The Crypto Roundup: 18 August 2023 | CryptoCompare.com

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to allow an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on Ether futures, in an impending decision that marks a victory for firms looking to champion these offerings.

Bakkt’s Chief Executive Officer, Gavin Michael, has revealed the cryptocurrency services firm has been “seeing strong traction with new custody and crypto trading clients,” as it reaps the benefits of its prudent capital allocation to see higher improved gross profit margins.

Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has halted trading in Canada for three leading stablecoins in an unexpected move that comes shortly after the firm celebrated entering the Canadian market.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• SEC Set to Approve Ether Futures ETFs
• Bakkt Sees ‘Strong Traction’ in Crypto Custody and Trading Clients, Eyes Global Expansion
• Coinbase Drops Support for USDT, RAI, and DAI in Canada
• Crypto Market Movers – XDC, LPT, RBN

SEC Set to Approve Ether Futures ETFs

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to allow an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on Ether futures, in an impending decision that marks a victory for firms looking to champion these offerings.

Inside sources at the SEC have reportedly revealed that the regulator won’t block Ether futures ETFs, which have seen filings from nearly a dozen companies, including Volatility Shares, Bitwise, and ProShares, to launch.

Which ETFs may be allowed isn’t currently known, although insiders have shared that multiple may receive a greenlight in October. While the SEC hasn’t approved any spot cryptocurrency ETFs, in 2021 it started allowing Bitcoin futures ETFs to launch.

Earlier this year several financial behemoths, including BlackRock, Invesco and Fidelity, filed applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Bakkt Sees ‘Strong Traction’ in Crypto Custody and Trading Clients, Eyes Global Expansion

Bakkt’s Chief Executive Officer, Gavin Michael, has revealed the cryptocurrency services firm has been “seeing strong traction with new custody and crypto trading clients,” as it reaps the benefits of its prudent capital allocation to see higher improved gross profit margins.

Back in April, the firm acquired cryptocurrency brokerage platform Apex which, coupled with collaborative efforts with Plaid, a financial services company, and Fireblocks, an institutional digital assets custody entity, is fueling its pipeline of potential clients.

Bakkt also unveiled its aspirations in July to venture into markets like the UK, EU, Hong Kong, and Australia. These jurisdictions, Michael noted, offer a clearer regulatory framework surrounding cryptocurrencies compared to the U.S.

The firm sees the evolving ETF products in the market as an opportunity to reinforce its position in the cryptocurrency custody space, and reported a tenfold rise in qualified sales opportunities for custody in the second quarter of the year.

Coinbase Drops Support for USDT, RAI, and DAI in Canada

Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has halted trading in Canada for three leading stablecoins in an unexpected move that comes shortly after the firm celebrated entering the Canadian market.

In an email the firm sent to customers it revealed that Tether’s USDT, RAI, and DAI did not meet the firm’s listing standards based on its recent evaluations. The trading suspension, it noted, won’t stop users from being able to access their RAI, DAI, and USDT wallets.

The trading halt will come into effect around noon ET on August 31, with users being able to deposit and withdraw the tokens after that date.

While Coinbase did not reveal the reasoning behind its decision, the move evokes comparisons to its competitor Crypto.com, which recently dropped support for Canadian USDT in January, in response to instructions from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).

Earlier, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) highlighted their views on stablecoins like Tether and other value-pegged assets, like Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), deeming them securities. The CSA stressed crypto exchanges should not let Canadian clients transact or gain exposure to cryptocurrencies deemed a security or a derivative.

Crypto Market Movers – XDC, LPT, RBN

Several tokens are leading the charge in the last 7-day period. Some of these are well-known cryptocurrencies with more liquid trading pairs, so we’ll be focusing on these over low-cap cryptos that may have higher percentage changes.

Xinfin Network (XDC) – XinFin Network (XDC) is an enterprise-ready hybrid blockchain technology company focused on international trade and finance. It operates on the XDC protocol, which supports smart contracts, offers high transaction throughput (2000TPS), fast transaction times (2 seconds), and implements KYC for Masternodes (Validator Nodes). The XinFin network aims to create a highly scalable, secure, permissioned, and commercially viable blockchain network.

Livepeer (LPT) – Livepeer is a platform for video transcoding and distribution where users are able to create and broadcast video sessions to its viewers on a global scale by sending their videos to the Livepeer network, which transcodes the data to the formats and bit rates that the viewers can consume.

Ribbon Finance (RBN) – Ribbon Finance is a protocol that helps users access crypto-structured products for DeFi. It combines options, futures, and fixed income to improve a portfolio’s risk-return profile.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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