Kalam Crypto #115: ETH ETF Approved & Politicians Embrace Crypto

“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.” John Maynard Keynes

Ahlan wa sahlan, and welcome to the 115th edition of CoinMENA's weekly newsletter, Kalam Crypto. This week, the Ethereum ETF got approved, crypto became a major issue in U.S. politics potentially shaping the presidential election outcome, and research shows that 13 of the largest 25 hedge funds in the U.S. have bitcoin in their portfolios. All that and more on this week’s Kalam Crypto.

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Global News 🌍

It's an election year in the United States, and crypto is becoming a political issue as many candidates attempt to court voters by pledging to be pro-crypto. This marks a significant development for the crypto industry, highlighting the first time Bitcoin and crypto will play a part in the U.S. presidential elections. Here are two stories where politicians have shown a more crypto-friendly stance:

1. Ethereum ETF Approval: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first Ethereum (ETH) Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). This landmark decision is expected to bring significant capital flows from institutional investors who can now allocate portions of their portfolios to Ethereum in a securitized form​. The sudden and surprising approval came after significant pressure from the White House administration on the SEC not to reject the ETH ETF applications. 

2. Former president and current Republican nominee comes out as pro-crypto: In a recent speech, Donald Trump pledged to ensure that the future of crypto and Bitcoin will be made in the USA. He vowed to support the right to self-custody for the nation's 50 million crypto holders and protect cryptocurrencies from politicians seeking to attack and ban them. Trump also committed to freeing Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, if re-elected, and preventing the issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) without Congressional approval. 

These two stories together mark a significant shift in U.S. politics, with both parties now competing to be more crypto-friendly. This is a notable change from the punitive stance they have employed over the past few years.

Top U.S. Hedge Funds and Investment Boards Reveal Bitcoin Holdings: Research shows that 13 of the top 25 U.S. hedge funds purchased Bitcoin ETFs in Q1, collectively investing over $1.3 billion. This surge in demand comes as hedge funds such as Millennium Management, Bracebridge Capital, Point72, and the Wisconsin Investment Board ramp up their exposure to Bitcoin.

Keep an eye on 👀

TON’s TVL Surging: The total value locked (TVL) on Telegram’s The Open Network (TON) blockchain has surpassed $300 million for the first time, marking a more than tenfold increase since early March. This surge is driven by The Open League initiative, which rewards users of TON's decentralized applications. Earlier this month, CoinMENA became the first regional exchange to enable USDT withdrawals via the Ton Network.

Blog of The Week ✍️

CoinMENA co-founder and managing director Dina Sam’an writes about the Ethereum ETF approval and the regulatory shift happening in the world of crypto: https://www.coinmena.com/en/blog/D7BBkZ4WrYZ24Z5psDTJZ

CoinMENA News 🗞️

Zero Trading Fees Until the End of May: End the month on a high note! Trade any of our listed digital assets and pay no trading fees until the end of the month.

📢CoinMENA Enables USDT Withdrawals via TON: CoinMENA users can now seamlessly send USDT via the Ton blockchain! This milestone makes CoinMENA the first regional platform to enable USDT withdrawals via the Ton network. TON is the third blockchain available to CoinMENA users for sending (withdrawing) USDT, alongside Ethereum’s ERC-20 and TRON’s TRC-20.

Tweet Of The Week 🐥

Crypto becoming a political issue in the U.S. presidential election in 2024 was not what we expected, but here we are.

Quiz Corner ✅ 

Last week’s question: What percent of the stablecoin market capitalization does Tether represent? The Correct answer is c) 70%

This week’s question, can the ETH ETF be staked?

1. Yes

2. No

 See the answer in next week’s newsletter. Or check out our new learning platform https://university.coinmena.com/