Shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) surged to one-month highs on Tuesday as Bitcoin’s (BTC) gravitational pull on crypto proxy stocks continued to strengthen following another record-breaking rally for the digital asset. Shares of the business intelligence firm touched an intraday high of $770 on the New York Stock Exchange, representing a gain of 10% — the highest level since March 11. At current values, MicroStrategy has a total market capitalization of $7.5 billion. Even with the latest run-up in price, MSTR remains well below all-time highs reached in early February. The stock peaked at $1,315 on Feb. 8 before pulling back …

Galaxy Digital has submitted a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the form S-1 published by the SEC on Monday, the Galaxy Bitcoin ETF — if approved — will trade on the NYSE Arca exchange, with the Bloomberg Galaxy Bitcoin index tapped as the pricing mechanism. Detailing the price mechanism for the prospective Bitcoin ETF, the filing reads: “The end-of-day Index price is calculated using the Bloomberg Crypto Price Fixings (‘CFIX’) mid-price for bitcoin. CFIX is based on pricing provided by the Bloomberg Generic Price (‘BGN’) using Bloomberg’s data, technology and …

Amid a weekend pump carrying multiple cryptocurrencies higher, Ripple’s XRP looks to be leading the way with a push as high as 30% on the daily — carried on the back of a string of legal victories and rumors of relisting at some exchanges. Where Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are up merely 2.7% and 3.4%, respectively, on the day, XRP climbed to $1.36 before retreating to $1.32, where it sits at the time of publication. The digital currency is now up 111% on a seven-day basis and a staggering 544% on the year. The recent push has also buoyed …

After the United States Securities and Exchange Commission initiated a lawsuit against Ripple alleging that the firm had been indulging in the sale of securities worth $1.3 billion, a number of prominent exchanges across the globe (including Coinbase, Kraken and Okcoin) proceeded to delist Ripple’s native cryptocurrency, XRP, from their platforms. As a result, many across the globe thought it was just a matter of time before the once-promising project died a slow-but-sure death; however, it seems that XRP has been on a tear ever since the bad news dropped, with the cryptocurrency’s value having risen by over 100% since …

Robinhood, a popular trading app targeting millennials and other inexperienced investors, has become a major hub for cryptocurrencies, offering further evidence that digital assets are garnering mainstream appeal. On Thursday, the company reported that 9.5 million users traded digital assets on its platform during the first quarter of 2021, a sixfold increase from the previous quarter. Robinhood provides commission-free trading for several major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). It provides real-time market data for nearly a dozen more digital assets. That Robinhood’s crypto business is …

Global equity marketplace Vesta Equity has chosen the Algorand blockchain to launch its new real estate tokenization services, hoping to disrupt a decades-old industry and open up the possibility for homeowners to convert their equity into digital assets. Under the new partnership, Vesta will utilize Algorand to further disintermediate the numerous parties involved in the traditional home equity and borrowing space. With Vesta eliminating expensive intermediaries from the process, Algorand’s technology will allow all data to be readily available and verified automatically. The new marketplace will enable homeowners to convert their home equity into digital assets and sell a percentage …

The Ripple community has launched a new petition to “stop the war” on XRP. Crypto & Policy founder Thomas Hodge has started a Change.org petition directed at Securities and Exchange Commission chair nominee Gary Gensler, asking him to end the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple once he’s confirmed as chairman of the commission. Announcing the news Wednesday, Crypto & Policy called on Gensler to investigate the potential motives of former SEC chair Jay Clayton and his SEC Director of Corporate Finance William Hinman for “favoring” Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) while harming XRP. The petition alleges that Clayton and Hinman could …

According to an analyst at CFRA Research, VanEck, Fidelity Investments, and Valkyrie Digital Assets may not see their Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, approved by U.S. regulators for up to two years. In an interview on CNBC’s ETF Edge Monday, Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF and mutual fund research at CFRA, told host Bob Pisani that he believed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, would extend the timeline for considering the Bitcoin ETF first pitched by investment management firm VanEck in January. The SEC officially acknowledged receipt of the Bitcoin ETF application on March 15, giving the regulatory …

David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, has forecast a “big evolution” in how the United States government regulates Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in relation to financial institutions. In an interview with CNBC today, Solomon was quizzed on the banking giant’s moves to adopt Bitcoin (BTC). The CEO kept his cards close to his chest but conveyed that the bank is keeping a close eye on digital currencies amid increasing demand for crypto exposure from its clients: “We continue to think about digital currency and the digitization of money in a very proactive way, and in that context, we are engaged …

Ripple Labs has been granted access to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s documents “expressing the agency’s interpretation or views” on the subject of crypto assets. According to Law360, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn granted the defendants’ motion “in large part,” determining that SEC minutes or memos concerning crypto are likely discoverable. Netburn asserted staff-to-staff email communications do not need to be produced. Netburn also allowed for the SEC and Ripple to raise disputes with the ruling. In December, the SEC filed a lawsuit alleging Ripple Labs, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and chairman Christian Larsen, had raised $1.38 billion …

Paxos, a United States-based stablecoin operator, announced Tuesday that it will apply for a formal clearing agency license with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a move that would bring another practical use case for blockchain technology in traditional markets. As Reuters reported, the pursuit of an agency license by Paxos follows a successful pilot test of its same-day settlement system. Credit Suisse, a Zurich-based financial institution; and Instinet, the trading arm of Nomura Holdings Inc, participated in the pilot by settling U.S.-listed stock trades on the same day. Paxos says the trades represented the first live application of blockchain …

INX Limited, a Gibraltar-based platform for trading securities and cryptocurrencies, is preparing to finish its initial public offering soon. According to a Monday announcement, April 22 will be the last day of INX’s IPO as the company expects to have listed its token on at least one public trading platform by the end of May 2021. INX plans to launch the INX Digital trading platform shortly after the IPO ends, the firm said. INX launched the IPO in August 2020, planning to raise up to $117 million in a security token offering approved by the United States Securities and Exchange …