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Coinbase: Uniswap tops 2023 list of protocols

Launched in 2018 by Hayden Adams, a former mechanical engineer at Siemens, the Uniswap blockchain runs on the Solidity programming language, a popular choice for many decentralized finance (Defi) projects on the Ethereum platform.

Uniswap offers users the ability to provide liquidity to pools and trade decentralized tokens in pairs, including native cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. Uniswap is characterized by its open source nature and encourages contributions from a diverse community. The project has since collected more than three million unique senders.

The thread continues and highlights Tether as the second protocol. It recorded 33.6 million sends from 6.2 million unique addresses, making it a significant player in the Ethereum ecosystem, followed by Opensea, Metamask and 1inch.

It is worth noting that aggregator 1inch emerged as the most used project, while recent addition Banana Gun, launching in 2023, recorded 1.5 million swaps in ninth place on the list.
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Michael Saylor Selling $216 Million of Microstrategy’s Shares, Plans to Buy More Bitcoin

Microstrategy’s executive chairman, Michael Saylor, is selling $216 million of his company’s shares, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The pro-bitcoin executive intends to use some of the proceeds to acquire additional bitcoin for his personal holdings.
Michael Saylor Plans to Buy More Bitcoin for Himself

Microstrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR)’s executive chairman, Michael Saylor, plans to sell 315,000 shares of his company’s common stock worth $216 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Jan. 2.

Microstrategy previously disclosed Saylor’s plan to sell up to 400,000 shares of company stock over four months. In its November 10-Q filing with the SEC, the Nasdaq-listed firm explained that the pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plan, triggered by a stock option that expires on April 30, 2024, involves daily sales of 5,000 shares contingent on a minimum price condition.

During Microstrategy’s Q3 2023 earnings call on Nov. 2, 2023, Saylor explained that he plans to use some of the proceeds to buy more bitcoin for his personal account.

“I was granted a stock option in 2014 with respect to 400,000 shares, which is going to expire next April if I don’t exercise it by then,” the executive chairman began. “For almost a decade now at my request, the company has only paid me a $1 salary and I’ve chosen not to be eligible for any cash bonuses.” Saylor continued:

Exercising this option will allow me to address some financial obligations as well as to acquire additional bitcoin for my personal account.

While Saylor has not disclosed how much bitcoin he owns recently, he said in October 2020 that he personally owns 17,732 BTC. Meanwhile, his software intelligence firm publicly reported holdings of 189,150 bitcoin as of December 2023.

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OKX presents investor risk questionnaires according to FCA

To adapt to the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations in the UK, OKX Exchange has introduced a comprehensive user review system. Starting next week, UK-based OKX users will be subject to a detailed investor questionnaire. This metric is important to assess your understanding of the risks involved in buying and trading cryptocurrencies.

In addition, there is an additional level of evaluation. OKX implements another questionnaire aimed at checking the suitability of crypto investments for each individual. The exchange’s strict policy is that users who fail these checks or cannot demonstrate sufficient understanding of the risks will not retain their accounts.

OKX adaptation to FCA regulations

These measures are a direct response to the FCA’s upcoming regulations, which come into force on January 8th. The UK cryptocurrency market has undergone significant regulatory changes. As a result, other exchanges such as Binance have already made adjustments, including halting new user registrations in the UK from October 16th.

In addition, OKX proactively adapts its services. The exchange is reducing its offering of digital assets to around 40 tokens. Additionally, it integrates important risk warnings into its interface. This approach is part of a broader trend of regulatory caution prevalent in crypto exchanges worldwide.

Revised security measures

Recently, OKX overhauled its security protocols, improving the security of exchanges between users. The move includes the delisting of several privacy-focused tokens last week. Such changes reflect a growing trend in regulatory compliance and risk management in the cryptocurrency exchange industry.

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Bitcoin Spot ETF: Bitwise Closes Ranks with $200 Million Initial Fund

Competition among Spot Bitcoin ETF issuers is intensifying as the period for possible approval of these funds approaches. Asset manager Bitwise is the issuer currently making waves as it could potentially overtake the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, in terms of seed funding for its respective ETFs.

Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Could Receive $200 Million Seed Funding

Bitwise’s latest amendment to its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that the asset manager has secured investor interest for its ETF to receive $200 million at launch. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted its importance, saying it “exceeds” BlackRock’s initial fund of $10 million.

The analyst noted that Bitwise actually seeding its ETF with such an amount could be a “huge help” in the early days of the run. It is believed that the SEC will likely approve the pending ETF applications simultaneously. As such, Bitwise’s ability to create shares worth $200 million could give the asset manager an edge in terms of meeting client demands.

Bitwise had already demonstrated its intention to lead from the start following the launch of its commercial Bitcoin ETF. This move could help the asset manager gain a lot of interest in their Bitcoin ETF even before launch. This way, the public sees it as the first option at the time of launch.

Notably, Bitwise did not mention who the authorized participant (AP) of its ETF would be. The AP would act as an intermediary between the investor and the ETF issuer, as they are responsible for creating and redeeming ETF shares. While Bitwise has not named its AP, other issuers such as BlackRock have included it in their latest S-1 filing with the SEC.

BTC ETF Issuers Show Their Hands in Latest Wave of Registrations

Bitcoin ETF spot issuers have made some notable additions in their most recent and final amendment to their S-1 filings. These inclusions also give an idea of the strategy these issuers may seek to adopt to attract investors to their funds. In the case of Fidelity, the asset manager will seek to attract investors with its relatively low fees.

Balchunas noted that Fidelity’s “sponsorship fee” of 0.39% turns out to be the lowest so far among other issuers that have disclosed theirs. Interestingly, Invesco is adopting a more attractive strategy, as it revealed in its latest amendment that it will waive fees for the first six months and the first $5 billion in assets.

The Bloomberg analyst mentioned that fee wars will continue to exist in the Bitcoin spot ETF arena as issuers look to outdo each other.

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Crypto Market Set to Grow, WazirX VP Predicts Bullish in 2024

Rajagopal Menon, vice president of Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, anticipates a bull year for the cryptocurrency market. He told Coiningape: “Next year, a very favorable environment is predicted for the cryptocurrency market. With the United States signaling two interest rate cuts, the Bitcoin halving scheduled for April, market liquidity increasing, and regulatory dynamics shaping up, market sentiment is notably bullish.”

The cryptocurrency market has already prepared itself for this optimistic scenario. Several major Bitcoin ETF participants are now well positioned after this week. On Friday, BlackRock, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Bitwise, among other top contenders in the Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) race, filed their revised S-1 filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This flurry of activity signifies a willingness to take advantage of potential regulatory approvals, which will help the market mature and become a little more regulated.

Gold and elections suggest a rise in the cryptocurrency market

Gold, a precious metal, is considered a traditional safe-haven asset, especially when the stock market does not give expected returns. Gold shows stability to investors as a hedge. Reports reveal that the yellow metal is concluding its strongest year since 2020. This performance is supported by expectations that the US Federal Reserve may implement interest rate cuts early next year.

Menon also highlights the possible global impact of political developments on the cryptocurrency sector. “Elections in India and the United States are expected to usher in concrete regulatory frameworks at the national level, coinciding with a long-awaited bull run,” he added.

Meanwhile, in the United States, prominent cryptocurrency companies and investors are stepping up their efforts to influence political and regulatory outcomes surrounding the asset class. The Financial Times revealed this week that companies including Coinbase, Circle and a16z are investing money in pro-crypto lawmakers. This comes at a time when there is a legislative impasse in Congress ahead of the change of power in 2024.

Menon also said: “Analysts project a sustained increase in institutional investment, particularly through Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. As the market develops in 2024, macroeconomic influences and regulatory changes will have a considerable impact, marking it as a dynamic and transformative period.”

Bitcoin price direction is a complex play of macroeconomic and regulatory developments. But it paints a picture of a cryptocurrency market on the verge of significant transformation. And it looks like 2024 could be the year to watch.