Bitcoin recovered slightly to the $26,000 level, but failed to truly recover from the overnight plunge. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) postponed the ruling deadline for seven Bitcoin spot ETFs, causing the previous positive sentiment of Greyscale's victory to dissipate. However, there are two positive news from the fundamentals of Bitcoin. Thailand has rarely staged a "big money distribution" and will issue a total of US$16 billion in digital assets to all citizens over the age of 16 to promote the national economy. JPMorgan Chase’s registered trademark was exposed, and it was rumored that it planned to open a crypto exchange.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Delaying ruling deadlines for 7 Bitcoin spot ETFs
According to screenshots of documents released by Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has successively postponed decisions on the Bitcoin spot ETF applications of WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, Fidelity, VanEck, Bitwise and BlackRock. Documents show that the US Securities Regulatory Commission’s new deadlines for seven Bitcoin spot ETFs are October 16, 17, and 19 respectively.
The SEC lost an important court case against Grayscale earlier this week. The appeals court ruled on August 29 that the SEC needed to review Grayscale’s petition to convert its Bitcoin Trust Fund into a spot ETF, which led many experts to The odds of approving at least one crypto spot ETF have increased significantly.
But now that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed its resolution, bullish sentiment has worsened again. WisdomTree’s Bitcoin Spot ETF proposal did not receive approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after submitting documents in 2021. However, after BlackRock joined the race for a Bitcoin spot ETF, WisdomTree chose to resubmit its application. In July, there were reports that the SEC would be more open to accepting ETF applications with oversight sharing agreements, and some companies resubmitted applications to designate crypto exchange Coinbase as a partner.
WisdomTree, Valkyrie, Fidelity, VanEck, Bitwise and Invesco are among the Wall Street institutions with crypto ETF applications in the SEC pipeline, along with BlackRock and ARK Invest. Many had expected the SEC to make a decision or delay approval of Bitwise’s Bitcoin investment vehicle first, given its deadline of September 1. September 4, 2023, falls on Labor Day, a national holiday in the United States, suggesting the committee may want to receive documents before the weekend.
Rare “big money” in Asia: Thailand issues $16 billion in digital assets to citizens
Thailand is conducting a nationwide airdrop in which every citizen aged 16 and above will receive 10,000 baht, approximately $285 in digital assets. The ruling Pheu Thai party in Thailand will negotiate with the Bank of Thailand to develop the "utility tokens" needed for the airdrop. The solution will be a blockchain-based "know your customer" (KYC) infrastructure. The infrastructure will take at least six months to roll out, sources said. The KYC process will also charge a fee of 100 baht per user. Additionally, the solution requires approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand.
The Thailand Development Institute said that funding for the Thavisin airdrop will come from tax revenues in fiscal year 2024, and the total budget for the project is estimated at 560 billion baht, or approximately $16 billion.
However, airdrops are not equivalent to fiat Baht funding. According to reports, users can only use digital tokens within 4 kilometers of their residence. The tokens are only valid for six months and cannot be converted into cash or used to repay debt, with Thavisin's government expected to take office at the end of September.
Real estate developer and cryptocurrency investor Srettha Thavisin was elected Prime Minister of Thailand on August 22. During his campaign, he promised to provide a basic income stimulus of 10,000 baht per person through "digital currency" if elected. In 2021, Thavisin’s company Sansiri purchased a 15% stake in X Spring, a Thai asset tokenization provider, for 1.6 billion baht, or approximately $45.7 million.
Asian countries are increasingly embracing Bitcoin, with Vietnam currently ranking first in the world for cryptocurrency adoption, with a whopping 19% of its population aged between 18 and 64 using digital assets. This is a report co-written by Vietnamese venture capital firms Kyros Ventures, Coin 68 and Animoca Brands on August 30.
Currently, Vietnam has about 200 blockchain projects and is expected to generate $109.4 million in revenue from cryptocurrency exchanges this year. The number of cryptocurrency users in the country is expected to grow to 12.37 million by 2027.
One of the highlights is that 76% of Vietnamese cryptocurrency users said they invest in digital assets based on the advice of friends, which is 2.5 times higher than American respondents. Nearly 70% of respondents said the cryptocurrency bear market will last less than a year or is already over. Nearly half of respondents said centralized exchanges offer as much utility as decentralized exchanges, yet 90% of cryptocurrency holders use decentralized exchanges.
Is JP Morgan planning to open a crypto exchange? Big exposure: Registered service trademark
Many Wall Street institutions have entered Bitcoin spot ETFs, and JPMorgan has accelerated its pace to follow this financial revolution. Mike Kondoudis, a lawyer authorized by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, revealed that JPMorgan Chase has submitted a new trademark application called "CHASE TRAVEL", which refers to the financial exchange business of cryptocurrency. He looked at the details of the trademark documents and found that the bank’s credit card business is expected to directly exchange Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
According to the trademark application documents posted by Kondoudis, services provided by the CHASE TRAVEL program include
1. IC 035: Respond to customer travel inquiries and emergencies around the clock by awarding rewards, privileges and loyalty programs and providing special offers and other promotions to promote the use of the credit card;
2. IC 036: Provision of information and assistance regarding the purchase of travel insurance plans; currency exchange and advisory services; financial transactions in cryptocurrency; financial services, provision of foreign currency exchange via the Internet;
3. IC 039: Travel agency services, i.e. booking travel itineraries.
In addition to cryptocurrency trading services, there are also a number of applications related to travel business. It is speculated that Chase Bank may want to allow its credit card users to easily exchange cryptocurrency when traveling internationally.
