Important Crypto News This Week: Coinbase, SEC vs. Crypto, and Senator Warren

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a return to the $52,000 range for the first time since 2021, coinciding with increased attention on Senator Elizabeth Warren and SEC Chair Gary Gensler.  

Highlights

• Weekly inflows into the BTC-spot ETF market hit an all-time high record.
• There was an unforeseen development in the SEC's legal battle against Ripple.
• Coinbase (COIN) saw a 26.99% surge in its shares during the week ending February 16, driven by investor response to its Q4 earnings.  

BTC-Spot ETF Market Performance

The week of February 16 saw significant activity in the BTC-spot ETF market, with net inflows surpassing the $2 billion mark. BTC experienced an 8.07% increase, reaching $52,049 by Saturday, with a peak of $52,868 on Thursday, the highest since December 2021. iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the net inflows, contributing $2,265.6 million, nearly double the previous week's total. Conversely, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) observed total weekly net outflows of $624 million, up from $415.5 million the prior week.

BTC Weekly Chart 170224

Coinbase Earnings and Market Response

Coinbase (COIN) reported impressive earnings for Q4 2023, with total revenue up 41% to $954 million, exceeding expectations. Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.04 surpassed the anticipated $0.20. This positive performance coincided with a surge in consumer trading volume, reflecting a shift in investor sentiment toward the crypto market. Coinbase shares surged by 26.99% to $180.31, reaching a high of $193.64 before retracting, the highest since April 2022. This surge occurred despite the ongoing SEC v Coinbase case, awaiting a ruling on Coinbase's Motion to Dismiss.

Coinbase Weekly Chart 170224

SEC v Ripple Developments

In the SEC v Ripple case, Empower Oversight announced the final stages of an investigation into conflicts of interest within the SEC, specifically related to former SEC Director William Hinman. The investigation alleges bias against Ripple Labs and XRP, stemming from Hinman's previous employment with a group promoting Enterprise Ethereum. The outcome of this investigation may influence the SEC's appeal against the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling, which deemed certain XRP sales not subject to securities laws. XRP responded positively to this development, potentially paving the way for XRP-spot ETFs.

Following positive developments potentially leading to XRP-spot ETFs, XRP demonstrated a notable uptick in price during the week, rising by 6.46% to reach $0.5601 from Monday to Saturday.

Weekly XRP Chart 170224

Senator Warren's Influence on Crypto Legislation

Senator Elizabeth Warren drew attention to claims linking crypto to illicit financing by Hamas, urging an investigation into the matter. Her efforts culminated in the proposal of the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, aiming to impose stricter regulations on the crypto space to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.