LATEST: Judge Approves Binance US to Invest Customer Assets in Treasury Bills

Judge Amy Berman Jackson has mandated Binance’s U.S. entities to invest customers’ assets in U.S. Treasury bills, recognized as secure investments due to U.S. Treasury Department backing. The decision involves BAM Trading Services Inc. and BAM Management US Holdings Inc., collectively known as BAM, ensuring their assets are managed by third-party investment advisers. Additionally, Binance must transfer crypto assets to an unaffiliated third-party custodian.

Under the order, BAM is permitted to invest certain customer fiat funds, held at BitGo, in U.S. Treasury bills maturing on a rolling four-week basis. This must be done without involving any Binance entities and ensuring sufficient dollars are available for customer withdrawals. These measures aim to protect customer assets and enhance transparency within the exchange.

This development follows the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, for alleged misconduct. Despite some SEC claims being dismissed, the case proceeds, marking a significant regulatory action in the crypto industry.

Source

Ethereum client team throws down the gauntlet on EVM upgrade

Ethereum core developers continue to grapple with the scope of the forthcoming Pectra upgrade, specifically the inclusion of EIPs related to the EVM Object Format (EOF).

Thursday’s All-Core Devs call was dominated by debate over the feature set due to concerns raised by Geth developer Marius van der Wijden.

In a recent blog post, van der Wijden laid out his case against EOF, concluding that “the drawbacks strongly outweigh the potential benefits.” In his view, the uncertainty around its efficacy, coupled with unknown security implications and other potential risks resulting from complexity, should merit removal.

It’s a bit of a reversal for the developer, who said in February he…

Read more on Blockworks

LATEST: Hedge Fund Manager Hugh Hendry Believes Bitcoin Price Could Triple

Hugh Hendry, a renowned investor, has sparked excitement with his prediction that Bitcoin could triple in value, surpassing NVIDIA’s market capitalization. On a recent Yahoo Finance podcast, Hendry highlighted Bitcoin’s relatively small market cap of $1.3 trillion compared to gold at $16-17 trillion and US stocks at $40 trillion, suggesting significant growth potential for the cryptocurrency.

Hendry’s bullish outlook aligns with other experts and comes as Bitcoin shows signs of recovery, with its price up over 4%, crossing $66,300, and trading volume rising 11% to $31 billion. BTC Futures Open Interest has also soared nearly 6%, indicating robust market interest. This optimism is echoed by the growing demand for Bitcoin ETFs, reflecting increased institutional investment in the cryptocurrency.

Hendry emphasized the unique opportunity Bitcoin presents in an overvalued market, drawing parallels to undervalued stocks of the 1980s. He urged young investors to consider Bitcoin for substantial gains, reinforcing the positive sentiment around the flagship crypto’s future potential.

Source

Daily US Bitcoin ETFs Net Flow Analysis (As of July 19, 2024)

On July 19, 2024, Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. displayed varied investment trends, reflecting dynamic market movements. BlackRock’s IBIT ETF leads the pack with 325,449 BTC and a significant net inflow of +1,616 BTC, indicating strong investor confidence. In contrast, Grayscale’s GBTC saw a net outflow of -845 BTC, highlighting a shift in investor sentiment.

Fidelity’s FBTC showed positive momentum with a modest net inflow of +44 BTC, holding a total of 178,591 BTC. Meanwhile, ARK 21Shares’ ARKB experienced a notable outflow of -749 BTC, reducing its holdings to 49,318 BTC. These mixed results underscore the diverse strategies and reactions among investors in different ETFs.

Bitwise and Valkyrie remained stable with no change in their net flows, maintaining their holdings at 39,835 BTC and 8,765 BTC, respectively. However, VanEck and Invesco Galaxy experienced slight outflows, with -91 BTC and -13 BTC respectively, suggesting cautious investor behavior.

Overall, the total holdings across these ETFs amounted to 899,251 BTC, with a minor net outflow of -38 BTC, equivalent to a monetary outflow of -$2.49 million. This snapshot provides a clear picture of current investor behavior and market sentiment in the Bitcoin ETF space.

Disclaimer: Market capitalizations and data can vary in real-time. The information provided here is intended purely for educational purposes and should not, under any circumstances, be construed as financial advice.

Join CryptoCrunchApp on Telegram Channels – Click to Join