Between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suing the Kraken crypto exchange and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announcing criminal charges against Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the crypto industry has had a bad start to the week.
The weakness in crypto prices reflects this negative sentiment – the global crypto market cap shrank by 3% over the past 24 hours, below the crucial $1.4 trillion mark. While the Bitcoin price corrected by only 2.5% in 24 hours, altcoins such as BNB, SUI, and GRT plunged by close to 10%.
Midcaps such as Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP have also seen significant pullbacks, falling below crucial support levels.
There is growing anticipation among crypto investors for positive news regarding the spot Bitcoin ETFs. Although some speculate that the recent downfall of Binance could increase the chances of swift approval, there has been no indication from the SEC.
Despite the recent slump in the crypto market, two Bitcoin derivatives, Bitcoin Minetrix and Bitcoin ETF Token, are being closely monitored in their ongoing presales.
Why is crypto down?
In a joint announcement yesterday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, on behalf of the Department of Justice, announced criminal charges against Binance and its CEO Changepeng Zhou, accusing them of breaching sanctions law, operating as an unlicensed money transmitting company and failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering mechanism.
Binance has pleaded guilty to the charges above and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines to settle the allegations.
C.Z. has also pleaded guilty in Seattle, agreeing to step down as the CEO of the exchange and paying $50 million in settlement fines. In addition, Zhao had to sign a $175 million personal recognizance bond to be released from custody.
On top of the DOJ crypto announcement, the U.S. Department of Treasury and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also announced separate settlements with Binance. The exchange’s overall fine remains $4.3 billion, with some amount being credited to each agency.
As part of its settlement with the U.S. Department of Treasury, Binance must exit the U.S. However, its U.S. subsidiary – Binance US – could continue to operate as a registered money-transmitting company.
While most of the details from the agreement had already leaked, Changpeng Zhao stepping down as the Binance CEO took the market by surprise, pushing crypto prices lower.
Richard Teng, Binance’s former regional market head, will now replace him as the new CEO.
Will crypto prices recover on ETF hype?
Despite the sell-off in the crypto market, experts remain bullish in the short and the long term.
Analyst @tedtalksmacro highlights that the DOJ crypto announcement will now put Binance FUD to rest.
Experts further highlight that with Binance taking a hit, the SEC could approve the pending spot Bitcoin ETF applications.
This theory is likely why Bitcoin remains above $36,000.
However, analyst @DrProfitCrypto on X reveals that Bitcoin needs to hold above the 20-day Simple Moving Average, currently at $36,287.
Failure to do so could lead Bitcoin back to $33,000.
Bitcoin ETF Token potential
Despite Bitcoin pulling lower, Bitcoin ETF Token is firm in the ongoing presale.
The project has already raised over $1.3 million.
The Bitcoin ETF Token presents a novel method for monitoring the Bitcoin ETF market, with investors being rewarded when specific goals are attained.
The first objective will be accomplished when the trading volume of BTCETF attains $100 million.
The second and third milestones depend on the approval and launch of the first Bitcoin ETF, respectively.
To reach the fourth and fifth milestones, the ETFs must accumulate assets worth $1 billion, and BTC must trend above $100k.
At each milestone, 5% of BTCETF supply will be burned to create a deflationary effect.
The transaction tax, starting at 5%, will be reduced by 1% at each milestone.
To address any concerns, Bitcoin ETF Token also allows investors to stake their tokens and earn staking rewards from the presale, currently at an APY of 186%.
Experts back Bitcoin Minetrix
Experts are backing Bitcoin Minetrix, a cloud mining platform challenging wealthy corporations in crypto mining.
With the increasing difficulty of Bitcoin mining, it has become challenging and expensive for retail investors to run a competitive mining operation. The required technical expertise and capital investment make it even more difficult for them to participate in mining Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Minetrix provides a solution to this problem. Investors can stake BTCMTX to use cloud mining services for Bitcoin.
When they stake, they receive mining credits, which they can use to earn passive Bitcoin rewards. They can burn their credits for a percentage of the yield or use them to access cloud mining services.
This decentralized cloud mining approach eliminates the risk of scams that have traditionally plagued other platforms. Also, legacy cloud mining platforms often require long-term, cash-based contracts with centralization risks. In contrast, Bitcoin Minetrix users can unstake and sell their tokens anytime.
Investors can already earn staking rewards, currently at an APY of 140%, even before the cloud mining operation starts.
The project has raised over $4.3 million in their presale with trader Jacob Bury believing BTCMTX will continue rallying in the days ahead.
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