In May, Kelly has also said that the upcoming supply cut – brought by the next halving of the block reward – could help Bitcoin prices rise further in the coming months.
As Cointelegraph reported on Oct. 9, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission rejected Bitwise Asset Management’s proposal to list a Bitcoin ETF.
Founder and CEO of crypto investment firm BKCM Brian Kelly has said that Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) are hardly needed for the ecosystem’s development, given that the coin is already available on regulated platforms such as Fidelity and TD Ameritrade.
Kelly made his remarks during an interview with CNBC published on Oct. 11, explaining:
“You have companies like Fidelity and TD Ameritrade starting to push into this space. So ultimately you’re going to be able to buy Bitcoin in a regular brokerage account, or it’s going to look like a regular brokerage account. So I’m less concerned that you need a bitcoin ETF at this point in time.”
He also pointed out that the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) decision to define Ethereum as a commodity made a significant impact on the space, adding:
“The CFTC saying that Ethereum is a commodity is huge for the space. It gives us regulatory clarity. … That opens the door for institutions to come in. … Everybody is concerned, what if they ban it? … The CFTC said ‘we’re not banning it yet, we’re gonna regulate it,’ and now investors can say ‘Put them in my commodity bucket.’”
Crypto Lending and Borrowing Platform Celsius Network Acquires BSave
Celsius Network, a cryptocurrency lending and borrowing platform, has acquired BSave for an undisclosed amount, the company said earlier this week.
BSave is a platform that provides earning interest income on cryptocurrency. With the acquisition, Celsius Network gains access to its yield generating algorithms originally developed by the company. Celsius Network said it will retain BSave’s key talent, employees, and developers. Steve David Bellaiche, BSave’s CTO and co-founder, will be joining the Celsius team.
Additionally, the 45,000 pre-existing BSave members will join the Celsius platform.
Daniel Leon, president, co-founder and COO of Celsius Network, said the acquisition of BSave was “the next logical step in our goal of becoming the leading interest-earning platform for stablecoins and cryptocurrency holders.”
Founded in 2017, Celsius Network provides a platform that allows users to access several services. These include for instance depositing digital assets in the Celsius wallet and gaining interest, applying for loans with digital assets as collateral, and transferring digital assets to other users through the company’s CelPay feature.
Celsius Network app
The platform is built around the Celsius Token (CEL) which allows users to take advantage of different utilities, primarily to gain better terms and opportunities when using Celsius’ services such as higher rates for interest income, lower rates for crypto-backed loans and priority status for customer support.
Celsius Network currently supports interest income on 16 different coins. Interest is paid out weekly, and users can choose to earn in-kind (BTC on BTC, ETH on ETH, etc.) or in CEL to receive greater rewards.
Users can use the coins held in their Celsius wallet as collateral to receive loans in USD or stablecoins. Interest rates are set at 4.95%, 6.95% or 8.95% based on how much collateral they want to provide.
As of May 2019, the company exceeded US$200 million in deposits, US$2 billion in coin loan origination, and 30,000 active wallets. It claims it has not had a single default on a loan since the launch of the platform in 2018.
Celsius Network was founded by Alex Mashinsky, a serial tech entrepreneur and the founder of seven startups. In 1994, Mashinsky successfully invented and developed the Voice Over Internet Protocol, which paved the way for users with broadband Internet connections to make voice calls to one another. His work has received several awards for innovation.
