Crypto News: Bitcoin-Spot ETF Activity Continues as Investors Eye a Jan Batch Approval

Key Insights:

• Football star Christiano Ronaldo becomes the latest celebrity to face legal action over association with crypto platforms.
• Binance announces the winding down of binance USD (BUSD).
• BTC-spot ETF activity continues in the background, with the markets eyeing a January batch approval.

Football Star Christiano Ronaldo Faces Binance-Linked Lawsuit

This week, news broke of a lawsuit against football star Christiano Ronaldo for his links to Binance. The plaintiffs argue his association with Binance as a brand ambassador led users to invest in unregistered securities and crypto yield products.

According to the BBC, the plaintiffs seek damages over $1 billion. In 2022, Christiano Ronaldo signed a multi-year NFT partnership with Binance.

Ronaldo is not the first to face legal action because of ties to crypto platforms. Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Stephen Curry, and Naomi Osaka were among the big names to get wrapped up in the collapse of FTX.

Significantly, the cases against the stars promoting FTX opened the door to the complaint against Ronaldo.

Binance Announces Plans to Wind Down Binance USD

On Wednesday, Binance announced plans to phase out binance USD (BUSD). According to the post on X (formerly Twitter), Binance said,

“In accordance with past communications, Binance will cease support for BUSD products starting on December 15, 2023. Users may trade or convert their BUSD balances for FDUSD at zero trading fees.”

The news is unrelated to the Binance settlement with the US DOJ and US regulators. In February 2023, the SEC targeted Paxos and BUSD with a Wells notice. In the same month, Paxos announced it would stop minting new BUSD.

BTC-Spot ETF Issuers Increase to 13 After Late Filing

On Wednesday, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF Analyst James Seyffart announced a late entrant into the BTC-spot ETF space. European crypto ETF shop Pando filed an S-1 for Pando Asset Spot Bitcoin Trust.

There were also updates on existing applications. Bloomberg Intelligence ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas shared the latest news, saying,

“Looks like BlackRock met with the SEC’s Trading & Markets division again yesterday and presented them with a “revised” in-kind model design based on Staff’s comments at their 11/20 meeting.”

The SEC previously requested BTC-spot ETF applicants to amend their filings in favor of cash creates. More discussions relating to cash creations and in-kind are likely.

Notably, the BTC-spot ETF hype is influencing the spot and futures markets. Seyffart shared a ProShares BITO (BTC Futures ETF) chart showing BITO hitting an all-time high in assets.

Last week, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC traded at a record-low discount for the last few years.

The markets are betting on a January batch approval.

Technical Analysis

Bitcoin Analysis

BTC held above the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, affirming bullish price signals.

A BTC return to the November high of $38,437 would support a move to the $39,000 resistance.

US lawmakers and regulatory activity will draw interest, with BTC-spot ETF-related news updates also focal points.

A fall through the $37,600 support level would give the bears a run at the $36,400 support level.

The 14-Daily RSI reading of 60.48 suggests a BTC return to $38,500 before entering overbought territory.

Ethereum Analysis

ETH sat above the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, sending bullish price signals.

An ETH return to $2,100 would support a move to the $2,143 resistance level.

However, a break below the $2,021 support level would bring the $1,926 support level into play.

The 14-period Daily RSI at 55.23 suggests an ETH return to $2,100 before entering overbought territory.