BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF now holds more than 50.4 per cent of overall holdings in all U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, totalling more than $56.8 billion in Bitcoin (BTC). BlackRock's increasing fund dominance underscores growing institutional appetite in spite of recent ETF withdrawals. The combined market for Bitcoin ETFs is now more than $112 billion, affirming the growing presence of traditional finance in crypto investing.
As reported by CoinTelegraph, as ETF sell-offs were anticipated, the price of Bitcoin has stayed put, implying the influence of some other forces like institutional demand and macroeconomic events. Industry insiders such as Samson Mow have theorized that the price action of Bitcoin appears manufactured, pointing to patterns of sharp peaks followed by prolonged consolidation.
Bybit Assures Users of Active Withdrawals Following $1.4 Billion Hack
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has reassured customers that the withdrawals are ongoing despite a recent hack attempt that lost $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum-related tokens. During a livestream, Zhou reported that 70 per cent of withdrawal requests have been completed successfully, but certain users will see delays as a result of network congestion. He assured that the exchange is dealing with approximately 4,000 pending transactions and asked users to be patient while the matter is being addressed, as reported by CoinTelegraph.
The CEO also confirmed that no other Bybit wallets were affected in the hack. Zhou disclosed that the firm is raising a bridge loan to keep the business running as it deals with security issues. He added that the fake transactions looked normal and were signed by the Bybit team mistakenly, perhaps as a result of hackers manipulating the user interface of the platform.
SEC Closes Investigation Into OpenSea NFT Marketplace
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has now closed its inquiry into OpenSea, a strong regulatory victory for the NFT sector. This was announced by OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer, who calls it a victory for creators and businesses operating in the NFT space. The move follows the SEC dropping its case against Coinbase, its latest sign it may be abandoning its aggressive examination of crypto-sector businesses.
As reported by CoinTelegraph, insiders within the industry commended the move. Magic Eden's chief business officer explained that the ruling serves the whole NFT ecosystem, even though the firm competes with OpenSea. The settlement can be seen as a pivot point for yet another NFT market boom, in the view of cryptocurrency experts, with investor confidence boosted by recent regulatory clarity by OpenSea.
