In a recent development, BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has made a key change to the mechanics of its proposed spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), opening up opportunities for Wall Street banks to participate. The update allows authorized participants (APs), which play a crucial role in the ETF ecosystem, to create new fund shares using cash instead of solely relying on cryptocurrencies.

This modification holds significant implications for highly regulated U.S. banks, including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, as it provides them with an avenue to be involved in BlackRock's bitcoin ETF. Since these banks face restrictions in directly holding cryptocurrencies, this change allows them to act as APs using cash. The process involves the cash used by APs being converted into bitcoin by an intermediary and stored with the ETF's custody provider.

The decision was disclosed in a memo filing related to a meeting held on November 28, which involved BlackRock, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Nasdaq.

In a separate filing made Tuesday, Binance and Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, responded to the SEC's lawsuit against them. They argued that the SEC failed to meet the requirements of the "Howey Test," a test used to determine whether a transaction classifies as an investment contract. Binance and Zhao asserted that the SEC did not demonstrate that the exchanges' U.S. customers had any contracts meeting the definition of an "investment contract," or fulfill other relevant elements of the Supreme Court case.

This filing marks the latest attempt by Binance and Binance.US to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the SEC in June. The SEC alleged that the exchanges allowed the general public to purchase and trade unregistered securities by listing certain cryptocurrencies and providing a staking service.

Crypto mogul Justin Sun provided reassurance that assets held on HTX and Poloniex are "100% safe" following a hacking incident that occurred last month, resulting in the theft of over $200 million from the exchanges. Both HTX and Poloniex have now reopened withdrawals for certain assets, although some altcoins remain locked. Bitcoin (BTC) and Tron (TRX) are the only digital assets currently available for withdrawal. However, due to the limited availability, users faced premium prices on Poloniex, resulting in potential losses of up to 10% when liquidating their assets for withdrawal.

The hacks involved the theft of $114 million from Poloniex's hot wallets on November 10, which was followed by an additional $97 million stolen from HTX and the Heco Chain blockchain protocol.

These recent developments regarding BlackRock's ETF, Binance's legal battle, and the hacking incidents highlight the ongoing challenges and opportunities within the dynamic world of cryptocurrencies and the increasing involvement of traditional financial institutions.