Weekly Update: 21 Mar 2024
1) Ether ETFs likely won’t get approved in May, Bloomberg analyst predicts [CoinDesk]
– Odds that spot ether ETFs will get approved in May have gotten slimmer, according to a Bloomberg ETF analyst who cited U.S. regulators’ seeming lack of engagement with potential issuers over the products.
2) Hong Kong’s central bank begins new phase of its CBDC pilot [Blockworks]
– The first phase wrapped up in October of last year.
3) Bitcoin virtual machine will soon let users create AI models on Bitcoin network [CoinDesk]
– “We’ve figured out a way to put AI on-chain,” lead developer punk3700 told CoinDesk in an X message.
4) Blackrock creates fund with Securitize, a big player in real-world asset tokenization [CoinDesk]
– The fund was seeded with $100 million in USDC stablecoin using the Ethereum network, blockchain data shows.
5) Coinbase’s allies join crypto firm’s case against SEC [CoinDesk]
– Several allies joined Coinbase Inc. (COIN) in its court fight against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to force the agency to rethink its refusal to write specific rules to govern the crypto industry, with Paradigm, the Crypto Council for Innovation and others filing outside arguments with the circuit court.
6) Fidelity seeks SEC nod for staking in proposed ether ETF for enhanced yields [Blockchain News]
– Fidelity Investments aims to add staking to its Ether ETF, pending SEC approval, potentially offering investors a new revenue stream.
7) Galaxy Digital to introduce exchange-traded products in Europe in ‘matter of weeks’ [CoinDesk]
– Galaxy Digital teamed up with asset manager DWS last April to develop ETPs designed to give Europeans access to digital-asset investment through traditional brokerage accounts.
8) Sygnum tokenizes $50m of Fidelity International Fund as Matter Labs moves reserves to blockchain [CoinDesk]
– The move was part of zkSync developer Matter Labs’ long-term goal to move its treasury reserves to a blockchain.
