Crypto Biz: Value of X halves, CME rises among top Bitcoin futures exchanges, and other news
The crypto industry continues to anticipate the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States as more investment managers file amended applications with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The high level of anticipation has even caused the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to leap positions among derivatives exchanges in terms of Bitcoin (BTC) open interest, overtaking traditional crypto exchanges and highlighting the demand for a spot Bitcoin product. The CME also saw its cash-settled futures contracts exceed 100,000 BTC in volume recently.
In the week’s negative developments, the SEC charged SafeMoon and three of its executives with fraud and unregistered securities sales concerning the SafeMoon (SFM) token.
According to the SEC allegations, SafeMoon executives withdrew assets worth $200 million from the project and misappropriated investor funds despite promising that funds would be locked in a liquidity pool. Two executives were arrested.
This week’s Crypto Biz also features Circle’s decision to discontinue consumer accounts, while X’s (formerly Twitter) valuation has nosedived a year after Elon Musk took it over.
Stablecoin issuer Circle will close out consumer or individual accounts on Nov. 30, according to emails received by its customers over the previous days. On the morning of Oct. 31, Circle customers allegedly received an email announcing that individual accounts were being closed “as part of Circle’s strategic review.” According to the message, “wiring and minting functionalities” would no longer be supported. In an email to Cointelegraph, a Circle representative confirmed that the accounts are being shut down but that business and institutional accounts will remain open.
Read more on cointelegraph.com
