Crypto Tidbits: Bitcoin Dives Under $8,000, Fidelity Bags Trust License, SEC Takes Second Look at ETF

Another week, another round of Crypto Tidbits. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies haven’t had the best of weeks. On Friday, BTC fell as low as $6,800, marking a 19% decline on the week. Altcoins posted similar losses, crushed under the pressure of a plunging Bitcoin.

Despite the bearish price action, the past week was still fundamentally positive for the cryptocurrency industry: Bakkt’s Bitcoin futures set a new volume record, Grayscale revealed that it wants to become an SEC reporting company, and Fidelity revealed that it has bagged a key Trust license for its digital assets business.

Related Reading: Crypto Tidbits: RBC May Embrace Bitcoin, China Bashes Cryptocurrency, Ethereum DeFi Booming

Bitcoin & Crypto Tidbits

• Bitcoin Fixes This: German Bank Forces Negative Interest Rates: According to a report from RFI, the Raiffeisen cooperative bank in Fuerstenfeldbruck, near Munich, will now be levying a -0.5% annual rate on savers, from big to small. The outlet suggests that only new customers and deposits to the bank will be affected, though this move is the first of its kind regardless. This financial imbroglio comes shortly after a Denmark bank began to charge clients with over $111,000 in their bank accounts a 0.75% yearly fee. Hodlonaut, a legendary Bitcoin industry commentator, broke down why he believes negative interest rates are effectively the straw that will break the camel’s back. As he explained, your income is taxed, your assets are taxed, everything is with time taxed via inflation, and then you slowly watch your capital evaporate because of negative interest rates.
• PBoC of Shanghai Confirms Crypto Sentiment: The Shanghai branch of the People’s Bank of China has just commented on crypto yet again. According to the announcement, published on Friday, the branch of the Chinese central bank has observed a resurgence in cryptocurrency-related speculation through ICOs, IEOs, STOs, and other capital-raising/token distribution methods. As such, the Chinese central bank asserted that it will continue to “monitor the virtual currency business activities within the jurisdiction,” which will be “disposed of immediately” if discovered.
• China’s Virtual Currency Coming: Speaking of China, a top industry venture capitalist believes that she believes China’s digital asset will “definitely” launch “within the next six to twelve months.” The venture capitalist in question is Edith Yeung, partner of Proof of Capital — a blockchain-centric venture fund that has made investments in Binance, Blockstream, and Stellar according to its website
• IRS Bitcoin & Crypto ATM Crackdown: An official of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says that his agency will begin a concerted effort to tackle the widespread adoption of Bitcoin ATMs. The tax agency’s Criminal Investigation Chief John Fort was cited in a recent Bloomberg Law report as stating the following:
  

  “We’re looking at those, and the ones that may or may not be connected to bank accounts […] In other words, if you can walk in, put cash in and get bitcoin out, obviously we’re interested potentially in the person using the kiosk and what the source of the funds is, but also in the operators of the kiosks.

• Bitwise ETF Application Gets Second Look… For Some Reason: In October, Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETF application to the SEC wad denied, with the financial regulator issuing a 112-page order seemingly dismantling the entire crypto industry. Though, in a Federal Register document dated November 12th though published on November 18th, the SEC claimed that its five commissioners will (re)review the Bitcoin ETF application. The review does not mean that acceptance of the Bitcoin ETF application is imminent, though the public can comment on the rejection until December 18th.
• Fidelity Secures Key License for Crypto Operations:  Just today, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) granted Fidelity Digital Asset Services a trust license. In layman’s terms, this new license will give Fidelity’s cryptocurrency branch the permission to launch a cryptocurrency custody and trade execution platform for institutions and individual investors for New York residents — which is notable as this is where much of American wealth is managed, traded, and such.

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