Key Highlights:

• Solana reaches a new peak of $265
• SEC Chair Gary Gensler to step down in January
• Speculation rises about a potential Solana Spot ETF

Solana’s price has skyrocketed, smashing its previous all-time high, as investor excitement around its future soars. Early Friday, SOL/USD surged to a record $265, overtaking its 2021 peak of $260. This milestone marks an impressive rebound from its dramatic low of $8 during the aftermath of the FTX collapse just two years ago.

The surge follows the unexpected announcement that SEC Chair Gary Gensler will leave his post on January 20, 2025, coinciding with the inauguration of Donald Trump. Gensler, often criticized by crypto advocates for his stringent regulations, spearheaded crackdowns on digital assets and hindered their development.

With Gensler’s departure, the possibility of Solana gaining a US-based spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) seems brighter than ever. Presently, the SEC has only approved Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, leaving Solana as a strong contender to become the third. This optimism has fueled renewed enthusiasm among traders and institutions alike, with analysts predicting 2025 could be pivotal for Solana’s ETF approval.

The post Solana Hits $265: A New Record Amid Spot ETF Buzz appeared first on Crypto Market Insights: Dive In with CryptoUpdate.io.

In a possibly unprecedented move hidden in the lawsuit’s 69th line, the SEC today claimed it has the power to prosecute Balina not just because his case involves US transactions, but also because the whole Ethereum network comes under US government jurisdiction.

In its complaint, the agency observed that the ETH delivered to Balina was confirmed by an American network of Ethereum blockchain nodes.
The SEC finds that these transactions occurred in the U.S.

The SEC seems to propose that since more Ethereum validating nodes are in the US than in any other area, all Ethereum transactions should be deemed American.
Etherscan says 45.85% of Ethereum nodes are in the US.
Germany’s second-highest node density is 19%.

If the SEC classifies Ethereum behavior as similar to that of an American securities market, it would claim authority over all activity on the purportedly decentralized Ethereum network.
It would increase the SEC’s oversight over Ethereum, where most NFT and DeFi activity occurs, and crypto in general.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler said last week, after Ethereum’s successful migration to proof-of-stake, that the shift may bring the network closer to the definition of security.

Gensler spoke before the Senate Banking Committee on how “staking” (pledging assets to a crypto network in return for passive benefits) may be regarded as a signal that an asset qualifies as a security under the Howey Test. He did not specify any particular cryptocurrency or network.

Under Gensler, the SEC has not taken an official position on Ethereum, despite prior leadership stating it was “sufficiently decentralized” and not a security.

The post SEC Asserts That All Ethereum Is Subject to US Law appeared first on Crypto Market Insights: Dive In with CryptoUpdate.io.

If an asset fits the Howey test’s parameters, it is classified as an “investment contract” and is therefore subject to federal security rules.

According to the criterion, an asset is considered an “investment contract” if investors make a commitment to provide financial backing for a business with the expectation of profiting from the company’s activities. According to Gensler, proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies have a good chance of passing that test and being considered securities.

The Wall Street Journal reported that he said there’s additional proof that, under the Howey test, the investing public is anticipating returns based on the work of others. Another sign is that investors expect returns from the work of others.

Verification of Ethereum transactions is now performed by proof-of-stake rather than proof-of-work.

Staking, or locking up one’s money, is a necessary part of the proof-of-stake blockchain protocol that allows it to operate and ensures the security of the transactions that are processed on the network.

It’s not the same as Bitcoin or any other proof-of-work cryptocurrency, which is now the most valuable cryptocurrency in terms of market value. The Bitcoin mining process is very power-hungry.

If Gensler’s claims hold water, Ethereum’s historic move would suggest that the asset now has the potential to be classified as an “investment contract,” subjecting it to the rules governing securities. Although Gensler has stated his belief that Bitcoin is not a security, he has previously refrained from commenting on Ethereum specifically. While discussing staking and proof-of-stake currencies, the chairman of the SEC did not specifically mention Ethereum or any other currency.

The Coin Center said on Thursday that Ethereum’s move to proof of stake shouldn’t change how the cryptocurrency is managed. However, Gensler’s predecessors at the SEC made it plain that they did not consider Ethereum to be a security, so it’s possible that this is just a policy decision.

According to a statement released on the Coin Center’s blog earlier today, central to classification as security is continuous reliance on revenue received mostly from the labor of others.

Proof-of-work and proof-of-stake are “both consensus procedures” that are specifically meant to eliminate any such dependency by fostering an open competition amongst strangers.

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