Bitcoin’s recent positive price performance has been a result of increased optimism on the potential approval of multiple spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to a research report from JPMorgan, which notes that an approval should happen within months.

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance has revealed it will cease its Visa debit card services in the European Economic Area (EEA) on 20 December 2023. The move comes after a decision from Contis Financial System, the card issuer for Binance’s debit card.

The protocol behind the popular DAI stablecoin, Maker, has seen its annualized revenue surge to a new all-time high of $203 million, above a previous high of $172.3 million seen in May 2021.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• JPMorgan Predicts Multiple Spot Bitcoin ETF Approvals Within Months
• Binance to End Visa Debit Card Services in Europe
• Maker’s Annualized Revenue Hits Record High of $200 Million as Real-World Assets Grow

JPMorgan Predicts Multiple Spot Bitcoin ETF Approvals Within Months

Bitcoin’s recent positive price performance has been a result of increased optimism on the potential approval of multiple spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to a research report from JPMorgan, which notes an approval should happen within months.

The report details that a spot Bitcoin ETF should have been approved in the United States before January 10, the final deadline for the Ark 21Shares applications, after pointing out that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent decision not to appeal a ruling in the Grayscale case brings the approval of applications closer.

The bank reiterated that it believes the regulator would not favor any single applicant, but would approve several applications at the same time to avoid any “first mover advantage.” JPMorgan said this could be good for investors, as it would create more competition on ETF fees.

ETFs are financial products that can be bought and sold in an exchange, like stocks, and track the performance of an underlying asset. Spot Bitcoin ETFs would track the performance of BTC, without requiring investors to actually manage their own private keys. The crypto market is expecting that such a product could attract money from mainstream investors into the space.

Binance to End Visa Debit Card Services in Europe

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance has revealed that it will cease its Visa debit card services in the European Economic Area (EEA) on 20 December 2023. The move comes after a decision from Contis Financial System, the card issuer for Binance’s debit card.

Contis is a Lithuanian-based electronic money institution and currency exchange operator and a subsidiary of the of the German banking-as-a-service platform, Solaris Group, which operates in 30 European countries.

The Binance Visa debit card allowed users to pay with cryptocurrencies from their Binance accounts by converting them into local currencies. This feature made it possible for users to shop online and in person using their crypto assets, but from December it will no longer be available in the EEA, which consists of all the countries in the European Union, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

Binance announced that it would stop offering its Visa debit card services in the EEA, just one day after it reinstated its euro deposits and withdrawals. The exchange had to suspend these services for a month when Paysafe, a payment processor, cut off its relationship with Binance.

Maker’s Annualized Revenue Hits Record High of $200 Million as Real-World Assets Grow

The protocol behind the popular DAI stablecoin, Maker, has seen its annualized revenue surge to a new all-time high of $203 million, above a previous high of $172.3 million seen in May 2021.

Maker is an Ethereum-based protocol that issues the DAI stablecoin, which is controlled by the MakerDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization itself controlled by MKR token holders.

The amount of DAI in circulation has reached an early high of $5.6 billion, allowing Maker’s revenue to grow. The protocol’s revenue comes from fees that users pay for borrowing DAI, fees collected when a borrowing position is liquidated, and interest generated from real-world assets backing DAI.

These tokenized real-world assets include government bonds, and the amount deposited on MakerDAO has now soared past $3 billion to make up over 42.7% of the protocol’s total $7.54 billion in deposits.

The yield on US Treasury bills backing the protocol has recently reached 5% for holders, as the Federal Reserve has been hiking interest rates to rein in on inflation.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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