How’s Thursday looking?
Let’s kick off with a bullish sentiment: Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz said a slew of exchange-traded fund applications will drive the price of Bitcoin’s to end the year higher than it started.
Elsewhere, several US agencies have made headlines. Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has defended his enforcement actions in the face of industry critics. A judge slammed Digitex and its founder with a $15 million fine over Commodity Futures Trading Commission charges. Finally, the Internal Revenue Service sought to expand its data capabilities.
All this and more in today’s Snapshot.
Mike Novogratz predicts Bitcoin to end the year higher
Novogratz told Bloomberg on Wednesday that he believes Bitcoin will end the year higher after several major asset managers — including BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale — applied to launch spot Bitcoin ETFs.
He said it sent a “real signal that adoption is coming.”
Digitex and CEO fined $15mn
A US federal court on Wednesday ordered crypto exchange Digitex Futures and its CEO Adam Todd to pay over $15 million after they violated CFTC rules.
The CFTC charged Todd and Digitex in 2022 for price manipulation of its DGTX token, as well as failure to register as an exchange.
SEC’s Gensler rebuffs crypto critics
Gensler rebuffed his crypto industry critics at a Wednesday briefing, after they insisted he recuse himself from making sweeping enforcement decisions.
The SEC chair insisted he is “fully compliant” with laws related to his authority, and that the SEC considers “the facts and circumstances of each” token and platform.
IRS seeks crypto firm help
The IRS is looking to increase its pricing and market data capabilities, according to notice released by the agency in June.
The IRS currently uses mainstream sources such as CoinMarketCap and Investing.com to track pricing data, but seeks assistance from crypto firms in data analysis.
Hive drops ‘blockchain’, embraces AI
Crypto mining firm Hive Digital — formerly Hive Blockchain — has changed its name and will pivot to artificial intelligence, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
The company said its fleet of crypto-mining Nvidia GPU cards will be repurposed to run AI cloud technology.
What we’re reading about around the web
Progressive watchdogs slam McHenry’s crypto bill as a cure worse than the ‘disease’ — DL News
Hedge funds are showing robust confidence in crypto, PwC says — The Block
Elon Musk’s new ChatGPT competitor boosts AI-Related crypto tokens — CoinDesk
