Federal regulators on Thursday approved an investment product tied to the cryptocurrency Ether, the most valuable digital asset after Bitcoin, in a major boost for the crypto industry.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said a group of exchanges could begin listing investment products known as exchange-traded funds, or E.T.F.s, linked to the price of Ether. The products would offer an easier and simpler way for people to invest in crypto, potentially boosting prices and promoting wider adoption of digital currencies.

In January, the S.E.C. approved similar products that track the price of Bitcoin, leading to a flurry of new investment that helped propel Bitcoins price to a record high.

The impact of the Ether approval could take longer to hit the market. Before the exchanges can start offering Ether E.T.F.s, the S.E.C. must also approve a separate set of applications from companies that want to issue them, including from major financial firms like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton. That process could take weeks or months, according to financial experts.

An S.E.C. spokeswoman said the agency had no comment beyond a formal order approving the products.

The news prompted celebration in the crypto industry. A representative for 21Shares, one of the companies seeking to offer the Ether investment product, called it an exciting moment for the industry at large.

But industry critics called the approval a dangerous development that would encourage wider investment in a volatile market.

The S.E.C. failed to live up to its mission to protect investors and the markets, Benjamin Schiffrin of Better Markets, a nonprofit that fights for stricter financial regulations, said in a statement.

Offered by mainstream financial services firms, E.T.F.s are essentially baskets of assets rather than buying the assets directly, customers buy shares in these baskets. The products are easy to trade, from brokerage accounts with companies like Vanguard or Charles Schwab, and are popular with wealth advisers and other financial mangers.

In the crypto world, E.T.F.s offer another key advantage: simplicity. Rather than navigating the complexities of an online crypto wallet, a customer could go online and buy shares in a Bitcoin or Ether E.T.F. alongside stocks traded on Wall Street.

For years, crypto advocates have seen these products as a promising way to encourage wider use of digital currencies. Before the Bitcoin E.T.F.s were approved, crypto companies battled the S.E.C. in the courts, securing a legal victory in August that forced the agency to allow the products.

The Bitcoin E.T.F.s have proved to be enormously popular, attracting billions of dollars in investment.

The price of Ether has rebounded over the last few months, after a crypto downturn that started in 2022. Ether currently trades at about $3,800 per coin, more than 20 percent off its high of just under $4,900.

Thats a small fraction of the price of Bitcoin, which trades at about $68,000 per coin.

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Ether Cryptocurrency ETFs Are Approved by the SEC - The New York Times

Jim Cramer's daily rapid fire looks at stocks in the news outside the CNBC Investing Club portfolio. Workday : The HR software company cut its subscription revenue outlook, and the stock was being punished Friday, down 13.5%. "Everybody in the country is trying to scale back" human resources, Jim Cramer said Friday, adding that's the problem. Ross Stores : The off chain retailer reported better than expected quarter. The stock was rising 8.5%. Ross Stores competes with TJX, which is a holding in the CNBC Investing Club portfolio. Shares of TJX, the company behind T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, "should revisit where it was" at the height of Wednesday's earnings increase, Cramer said. The stock Wednesday finished well off the highs for the session and then went down and up Thursday and Friday. Deckers Outdoor : The company behind Hoka and UGGs delivered a better-than-expected quarter. Hoka net sales were up 34%. Shares of Deckers were being rewarded, up more than 12% on Friday. Cramer said "Deckers is very well run company" but warned that footwear and apparel "can be fickle." Intuit : The QuickBooks and Turbo Tax company's guidance was not good enough for the Street, and the stock fell nearly 7.5%. "Small businesses, are they not forming? That's what's going on," Cramer said. Ether : The SEC approved ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Cramer said, "Amen." He added, "I have ether because it's a great store of value in a world where I think that the U.S. dollar is going to have a hard time because we have such bad [federal budget] deficits." Cramer said he owns ether in his personal portfolio. "It's not a stock. But I think it's worth owning," he concluded.

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Jim Cramer runs through 4 stock movers and why he owns and believes in cryptocurrency ether - CNBC

Kabosu, the Shiba Inu behind the infamous "Doge" meme and the face of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, has died, her owner said Friday. She was 18 years old.

The pup "crossed the rainbow bridge" in her sleep while at her home in Japan and with her owner, Atsuko Sato, petting her.

"She went very peacefully without suffering, as if falling asleep while feeling the warmth of my hands petting her," Sato said in a post on Instagram. "I am certain that Kabosu was the happiest dog in the world. That makes me the happiest owner in the world."

The X account for dogecoin also posted a tribute to Kabosu, saying she passed peacefully "in the arms of her person."

"The impact this one dog has made across the world is immeasurable. She was a being who knew only happiness and limitless love," the post reads. "Please keep her spirit and her family in your heart, and most importantly carry her with you as your story continues - we are all fortunate for hers to have touched and shaped ours."

