Hong Kong’s newly launched spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds attracted over $200 million in total assets in their debut after seeing around $12 million in trading volume, a figure that fell short of expectations.

The founder and former CEO of leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, was sentenced to four months in prison on Tuesday by a federal judge in Seattle that immediately dismissed the Department of Justice’s call for a years-long sentence.

Nasdaq-listed business intelligence firm MicroStrategy has reported a net loss of $53 million for the first quarter of 2024 after taking an impairment charge against the value of its roughly $13 billion worth of Bitcoin holdings.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Hong Kong’s Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Attract Over $200 Million in Assets
• Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao Sentenced to Four Months in Prison
• “Bitcoin Jesus” Roger Ver Indicted on Tax Evasion Charges in the US
• Top-Tier Exchanges Continue to Dominate Trading Volumes

Hong Kong’s Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Attract Over $200 Million in Assets

Hong Kong’s newly launched spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds attracted over $200 million in total assets in their debut after seeing around $12 million in trading volume, a figure that fell short of expectations.

The Bosera Hashkey spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs led the pack and accumulated 964 BTC and 4,290 ETH, equivalent to $71.9 million. ChinaAMC's offerings, meanwhile, garnered $123.61 million, according to Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg.

However, these numbers pale in comparison to those seen by the spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in the United States, as these raked in nearly $4 billion during their opening week, with a single day's trading volume exceeding $4.5 billion.

According to Balchunas the volumes seen in Hong Kong were significant as ChinaAMC's Bitcoin ETF, for example, secured $123 million on its first day, placing it among the top 20% of all ETFs launched in Hong Kong over the past three years.

Unlike their US counterparts, the spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs listed in Hong Kong allow non-residents to invest if they meet regulatory requirements, while also allowing investors to directly subscribe and redeem shares using Bitcoin and Ether.

Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao Sentenced to Four Months in Prison

The founder and former CEO of leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, was sentenced to four months in prison on Tuesday by a federal judge in Seattle that immediately dismissed the Department of Justice’s call for a years-long sentence.

Judge Richard Jones acknowledged Zhao's acceptance of responsibility throughout the hearing, which appeared to influence his decision, saying that there was “no evidence that the defendant was ever informed” of illegal activity at Binance.

Judge Jones, addressing Zhao directly, said “everything I see about you and your characteristics are of a mitigating nature,” after saying the court found he “accepted responsibility.” A court document revealed the judge recommended Zhao serve the sentence at a Federal Detention Center.

Zhao pleaded guilty in November to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, a charge that may carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, although Zhao’s plea and cooperation reduced that figure. Prosecutors at the DOJ were asking for a sentence of three years.

Binance reached a $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. government the same day Zhao pleaded guilty last year, in an agreement that saw him step down as the exchange’s CEO.

“Bitcoin Jesus” Roger Ver Indicted on Tax Evasion Charges in the US

Early cryptocurrency advocate Roger Ver, often referred to by his nickname “Bitcoin Jesus,” has been indicted by US authorities on charges of mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns. The indictment alleges Ver owes at least $48 million in US taxes.

Ver was arrested over the weekend in Spain, with the US Department of Justice seeking his extradition to stand trial in the United States, in the latest case of US authorities cracking down against high-profile crypto entrepreneurs.

According to the indictment, Ver began acquiring Bitcoin in 2011 and while he renounced his US citizenship in 2014, becoming a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis, US law requires former citizens to report capital gains on certain assets worldwide, including Bitcoin.

The indictment further alleges that Ver failed to disclose the full extent of his Bitcoin holdings to a law firm handling his tax returns, resulting in significant under-reporting of his tax liability.

Prosecutors claim Ver "provided or caused to be provided false or misleading information" that concealed the true value of the Bitcoin holdings he and his companies had. This allegedly led the law firm to prepare tax returns that “substantially undervalued the two companies and their 73,000 Bitcoins and did not report that Ver owned any Bitcoins personally.”

It further details that in November 2017, Ver reportedly sold a large portion of his Bitcoin for approximately $240 million and failed to disclose this sale to his accountant, leading the Internal Revenue Service to miss out on “at least $48 million” in taxes.

Top-Tier Exchanges Continue to Dominate Trading Volumes

Volumes on Top-Tier centralized exchanges have significantly outperformed those on Lower-Tier exchanges after an impressive 775% increase in monthly volume for Top-Tier exchanges, which soared from about $250 billion in October 2023 to roughly $2.17 trillion in April 2024.

Meanwhile, Lower-Tier exchanges saw a 313% rise, climbing from around $178 billion to approximately $737 billion in the same period. This disparity underscores the market's preference for the enhanced risk mitigation and superior market liquidity offered by top-tier exchanges.

Dig deeper via CCData’s latest Exchange Benchmark report.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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