Here’s What You Missed in Crypto This Week

As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies get increasing attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks continue to adjust to the shift. Catch up on this week’s top stories highlighting the intersection of these old guard and new school areas of finance with this recap compiled by The Fly.

SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PRIOR RULING AGAINST COINBASE: In a dispute that involves a conflict between two contracts executed by petitioner Coinbase (COIN) and respondents, who use Coinbase, the Supreme Court upheld a prior ruling on Thursday, stating that “Coinbase asks the Court to revisit the Ninth Circuit’s bottom-line conclusion below, but its arguments are unpersuasive.” The case arose over a dispute about whether an arbitration clause in an initial contract should have controlled what happened in a subsequent contract tied to a Dogecoin sweepstakes competition the exchange held. (read more)

ETHEREUM ETFS APPROVED BY THE SEC: The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the launch of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds for accelerated launch, Crypto Briefing’s Diego Almada Lopez reported Thursday, citing a document uploaded to the SEC website. The agency said, “After careful review, the Commission finds that the Proposals are consistent with the Exchange Act and rules and regulations thereunder applicable to a national securities exchange.” The SEC filings list eight Ethereum ETFs from VanEck, Fidelity (FNF), Franklin, Grayscale, Bitwise, ARK Invest & 21Shares, Invesco & Galaxy, and BlackRock’s (BLK) iShares Ethereum Trust, proposed for listing on Nasdaq (NDAQ), NYSE Arca (ICE), and Cboe BZX Exchange (CBOE). (BTM) announced Thursday a new retail partnership with Nouria Energy Corporation, a convenience store brand based in the northeastern U.S. with operations across 175 company owned c-stores and fuel retailers. Beginning in Q2, Bitcoin Depot will deploy its kiosks into 57 Nouria locations across Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. “We are thrilled to join forces with Nouria, a respected leader in convenience retail, as we continue our ambitious growth journey throughout 2024,” said Brandon Mintz, CEO. “At Bitcoin Depot, it is our singular mission to provide unparalleled convenience and pioneering solutions to enhance crypto accessibility for our customers. That objective is made possible through synergistic collaboration with our network of like-minded retail partners, and we look forward to our partnership with Nouria in the months ahead.” (read more)

NY AG ENTERS $2B SETTLEMENT WITH GENESIS: New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Monday that the state has secured a settlement worth $2B with bankrupt cryptocurrency firms Genesis Global Capital, Genesis Asia Pacific, and Genesis Global Holdco, that will help maximize recoveries for investors who were defrauded. The settlement, which required review and approval by a bankruptcy court due to Genesis’ previous bankruptcy declaration, will establish a victims fund to help defrauded investors, including at least 29,000 New Yorkers, who contributed more than $1.1B to Genesis through the Gemini Earn investment program. Additionally, the settlement bans Genesis from operating in New York. The settlement, the largest against a cryptocurrency company in state history, continues Attorney General James’ work to increase oversight and regulation in this industry and protect New York investors, which has secured more than $2.5B from predatory cryptocurrency platforms to date. “When investors suffer losses because of fraud and manipulation, they deserve to be made whole,” said James. “This historic settlement is a major step toward ensuring the victims who invested in Genesis have a semblance of justice. Once again, we see the real-world consequences and detrimental losses that can happen because of a lack of oversight and regulation within the cryptocurrency industry. New York investors deserve the peace of mind that comes from a properly regulated marketplace, and that is something my office will always act to achieve.” (read more)

ANALYST TAKES CAUTIOUS VIEW ON BLOCK: Morgan Stanley noted on Wednesday that Block (SQ) shares closed down about 3% after CEO Jack Dorsey presented to investors May 21 and argued that Dorsey’s comments “should not be taken as reassuring for most Bulls’ theses, and more broadly, we think instead they reaffirm our more cautious view.” The firm contends that the most incremental topic was Dorsey’s stated intention to disrupt Bitmain’s dominance in the Bitcoin ASIC mining market and thinks that Dorsey’s emphasis on recapturing engineering and design reputation, coupled with previous commentary on Square Seller and Cash App product development being gradual and iterative, counters the commonly-held bull thesis that management already has a well-developed product portfolio roadmap and go-to-market strategies. Morgan Stanley maintains an Underweight rating and $60 price target on Block shares. (read more)

CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital (BTBT), Coinbase, Core Scientific (CORZ), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Marathon Digital (MARA), MicroStrategy (MSTR), Riot Platforms (RIOT), Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG) and TeraWulf (WULF).

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin was roughly flat this week at $67,268 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.