Summary

The Nasdaq approached an all-time high but ended in the red with other indexes. Ten-year treasuries rose by 0.04%, while oil continued to drop. Nvidia shares increased by 9.32%, lifting the AI sector, though some analysts warn of a bubble. Senate and House support for banks offering cryptocurrency custody services faces a veto threat from President Biden. The SEC approved a spot ethereum ETF, following the recent Bitcoin ETF approval.

For those who read...

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Happy Friday and welcome to C2 Business! Today we’re taking a quick look at stocks and then we’ll dive into the latest crypto news, brought to you by Just Bagels!

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In stock market news:

• The Nasdaq looked like a broken roller coaster today, approaching an all time high thanks to Nvidia’s earnings reports and booms across the tech space; however, by the end of the day it rolled back down as all three indexes finished in the red.
• Separately, 10 year treasuries rose 4 basis points today, business speak for .04%, on the back of good economic news. On the other hand, oil has continued to drop since the Biden administration's announcement that they’d be releasing barrels.
• In the AI space, Nvidia shares went up 9.32% yesterday after earnings were announced post- market close the day before. The AI giant is not only doing well for itself, but also pulling the rest of the industry up with it, as Asia-Pacific semiconductor stocks just hit a new three-year high. Noting this, some analysts think the space is a bubble, and hedge funds have been trimming their investments in the AI space recently, shifting these funds to other tech companies like Apple.

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Back to business, let’s break down what’s going on in the crypto space

• Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats supported legislation allowing banks to offer cryptocurrency custody services. This means banks would be allowed to hold cryptocurrencies, as opposed to the current situation where they aren’t allowed to hold these assets due to their higher risk.
• This past Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed further pro-crypto legislation that grants the CFTC regulation over crypto, compared to the SEC who is notoriously more stringent. The CFTC, which is the commodity future trading commission, could be more open to allowing banks to offer cryptocurrency custody services, which has long been opposed by the SEC.
• Continuing from this, even though the House and Senate voiced their support for this initiative, President Biden indicated he will Veto the bill should it cross his desk. Specifically, his administration said allowing the bill to pass would quote "disrupt the SEC's work to protect investors in crypto-asset markets and to safeguard the broader financial system."
• Rounding out this story with the latest development and perhaps the most important, just last night the SEC decided to grant approval for a spot ethereum ETF. This comes less than six months after the Bitcoin ETF was approved. While the order allows exchanges to list the ethereum funds, it technically does not approve the funds themselves or set a date for the ETFs to begin trading. We’ll have to wait and see for when the first ethereum ETFs come out.

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Bulletin Brief

Senate passes pro-crypto bill (Bitcoin Magazine)

Yahoo Finance (Yahoo)

Is Nvidia a bubble? (Businessinsider)

Ethereum Stock (Yahoo)

Asian chips hit three-year high (Bloomberg)

Ethereum ETF (CNBC)

SEC Filing on Ethereum ETF (SEC)