in this thread
Loyalty: Close to launching its own Bitcoin ETF
NFT 500 Predictions: Azuki's Disappointment
Asset Tokenization in Singapore: One Step Closer
From the editor's desk
dear reader,
There is an old saying in gambling circles that the house always wins. This is not an unreasonable possibility, as casino operators will be forced out of business if they do not bring in more money than they pay out.
This week, some members of the cryptocurrency community may apply the same to traditional financial strongholds, as Wall Street appears to have taken another step toward cryptocurrency.
Fidelity, one of the world's largest asset managers, is reportedly preparing to file for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund. It would be a good bet for cryptocurrencies, or at least the one that started it all. Almost by definition, this would be a bet on the hostile attitude of the SEC towards cryptocurrencies since the collapse of the FTX exchange last year.
The regulator's apparent aversion to cryptocurrencies has caused several companies in the sector to lose money that recently bet against cryptocurrencies. Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Genesis and Gemini have all been the subject of enforcement actions, with the commission focusing on cryptocurrencies.
Traditional financial firms also bet against the SEC and lost, though not only in terms of fines, losses and actual business closures, but also in terms of untapped business opportunities. As we noted in this week's edition of The Current Forecast , Fidelity's instant Bitcoin ETF app isn't the company's first. In fact, the SEC has turned down all applications for such a fund to date.
But traditional players in the financial sector, such as Fidelity and BlackRock, which applied for a Bitcoin ETF two weeks ago, are now showing increasing confidence in their chances of winning favor with the regulator.
That could be because of concerns about court doubt over the SEC's denial of a spot bitcoin ETF license to crypto-asset manager Grayscale. It could also be because they feel that the pendulum has swung too far against cryptocurrencies, and the regulator may consider offering a reprieve for the industry in the form of a vanilla financial product.
Generally, the house must win to keep the tables open. However, the first question that cryptocurrency raised was: Who rules the house? Given the SEC's unilateral decision, it seems too late for others to start asking that question again.
until next time,
angie
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Expectations
1. Bull racing
Cryptocurrencies are getting a big boost as Fidelity Investments is set to launch its exchange-traded fund (ETF), The Block reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The move would not be Fidelity's first foray into a bitcoin-backed ETF. In March 2021, the Wall Street giant applied for a spot bitcoin ETF called the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, which was rejected by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2022. But it has the Bitcoin Fidelity ETF. Advantage launched in Canada in December 2021. At age 75 % since the beginning of this year.
According to Block, Fidelity will join a list of financial institutions that have recently submitted or renewed their applications to issue an instant Bitcoin ETF, including BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco, Valkyrie and Bitwise.
"Bitcoin ETF filings support investor sentiment as both institutional and retail investors can show increased interest in the market through these investment vehicles," said Dennis Belichuk, president of Asia at the brokerage. Belize-based CPT Markets, in email comments.
"If the SEC approves the new applications, the market could increase demand and the number of buyers," Belichuk said. "Given the SEC's legal position on cryptocurrencies, the market may focus more on Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest assets on the market."
After BlackRock placed an order for its Bitcoin ETF on June 15, bitcoin surged more than 22% to $31,389 on June 23, the highest level since June 2022.
Expectations. What does it mean?
A possible ETF hack by Fidelity, the world's third-largest asset manager, should come as no surprise to anyone caught up in the animated hubbub of the world of Twitter rumors.
Following the launch of ETFs by the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, industry watchers predicted that Boston-based investment giant Fidelity, with $4.2 trillion in assets, would be the next entrant in offering and reviewing Bitcoin ETFs. The topic also fueled speculation that Fidelity could bet on Grayscale, the digital asset manager behind the $13.5 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the world's largest bitcoin fund. There is still no concrete proof of purchase.
Fidelity has taken an active stance in adopting Bitcoin and other digital assets, leaving many of its traditional financial contemporaries behind. The company claims its research on the asset class dates back to 2014.
In 2018, the company launched an institutional trading platform for Bitcoin and Ethereum. A year later, in 2019, he expanded his company into a Bitcoin mining company through Bitcoin technology company Blockstream's institutional mining service. Last year, even Bitcoin joined the long list of companies whose ETF applications were rejected by the SEC. Last week, he launched EDX Markets, a non-governmental cryptocurrency backed by Fidelity and other Wall Street giants.
In addition, Fidelity launched an ambitious campaign to gain indirect bitcoin exposure through Microstrategy, a globally influential bitcoin holder. Fidelity has established itself as Microstrategy's third-largest shareholder, with a 6.7% stake worth more than $225 million. BlackRock follows as the fourth largest owner with 5.58% and about $185 million.
Even when these giant asset managers enter the US ETF race, the waiting list is long. ARK Invest CEO Cathy Wood says her company is preparing to launch the first spot bitcoin ETF in the world's largest economy.
2. Liquid dreams
The NFT markets are off for another week, with the Ethereum NFT ecosystem once again dragging down the broader market. The Expectations 500 NFT index fell 1.32%, with Ethereum down 1.51% in stark contrast to Solana, Polygon and Cardano gains of 1.7%, 1.23% and 5.75% respectively.
Ethereum sales shot up 318% on Thursday after the Azuki Elementals team made $38 million in just 15 minutes.
Azuki's low price dropped 45% to 9 Ether after the Elementals were minted, with the average selling price dropping to $23,000 from $39,000 over the previous seven days.
