Top Stories This Week

Ethereum Futures ETFs to Start Trading Next Week

Investment firm Valkyrie is set to offer exposure to Ether futures in the coming days. According to the firm, its Bitcoin Strategy ETF will allow investors access to Ether and Bitcoin futures “under one wrapper.” This makes Valkyrie one of the first firms to do so amidst several pending applications with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund’s name will be updated to the Valkyrie Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF starting October 3. Asset manager VanEck has also revealed its upcoming Ethereum Strategy ETF, which will be listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange soon. Analysts suggest that a potential U.S. government shutdown may have accelerated the launch of Ether futures ETFs.

SBF Trial Dates Revealed: FTX Founder to Stand Trial Over 6 Weeks

Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will spend at least 21 days in court as part of his criminal trial, which will begin on October 4 and last until November 9. The trial will focus on seven fraud charges laid against SBF. Among these charges, the prosecution must convince a jury that Bankman-Fried committed the crime in two substantive charges, while five other “conspiracy” charges involve convincing a jury that he planned to commit the crimes. Bankman-Fried has been in pre-trial detention at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center since August 11. If found guilty of fraud, he could face a lifetime in prison.

3AC’s Su Zhu Arrested in Singapore

Su Zhu, co-founder of Three Arrows Capital (3AC), was detained at Changi Airport in Singapore while attempting to leave. The joint liquidator of the now-bankrupt hedge fund, Teneo, stated that Zhu’s arrest followed a committal order from the Singapore Courts, which is a directive used to imprison someone for contempt of court. Teneo secured this committal order on September 25, alleging that Zhu failed to comply with a court order. Zhu’s arrest is part of an ongoing investigation to retrieve funds for 3AC’s creditors. The $10 billion hedge fund collapsed in 2022 due to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. A similar committal order was granted against Kyle Davies, also a co-founder of 3AC, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

Binance Urges Users to Convert Euros to USDT After Paysafe Debanks

Binance has advised its European users to convert their euro (EUR) balances to Tether (USDT) by October 31 due to the loss of support from its banking partner, Paysafe. Paysafe stopped processing EUR deposits for Binance users on September 25. While EUR withdrawals to bank accounts are still available, users will not be able to engage in EUR spot trading. Binance’s token swap feature, Binance Convert, will also restrict EUR transactions. Paysafe previously facilitated fiat deposits and withdrawals for Binance users in Europe. This move adds to Binance’s regulatory and debanking challenges in the Western market.

SEC Delays Spot Bitcoin ETF Decision for BlackRock, Invesco, and Bitwise

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again postponed its decision on several spot Bitcoin ETF applications, including those from BlackRock, Invesco, Bitwise, and Valkyrie. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart predicts similar delays for Fidelity, VanEck, and WisdomTree. These delays come two weeks before the applicants’ expected second deadline. Seyffart suggests that the premature delays are linked to an anticipated U.S. government shutdown on October 1, which would affect financial regulators and federal agencies.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $26,895, Ether (ETH) at $1,667, and XRP at $0.53. The total market cap is $1.07 trillion. Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three gainers of the week are Compound (COMP) with a 23.71% increase, Chainlink (LINK) with a 15.12% increase, and THORchain (RUNE) with a 14.51% increase. The top three losers of the week are Immutable (IMX) with a -9.80% decrease, UNUS SED LEO (LEO) with a -5.38% decrease, and XDC Network (XDC) with a -4.61% decrease.

Prediction of the Week

Bitcoin shorts continue to burn as BTC price seeks to hold $27K. Bitcoin has been experiencing a short squeeze, with the largest cryptocurrency attempting to hold gains after surpassing the $27,000 mark. Despite not reaching a fresh peak for September, Bitcoin strength remains evident. Analysts anticipate the market to hunt both sides of the book in the coming week.

FUD of the Week

Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, also known as “BitBoy,” was arrested on September 25 during a livestream outside his former business associate’s house. He claimed that his associate had his Lamborghini. Armstrong was charged with “loitering/prowling” and “simple assault by placing another in fear.” He was released after more than eight hours on bond.

Editor Notes

In this week’s news, we saw some significant developments in the cryptocurrency space. Ethereum futures ETFs are set to start trading next week, offering investors exposure to Ether futures. The trial dates for former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried have also been revealed, and the co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, Su Zhu, was arrested in Singapore. Binance has urged its European users to convert their euro balances to USDT following the loss of support from their banking partner. Lastly, the SEC has once again delayed its decision on spot Bitcoin ETFs. It will be interesting to see how these developments unfold in the coming weeks.

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