What Happened In Crypto Today

Today in crypto, Michael Saylor signals 11th consecutive week of Bitcoin buying, Kenya’s crypto startups fear a Binance-linked lobby group could tilt new regulations in the exchange’s favor under the proposed VASP bill, and ETF analysts are confident of REX Shares launching a Solana staking ETF very soon.

Saylor hints at continuing Bitcoin buying streak, marking week 11 of consecutive purchases

Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor signaled an impending Bitcoin (BTC) purchase in a Sunday social media post, making this the 11th consecutive week the company has accumulated more BTC.

Data from SaylorTracker shows that Strategy currently has a total of 592,345 BTC, valued at over $63 billion, and is up over 52% on its investment.

This translates to over $21.8 billion in unrealized gains for the Bitcoin treasury company, which is the largest corporate holder of BTC.

Investors continue to closely monitor Strategy as both a proxy for Bitcoin and the firm leading the charge for corporate adoption of the supply-capped digital asset.

Binance ties to Kenyan crypto board raise monopoly concerns: Report

Some crypto startups are raising concerns over Kenya’s proposed virtual asset service providers (VASP) Bill, warning it could hand outsized influence to a Binance-linked lobby group, potentially undermining fair competition in the country’s digital asset industry.

According to disclosures seen by The Kenyan Wall Street, a private think tank called the Virtual Asset Chamber of Commerce (VAC) will be included on the regulatory board established under the draft law.

Some crypto stakeholders in Kenya claim that VAC has run Binance-sponsored regulatory talks, lacks independence and acts as a proxy for the exchange.

“All regulation convos by VAC that happened recently have been sponsored by Binance. Then VAC, a private consulting entity, with a non-compete with Binance ‘magically’ gets a regulatory seat? How is this fair? How is this constitutional?” one stakeholder told The Kenyan Wall Street.

‘All systems go’ for Solana staking ETF to launch any moment: Analysts

ETF provider REX Shares is on the verge of launching the first-ever Solana staking exchange-traded fund (ETF), following what analysts describe as a successful response to feedback from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“Rex also filed an updated prospectus, which totally filled in. Add it all up, and it appears as though all systems go for imminent launch,” ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said in an X post on Friday.

ETF Store president Nate Geraci said in an X post on the same day that it looks like the SEC are open to REX Shares incredibly rare c-corp business structure used in the fund, which the SEC previously argued conflicts with the 6C-11 rule, also known as “the ETF rule.”