🌐 Bitwise applied to launch ETF on cryptocurrency stocks
Bitwise has filed another application with the SEC to launch a cryptocurrency ETF. The new ETF will track not the price of digital assets, but the stocks of companies operating in the industry.
Bitwise is a digital asset management and cryptocurrency index provider. The new Bitwise Crypto Innovators ETF will track stock prices of companies participating in its own Bitwise Crypto Innovators Index.
The request submitted to the Commission on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) emphasizes that the fund will monitor the firms' working in the field of economy-related assets and distributed kriptovalyutnymi registry technology. "
Thus, the index can include various companies working in the field of cryptocurrencies and blockchain: custodian services, financial and mining companies, blockchain and wallet developers, as well as any other companies “owning a significant amount of cryptocurrencies, or generating profits from businesses related to industry ".
In addition, the application defines the rules for creating the index: 70% of the companies selected for the index must receive at least 75% of the profits from working in the cryptocurrency sector, or store more than 75% of assets in cryptocurrencies. In addition, the capitalization of such companies must exceed $ 100 million.
The rest of the index should be composed of large corporations that have launched a “dedicated initiative” in the cryptocurrency industry, with this initiative to be corroborated by quarterly or annual reports. The capitalization of companies from this group should exceed $ 10 billion.
The Bitwise Crypto Innovators ETF will not directly invest in cryptocurrencies or buy derivative products, nor will it participate in initial token offerings (ICOs).
Recall that in mid-January last year, Bitwise withdrew an application to launch an ETF on Bitcoin after repeated and unsuccessful attempts to obtain SEC approval.
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🌐 ETH futures trading volume on CME totaled nearly 400 contracts.
Ethereum futures trading was launched on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group) yesterday, 8 February. During the first day, 388 contracts were traded.
According to the managing director of CME Tim McCourt (Tim McCourt), the site management did not expect such a demand for the product. Since each contract equals 50 ETH, 19,400 ETH ($ 33 million) were traded on the first day.
“The response to the ETH futures product has been overwhelming,” McCourt said.
He noted that 1,000 contracts were traded on the first day of Bitcoin futures launch. If we compare the capitalization, popularity and other indicators of these cryptocurrencies, the adoption of Ether futures turned out to be very positive.
According to McCourt, clients of the site are expecting the launch of other derivative cryptocurrency products, but so far the management of CME Group is keeping the plans under wraps. McCourt noted that the adoption of ETH futures needs to be evaluated first.
The plans to launch ETH futures on the CME exchange became known in mid-December last year. Trading started yesterday, 8 February.
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🌐 CoinShares: "ETH has become the most popular asset for institutional investors"
According to CoinShares, the inflow of institutional investors' funds into cryptocurrencies in the first week of February amounted to $ 245 million, with 80% of this amount invested in ETH.
In the report , CoinShares analysts note that ether has become the most popular asset for institutional investors. At the same time, the launch of ETH futures on the CME exchange took place only on February 8. Investments in bitcoin totaled $ 41.9 million in a week, although since the beginning of the year, institutional investors have invested $ 2.02 billion in the first cryptocurrency.
Researchers believe that large investors are beginning to diversify their cryptocurrency portfolios - shifting part of their funds from bitcoin to ether and other coins. At the same time, there are no signs of profit taking yet - investors continue to buy and hold cryptocurrencies.
“We think that investors looking for diversification are becoming more comfortable investing in Ethereum. The inflow of funds into bitcoin is gradually decreasing, ”analysts write.
In total, in 2021, $ 2.6 billion was invested in cryptocurrency products.At the same time, for the entire 2020, institutional investors invested $ 6.7 billion in such products.
Grayscale Investments remains the largest digital asset management firm with more than $ 33.4 billion in funds under its management. Investments in the Grayscale Ethereum Trust continue to grow and now the fund's capitalization is $ 5.1 billion.
Recall that on the evening of February 8, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization exceeded $ 1.3 trillion for the first time.
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🌐 Cryptocurrency market capitalization exceeded $1.3 trillion
In just a week, the capitalization of the cryptocurrency market increased by $ 300 billion and today exceeded $1.3 trillion after Tesla's report on investing $1.5 billion in bitcoin.