Kabosu's life with Sato began in 2008 when the kindergarten teacher adopted the dog from an animal shelter. Like many dog parents, Sato started posting photos of the quizzical pup on Instagram and stories about her on her blog, but it was one particular photo that launched Kabosu from an internet starlet to a worldwide icon.

The photo features the Shiba Inu crossing her paws on a couch with her round head tilted a bit as she glares out of the corner of her eyes in a somewhat mischievous way, "eyebrows" raised. The image soon began spreading across the web, from Reddit to then-Twitter to YouTube and Tumblr. The Doge meme was born, typically attached to an inner monologue, grammatically incorrect sort of caption like "so scare" or "much happy."

Then in 2013, a digital currency called Dogecoin was created as a joke using Kabosu as its mascot. Meant to mock other cryptocurrencies, it's now the eighth-most valuable after a 2021 boom that made some investors millionaires. Elon Musk even mentioned adding Dogecoin as a payment method for Twitter subscription memberships.

But in 2022, Sato said the famous pup fell ill with leukemia and liver disease. She told AFP in a recent interview that internet fans and their "invisible power" helped her pull through.

Now fans have to say goodbye to the beloved pup. A public farewell party for Kabosu will be held on Sunday in Narita from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sato said.

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Kabosu, the Shiba Inu that inspired the 'Doge' meme behind Dogecoin cryptocurrency, has died - Scripps News

Gate.HK, the Hong Kong arm of cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io, has withdrawn its application for a virtual-asset trading platform licence, the third company affiliated with a major global exchange to end its bid to legally operate in the city under a new exacting regime.

The company took a proactive step to withdraw its application as part of a platform overhaul, and it has stopped registering new users, taking deposits and marketing its services in Hong Kong, according to its statement published on Wednesday.

Gate.HK, launched in May last year, submitted its application to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in February under new rules that require exchanges serving customers in Hong Kong to be licensed.

The platform said it will cease trading on May 28, as required by the citys regulations, and it suggested users withdraw their assets by August 28.

Hong Kongs new mandatory licensing regime for centralised exchanges, which came into effect in June last year amid the citys push to become a virtual asset hub, calls for intensive compliance efforts and capital investments from firms hoping to gain a foothold in the city.

Under the new rules, the SFC may send a notice to a firm if it does not qualify for a so-called deeming arrangement, in which the platform is deemed to be licensed from June 1 while it awaits full approval for a licence. Businesses that fail to qualify are required to shut down by May 31 or within three months of being notified by the SFC, whichever is later.

Meeting the SFCs requirements has proved challenging. Eight firms have withdrawn their applications to date, according to the regulators official website, and they include local companies with ties to well-known global exchanges.

Gate.io, the parent of Gate.HK, ranked sixth by 24-hour trading volume on Friday, according to market tracker CoinGecko.

Gate.HK remains dedicated to maintaining compliant operations in Hong Kong, and is exploring the possibility of applying for other regulatory licences in the city, company chief executive Kevin Lee said in a statement.

Our overall business strategy to have a presence in Hong Kong has not been changed, he said.

There currently remains 20 applicants for Hong Kongs virtual-asset platform licence, with OKX, Crypto.com, Bybit and Bullish among the largest. Two exchanges, Hashkey Exchange and OSL Exchange, have been approved to serve retail investors.

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Hong Kong sees third major crypto exchange withdraw licence application - South China Morning Post

The meme coin mania is back in the cryptocurrency market, and cryptocurrencies like PEPE show signals of being overvalued. This could foreshadow a long squeeze, as suggested by increased open interest (OI), high funding rates, and accumulated liquidations downwards.

Previously, the meme coin boom marked a local top, followed by a market crash and significant long-position liquidations. Should a similar pattern play out, this asset class is at the peril of suffering another hit despite positive social activity from influencers.

As of this writing, PEPE has $736.69 million in open interest, ranking fifth on CoinGlass. This value represents 11% of the meme coins $6.39 billion market cap, trading at $0.0000151. Notably, PEPEs OI is larger than the open interest on XRP, which has a $29.73 billion market cap.

Despite a drop of 37.82% in the $3.07 billion 24-hour volume, the markets open interest is surging by 8.85% on the meme coin.

In particular, the consolidated exchanges funding rates for PEPE indicate an open interest weighted to long positions. Currently, long-position traders pay an APR of 52.66% to PEPE short-sellers as a mechanism to remedy derivatives imbalances.

This high funding rate could accelerate a long squeeze to the meme coin or, at least, incentivize traders to close these bullish positions.

Moreover, the one-week liquidation heatmap shows a likely liquidation price target of $0.0000107 per token to leveraged PEPE traders. Therefore, the meme coin could be set for a long-squeeze crash if sentiment shifts from bullish to bearish.

A price drop to this target would result in 30% losses to traders buying PEPE at current levels.

Still, the meme coin could continue upward if enough capital flows into it in the following days. Cryptocurrency traders and speculators must understand the volatile nature of these digital assets and act cautiously moving forward.

Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.

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Long squeeze alert: This cryptocurrency could crash 30% soon - Finbold - Finance in Bold