The hot topic in finance in the first week of the year is the potential approval of a Bitcoin ETF.

With a January 10 deadline looming where the SEC must decide whether or not to approve the spot Bitcoin ETF, the big players are lining up their offerings.

There are 12 issuers vying for a Bitcoin ETF approval including some of the biggest names in traditional finance: BlackRock, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton.

We heard news yesterday that the CBOE has granted Fidelity a ticker symbol (FBTC) and approved the listing pending the SEC decision. The price of bitcoin has been quite volatile ahead of this groundbreaking decision.

Of course, the SEC may reject it once again and say it needs more time. But the crypto world is optimistic that the time is now. It will be a historic moment for the industry although we shouldn’t forget that Canada approved their first spot Bitcoin ETF, the world’s first, in February 2021 and has become a leading global player.

Stay tuned, we will have more when the SEC makes their decision.

Featured

Fidelity Bitcoin ETF Set to Trade on CBOE—But No Word From SEC

By Stacy Elliott

The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust got the ok to trade on the CBOE under the FBTC ticker, but there’s still no word from the SEC.

From Fintech Nexus

> Generative AI can be a goldmine for lenders in 2024

By Fintech Nexus Staff

Generative AI is coming to lending and it is going to happen this year. Lenders who are early movers will have an advantage here. This new white paper from Prodigal shows how.

> LatAm fintechs expect more benign conditions in 2024

By David Feliba

Latam fintechs expected to grow into lending in 2024, as a more benign economic environment favors greater risk-taking.

Podcast

Siddhartha Jajodia, U.S. CEO and Chief Banking Officer of Revolut on creating a global digital bank

The Chief Digital Banking officer and Revolut U.S. CEO, Sid Jajodia, talks about the challenges of creating the world’s first…

> Listen Now

Editorial Cartoon

Webinar

High Performance Payouts: Why real-time Pay-to-Card is revolutionizing access to cash

Jan 17, 12pm EST

Real-time payouts have never mattered more than they do in today’s digital economy. Across platform economies – serving creator…

Register Now

Also Making News

• USA: FedNow fraud is coming … and banks aren’t ready
  Banks have a simple choice: Either invest in fraud controls to prepare for FedNow, or expect draconian supervisory measures that will increase friction and confuse customers.

• UK: Drive now, pay later fintech Bumper revs up with £40 million Series B
  Bumper, a UK fintech enabling flexible payments for car repairs, has completed a £40 million Series B fundraise.

• USA: How the 2023 Bank Crisis Can Still Be Felt in 2024
  The Fed may be poised to loosen the reins on the economy with interest-rate cuts, but for now banks are still keeping themselves on a fairly tight leash.

• USA: Looking back and moving forward: How neobanks tackled 2023 and what they expect from 2024
  Last year wasn’t the best for traditional banks, but were neobanks any better off?  Despite the bank troubles last year, some report that trust in traditional banks has remained steady (66%) but trust in neobanks is still lower than these older institutions, hovering at 47%. 

• UK: HSBC reportedly eyeing Tesco Bank acquisition
  The UK’s largest banks have been linked to potential buyers of Tesco Bank. HSBC is the latest.

• India: India’s Digital Rupee Crossed a Million Transactions in 1 Day With Some Help From Banks
  CoinDesk has viewed a letter dated Dec. 29 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das to staff that said the usage of the e-rupee (CBDC) “exceeded the milestone of 1 million transactions in a day on Dec. 27, 2023.”

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