Cointelegraph created a stir when it posted on X suggesting the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF while several asset management firms have applied for Bitcoin ETFs with the SEC.
The Run down:
Unconfirmed ETF Approval: Cointelegraph's post centred on the yet-unconfirmed approval status of a spot Bitcoin ETF. While asset management firms had filed applications with the SEC, no official decisions had been made at that point.
Cointelegraph's Article: The post claimed that BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF had received approval, sparking a surge in Bitcoin's price to $30,000.
Experts Disputed the News: Experts, Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart from Bloomberg Intelligence, quickly debunked the post, labeling it "fake news" via their X accounts.
Confirmation from Fox News: Fox News verified with BlackRock that the article was false, affirming that their ETF application was still under SEC review.
Cointelegraph's Response: Cointelegraph has now retracted the post and blamed the mistake on an intern which they have now fired.
Community Reactions: The article's impact was huge! Data shows that $72 million worth of short positions were liquidated on the move to $30,000 and $31 million in longs were liquidated during the correction.
Personal Thoughts:
Blaming it on the intern seems like the oldest trick in the book to try and save face.
Something smells fishy and accusations of the tweet being created to help a lucrative Bitcoin long position trade come off sound highly plausible.
My advice would be to always double-check any information like this before making any moves or trades yourself.
Case Closed
The SEC's lawsuit against Ripple for the sale of XRP has concluded with a surprising twist - the SEC's withdrawal.
Key Points:
The SEC's Retreat: The SEC dropped civil allegations against Ripple's CEO and co-founder.
Garlinghouse's Reaction: Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple's CEO, saw this as the third victory against the SEC, claiming the regulator targeted him and Larsen in an attempt to ruin them and their decade-long work.
Alderoty's Insight: Ripple's Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderorty, pointed out the SEC's major error in going after individuals, emphasizing it's a surrender, not a settlement.
XRP's Response: XRP's price surged to $0.512887, a 7.31% increase in the last 24 hours and 6.98% in the past seven days.
Personal Thoughts:
The end of the Ripple vs. SEC case is getting ever so close now. The case has really highlighted the lack of regulatory decisions on cryptocurrencies and the need for clear, fair, and consistent guidelines in the market.
Reddit Scraps Blockchain Plans
Reddit is discontinuing its blockchain-based Community Points program, designed to reward creators and developers, in favour of a more scalable rewards program.
Scaling Challenges: Reddit is discontinuing its blockchain-based Community Points program due to scaling difficulties on the Ethereum network.
Shift Towards Simplicity: The platform is now prioritizing simpler and more scalable rewards programs. Reddit's Contributor Program allows users to convert Reddit gold and karma into cash.
Community Impact: The transition will have minimal impact on users. Once phased out, beta participants will no longer see their points in their Vaults, and their communities will no longer earn points.
Prioritizing Scalability: Reddit is focusing on programs that can benefit a broader user base and are easier to understand. This aims to provide users with special features like gifs across various communities.
Additional Changes: Reddit also ended its coin system earlier this year, allowing users to purchase Gold and other currency for awards.
Personal Thoughts:
Reddit clearly wants to streamline its rewards programs and provide users with more straightforward and scalable methods of recognition and contribution.
I only use Reddit when I want to find a straightforward answer to something from a real human. I’ve never created anything on Reddit as I’ve never gone out of my way to learn how it all works.
Reddit’s move to make their platform easier to navigate will be great for onboarding new users like me but can they do it in a way that doesn't upset existing users?
Personal Journey: Making Some Changes
As you may have noticed the layout for the newsletter has changed.
I want to make this newsletter more of a quick crypto pitstop. Something that can be opened and consumed within a couple of minutes.
You can quickly catch up on the major stories that have happened in tech and web3 this week and then carry on with your day.
The TikTok consumption method but in newsletter style.
The newsletter name will also be changing:
The Weekly Grow
Hopefully, this change will become a positive one.
If anyone has any ideas of what also could be changed to improve this quick-fire newsletter, let me know in the comments below.
Weekly Fact
More people have cell phones than toilets.
Out of all the 7.7 billion people in the world, over 6 billion of those have access to a cell phone.
Meanwhile, only 4.5 billion have access to working toilets!
Quote of the Week
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