Jerome Powell says crypto has ‘staying power,’ Valkyrie goes BRRR for spot Bitcoin ETF

Welcome to today’s Snapshot!

Wednesday saw a monster rally in the crypto markets, hot on the heels of BlackRock’s announcement last week to launch a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund. In the wake of the announcement, other heavy hitters such as Deutsche Bank and Fidelity have piled into the market.

With Bitcoin back up over $30,000 and US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell relenting on the staying power of digital assets, the market is looking bullish.

These are the stories we’re looking at right now.

Powell says Bitcoin has ‘staying power’

Powell said Wednesday that Bitcoin had “staying power,” and insisted the US central bank should oversee stablecoin regulation.

Powell said at the US Financial Services Committee meeting that the Fed sees “stablecoins as a form of money,” but that allowing private state-level money creation would pose risks.

Valkyrie goes $BRRR on ETFs

Valkyrie Funds submitted a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a spot Bitcoin ETF on Wednesday, under the meme-inspired ticker BRRR.

Valkyrie is one of many firms hankering to get a Bitcoin ETF approved following BlockRock’s much-hyped application last week.

Singapore gives Ripple regulatory nod

Crypto firm Ripple announced Thursday that it received approval to operate in Singapore, which will allow it to offer services related to its XRP token.

Ripple and XRP are currently in a precedent-setting lawsuit with the SEC, which branded XRP a security in 2021.

Texas Bitcoin miners go dark

Texas Bitcoin miners temporarily shut down some of their operations on Tuesday as a heat wave overwhelmed the state’s power grid.

The US state pays out incentives to power users in the case of energy shortages, which helped temper usage in Tuesday’s crisis that saw electricity shrink to 2% of normal capacity.

Three Arrows Capital return as VCs

Bankrupt Three Arrows Capital, a hedge fund also known as 3AC with close ties to the 2022 crypto collapse, has returned from the dead as a venture capital firm.

Bankruptcy claims exchange OPNX announced that 3AC Ventures will partner up as an investor. The crypto community derided the announcement, referencing 3AC founders Kyle Davies and Su Zhu’s shaky public image.

What we’re reading from around the web

Ambient founder touts advantages of single contract DEX architecture — Blockworks

Raft’s R Stablecoin Surges as Traders Embrace Liquid Staking Ether Products — CoinDesk

Gods Unchained hits Epic Games Store ahead of mobile expansion — Decrypt