SkyBridge Joins the SEC’s List of Rejected Spot Bitcoin ETFs

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has, once again, rejected a spot bitcoin ETF application. It was filed earlier by the investment management company First Trust Advisors and the hedge fund SkyBridge led by Anthony Scaramucci.

• In a statement published on Thursday (January 20, 2022), the SEC said the reason for the rejection was that they failed to meet the requirements.
• According to an excerpt from the SEC document:

“Because NYSE Arca has not demonstrated that its proposed rule change is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, the Commission must disapprove the proposal.”

• Back in March 2021, SkyBridge partnered with First Trust to file a Bitcoin ETF application with the SEC. On May 25, the Commission began an official review of the ETF proposal.
• Later in July, the SEC first postponed its decision on the application till August 25, with another delay happening in November 2021.

A statement from the SEC document said:

document said:

“The Commission further concludes that NYSE Arca has not established that it has a comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size related to bitcoin.”

• Meanwhile, the SEC’s latest rejection is not surprising, given that the agency is yet to greenlight a spot Bitcoin ETF product. In December, the securities watchdog disapproved an application by Valkyrie and Kryptoin. NYDIG’s proposal has been delayed until March 16, 2022.
• However, the SEC seems to show a preference for ETFs that track bitcoin futures. ProShares made history as the company with the first approved futures-backed Bitcoin ETF in the United States. Others have come from VanEck and Valkyrie.

Russian Banks Begin Testing Digital Ruble Payments

Banks in Russia are preparing to dive into the pilot phase of the digital ruble project and some are already testing transactions with the currency. Trials have started with customer-to-customer (C2C) payments and Bank of Russia plans to expand the types of operations in the future.

Digital Ruble Pilot Launches With 12 Participating Banks

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) completed the prototype of the digital ruble platform in December and is now beginning to experiment with transactions. A dozen banks have been invited to join the first stage of the project’s pilot phase. The monetary authority plans to gradually expand the range of participants to include other financial service providers and types of transactions.

Right now, the majority of Russian banks are gearing up to start testing the new central bank digital currency (CBDC), Tass reported after contacting the institutions. One of them, Promsvyazbank (PSB), is currently processing C2C payments, Maxim Khrustalev, advisor to the deputy chairman of the bank told the news agency.

After the customer-to-customer transactions, “the technical testing of C2B, B2C and B2B payments will begin. Based on the results of the piloting, Bank of Russia will start to introduce the digital ruble platform into commercial operation,” Khrustalev added.

Tinkoff Bank is also joining the efforts to trial the new, digital form of Russian fiat. “Tinkoff is preparing to pilot the digital ruble in the near future,” according to a statement from the online neobank. Tinkoff recently entered the crypto space by acquiring a controlling stake in the Swiss-registered fintech startup Aximetria.

Another major Russian bank, VTB, said its infrastructure is ready to pilot the digital ruble. “Piloting includes integration with the digital ruble platform and the introduction of services such as opening a wallet through a mobile application and digital ruble transfers between individuals,” the bank’s press office detailed.

According to Vitaly Kopysov, chief innovation officer at SKB-Bank, the digital ruble will become a driver for the development of new national payment services for both citizens and companies. Speaking with Tass, he elaborated:

The digital ruble will give an additional impetus to the creation of offline cashless payment services for businesses in the absence of Internet access at a point of sale, which is very important given the geography of the Russian Federation.

Russia’s central bank has maintained a hardline stance on cryptocurrencies and recently proposed a wide-ranging ban on crypto-related activities. It began contemplating a digital ruble three years ago and decided to explore options to issue the CBDC in 2020, when it published a consultation paper on the matter. In April 2021, the bank released a digital ruble concept outlining its principal architecture.