Bored Ape Yacht Club median sale price over the past seven days rose to $79,214. However, major BAYC owners such as Machi Big Brother and Franklin have teamed up to sell more than 60 Bored Monkeys, putting more pressure on the group.
On June 25, Solana's 98,917 trades were her highest daily NFT trades in eight months. September 2022 was the last time the blockchain saw this level of activity when Y00ts was still optimized for Solana.
Ethereum rose 105%, Bitcoin 22%, Solana 24% and Polygon 10% in seven-day multi-chain sales. Mythos Chain, BNB and Flow fell 18%, 20% and 23% respectively.
DeGods is now the third most valuable PFP at a low price since Azuki went down. The cheapest Azuki NFTs are trading at 8.5 ETH, while DeGods are around 1 ETH higher at 9.5 ETH.
Expectations. What does it mean?
The biggest new NFT release of the year happened on Tuesday when one of the best NFT projects released a new batch called Azuki Elementals. While some hoped that the new pool would breathe life into NFT markets, it instead hurt liquidity from traders selling assets across projects to cover the 2 ETH coin price. The effect is also seen among Ethereum NFTs, which this year generated the highest sales volume in the expectation index 500 NFTs at $58 million.
Azukii Elementals gifted some lucky traders with rare NFTs that traded for over 30 ETH, but most of the side sales are well below the 2 ETH coin price for the pool. Instead of helping the larger NFT ecosystem, Azuki's Elementals squeezed money out of owners and lowered the selling prices of almost every other collectible.
What went wrong in the Azuki Mint is a familiar story, suggesting that the NFT space may not be as mature as some would like. From the initial sales that left many Azuki and Beanz owners stuck on the download page and finally unable to wait, to the appearance of large artworks that looked like duplicates of the main Azuki collection, NFT projects speak of innovation. , but after a while they do it. It cannot be delivered..
For all the talk of innovation, we've seen few examples of it, and aside from serving as meme coins, traders shouldn't wait for the next NFT boom until they see real innovation.
If the Azuki team can reverse the current negative sentiment about their projects and support the higher minimum prices that homeowners expect, we could see profitable sales flow to existing collection floors. Will follow
3. Call Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city's central bank, has proposed a framework for developing open and interoperable networks for digital assets, as the country seeks to harness the power of asset tokens to improve traditional financial services.
The "real value in the digital asset ecosystem" lies in the tokenization of physical and financial assets through distributed ledger technologies and smart contracts that "can improve the efficiency, affordability and accessibility of financial services," MAS wrote in its report. .
"Unless digital asset networks are interoperable with each other and with traditional financial market infrastructure, fragmentation will reduce network benefits and create frictions such as unavailability, increased liquidity requirements due to unbundling of funds' liquidity and price arbitrage," said Maas. . .
The MAS proposal, developed in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements and other financial institutions, is part of Project Guardian Singapore initiatives, announced in May 2022, to promote the adoption of asset tokens and decentralized finance in the financial industry. investigation.
MAS also announced the expansion of Project Guardian to test asset tokenization across more financial asset classes with the participation of 11 financial institutions, including banking giants Citi, HSBC, DBS and Standard Chartered, the industry leaders in Project Guardian Forms. the IndustryGroup. Asset and capital management, currencies and fixed income.
Japan's Financial Services Agency, the first foreign financial regulator to join Project Guardian, will work with MAS to innovate in digital assets while guarding against risks to financial stability and integrity.
The MAS move comes as Singapore looks to harness the power of blockchain in its financial system, while reducing crypto assets. Last Thursday, the Asia-Pacific arm of tech firm Ripple Labs said it would begin offering cryptocurrency-based digital payment services in Singapore after receiving initial approval from the MAS.
MAS also published a document on Thursday with a technical description of a special purpose digital currency for "hoarded" funds, jointly developed by the International Monetary Fund, Amazon, DBS Bank and several other industry players.
Expectations. What does it mean?
The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced the creation of interoperable digital asset networks as an example of what Singapore does best: high technology, innovative efficiency and, of course, the state.
The fact that the country's de facto central bank is developing its structure in partnership with the Bank for International Settlements and the International Organization of Securities Commissions simply confirms the authority of the founder of the initiative.
Less than a month after Hong Kong unveiled a virtual assets licensing system, a cornerstone of the city government's plan to bring back crypto after heavy restrictions, Singapore's framework could disrupt Hong Kong's endgame for digital assets. , although it has been working for a long time. But it would be a mistake to see it that way.
Conversely, skeptics may interpret Hong Kong's introduction of digital asset licensing rules as a roll of the dice by the leaders of a city falling on hard times. After all, Hong Kong's star has faded in recent years as authorities clamp down on once-celebrated first-world freedoms and battle the covid pandemic, leading to a drain on talent and a drop in confidence in foreign companies.
Hong Kong's attitude towards cryptocurrency has changed less over the years, as has Singapore. But overall, the Southeast Asian country has been steadily improving its approach to digital assets for a long time, and its recent industry development plan is another milestone along the way.
The MAS initiative is less opportunistic than Hong Kong's adoption of digital assets. In fact, the authorities' plan is so calculated, technocratic, centralized and difficult for TradFi heavyweights to participate in that it looks more akin to fintech than the intended cross-border financing of cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
Due to the disruptive phenomenon of digital assets, Project Guardian is the exact opposite of disruptive, as the initiative is called, and as the name suggests. It will probably be smooth, safe and secure, and not boring at all. A complete brand from Singapore. More interesting, however, is whether it will join previous city-state initiatives as another successful resource.