• Breaking: Judge rules XRP is not a security in SEC’s case against Ripple
Ripple Labs scored a victory in the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York on July 13 as Judge Analisa Torres ruled partially in favor of the company in a case brought forth by the Securities and Exchange Commission dating back to 2020.
According to documents filed on July 13, Judge Torres has granted summary judgment in favor of Ripple Labs, ruling that the XRP token is not a security, but only in regards to programmatic sales on digital asset exchanges.
However, the SEC also managed to notch a victory of its own, as the federal judge has ruled that XRP is a security when sold to institutional investors, as it met the conditions set in the Howey Test.
• BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: Crypto Will ‘Transcend Any One Currency’
BlackRock boss Larry Fink has upped his bullish stance on cryptocurrency as an investment, saying that “it’s going to transcend any one currency.”
BlackRock—which manages $9.5 trillion in assets—last month applied to the SEC for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, leading institutional investors to pour money into the space and in turn causing the asset to jump to a 12-month high.
• Europe’s first spot Bitcoin ETF eyes 2023 debut after year-long delay
Europe’s first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is set to debut later this year after a long delay. The Bitcoin ETF by Jacobi Asset Management — a London-based multi-asset investment platform — was set to debut on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange in July 2022.
However, unprecedented market conditions caused by the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May 2022, as well as the FTX collapse in November, forced the asset manager to postpone the listing. The Jacobi Bitcoin ETF received approval from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) to launch its Bitcoin ETF in October 2021.
The asset manager told the Financial Times that it has decided to launch the ETF now because it has seen a gradual shift in demand compared with 2022.
• Inflation rose just 0.2% in June, less than expected as consumers get a break from price increases
Inflation fell to its lowest annual rate in more than two years during June, the product both of some deceleration in costs and easy comparisons against a time when price increases were running at a more than 40-year high.
The consumer price index, which measures inflation, increased 3% from a year ago, which is the lowest level since March 2021. On a monthly basis, the index, which measures a broad swath of prices for goods and services, rose 0.2%.
Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI rose 4.8% from a year ago and 0.2% on a monthly basis. Consensus estimates expected respective increases of 5% and 0.3%. The annual rate was the lowest since October 2021.
• SEC accepts BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF application, signaling regulatory review
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accepted BlackRock’s application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) following its acknowledgment of a similar application by Bitwise the day before.
The SEC’s acknowledgment indicates the commencement of the official review process for BlackRock’s ETF proposal. While it is an initial step in a lengthy regulatory journey, it signals the SEC’s readiness to explore the idea of a spot Bitcoin ETF and assess its potential market effects.
• Celsius Network’s Alex Mashinsky Is Arrested as SEC, CFTC, FTC Sue Bankrupt Crypto Lender
Alex Mashinsky, co-founder and former CEO of insolvent crypto lender Celsius, was arrested in New York on Thursday following an investigation into the company’s collapse, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed to CoinDesk.
Mashinsky and others are charged with seven counts including securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to manipulate the price of Celsius’ token CEL, according to a DOJ indictment.
The indictment was accompanied by a slew of separate lawsuits against Mashinsky and Celsius by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Federal Trade Commision (FTC).
Concluding Notes:
- XRP is not a security
- Larry Fink: Crypto Will ‘Transcend Any One Currency’
- Europe’s Bitcoin ETF is debuting this year
- Inflation rose less than expected in June
- SEC accepts BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF application
- Alex Mashinsky Is Arrested
