The Breakdown First Five - Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. UK ETFs are Go

The London stock exchange will list Bitcoin and Ethereum ETNs with trading commencing on May 28. The products will be limited to professional traders, so could have a muted impact compared to their US equivalents. The exchange traded notes function as debt instruments representing the underlying digital commodities but aren’t required to hold those assets. Filings from asset managers interested in listing a product are due on April 15.

4. More Crypto Sanctions

OFAC has added 13 entities to the sanctions list in a round of secondary sanctions. The firms are accused of helping Russian nationals to evade sanctions using crypto. Chainalysis noted that most of the entities are based in Russia and all of them have strong domestic ties. The highest profile firms were Netex24 and Bitpapa, who have a long history of facilitating darknet markets and payments with sanctioned banks. 

3. SEC Asks For $2B Ripple Penalty 

A sealed filing by the SEC will ask the judge to impose a $2B penalty in the Ripple case. Ripple lost the lawsuit on one of three counts, sales to institutional investors without filing for an exemption. Ripple executives are outraged at the gigantic suggested fine, with CEO Brad Garlinghouse stating there is “absolutely no precedent for this.” CLO Stuart Alderoty said the SEC is “bent on wanting to punish and intimidate Ripple - and the industry at large.”

2. Lawsuit Airdrop

The Defi Education Fund alongside Texas apparel company Beba are suing the SEC. They claim breaches of administrative procedure asking for the court to rule that a free airdrop from Beba is not a security offering. The DeFi education fund said that unclear rules and uneven enforcement are preventing companies from using “innovative technologies for legitimate business reasons.” Beba used their token to promote online merchandise sales. 

1. Bitcoin is Back

The bullish trend resumes with Bitcoin getting back above $70,000. ETF flows were slightly positive at $15M, with Fidelity leading the day amid $350M in Grayscale outflows. Markus Thielen of 10x research thinks Bitcoin could be heading to $83,000 now that it's broken out of consolidation. Modest liquidations imply fairly low short interest. Dovish central banks, continuation in stocks and a big advance for Reddit show an appetite for risk assets.