According to a recent report from J.P. Morgan, it’s unclear how much new capital is going to be moving into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), although significant inflows from other cryptocurrency products are expected.

Cryptocurrency advocacy group Coin Center has responded to an inquiry from Senator Elizabeth Warren into its hiring of former government officials, standing its ground and defending its right to participate in public policy discussions.

The Fantom Foundation has reduced the validator self-staking requirements on its layer-1 blockchain Fantom by 90%, over six months after a governance vote approving the change was passed.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• J.P. Morgan: Spot Bitcoin ETFs May Not Attract New Capital, But Will Trigger Massive Fund Shifts
• Coin Center Rejects Senator Warren’s Claims of Obstructing Crypto Legislation
• Fantom Foundation Slashes Validator Staking Requirements by 90%

 

J.P. Morgan: Spot Bitcoin ETFs May Not Attract New Capital, But Will Trigger Massive Fund Shifts

According to a recent report from J.P. Morgan it’s unclear how much new capital is going to be moving into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), although significant inflows from other cryptocurrency products are expected.

Per the report, the market’s reaction to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs was subdued, and the focus is now shifting to the capital these funds might attract.

Analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou expressed doubts about a large influx of new capital into the crypto space due to these ETFs, but noted they expect a significant shift of funds from existing cryptocurrency products into these.

Even if no additional capital enters the market, the inflow to these ETFs could reach up to $36 billion, the analysts wrote. They expect about $3 billion to move out of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into the new spot ETFs, as well as up to $20 billion from retail investors moving from crypto wallets to these funds.

Institutional investors currently holding crypto in fund formats, such as futures-based ETFs or GBTC, might also switch to cheaper spot ETFs, particularly if GBTC is slow in lowering its fees, they wrote.

Coin Center Rejects Senator Warren’s Claims of Obstructing Crypto Legislation

Cryptocurrency advocacy group Coin Center has responded to an inquiry from Senator Elizabeth Warren into its hiring of former government officials, standing its ground and defending its right to participate in public policy discussions.

Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, had expressed concerns about the hiring of former government officials potentially sabotaging legislative efforts. She also accused crypto organizations like Coinbase of deliberately hiring ex-defense and law enforcement officials to weaken Congressional actions addressing crypto's alleged role in financing groups like Hamas.

In response, Coin Center stood its ground and rejected the idea that participating in public policy discussions equates to obstructing Congressional efforts.

Coin Center challenged the notion that the regulations proposed by Warren, which she termed as common sense, were in fact unfair, impracticable, and unconstitutional.

Regarding the use of cryptocurrency by organizations such as Hamas, Coin Center argued that Warren's proposals would be ineffective, suggesting that efforts should focus on more proven methods to prevent terrorist financing.

Concluding their response, Coin Center declined to provide further answers to Warren's queries but expressed willingness to engage in "honest, respectful policy discussions" in the future.

Fantom Foundation Slashes Validator Staking Requirements by 90%

The Fantom Foundation has reduced the validator self-staking requirements on its layer-1 blockchain Fantom by 90%, over six months after a governance vote approving the change was passed.

The Fantom Foundation has released a statement detailing that the new staking threshold for Fantom has dropped from 500,000 FTM to 50,000 FTM. The move, it says, will bolster the security of the Fantom network and make it more accessible to run a validator.

The foundation emphasized that an increase in the number of validators enhances network security by making it harder for attackers to compromise the network. Validators bundle transactions and share them with other validators, with finality occurring when at least two-thirds of validators reach a consensus.

More validators would mean faster transactions, the Foundation said, as there would be a wider selection pool, while avoiding delays to finality and drops in network security.

The proposal to lower the minimum FTM required to run a node has been under consideration since at least February 2022.

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