Weekly Update: 22nd of May
What happened between the 15th and 22nd of May?
International hedge fund Millennium Management disclosed that it holds nearly $2B in Bitcoin ETF holdings as of the first quarter of 2024. Read more
Grayscale CEO, Michael Sonneshein, steps down after a ten-year tenure, replaced by Peter Mintzberg. Read more
New York attorney general reaches $2B settlement with Genesis to refund defrauded investors. Read more
Ether jumps over 17% as investors speculate on potential Ether spot ETF approval as the Securities and Exchange Commission requested document updates from potential ETF issuers and exchanges. Read more
Millennium Management holds nearly $2B Bitcoin ETF posistions
International hedge fund Millenium Management disclosed that it held nearly $2 billion in Bitcoin ETF positions as of March 31. The firm held 1.94 billion across five Bitcoin spot ETFs according to a recent SEC filing, these ETFs are ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the iShares Bitcoin Trust and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF. Its largest allocation was in BlackRock’s ETF, which was approximately $844 million, shortly followed by Fidelity with $806 million. Slowly we see more institutions position themselves towards Bitcoin as earlier this month the industry witnessed the State of Wisconsin announcing they held a position in Bitcoin.
Michael Sonneshein steps down as Grayscale CEO
On the 21st of May, digital asset manager Grayscale announced that its CEO, Michael Sonneshein, has stepped down as CEO and that Peter Mintzberg, a former Goldman Sachs executive, will replace him. Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group — the parent company of Grayscale published a statement that as Grayscale positions for its next phase of growth, they are excited to welcome Peter Mintzberg. During Michael’s tenure, he played a crucial role in the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETFs, and it's clear that Grayscale is entering a new era in which more focus will be put on traditional financials.
Genesis reaches $2 billion settlement
On May 20th, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $2 billion settlement with the cryptocurrency firm Genesis to compensate defrauded investors. These funds will be returned to Genesis investors, and additionally, Genesis is banned from operating in New York. In October 2023, the New York Attorney General's office filed a lawsuit against Genesis, which later expanded to include Digital Currency Group, its CEO Barry Silbert, and former Genesis CEO Soichiro Moro. This settlement only applies to Genesis; the lawsuits against the others are ongoing.
Ether soars as the SEC requests document updates
On May 20th, Ether surged over 17%, reaching a two-month high of over $3,700, as investors speculated on the potential approval of a spot ETF. This speculation was fueled by the SEC's request for document updates from potential ETF issuers and exchanges. The sudden communication from the SEC injected positive sentiment into the market, hinting at a possible approval. Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart even increased their odds of an ETF approval from 25% to 75%. On May 23rd, the SEC will provide its decisive answer regarding VanEck's application, which should give the market a clearer understanding of the reasons behind the approval or denial.
In other digital assets news
According to CoinShares data, digital asset investment funds attracted $932 million in weekly inflows as the U.S. consumer price index continued to show a downward trend.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced that it wants to offer spot BTC trading, allowing institutional traders to acquire Bitcoin outside traditional cryptocurrency exchanges.
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