Max Keiser Explains Why BTC Failed to Hit $50,000 Despite ETF Being Nailed, Shibarium Sees 210% Transaction Spike, Ripple CEO Slams SEC Chair: Crypto News Digest by U.Today

U.Today - Take a look at what's happening in the world of crypto by reading U.Today's top three news stories.

Key reason why Bitcoin failed to reach $50,000 despite ETF being nailed by Max Keiser

In a recent X post, Max Keiser, a prominent Bitcoin evangelist, pointed to the likely person responsible for preventing Bitcoin from surging to highs of $50,000, despite the recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the SEC. According to Keiser, the "culprit" is Mortimer J. "Tim" Buckley, the CEO at Vanguard Bank; after the regulating agency greenlit spot Bitcoin ETFs last week, the bank announced that it will prohibit its customers from purchasing cryptocurrency and products related to it, including spot Bitcoin ETFs. Following the decision, Buckley said in an interview that the bank would prefer not to offer its clients Bitcoin-based ETFs, as well as gold-based ETFs. According to him, BTC does not have intrinsic value, and there is no cash flow into it.

Shibarium witnesses 210% transaction spike as major exchange integrates Shiba Inu L2

According to data provided by Shibariumscan, Shibarium's daily transactions saw a 210.4% surge over the past two days. Yesterday, the platform recorded 2.43 million transactions - a significant spike compared to the 1.16 million transactions reported on Saturday, which seems to be the lowest point in recent activity. The trigger for the said increase in transactions is Shibarium's integration by major cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io. As became known from an X post by Shiba Inu team member Lucie, the exchange introduced support for Shibarium; from now on, its users are able to withdraw BONE tokens directly from the platform to the Shibarium network. This achievement marks an important milestone for Shibarium, being the first major integration with a centralized platform.

Ripple blasts SEC, CEO highlights agency's failures

As reported by CNBC, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse poured significant criticism on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, calling him a "political liability." Garlinghouse's bitter comment was aimed at characterizing Gensler's track record supervising the crypto sector, with lengthy delays in approving spot Bitcoin ETFs and high-profile lawsuits against companies in the crypto industry. The Ripple CEO stated that he does not understand whose interests the SEC chairman represents, as he is acting neither in the citizenry's interests nor in the interests of the long-term growth of the economy. Garlinghouse also underlined the SEC's losing streak, stating, "I think Gary Gensler is doing the same thing over and over again, and he thinks that somehow he’s going to win in court. He has continued to lose in court." Garlinghouse said, "One of the definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome," referring to what he perceives as Gensler’s ongoing anti-crypto campaign.

This article was originally published on U.Today