OTC’s Weekly Retrospect 04/03–10/03/2023

Each week we bring you a round-up of the most important Bitcoin and virtual asset-related stories making waves in the cryptosphere.­­­­

Major news stories this week;

1. Xapo Bank enables faster Bitcoin payments with Lightning Network
2. China’s WeChat social media giant integrates digital yuan into payment platform
3. Ethereum core developers delay Shanghai hard fork to early April
4. Grayscale Chief Legal Officer: A Spot Bitcoin ETF Will Protect U.S. Investors, Consumers
5. Crypto industry distances itself from Silvergate as bank collapses

Story Summaries;

1. On March 2, Xapo officially announced a partnership with the Lightning Network infrastructure platform Lightspark, which allowed the firm to implement Lightning on its platform. The integration enables faster and cheaper transactions on Xapo, reducing blockchain confirmation waiting times and transaction fees on the original Bitcoin network.
2. WeChat, China’s leading social networking and payment app, has added the country’s central bank digital currency, or CBDC, to its payment services, according to the CBDC’s payment app and a China media report. The move may help broaden the appeal of the digital yuan that so far has had a slow start.
3. The expected launch of the Shanghai hard fork has been delayed from late March to the first two weeks of April, according to Ethereum developers at a meeting on Thursday. The Shanghai fork will allow validators to withdraw their locked Ether for the first time since the staking feature went live in 2020. Over 17 million Ether (about US$26.7 billion) has since been staked.
4. The lawsuit was filed by the CoinDesk sister company after the SEC rejected Grayscale’s application to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an exchange-traded fund. Grayscale argued the futures-based bitcoin ETFs the SEC has already approved are fundamentally no different from the bitcoin-holding (spot) ETF Grayscale wants to offer.
5. Coinbase, Paxos, Galaxy Digital, Gemini, BitStamp, Crypto.com and Circle each issued statements saying they have cut ties with a once crucial partner linking them to the traditional bank system. MicroStrategy has also addressed concerns for its Silvergate loan in the event the bank faces insolvency.

And that’s all for this week’s news! Wishing you a great weekend ahead!