2023-10-20 16:17

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Bitcoin saw a significant surge to $29,300 on Friday, marking a 9% weekly increase, as traders eagerly anticipate the approval of a U.S. spot bitcoin ETF. The bullish sentiment was also reflected in the performance of forked cryptocurrencies BCH and BSV, which rose by up to 26%. This surge in demand has led to major firms such as BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Fidelity, and WisdomTree applying for a spot bitcoin ETF. It is believed that an approval for Grayscale could spur further bullish sentiment and potentially kickstart a wider market rally. The House Financial Services Committee has urged SEC Chair Gary Gensler to reconsider the approval of bitcoin ETFs, as providers revise their filings in response to the heightened demand. Traders are particularly excited about the potential transformation of GBTC into an ETF. Friday also saw a leap beyond $30,000 for Bitcoin, sparking gains in key cryptocurrencies such as ether ($1,600), XRP (up by 7.2% following a Ripple-beneficial court ruling), and SOL (up by 12%). Binance's feature of Bitcoin SV's perpetual futures at 50x leverage led to its 32% surge. In this context, ETF providers have revised their filings due to SEC pressure to ease its bitcoin ETF outlook. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-etf-anticipation-fuels-surge-in-cryptocurrency-market-93CH-3204618

2023-10-20 16:12

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters The DCE iron ore futures experienced a 3.17% drop on Friday, influenced by the stock market's performance and an outflow of overseas funds. This outflow has affected investor confidence in the domestic financial market and has led to an ease in macroeconomic sentiment. The main contract closed at 839, marking a significant downturn. Despite the drop, steel mills continue to purchase actively. PBF deals at Shandong and Tangshan ports were priced at 910 yuan/mt and 935-945 yuan/mt respectively, indicating a sustained demand for the commodity. However, inventory levels have been on a declining trend. SMM tracking showed a decrease of 550,000 tons across 35 ports to 105.01 million tons. This marks a year-on-year decrease of 211.7 million tons and represents the sixth consecutive period of decrease. Contributing to this trend is the reduction in molten iron production at steel plants which has led to poor profits for some finished product varieties. The daily average port clearance volume of imported mines fell by 124,000 tons this week, causing a significant decline in port dredging volume. This continuous decrease in inventory could potentially signal a turning point that may put short-term iron ore prices under pressure. As the reduction in inventory continues, it's likely that the market will continue to monitor these developments closely. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/iron-ore-futures-fall-317-amid-overseas-fund-outflow-and-easing-sentiment-93CH-3204615

2023-10-20 16:00

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Bitcoin miners are ramping up their operations, undeterred by the cryptocurrency's stable price, as the network's hash rate reached a record 455 EH/s on Wednesday last week, doubling from the start of this year. This information indicates an increase in computational power dedicated to mining Bitcoin, suggesting that miners are continuously upgrading their hardware and expanding facilities. The complexity of block mining on the Bitcoin blockchain also hit a peak at a block height of 812,448 on Monday this week. The Bitcoin difficulty adjustment, which occurs every two weeks to maintain a 10-minute block time, reflects the increased complexity. Prominent players in this space include mining pools such as Foundry USA, Antpool, Viabtc, F2pool, and Binance Pool (NASDAQ:POOL). Miners earn a block reward of 6.25 BTC along with transaction fees for successful mining. This process is known as Bitcoin Halving and takes place every four years. The next halving event is expected in six months' time. As the block reward halves, dependence on transaction fees increases. This could intensify competition among key mining pools and potentially raise transaction costs for users. The surge in Bitcoin's hash rate and mining difficulty suggests that miners are adapting to changes in the network's economic model and are ready to compete in a more challenging environment. Despite the stable price of Bitcoin, these developments suggest that the cryptocurrency's underlying technology continues to evolve and attract significant investment from miners. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-miners-intensify-operations-as-network-complexity-peaks-93CH-3204611