Other banks taking part in the first stage of the pilot are Ak Bars, Alfa-Bank, Dom.rf Bank, Gazprombank, Rosbank, Sberbank, Bank Soyuz, and Transcapitalbank. The Federal Treasury, along with financial intermediaries, will join at the second stage when transactions between private individuals and corporate entities will be carried out, including consumer-to-business (С2B), business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) transactions

Do you think Russia will be able to successfully launch a digital ruble? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

Iran to Pilot ‘National Cryptocurrency,’ Considers Blockchain Tech for Stock Market

The Central Bank of Iran soon plans to launch the pilot phase of its digital currency project, an official unveiled. The Islamic Republic hopes to a join a growing club of nations that want to take advantage of having a sovereign coin, while it also seeks to implement blockchain technology in other areas.

Iran to Begin State-Backed Digital Currency Trials

The monetary authority of Iran intends to pilot its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the near future, a high-ranking representative of the financial regulator said, quoted by the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA). The news comes in the fourth year since the initial announcement of the project.

According to a statement by Mehran Moharamian, deputy governor for IT at the Central Bank of Iran, the CBI sees digital currencies as a solution for resolving certain inconsistencies and decentralizing resources. Other countries have already begun to benefit from CBDCs, he noted.

Moharamian did not provide specific details about the start of the pilot phase. Authorities in Tehran tasked the country’s Informatics Services Corporation with developing a “national cryptocurrency” in 2018. The CBI arm is operating the country’s banking automation and payment services network.

Later, the company explained that the Iranian digital currency has been designed using the Hyperledger Fabric platform, a blockchain framework implementation and one of Hyperledger’s projects hosted by the Linux Foundation.

Blockchain Expected to Revive Iranian Stock Market

Although the Iranian crypto space remains largely unregulated — aside from mining — another report this week indicated that officials have been looking for various ways to employ the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

Iran’s capital market should genuinely consider using blockchain technology as it can help address some major needs of the share market and create new opportunities for its revival, Majid Eshqi, head of the Iranian Securities and Exchange Organization recently commented. Quoted by SENA and the English-language business daily Financial Tribune, he elaborated:

At the latest, in two years we will be compelled to make use of blockchain technology… It will not be long before we start tokenizing physical assets and stocks that can be easily traded on the new platforms.

He added that the time has come to consider the potential of blockchain technologies to solve some existing issues, such as identity verification of shareholders, for example, and start the infrastructure process.

Earlier in January, Iranian media revealed that Tehran is going to allow local companies to use cryptocurrencies in international settlements with their partners abroad. The Central bank and the government of the sanctioned country have reportedly given the green light to the adoption of a mechanism facilitating payments with digital coins in the field of foreign trade.

Do you think Iran will continue to explore ways to implement cryptocurrency and blockchain technology? Tell us in the comments section below.

Here’s why Bitcoin traders say a drop to $38K is the worst case scenario

BTC’s drop to $42,230 sent a key sentiment indicator to an “extreme” low, but top traders are confident that a bounce off $38,000 would confirm the bottom.

The fallout from the Federal Reserve's recent hawkish comments about raising interest rates as soon as March continued to weigh heavily on the cryptocurrency market on Jan. 6. The Crypto Fear & Greed index has been dialed down to 15 and some traders are lamenting the possible start of an extended bear market. 

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that bears attempted to challenge the lows set on Jan.5, bringing BTC price down to $42,439 during early trading on Jan. 6.

Let's take a quick look at where analysts think the price might go in the next few days.

Bitcoin could bottom between $38,000 and $40,000

According to Mike Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Digital Holdings and a staunch cryptocurrency advocate, this latest move down “has been on low volume” and highlighted the fact that there is a “tremendous amount of institutional demand on the sidelines.”

As for whether or not Novogratz sees the current market conditions as a good buying opportunity, the experienced trader told CNBC that “he’s waiting a little longer to buy crypto” and suggested that the market will “be volatile over the next few weeks.”

BTC attempts to establish a higher low

A closer look at the recent BTC price action was offered by crypto analyst and pseudonymous Twitter user Rekt Capital, who posted the following chart comparing the current market conditions to those that were seen the last time BTC price fell below its 50-day exponential moving average (EMA).

