Daily News | ETFs are expected to be approved this Wednesday; The proposed restriction in_script_ions were not approved; The number of physical merchants accepting BTC increased threefold

2024-01-08, 04:00

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## Crypto Daily Digest: ETFs are expected to be approved as early as Wednesday this week, the proposal to restrict in_script_ions has not been approved

This week marks a series of important deadlines, marking the climax of years of efforts to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) backed by <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> in the United States. Institutions hoping to issue Bitcoin ETFs have been required to submit their last-minute modifications to their pending applications before noon Washington time on Monday. The US Securities and Exchange Commission plans to vote on the 19b-4s documents submitted by exchanges in the coming days.

Regulatory authorities may or may not take action on the issuer's application (S-1) at approximately the same time. If the SEC approves the two sets of approvals required, ETFs can start trading as early as the next business day. A representative from the US Securities and Exchange Commission refused to comment on the status of the application.

Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett tweeted that BlackRock expects its new Bitcoin spot ETF to receive SEC approval on Wednesday of this week, and ETFs from other asset management companies are also expected to receive approval. In addition, according to insiders, BlackRock will announce layoffs within about three days, involving approximately 600 employees, accounting for 3% of its global workforce.

VanEck's head of digital asset research, Matthew Sigel, stated in a Twitter Space event that he learned from a source that over $2 billion of funds are waiting to be injected into BlackRock Bitcoin spot ETFs in the first week after their listing, from existing Bitcoin holders.

According to Cointellegragh, asset management companies applying for Bitcoin spot ETFs will submit the final revised documents on January 8th. Analysts expect the transaction to begin on January 11th. In the next stage, the SEC will make a decision, and SEC members may vote. But according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, there were no arrangements on the SEC's public agenda until January 11th, but the SEC could make decisions using its authorization policy.

Investment management company VanEck stated on the X platform that after the Bitcoin spot ETF is approved, it will donate 5% of its spot Bitcoin ETF profit to support the Bitcoin core development organization Brink for at least 10 years. VanEck is currently waiting for SEC approval to launch its spot Bitcoin ETF.

Bloomberg analyst James Seyfhart tweeted that gold ETFs have more potential issues (impurities, counterfeits, etc.) than Bitcoin ETFs. No one forces anyone to purchase potential Bitcoin ETFs. ETFs will not change Bitcoin itself. They are just a choice. The benefit of a free market is that we can let the market decide whether Bitcoin ETFs have value.

On January 7th, Bitcoin Core client developer Luke Dashjr initiated a proposal titled "datacarriersize: Match more datacarrying #28408" to discuss whether to restrict in_script_ions. After discussion among multiple developers, the proposal has not been approved and is currently closed.

On January 7th, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of <a href="/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a>, gave financial advice on the topic of "whether investment portfolios should be diversified" on social media: Diversifying investment portfolios is good; Saving, striving to save money until there is enough funds to cover years of expenses, financial security is freedom; Maintain a flat investment portfolio for most individuals; Do not use more than twice the leverage, never.

The number of physical merchants accepting Bitcoin has reached a new high. The number of physical merchants accepting Bitcoin has nearly tripled in 2023, with over 6000 merchants worldwide accepting Bitcoin payments, many of which are located in Latin America. This total is almost three times the number of suppliers accepting Bitcoin by the end of 2022- at that time there were only 2200. Bitcoin merchants are spread all over the world, especially concentrated in Europe, the United States, and Latin America, while acceptance in East Asia is relatively low. Due to the ban on cryptocurrencies, China has almost no merchants accepting Bitcoin.

In terms of token data unlocking this week, according to Token Unlocks data, from January 8th to January 14th, GLMR, APT, and CYBER tokens will experience a one-time unlocking, with a total release value of approximately $236 million. Among them:

On January 11th at 00:00 (UTC), <a href="/price/moonbeam-glmr" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Moonbeam</a> token GLMR will unlock 304 tokens (approximately $1.2 million), accounting for 0.38% of the circulating supply;

On January 12th at 01:59 (UTC), <a href="/price/aptos-apt" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Aptos</a> token APT will unlock 24.84 million (approximately $225 million), accounting for 8.05% of the circulating supply;

On January 14th at 14:24 (UTC), CyberConnect token CYBER will unlock 1.26 million (approximately $9.03 million), accounting for 8.51% of the circulating supply.

## Today’s Main Token Trends
### BTC
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1704697705BTC.png)
Last week, BTC retraced to a low support of $40,750 and then rebounded towards the trend axis. This morning, it dropped again near the $43,000 level. The trend for this week is expected to continue downwards. It's advised not to speculate on short-term movements. Watch for potential short opportunities on a break below, with key support levels at $40,280 and $38,400 for the medium term.

