Mainstream Adoption: The Era of Bitcoin ETFs Begins

By Leon Yee, Yeo Ming Ze and Brian Sim

1. Navigating the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETFs”) Landscape: A Comprehensive Overview

Introduction to Bitcoin ETFs in 2024
On 10 January 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved the listing and trading of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs. This followed a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia where the court held that the SEC’s denial of Grayscale Investments conversion of its Bitcoin trust to an ETF was “arbitrary” and “capricious” given that the SEC had approved a futures-based Bitcoin product. The court found these futures-based ETFs to be materially similar to Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF such that they should have received the same regulatory treatment. The court’s decision was based on two key points: the underlying assets (Bitcoin futures and Bitcoins) being closely related in that they both track spot Bitcoin market prices and the futures and Bitcoin exchanges having the similar controls in place for detecting fraudulent or manipulative market misconduct.
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Crypto Fraud: An Overview of Recourse and Remedies in Singapore

The dark side of the rise of cryptocurrency and blockchain-enabled transactions is fraud of a new kind, global in scope and emboldened by a veil of anonymity. One need only look to the headlines to see the impact. From the theft of hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin in the infamous Mt. Gox hack, to the horror story of a 53-year-old Singaporean businesswoman who lost $1.2 million of her life savings in an investment-based crypto scam despite having taken steps to ascertain the authenticity of the counterparty. For a victim of crypto fraud, what redress, if any, can the laws of Singapore provide? We review recent developments and share our thoughts.

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