On December 16th, James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, reiterated in an interview on The Scoop podcast that he believes a Bitcoin spot ETF is likely to be approved before January 10th next year. It is reported that Seyffart has held this view since October this year, with a 90% chance of approval before January 10th next year, as the ETF applications from Ark and 21Shares (submitted in April, earlier than BlackRock) have reached the final deadline. The SEC has been strategically delaying to arrange various applications, or at least approving some applications at the same time, to avoid giving one company a first-mover advantage. However, Grayscale's ETF application is currently different from others and may not be approved at the same time.

On December 14th, Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, replied to a question on social media about the difference between physically-backed and cash-backed Bitcoin ETFs. He stated that when there is excessive demand for Bitcoin ETFs, authorized participants (APs) will need to create new ETF shares. They can either provide cash to the ETF issuer in exchange for new shares (which the issuer will use to buy BTC) or provide BTC to the issuer in exchange for shares. Either way, new ETF shares are equivalent to new BTC purchases.<br>The SEC wants ETFs to be cash-backed only because this means that only the ETF issuer can handle BTC, not the authorized participants (registered brokers cannot). They may also be reluctant to let unregistered broker-dealer subsidiaries handle any part of it (because they are not registered). However, cash-backed Bitcoin ETFs are not ideal and undermine a major advantage of the ETF structure. But it is still better than nothing, and hopefully they will soon be resolved in a physically-backed manner.

The interlocking dominos seem to have fully played out. The reason to be very bullish is that the vast majority of significant events in 2023 were good news and the blockchain industry made meaningful, necessary progress.

Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan stated that due to the significant price volatility of cryptocurrencies and virtual currencies, countries are still exploring this area. The Commission will monitor global trends related to cryptocurrencies, collect and research the development of futures and ETFs for foreign cryptocurrencies, and gradually relax regulations based on market conditions.

Greeks.live stated that the volatility of cryptocurrencies has significantly decreased this week. Bitcoin touched $38,000 three times after last week's monthly settlement, but ultimately failed to hold its ground. Looking at option data, the put/call ratio is relatively low, indicating that this week's main trading is focused on call options, with the Maxpain point close to the strike price. As the upward trend becomes increasingly tepid, the skewness level of options gradually decreases. Fewer and fewer investors are bullish on short-term gains, with expectations of an increase mainly focused on the approval of ETFs in January.

On November 29th, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said that the speculation of Bitcoin spot ETF has pushed the total assets of ProShares' BITO (Bitcoin Futures ETF) to a historic high, approaching $1.5 billion.

On November 23, Hong Kong virtual bank ZA Bank announced that it has been approved by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong to lift the conditions applicable to regulated activities for Type 1 (securities trading) when it was originally licensed.<br>This means that ZA Bank will not be limited to operating the business of "Collective Investment Scheme (CIS)", and plans to launch trading services such as US stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) to the public after completing service testing in a timely manner.<br>

Grayscale executives and lawyers met with the SEC to discuss a rule change to list the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

As hype builds for spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., some are concerned the industry is moving away from the “core promise” of cryptocurrencies.

CoinShares, a leading European crypto ETF issuer, has obtained an exclusive option to acquire Valkyrie Funds until March 31, 2024. This move is aimed at strengthening CoinShares' presence in the US and establishing a global one-stop-shop in digital asset investments. The potential acquisition of Valkyrie Funds by CoinShares is seen as a big move by Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, as it would bring ETF expertise to the US. Valkyrie Investments plans to incorporate CoinShares' name if the US SEC approves the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund, which has filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF.