Comments on Lightning Network adoption, made by Russell Okung, a former NFL star who is among the first to receive part of his salary in crypto, sparked a discussion that highlighted the opposing opinions of the crypto community about the usage of bitcoin and stablecoins in emerging markets. Russell Okung Ignites Discussion on Bitcoin vs. […]
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Former U.S. president Donald Trump pictured during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at Winfield House, London on Dec. 3, 2019.
NICHOLAS KAMM | AFP | Getty Images
Former U.S. head of state and presidential candidate Donald Trump stoked the ire of U.S. lawmakers and international leaders, after remarking he would not protect NATO countries from Russian attacks if they lag on their membership payments.
Speaking at a rally in South Carolina on Saturday, Trump said that, as president, he warned NATO allies that he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to a member country that didn’t meet its defense spending guidelines.
Trump, who has a long history of criticizing the trans-Atlantic military alliance, recounted a time when an unspecified president of a NATO member challenged him on his threat not to defend them from a potential Russian invasion if they failed to meet NATO’s target of spending at least 2% of their gross domestic product on the military.
“You didn’t pay, you’re delinquent. … No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills,” Trump said.
The U.S. has historically had the largest number of military personnel out of all NATO countries, counting 1.35 million troops in 2023, according to Statista.
Trump has been accused of entertaining close ties with Russia during his first presidential mandate. The Kremlin declined to address Trump’s remarks.
“I am still [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s press secretary, but not Trump’s,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Reuters.
Top Western officials, as well as both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, sharply criticized Trump’s comments. U.S. President Joe Biden, who is running for a second term, described Trump’s remarks as “appalling and dangerous.”
“Sadly, they are also predictable coming from a man who is promising to rule as a dictator like the ones he praises on day one if he returns to the oval office,” Biden said Sunday in a statement.
Trump is vying to clinch the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, facing off against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
In an interview with CBS, Haley said Sunday that “the last thing we ever want to do is side with Russia.”
She added that the NATO alliance “allows us to prevent war.”
Former Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie also criticized Trump’s comments, saying in an interview with NBC News on Sunday that “this is why I’ve been saying for a long time that he’s unfit to be president of the United States.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (not seen) hold a joint press conference after the North Atlantic Council meeting held at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on February 7, 2024.
Dursun Aydemir | Anadolu | Getty Images
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance stands “ready and able” to defend all allies and any attack would be met with a “united and forceful” response.
“Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” Stoltenberg said in a statement.
“I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election the US will remain a strong and committed NATO Ally,” he added.
NATO’s 31 members, which include the U.S., Canada, France, Italy, Turkey and the U.K., agreed in July last year to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense, firming up a previous goal.
A report released by NATO last year showed only 11 of the then-30 member alliance were spending 2% of GDP or more on defense. The defense spending target is not a requirement and many countries have sought to ramp up their military spending since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
NATO’s so-called Article 5 mutual defense clause means that an attack against one NATO member is considered an attack against all allies.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Monday that the alliance cannot be dependent on the impulses of the U.S. political leadership.”
“NATO cannot be an ‘a la carte’ military alliance … depending on the humor of the president of the U.S.,” Borrell said when asked to respond to Trump’s comments, Reuters reported.
Germany’s Foreign Office on Sunday posted “One for all and all for one” on its English-language X social media account, supported by the hashtag “#StrongerTogether.”
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said Sunday via X that NATO’s motto of “‘one for all, all for one’ is a concrete commitment.”
“Undermining the credibility of allied countries means weakening the entire North Atlantic Treaty Organization. No election campaign is an excuse for playing with the security of the Alliance,” he added.
Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:
Higher interest rates have made borrowers scream for the past three years, but they’ve been pretty good for savers. Retirees, and others who need income from their investments with little or no risk, have suddenly been getting interest on their deposits again.
Bonds — Treasury and corporate — have been offering semi-respectable yields.
And lifetime annuities — under-owned, but there’s another story — have been paying out much better rates for those who want to convert some of their 401(k) or IRA into a traditional pension.
To which I can only say: Sorry, folks — but grab ‘em while you still can.
After watching Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference Wednesday, I figure these rates aren’t going to last much longer.
