BizwavemediaPersonal Finance and Crypto Updates

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Canary Capital’s Litecoin ETF is well-positioned to become the first spot crypto ETF approved by the SEC under the incoming Trump administration, given Litecoin’s commodity status, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

Following Canary Capital’s amended S-1 filing yesterday, Nasdaq submitted a 19b-4 form to the SEC on Thursday, formally beginning the review process for the Canary Litecoin ETF. The SEC now has 45 days from Federal Register publication to approve or deny the listing, with a possible 45-day extension.

According to Balchunas, the Litecoin ETF application has met all the necessary requirements and conditions for approval.

“Litecoin ETF now has all the boxes checked. The first alt coin ETF of 2025 is about to be on the clock. I don’t see any reason why this would be withdrawn either given SEC gave comments on the S-1, Litecoin is seen as commodity and there’s new SEC sheriff in town,” Balchunas wrote on X on Thursday.

Balchunas stated Wednesday that the SEC had provided feedback on Canary Capital’s S-1 filing for their proposed Litecoin ETF. This prompted the firm to submit the amendment.

James Seyffart, Balchunas’ fellow Bloomberg ETF analyst, noted that “A 19b-4 would actually start the potential approval/denial clock.”

Canary Capital filed its Litecoin ETF S-1 statement with the SEC in October 2023. The amended filing names US Bancorp Fund Services as the ETF administrator, with Coinbase Custody Trust and BitGo serving as custodians for the ETF’s Litecoin holdings.

CFTC classifies Litecoin as a commodity

The CFTC labeled Litecoin as a commodity in its lawsuit against crypto exchange KuCoin, thereby exempting it from the SEC’s securities regulations.

The SEC has not taken any official action or made any public pronouncements that definitively categorize Litecoin as either a security or not a security.

Unlike Litecoin, Ripple and Solana have faced explicit SEC scrutiny. Ripple continues to be engaged in ongoing litigation with the SEC, which maintains that its native token, XRP, constitutes a security.

The SEC has also classified Solana’s SOL token as a security in separate cases against Binance and Coinbase. These legal disputes remain unresolved.

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Rosseti, Russia’s largest power grid operator, is exploring crypto mining operations at its underutilized power centers and aims to become a coordinator for mining infrastructure deployment across the country, according to state news agency TASS.

“The Rosseti Group is the largest grid company in Russia and can act as an operator for coordinating the placement of mining infrastructure,” the company told TASS.

The state-owned energy provider sees crypto mining as an opportunity to utilize spare capacity at low-load power centers, which could increase both the company’s tariff revenue and tax payments while contributing to economic development.

The grid operator confirmed its technical readiness for mining operations, noting that its infrastructure is equipped with the necessary switching equipment to manage mining facility loads. The company also maintains operational data on available capacity and consumption patterns to ensure reliable regional power supply.

Rosseti is currently discussing various aspects of its mining development strategy, including the potential introduction of a separate tariff structure for miners as a demand management tool.

Last August, President Vladimir Putin signed a law regulating crypto mining as part of the country’s digital asset management strategy. Under the law, only registered entities and individual entrepreneurs are allowed to engage in large-scale crypto mining operations in Russia.

Due to power shortages, the Russian government has banned crypto mining in several regions starting January 1, 2025, extending through March 15, 2031.

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Crypto trading firm Wintermute expects stablecoins to become deeply integrated with traditional finance in 2025.

This integration will be driven by the growing adoption of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and increased corporate holdings of digital assets, according to Wintermute’s recently released annual review and outlook report.

The firm predicts a major corporate acquisition or merger will be settled entirely in stablecoins this year, marking a significant convergence between crypto and traditional financial systems.

The forecast comes as institutions increasingly recognize the advantages of stablecoins for their efficiency, speed, and reduced cross-border transaction costs.

The shift toward stablecoins is part of a larger wave of institutional adoption observed in 2024, which saw Wintermute’s OTC trading volumes quadruple, reaching a record $2.24 billion in a single day during November.

Wintermute’s CEO, Evgeny Gaevoy, emphasized the role of stablecoins in bridging the gap between crypto markets and traditional finance.

