The Daily: eToro settles with SEC, Grayscale launches new XRP Trust, Standard Chartered predicts bitcoin new all-time high by year-end and more

Happy Thursday! In today's newsletter, eToro settles with the SEC for $1.5 million and cuts back its U.S. crypto offering, Grayscale launches a new XRP Trust, Standard Chartered says bitcoin could hit a new all-time high by year-end regardless of who wins the U.S. election and more.

Meanwhile, former FTX executive Ryan Salame withdraws a plea to void his seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence following a dispute over an investigation into his partner and former congressional candidate, Michelle Bond.

Let's get started.

eToro settles with SEC for $1.5 million, cuts back US crypto offering

Global social trading and investment platform eToro agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges alleging it operated as an unregistered broker and clearing agency.

• The SEC said that the Israel-based firm enabled U.S. customers to "trade crypto assets being offered and sold as securities, but eToro did not comply with the registration provisions of the federal securities laws."
• As part of the settlement, eToro agreed to now only allow its U.S. users to trade bitcoin, bitcoin cash and ether, without admitting or denying the SEC's findings.
• eToro will stop supporting numerous other crypto assets in the country, requiring U.S. customers to close or transfer their existing positions by March 2025, after which they will be liquidated with the funds transferred to clients' cash balances.
• "By removing tokens offered as investment contracts from its platform, eToro has chosen to come into compliance and operate within our established regulatory framework. This resolution not only enhances investor protection but also offers a pathway for other crypto intermediaries," Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC's enforcement division, said.
• eToro CEO Yoni Assia stated that the settlement will have a minimal impact on global operations and the firm would reintroduce crypto trading in the U.S. once a clear regulatory framework is established.
• "Outside of the United States, eToro users will continue to enjoy access to over 100 crypto assets," he added.

Grayscale launches new XRP closed-end fund, token jumps 8%

Crypto asset manager Grayscale is launching a new XRP closed-end fund , the Grayscale XRP Trust, allowing investors to gain direct exposure to the cryptocurrency.

• The firm launched an open-end XRP Trust in 2018. However, that fund was shut down in 2021 after the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, alleging that XRP was being sold as an unregistered security.
• "We believe Grayscale XRP Trust gives investors exposure to a protocol with an important real-world use case," Grayscale’s Head of Product Research Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary said. "By facilitating cross-border payments that take just seconds to complete, XRP has the potential to transform the legacy financial infrastructure."
• XRP saw an 8% price increase following the announcement, with the crypto asset's market cap exceeding $32 billion, according to The Block's XRP Price Page .

Standard Chartered says bitcoin price could hit record high by year-end, regardless of US election outcome

Standard Chartered Head of Crypto Research Geoff Kendrick predicts bitcoin will hit a new all-time high by year-end , regardless of the U.S. election outcome.

• "I think bitcoin ends the year higher, at new all-time highs, no matter who wins the U.S. election, with a Trump win taking it to $125,000 and $75,000 if it's Harris," Kendrick said in an emailed statement.
• Kendrick believes regulatory changes, like easing banking rules on digital assets, will continue into 2025, driving bitcoin's price higher no matter who occupies the White House.
• U.S. Treasury market trends and a potential October rebound in Bitcoin ETF inflows are also positive factors supporting bitcoin's trajectory, he said.

Coinbase rolls out wrapped bitcoin alternative cbBTC on Ethereum and Base

Crypto exchange Coinbase launched its own version of wrapped bitcoin , cbBTC, on the Ethereum and Base networks, providing a means to use the foremost cryptocurrency in their DeFi ecosystems.

• The ERC-20 token is backed 1:1 by bitcoin held at Coinbase and can be used for DeFi applications like liquidity provision and collateral to borrow other assets.
• Dapps supporting Coinbase Wrapped BTC at launch include DEXs Aerodrome and Curve, lending protocols Aave, Compound and Morpho, and cross-chain swaps platform DeBridge.
• Coinbase's cbBTC will compete with Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) — currently the largest tokenized bitcoin product with a market cap of $8.9 billion, according to The Block's WBTC Price Page .

'Stage 1 or bust': Vitalik Buterin's stance on Layer 2s

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is taking a new approach to discussing Layer 2 rollups in public communications, such as blogs and talks, from next year.

• To promote greater decentralization among Layer 2s, Buterin said he will only discuss rollups that are at "Stage 1+" — requiring a council to reach 75% consensus to override their proof systems and no fewer than 26% of the council members are independent of the roll-up team itself.
• "It doesn't matter if I invested, or if you're my friend; Stage 1 or bust," Buterin said. "The era of rollups being glorified multisigs is coming to an end. The era of cryptographic trust is upon us."

In the next 24 hours

• It's quiet on the economic calendar front.
• ETHSafari continues in Kenya.

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