CZ sentenced to 4 months in prison SEC may approve the first Ethereum leveraged futures ETF

Headline

▌CZ was eventually sentenced to 4 months in prison

The judge in the CZ case rejected the 36-month sentence recommended by the Department of Justice and officially announced that CZ was sentenced to 4 months in prison. The judge said that after this painful lesson, he believed that CZ had the ability and willingness to reform.

▌SEC may approve the first Ethereum 2x leveraged futures ETF

According to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, several companies that applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue Ethereum leveraged futures ETFs said that they had actively communicated with SEC staff on the application. One of the companies said that based on the communication so far, they were optimistic that the SEC would approve these funds. If the SEC does not reject it, Volatility Shares' 2x leveraged Ethereum strategy ETF (code: ETHU) will take the lead on June 4. The company launched the Bitcoin Leveraged Futures ETF (BITX) in June last year, 6 months earlier than the SEC approved the spot Bitcoin ETF. According to Forbes, the fund has become the largest holder of Bitcoin futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). If the SEC allows the Ethereum leveraged futures ETF to be listed, it will add another interesting color to the entire rumor that the SEC has determined that Ethereum is a security, because they will essentially double down and allow both Ethereum futures and leveraged Ethereum futures products to exist.

Market

As of press time, according to Coingecko data:

BTC's latest transaction price is $60066.26, with a daily increase or decrease of -6.73%;

ETH's latest transaction price is $2991.99, with a daily increase or decrease of -7.45%;

BNB's latest transaction price is $573.76, with a daily increase or decrease of -4.35%;

ORDI's latest transaction price is $32.79, with a daily increase or decrease of -23.27%；

DOGE's latest transaction price is 0.1306 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of -10.11%；

SOL's latest transaction price is 125.17 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of -9.95%。

Policy

▌US lawmakers expressed great concern about the use of cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions

US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Roger Marshall expressed their concerns about the stablecoin Tether in a letter to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other officials over the weekend. The letter stated that they are highly concerned about countries such as Russia, Iran and North Korea relying on cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions, and the national security threats posed by cryptocurrencies require a corresponding response from the US defense community. Tether said it is working with law enforcement to track assets and catch criminals.

▌The Chairman of the U.S. Financial Services Committee slammed the SEC's investigation into Ethereum, saying that the Chairman deliberately misled Congress

Patrick McHenry, Chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, slammed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Chairman Gary Gensler over the SEC's investigation into Ethereum, suggesting that Ethereum could be classified as a security. In addition, the congressman emphasized that Gensler deliberately misled Congress on this issue. Patrick McHenry pointed out that this incident highlights the urgency for Congress to pass the bipartisan 21st Century FIT Act to provide a clear regulatory framework and strong consumer protection for the digital asset market. Republicans on the committee will continue to hold the U.S. SEC, led by Gary Gensler, accountable for its overregulation, which has stifled innovation, left American consumers unprotected, and endangered our national security.

▌U.S. House of Representatives: U.S. SEC contradicts itself on ETH security

The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee issued a statement saying that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s statement on the security of Ethereum (ETH) contradicts the statement of the agency's chairman Gary Gensler. The U.S. Banking Commission said in a statement that they will continue to hold the SEC accountable for excessive regulation in the digital asset market, and the issue of the agency's classification of Ethereum is crucial in the current application for the issuance of the first U.S. spot Ethereum ETF.

▌The U.S. court will hear remedies proposed by Terraform Labs and Do Kwon in May

After a jury ruled that Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon were suspected of fraud in a case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a federal judge ordered the two parties to discuss proposed remedies ranging from millions of dollars to billions of dollars. In an April 29 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Jed Rakoff said attorneys representing the SEC, Kwon, and Terraform should appear in court on May 22 to present arguments on proposed remedies following the jury’s verdict. All parties have filed documents on their respective requests for forfeiture and civil penalties, but Judge Rakoff’s order allows for additions before the appearance.

▌The FAA will remove the stablecoin bill that lawmakers are seeking to pass as an add-on

A U.S. Democratic aide said House and Senate leadership have indicated that the FAA will remove the stablecoin bill that lawmakers have been seeking to pass as an add-on. After the U.S. election season, a bill could be attached to a year-end bill, such as the National Defense Authorization Act, or part of a legislative package that includes a bill allowing financial institutions to provide services to the cannabis industry.

