The delay in Mr. Kwon's extradition proceedings in Montenegro was a direct result of an appeal made by his legal team, which successfully gained the court's approval.
While over a dozen financial firms started offering Bitcoin ETFs on Thursday, with BlackRock, Grayscale and Fidelity emerging on top – registering around $4.5 billion in cumulative trading volumes, the crypto investment vehicle is not available for purchase in one of the biggest fund issuers in the world, Vanguard.
Bitcoin ETFs from financial giants BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale have collectively soared past the $1 billion threshold in trading volumes within the first 30 minutes of market opening.
Driven by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's historic nod to the first Bitcoin ETF and the commencement of fund trading on U.S. exchanges, Bitcoin's value has catapulted to unprecedented heights.
But, along with the SEC's approval is Gensler's statement outrightly distancing himself from Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency industry, which did not fall right on the ears of high-profile individuals in the industry, particularly of ARK Invest's Wood.
Bitcoin saw a significant spike in its value Wednesday following the approval of Bitcoin ETF in the country, although it was nowhere near its all-time high price of $69,000 in November 2021.
Bitcoin's market cap fell from $938.43 billion to $890.16 billion within hours after a fake tweet circulated online, coinciding with the SEC's disclosure of a compromised official X account.
The fee war in the Bitcoin ETF is expected since the SEC is anticipated to approve multiple applications simultaneously and issuer will offer the best fee to get the market share.
The compromise was not due to any breach in the social media platform's systems "but rather due to an unidentified individual obtaining control over a phone number associated with the @SECGov account through a third party."
Executives from leading firms suggested a potential approval announcement Wednesday, indicating that trading might start as soon as Thursday.
The SEC has been silent on the proposals but recently began issuing updates on spot Bitcoin ETF filings, amending eight 19b-4 forms detailing rule changes.
Bitcoin started the week strong, trading above $46,000 and later surpassing $47,000, marking a more than 6% increase from its Sunday closing price.
The SEC on Monday started publishing notices of filing updates related to spot Bitcoin ETFs, including amendments to eight 19b-4 filings detailing proposed rule changes.
While it usually takes days for the agency to provide comments or feedback on the documents, the SEC evaluated the paperwork immediately and provided its feedback within hours Monday.
The Lazarus Group was involved in a third of all crypto exploits and thefts, siphoning off around $600 million in funds in 2023 alone.
Bitcoin (BTC) surged by almost 7%, reaching above $47,000 on Monday afternoon. This increase coincided with the submission of final S-1 forms to the SEC by hopeful Bitcoin ETF issuers such as BlackRock, Fidelity and Grayscale.
Bitcoin showed signs of recovery this week by surpassing the $45,000 mark for the first time in 21 months. However, it later retreated and stabilized between the $43,000 and $44,000 price range.
ARK 21 and VanEck's spot Bitcoin ETFs lead with a 0.25% fee, followed by Fidelity at 0.39%, Wisdom Tree at 0.50%, Invesco at 0.59%, Valkyrie at 0.80% and Hashdex at 0.90%.
With the final S-1 forms of some hopeful spot Bitcoin ETF issuers already submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the industry now has an idea of which crypto investment vehicle will offer the lowest fee.
Aside from industry experts sharing their forecasts on the possibility of the SEC approving or rejecting spot Bitcoin ETF proposals, the crypto community is also betting on it.
Savings from the job cuts would reportedly be utilized for the firm's expansion, particularly in technology investing, as well as in alternative products, away from bonds and stocks.
VanEck announced its commitment to support the world's largest crypto asset by market capitalization and its development in the industry by donating $10,000 to Bitcoin core developers.
Ahead of the deadline for the SEC to make a decision on the spot Bitcoin ETF proposals, former SEC chair Jay Clayton said the "approval is eventually inevitable."
ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said that the agency is trying to "line up everyone" for a Thursday launch.
A leaked BlackRock plan on its spot Bitcoin ETF would destroy VanEck's estimate of the crypto investment vehicle's quarterly trading volume.
The SEC is possibly nearing the approval of spot Bitcoin ETF applications based on the latest development this week.
Amid the buzz surrounding the spot Bitcoin ETF applications, the SEC continues to maintain silence on the matter.
The submission of Form 8-A suggests that the SEC's decision is imminent, but it does not necessarily imply approval.
ARK Invest purchased over 105,000 shares of Tesla while simultaneously selling off COIN shares worth over $25 million Wednesday.
Key U.S. financial institutions, such as JP Morgan, Jane Street Capital, Virtu Americas and Cantor Fitzgerald, are among the authorized participants for spot Bitcoin ETF issuers.