Today in crypto, Bitcoin ETFs saw $812 million in outflows, while Ether ETFs ended their longest inflow streak with $152 million in losses; exchange Gate has launched spot trading services in the United States. Meanwhile, Andreessen Horowitz urged US senators to revise a draft crypto bill in open letter.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs see second-largest outflow, Ether ETFs end 20-day streak
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw $812.25 million in net outflows on Friday, marking the second-largest single-day loss in the history of these products.
The drawdown erased a week of steady gains and pushed cumulative net inflows down to $54.18 billion. Total assets under management slid to $146.48 billion, representing 6.46% of Bitcoin’s (BTC) market capitalization, according to SoSoValue.
Fidelity’s FBTC led the exodus with $331.42 million in redemptions, followed by ARK Invest’s ARKB, which saw a substantial pullback of $327.93 million. Grayscale’s GBTC also lost $66.79 million. BlackRock’s IBIT posted a relatively minor loss of $2.58 million.
Meanwhile, Ether ETFs ended their longest inflow streak to date. After 20 consecutive trading days of net inflows, the sector recorded a $152.26 million outflow on Friday. Total assets under management now stand at $20.11 billion, or 4.70% of Ether’s (ETH) market cap.
Crypto exchange Gate launches spot trading services in the US
Crypto exchange Gate is launching in the United States, offering spot trading services to US customers for the first time. Founded in 2013 by Chinese scientist Lin Han, the company cited improved regulatory clarity in the country as the reason behind the move.
According to Gate, it will initially offer crypto trading pairs for US customers, with upcoming services for fiat on- and off-ramps and support for custodial wallets. As of July 24, the exchange offered over 3,800 trading pairs on its platform, one of the largest asset varieties in the market.
Spot trading volume on Gate reached $6.8 billion in the past 24-hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
The move comes as crypto exchanges are reentering the United States amid increased regulatory clarity.
Andreessen Horowitz warns of loopholes in draft US crypto rules
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) called on US lawmakers to revise a draft crypto regulation bill, warning that the proposed framework could open dangerous loopholes and undermine investor protections.
In a Thursday open letter to the US Senate Banking Committee, the investment firm urged regulators to close loopholes in the draft crypto legislation. The letter was a response to the discussion draft released in late July.
The discussion draft in question builds on the 21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act (CLARITY Act) and seeks industry input on the ongoing crypto regulation. A16z points to the definition of ancillary assets, referring to tokens sold with an investment contract that give buyers no equity, dividend or governance rights.
“The ancillary asset construct should not serve as the foundation for legislation without significant modifications,” the letter said.
A16z said the current approach fails to resolve core issues facing crypto markets and would be incompatible with the Howey test, the long-standing legal benchmark for defining securities.