Blockchain Applications

▌Coinbase officially integrates Bitcoin Lightning Network

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has officially launched integration with the Bitcoin Lightning Network through a partnership with Lightspark.

Cryptocurrency

▌Bitcoin's market capitalization to transaction fee ratio is lower than Ethereum for the first time

According to The Block data, the 7-day moving average of Bitcoin's market capitalization to transaction fee ratio is lower than Ethereum for the first time since July 2019.

▌Affected by cooling ETF demand, Bitcoin has recorded its worst single-month performance since the FTX crash

Bitcoin is experiencing its worst month since the collapse of cryptocurrency tycoon SBF's FTX empire as excitement around the U.S. Bitcoin ETF fades. Preliminary data shows that Bitcoin fell nearly 14% in April, the biggest drop since a 16% drop in November 2022. The frenzy sparked by U.S. Bitcoin ETFs pushed Bitcoin to a record high of nearly $74,000 in March, but as bets on the Federal Reserve's rate cuts weakened, demand for high-risk investments was hit and funds flowing into these products fell sharply. As of April 29, 11 U.S. spot ETFs had a net outflow of $182 million this month. In March, these funds had a net inflow of $4.6 billion.

▌Spot Bitcoin ETFs reduced their holdings by a total of about 1,698 BTC on April 30

According to Lookonchain monitoring, the data of spot Bitcoin ETFs on April 30 are as follows: Grayscale reduced its holdings by 1,328 BTC, worth about $807 million, and now holds 297,118 BTC, worth about $18.06 billion; nine spot Bitcoin ETFs (including Grayscale) reduced their holdings by 1,698 BTC, worth about $1.0322 billion.

▌Coinbase: NEON-USD trading pair enters auction mode

Coinbase Exchange announced on the X platform that the NEON-USD trading pair will now enter auction mode, where customers can place limit orders and view the resulting indicative opening price. These orders will be in auction mode for at least 10 minutes, during which no matching will occur.

▌Celsius Network destroyed approximately $83.2 million worth of CEL

Celsius Network destroyed its holdings of CEL (a majority of the token supply). Etherscan said the company destroyed 652.2 million CEL by sending it to an empty address. The destruction accounted for 94% of the total supply before, with a total of 692.8 million CEL, which is worth approximately $83.2 million at current market prices.

▌Uniswap supports cryptocurrency purchases through Robinhood Connect

Starting this week, Uniswap users can use Robinhood Connect to buy cryptocurrencies with funds from their Robinhood accounts or debit cards and bank transfers.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Crypto stocks fell across the board, with MicroStrategy falling as much as 17%

MicroStrategy shares plunged 17% on Tuesday after reporting poor results and falling bitcoin prices, before recovering slightly. As of 1:45 p.m. ET, the price was $1,086, down 15.8%. Last month, the company's stock price also fell as much as 16%. Although U.S. cryptocurrency stocks such as top U.S. exchange Coinbase and miners Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms did not face such a big sell-off, the shares of all three companies also fell in midday trading. Coinbase fell as little as 6%, while Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms fell 9% and 7%, respectively.

▌The three major U.S. stock indexes all closed sharply lower

The three major U.S. stock indexes all closed sharply lower, with the Nasdaq down 2.04%, the S&P 500 down 1.57%, and the Dow down 1.49%. Tesla fell more than 5%.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What isEthereum Futures ETF?

Ethereum futures ETFs are investment funds that track Ethereum futures contracts rather than Ethereum itself. In 2021, Canada launched the first batch of Ethereum futures ETFs. Although futures-based ETFs have been approved, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not approved spot Ethereum ETFs in the country. Asset management companies regulate Ethereum futures ETFs. The main issuers that offer Ethereum futures ETFs are Bitwise, VanEck, and ProShares. These companies handle the complex issues involved in purchasing and disposing of futures contracts, controlling rollovers to preserve risk exposure, and ensuring that ETFs comply with legal requirements.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish the correct investment concept and be sure to increase risk awareness.