2023-10-20 15:52

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. XRP, the cryptocurrency closely associated with Ripple Labs, experienced its largest one-day increase in three months on Friday, October 20, 2023. This surge followed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropping its lawsuit against Ripple's leaders, CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen. The SEC had previously accused these executives of misleading investors over the sale of more than $1 billion in unregistered XRP tokens. Data from CoinGecko indicated that XRP's price jumped from 47 cents to a peak of 52 cents on Thursday, marking an increase of over 7% within 24 hours. This rally was predominantly powered by the spot market, as suggested by an upsurge in the cumulative volume delta (CVD) in spot exchanges, according to Coinalyze data. The SEC's initial allegations had claimed that Ripple Labs violated securities law by securing $1.3 billion through XRP sales to investors. However, this stance was challenged when the Southern District of New York clarified that these transactions did not equate to offers and sales of investment contracts as per SEC's claims. Ripple had already achieved a partial victory in July 2023 when a federal judge ruled that the sale of XRP on exchanges did not constitute a security offering. This ruling blocked the SEC's immediate appeal option. With the lawsuit now dismissed, Garlinghouse and Larsen have avoided a jury trial initially scheduled for 2024. Despite this significant gain, XRP's price still remains within a two-month consolidation range between 49 and 45 cents. This suggests a volatility meltdown, which typically precedes a substantial move in either direction. Prior to this development, XRP had shown an underwhelming performance during the crypto bull market of 2021 and has been described as "sleepy" throughout 2023. However, it had spiked to 82 cents following a positive lawsuit ruling in the past. Other leading cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ether, also recorded gains on Friday. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/xrp-surges-as-sec-rescinds-charges-against-ripples-leaders-93CH-3204600

2023-10-20 15:49

Blockchain entity Ripple has achieved another legal triumph in its ongoing dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as detailed in a court document from Wednesday. The SEC has withdrawn allegations against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen, who were previously accused of aiding the company in breaching federal securities laws. The charges were linked to transactions involving Ripple's native token, XRP. The withdrawal of these charges led to the cancellation of a trial that was set for next year, marking yet another legal success for Ripple in its ongoing lawsuit. This development follows a significant victory for Ripple in July when it was determined that the company had not violated securities laws by making XRP available on exchanges for retail customers. Instead, only direct sales to institutional investors were deemed violations. The SEC initially indicted Ripple in 2020 for conducting a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering related to its XRP token. Despite this pending case, Ripple has been registering consistent victories. Garlinghouse announced this latest win on Social Media Platform X, critiquing the SEC's case management approach. Notably, Judge Analisa Torres ruled in July that Ripple hadn't infringed upon securities laws by offering XRP to retail investors. An appeal from the SEC against this ruling was dismissed earlier this month, further solidifying Ripple's position. Garlinghouse responded to the dropped charges by criticizing the SEC as a rogue regulator with a political agenda and accusing them of baseless allegations while ignoring criminals stealing customer funds. He also underscored the profound impact these developments have on the digital asset ecosystem. Despite these victories for Ripple, the SEC will continue its claims against the company. Reports suggest that Ripple and the SEC plan to discuss future legal remedies for Ripple's Section 5 violations, which involve selling XRP to institutional investors. In response to these ongoing legal challenges, most of Ripple's business has now moved offshore, including exchanges. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ripple-secures-another-victory-in-sec-lawsuit-93CH-3204586

2023-10-20 15:47

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped charges against Ripple's CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larson on Friday, a move that has positively impacted Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) markets. Larson had previously criticized the past administration for stifling innovation and causing job losses. Simultaneously, the SEC is handling cases against cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN). The outcome of the SEC's case against Ripple is expected to influence these proceedings. In the wake of its legal victory against the SEC in August, Grayscale Investments is seeking to convert its Grayscale BTC Trust into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The company has filed a Form S-3 Registration Statement with the SEC, intensifying the race for the first BTC-spot ETF. Amended filings from both Grayscale and Fidelity signal progress in this direction. Industry experts Mike Novogratz of Galaxy Digital and James Seyffart of Bloomberg Intelligence predict high chances of approval for such ETFs, including Ark's application. In the cryptocurrency market trends, BTC could reach $29,193 if it breaks out from $28,937, but bearish trends may emerge below $28,500. Despite bearish signals, ETH could challenge the $1,626 resistance level if it returns to $1,600. These trends are influenced by a range of factors including the impact of the rogue administration on innovation, rising U.S. Treasury yields, and conflicts in the Middle East. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ripple-executives-cleared-by-sec-influencing-cryptocurrency-market-trends-93CH-3204584