Bitcoin price LIVE: SEC rejects nine bitcoin ETF applications – latest cryptocurrency news

DAILY HEADLINES

Good afternoon and welcome to our rolling coverage of all things cryptocurrency, including price, innovation, regulation and financial crime.

The USA Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected a total of nine applications to list and trade various bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from three different applicants, shaking investor confidence today.

BTC dropped another $100 today to trade at $6,332.23 at the time of writing on August 23.

Ethereum rose by 1.21 percent to trade at $288.60.

Ripple also increased by 0.39 percent to trade for $0.288578.

Litecoin saw small gains of 0.25 percent to trade for $55.74 a coin. 

Continued uncertainty over the SEC’s decision to ratify any potential bitcoin ETF’s has caused the market to stall, with prices slowly dropping as each day passes. 

Can bitcoin recover from the uncertainty? Find the latest news and live updates below – all times in BST.

3pm UPDATE: SEC rejects nine ETF applications

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again thrown the market into turmoil as they reject nine bitcoin ETF applications from three separate applicants. 

The SEC has a deadline of August 23 to decide on making a decision on two ETF applications from ProShares and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca. 

For all three disapprovals, the SEC stated: “[T]he Commission is disapproving this proposed rule change because, as discussed below, the Exchange has not met its burden under the Exchange Act and the Commission’s Rules of Practice to demonstrate that its proposal is consistent with the requirements of the Exchange Act Section 6(b)(5), in particular the requirement that a national securities exchange’s rules be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.”

3.45pm UPDATE: Cybercriminals took home a $2.3 million cryptocurrency haul throughout 2018

Paolo Paolo Passeri, Global Solutions Architect, Netskope, wants investors should increase their knowledge in order to avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime. 

Mr Passeri said: “New findings from Kaspersky reveal that cybercriminals managed to steal $2.3 million in cryptocurrency in just April-June of 2018. 

“This was done via phishing during Initial Coin Offerings (the initial giveaway of cryptocurrencies) with Ethereum proving the preferred target. 

“Hackers are tapping into this emerging space that, in 2018, has already seen in the region of 725 initial coin offerings raise over $18 billion.

“This is an example of hackers targeting individuals showing a lack of security awareness and education, and taking advantage of the fact that the companies promoting the ICOs do not seem to consider security of their users as a priority.

“This harsh reality must be taken into consideration by companies and investors in the cryptocurrency space, as scams and hacks are becoming increasingly common according to the numbers.”