Weekly Update: 11 Jan 2024
1) SEC authorizes Bitcoin-spot ETFs in crypto’s breakthrough [Bloomberg]
– Despite a decade of denials, the SEC authorizes ETFs to launch. Gensler says the agency does not ‘approve or endorse’ Bitcoin.
2) Tokenized Treasuries’ surging demand prompts yield-bearing offering by Enigma Securities [CoinDesk]
– U.S. Treasuries are a gateway for tokenization efforts, and has grown to a $850 million market from $100 million over the past year, rwa.xyz data shows.
3) Bitcoin ETFs will solve unit bias psychology, says VanEck adviser [Cointelegraph]
– Authorized participants, or APs, are entities allowed to create and redeem shares of an ETF.
4) Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane to tokenize assets through Libre protocol [Cointelegraph]
– Libre is scheduled to go live in the first quarter of 2024, offering asset tokenization and smart contracts through the Polygon network.
5) FINRA adds crypto assets section to its annual oversight report [Cointelegraph]
– The securities industry’s self-regulating organization offers annual advice to its members on how to stay out of trouble.
6) Grayscale announces 1.5% fees for its proposed Bitcoin ETF uplist [CoinDesk]
– Grayscale, which has some $27 billion AUM, said it was adding Jane Street, Virtu, Macquarie Capital and ABN AMRO Clearing as authorized participants, in an updated S3 filing on Monday.
7) Japanese e-commerce giant Mercari to allow Bitcoin payments from June [Cointelegraph]
– Mercari has become a gateway for crypto adoption in Japan after launching several crypto-focused products and services on its platform.
8) Nigeria’s CBDC wavers: Stakeholders analyze prospects of cNGN stablecoin [Cointelegraph]
– According to the Finna Protocol, a Nigerian multi-utility stablecoin ecosystem, including “heavyweights” in the cNGN consortium, signals that many businesses will support it once it goes live.
