In a rather uneventful first week of the new semester, the Nasdaq Crypto Index^TM (NCI^TM) fell 1.5%, with bitcoin (BTC) dropping a modest 0.8% and ether (ETH) falling 2.2%. Bitcoin’s dominance (the percentage of its market capitalization with respect to the market value of all digital assets) continued to consolidate above 50%, reassuring the strength of the largest digital asset within the current recovery phase for crypto prices. The most relevant news for the past week was an interview with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink in which he refreshed his point of view on crypto, citing its enormous potential and noting the impact a spot bitcoin ETF would have on making the crypto sector more democratized. 

 

 

BlackRock refiles ETF application as its CEO expresses optimism about crypto

 

During an interview with Fox Business, BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, expressed optimism about both digital assets and tokenization. Broadly, he believes digital products, like ETFs, are displacing the mutual fund industry, and thinks that tokenization has the potential to restructure the banking system and capital markets. Fink also indicated that he views bitcoin as an “international asset,” likening it to "digitized gold." BlackRock also refiled its application for a spot bitcoin ETF in the US, selecting Coinbase to be included into the necessary  surveillance-sharing agreement (SSA), addressing one of the points highlighted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as inadequate in the original filing.

 

Chile to integrate Nasdaq’s digital assets capabilities

 

Chile plans to integrate Nasdaq’s digital assets capabilities to support the issuance, registration, and settlement of digital securities, and is looking into the use of smart contracts to automate bond interest payments and other life cycle events.

 

South Africa to require crypto exchanges licensing by year end

 

The financial regulator of South Africa, where many of the crypto platforms in Africa operate, received about 20 license applications since opening for crypto license requests a few weeks ago. This new requirement brings investor protection and confidence that platforms offering services involving crypto assets in the continent will be properly licensed and comply with local regulation, significantly reducing the possibility of fraud or crypto scams that have negatively impacted the region in the past few years.

 

Brazilian Market Update: June 2023

 

Last week, our Research Team joined our Head of Portfolio Management, João Marco Braga da Cunha, for our June market overview and a discussion on the relevance of the recent spot bitcoin ETF filings for the future of bitcoin and the crypto industry in general. Make sure to watch the recording here (Brazilian audience only).

 

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