A Week in Review: SEC ‘backed into a corner，’ IRS tracks crypto trades and other news

We’ve selected the hottest materials of the past week for you to stay up-to-date with the latest crypto news:

#1.\xa0SEC has been ‘backed into a corner’ on BTC ETF approval — Bloomberg analyst

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission“has been backed into a corner” in approvinga spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart. The analyst said the investment vehicle has a 90% chance of receiving the green light between Jan. 8 and 10. A go-ahead in the coming days could bring \\$10 billion in inflows to Bitcoin ETFs in the first year. However, widespread adoption could take weeks or even months, as institutional investors will likely carry out due diligence before adding the cryptocurrency to their portfolios, noted Seyffart.

#2.\xa0IRS rules require reporting data from \\$10k crypto transactions in 2024

Crypto brokers are nowrequired to report personal information on digital assets transactionsworth more than \\$10,000 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The requirement is part of the infrastructure bill signed into law in 2021 by President Joe Biden, and seeks to reduce the size of the tax gap in the United States. Upon completion of a transaction, brokers must provide the tax agency with the sender's name, address and social security number within 15 days. Following the bill’s passage, many lawmakers suggested additional legislation to “fix” the reporting requirement, claiming that the information required from brokers would be difficult or impossible to collect.

#3.\xa0Early Mickey Mouse version becomes top NFT on OpenSea after copyright expires

Walt Disney Company's original incarnation of the Mickey Mouse mascot recently entered the public domain and quicklybecame the top trending nonfungible token (NFT)on OpenSea. Three NFT collections featuring the classic mascot dominated OpenSea's trending list on Jan. 2, with the “Steamboat Willie Public Domain 2024” collection reaching the top spot, achieving around \\$1.2 million in trading volume. Disney clarified that while this early version of Mickey, known from Walt Disney’s 1928 animated short film, "Steamboat Willie," is now public domain, the copyrights of modern iterations remain intact.

#4. Prediction of the week.\xa0BTC price centers on \\$43K as nervous Bitcoin traders await ETF news

Bitcoin remains stuck amid uncertainty over a spot ETF approvalin the United States, but BTC price holds higher versus earlier in the week. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price acting in an area above \\$43,000 on Jan. 5.

Commentators had expected volatility on the day as rumors swirled over a potential approval of the first spot Bitcoin ETF of Wall Street. Markets likewise refused to price in an imminent decision, with Bitcoin staying broadly rangebound after recovering from a liquidity cascade earlier in the week.

As Cointelegraph reported, versions of how the price could react to the decision vary considerably, with both upside and downside forecasts on the table.

“For now, the topside remains capped by resistance at the 46 - 48.5k region with support at the 40.5 - 42k region,” trading firm QCP Capital wrote in its latest market update sent to Telegram channel subscribers on Jan. 5. “In spite of the leveraged washout, BTC has climbed back up to 44,000 level. While we remain wary of a ‘sell the news’ knee-jerk reaction to the downside, this resilient price action gives us more confidence in the medium-term bullish view into BTC halving towards Mar/Apr this year.”

#5.FUD of the week.\xa0dYdX identifies attacker, considers legal action over \\$9M loss

Decentralized exchange dYdX says ithas uncovered the identity of the attackerresponsible for its v3 platform attack on Nov. 17, which resulted in a loss of \\$9 million from its insurance fund. In a post-mortem on the “targeted attack” on the exchange, dYdX confirmed that it is now looking into legal action against the person responsible. DYdX triggered its insurance fund to cover users’ trading losses on Nov. 17 after a “profitable trade” targeting long positions on the YFI token caused the liquidation of positions worth nearly \\$38 million.

#6. FUD of the week.\xa0China state daily calls crypto 'corruption channel', urges crackdown

A call to crackdown on bribery using cryptocurrency and other forms of electronic paymenthas appeared on China’s Legal Daily website.The Jan. 1 issue of Legal Daily, which is published by the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission for Political and Legal Affairs, quoted Hebei University Law School associate professor Zhao Xuejun as saying virtual currency and electronic gift cards have become “hidden channels” for bribery as cards and digital currencies in “cold storage” devices that can be carried abroad for redemption.

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