business

Cboe Exchange Submits Filing to List Fidelity Solana ETF

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2025

Cboe has submitted a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that would allow the exchange to list shares of a Fidelity exchange-traded fund tracking the price of Solana.

The19b-4 form, filed Tuesday, is a major step in the SEC’s approval process, although Fidelity must still file an S-1 registration statement describing the product.

The filing comes just days after Fidelity registered a Delaware Trust entity for its Solana fund, which would be based on the performance of the sixth largest digital asset by market capitalization.

The token was recently trading at about $145, up nearly 1.2% in the past 24 hours, according to data provider CoinGecko.

Grayscale, Bitwise, Canary, 21Shares, Franklin Templeton, and VanEck have also submitted filings for spot Solana ETFs. Earlier this year, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas has penciled in a 70% chance that Solana ETFs would receive a green light this year, although he would not predict the timing.

Those applications are part of a deluge of proposed altcoin funds, including XRP, Dogecoin and Cardano, that have followed the wild success of spot bitcoin ETFs, which have generated more than $35 billion in net inflows since their approvals starting last January, and more muted achievements of spot Ethereum funds.

Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund has received about $11.5 billion in net flows in its more than 14 months of existence, the second most among the spot bitcoin funds.

According to a CoinShares report, crypto-backed investment products generated $644 million in net inflows last week following five consecutive weeks of outflows. The rebound was largely driven by inflows to products based on Bitcoin, followed by Solana-based offerings.

Edited by James Rubin

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Bitcoin

GameStop Announces $1.3 Billion Fundraising Plan To Purchase Bitcoin

Published

5 hours ago

March 27, 2025

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GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) announced today that it intends to raise $1.3 billion through a private offering of convertible senior notes and will use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin. The move comes a day after the company revealed an update to its investment policy, allowing Bitcoin to be used as a treasury reserve asset.

The offering consists of $1.3 billion aggregate principal amount of 0.00% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2030. Additionally, the company plans to grant initial purchasers an option to buy up to $200 million more in notes within a 13-day period from the first issuance date. The notes will be general unsecured obligations and will not bear regular interest or accrete in value. They will mature on April 1, 2030, unless converted, redeemed, or repurchased earlier.

Upon conversion, GameStop will have the option to settle in cash, shares of its Class A common stock, or a combination of both. The initial conversion rate and other terms will be determined at the time of pricing. The company stated that it expects to use the U.S. composite volume-weighted average price of its stock from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on the pricing date as the reference for the initial conversion price.

GameStop emphasized that neither the notes nor any shares of common stock issuable upon conversion have been or will be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or any state securities laws. As a result, they may not be offered or sold in the United States without registration or an applicable exemption. The company also stated that there are no assurances that the offering will be completed as described or at all.

This marks a significant financial decision for GameStop as it pivots toward integrating Bitcoin into its corporate strategy. A strategy pioneered by Strategy’s Michael Saylor, who met with GameStop’s CEO Ryan Cohen in person last month, and has definitely appeared to have had an influence on the GameStop’s decision to embrace BTC as a reserve asset.

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Bitcoin

GameStop Approves Adding Bitcoin To Treasury Reserves

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2025

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GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) announced that its board of directors has unanimously approved an update to the company’s investment policy, allowing Bitcoin to be held as a treasury reserve asset. The decision follows a series of engagements between GameStop Chairman and CEO Ryan Cohen and prominent figures like Michael Saylor in the Bitcoin industry.

On February 8, Cohen met with Strategy Chairman and well-known Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor, sparking speculation that GameStop may be adding BTC to its balance sheet. A couple weeks after, Cohen responded to CoinDesk via a tweet stating “Letter received.” after receiving a letter from Strive Asset Management CEO Matt Cole, which urged GameStop to adopt Bitcoin as a reserve asset.

In its announcement, GameStop noted that its investment policy now permits investments in “certain cryptocurrency assets, including Bitcoin and U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins.” The company also acknowledged associated risks, including the potential impact of these investments on its financial results and internal financial controls.

The policy update was disclosed alongside the company’s financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year ended February 1, 2025.

For the fourth quarter, GameStop reported net sales of $1.283 billion, a decrease from $1.794 billion in the same period the prior year. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses fell to $282.5 million, compared to $359.2 million in the fourth quarter of the previous year. Net income for the quarter was $131.3 million, up from $63.1 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $96.5 million, compared to $88.0 million in the prior year’s fourth quarter.

GameStop also disclosed that it held $4.775 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities at the end of the quarter. The company completed its exit from Italy and finalized the wind-down of store operations in Germany during this period.

For the full fiscal year 2024, GameStop reported net sales of $3.823 billion, down from $5.273 billion in fiscal year 2023. SG&A expenses for the year were $1.130 billion, compared to $1.324 billion in the prior year. Net income for the year reached $131.3 million, significantly higher than the $6.7 million reported in fiscal year 2023. Adjusted EBITDA for the full year was $36.1 million, compared to $64.7 million in the previous year.

The company has not yet disclosed how much Bitcoin it plans to purchase or when it will begin acquiring BTC, and CEO Ryan Cohen has not yet commented publicly on the addition of Bitcoin to GameStop’s balance sheet at the time of publishing.

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business

Circle Deepens Japan Commitment as SBI Group Prepares USDC Launch

Published

2 days ago

March 25, 2025

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Circle Internet Financial, the Boston-headquartered U.S. firm behind the USDC stablecoin, is deepening its ties to Japan’s burgeoning digital assets market.

Japanese SBI VC Trade, a crypto exchange operating as a subsidiary of SBI Holdings, a major internet-based financial conglomerate in the country, is expected to play a key role in Circle’s commitments in Japan.

After receiving regulatory approval earlier this month, SBI VC Trade now plans to leverage USDC in Japan, marking the first token of its kind approved under Japan’s stablecoin regulatory framework.

Circle has established a Japanese entity, Circle Japan KK, to support the stablecoin’s local operations. SBI VC Trade is set to launch USDC trading on March 26, 2025, the pair announced Monday.

Domestic exchanges Binance Japan, Bitbank, and BitFlyer also plan to list and distribute USDC in the near future, per the statement.

Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said on X the development would unlock “tremendous opportunities” for Japan’s digital assets markets, powering payments, cross-border finance, commerce, and FX, among other use cases for USDC.

The approval builds on a partnership between Circle and SBI Holdings that began in 2023, combining USDC distribution with banking and Web3 technology for the Japanese market.

USDC is fully reserved and backed 100% by cash and cash-equivalent assets, with reserves held at regulated financial institutions that publish third-party monthly attestations, according to documentation from Circle.

It also goes beyond just introducing a new crypto product in the country, Jay Jo, a senior research analyst at Tiger Research, told Decrypt.

Once launched, besides the usual listing and trading on exchanges, Japanese companies could “offer custody services and develop various stablecoin-based businesses,” Jo explained.

While the country “still prohibits trust-based yen stablecoins,” future regulatory developments could help shape where its crypto and digital asset sector could go, Jo said.

However, the continued depreciation of the Japanese yen could create market dynamics, given the current tensions between it and the U.S. dollar.

If the yen shows sustained weakness, “Japanese investors might shift to USDC” as a hedge and potentially “increase selling pressure on JPY,” Jo added.

“Easier access to dollar-denominated assets” could lead to accelerated outflows from traditional yen investments, Jo said. This could happen “especially if interest rate differentials remain wide.”

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

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