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Chris Burniske, partner at Placeholder and former crypto lead at Ark Invest, suggests that the local bottom for bitcoin (BTC) is yet to be reached.

Predicting a potential drop to the $30,000-$36,000 range, he wouldn’t be surprised if the mid-high $20,000 area is tested before a potential move towards a new all-time high. Burniske advises patience, acknowledging the volatility and the likelihood of fakeouts during this period, emphasizing that the journey will take months to unfold.

Despite the long-term trend appearing robust, Burniske notes concerns with recent parabolas breaking and macro factors looking precarious. While new product innovations are on the horizon, he cautions that they are not quite there yet, and the overall sentiment feels somewhat insular.

Following a 20% tumble to under $40,000 post the spot bitcoin ETFs’ Jan. 11 launch, bitcoin experienced a 5% rally on Friday, reaching $41,700 at press time. Burniske concludes that he is not majorly de-risking but rather assessing his strategies and staying vigilant.

The Venezuelan national cryptocurrency, Petro ($PTR), is set to cease operations on January 15, marking the end of a digital currency intended to counter U.S. sanctions.

Launched in 2018 by President Nicolas Maduro, Petro aimed to circumvent economic restrictions but faced significant challenges.

Despite achieving full functionality in 2020, it was never widely traded internationally, and attempts to promote its domestic use were hindered by the lack of legal tender status.

The largest bank in Venezuela, Banco de Venezuela, refused to accept Petro without a presidential order. The closure announcement reportedly appeared on the government-run Petro website, which is currently inaccessible.

The digital currency’s troubled history also involved a $5 million bounty issued by the U.S. for the capture of Joselit Ramirez Camacho, the official overseeing Petro, who faced accusations related to international narcotics trading.

The closure of the agency overseeing Petro led to the shutdown of crypto exchanges and mining operations in Venezuela. Despite Petro’s demise, the Central Bank of Venezuela’s plans for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2021 did not materialize.

BlackRock Inc., Ark, and several other groups aiming to issue exchange-traded funds directly tied to Bitcoin in the US updated their applications with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. Alongside them, firms like Fidelity, Invesco, Galaxy Digital, and WisdomTree also made revisions to their S-1 applications.

The SEC has a deadline until January 10 to respond to at least one of these applications, with insiders speculating that multiple decisions might be announced at that time.

After the revised filings, Bitcoin bounced back from earlier losses, climbing up to 1.7% to reach $45,026 by 7:07 a.m. in New York.

There are two specific criteria that need to be met before a Bitcoin ETF backed by physical assets can enter the market. First, the SEC needs to approve the 19b-4 filings from the exchanges wanting to list these ETFs. Second, the regulator must give the green light to the S-1 forms, the registration applications submitted by the prospective issuers.

Reports from Bloomberg News suggest that the SEC plans to review the exchanges’ 19b-4 filings in the upcoming days. Following this, the regulator may or may not take action on the issuers’ S-1 applications around the same time. If both sets of approvals are granted, these ETFs could potentially begin trading as soon as the following business day.

An earlier inquiry to an SEC representative regarding the status of the applications was declined, offering no comment.

The potential introduction of Bitcoin-backed ETFs is seen as a landmark moment for digital assets, with billions of dollars hanging in the balance. Advocates believe this could attract substantial investments from both retail and institutional players.

Michael Anderson, co-founder of Framework Ventures, highlighted, “The market isn’t fully appreciating the game-changing potential of a Bitcoin ETF approval.”

Despite previous refusals to greenlight such products due to concerns about investor protection and market manipulation, there’s mounting speculation that the current SEC, under Gary Gensler and his predecessor Jay Clayton, might need to yield to the rising demand for these products, especially after a legal setback against Grayscale Investments in August.

Last year, the market witnessed a 160% surge in Bitcoin, driven by anticipation of regulatory approval, although it fell short of reclaiming the record highs set in November 2021 when Bitcoin almost hit $69,000.

In Roatan, Honduras, the special economic zone of Próspera has officially adopted Bitcoin (BTC) as a unit of measurement for assessing the value of goods and services. Jorge Colindres, overseeing Próspera ZEDE, led this initiative, aiming to expand financial autonomy for businesses and individuals operating within the zone.

Colindres emphasized the importance of financial freedom, stating that at PrósperaZEDE, people should have the liberty to conduct transactions, manage accounting, and report taxes in the currency of their choice.

This development allows Próspera’s businesses and individuals to value goods and services using BTC, providing an alternative to the Honduran lempira and the US dollar. However, technological constraints and external regulatory issues currently prevent the immediate implementation of the “Final BTC Tax Payment Procedure” at Próspera.

For now, entities opting for Bitcoin will measure tax liabilities internally using BTC but report them to Próspera ZEDE in US dollars or Honduran lempira. Once these issues are resolved, they’ll be able to report tax liabilities and pay them directly to Próspera ZEDE in BTC.

Businesses and individuals seeking to use BTC as a unit of account must inform Próspera’s tax commission within 30 days of the relevant tax period and reference an approved cryptocurrency exchange like Coinbase or Kraken.

