Crypto Derivatives Exchange Debuts in EU, Jersey Pension Fund Eyes Bitcoin, and More Industry Highlights

We have compiled the most significant news from the crypto industry over the past two weeks.

• One Trading launched the first crypto derivatives exchange in the EU.
• New Jersey will allocate part of the city pension fund for BTC-ETF purchases.
• SBI Holdings and Franklin Templeton will establish a joint digital asset management firm.
• Coinbase’s UK division was fined $4.5 million for onboarding violations.
• Fireblocks introduced a suite of Web3 tools for startups.

One Trading Launches First EU Crypto Derivatives Exchange

One Trading secured a license as an organized trading facility (OTF), becoming the first platform in the EU to achieve such status after a three-year hiatus. Its services will comply with the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).

Representatives of One Trading clarified that the license allows the exchange to offer legal products, including those denominated in Bitcoin and Ethereum, for which there is currently no regulated platform in the EU.

Initially, One Trading was a subsidiary of the crypto platform Bitpanda, but in July it separated and became an independent brand. At that time, the company announced it had raised €30 million in funding. 

In December 2023, ForkLog reported the firm’s announcement of launching the “world’s fastest digital asset trading platform” called FAST.

New Jersey to Allocate Part of City Pension Fund for BTC-ETF Purchases

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop announced plans to direct part of the city pension fund into crypto ETFs. The official noted that municipal authorities are updating documents with the SEC to reflect investments in digital assets.

Not my normal subject matter in a post but I’ll share anyway — the question on whether Crypto/Bitcoin is here to stay is largely over + crypto/Bitcoin won. The #JerseyCity pension fund is in process of updating paperwork to the SEC to allocate % of the fund to Bitcoin ETFs… https://t.co/5iNEqRqHGM

— Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) July 25, 2024

Fulop did not specify what percentage of the fund’s AUM would be allocated to cryptocurrencies. He explained that he takes the 2% allocated by the Wisconsin Pension Fund as a benchmark.

According to SEC filings, the latter held shares of spot Bitcoin ETFs totaling $163 million at the end of March.

Separately, it was reported that the English football club Real Bedford purchased 66.9 BTC.

Japan’s Metaplanet also increased its Bitcoin reserves. Allocating 200 million yen ($1.27 million), the public organization boosted its holdings by 20.38 BTC to 235.99 BTC.

SBI Holdings and Franklin Templeton to Establish Joint Digital Asset Management Firm

Japanese conglomerate SBI Holdings and financial giant Franklin Templeton agreed to create an investment management company focused on cryptocurrencies by the end of the year.

The Wall Street representative launched ETFs based on Bitcoin and Ethereum and is considering applying for a Solana-based exchange-traded fund. In Japan, preparations are underway to ease regulations on digital asset investments.

SBI Holdings will own 51% of the new organization, while Franklin Templeton will hold 49%.

In November 2023, SBI Holdings agreed with Standard Chartered’s venture arm to establish a $100 million company in the UAE focused on cryptocurrency project investments.

Coinbase’s UK Division Fined $4.5 Million for Onboarding Violations

The FCA fined Coinbase’s UK subsidiary £3.5 million GBP ($4.5 million) for breaching a voluntary agreement aimed at halting the attraction of high-risk clients.

In October 2020, the organization entered into a voluntary agreement with the regulator. It imposed restrictions preventing Coinbase from attracting new high-risk users.

The FCA found that the platform offered services to 13,416 such clients. About 31% of them deposited ~$24.9 million, which became the basis for conducting crypto transactions worth ~$226 million.

Coinbase representatives stated they took the agency’s findings seriously and “will continue to actively improve control mechanisms to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.”

In March, Kraken UK’s managing director Bivu Das considered launching a Bitcoin ETF in the country.

Earlier, Chainalysis analysts assessed the UK’s crypto economy as the largest in Europe and third in the world, with an annual transaction volume of $252 billion.

Fireblocks Introduces Web3 Tools for Startups

Crypto custody service provider Fireblocks launched a suite of tools for Web3 startups.

Fireblocks for Startups is designed to help quickly create products and includes solutions for treasury management, non-custodial storage, private key management, and secure digital asset transfer.

“Fireblocks for Startups provides a reliable and accessible infrastructure for blockchain developers to avoid technical and operational challenges,” the press release states.

In February, Forbes included Chainalysis, Fireblocks, and Gauntlet in its list of the top 50 fintech companies in 2024. 

Key DeFi Segment Metrics

Total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols decreased to $94.3 billion. Lido remains the leader with $30.9 billion. EigenLayer is second ($15.3 billion), and Aave holds third place ($12.5 billion).

TVL in Ethereum applications decreased to $56.3 billion. Trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEX) over the past 30 days increased to $124.7 billion.

Uniswap continues to dominate the non-custodial market, accounting for 50.1% of total turnover. The second DEX by trading volume is PancakeSwap (15.9%), followed by Aerodrome (7%), and Dodo (5.7%). Curve (5%) returned to the top five.

Also on ForkLog:

• Tether’s net profit for the first half of the year reached $5.2 billion.
• M2 will offer clients in the UAE the ability to purchase Bitcoin from a bank account.
• DEX trading volume share reached an all-time high.
• Developers launched an alternative to the “synthetic dollar” from Ethena Labs.
• The Aave token rose in response to protocol economic changes.
• On-chain metrics for Base hit new highs again.
• The ZKX protocol closed a month and a half after its airdrop.

Weekend Reading Suggestions

The market remains concerned about the fate of compensations to Mt.Gox clients, whose scale has surpassed the inflow of funds into ETFs, miner issuance, and sales by the German authorities. Glassnode is convinced that most of the investors receiving payouts can be classified as hodlers. This potentially mitigates the scale of selling pressure in the coming weeks. Read more in the special commentary.