SEC Again Postpones Bitcoin ETF Decision In the United States, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) once again delayed deciding on whether it would approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The updated deadline is now February 27, 2019. Until then, they will once more review a set of rule changes that would be required to approve the ETF. An investment company called VanEck has jointly proposed the ETF in conjunction with a blockchain firm named SolidX. The two plan to list the ETF on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Venezuelan President Unilaterally Raises the Value of Petro 150% Nicolas Maduro, who is the President of Venezuela, raised the value of the nation's digital currency, which is called the Petro. He raised it to 9,000 sovereign bolivars from 3,600. This week, he also raised the country's minimum wage by 150%. This is the 25th time he has raised it and the 6th time this year. Nasdaq Commits To Bitcoin Future Trading in 2019 Nasdaq, which is the second largest stock exchange in the world, announced that it would offer Bitcoin future trading sometime in the first 6 months of next year. Gabor Gurbacs, who is the Director of Digital Asset Strategies for VanEck, said that for the past year and a half they had been talking to Nasdaq, MVIS Indices and others about implementing Bitcoin futures trading. While Bitcoin futures trading already exists on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the new exchange will differentiate itself from those in terms of both resiliency and transparency. Binance To Offer Its Own Blockchain Binance, which is the world's leading digital currency exchange by volume, announced that it will soon offer its own blockchain. Called the "Binance Chain," it will let anyone create their own digital currencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs). ErisX Raises $27.5 Million in Funding ErisX, which is a cryptocurrency exchange, has raised $27.5 million in investment from Fidelity and Nasdaq. The exchange will offer spot trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. They also hope to offer futures trading, pending regulatory approval.