BTC up 15% this week, hits US $44k

Oh we love to see it. Bitcoin is up 15% in the last week, bringing its price above US $44,000, an all time high (ATH) for 2023. That’s a return of almost 150% of the year. Not bad, eh?

This latest surge means the crypto OG has overtaken Berkshire Hathaway as 10th largest asset in the world, with its market cap now exceeding US $800b. Buffett famously said he would never own Bitcoin, just look at these prices now – he may never be able to afford it now anyway. 

But do you want to know the scary part? Aside from us crypto nerds, no one else is talking about it. Just check the Google search trends for ‘Bitcoin’. No one is talking about it. If this doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will.

Of course, a lot of the money coming in is from institutions, who hardly need to google Bitcoin. Nonetheless, it’s extremely exciting.

However, fears of a bull trap are circulating, which is when there is a short-term rally (price go up) followed by a big sell-off (price go down).

Be careful.

SEC to delay decision on spot Ether ETFs

Whilst it seems the Spot Bitcoin ETFs are on track for approval in January next year, the Spot ETHER ETFs need more time, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Grayscale, the world’s largest crypto asset manager, was one of the first to file for a spot ether ETF.

“The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein,” the SEC’s notice said.

The SEC’s okay with ETFs that track Bitcoin and Ether futures, but it keeps delaying and turning down requests for spot ETFs, which is really bugging the industry and investors. Along with Grayscale, they’re looking at about a dozen spot bitcoin filings from big names like BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments.

Annoying, but not all that unsurprising.

They have until January 25th to make a decision.

CZ’s Guilty Plea…Accepted

Hey, that rhymes. 

So as we already knew, Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao admitted to money laundering. And this week, the judge agreed. However, it’s still up in the air whether he can leave the U.S. before his February sentencing. He pleaded guilty a couple of weeks ago and agreed to a huge US $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. agencies. Zhao also stepped down as Binance CEO and has to pay $150 million to regulators.

He could get up to 18 months in jail and is currently out on a $175 million bond.  He wanted to go back to the UAE where he lives, but prosecutors are worried he won’t come back because the UAE doesn’t extradite to the U.S. They pointed out that Zhao has a family in the UAE, and might choose to stay there instead of returning to the U.S. for jail time.

Zhao argues that he’s not a flight risk since he willingly came to the U.S. for this case. The judge has temporarily blocked his travel until there’s a decision on the government’s request to keep him in the U.S.

So, do you think he will be rooming with SBF?