• The SEC rejected another crypto ETF proposal and scrapped two others
• Reddit follows Twitter in introducing NFT avatar support
• Thai regulators are trying to restrict the use of crypto in processing payments
• The US Financial Markets Authority is investigating top crypto platforms for high-yield crypto products

The cryptocurrency sector is suffering from a broad midweek sell-off prompted by comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on US monetary policy. Bitcoin lost control of $37,000 earlier today and is currently trading at $36,250. Ethereum is down 3.15% in the last 24 hours and is hovering around $2,370.

Cardano, Solana, and Terra native tokens are also down on the day, with double-digit losses over the past seven days. Terra's LUNA has had the biggest drop, down almost 35% since last Friday.

Here's a look at other top headlines you may have missed in the last week of January:

Authorities say crypto payments will be regulated in Thailand

On Tuesday, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Bank of Thailand (BOT), and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) issued a joint press release, revealing that the government will consider using crypto as a means of payment for goods and services soon will regulate.

Authorities noted that businesses and merchants have expanded their mandate to use crypto and are now accepting payments via digital assets. Therefore, the financial stability of the country is at risk, hence the need to “ exercise power” to contain the increasing acceptance of the tokens and avoid any possible fallout.

Regulators plan to release a new set of guidelines for certain digital assets to ensure that while financial innovation is supported, it doesn't pose systemic risk. The guidelines will take into account input from the public and relevant stakeholders.

The announcement comes as Thailand's SEC is seeking feedback on a consultation paper proposing to ban merchants from publishing the use of digital assets to process payments. The proposal would also place limits on the transfer of crypto assets.

The SEC is reviewing lenders Celsius, Gemini, and Voyager Digital for high-yield crypto products

The SEC tracks the lending platforms Celsius, Gemini, and Voyager Digital for the high-yield products the companies are offering to users for their token deposits.

According to a report published by Bloomberg on Wednesday, the SEC is busy determining whether these products qualify for registration as securities with them. Citing those in the know , Bloomberg noted that these companies have not been accused of any wrongdoing; rather, the SEC is only investigating them.

Traditional financial organizations offer significantly lower interest rates than these products. With interest rates mostly above 5%, the range of yield products cannot be compared with the interest rates of less than 0.1% offered by banks.

However, there is a catch. Funds held at banks, unlike the yield products, are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which explains investor protection concerns SEC havens.

SEC probing could mean possible legal action or intervention. Last year, following SEC intervention, Coinbase was forced to shut down its Lend product. The commission warned the exchange that a legal battle would ensue should the product not be abandoned.

NFT profile pictures are coming to Reddit

Social media platform Reddit is on track to provide an NFT profile picture feature. The news came after Twitter rolled out limited support for a similar feature last Thursday.

Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt, who confirmed that the social media company is actively exploring this initiative, told TechCrunch that the feature is " a small, internal test " and has yet to be made available to the public. No decision has been made yet on how NFT support would work or if rollout is possible.

Nima Owji, an app developer, was the first to spot the NFT test and posted it on Twitter last Friday. The post had a banner that read " You can now use digital collectibles as your Reddit avatar ".

This won't be the first time Reddit has delved into the world of NFTs. Last year it launched a limited series of NFTs, CryptoSnoos avatars based on Reddit's alien mascot Snoos. However, the company left it at that, stating that it had no plans to expand the collection as it was only an initial test.

The SEC Rejects Fidelity Investments' Bitcoin Spot ETF

It is becoming more likely by the day that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will remain uninterested in approving Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The regulator maintains its argument that it wants to protect traders from risky investments, which is why it does not want to allow direct exposure to cryptocurrencies.

Yesterday, the U.S. regulator rejected a request that would allow the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) BZX to list and trade shares in Fidelity Investments’ Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust.

According to the newly released filing, the SEC is concerned about the risk of fraud and manipulation and cites its responsibility to ensure investor protection. The Cboe BZX exchange had failed to produce a “ surveillance agreement” with the Trust to put mechanisms in place to detect, investigate and prevent fraud and manipulation.

Fidelity's proposal was rejected after two previous extensions following a regulatory decision on the matter. The investment firm accepted yesterday's decision and reiterated that it will continue talks with the SEC over an ETP.

Also earlier this week, via two separate filings, the financial regulator said it would delay a ruling on bitcoin ETF applications from ARKShares21 and agriculture-focused fund provider Teucrium for trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange and NYSE, respectively.

This is not the first sixty-day extension the two applications have received since they were filed on July 20 and 23. However, since this is the final SEC renewal period, the two will likely know their fate before the end of April.

So far, the SEC has only been friendly to bitcoin futures ETFs. When ProShares' ETF was first approved last November, analysts and industry experts were confident that a spot ETF would soon follow. From today's perspective, investors and crypto enthusiasts will probably have to wait a little longer for one.

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