The cryptocurrency market continues to reach new heights due to the influx of new investors. The overwhelming part of this growth came from Bitcoin, which reached $40,960 over the weekend, and today broke another record , reaching almost $45,000. BTC owes a large share of this growth to Elon Musk, who first "encouraged" investors on Twitter , and then his company Tesla announced the purchase of bitcoins for $1.5 billion. It is the largest purchase of cryptocurrency by a corporation to date.
Bitcoin soared to $20,000 for the first time after CME launched Bitcoin futures in December 2017. With the Chinese New Year approaching, many traders expect large price swings as Chinese citizens start selling bitcoin during the New Year holidays, causing its value to fall. But this year the tradition may be broken due to the inflow of investments from other countries.
The last days have turned out to be successful for the ether, which renewed its all-time maximum last week, reaching $1760. ETH fell slightly, but over the past six days, this cryptocurrency has not fallen below $1,500. Considering that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group) launched trading in ETH futures contracts today, the volatility of this cryptoasset may increase. Such contracts will allow institutional investors to speculate on the price of Ether in both long and short positions.
Dogecoin also started to experience a surge, as celebrities began to pay attention to this cryptocurrency. So, last week, Tesla founder Elon Musk jokingly called Dogecoin "the people's cryptocurrency". He was joined by American rapper Snoop Dogg. He posted a picture of himself on Twitter, where instead of a face he inserted a Shiba Inu dog, symbolizing Dogecoin.
@elonmusk pic.twitter.com/KElwKghpei
- Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) February 6, 2021
The Tesla executive also jokingly responded by publishing a scene from The Lion King, as if Musk was holding Kiss musician Gene Simmons, and Snoop Dogg, who in turn was holding a dog.
So ... it's finally come to this ... pic.twitter.com/Gf0Rg2QOaF
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2021
Such interest in Dogecoin led to the fact that nothing but its image, an unremarkable coin entered the top ten leaders in terms of market capitalization. Over the past day, Doge has grown by another 10%, and the capitalization of the cryptoasset is already $9.8 billion.
Equity and futures markets are also growing rapidly. For example, futures on the Dow Jones, S&P and Nasdaq rose sharply after information emerged that US President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion proposal for economic recovery could be implemented this month. This further fuels bullish sentiment in the market. According to a study by the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, many Americans spend the government subsidies they receive to buy bitcoin.
Recall that on the night of January 7, 2021, the capitalization of the cryptocurrency market for the first time in history exceeded $1 trillion.
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🌐 Cardano CEO: "blockchain will help avoid events like the GameStop stock pump"
Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, said that in the future, blockchain will help avoid restrictions on trading in GameStop shares and make the financial market more transparent.
Recall that at the end of January, users of the Reddit forum " dispersed " the stock price of the network of computer game stores GameStop, so that institutional investors who opened short positions in shares received losses. Against this backdrop, some marketplaces, including the popular Robinhood app, have restricted trading in the network's shares. This has caused a huge flurry of criticism from the community, and Gregaard believes that blockchain could help in such a situation.
He emphasized that Robinhood had restricted trading in stocks due to excessive demand and was overwhelmed by buy and sell orders and settlement processes. If these post-trading processes were carried out using the public blockchain, then the bottlenecks in the calculations would be visible to all market participants, and everyone would see exactly where there is a lack of efficiency.
According to Gregaard, the audit firm PwC said the technology "can reduce operational complexity and provide a single, trusted source of data." In addition, blockchain could increase speed and efficiency by eliminating intermediaries. It would not only speed up the trading processes, but also make them more transparent for retail investors.
“There are many opportunities for technology integration, for traditional financial institutions and leaders in the decentralized industry to work together. The Cardano code is open and anyone can check it. This is just one application of our technology and we welcome innovation, ”said the CEO of the Cardano Foundation.
After the events with GameStop shares, a certain WSB token appeared at the "zero place" of the CoinMarketCap rating . This is a fictitious token supplied by the management of the service ahead of Bitcoin in support of Reddit users.
