Introduction
The crypto community got excited in the past week as several events sparked interest on several fronts.Â
Grayscale defied market predictions and made a resurgence just as Bitcoin ETf made its debut in Hong Kong while eyeing the Australian space. Perhaps, Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy takes the crown of controversy as he got flayed by crypto leaders for what they considered self-serving comments.
Grayscale’s GBTC Pulls First $63M Inflow Â
After an over 80-day losing streak, Michael Sonnenshein-led Company Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) pivoted in a massive turnaround to stem its outflow to bag $63 million in inflow. Grayscale prior to the inflow experienced the highest outflows among the 11 ETFs approved by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Market analysts did not anticipate the bullish reversal and had no idea when the outflow would stop as they hinged the bleeding on its sponsor fee which unlike its peers comes in at 1.5%.
Bitcoin ETF and Michael Saylor’s ‘Gaffe’
The crypto community received cheering news as Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) after weeks of anticipation granted approval for trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) in the Asian country. The approval opened up space for more investors in the Asian block to embrace the asset.
Meanwhile, investors in the Australian market are anticipating their approval before the end of this year as the country’s ASX Exchange is on track to list approved offerings. There are high indications that a native Aussie bourse might join the spot Bitcoin ETF bandwagon in 2024.
While the excitement electrified the crypto community, Michael Saylor, co-founder and Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy, and the single individual with the largest holding of over 200,000 BTC sparked controversy with his categorization of Cardano, Ethereum, and XRP, as well as other Altcoins as ‘securities’.
Industry Reaction
His comments received scathing criticism from crypto leaders such as Dan Gambardello, a prominent Cardano advocate, and Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano. They viewed Saylor’s comments as potentially harmful to the development and adoption of cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin.
Despite the slamming of Saylor, as of the time of writing, Bitcoin is up 1.19% at $64,298.74, as per CoinMarketCap data.