Powell is looking ahead to cutting interest rates, probably by May. He’s already happy with the way the economy and inflationary pressures have been moving. He says the numbers have been good — “very good,” even — for the past six months. He just wants to see more of the same in the months ahead before he can be “comfortable” about starting to cut rates.
The market Wednesday was disappointed to hear that a March rate cut was all but ruled out. Wall Street has been wrong on interest rates all the way through this entire cycle, since inflation and rates began to rise three years ago. At every juncture the market has seen rates peaking too soon and coming down too soon. Coming into this week it was wrong again.
But that’s Wall Street news. For those of us on Main Street, the direction is pretty clear. Powell said current rates were at their peak for the economic cycle, at 5% to 5.25%. The past six months’ inflation data had been “good,” “very good,” and “low enough.” And he just wants to see more of the same, to make sure he doesn’t cut too soon and get caught unawares.
“We just want to see more evidence that sort of confirms what we think we’re seeing, and gives us confidence we’re on a stable path down to 2% inflation,” he said.
Yes, he all but ruled out a rate cut at the next meeting in March. But not in May.
Where does this leave savers?
You can still find bank Certificates of Deposit paying 5% annual interest, but only for six months. The best rates on one-year CDs are now about 4.8%. On CDs lasting 18 months or two years, you’re looking at around 4.5%. The best deals are to be found through brokerage accounts, and change hourly.
The CDs you want are “call protected.” Otherwise the bank can pay you that juicy high teaser rate for one month, then close (or “call”) the CD. Your money will go back in your checking account and you’ll have to buy something else.
Low-risk bond funds, such as those that invest in intermediate-term U.S. Treasury bonds and investment grade corporate bonds, are paying 4.5% or more: For example Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF
BIV,
which is a mix of Treasurys and investment grade corporates, is yielding 4.5%. The equivalent that owns only corporates, Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF
VCIT,
yields 5.1%.
Meanwhile annuity rates have started to come down from the excellent rates MarketWatch reported here in November.
Annuities convert a lump sum to a pension. Insurance companies take your money, then pay you a guaranteed monthly income for life, whether you live for one month or 40 years. (At the end the money is gone.)
Back in November, a 65-year-old man with $1 million could have bought lifetime income of $77,000 a year by purchasing an immediate (income) annuity. Today, according to data from online brokerage immediateannuities.com, he’d get $74,500. The figures for a 65-year-old woman have come down more modestly, from $73,000 to $72,000.
But if Powell is right, and we are now on track for lower inflation and lower interest rates, these probably have a lot further to fall.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Jan. 19 opened comments on proposals related to options trading on Bitcoin ETFs.
One SEC notice concerns a proposed rule change allowing Nasdaq to list and trade options on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust.
A second SEC notice concerns a proposed rule change that would allow Cboe Exchange Inc. to list and trade options on various Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs). Though the text of the notice does not indicate which funds the proposal applies to, Cboe BZX is responsible for listing and trading the majority of spot Bitcoin ETFs approved this January, including those from Ark Invest, VanEck, WisdomTree, Invesco, Fidelity, GlobalX, and Franklin Templeton.
Options trading would introduce new investment strategies for each fund. Specifically, this approach would allow investors to engage in leveraged trading, potentially earning greater returns at a higher risk.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart commented on the development, noting:
“The SEC has already acknowledged the 19b-4’s requesting the ability to trade options on spot Bitcoin ETFs. This is faster than SEC typically moves. Options could be approved before end of February if SEC wants to move fast?”
Seyffart’s other statements indicate the SEC could make its a decision around Feb. 15 at the earliest, or around Sept. 21 at the latest.
Seyffart also noted that each proposal was posted on Jan. 16, meaning that the SEC published its latest notices after three days. He said the latest developments are “significantly faster” than other 19b-4 rule change proposals, which reached similar stages after more than 14 days.
The text of each document, however, indicates slightly earlier filing dates for each proposal. Nasdaq (on behalf of BlackRock) filed its proposal on Jan. 9 and submitted an amendment on Jan. 11. Cboe filed its proposal on Jan. 5.
