Brazil's Spot Bitcoin ETFs Enjoy High Demand: A First Mover's Insights

• Brazil Shows Growing Demand for Bitcoin ETFs
• Binance Founder Must Stay in U.S.
• Record Inflows to Crypto Investment Funds
• Chart of the Day

Brazil Shows Growing Demand for Bitcoin ETFs

Marcelo Sampaio, CEO and founder of Hashdex, attributes the success of bitcoin ETFs in Brazil to a combination of pro-market digital assets regulation and increasing interest from larger institutions.

Binance Founder Must Stay in U.S.

Binance founder Changpeng CZ Zhao is obliged to remain in the U.S. as a federal judge deliberates on a motion by the U.S. Department of Justice, which would require him to stay in the country until he is sentenced early next year. After pleading guilty to the violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, Zhao resigned as CEO of Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange in terms of volume. The exchange also pleaded guilty to charges of breaching sanctions and money-transmission laws, agreeing to pay $4.3 billion in fines and engage compliance monitors who will provide reports to the U.S. government. Following Zhao's guilty plea, a magistrate judge allowed his release on a $175 million personal recognizance bond. However, an aspect of the ruling that would have allowed Zhao to return to the UAE was stayed by District Judge Richard Jones.

Record Inflows to Crypto Investment Funds

Last week, crypto investment funds saw their largest net inflows of the year, continuing their best run since the 2021 bull market. The anticipation for a spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) has played a significant role in enticing investors. Net inflows of $346 million were reported in the week ending Nov. 24 - the highest in what has now been nine straight weeks of inflows, according to CoinShares. James Butterfill, CoinShares head of research, noted that the current run, driven by anticipation of a spot-based ETF launch in the U.S., is the largest since the bull market in late 2021.

Chart of the Day

The chart illustrates the total U.S. dollar value of cryptocurrencies locked in the liquid staking protocol Lido since late 2022. A significant increase can be noted, with the total value locked (TVL) more than doubling to $18.89 billion in just six weeks. Markus Thielen from DeFi Research said that the fragmentation of the DeFi market has favored liquid staking protocols this year, citing this as a factor in Lido's TVL surge.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker