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SEC's reported spot Bitcoin ETF approval amid document issues

It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride for bitcoin supporters this past week as they await on the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval on the Spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Reportedly, the agency has already approved the spot bitcoin ETF listing; however, access to SEC document declaring the decision is broken as of press time.

One of the sources of said decision is Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, who also earlier said that the SEC is in the final stages of providing comments to issuers on their applications, with multiple applicants set to submit their final 19b-4s and S-1s following the feedback.

You can read more on the matter here.

What’s going on?

• Decision to Evacuate Migrants to A School Amid A Storm Earns NYC Mayor Eric Adams More Hate (theDeepDive)

• Red Sea crisis could jeopardize inflation fight as shipping costs spike globally (CNBC)

• Ontario Gave Money to Junior Mining Companies Called ‘Griftco’ and ‘Money Money Money’ (theDeepDive)

• Pentagon Says Venture Capital Needed to Revive Defense Base (Bloomberg)

• BlackRock to Cut 600 Jobs As Company Reallocates Resources to Technology and ETFs (theDeepDive)

• Consumer prices rose 0.3% in December, higher than expected, pushing the annual rate to 3.4% (CNBC)

• MEP Moves to Remove Hungary’s Ability to Vote in the EU Council (theDeepDive)

• Google lays off hundreds in Assistant, hardware, engineering teams (Reuters)

• A Russian Journalist Who Promised to Report on ‘Gigantic Corruption’ in Mariupol Has Been Found Dead (theDeepDive)

• France Faces Backlash Over New Energy Bill Favoring Nuclear Power And Sidestepping Renewables Target (theDeepDive)

• Harvard Sued by Jewish Students Over ‘Rampant’ Antisemitism (Bloomberg)

• Control X: Musk Purges — and then Un-Purges — Accounts of Journalists, Writers and Podcasters (theDeepDive)

What’s the latest?

• Going Public: Circle Internet Financial, issuer of the stablecoin USDC, has confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO to become publicly traded, after a failed attempt in 2022. USDC, the second-largest stablecoin with about $25 billion in circulation, is backed by cash and equivalents.

• ETFs Approved: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the listing of spot-bitcoin ETFs, enabling mainstream investors to trade Bitcoin like stocks and mutual funds. Asset managers such as BlackRock, Fidelity, and ARK Investment Management are among the 11 approved to offer these ETFs.

• New Champion: Microsoft has surpassed Apple to become the world's most valuable public company. In early trading, Microsoft's shares rose around 1%, bringing its market value to $2.87 trillion, slightly ahead of Apple, whose shares declined by almost 1%. The surge in artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI like OpenAI's ChatGPT, has fueled investor enthusiasm, benefiting Microsoft significantly.

• Russia: Russia sourced about one-third of its crucial battlefield components, valued at $7.3 billion, from foreign countries last year, mainly from nations outside the US-led export-control coalition, with China being a significant supplier. This reliance on outsourced production highlights how Russia circumvents stronger export controls to acquire restricted goods.

• Shipping Woes: The U.N. Security Council issued a resolution demanding that Yemen's Houthis immediately cease attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The resolution implicitly endorsed a U.S.-led task force, Operation Prosperity Guardian, defending vessels from Houthi attacks. The Security Council also called for the release of the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated vehicle carrier seized by the Houthis.

Lithium Chile’s Salar de Arizaro project

The stock market and stuff

• Circle Files for U.S. IPO to Bring Stablecoin USDC to Public Markets (theDeepDive)

• Microsoft overtakes Apple as world's most valuable company (Reuters)

• Chesapeake Energy Acquires Southwestern Energy in $7.4 Billion Deal, Becomes Top Natural Gas Producer in U.S. (theDeepDive)

• Vonovia Gets £3.5 Billion in Orders for First Sterling Bond Sale (BNN)

In the juniors

• Hertz Announces Plan to Sell 20,000 Electric Vehicles from U.S. Fleet (theDeepDive)

• VivoPower surges after Tembo unit meets milestones for direct equity investment (SA)

• Carlyle Commodities Completes Successful Drill Program at Newton Gold Project (theDeepDive)

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