Discover Bitcoin ETFs, TrueUSD, Coinbase vs SEC

This week, spot Bitcoin ETFs saw impressive inflows as the digital currency continued to battle bears at the $41,000 level. Meanwhile, the crypto scene witnessed updates on the Coinbase vs. SEC case.

First week of trading: Spot Bitcoin ETFs

• This week marked the first week of trading for the recently approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Most products saw massive inflows, with BlackRock's IBIT seeing $500 million and Fidelity's FBTC seeing $421 million, according to a Jan. 16 report.

• The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which already had investments before becoming an ETF, was the only spot Bitcoin ETF to record daily net outflows, totaling $579 million as of January 16. This was attributed to its continued high fees at 1.5%.

• In another interesting metric, the data confirmed that all spot Bitcoin ETFs had a total volume of $1.8 billion as of January 16th. That figure was nearly four times the total volume of all 500 ETFs launched last year, which was $450 million on the same day.

• A report on January 18 highlighted that these products attracted a total of $2.9 billion on the fourth day of trading, excluding GBTC. BlackRock, Fidelity and Bitwise products saw the highest inflows, while GBTC saw outflows.

• On the fifth trading day, GBTC recorded an outflow of 10,824 BTC, worth an average of $445 million. However, other ETFs continued to see inflows and the entire market saw inflows of 10,667 BTC worth $439 million.

Thailand, Singapore and Korea on-site Bitcoin ETFs

• Amid the growing market, countries in Asia revealed their stance on spot Bitcoin ETFs this week. On January 17, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) banned investors from trading ETFs in the international market, citing the emergence of the market.

• Additionally, on January 18, Singapore's central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, warned investors in the city-state not to buy or trade spot Bitcoin ETF products in the international market.

• Meanwhile, South Korea's presidency called on the country's Financial Services Commission (FSC) to reconsider its stance on ETF products locally. Remember that the FSC previously advised investors against trading the products.

Ongoing discussions

• Amid the impressive performances of the new spot BTC ETF products, discussions about the investment vehicles expanded this week. Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein predicted this week that fewer than five of the existing 11 spot BTC ETFs would survive long-term.

• The market may soon see options trading for the ETF products go live as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has confirmed Nasdaq's 19b-4 filing to open derivatives trading for the investment products. The agency has now opened a 21-day window for public feedback.

• While discussions have largely focused on spot Bitcoin ETFs, Fidelity was awaiting a decision from the SEC this week on the filing of its spot Ethereum ETF. In typical fashion, the SEC postponed a decision on the filing and set a new deadline of March 5.

Dimon's advice for Bitcoin investors

• Although JPMorgan Chase & Co. is one of the authorized participants for BlackRock's IBIT, Jamie Dimon, the bank's CEO, continues to criticize Bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency industry.
• Dimon, 67, told CNBC his advice to investors is not to get involved in BTC.

• Meanwhile, Bitcoin continued to struggle this week after plunging from $48,000 on January 11. As the market turmoil continued, miners began selling their bags, dumping 10,233 BTC on January 17th. This was the largest daily decline in miners' reserves in a year.

BTC is fighting against $41,000

• Since crashing from the high of $48,969, Bitcoin has struggled to hold on to key psychological price thresholds. However, the asset failed to stop the bears in this regard.

• Despite this colossal failure, BTC has continued to defend the $41,000 area and hedged against a decline below this level. The asset saw a break on January 19 and fell to $40,280. However, a quick recovery saw the price reach $41,000 again.

• During the decline to $40,280, the broader cryptocurrency futures and perpetual markets saw massive liquidations worth $252 million on January 19, with Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) accounting for the majority of that figure.

• IntoTheBlock has published a report that aims to highlight the factors behind the BTC downturn. They pointed to increased movements by long-term holders, an influx of BTC on centralized exchanges, sell-offs by long-term holders, and a movement of BTC between wallets.

• However, this decline triggered a “buy the dip” campaign by Bitcoin miners. After dumping 10,233 BTC on January 17, miners accumulated 12,058 BTC worth $494 million on January 19 amid the Bitcoin crash.

TrueUSD is breaking away from the dollar

• Meanwhile, the first case involving the unpegging of a mainstream stablecoin occurred this week as market turmoil continued. The latest victim was TrueUSD, which fell to $0.985 on January 16, according to CoinGecko data.

• According to reports, one of the factors behind the de-pegging event was a case of massive outflows related to the stablecoin.

• Data confirmed that market participants were dumping their TrueUSD pockets to switch to USDT, with sales worth $340 million in 24 hours (as of January 16). TrueUSD is trading at $0.9872 at the time of this report.

Coinbase vs. SEC

• Coinbase's legal dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission also made headlines this week. Coinbase is seeking dismissal of the SEC's case. A hearing is scheduled for January 17. In a Jan. 16 report, The Wall Street Journal claimed that his motion to dismiss may not be granted.

• During the hearing, Judge Katherine Polk Failla, who presided over the case, criticized the SEC's use of the Securities Act of 1933 — a 90-year-old law — to regulate emerging technologies like crypto and Bitcoin.
• Shortly after the hearing, Elliott Stein, a well-known litigation analyst, argued that the judge would likely grant Coinbase's motion to dismiss the case. Recall that the SEC's lawsuit alleges that Coinbase offered unregistered securities on its exchange platform.

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