Bitcoin’s price is on course to achieve its fifth consecutive month of gains, its potential longest winning streak since the pandemic-era rally that was fueled by incentives that were handed out at the time.

Shortly after the U.S. approved its first spot Bitcoin ETF, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) received its first spot Bitcoin ETF application from Harvest Hong Kong, one of China’s largest fund managers.

In a recent report, Blockchain security firm PeckShield revealed that last year’s cryptocurrency losses to hacks and scams totaled $2.61 billion. The figure, which doesn’t include multichain losses, represents a 27.78% drop from the $3.6 billion lost in 2022.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Bitcoin on Track for Fifth Straight Month of Gains
• Hong Kong Receives Application to Launch First Spot Bitcoin ETF Following U.S. Lead
• PeckShield Report: $2.61 Billion in Crypto Stolen, $674 Million Recovered in 2023

Bitcoin on Track for Fifth Straight Month of Gains

Bitcoin’s price is on course to achieve its fifth consecutive month of gains, its potential longest winning streak since the pandemic-era rally that was fueled by incentives that were handed out at the time.

The cryptocurrency saw its value rise by about 2% in January, a month in which the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were launched in the United States and in which views on the outlook of monetary policy started changing.

Should Bitcoin maintain its upward trajectory, it would mark its longest streak of monthly increases since a six-month period from October 2020 to March 2021, with the cryptocurrency hitting its all-time high near $69,000 later in November 2021.

In January, Bitcoin experienced a 21% drop over a 12-day period after the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, while Grayscale’s GBTC saw significant outflows after being converted to an ETF. The pace of withdrawals has since dropped as competitors from BlackRock and Fidelity see significant inflows.

Data shows that the spot Bitcoin ETFs’ launch was the most successful launch of these types of funds in history when measured by both trading and flow metrics.

Hong Kong Receives Application to Launch First Spot Bitcoin ETF Following U.S. Lead

Shortly after the U.S. approved its first spot Bitcoin ETF, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) received its first spot Bitcoin ETF application from Harvest Hong Kong, one of China’s largest fund managers.

According to a report from Tencent News, the SFC is moving swiftly to process ETF applications, aiming to unveil Hong Kong's first spot Bitcoin ETF shortly after the Chinese New Year, which falls on February 10.

Mirroring the U.S. SEC’s strategy, Hong Kong could approve various spot Bitcoin ETFs at the same time to foster fair competition. While Harvest Fund has the distinction of being the first to apply, several financial institutions across the region have expressed interest in launching these products.

Notably, at least 10 financial entities are actively working towards the launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the country, while existing cryptocurrency firms that launched futures-based crypto ETFs are also expected to work toward launching spot Bitcoin ETFs.

PeckShield Report: $2.61 Billion in Crypto Stolen, $674 Million Recovered in 2023

In a recent report, blockchain security firm PeckShield revealed that last year’s cryptocurrency losses to hacks and scams totaled $2.61 billion. The figure, which doesn’t include multichain losses, represents a 27.78% drop from the $3.6 billion lost in 2022.

PeckShield’s report details that the firm tracked over 600 major tracking incidents in which over $674 million worth of digital assets were recovered, a figure equivalent to 25% of the cryptocurrency stolen.

The firm attributes the success of these recoveries to the collaboration between centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, leading stablecoin issuer Tether, and law enforcement agencies to freeze funds when they’re identified.

Its findings also highlight that 67% of the losses occurred in the decentralized finance sector, while 33% were in centralized finance. Further analysis shows that 58% of the total losses were due to hacks, while 42% resulted from scams.

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