The SEC Launches a FinTech Office Tasked with Vetting ICOs and Goldman Sachs Invests Millions into…

The State of The Market — October 19, 2018BTC: $6,452.84 (-1.31%)ETH: $203.68 (-0.83%)USDT: $0.983 (+0.85%)

Yesterday Bitcoin posted a bear flag and dropped below $6,500 and Ethereum spent the day trading under $200. Tether (USDT) is still in the process of recovering and the stablecoin reached $0.9991 today during early trading hours. Arbitrage between USDT and USD cryptocurrency exchanges continues to take place, but the discrepancies between BTC and ETH prices are narrowing as exchanges draw closer to realigning asset pricing.

In other news, Goldman Sachs and Mike Novogratz’ Galaxy Digital are investing in crypto custodian BitGo. The announcement comes just days after Fidelity announced the launch of its Digital Asset Service for institutional investors requiring a cryptocurrency custody solution. It just so happens that Novogratz’ Galaxy Digital is also the first official client of Fidelity’s custody solution. Tether (USDT)continues to make news as more than $600 million USDT were pulled from circulation since the start of October. Analysts and traders have taken note of Tether’s crash and earlier this week the stablecoins’ drop to $0.85 fueled a rather impressive Bitcoin pump on Bitfinex.

1) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has made another move toward crypto but it has yet to introduce a regulatory framework for the industry. The Wall Street regulator launched a fintech hub called FinHub, which will streamline the process for blockchain startups to communicate with regulators. Participants can use FinHub to ask regulators questions or schedule a meeting. Blockchain startups and regulators are expected to explore areas like DLT as well as the regulatory side of the market. According to Forbes, the new portal could produce more regulation-compliant platforms. The new hub, which will be spearheaded by the SEC’s Valerie A. Szczepanik, is not exclusive to blockchain companies and will also support other FinTech-related startups in areas such as artificial intelligence. (Read More)

2) Today BitGo announced that they are “Proud to have Goldman Sachs and Galaxy Digital on our side.” Billionaire investor and founder of Galaxy Digital Mike Novogratz responded to the tweet by retweeting “More institutional architecture. #theherdiscoming” Today, BitGo also released a press release announcing the close of its Series B funding phase. The cryptocurrency custodian raised $58.5 million and the funds will be used to further develop the company. BitGo is licensed to provide storage and custody solutions to institutional investors looking to dabble in cryptocurrency and BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said, “No one is better positioned than BitGo to serve institutional investors who want to trade cryptocurrencies and digital assets. That’s why we’re focused on figuring out what it takes to secure a trillion dollars.” (Read More)

3) Gelfman Blueprint, Inc. (GBI), a Bitcoin hedge fund, and CEO Nicholas Gelfman have been ordered by a federal court in New York to pay more than $2.5 million for running a Ponzi scheme. GBI operated the Ponzi scheme from 2014–2016 by stating that they had created a computer algorithm which enabled investors to receive substantial returns via a commodity fund. The scheme proved to be a fraud. GBI and Gelfman solicited more than $600,000 from no less than 80 customers. CFTC Director of Enforcement, James McDonald stated that this case signifies another victory for CFTC in its bid to eliminate bad actors in the cryptocurrency sector. (Read More)

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