BlackRock revises BTC ETF filing, El Salvador’s crypto citizenship trending, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Dec. 10-16
BlackRock updates its Bitcoin ETF application to enable banks, demand for El Salvador’s crypto-linked citizenship, and Sam Bankman-Fried’s attorney interview.
BlackRock has revised its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) application to make it easier for Wall Street banks to participate by creating new shares in the fund with cash rather than just crypto. The new in-kind redemption prepay model will allow banking giants such as JPMorgan or Goldman Sachs to act as authorized participants for the fund, letting them circumvent restrictions that prevent them from holding Bitcoin or crypto directly on their balance sheets.
El Salvadors National Bitcoin Office says its $1 million Freedom Visa program has already received hundreds of inquiries since its launch on Dec. 7 and expects it to sell out before the end of 2023. Launched by the local government in partnership with stablecoin issuer Tether, the Freedom Visa is a citizenship-by-donation program that grants a residency visa and pathway to citizenship for 1,000 people willing to make a $1 million Bitcoin or Tether donation to the country. The program is limited to 1,000 slots per calendar year.
The lawyer responsible for Sam SBF Bankman-Frieds criminal trial defense has admitted that the case was almost impossible to win from the outset. During an interview, Stanford Law School professor David Mills said he recommended the legal defense of SBF admit to the allegations of witnesses and state prosecution and convince the jury that Bankman-Fried intended to save the company. Mills also disclosed that he had agreed to lend his expertise to Bankman-Frieds defense at the behest of the FTX CEOs parents, and described Bankman-Fried as the worst person Ive ever seen do a cross-examination.
