The crypto market has been flooded with different market sentiments as the industry works to recover. On that end, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood and Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz are both bullish on the prospect of a spot bitcoin (BTC) ETF being approved soon. Here is a look at what took place in the crypto market today.
Binance makes a play for the El Salvador market
Hola Bitcoin. On Tuesday, Binance became the first crypto exchange to obtain complete operating licenses under El Salvador’s new digital assets regulation, nearly two years after the Central American nation made Bitcoin legal tender.
The approval of Binance by El Salvador’s Central Bank and National Commission on Digital Assets represents a step forward for the embattled company, even as it is forced out of other jurisdictions. Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume.
El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin has not been without hiccups. President Nayib Bukele announced the initiative in June 2021, contending that a new focus on Bitcoin could help the country’s economy, which is dependent on remittances and the U.S. dollar, achieve greater independence and boost tourism and business growth.
Binance is the first exchange to receive operating licenses from both El Salvador’s central bank and its National Commission for Digital Assets, as of Tuesday’s announcement. According to the corporation, approvals, and registrations are now in place in 18 global markets
Cathie Wood and Mike Novogratz remain Bullish on Spot Bitcoin ETF Approvals
In other crypto news, Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, and Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, are both optimistic about the imminent approval of a spot bitcoin (BTC) ETF. Novogratz stated on Tuesday morning’s earnings call for his company, citing sources at BlackRock and Invesco, that it is not a matter of “if” but “when” one of the eight outstanding applications for a spot bitcoin ETF receives SEC approval.
“It’s a big deal, because both our contacts from the Invesco side and from the BlackRock side gets you to think that this is a question of when, not if, that the outside window is probably six months […] And so you’re kind of in your four to six months, if you had to put a pin the tail on the donkey audit.” Mike Novogratz
Ark Invest, along with Invesco and BlackRock, have applied for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) – a vehicle that would allow institutional and retail investors to gain exposure to bitcoin without directly trading the asset on a crypto exchange.
Binance in the limelight for USDC sale after Silvergate Bank collapse
Binance’s most recent proof-of-reserves (PoR) from August 1 indicated that the crypto exchange converted its USD Coin reserves into Bitcoin and Ether immediately after Silvergate Bank failed.
Binance began internally converting users’ USDC to Binance USD in September, but it also held a considerable amount of USDC in its reserves at the time.
More on the PayPal stablecoin – censorship inbound?
According to the crypto community, PayPal’s new Ethereum-based stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), might herald the widespread acceptance of Ethereum, albeit at the risk of more centralization.
PayPal USD, a new stablecoin, was introduced on August 7 and will soon be available to US clients.
While Ethereum supporters such as Anthony Sassano and Ryan Sean Adams hailed the announcement as a big triumph for Ethereum adoption, others cited its smart contract technology, which would allegedly allow the corporation to freeze and delete assets.
Many properties of PayPal’s stablecoin, according to a crypto market analyst, mirror those of a censorship-enabled central bank digital currency. Another smart contract auditor noticed that PayPal could update the PYUSD smart contract at any time.
Telegram crypto bots experience an increase in activity
Telegram bots are impacting the crypto market, with daily trade volumes from these software applications reaching an all-time peak in the past few weeks.
According to new research from Binance, the cumulative trading volume of crypto trading algorithms has reached $190 million as of early August. The single-day record for chatbot-managed crypto trading volumes was $10 million on July 23.
According to Binance, user activity reached a new high in July, with over 6,000 unique users per day. According to report author Jie Xuan Chua, the total revenue generated by chatbots on Telegram has touched 15,500 Ether, or about $28 million.
