Circle, the issuer of USDC, announced its relocation of global headquarters to New York City, specifically to one of the top floors of 1 World Trade Center. This move, set for early 2025, was revealed by CEO Jeremy Allaire on September 13, 2024, and coincides with Circle's IPO filing scheduled for January 2024, pending SEC approval. Allaire expressed optimism that 2024 will be a pivotal year for cryptocurrency, predicting that 2025 will see mainstream adoption of stablecoins. Despite facing regulatory challenges, he believes the US will emerge as a global leader in cryptocurrency technology. However, the upcoming 2024 presidential elections may introduce regulatory uncertainties that could impact the crypto landscape [fdcffe64].
In related news, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games commenced with a historic opening ceremony along the Seine River. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the trading of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) starting on July 23, which is expected to attract more institutional and retail investors to the crypto market. SEC Chair Gary Gensler indicated that the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs is anticipated by the end of summer. The ETFs received initial approval on May 23, with issuers instructed to submit draft S-1 registration forms by May 31 [1fe74ac4] [c4da1600] [e75039d6].
Additionally, the Trump campaign reportedly raised over $4 million in cryptocurrencies, while Elon Musk announced plans for humanoid robots by 2025. Tesla's shares dropped more than 10% after missing earnings estimates, and OpenAI launched its new search engine, SearchGPT. Meanwhile, Russia's central bank raised interest rates to 18%, and China's central bank cut key rates by 10 basis points. Kamala Harris is positioned as the presumptive Democratic nominee, and US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned. Germany has set its national elections for September 28, 2025, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran for recent anti-Israel protests in the US. Trump criticized President Joe Biden's debate performance and suggested that his withdrawal from the 2024 race would be akin to a 'coup' [002d80c5].