The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected two more applications to offer physically-backed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), proposed by Valkyrie and Kryptcoin.

Global searches for the term “NFT,” referring to non-fungible tokens, have surpassed searches for the term “crypto” for the first time, according to data from Google Trends. The sharp increase in search traffic for NFTs comes as the popularity of digital collectibles explodes.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is reportedly planning to conduct a trial early next year to explore how it may play a role in the nascent asset tokenization market.

Sponsored: Pawthereum is a community-run charity cryptocurrency project that supports animal shelters and is a digital advocate for animals in need. Pawthereum aims to donate to an animal shelter or animal-related charity at least once per month, with a focus on smaller organizations that need immediate assistance.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• SEC Rejects Two Spot Bitcoin ETF Applications
• Search Interest for ‘NFT’ Surpasses ‘Crypto’
• SWIFT to Explore Tokenized Assets
• Crypto Market Movers – LUNA, REQ, MATIC
• Sponsored: Help Animals In Need With $PAWTH

SEC Rejects Two Spot Bitcoin ETF Applications

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected two more applications to offer physically-backed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), proposed by Valkyrie and Kryptcoin.

The decision to veto both applications was made on Wednesday, with the SEC providing the same arguments it has used in the past when rejecting other applications. To the SEC, the NYSE Arca and Cboe BZX Exchange, which filed respective rule changes to list and trade the products, failed to “demonstrate that their proposals are consistent with the requirements of Exchange Act Section 6(b)(5).”

According to the SEC, they specifically failed to demonstrate their proposals are consistent with a requirement for national securities exchanges to be “designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” and “to protect investors and the public interest.”

The SEC has repeatedly rejected all attempts to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF, even though American investors may already access such ETFs in Canada. Earlier this year, the regulator approved Bitcoin futures ETFs tied to the CME’s derivatives markets.

Search Interest for ‘NFT’ Surpasses ‘Crypto’

lobal searches for the term “NFT,” referring to non-fungible tokens, have surpassed searches for the term “crypto” for the first time, according to data from Google Trends. The sharp increase in search traffic for NFTs comes as the popularity of digital collectibles explodes.

OpenSea, the most popular decentralized platform for non-fungible token auctions and drops, has seen its trading volume surpass $10 billion. Demand for NFTs has grown as consumer brands such as Nike and Adidas have started entering the metaverse with the launch of their own NFTs.

Celebrities like Snoop Dog, Steve Aoki, Grimes, and Mila Kunis have also all published their own NFT collections. NFT-based games such as Axie Infinity and Sorare have also seen their player base grow over time.

SWIFT to Explore Tokenized Assets

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is reportedly planning to conduct a trial early next year to explore how it may play a role in the nascent asset tokenization market.

In a blog post published earlier this month, SWIFT wrote that along with Clearstream, Northern Trust, SETL, and other industry participants it is “exploring the feasibility and benefits of SWIFT as an interconnector, linking up multiple tokenization platforms and various cash-leg payment types.” The global payments intermediary added:

"As interest increases, SWIFT is exploring how it can enable and improve interoperability between participants and systems during the transactional lifecycle of tokenised assets.”

To explore tokenized assets, SWIFT is planning a “series of experiments in Q1 2022 leveraging its trust role as a central platform” to explore the issuance, delivery, and redemption processes of tokenized assets.

Crypto Market Movers – LUNA, REQ, MATIC

Several tokens are leading the charge in the last 7-day period. Some of these are well-known cryptocurrencies with more liquid trading pairs, so we’ll be focusing on these over low-cap cryptos that may have higher percentage changes.

Terra (LUNA) - Terra aims to build a new financial infrastructure that works better for everyone. The network is powered by a family of stablecoins, each pegged to major fiat currencies all algorithmically stabilized by Terra’s native token, LUNA. Terra’s mission is to set money free by building open financial infrastructure.

Request Network (REQ) - Request is a decentralized network that allows anyone to request a payment (a Request Invoice) and provide a safe payment method to the receiver. All of the data is stored in a decentralized authentic ledger.

Polygon (MATIC) - Polygon provides scalable, secure and instant transactions using sidechains based on an adapted implementation of Plasma framework for asset security and a decentralized network of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) validators. In short, it allows anyone to create scalable DApps while ensuring a superior user experience in a secure and decentralized manner.

Help Animals In Need With $PAWTH

Pawthereum is a community-run charity cryptocurrency project that supports animal shelters and is a digital advocate for animals in need. Pawthereum aims to donate to an animal shelter or animal-related charity at least once per month, with a focus on smaller organizations that need immediate assistance. Everyone that participates in $PAWTH is also giving back by supporting the rescuing and fostering of stray animals.

$PAWTH Token 

• The total supply is $1 billion, and a part of that is locked in the liquidity pool on UniSwap.
• $PAWTH charges a 0.5% transaction fee and the fee is going straight to the charity wallet. Unlike other types of animal-related cryptocurrencies, there are no marketing fees, administration, or development fees.
• By supporting Pawethereum, you will make sure you are part of a project that donates to organizations that save the lives of animals. Holding $PAWTH might be risky.

Pawthereum 12 Days Of Giving 

Starting from 14th December until Christmas Day, Pawthereum is donating to 12 different organizations that work hard to help animals every day. By using an Advent Calendar, Pawthereum has been revealing the organization to which they will make a donation every day. There is also an interactive map on their website, where you can track all of their donations - to whom they were given and how much. Until now, Pawthereum has donated $396,500 in total to animal charities and shelters and has over 30 core team members and volunteers supporting the project.

The team behind Pawthereum is fully-doxxed and the project has been audited by TechRate, although the organisation isn't a registered charity.

Learn how to donate by visiting Pawthereum website.

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