• Regulation,  United States

    What Gensler role in Long Term Capital Debacle Tells us about his war on crypto

    25th anniversary occasions a look at SEC chair’s small part

    This is the 25th anniversary of the September 1998 collapse of Long-Term Capital Management. That was one of the most stunning events in Wall Street history, as the firm allowed its leverage to grow to more than 100 to 1. But it was shocking beyond the sudden evaporation of $4 billion in value—that was a lot of money 25 years ago— but also because the firm had been put together specifically on the basis of its supposed genius for understanding and managing risk. The firm was dominated not by great traders but by intellectual supermen, including Robert Merton and Myron Scholes. Merton and Scholes had won the Nobel prize just…

  • $40B stimulus money Bitcoin
    Bitcoin

    $40B of stimulus money headed to Bitcoin: Report

    A study predicts that more than 10% of the money distributed to United States citizens in $1,400 stimulus checks could end up invested in Bitcoin

    Nearly 40% expect to invest a portion of it in stocks or Bitcoin. The respondents also showed a preference for Bitcoin over stocks. Saying that Bitcoin could swallow as much as 60% of those investments, Dolan noting, "We calculate it could add as much as 2-3% to Bitcoin's current $1.1 trillion market value.”

  • WisdomTree Bitcoin ETF
    Bitcoin,  Regulation

    WisdomTree joins Bitcoin ETF race

    The exchange-traded fund provider is the fifth firm this year to file for U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission permission to launch a Bitcoin ETF

    WisdomTree has joined a competitive race to be the first United States company to launch such a product on the local market. Other contenders include VanEck, which filed on Dec. 30, Valkyrie on Jan. 22, and Bitwise Asset Management and New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) in February. Recent rumors say investment bank giant Goldman Sachs could soon join them.

  • Simplify ETF circumvent SEC restrictions
    Bitcoin,  Regulation

    U.S. ETF firm looks to circumvent SEC restrictions

    Simplify Exchange Traded Funds’ proposed ETF would hold up to 15% Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, with the rest being invested in the U.S. stock market

    The filing shows how desperate United States financial firms are to launch a Bitcoin ETF despite the SEC’s longstanding opposition, which is based on market volatility, alleged manipulation, and the purported lack of liquidity. A number of straight Bitcoin ETF proposals are pending before the SEC, including projects by Valkyrie, Bitwise, VanEck, and even Goldman Sachs. Appetites have been whetted by the success of Canada’s Purpose Bitcoin ETF, which attracted more than a half billion dollars in its first few days.