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[U.S. SEC seeks public comments on revised version of BlackRock 's proposed spot Ethereum ETF]
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking public comments on a revised version of BlackRock’s proposed spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF).
BlackRock proposed the ETF, which aims to track the price performance of Ethereum, in November 2023. The SEC postponed its decision on the proposal in January, and on April 19, Nasdaq filed an amendment to the proposal, which discussed the creation and redemption process of the ETF.
"The Commission is issuing this notice to solicit comments from interested parties on the proposed rule changes (as modified by Amendment No. 1)," the SEC said in a filing on Tuesday. The comments will be posted on the SEC website within 21 days, the SEC said.
[SEC postpones decision on Franklin Templeton, Grayscale's proposed spot Ethereum ETF proposal]
The SEC said in a filing on Tuesday that it has postponed the decision on Franklin’s Ethereum ETF until June 11, 2024, after which the SEC can approve or disapprove or file a lawsuit.
Additionally, the SEC on Tuesday postponed the next resolution deadline for Grayscale’s proposed Ethereum spot ETF to June 23, 2024.
Well-known companies including Fidelity and BlackRock have applied for spot Ethereum ETFs in the past few months. Optimism about the SEC approving such products has steadily declined in the past few months. For example, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas lowered his estimate of the probability of a spot Ethereum ETF being approved in May from about 70% to 25%.
Tesla’s digital asset net worth in the first quarter was the same as last year’s Q4, at $184 million.
Financial data released by Tesla (TSLA.O) showed that the net value of digital assets in the first quarter was the same as in Q4 last year, at US$184 million.
In addition, Tesla's first-quarter revenue fell 9%, the biggest drop since 2012, and the electric car company is experiencing the impact of continued price cuts. Net profit fell 55% from $2.513 billion in the same period last year to $1.13 billion. The decline in sales even exceeded the company's first decline caused by the epidemic in 2020. However, Tesla said it is accelerating the launch of "new models, including more affordable models" that will be "able to be produced on the same production line as Tesla's existing product line."
Tesla shares jumped 8% in after-hours trading.
[Standard Chartered Bank: SEC is unlikely to approve spot Ethereum ETF in May]
Standard Chartered has revised its outlook and no longer expects a spot Ethereum ETF to be approved in May.
“We had previously expected the SEC to approve the ETH ETF on May 23,” Geoffrey Kendrick, head of FX and digital asset research at Standard Chartered, wrote in a note on Tuesday. “This was based on the view that the ETH approval process would follow a similar trajectory to the BTC ETF approval (which the SEC approved in January) and that there would be constructive dialogue between the SEC and the ETF applicant, as in the SEC’s 2016 ETF approval process. However, to date, no dialogue has occurred (or at least been made public) regarding the BTC ETF approval, suggesting that the approval date is unlikely to be May 23.”
However, in the long term, Standard Chartered remains optimistic about Ethereum spot approval, similar to JPMorgan. Standard Chartered also maintains its year-end target price levels of $150,000 for Bitcoin and $8,000 for ETH.
[SEC: $5.3 billion fine for Terraform Labs and Do Kwon is a “conservative” but “reasonable” estimate]
The SEC asked a New York judge to impose a $5.3 billion fine on Terraform Labs and Do Kwon to settle a civil fraud case against them. The regulator said the fines were a "conservative" but "reasonable" estimate of the "ill-gotten gains" Terraform and Kwon received from the fraud.
In addition to the steep fines, the SEC is seeking an injunction preventing Kwon and Terraform Labs from further securities violations, purchasing or selling “any crypto asset securities,” and imposing an executive and director ban on Kwon, which would prohibit him from serving as an officer or director of a public company that reports to the SEC.
The SEC said such measures are necessary to deter future violations because “the defendants have demonstrated no remorse for their conduct and there is no doubt that they may and have committed additional violations.”
Do Kwon remains in Montenegro, where he was arrested and jailed last year for trying to use a forged Costa Rican travel document while en route to Dubai.
[ K33 Research: Mt.Gox will return $9 billion in BTC to creditors in the near future, which may put pressure on Bitcoin prices]
K33 Research, a cryptocurrency research organization, released a report saying that Mt. Gox, a cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed due to a hacker attack in 2014, is preparing to distribute 142,000 BTC worth about $9.5 billion and 143,000 BCH worth about $73 million to creditors, which may put pressure on the crypto market.
The K33 report noted that creditors saw similar cash repayment updates in mid-March, with some users claiming they had received transfers. Analysts said that if the cryptocurrency payment process mirrors fiat refunds, creditors could start receiving digital assets as early as next month.
The report explains that while creditors are unlikely to sell their payments en masse, the anticipation of this could prompt market participants to remain cautious and avoid taking risks ahead of the event. “Repayments do not necessarily equal selling pressure, as creditors may choose to hold their funds, but it is an overhang that could quickly alarm markets,” the report states.
Author: BitpushNews Mary Liu
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