While another Bitcoin ETF was delayed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today, an Ethereum one quietly got the nod in Brazil, becoming Latin America’s first 100% Ethererum ETF.

There must surely have been the odd vuvuzela honking about it in celebration here and there, although the news didn’t seem to stop ETH flip-flopping about like a Havaiana lost at sea.

Ethereum has at least recovered some lost ground in the past 24 hours. At the time of writing it had crept a fraction back above the $US2K level it surrendered yesterday. Not spectacular but a goal’s a goal – the market will take it.

Crypto investment firm QR Capital will list the ETF on Brazil’s B3 stock exchange, and it will go live with the ticker QETH11.

The ETF will take hold of ETH via Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss’s Gemini custodial service, meaning an easy solution for investors. No need for them to rush out and buy a Ledger Nano S or some other hardware wallet, then.

 

WisdomTree ETF gets an SEC ‘wait and see’

The SEC has delayed the WisdomTree Bitcoin ETF by at least two months, calling for feedback from the general public and industry experts on whether it might be a safe product for investors.

That sounds wishy-washy as hell, but it’s standard SEC practice. Comments must be submitted within three weeks of the SEC document’s publication, with any rebuttals filed within seven weeks, before a decision can be made.

WisdomTree, an ETF sponsor and asset manager, also has an Ethereum ETF stashed away in an SEC filing cabinet (although it really should be on the blockchain).

The SEC is currently reviewing about 12 other active Bitcoin ETF applications.

 

Market action tepid after Fed report

Meanwhile, Bitcoin and the rest of the market have been having a seesaw kind of day. A seesaw with a pretty low fulcrum.

The entire crypto market cap is sitting bang on US$1.4 trillion, up about 0.25% from this time yesterday.

Having earlier dropped to US$31,513,  the lowest level it’s been since June 26, Bitcoin was back changing hands for US$32,851 just now.

At about 3.30pm Eastern Standard time in the US (5.30am AEST), the market seemed pretty flat, even after a fairly cagey speech from US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

Powell revealed that an anticipated Fed report on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) would now come in early September instead of July. He said the report would address CBDC benefits and risks, as well as outline government views on stablecoins and cryptocurrencies in general.

Powell also noted that, “you wouldn’t need stablecoins, you wouldn’t need cryptocurrencies if you had a digital US currency. I think that’s one of the stronger arguments in its favour.”

 

Mooners and shakers

NFT play-to-earn gaming crypto Axie Infinity (AXS) has continued its strong form this week, hitting an all time high once again – US$23.85 at press time.

Another buzzy NFT/gaming token, SuperFarm (SUPER), was up 23% since yesterday, and trading at US$0.665, although still down massively from its all time high. SuperFarm is the brainchild of popular YouTuber and content creator Elliot Wainman, also known as EllioTrades.

DeFi derivatives play Synthetix (SNX) was continuing to bleed out a bit at press time, down 5.84% since yesterday and trading at US$10.33.

Another significant top 100 (by market cap) coin losing out today was smart contract platform Tezos (XTZ), down 6.21% at $US2.65.

 

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