The firm’s outlook suggests that tokenized corporate debt or equity settled in stablecoins could become increasingly common as companies explore blockchain technology for its transparency and efficiency.

The company has expanded its presence in global ETF markets through partnerships with OSL Digital Securities and HashKey HK Exchange, supporting Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs listed in Hong Kong.

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The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) denied making any official decisions about XRP or Solana futures contracts after a test page erroneously appeared on its website showing a potential launch date for the products.

“The beta version of the website, which is often used for mock-up drafts, was made public in error,” a CME spokesperson told FOX Business. “No official decisions have yet been made about launching futures contracts for either token.”

A test version of the CME Group’s staging website, briefly accessible on Wednesday, indicated the potential introduction of XRP and Solana futures contracts on February 10, subject to regulatory approval.

Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart corroborated the page’s existence before it was removed.

Assuming “beta.cmegroup” is actually a beta/test version of the actual CMEGroup website — looks like CME is expecting to launch SOL & XRP futures on Feb 10. But this isn’t available on the actual website yet.

Honestly makes sense and largely to be expected if true IMO https://t.co/lfMGd8X9KE

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 22, 2025

XRP and SOL rose around 3% on the leak news before pulling back, according to CoinGecko.

CME currently offers Bitcoin and Ethereum futures contracts in both standard and micro-sized versions.

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On-chain activity for transactions under $10,000 has declined by 19.34% in recent days, according to verified CryptoQuant analyst Causeconomy, suggesting subdued retail interest.

Bitcoin has traded between $100,000 and $109,000 since Trump’s inauguration on Monday, currently hovering above $105,000.

Historically, high volatility has driven demand for on-chain activity, but this trend seems to be diverging. Retail activity peaked in December but has since tapered off.

Despite Bitcoin’s impressive performance, on-chain metrics suggest the market structure remains stable and not overstretched, providing room for potential further uptrends.

Google Trends data shows retail interest in “Bitcoin,” “how to buy crypto,” and “altcoins” in the US is higher than last year but not to the extent many expected, given Bitcoin’s price surpassing $100,000.

Currently, searches for “Bitcoin” in the US are at 52 on Google Trends, showing a noticeable increase compared to the same period last year.

However, it’s important to note that this time last year, Bitcoin search interest began rising due to the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, which fueled broader market attention.

While search interest is higher year-over-year, it remains far below the euphoric levels seen in 2021, when Bitcoin surged to previous all-time highs and captured mainstream interest.

Search trends suggest that retail interest in crypto currently points to brief moments of euphoria, like the spike seen during the launch of Trump’s meme coin, rather than the sustained rallies where retail engagement lasted for months.

Last week, the launch of the Trump-themed meme coin drove a surge in searches for “Trump coin,” “how to buy Trump crypto,” and “Trump meme coin.” The coin initially soared to a $15 billion market cap.

The Trump meme coin has since fallen 55% to a $6.7 billion market cap, with search interest declining alongside the broader drop in retail engagement.

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MicroStrategy has announced plans to redeem $1.05 billion in 0% convertible senior notes due in 2027.

This decision comes as the company faces potential tax implications under new corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT) rules introduced by the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.

MicroStrategy, the world’s largest Bitcoin-holding company, could be subject to federal income taxes on its $18 billion in unrealized Bitcoin gains.

The CAMT implements a 15% minimum tax rate based on adjusted GAAP financial statement income, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

GAAP income represents earnings reported under standardized accounting rules, including certain unrealized gains like Bitcoin’s value increases.

The CAMT targets companies reporting substantial GAAP earnings but minimal taxable income on IRS filings.

While companies like Berkshire Hathaway received exemptions for unrealized stock gains, no such provisions exist for crypto assets. MicroStrategy, holding $47 billion in Bitcoin, continues lobbying the IRS for similar treatment.

“The IRS may ultimately exclude unrealized crypto gains, especially under a Trump administration, which has historically supported pro-crypto policies,” tax analyst Robert Willens told the Wall Street Journal, while noting that such exemptions aren’t guaranteed.

Note holders can convert their securities into class A common stock before February 20, 2025, with conversions settled in stock and fractional shares paid in cash.

