Weekly Update: 20th of November
What happened between the 13th and 20th of November?
- Republican Mike Cabell introduced a bill in the state’s House of Representatives to allow Pennsylvania to create a ‘strategic Bitcoin reserve’. Read more
- 18 US states have filed a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission and its Chair Gary Gensler, accusing the financial regulator of “gross government overreach against the digital assets industry. Read more
- Dutch firm Quantoz launches MiCA-compliant Euro and U.S. Dollar stablecoins on the Ethereum blockchain. Read more
- After months of trading, the net inflows of the Ether ETFs finally turned positive, potentially hinting at a trend reversal. Read more
Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to create a Bitcoin strategic reserve
On November 13th, Republican Representative Mike Cabell introduced a bill in the Pennsylvania House to permit the state treasury to hold up to 10% of its balance sheet in Bitcoin. If this legislation passes, Pennsylvania’s Treasurer will be authorized to invest up to 10% of the State General Fund, the Rainy Day Fund, and the State Investment Fund in Bitcoin. As of November, the state treasury reported having over $9.7 billion in its General Fund and approximately $7 billion in its Rainy Day Fund. Earlier this month, another politician proposed a Bitcoin reserve at the national level, indicating that the concept of Bitcoin as a strategic reserve is gaining significant traction.
Eighteen states sue the SEC and Gary Gensler
On November 14th, news broke that the SEC and its Chair, Gary Gensler, are being sued by eighteen states for government overreach against the digital assets industry. The core of the lawsuit alleges that the agency has disregarded the proper allocation of authority and has attempted to unilaterally seize regulatory control from the states through a series of enforcement actions. This isn’t the first time both Gensler and the SEC have faced criticism. Even within the agency, dissent has emerged, with SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda calling Gensler’s policies “a disaster for the whole industry.” This lawsuit is just one part of a broader debate, and with Trump’s recent win, many are anticipating a significant shake-up in SEC leadership.
Quantoz launches regulatory-compliant stablecoins
On November 18th, Dutch fintech firm Quantoz announced that it’s launching MiCA-compliant Euro (EURQ) and U.S. Dollar (USDQ) stablecoins on the Ethereum network. Fiat reserves and highly liquid financial instruments like government bonds fully back both assets. EURQ and USDQ will both start trading on Thursday the 21st of November on Bitfinex and Kraken. The launch comes at an appropriate time as various firms in the EU are working towards the latest requirements as MiCA comes into force at the end of this year. If stablecoin issuers don’t meet the latest requirements, exchanges will be forced to delist these assets. While Circle (USDC) has said that it has fulfilled these requirements, Tether (USDT) has yet to obtain the necessary licensing.
Ether ETF flows turn green
Four months after their launch in July, the total net inflow of the nine U.S. Ether spot ETFs has turned positive. These financial instruments faced a challenging start as macroeconomic conditions took a downturn around the time of their launch. While eight ETFs managed to attract capital, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE) saw outflows exceeding $3.2 billion. This situation mirrors the initial struggles of its Bitcoin ETF counterpart, although the other instruments were able to offset these outflows much more quickly. Despite this rocky start, the net inflow now exceeds $100 million, potentially signaling a trend reversal for Ethereum, which has also lagged behind Bitcoin in terms of performance.
In other digital assets news
- Business software firm Microstrategy acquires an additional 51,780 Bitcoin, worth approximately $4,6 billion, increasing its holdings to 331,200 BTC.
- Stabelcoin issuer Tether launched Hadron, an asset tokenization platform designed to simplify the tokenization of everything from stocks to bonds, stablecoins, loyalty points, and more.
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