Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Investments news
- UK-based Ruffer Investment Company made more than USD 1.1bn from investing in bitcoin (BTC) in November last year, The Times reported. The company said they sold BTC this past April because “younger people wouldn’t be spending so much time trading now that the lockdowns are ending.”
- Solana (SOL) is reportedly raising USD 300m – USD 450m to scale up their development. Per Decrypt’s unnamed sources, Solana was going for a smaller round that should have closed in March, but decided to expand the scope in response to high demand.
- Olympia Trust Company said it has given up on their intention to offer a BTC custody system that was developed by custodian KNØX Industries. As a reason for the termination, the company cites “internal risk appetite due to current market conditions.”
- 21Shares, a crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) issuer, announced that its Bitcoin ETP (ABTC) will become available on Aquis Exchange this summer.
- Fiserv, a provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, said it will enable its consumers to share data on their cryptoasset holdings with their fintech apps and service providers, “enhancing consumers’ financial management and control as cryptoasset investing reaches the mainstream.” This new capability will be enabled through the integration of AllData® Aggregation from Fiserv with Verady, a provider of cryptoasset tax, accounting, and audit technology products and integrations.
- ForUsAll, a retirement investment platform for small businesses, announced the introduction of the Alt 401(k), its retirement investment platform that allows employers to provide alternative investment options within 401(k) plans. The company is enabling employers to offer cryptocurrency as the plan’s first alternative investment by selecting Coinbase Institutional, they said.
- The Basel Committee, the global standard-setter for the prudential regulation of banks, said it agreed to hold a public consultation to seek the views of external stakeholders on the design of prudential treatment of banks’ exposures to cryptoassets. Also, they aim to publish an earlier discussion paper on the matter this week.
Exchanges news
- Bitfinex and Hodl Hodl have announced that Bitfinex will invest in the peer-to-peer BTC trading and lending platform. “Bitfinex aims to further the adoption of genuine use cases for bitcoin, including exploring integrations with Hodl Hodl services,” the exchange said, without providing any details about the deal.
- In May, total crypto derivatives trading volume increased by 40%, to USD 5.5trn, as investors reacted to higher volatility, per CryptoCompare data. The top 3 exchanges, Binance, OKEx, and Bybit, saw monthly trading volumes of USD 2.5trn (up 49%), USD 999bn (up 51%) and USD 574bn (up 24%), respectively, the data provider said, adding that the derivatives market now represents 53% of the total crypto market (vs 50% in April).
- Bitfinex said they have added SOL as collateral on Bitfinex Borrow, a peer-to-peer digital token loan portal. Bitfinex customers will be able to obtain loans of up to 70% of the value of their SOL holdings in USD and tether (USDT).
Politics news
- Speaking to Fox, former US President Donald Trump said that “the currency of this world should be the dollar,” while BTC “takes the edge off of the dollar and the importance of the dollar” and BTC “just seems like a scam,” the Washington Examiner reported.
Mining news
- An open-source, solar-powered Bitcoin mining facility is opening in the US, thanks to a partnership between digital asset infrastructure provider Blockstream and digital payments company Square. The project will also have a publicly accessible dashboard that will show real-time metrics of its performance, as BTC mined and energy spent.
- Major BTC mining hardware manufacturer Canaan said it has established its first overseas after-sales service center in Kazakhstan. The Service Center will provide the Company’s local customers with after-sales services, including machine testing, warranty services, machine maintenance, and technical consultations, they said in an emailed announcement.
Regulation news
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he has signed a law that will help expand the blockchain industry in this state. The bill defines virtual currencies as digital representations of value that “(A) is used as a medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of value; and (B) is not legal tender, whether or not denominated in legal tender.”
Wallets news
- Square is considering developing its own hardware wallet for BTC, the company’s CEO Jack Dorsey said. If they go ahead with the idea, the project will be built in collaboration with the community, he added.
CBDCs news
- The Group of Seven (G7) said they “will work towards common principles” of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and “publish conclusions later in the year.” Also, in a communiqué, G7 finance ministers and central bank governors reiterated “that no global stablecoin [e.g. Facebook’s Diem] project should begin operation until it adequately addresses relevant legal, regulatory, and oversight requirements through appropriate design and by adhering to applicable standards.”
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