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In today’s crypto news roundup edition:

US Spot Bitcoin ETF Options Approval May Lead to ‘Regulatory Headache’
Animoca Brands, Delphi Ventures, Amber Group, and Other Big Players Invest in Pixelmon
BlackRock Ten-folded Bitcoin Mining Stocks: From $76M to $775M

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US Spot Bitcoin ETF Options Approval May Lead to ‘Regulatory Headache’

It could take months for options on new spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain regulatory approval, “potentially dampening the appeal of the underlying products,” Reuters reported, citing multiple industry sources.

The sources explained that options on the Bitcoin ETFs are delayed because there is no established regulatory process for approving them.

The US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) typically approves them just days after an ETF starts trading. However, the problem is that regulators view Bitcoin as a commodity, so spot Bitcoin ETF options may also require approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Therefore, spot Bitcoin ETF-related products could raise questions about jurisdiction and oversight.

According to Martin Leinweber, digital asset product strategist at MarketVector Indexes, which provides the benchmark for VanEck’s spot Bitcoin ETF:

“This dual regulatory engagement adds a layer of complexity and potential for what some might call regulatory headache.”

Leinweber argued it could take 2-10 months for the approvals.

Meanwhile, analysts have argued that big investors could help drive as much as $100 billion into the ETFs. But that may not happen without the options, as they face risk management issues.

Yesha Yadav, a law professor at Vanderbilt University, argued that some big investors may “stay away altogether.”

Moreover, the delay prevents the industry from bringing more innovative products to market.

“The markets really want to go there, but the regulators are the gatekeepers,” opined John Roglieri, head of capital markets at ETF marker-maker FalconX.

Animoca Brands, Delphi Ventures, Amber Group, and Other Big Players Invest in Pixelmon

In the latest crypto news, decentralized web3 gaming IP Pixelmon has raised a seed investment of $8 million. It will use the funding to continue development across its differentiated portfolio of casual and mid-core games.

Per the press release shared with Cryptonews, the round saw participation from Animoca Brands, Delphi Ventures, Amber Group, Bing Ventures, Bitscale Capital, Cypher Capital, Foresight Ventures, Mechanism Capital, Sfermion, Spartan Labs, VistaLabs, and others.

The round also saw participation from a long list of founders, angels, KOLs, and ecosystem partners, it said. These include Ray Chan, founder of 9GAG Inc.; Kun Gao, founder of Crunchyroll; Robbie Ferguson, co-founder of Immutable; Gabby Dizon, co-founder of Yield Guild Games (YGG); and founders of cryptocurrency exchanges Bit2Me and Tokocrypto and web3 advisory firm Emfarsis.

The funding follows the successful launch of Kevin the Adventurer (KTA), Pixelmon’s first hypercasual game. Deployed in October 2023 on Coinbase’s native Layer 2 Base, the side-scroller saw 36,000 active players and 10,100 hours played in its launch month.

A second hypercasual game, PixelPals, which features pet and habitat management blended with trading card mechanics, is set to launch on Mantle this first quarter.

The team focuses on major releases for the core Pixelmon IP, including a rebuild of its free-to-play desktop title Arena, new Pixelmon abilities, and core game loops, targeting a 2024 release.

Further, Hunting Grounds, an open-world adventure game with RPG elements and PvP autobattler tournaments, is set for the open beta in 2024 and a full release in early 2025.

Pixelmon plans to grow its decentralized IP across verticals via franchises, sublicenses, and joint ventures. This includes merchandise, trading card games, animated series, comic books, and more.

BlackRock Ten-folded Bitcoin Mining Stocks: From $76M to $775M

The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock “has not only been answering client demands for its spot Bitcoin ETF but also scooping up mining stocks,” according to the latest Miner Weekly report by BlocksBridge Consulting.

BlackRock’s asset and investment management subsidiaries already increased their stakes in Marathon and Riot in 2023.

Per recent SEC filings, says the report, BlackRock’s subsidiaries bought even more shares of CleanSpark.

The company picked up more shares in Riot, Marathon, and CleanSpark by 36%, 100%, and 205%, respectively, the report found.

Source: blocksbridge.substack.com

The increase in positions is partially fueling the price rally of Bitcoin mining stocks, it said.

Moreover, it has led BlackRock’s total holdings in the three mining companies to reach $775 million as of December 31. This is up from $76 million a year ago.

One underlying trend, says the report, is the scale of equity dilution among these mining companies. It was “used to fund their growth and capital expenditure as the industry learns from the lesson of over-leveraging during the 2021 bull run.“

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