Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.
Today in crypto, Arizona state lawmakers have advanced a Bitcoin strategic reserve bill, analysts say leveraged memecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings show issuers are testing Trump-era regulators, and MicroStrategy is raising additional capital for Bitcoin acquisitions.
Arizona Senate moves forward with Bitcoin reserve legislation
Arizona lawmakers have advanced a Bitcoin strategic reserve bill, which seeks to deploy the world’s first cryptocurrency as a savings technology for the state.
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB1025), which is co-sponsored by Senator Wendy Rogers and Representative Jeff Weninger, was passed by the Arizona State Senate Finance Committee with a five to two vote on Jan. 27.
The bill will now move to the Senate Rules Committee for final debate and amendments. Approval by the Senate would advance the bill to the House of Representatives.
The bill proposes the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve by the US Treasury for “the storage of government Bitcoin holdings,”
which would also allow other public funds to store their digital assets in a “secure, segregated account within the strategic Bitcoin reserve.”
The bill would allow up to 10% of a government entity’s or public fund’s capital to be invested in Bitcoin
BTC
$102,514
and other digital assets. It also opens the door for pension funds to allocate resources to Bitcoin, potentially increasing public interest in cryptocurrencies.
Tuttle’s 10 leveraged crypto ETFs filings show issuers testing limits
Tuttle Capital has filed for ten crypto-based leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including some for memecoins, which analysts say show issuers are testing the limits of Trump-era regulators.
Tuttle’s proposed ETFs include funds that are two times leveraged long on memecoins, including Official Trump (TRUMP), Melania Meme (MELANIA) — launched by Donald Trump and wife Melania — and Bonk
BONK
$0.00002555
.
“To be very clear here. This is a case of issuers testing the limits of what this SEC is going to allow,” Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said in a Jan. 27 X post.
Tuttle’s filings follow bids from Osprey Funds and REX Shares on Jan. 21 to launch ETFs for several memecoins, including TRUMP, BONK and Dogecoin
DOGE
$0.3279
.
Seyffart added he expects the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new crypto task force led by crypto-friendly Commissioner Hester Peirce to “be the lynchpin in determining what’s gonna be allowed vs what isn’t.”
Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said on X that Tuttle’s filings are “unusual,” but unless the SEC knocks them back, “they could be out and trading in April.”
MicroStrategy proposes 2.5 million share offering to fund Bitcoin purchases
MicroStrategy has proposed a stock offering to raise cash for “general corporate purposes,” including acquiring more Bitcoin
BTC
$102,478
, signaling its intent to continue accumulating the digital asset.
According to a Jan. 27 announcement, MicroStrategy intends to offer 2.5 million units of its perpetual strike preferred stock, which is a type of stock that has a liquidation preference and
pays dividends at a fixed rate. Holders also have the option of converting it into common stock.
According to MicroStrategy, its offering will have a per-share liquidation preference of $100. Dividends are payable quarterly, beginning on March 31.
In the announcement, MicroStrategy described itself as the “world’s first and largest Bitcoin Treasury Company,” signaling that its business intelligence software is no longer its primary business.
In its fiscal third quarter, the company’s revenues declined 10.3% year over year to $116.1 million. Its gross profit margin also fell to 70.4% from 79.4% for the third quarter of 2023.