Despite a positive start to the week with news of Coinbase partnering with asset managers on new bitcoin exchange-traded funds, the company's shares ended Wednesday down almost 2%. This was due to a downgrade from analysts at Piper Sandler, who cited uncertainty around future revenues.

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, has expressed his willingness to work with regulators and address any concerns they may have regarding the asset manager's recent filing for a spot bitcoin ETF. Fink also stated that he sees bitcoin as a means of "digitizing gold" and hopes that regulators will view the filings as a way to democratize crypto.

During a Twitter Spaces session, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao expressed his enthusiasm for the entrance of large players like BlackRock into the cryptocurrency space, stating that it would offer more coverage and serve a clientele that is currently underserved. He also noted that many of these institutions are not comfortable using pure crypto platforms and may prefer existing relationships with legacy firms.

July 4 (Cointime) - Interest in crypto-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is growing among traditional finance firms, with BlackRock, Fidelity, and others submitting applications for Bitcoin-based ETFs. HSBC has become the first bank to offer Bitcoin and Ether ETFs to customers in Hong Kong.

July 4 (Cointime) - According to ETF.com, The crypto market rally kicked off by BlackRock's surprise spot bitcoin exchange-trade fund filing has brought tens of millions of new inflows into a futures-based fund managed by ProShares.

July 4 (Cointime) - According to crypto analytics firm Santiment, large Bitcoin holders, known as whale and shark addresses, have been accumulating BTC at a higher rate than usual over the past seven weeks.

July 4 (Cointime) - According to economist and crypto analyst Alex Krüger, Bitcoin could experience strong rallies in the near future. Krüger highlights the significance of the BlackRock spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) application and notes that Bitcoin has a liquidity air pocket between $31,000 and $37,000.

July 4 (Cointime) - According to data from The Block, the number of large holders in CME's bitcoin futures market has been increasing in recent weeks. The number of holders with a futures position of at least 25 bitcoin rose from 94 in the week of May 30 to 121 in the week of June 27.

July 4 (Cointime) - Bitcoin reached its highest price in over a year on Monday, with a 2.4% increase to $31,250. BlackRock's resubmission of its application for a Bitcoin ETF caused its shares to surge. Despite crises in the past year, Bitcoin's price has risen by 62%.

July 4 (Cointime) - Several prominent financial institutions, including Blackrock, Wisdomtree, Valkyrie, Fidelity, Ark Investment, and Invesco, had their spot bitcoin ETF applications rejected by the SEC due to inadequate registrations. Following this, Fidelity, Vaneck, Invesco, and Wisdomtree resubmitted their filings with updates and amendments.