Bitwise, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency fund managers, has filed a new prospectus with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, to launch an exchange-traded fund for so-called “crypto innovators.” The fund manager filed Form N-1A with the securities regulator on Feb. 5, where it outlined its intent to offer the Bitwise Crypto Innovators ETF. The proposed ETF will track the performance of the Bitwise Crypto Innovators Index. The proposed Index will be comprised primarily of companies that derive more than 75% of their revenue from the crypto sector or that have more than 75% of their …

Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has touted the revolutionary impact of cryptocurrencies – while seemingly poking fun at the concept in the same breath. In a video that was uploaded by Kevin Svenson, Musk can be heard saying, “there is a good chance that crypto is the future currency of Earth.” How ironic would it be if Dogecoin (DOGE), the coin invented as a joke, wins out in the end, Musk pondered. Elon Musk talks about $DOGE Coin (Released 4 Hours Ago)@elonmusk said "There is a good chance that #Crypto is the future currency of Earth …

As the United States Senate begins confirming leadership posts across commerce and the treasury, there has been meaningful momentum in the crypto community as a response. This is due to the profiles of various individuals who have been reportedly nominated, as well as the anticipated economic measures by the coming administration — both of which are expected to nurture positive momentum for crypto growth. While a few official appointments have been made with numerous confirmations pending, others are still at the nomination stage. Let’s take a quick loop around the swamp. The Treasury Confirmed with 84 votes, Janet Yellen will …

The four horsemen of U.S. financial regulation will meet to discuss market manipulation concerns resulting from the headline-grabbing drama surrounding GameStop stock last week. Per a Feb. 2 report from the Wall Street Journal, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is gathering the leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Federal Reserve, possibly as soon as Thursday. The SEC already announced that it was looking into recent market manipulation. The inclusion of the CFTC and the Fed suggest that the conversation is going to extend far beyond Robinhood, Reddit and GameStop. Aside from the spillover …

49-year-old peer-to-peer crypto trader, Hugo Sergio Mejia, has agreed to plead guilty to charges of money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. The U.S. Attorney’s Office accuses Mejia of using a suite of limited liability corporations to conceal the true nature of his operations while exchanging cash for Bitcoins over a period spanning more than two years. The complaint accuses Mejia of transferring funds between Bitcoin and U.S. dollars worth at least $13 million for clients from May 2018 and September 2020 using his companies Worldwide Secure Communications, World Secure Data, and The HODL Group. According to the …

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged three individuals for various cryptocurrency frauds including the 2018 initial coin offering for the Steven Seagal-promoted altcoin, Bitcoiin2Gen. A Feb. 1 SEC announcement estimates that Bitcoiin Gen founder John DeMarr, Start Options founder Kristijan Krstic, and promotor Robin Enos duped investors out of more than $11 million through two fraudulent and unregistered securities offerings from December 2017 until May 2018. The SEC alleges that Krstic and DeMarr first spruiked Start Options’ purported crypto asset mining and trading platform in December 2017 and January 2017, falsely claiming it was “the largest Bitcoin exchange …

The r/Wallstreetbets saga which saw a group of Redditors join forces to extract billions from Wall Street hedge funds is set to be turned into a movie. As reported by Deadline on Jan. 31, a newly proposed book by The Social Network author, Ben Mezrich, was subject to a bidding war between major Hollywood studios, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer winning out in the end. The project will reunite Mezrich with MGM producer Michael DeLuca, who also produced the Academy-Award winning film The Social Network, which told the story of the rise of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. No details have yet been released …

Melvin Capital started 2021 with $12.5 billion in assets before retail investors from Reddit caused the firm to lose billions on its GameStop short positions. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the hedge fund has a little more than $8 billion in assets at the end of January, which includes a $2.75 billion investment from Citadel and Point72 Asset Management earlier this month. This represents a 53% loss, according to people familiar with the firm. In the report, a client claims that Melvin has "massively de-risked" its investment portfolio following the controversy involving short selling GameStop stocks. People familiar …

Ripple's case before the Securities and Exchange Commission is threatening to have major, well, ripple effects for the industry. On Jan. 29, Ripple Labs filed its response to the SEC's complaint. Ripple, as it has many times before, argued that XRP is not a security i.e. an investment in Ripple and is therefore not in the SEC's jurisdiction. Ripple is, moreover, prepared to drag the rest of the industry into its fight to make its case. A Ripple representative told Cointelegraph: "The SEC has clearly picked two winners and ignored a growing and robust industry that is much larger than …

The U.S. securities watchdog is looking into the affair of Robinhood and the Redditors. At least in so many words. The Securities and Exchange Commission made a joint statement on Friday expressing concern over the "extreme price volatility of certain stocks’ trading prices over the past several days." Though the commission didn't use the words "GameStop," "Robinhood," or "Reddit," it's obvious that what the commission is talking about is the recent chaos surrounding the three. It's already attracted major regulatory pressure. The SEC did, however, specify: "The Commission will closely review actions taken by regulated entities that may disadvantage investors …

Coinbase, one of the world’s largest digital currency exchanges, has been rumored for some time to be considering a direct listing. In an official blog post, the cryptocurrency exchange disclosed plans to pursue a direct listing of its Class A common stock, pursuant to a registration statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The Form S-1 registration statement will become effective after the securities regulator completes its review. The direct listing format would not offer new shares but instead sell existing shares directly to the public. Some advantages of the format for those holding stock in the company …

Ripple Labs, the company behind the Ripple payment protocol and XRP-based products, is facing another lawsuit alleging the firm violated securities laws in the United States. On Monday, Florida-based XRP investor Tyler Toomey filed a civil suit against Ripple Labs and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed to comply with Florida securities laws by failing to register with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. Toomey notes that Ripple Labs and Garlinghouse ar already facing a similar lawsuit for reportedly violating federal securities laws. The $1.35 billion suit was brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange …