Wall Street Journal Financial News

SEC) has said recent applications by asset managers to launch spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were not sufficiently clear and comprehensive, a source familiar with the matter said. The SEC has communicated its concerns to the exchanges Nasdaq and Cboe Global Markets which filed the applications on behalf of asset managers including BlackRock and Fidelity, the source added on Friday. Bitcoin, which has jumped since BlackRock filed its application on June 15, fell after the Wall Street Journal first reported the SEC rejection on Friday. The world's largest cryptocurrency was last down 1% at $30.142. The SEC, Fidelity, BlackRock and Nasdaq declined to comment on the report, while Cboe was not immediately available.

Tether Holdings Ltd. Tether is the issuer of a namesake token known as USDT, designed to be a digital substitute for the US dollar, with a market capitalization of about $12O billion. It ranks as the third-biggest cryptocurrency by value, and is the most-traded token on a daily basis due to its role as a stand-in for the dollar in markets where traders aren’t able to use traditional currencies for transactions.

Morgan Stanley's headquarters in New York.

FTX is moving ahead with efforts to revive its flagship international cryptocurrency exchange, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday citing CEO John Ray. The company «has begun the process of soliciting interested parties to the reboot of the FTX.com exchange,» Ray said, according to the Journal's report. The failed crypto company has been holding talks with investors about backing a potential restart of the FTX.com exchange through structures such as a joint venture, the report added citing people familiar with the discussions. FTX debtors declined to comment on the report.

BlackRock's plan to create a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) even as the sector faces U.S. regulatory scrutiny. BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, filed last week for the exchange which would allow investors to get stakes in the asset class. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that EDX Markets, a crypto exchange backed by Citadel Securities, Fidelity and Schwab had started operations. The global cryptocurrency industry has been caught in the crosshairs of the U.S. securities regulator on alleged violations of securities laws. Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued major crypto exchanges including Coinbase and Binance. Bitcoin, the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, was last up 5.5% on Wednesday at 29,881.00 after hitting a high of $30,755.00. It is up roughly 81% for the year-to-date.

Binance said it was halting dollar deposits, while trading platform Robinhood Markets said it was delisting some crypto tokens, after the U.S. securities regulator stepped up its crackdown on the crypto sector. Binance.US, the purportedly independent partner of Binance, said in a tweet on Thursday that its banking partners were preparing to stop dollar withdrawal channels as early as June 13, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked a court to freeze its assets. Customers have until Tuesday to withdraw their funds. The development is the latest blow for the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange and raises questions about whether its U.S. operation can survive the SEC lawsuit, which alleges Binance manipulated its trading volumes and comingled customer assets, among other civil charges that it denies. «This is very serious for Binance.US,» said Clara Medalie, director of research at Kaiko, a digital asset data provider.

cryptocurrency industry was on edge on Monday as bitcoin held just above $20,000 and investors feared that problems at major crypto players could unleash a wider market shakeout. Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, dropped on Saturday to as low as $17,592.78, falling below the key $20,000 level for the first time since December 2020. It picked up slightly during London trading hours on Monday, at around $20,510 at 1232 GMT. But it has still lost 55% of its value this year and 35% this month alone in the cryptocurrency sector's latest meltdown.

Bitcoin tumbled on Wednesday to a new 18-month low, dragging smaller tokens down with it and spurring a sharp fall in crypto markets sparked by crypto lender Celsius freezing customer withdrawals. The world's largest cryptocurrency fell as much as 7.8% to $20,289, its lowest since December 2020. It has lost around 28% since Friday and more than half of its value this year. Since its record high of $69,000 in November, it has slumped about 70%. Cryptocurrencies have been hit hard this week after U.S. crypto lender Celsius froze withdrawals and transfers between accounts, stoking fears of wider fall-out in digital asset markets already shaken by the demise of the terraUSD and luna tokens last month.

Bitcoin tumbled on Wednesday to a new 18-month low, dragging smaller tokens down with it and spurring a sharp fall in crypto markets sparked by crypto lender Celsius freezing customer withdrawals. The world's largest cryptocurrency fell as much as 7.8% to $20,289, its lowest since December 2020. It has lost around 28% since Friday and more than half of its value this year. Since its record high of $69,000 in November, it has slumped about 70%. Cryptocurrencies have been hit hard this week after U.S. crypto lender Celsius froze withdrawals and transfers between accounts, stoking fears of wider fall-out in digital asset markets already shaken by the demise of the terraUSD and luna tokens last month.