Weekly Update: 15 Feb 2024
1) Franklin Templeton takes initial step for spot Ethereum ETF with new SEC filing [The Block]
– The firm filed an S-1 registration statement on Monday for the Franklin Ethereum ETF and said the fund will generally reflect the price of ether.
2) DeFi compliance in 2024, and new SEC rules set to be challenged: finance redefined [Cointelegraph]
– Experts say the SEC’s new rule impacting DEX liquidity providers has attracted much criticism and may be challenged in court.
3) Cryptodollar minting protocol M^0 will allow institutions to issue stablecoins backed by U.S. Treasuries [CoinDesk]
– A kind of ‘money middleware for the digital age,’ the M^0 smart contract ruleset aims for institutional-grade stablecoins that are decentralized and interoperable.
4) Fordefi raises $10M to make crypto safer with institutional-grade wallet to retail-facing platforms [CoinDesk]
-The company has onboarded institutional investors such as Pantera Capital, DeFiance Capital, Keyrock and Flare Network to its MPC wallet, and secured over $3 billion in blockchain transaction volume.
5) Philippines to launch non-blockchain CBDC in two years [Cointelegraph]
– The country’s central bank will focus on a wholesale CBDC, which will be mediated by banks, operated on a payment and settlement system owned by the central bank.
6) Prometheum, the only U.S.-registered crypto platform, picks Ether as its first product [CoinDesk]
– The much-debated crypto broker says it’s poised to start its SEC-compliant custody with ETH, then will soon add other names and begin a trading operation within months.
7) Ripple acquires Standard Custody & Trust, its second custody provider [Cointelegraph]
– Ripple bought Swiss custody provider Metaco last year, but Standard has a New York BitLicense.
8) S. Korean regulator will expel ‘unfit’ crypto exchanges from the market starting this year [Cointelegraph]
– The South Korean Financial Intelligence Unit publicly announced the tightening of scrutiny over crypto exchanges in the country.
