The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, in a move that its Chair Gary Gensler called the “most sustainable path forward.”

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has recently proposed a “modest” increase in the gas limit to enhance the performance of the network during a Reddit ask-me-anything session hosted by the Ethereum Foundation’s research team.

The microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter) has dropped its support for premium users to use a verifiable non-fungible token (NFT) as their profile picture, two years after launching the feature.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• SEC Approves 11 Spot Bitcoin ETFs in Historic Move
• Ethereum Co-Founder Proposes Gas Limit Increase to Boost Network
• Elon Musk’s X Removes NFT Profile Picture Feature
• Trading Volumes Reach Yearly Highs for 2023 in December

SEC Approves 11 Spot Bitcoin ETFs in Historic Move

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, in a move that its Chair Gary Gensler called the “most sustainable path forward.”

These exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will now trade on exchanges like stocks and have special tax treatment in the United States, and are issued by various major financial powerhouses including Fidelity and Invesco, as well as focused industry players like Grayscale and Ark Invest.

Today, BlackRock will ring the opening bell at Nasdaq to promote its spot Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust. The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs are seen as a game-changer for Bitcoin as US investors, both institutional and retail, will have the opportunity to access the cryptocurrency directly through a regulated product.

A spot Bitcoin ETF allows these investors to avoid having to manage their own private keys. The decision to approve them in the US marks a U-turn for the SEC, which resisted approving spot Bitcoin ETFs for a decade as it cited risks of fraud and manipulation in the crypto market.

Last year, Grayscale won a legal battle against the regulator over an earlier application for a spot Bitcoin ETF, as a federal court decided that the SEC’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious,” forcing it to reconsider.

In a statement, Gensler said that despite the approval, the SEC “did not approve or endorse Bitcoin,” and added investors “should remain cautious about the myriad risks associated with Bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto.”

Ethereum Co-Founder Proposes Gas Limit Increase to Boost Network

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has recently proposed a “modest” increase in the gas limit to enhance the performance of the network during a Reddit ask-me-anything session hosted by the Ethereum Foundation’s research team.

During the AMA session, Buterin highlighted that the gas limit, crucial for managing the network's capacity, has remained unchanged for nearly three years - the longest period in Ethereum's history.

Per his calculations, an increase to around 40 million from the current 30 million gas limit would be “reasonable.” Ethereum’s average gas limit after its creation in 2015 was around 3 million, and has been growing over time.

The Ethereum gas limit refers to the highest amount of gas that can be used to run transactions or smart contracts in each block. Gas is the fee paid for performing a transaction or executing a contract on the blockchain, with the gas limit ensuring blocks aren’t too large and don’t impact the network’s performance.

Elon Musk’s X RemovesNFT Profile Picture Feature

The microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter) has removed its support for premium users to use a verifiable non-fungible token (NFT) as their profile picture, two years after launching the feature.

The feature was launched on X for premium subscriptions before Elon Musk acquired the platform. At the time, it was celebrated by cryptocurrency enthusiasts as a step towards acknowledging the significance of NFTs.

X moved to adopt NFTs before its rival social media giant Meta, which integrated them onto Facebook and Instagram the same year the microblogging platform adopted them.

Trading Volumes Reach Yearly Highs for 2023 in December

Spot trading volumes on centralized exchanges increased for the third month in a row in December, reaching $1.34 trillion, the highest level since June 2022. This led to a quarterly spot volume of $2.99 trillion in Q4 202, a figure that represents a rise of 125% from the previous quarter’s lows.

On the other hand, derivatives trading volume on centralized exchanges grew 26.3% to $3.34 trillion, the highest level since December 2021.

Dig deeper into the world of cryptocurrency trading with CCData’s latest Exchange Review report.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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