### ETH
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1704697720ETH.png)
The four-hour chart shows signs of a top formation. Short-term attention is on whether the $2,135 support holds, which is a critical mid-term watershed. If breached, it may revisit support levels at $2,037 and $1,974. Short-term trading can be considered on a pullback, while maintaining a long-term bullish view.

### POWR
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1704697732POWR.png)
Clear signs of market manipulation are evident in POWR's recent movements. After reaching nearly $0.9425 from a base at $0.1245, prices quickly dropped below $0.5195 within 2 hours, posing a risk of liquidation for long positions. Short-term support is at $0.4278, providing an opportunity for a rebound with careful risk management. Long-term, holding spot positions is recommended due to potential liquidation risks associated with contracts.

## Macro: The first week of the new year is volatile, the Fed may not rule out the possibility of raising interest rates again
In the first week of the new year, after the rebound of US treasury bond bond yield and the strengthening of the US dollar, risk sentiment subsided from an extremely bullish state. The stock market started poorly, with the three major US stock indexes ending their nine consecutive weekly gains and the Nasdaq hitting its largest weekly decline since September. Gold recorded its first weekly decline in four weeks. Due to the continued tightening of the situation in the Middle East and the comprehensive shutdown of Libya's largest oil field, concerns about oil supply disruptions have intensified in the market. As a result, the US and Burmese oil markets closed higher in the first week of this year.

It is a typical phenomenon for the market to experience fluctuations at the beginning of the new year.

However, Apple's rating downgrade twice within a week has raised concerns among investors that its stocks have become overbought after recent gains. Friday's strong employment report and unexpected decline in ISM services data have made the interest rate outlook even more confusing. Given that the dovish interest rate expectations have always been one of the key catalysts driving the market rebound by the end of 2023, investors will closely monitor the upcoming inflation data in the coming week to determine whether market expectations have already advanced. The progress of the Red Sea situation will also continue to make headlines.

On the other hand, last week's non-farm payroll exceeded market expectations and is also worth noting.

The US unemployment rate in December was 3.7% (previous value: 3.7%; market expectation: 3.8%); After the quarterly adjustment in December, the non-farm employment population in the United States was 21.6 (previous value: 19.9; market expectation: 17) - higher than market expectations; Average hourly wage of 0.4% (previous value: 0.4%; market expectation: 0.3%) - higher than market expectation (accelerated salary growth).

From any perspective, this data has prompted the market to lower its bets on the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut. Currently, Wall Street has lowered its expectations for a rate cut in March, and some investment banks have even warned early that the first rate cut will be around June. Such market expectations are bound to hit traders, so we need to do a good job in anticipating the Federal Reserve's delayed rate cut.

Many analysts view the January market as a barometer of the market's annual trend (the indicator used to measure future market trends in January has a reliable record), a popular Wall Street proverb that was proven to be true last year.

Last year, the US dollar index fell in January, while the US stock market, gold and US treasury bond bonds rose in January. Finally, the US dollar fell throughout the year, and the latter rose sharply, creating an unexpected year. And this year, the global market started with the worst record in history, with global bond and stock markets losing over $3 trillion in just one week.

The market value of the seven great stocks that drove the US stock market higher in 2023 evaporated over $400 billion, wiping out all the gains in December. For the remaining 20 days, we need to see if the market can turn around and move upwards. However, it still poses some difficulties at present. Does this mean that the entire year of 2024 will continue to bear in the footsteps of January, and we need to continue to observe. As for analysts who pay attention to the trend of January, it is based on past data statistics, and it is uncertain whether this year's data can continue.

On January 7th, Federal Reserve Logan warned that the Fed may need to resume raising short-term policy rates to prevent the recent decline in long-term bond yields from reigniting inflation.

"If we don't maintain sufficiently tight financial conditions, we face the risk of inflation rebounding and reversing the progress we have made," Logan said. "Restrictive financial conditions have played an important role in aligning demand with supply and maintaining stable inflation expectations," she said, pointing out that inflation rates are approaching the Federal Reserve's target of 2%, and although the labor market is still tight, it is rebalancing. If we do not maintain sufficiently strict financial conditions, we cannot expect to maintain price stability.

The pricing of interest rate cuts in the market has been significantly ahead of that of the Federal Reserve, and interest rate futures currently tend to have six interest rate cuts this year. Compared to the guidance provided by the Federal Reserve at its December meeting, this is a clearly more dovish view. According to last month's meeting minutes, interest rates may have reached their peak, but policymakers have not yet discussed when to start cutting rates, and some officials do not rule out the possibility of further rate hikes. The Federal Reserve's December chart shows that there will only be three interest rate cuts by the end of 2024.

Therefore, further progress in US inflation will be monitored to support the argument that price pressures are being controlled and provide space for policymakers to readjust their views on interest rate cuts.

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:**Byron B.**, Gate.io Researcher
<div>Translator:Joy Z.
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
</div>