Crypto analysts have been keen on the digital space as they present various findings and market predictions. Among them is the awaited exchange-traded funds (ETF) approval that has been debated for a long period as analysis predicted approval of these digital products would revolutionize the market.
Celsius has also explained and warned about phishing scammers, and the Astrid Finance hacker returned 80% of the stolen funds. Spot ETFs have also shown an increase in investor interest, which has secured confidence in the underlying digital currency, Bitcoin.
Crypto exchange-traded funds awaited approval
Increasing interest in spot Bitcoin ETFs has been noted, especially by Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial analysis firm that reported a surge in approval confidence. According to reports by the analysis firm, ETF approval is just a matter of time by the United State’s regulatory authority.
A major reason for this is the pending amendments that have delayed the approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The most recent happenings on spot Bitcoin ETFs is the application amendments by VanEck on October 27. Another firm applying this amendment is BlackRock, which chose to follow the request from the SEC on adding surveillance sharing agreements, and the firm has confirmed to do so over the next months.
VanEck also issued its preliminary prospectus on its VanEck Bitcoin Trust that explained its investment objectives in holding bitcoin and valuing its Shares daily on the reported MarketVector Bitcoin Benchmark Rate. This is calculated based on exchange prices contributed by market affiliates representing the top five Bitcoin exchanges, which are also based on the leading CCData Centralized Exchange Benchmark.
Josh Siegler, a researcher at Cantor Fitzgerald, confirmed with Bloomberg in a report posted on October 29. He commented that an approved spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) in the US will be “a bedrock moment for Bitcoin’s long-term adoption and legitimization.”
Will Carlson, another Cantor Fitzgerald research analyst, added to Siegler’s reviews and stated that an approved Bitcoin-spot ETF would streamline many services that will benefit prospective Bitcoin investors. Among such benefits he mentioned were efficiency in finding better digital asset custodians and allowing self-storage services.
Over the past week, Bitcoin (BTC) witnessed a surge of 16.5%, reaching a fresh high of $34,715. This was fostered by rumors on BlackRock’s Bitcoin-spot ETF inches away from its approval. Moreover, this acts as evidence showing how investors are strongly confident in Bitcoin ETFs, which also affected its price, and market experts predict a rise towards $145,000 months after the expected approval towards the end of 2024.
Celsius warning on phishing scammers
Celsius firm has cautioned crypto users on a new wave of phishing attacks that are targeting creditors. The bankrupt crypto lending firm notified its creditors of the phishing attempts on October 28. They urged creditors not to click on any suspicious links pertaining to funds in their accounts. Celsius also iterated that it only requests creditors’ personal information and its past users via the Celsius app or its website domain network. The firm stated:
“The Debtors, the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, Fahrenheit, LLC, or their respective advisors will never contact you directly by phone, text message, or social media to request an account or personal information absent an order or on-the-record instruction by the Court.” Celsius
The warning stands as the 10th notice presented by the lending firm since the end of November 2022. Celsius also explained that victims of these attacks can present official file complaints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center in the US.
Astrid Finance exploited returns of $182,000 following negotiations
The Astrid Finance team has explained their success in negotiating for the stolen $227,000 on October 28 in crypto from exploiters. However, they only managed to get 80% of the funds back.
Astrid is an Ethereum-based liquid staking protocol. In an on-chain message, the firm explained in a report on October 29 stating its exploiters kept 20% of the funds, which is $45,400, but returned the rest. Their team explained they threatened to involve legal authorities if the funds weren’t returned by October 31, 8:00 am UTC.
The exploiters compiled a day earlier and sent back 102 Ether (ETH) from the 127 ETH they stole. Astrid states, “As such, we consider this as settled amicably.” The firm also confirmed that all refunds had been processed, and the leftover funds would be transferred into a multi-signature wallet.
Moreover, the funds will be used in an audit in developing Astrid smart contracts as the next focus for the organization. The staking pool firm added, “Our next steps are to focus on redeveloping our smart contracts and have our new smart contracts audited by multiple top audit firms before any future Mainnet launch.”