Established in 2020 and designated a special economic zone in 2022, Próspera ZEDE joined El Salvador in legalizing BTC as a form of currency in the same year, following El Salvador’s decision in 2021.

Next month, Terraform Labs, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Jump Trading are set for a courtroom showdown. A judge’s decision to put the SEC’s fraud case against Terraform before a jury has set the stage for a trial.

US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff recently sided with the SEC, affirming Terraform’s responsibility for selling unregistered securities. However, the judge dismissed claims about transactions involving unregistered security-based swaps. The civil trial is scheduled to kick off on January 29 in a federal court in Manhattan.

This trial isn’t just about legalities; it’s a litmus test for the SEC’s assertive crackdown on the crypto industry. It’s also expected to shed light on Jump Trading’s involvement as a significant trader of Terraform’s TerraUSD and Luna tokens. Allegedly, Terraform struck a clandestine deal with Jump, a Chicago-based trading firm, to support TerraUSD a year prior to its collapse.

Judge Rakoff acknowledged the SEC’s evidence regarding this alleged arrangement as “convincing but indirect,” primarily reliant on testimony from whistleblowers associated with Jump, whose credibility will be weighed by the jury.

Interestingly, Jump hasn’t been implicated in any wrongdoing within this case, even though whistleblower accounts have pointed fingers at one of its co-founders for playing a role in TerraUSD’s peg restoration.

The legal saga involves Terraform’s co-founder Do Kwon, who, despite facing fraud charges in the US, remains in custody in Montenegro, having been apprehended with a fake passport. Moreover, Kwon is sought after in South Korea, his home country.

Rakoff’s ruling referenced a statement by a former Jump employee turned SEC whistleblower. This individual claimed that a Jump co-founder, whose identity remains undisclosed, was involved in decisions to stabilize TerraUSD’s value. The whistleblower also alleged directions from this co-founder to manipulate trading models controlling TerraUSD’s price and orders.

The judge’s decision partly favored Terraform and Kwon, specifying that certain tokens linked to real-world assets didn’t constitute security-based swaps due to specific collateral requirements, a point the SEC failed to contest convincingly.

The SEC’s request to exclude testimony from two defense experts was granted by Judge Rakoff.

The legal battle, titled Securities and Exchange Commission v. Terraform Labs Pte., is expected to unfold in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

The trading activity on India’s leading crypto exchange, WazirX, drastically declined in 2023, reaching $1 billion due to mounting regulatory pressures and the global downturn in digital asset prices and equities.

Compared to the highs of 2022 and 2021, WazirX experienced a significant drop in crypto trading volumes. The platform’s trade volume was 90% lower than 2022’s $10 billion and 97% lower than 2021’s $43 billion.

Despite WazirX highlighting the $1 billion trading figure in a recent statement, the exchange avoided acknowledging the much higher trading levels during the peak crypto frenzy in 2021 or even the pre-sell-off levels of 2022.

This massive 97% decline in trade volume aligns with increasing regulatory pressures faced by WazirX in India, contributing to the struggles of the country’s once-thriving crypto sector. Indian authorities imposed a 30% tax on crypto gains and a 1% deduction on transactions last year. Political leaders have commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi for safeguarding Indian citizens from crypto-related frauds and market volatility.

The taxation policies have pushed many Indian traders to use foreign platforms like Binance and Coinbase, with the latter discontinuing new customer onboarding in India. This intensified regulatory crackdown has created uncertainty among local investors and significantly dampened interest in supporting India’s crypto startups.

The unfavorable regulatory environment has made venture capital firms cautious about investing in the troubled sector, leading many prominent India-focused VCs, previously enthusiastic about crypto companies, to shift their focus to other industries.

Coinbase, a prominent U.S.-based crypto exchange, is persisting in its pursuit of clear regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies categorized as securities. After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected Coinbase’s plea for cryptocurrency rulemaking on December 15, the exchange swiftly filed an appeal.

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, immediately pledged action upon hearing about the SEC’s denial. By December 18, the U.S. Third District Court of Appeals mandated the SEC to submit its decision record by January 24, 2024.

In its appeal, Coinbase detailed the exhaustive process it undertook to prompt the SEC’s response to its plea. The exchange criticized the SEC’s refusal, calling it “arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, and against the law,” citing violations of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Coinbase argued that the SEC’s dismissal of its rulemaking efforts while pursuing enforcement actions beyond its authority contradicts fairness and regulatory procedures.

The SEC’s denial, which faulted Coinbase’s petition for lacking a proposed rule’s substance, drew backlash from the crypto community. SEC Chair Gary Gensler, in response, emphasized the applicability of existing laws and the SEC’s role in regulating crypto securities through rulemaking. He defended the agency’s discretion in setting regulatory priorities.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Coinbase has actively backed the crypto industry through political donations, lobbying, and public advocacy. The SEC’s lawsuit against Coinbase in June alleged securities violations.