By Bilal Ahmed Mir, 29th November 2021
Fidelity, UBS, and State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) confirm their interests in launching Crypto products. Matteo Andreeto, Head of SSGA’s SPDR Europe’s exchange-traded fund business, said: “clients are not only asking about Cryptocurrencies but also specifically SPDR Crypto products.” Exposure to Crypto ETFs and Mutual Funds in Europe has reached €10.5 billion with demand growth expected to increase.
Morgan Stanley increases Bitcoin exposure, buys more Grayscale BTC (GBTC) trust shares. The firm substantially increased the number of shares held in its Growth Portfolio with Grayscale from 2.1 million as of 30th June to 3.6 million as of 30th September, indicating plans for onboarding existing and future clients to Bitcoin.
Japan’s three mega-banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, will start testing digital currency payments in the coming months with the Digital Currency JPY (DCJPY) to be used in the trial. It will use blockchain distributed ledger technology and be underpinned by bank deposits, according to the Digital Currency Forum white paper about the DCJPY.
Australia’s Rest Super retirement fund ($48 billion AUM) will invest in Crypto. The CIO, Andrew Lill, expressed the importance of offering members exposure to Crypto emphasizing the ability of crypto to provide “a stable source of value” and Crypto as a good hedge against inflation. He adds, “I do think that, in an era of inflation, it could be a potentially good place to invest.”
Two Bitcoin funds by Fintonia Group domiciled in Singapore regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), are now live. Investors can also access private loans secured by Bitcoin in Fintonia’s Secured Yield Fund. BTC is excellent collateral as it provides high liquidity and 24/7 operation.
Binance is in talks with several sovereign wealth funds about investing in its entity. Should these funds have a stake in the company, CEO Changpeng Zhao hopes this improves “perception and relationships” with regulators around the world about Binance but adds the caution that this should not “tie [Binance] to specific countries.”
El Salvador adds 100 more Bitcoins to its balance sheet amid the recent price correction. President Nayib Bukele stated, “El Salvador just bought the dip. 100 extra coins acquired with a discount” supporting Bukele’s continual optimism following new plans for building a Bitcoin city last week.
