NEW: BlackRock Submits Filing for In-Kind Redemption of Bitcoin ETF $IBIT

Nasdaq has submitted an amended rule proposal to the SEC which could transform the way the iShares Bitcoin ETF operates. The change would enable the ETF to offer in-kind redemptions allowing investors to receive Bitcoin directly instead of cash. This could potentially streamline operations and reduce tax implications for institutional investors.

The filing suggests a shift from the current cash-based process to one that includes direct transfers of Bitcoin. BlackRock’s ETF would benefit from increased efficiency and simplicity in managing assets. This strategy could set a new standard for how Bitcoin ETFs handle redemptions appealing to a broader range of investors.

With regulatory approvals for spot Bitcoin ETFs already in place the Nasdaq’s latest move could spearhead further integration of digital assets into conventional financial frameworks. If successful BlackRock might inspire other issuers to adopt similar methods enhancing the crypto landscape.

Filing

SocialFi makes its return on Solana

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Crypto’s new viral app isn’t very new at all.

Solana-based social project Clout saw its downloads take off after launching an iPhone app that lets users buy tokenized versions of social media profiles. This is very similar to the premise behind the viral 2023 app friend.tech, which was itself a rehashing of BitClout, a Crypto Twitter tokenization app that went viral in 2021. Friend.tech’s founding team already stepped away from the platform, while BitClout’s founder was just charged with fraud by the DOJ and the SEC.

Clout hasn’t leaned away from its forefathers. The project posted…

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Why SAB 121’s end is a big deal

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SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce — two days after being named leader of a new crypto task force — revealed SAB 121 would be no more.

Bye, bye SAB 121! It’s not been fun: | Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 122

— Hester Peirce (@HesterPeirce) January 23, 2025

Some context: A Staff Accounting Bulletin, or SAB, represents interpretations and policies followed by SEC divisions in administering federal securities laws-related disclosure requirements.

The SEC published SAB 121 in March 2022. It notably said that an entity “should present a liability on its…

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Executive order deja-vu  – Blockworks

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President Trump yesterday issued his first crypto executive order. 

The news and ensuing chaos on Crypto Twitter reminded me of Biden’s crypto executive order, published in March 2022. 

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. Here’s what Trump’s report says, and how it differs from Biden’s plans: 

On CBDCs

Trump’s order prohibits federal agencies from establishing, issuing or promoting central bank digital currencies. It calls for any ongoing projects creating a CBDC to be “immediately terminated.” 

CBDCs “threaten the stability of the financial system,…

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The Cynics and Idealists of Bitcoin

There is something to the stereotype of naive dreamers and idealists, or cold hard realists and cynics. Stereotypes don’t just come into being baselessly, there is a kernel of truth to them, otherwise they would not have spread virally as an idea in the first place. But they, as well as the worldviews they espouse, are also exaggerated beyond that kernel.

Bitcoin is currently stuck in a game of tug of war between the naive idealists and the jaded cynics….

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