

“The discussion concerned Cboe BZX’s proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust under Cboe BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4). Fidelity also provided the attached presentation.”

The filing incorporated PowerPoint slides used during the meeting to illustrate…

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Cryptos extended their rally Friday as stocks traded sideways. Analysts say the bull run for bitcoin is beginning. 

Bitcoin was back in the green Friday after a slight dip Thursday. The largest crypto was trading around $43,700 at time of publication after briefly surpassing $44,000 yet again. 

Ether was trading mostly flat Friday, but maintained its monthly gains of nearly 25% over the past 30 days. As 2023 comes to a close, ether is up around 95% year-to-date. 

Equities posted mild gains, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes gaining around 0.2% each midway through the trading session Friday. 

With bitcoin’s next halving slated for April 2024, coinciding with a potential…

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Adam Moskowitz, who has been the lead attorney in a number of civil cases involving crypto firms, filed a motion to take a deposition from former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.

In a Dec. 8 filing in United States District Court for the Southern District of Flordia Miami Division, Moskowitz said Zhao’s testimony would be “crucial to the claims and defenses of all parties” involved. The law firm filed the motion as part of a $1 billion lawsuit against Zhao, Binance, and crypto influencers, which a court ordered stayed in August.

Moskowitz and his firm have represented several clients in cases against high-profile crypto firms and related entities. He was counsel for many victims…

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Made some money off of Jito’s airdrop Thursday? If you’re a US taxpayer, you’d better report it to the IRS, experts say.

Jito, a staking project built on Solana, released its JTO token via an airdrop at 11 am ET Thursday. The claim window for those eligible is 18 months. 

By 11:45 am ET Thursday, around 30% of the airdrop had been claimed. Of the top 15 wallets who had claimed the most JTO in the airdrop, only three had sold any as of Friday morning, according to a Flipside Crypto dashboard. 

While holders took to X, formerly Twitter, to discuss their profits, tax experts advise airdrop recipients, at least those in the US, to be aware of their obligations. 

Read more: What to…

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An ETF issuer is prepping a new way for investors to get exposure to the stock price of the largest publicly traded holder of bitcoin. 

MicroStrategy, founded by bitcoin proponent Michael Saylor, currently holds 174,530 bitcoins. The company most recently revealed buying 16,130 BTC between Nov. 1 and Nov. 29. 

Fund group YieldMax seeks to generate monthly income by selling and writing call options on single company stocks. The firm first proposed the YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF (MSTY) earlier this year. It already has similar funds focused on Tesla, Coinbase, Amazon, Google and others.

“Because they are such volatile stocks, writing call options on TSLA and COIN…

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