According to Rekt Captial, BTC “has deviated below the blue 50 EMA” and is now in the process of trying to set a new higher low (HL) as represented by the green dashed line.

Rekt Capital said,

“In May 2021, BTC also formed a Higher Low (orange) upon deviating below the 50 EMA. BTC held the HL initially but wicking below it was common also.”

Based on the circled section provided on the above chart, Rekt Capital sees the possibility of BTC dropping down into the $40,000 range.

Related: Bitcoin price bounces off $42K as order book imbalance turns 'crazy'

BTC price is in the “golden pocket”

A final bit of analysis highlighting the critical junction the market is in was provided by independent market analyst Scott Melker, who posted the following chart showing BTC trading between the 0.65 and 0.618 Fibonacci retracement levels.

According to Melker, this range is known as the “golden pocket” and “is considered the most viable place too long or short an asset and look for a reversal.”

Melker said,

“Price is currently in the golden pocket of the move from $28,600 to $69,000.”

The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.077 trillion and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 39.5%.

What Is Huobi Token (HT)?

Huobi Token (HT) is the native cryptocurrency of the Huobi Global exchange. The exchange was founded in China in 2013 but then moved its operations to Seychelles for more friendly crypto and finance regulations. It became a popular option among those seeking to enter the new world of crypto that lets users invest in projects through trading and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Huobi followed Binance’s path by releasing the exchange token in 2018 that facilitates on-platform governance, rewards, and special event access.

Founders of Huobi

Huobi was co-founded by Leon Li, a former computer engineer at Oracle. Leon Li was a Bitcoin supporter from the early days and wanted to introduce blockchain and crypto technology to more people. The other co-founders of the exchange are Jun Du (CEO of Node Capital and BiKi.com) and Herbert Rafael Sim, founder of Crypto Chain University and media powerhouse with a history at Forbes, Huffington Post, and more.

Huobi now operates Huobi Global, Huobi China, Huobi US, and has acquired other tools, like Quick Wallet, to offer convenience to its customers. The Huobi Token has played a large part in one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world, with a daily trading volume in the billions. 

How Does Huobi Token Work?

The Huobi Token works to provide Huobi Exchange users a better experience with new ways to get a discount on trading fees, access new cryptocurrencies, and vote on decisions about the future of the platform. With HT, exchange users can directly benefit from how well the platform does over time. If Huobi continues to move up in popularity, HT holders will see their accounts rise as well. 

The Huobi Token is part of the Huobi Eco Chain that hosts DeFi apps like decentralized lending and borrowing platforms. The Eco Chain is similar to the Binance Smart Chain, an established exchange-based blockchain. 

HT is an ERC-20 token that acts to secure the network and provides benefits and transaction methods for Huobi users. It acts much like Binance Coin (BNB) on the back-end. It also has similar tokenomics like BNB’s buyback or coin-burning strategy. Using this method, Huobi utilizes 20% of the revenue generated from contracts to buy back HT from the network and removes it from circulation to increase its value. 

There is 500 million HT in total, with 100 million reserved for platform operations and user rewards. 100 million tokens are held for the Huobi team as incentives, and 300 million HTs were given away so users could purchase points cards (the giveaway is now over).

What Makes Huobi Token Unique?

The Huobi token has a few unique benefits for users, but it is mostly a way to keep up with the evolving economics of the crypto exchange business. It was created in part to keep up with Binance and its native BNB token. The Huobi Token will provide a common or uniform method of payment across the ecosystem. It will also be used largely in OTC trading and corporate payments.

The Huobi Token currently ranks 50 on CoinMarketCap (at the time of writing) and has gained tremendous value since its release in 2018. In the beginning, HT was trading at around $1.30 USD. During the all-time-high period in 2021, it reached a price of nearly $35 before stabilizing. Many are optimistic in their future price estimates since native tokens of other exchanges have also performed well. 

The Future of Huobi Token 

As more people become involved in crypto trading, Huobi will benefit and grow along with the industry. It also provides a compelling loyalty and rewards scheme that will position it well in an increasingly competitive crypto exchange industry.