Thursday, January 24, 2019

Adiós ETF 😞

January 24, 2019

The Long-Awaited Bitcoin ETF Was Withdrawn

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

For months the Cboe BZX Exchange was discussing with regulators to change a rule that would allow it to list a new Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed by VanEck and SolidX.

With the decision deadline set on February 27th and no chance of appeal if the proposal got turned down, the pressure was mounting to get approved.

But one thing was in the way: a government shutdown.

"Temporarily" withdrawn

According to VanEck CEO Jan van Eck, the companies were actively engaging in discussions with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about "bitcoin-related issues, custody, market manipulation, [and] prices" when the meetings had to stop.

Now, more than a month later, the Cboe BZX Exchange is "temporarily" withdrawing the proposal from a pending decision.

Approved on a technicality

Actually, if the shutdown continued through February 27th, it's possible the ETF could get approved if no decision was made.

However, Ethan Silver, an attorney familiar with the matter, was quick to dismiss that scenario.

Silver told CoinDesk:

"If [the SEC] were forced to deal with [the proposal], they would sooner deny it than be put in a position [where it is approved on a technicality]."

Looking forward in a nutshell

It's not clear when the Cboe BZX Exchange will reinstate their proposal but it's likely discussions with the SEC will continue soon after the government shutdown is lifted.

This is probably the reason SEC member Hester Peirce told the crypto community "not to hold your breath" waiting for a Bitcoin ETF.

LEAK

Leaked Pictures of the Galaxy S10 Show Built-In Crypto Wallet

The Galaxy S series has been Samsung's baby for the past 9 years. Now, with the S10 looking to land into customer's hands on February 20th, a new leak is shaking the crypto community.

Posted on Twitter Wednesday morning, the leak shows that the Galaxy S10 will host a built-in crypto wallet, complete with a secure way for customers to manage their private keys called Blockchain KeyStore.

The theory continues

Samsung's supposed interest in crypto has been rumored for awhile. Back in July, crypto hardware wallet Ledger closed a $7 million Series A round that included the mobile phone mogul.

Following that, Samsung went to the European Union and quietly trademarked Blockchain Key Box, Blockchain Core, and Blockchain KeyStore - a name that matches perfectly to the recent leaks.

Simply speculation

Although these leaks are all speculation, the theory holds some weight. For now, the crypto community will just have to anxiously await the release in late February.

GOVERNMENT

New Hampshire is Considering Accepting Bitcoin for State Payments

A new bill, released originally on January 3rd, is aiming to make Bitcoin acceptable for state fees and taxes in New Hampshire by 2020.

Dubbed NH HB470, the bill made its public debut on Wednesday, but has an ultimate decision deadline on March 14th.

Back in '15

This idea was originally proposed back in 2015, but saw little success in becoming a reality.

Now, backed by Republicans Dennis Acton and Michael Yakubovich, the bill has much more steam heading into discussions as local governments and the state of Ohio are experimenting with the same idea.

BITS

But wait, there's more...

👎 Hong Kong Stock Exchange revealed that it could be incompatible with Bitmain IPO.
📣 JP Morgan's CEO Jamie Dimon isn't celebrating despite Bitcoin's decline.
🇯🇲 The Jamaica stock exchange is looking to list security tokens.

MEME