The post SEC opens comments on options trading for BlackRock, Cboe spot Bitcoin ETFs appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Johnny Ng, a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, took to social media on Sept. 15 in response to comments made by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin about Hong Kong’s future “friendliness” toward cryptocurrencies.
Ng said he “sincerely invites” Buterin to visit Hong Kong to better understand the region. Additionally, he said he would “coordinate with relevant institutions and enterprises to share the situation in Hong Kong.”
昨天就以太坊創始人Vitalik Buterin分享關於在香港發展虛擬資產項目 (Cryptocurrencies Project) 的看法，我尊重他的發言權利，但同時認為他不了解和不:認識香港的情況。我有以下邀請和看法:
1. 我現誠意邀請Vitalik先生來香港了解情況。我願意協調相關的機構和企業向其分享香港的情況。
2.… pic.twitter.com/pnXipv7YE0
— Johnny Ng 吴杰庄 (@Johnny_nkc) September 15, 2023
At the Web3 Transition Summit in Singapore on Sept. 14, Buterin commented, “I don’t understand Hong Kong well. I understand even less the complicated interaction between Hong Kong and the mainland lately.”
“If any crypto project wants to make Hong Kong their home, they would want to have some confidence, not just that it’s friendly now,” he said, ”but that it will continue to be friendly years from now when all kinds of unknown, regulatory and political and other kinds of events are going to happen.”
He continued by saying that though Hong Kong is friendly now, “How stable is the level of friendliness?”
Related: Hong Kong regulator eyes tokenization for bond market improvement: Report
Along with his invitation to Hong Kong, Ng responded directly to Buterin’s concerns, saying that Hong Kong’s policies “will not change overnight.”
“All relevant strategies and regulations have gone through major social consensus and complete procedures. Therefore, I can tell Mr. Vitalik that Hong Kong’s policies are very stable.”
Ng also stressed that all policies or legislation in Hong Kong go through a period of discussion, which includes “government policy writing, public consultation, discussions in multiple committees of the Legislative Council and the General Assembly.”
This comes as Hong Kong continues to retain its spot as the most “crypto-ready” place for two consecutive years, with a score of 8.36 compared with the United States at 7.25.
On Aug. 30, HashKey and OSL became the first exchanges to receive clearance to offer retail crypto services in Hong Kong. Cryptocurrency exchange OKX recently entered the final stage of preparing for its license in Hong Kong.
Magazine: Tencent’s AI leviathan, $83M scam busted, China’s influencer ban: Asia Express
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on the Ark 21Shares spot Bitcoin’s (BTC) ETF application.
Earlier today, the financial regulator asked for public comments, including written data, views, and arguments, on the Ark’s BTC application within the next three weeks.
In the notice, the SEC asked the public to comment on whether Bitcoin Spot ETFs are vulnerable to manipulation, whether the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME ) represents a regulated market of significant size related to spot BTC trades, views on the surveillance sharing agreement (SSA) with Coinbase, and whether the Bitcoin market resists manipulation.
Speaking on the SEC notice, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart described it as a “standard delay letter” with nothing much to it.
Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, observed that the SEC acknowledged the Coinbase SSA, albeit with some reservations. He speculated that the conclusive outcome of the applications might hinge on both the court’s ruling in the Grayscale lawsuit and the regulator’s assessment of Coinbase SSA’s adequacy.
Ark CEO Cathie Wood had anticipated the delay. In an interview with Bloomberg, she said the financial watchdog would “approve more than one [ETF application] at once.”
The investment management firm submitted its ETF listing application in May, providing the SEC a window of up to 240 days to decide. The financial watchdog has a history of delaying spot ETF applications and has outrightly rejected previous applications from various firms.
However, several market observers have opined that there was an increased chance that the regulator might finally approve a spot ETF after it received an avalanche of applications from several traditional financial institutions, including BlackRock, in June.
Meanwhile, news of the SEC’s latest action has left the flagship digital asset unchanged as it was trading at $29,344 after a mild decline of 0.03% in the last 24 hours, according to CryptoSlate’s data.
The post Bitcoin price unchanged as SEC seeks public comments on Ark spot ETF application appeared first on CryptoSlate.