Key Events in the Crypto Market: Australia Welcomes First Spot Bitcoin ETF, SEC Ends Ether Security Investigation, Kraken Bug Exploited, MicroStrategy Buys More BTC, Ripple’s Court Victory, Binance Fined for AML Violations
Last week, the crypto market experienced a significant $100 billion loss, causing Bitcoin to drop below $64,000. Despite several recovery attempts, Bitcoin struggled to find stability, reaching a peak of $66.5K before falling back down to $63.4K.
As the upcoming week approaches, there may be continued pressure on the market, with bearish trends potentially hindering any potential recovery. However, amidst the turmoil, Ethereum managed to only lose 1.5% last week, thanks to positive market developments and regulatory news.
One of the key events that influenced the market last week was the approval of Australia’s first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). This ETF, offered by VanEck, allows investors to put money into the VanEck Bitcoin Trust (‘HODL’), a U.S. ETF listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
In another significant development, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unexpectedly ended its investigation into whether Ether is a security. This decision came amid mounting pressure and uncertainty surrounding the classification of Ether.
Additionally, a bug exploited by Certik led to a $3 million theft of digital assets from Kraken. The bug was reported by an anonymous security researcher, who demanded a reward for identifying and exploiting the flaw. CertiK eventually returned the stolen assets to Kraken.
MicroStrategy, a prominent software company and major Bitcoin holder, announced the purchase of an additional 11,931 BTC for $786 million. This acquisition increased the company’s total Bitcoin holdings to 226,331 tokens.
Furthermore, Ripple secured a partial victory in court on June 21, as the California courts dismissed all class action claims in a lawsuit concerning XRP. This ruling confirmed XRP’s non-security status and cleared Ripple of allegations of violating federal securities laws.
Lastly, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, was fined $2.2 million by India’s anti-money laundering unit for violating the country’s AML regulations. The fine was imposed for providing services to Indian clients without complying with the necessary regulations.
Overall, these events from the past week have significantly impacted the crypto market, shaping the landscape for the upcoming week. Investors and traders will be closely monitoring these developments to gauge the market’s direction and potential opportunities.