This week in the crypto world we saw certain X accounts getting compromised, exchange apps getting kicked in India, and something about a Bitcoin ETF…
The times, they are a-changing…
Crypto Exchanges Kicked from App Store in India
Apple this week removed the apps of at least nine cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and Kraken, from its App Store in India. This action follows a recent crackdown by India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which issued show-cause notices to these exchanges, alleging non-compliance with the country’s anti-money laundering rules.
The FIU had previously requested India’s IT Ministry to block the websites of these exchanges in the country, and it seems that Apple’s actions may be the first step in this direction.
SEC X Account Compromised
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was left with egg on its face this week after its X account was compromised to falsely suggest that a Bitcoin ETF had been approved.
In an embarrassing turn of events, SEC Chair Gary Gensler was forced to admit that the agency did not have two-factor authentication on the account having advised citizens to do just that in order to protect themselves online, leading to many mocking the agency for failing to follow through on its remit of protecting investors.
Some believe it was an SEC employee jumping the gun, which was certainly made to look more plausible by the following day’s activity…
Bitcoin ETF Approved
It took more than ten years, and good old Gensler may have had his hand forced onto the paperwork, but over a decade after the Winklevoss twins submitted the first Bitcoin ETF application, the authority finally bowed to pressure and awarded not just one but 11.
Blackrock, Fidelity, Grayscale, and the others made official what had been known for days, expected for weeks, and hoped for months, opening up the gates and allowing institutions to pick up Bitcoin safely.
$4.5 billion worth of business was done on day one, showing that the desire is certainly there, while Bitcoin’s rather boring reaction showed that fears of a ‘sell the news’ event were unfounded…for now.
