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Coinbase Bullish: Bitcoin ETF Approval Expected After SEC’s Defeat

In a recent CNBC report, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, expressed confidence in the approval of a US-based Bitcoin (BTC)  exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, highlighted that the SEC’s recent court setback in the case of Grayscale’s proposed Bitcoin ETF has paved the way for a potential approval in the coming months.

Coinbase Eyes Bitcoin ETF Approval 

Grewal emphasized that Coinbase is hopeful about the approval of ETF applications due to their compliance with existing laws governing financial services. Grewal noted that prominent financial institutions have submitted robust proposals, indicating progress in the regulatory landscape.

The recent court ruling against the SEC stated that the regulator lacked a valid basis to deny Grayscale’s request to convert its GBTC Bitcoin fund into an ETF. 

The SEC chose not to appeal the ruling within the specified deadline, further increasing the likelihood of a BTC-related ETF gaining approval shortly.

However, Grewal acknowledged that the ultimate decision rests with the SEC, and he refrained from providing a specific timeline for the approval process. 

Nevertheless, Grewal expressed confidence in the SEC’s obligation to fulfill its responsibilities, particularly in light of the court’s decision and the requirement to apply the law impartially.

The introduction of a Bitcoin ETF would offer investors an alternative means to gain exposure to BTC without directly purchasing the cryptocurrency from an exchange. 

This could be particularly attractive to retail investors seeking Bitcoin exposure without the complexities of owning the underlying asset.

Per the report, Coinbase, being the largest crypto exchange in the United States, stands to benefit from the potential approval of a BTC ETF. The company’s common stock is held in portfolios designed to provide investors with crypto exposure.

Legal Troubles Mount For Grayscale’s Parent Company

While the recent court ruling has bolstered prospects for a BTC ETF, it is important to note that Grayscale’s bid to convert GBTC into an ETF is not without its challenges. 

Digital Currency Group (DCG), Grayscale’s parent company, along with crypto exchange Gemini and DCG subsidiary Genesis, face a lawsuit from the New York Attorney General, accusing them of defrauding investors of over $1 billion.

Despite the ongoing legal issues, Grewal remained positive about the approval of additional Bitcoin ETFs in the future as the SEC adheres to the law and evaluates pending applications neutrally.

The report also touched upon the recent performance of BTC, which has experienced a resurgence in 2023. With a 72% year-to-date increase, Bitcoin has rebounded from significant declines in 2022. 

Bitcoin

Factors such as anticipation surrounding the upcoming BTC halving event and investor reactions to the Federal Reserve’s potential interest rate policy changes have contributed to increased demand for the digital currency.

Ultimately while trading volumes have declined recently, attributed partly to retail investors’ reduced engagement in response to low volatility and industry players’ challenges, Grewal expressed optimism that various developments, including criminal trials and rigorous regulatory actions, will restore investor and consumer interest in the crypto market.

As the landscape for Bitcoin ETFs evolves, market participants will closely monitor the SEC’s stance and any potential regulatory developments that shape the future of cryptocurrency investment products.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

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Brian Armstrong Will Sell 2% Of His Coinbase Holdings To Fund Scientific Research

It’s time for Brian Armstrong to make his move. While other billionaire CEOs try to buy bankrupt crypto companies on the cheap, the Coinbase leader is focusing his sights on hard science. To announce his new endeavors Brian Armstrong visited Tim Ferriss’ podcast. In that interview, he expanded on the deep topics that the companies he’ll fund deal with. Make no mistake, though. The real announcement was that Brian Armstrong is selling Coinbase stock.

In a recent Twitter thread, the Coinbase CEO wrote, “I’m passionate about accelerating science and tech to help solve some of the biggest challenges in the world. To further this, I’m planning to sell about 2% of my Coinbase holdings over the next year to fund scientific research and companies like NewLimit + ResearchHub.” What are those companies and what do they do? Keep reading to find out.

Considering the alarming amount of crypto CEOs leaving their positions, it’s important that Brian Armstrong cleared this up. “For the avoidance of doubt, I intend to be CEO of Coinbase for a very long time and I remain super bullish on crypto and Coinbase. I’m fully dedicated to growing our business and advancing our mission, but I am also excited to contribute in a different way,” he tweeted.

What are the ideas that excite Brian Armstrong this much? Let’s find out.

Brian Armstrong ’s ResearchHub And NewLimit

So, Brian Armstrong will “fund scientific research and companies like NewLimit + ResearchHub.” What do those companies stand for, though? Well, ResearchHub is “a  tool for the open publication and discussion of scientific research. Researchhub’s users are rewarded with ResearchCoin (RSC) for publishing, reviewing, criticizing, and collaborating in the open.” Interesting, an open scientific think tank with a cryptocurrency component.

For its part, ResearchCoin is both a utility token and a governance token. “RSC gives users the ability to create bounties, tip other users, and gain voting rights within community decision making.” This is the project’s Twitter account.

On the other hand, NewLimit is “treating age-related disease to extend human healthspan” and “developing epigenetic reprogramming medicines to treat diseases with large unmet needs.” This is their Twitter account. This one is in the life extension business, but the specifics are harder to grasp. Luckily, NewLimit offers a blog post authored by Brian Armstrong himself in which he goes deep into the topic at hand:

“NewLimit will start by deeply interrogating epigenetic drivers of aging and developing products that can regenerate tissues to treat specific patient populations. We will start by using primary human cells and reference species to develop machine learning models on what chromatin features change with age, which of these changes may be causal to the aging process, and finally develop therapies that could slow, halt, or reverse this process.”

In that same blog post, we learn that the company was “co-founded by Brian Armstrong and Blake Byers with the mission of extending human healthspan.” And thus, we figure out that Coinbase CEO is the money behind both companies.

The relationship between COIN and USDT on Bittrex | Source: COIN/USDT on TradingView.com
The Tim Ferriss Interview

To launch his new endeavors in the right way, Brian Armstrong went to the popular Tim Ferriss podcast. In it, he presented the reasoning behind his investments. “I think we’re kind of in this golden age of software where fortunes are being made. But some of that wealth, even in crypto, is now being directed into hard science, hard science problems, atoms, not bits,” he said.

As to what the company actually does, Armstrong explained that they’re trying to “build a platform that tests a lot of different transcription factors with different cell types and uses machine learning to do that in a virtuous cycle.” He also explained the entrepreneurial spirit behind the whole ordeal.

“We’re trying to help humans live much longer, not just a little bit longer. But I think in any good moonshot company, you want to have intermediate milestones along the way. And so the intermediate milestones are more like, could we get a specific type of cell to be rejuvenated and be younger?”

About ResearchHub, the Coinbase CEO confirmed that it is “another company that I funded and tried to help get off the ground.” What does this one do? 

“We’re trying to make it easy for people to sort through all of the millions of papers that are published every year to what are the most impactful. We’re trying to help get things like peer review, Q&A, comments, feedback around research to be more collaborative with people.”

And those are the ideas that Brian Armstrong will dedicate the next part of his life to. While at the same time serving as Coinbase’s CEO, of course.

Featured Image: Screenshot from this video | Charts by TradingView