Galaxy Digital Holdings, Mike Novogratz’s cryptocurrency investment management firm, is not going public in the United States in late 2021 as the firm previously planned. Galaxy Digital has postponed plans for a U.S. listing, now expecting to go public in the first quarter of 2022, the company’s founder and CEO Novogratz announced Monday. “We look forward to our U.S. listing and the close of our BitGo acquisition, which we now expect will occur in the first quarter of 2022,” he said. The U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission is yet to approve Galaxy Digital’s potential listing on an American exchange, …
After months of scrutiny from both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the infrastructure bill — criticized by many crypto advocates — is now officially the law of the land. In a ceremony in front of the White House on Nov. 15, President Joe Biden signed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill before an audience of reporters, lawmakers, and union workers. While the bipartisan legislation is aimed at providing funding for roads, bridges, internet access, solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations, and other major infrastructure projects, lawmakers included language applying to cryptocurrencies prior to its passage in both chambers of …
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered crypto mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings to produce documents and communications for one of its mining facilities in Montana. According to a Nov. 15 filing with the SEC, Marathon Digital received a subpoena concerning an investigation concerning possible violations of the federal securities law related to its Hardin, Montana data center. In the third quarter of 2021, the SEC ordered the mining firm to produce documents and communications for the 100 megawatt facility, which it made arrangements to develop and stock with Bitcoin (BTC) miners in October 2020. Marathon Digital said it …
Despite his actual term at the helm of the New York City government kicking off some 1.5 months from now, Eric Adams, the city’s mayor-elect, has already started governing by publicity. Making the Empire City more business and tech-friendly is a centerpiece of Adams’ vocally projected agenda, and — much to the crypto community’s delight — the incoming mayor has made a point to repeatedly declare his support for all things Bitcoin (BTC). In the days following his Nov. 2 victory, Adams, the former Brooklyn borough president and a former police officer, issued a chain of crypto-friendly statements ranging from …
Marathon Digital Holdings, one of the largest Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies in the United States, is looking to raise $500 million in debt to buy Bitcoin and set up new Bitcoin miners. The Nasdaq-listed company officially announced Monday a private debt offering featuring a $500 million aggregate principal amount of its convertible senior notes. The company also expects to grant the initial purchasers an option to purchase up to an additional $75 million principal amount of notes after 13 days from the date the notes are first issued. “The notes will be senior, unsecured obligations of Marathon, will accrue interest …
VanEck, one of the first United States-based asset managers to file for a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), is finally launching its Bitcoin futures ETF. According to an official notice by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), VanEck’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF will start trading on CBOE under the ticker symbol XBTF on Nov. 16. VanEck’s new ETF is joining the growing number of BTC futures-based ETFs launched in the United States, including ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which became the first Bitcoin futures ETF to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 19. Valkyrie’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF started …
Crypto has seen a rise in novel uses of liquidity mining and rewards through protocols like Uniswap, Aave and Compound. More recently, a new crop of DeFi 2.0 protocols such as OlympusDAO, Alchemix and Abracadabra are exploring new ways of operating without giving up token rewards. For all the innovations happening with decentralized systems in crypto, they are still failing to open new pathways for economic prosperity for the most marginalized. In its current form, DeFi remains open only to people who already have access to the financial system and live in countries with strong financial markets. This is evident …
Canadian Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms is planning to build its first data center in the United States following the purchase of a land plot in Washington State. In a Nov. 11 announcement, Bitfarms said it aimed to establish mining operations in the U.S. capable of 620 petahashes per second using 6,200 Bitmain rigs fully powered by hydroelectric energy. The firm has already purchased a 24 megawatt hydro power farm in Washington for $26 million, but plans to expand to 99 MW by developing additional farms in the area. Bitfarms CEO Emiliano Grodzki said the firm had chosen Washington for its …
The Joint Economic Committee, which includes Republican and Democratic members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, will be holding a hearing on the role of government concerning crypto. According to the Joint Economic Committee’s, or JEC’s schedule for next week, congressional members will be listening to industry experts speak at a hearing called “Demystifying Crypto: Digital Assets and the Role of Government” on Nov. 17. Representative Don Beyer — who has previously proposed legislation expanding the regulatory and legal framework for digital assets in the U.S. — will be chairing the hearing. Industry experts scheduled to speak …
Bitwise Asset Management has withdrawn its application for a Bitcoin (BTC) futures-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) amid a number of such products launching in the United States. While dropping its futures-linked ETF, the firm is still bullish on a spot Bitcoin ETF, which is designed to track Bitcoin directly, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan announced on Nov. 10. Hougan said that Bitwise’s spot filing remains intact and the firm will continue its efforts to launch such a product in the United States: “Ultimately, what many investors want is a spot Bitcoin ETF. We think that's possible. So Bitwise will continue …
City of Philadelphia Chief Innovation Officer Mark Wheeler announced an initiative to bring blockchain technology to city government on Monday. The project has invited people working in the blockchain and smart contracts space to contact staff working on the project to see how crypto technology could be useful within municipal government. Wheeler tweeted that he was inspired by the blockchain forward efforts of Miami, where Mayor Francis Suarez has touted city specific crypto tokens as a potential replacement for taxes and has opted to receive his next paycheck in bitcoin. Satoshi white paper gets notice on another big city's website. …
Landry’s Restaurant Group announced a partnership with cryptocurrency firm NYDIG on Tuesday that will enable diners to earn $25 worth of Bitcoin for every $250 spent at the hospitality conglomerate’s eateries. Landry’s will also begin keeping a portion of its corporate treasury reserves in Bitcoin under the care of NYDIG. The company is known for operating dozens of franchise entities including Morton’s, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, the Rainforest Cafe, and the Palm. Landry’s is owned by billionaire TV personality Tillman Fertita, who also acts as the company’s CEO. Landry’s Director of Digital Asset Strategy Trey Zeluff said in a statement: …