The company’s tax situation is further complicated by new Financial Accounting Standards Board rules requiring fair value reporting of crypto assets on balance sheets.

MicroStrategy recently reported a $4 billion increase in deferred tax liabilities and a $12.8 billion increase in retained earnings under the new framework.

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San Francisco, USA / California, October 10th, 2024, Chainwire

Constellation Network’s “HyDef ‘24” conference will take place on Thursday, October 24, 2024, featuring a free daylong virtual event combined with a live in-person event for a nominal fee at 1 Hotel in San Francisco.

Constellation Network is a unique Web3 framework with new open-source tooling that empowers companies and individuals to build blockchain networks for Big Data, creating trust and transparency around data collection, validation, and transacting. Nicknamed “America’s Blockchain,” Constellation Network actively works with entities such as the U.S. Military, The Digital Chamber, the Texas Blockchain Association, Space ISAC, and the National DigiFoundry. Constellation has been validated and approved by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as a, “Scalable, Secure and Defense-Approved Blockchain technology.” 

“So much work has been going on behind the scenes which is why HyDef is a great forum to bring it to the forefront around one action packed event. Since the launch of Metagraphs, it’s been hard to keep up with all the inbound interest from federal, enterprise and academia. We are excited to not only give updates on what has matured but also unveil new expressions that truly separate Constellation apart in the Web3 industry.” – Benjamin Diggles, Constellation Co-founder and CSO

Constellation’s HyDef ‘24 conference will deliver a jam-packed day of ground-breaking insights. Conference sessions cover secure information-sharing in a zero-trust world, the future of finance and blockchain, the evolving regulatory environment, government and blockchain, and much more.

Hackathon-winning projects will be showcased at the event where developers have leveraged Constellation’s big data transaction and validation capabilities to build apps that gather and validate data at scale. These apps feed the data into AI or causal models to give businesses and individuals insights based on more input than we’ve heretofore been able to process.

Another HyDef highlight will be the long-awaited reveal of the details of the working relationship between Constellation and Panasonic. The work the two companies are doing together has the potential to bring Constellation’s technology and blockchain-secured edge computing to the world en masse in a meaningful way.

“The Constellation Community is the backbone to our ecosystem. HyDef is a time for us all to come together, celebrate the progress in our ecosystem, give visibility to our partners, and gear up for the future of Constellation. By bringing together thought leaders, builders, and new product development we paint a picture for new opportunities in distributed networks and the communities that build them.”- Ben Jorgensen, Constellation Co-founder and CEO

The in-person event will be held at the 1 Hotel in San Francisco and will require a nominal $150 fee. Attendees include representatives from Panasonic, the Greer Institute at Intel, Forward Edge AI, venture capitalists, The Digital Chamber, the Constellation leadership team, along with Stardust Collective community leaders.

The virtual event is free to attend with access via livestream to all keynote speeches, panel discussions, and hackathon showcases in real time. Virtual attendees can engage directly with speakers and panelists through Q&A and live chat features, and may connect with other attendees in virtual event spaces.

“Our metagraph application layer just released to the public, and this is the perfect time for us to showcase our Hackathon winners, our partners, and our progress. I’m excited for the chance to bring the industry together in this unique format and share ideas and ways we can work together and build together.”- Altif Brown, Constellation co-founder, Head of Community, and conference organizer

To find out more about the event and register, users can visit stardust’s event site at https://stardust-collective.org/HyDef-Conference

About Constellation Network

Constellation Network, founded in 2017, is a Blockchain ecosystem powered by the Hypergraph Transfer Protocol (HGTP), designed to secure, validate, and process data for Web3 applications. HGTP enables seamless and secure Blockchain communication, akin to how HTTP functions for the web. Constellation’s tools support building Blockchain networks for big data, fostering trust and transparency. Validated by the U.S. Department of Defense via the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Constellation is recognized as a scalable and secure Blockchain solution.

Website: www.constellationnetwork.io

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Conste11ation

Telegram: https://t.me/constellationcommunity

Contact

Constellation co-founder, Head of Community, and conference organizer
Altif Brown
Constellation Network, Inc.
[email protected]