1. SEC Delays Decision on ARK 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF to Next Year
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) application of Ark/21Shares and GlobalX. The decision has been postponed for the third time, and the SEC now has until early 2024 to make a final decision. This delay is seen as the SEC’s continued reluctance to approve a spot bitcoin ETF. The delay has been attributed to various factors, including the likely federal government shutdown.
2. 95% of Celsius Creditors Vote to Accept Restructuring Plan
More than 95% of creditors across all eligible classes voted to accept the restructuring plan proposed by Celsius. This acceptance is seen as a major milestone in the context of the bankruptcy proceedings. The plan will see funds returned to the creditors and equity distributed through a new company. Confirmation hearings for the plan are scheduled to begin on October 2, 2023.
3. Ben Armstrong spends night in jail with prowling, simple assault charges
Crypto influencer Ben “BitBoy” Armstrong was arrested and spent a night in jail on charges of loitering and simple assault. He was taken into custody while livestreaming outside a former associate’s house. Armstrong was released on bail after about 8 hours in jail. He was charged with “loitering/prowling” and “simple assault by placing another in fear,” with a bond amount of $2,600 along with $40 of fees.
4. Curve Founder Michael Egorov Repays All Debt on Aave
Michael Egorov, the founder of Curve Finance, has deposited 68 million CRV tokens, worth $35 million, to settle his entire debt position on the DeFi lending platform Aave. After depositing CRV, Egorov converted 10.77 million crvUSD to tether (USDT) to repay all of the debt on Aave. CRV is currently trading at 53 cents, having risen by 3.48% in the past 24 hours.
In August, Egorov raised $42 million through over-the-counter (OTC) sales of CRV tokens to pay off $80 million of on-chain debt. This came after a market-wide tumble in asset prices which put Egorov’s CRV positions on DeFi lenders dangerously close to liquidation. In the event of liquidation, Aave would have had to sell the CRV put up as collateral to the open market, which would have had a cascading effect due to a lack of liquidity. Now, Egorov has 253.67 million CRV tokens ($132.52 million) in collateral and $42 million in debt across four DeFi lenders.
5. Arbitrum Odyssey Relaunched With The First Week’s Tasks Are Now Available In GMX
The Arbitrum Odyssey campaign has been relaunched, and the first week’s tasks are now available in GMX. The campaign’s first task, hosted on GMX, kicked off on September 26 and will run until October 1. Participants are invited to undertake activities such as leveraged trading on the GMX V2 market and sharing GMX referral links across various social media platforms
6. Taiwan Implements Stricter Regulations, Bans Unregistered Foreign Crypto Exchanges from Operating
Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has introduced a set of stringent rules, effectively banning unregistered foreign cryptocurrency exchanges from operating within the country. This action occurs as part of Taiwan’s commitment to enhancing investor protection and promoting responsible practices within the crypto industry. Foreign cryptocurrency firms seeking to operate in Taiwan or serve Taiwanese customers must always register with the regulator and demonstrate their adherence to anti-money laundering regulations.
7. Chinese Tech Giant Tencent Joins CBDC Interoperability Pilot
China’s Tencent, the operator of the WeChat and WeChat Pay platforms, will join central bank-led digital yuan and CBDC interoperability pilots. WeChatPay, along with its rival Alipay, has cornered some 15% of the Chinese payments market. But in recent years, Tencent has moved to align with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC)’s CBDC adoption drive.
