Bitcoin traded in a tight range in the past 24 hours, staying between $25,800 and $26,000 after a price spike last week when the cryptocurrency topped $28,000. This followed a federal appeals court ruling that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must review its rejection of Grayscale Investments’ attempt to convert its GBTC into an ETF. However, the SEC’s delay of key ETF decisions dampened traders’ hopes of a long-term recovery. “As we enter September, the cryptoasset market remains on the edge of its seat as various macroeconomic and regulatory narratives continue to leave investors guessing,” said Simon Peters, an analyst at eToro.
Stellar’s XLM was the only digital asset which saw notable gains on Monday, advancing 10% on the day. JPMorgan (JPM) said in a report Friday that it is more likely the SEC will be forced to approve spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded-fund (ETF) applications from several asset managers after the federal court ruling. “The most important element of the Grayscale vs. SEC court ruling was that the denial by SEC was arbitrary and capricious because the Commission failed to explain its different treatment of similar products i.e., futures-based bitcoin ETFs,” analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has seen another senior executive depart, with Global Product Lead Mayur Kamat heading for the door. A former vice president of product at travel agent Agoda, Kamat joined Binance in April 2020. Kamat’s departure follows those of Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillmann, Senior Director of Investigations Matthew Price, SVP for Compliance Steven Christie, who left the company in early July, and Asia-Pacific Head Leon Foong, who quit in August.