The FIX Protocol has added support for the Digital Token Identifier (DTI) to simplify and standardize communication for trading digital assets.
A key piece of plumbing in conventional markets is getting enhanced in a way that could make it easier for stalwarts of traditional finance (TradFi) to trade crypto.
The Financial Information eXchange Protocol (FIX) – a common language that çağdaş trading systems (investors’ machines, exchange computers and the like) use to speak with each other – has added greater support for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. It’s done so by adopting the Digital Token Identifier (DTI) ISO standard, according to a Monday press release.
Stocks, bonds and other older financial instruments around the globe already use various standardized ID codes – a way to make it simpler to find and trade them and one of the accouterments Wall Street–types expect when navigating markets. So, the emergence of DTI is a way to make crypto more palatable for TradFi. Meanwhile, FIX is what conveys trades throughout TradFi.
“Adding the DTI standard to the FIX Protocol was an easy decision as the DTI extends the existing functionality to the world of digital assets, which helps the market evolve to work with this asset class,” Jim Kaye, executive director at FIX, said in the press release. “We can see many benefits of adding the DTI, including making it easier for the industry to audit their transactions and increase transparency, thereby bringing more efficiencies to the market.”
The press release noted that DTI can be used by regulators to monitor digital trades for anti-money laundering and monitoring risk in trading, too.
Recommended for you:
TradFi Giant TP ICAP Gains UK Crypto License
Do Kwon Extradition Sought by U.S., South Korea, Montenegro Justice Minister Says
Bitcoin Mining Companies Need to Better Manage Risk
Join the Most Important Conversation in Crypto and Web3 in Austin, Texas April 26-28
Over 1,300 DTIs have been issued already, according to the press release. This includes private ledgers and tokenized assets.
From a fundamental perspective the weaker correlation supports diversification arguments in favor of holding both BTC and ETH, the report said.
The correlation between bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) returns has been declining since mid-March, when BTC started outperforming against the backdrop of the U.S. banking turmoil and increased regulatory scrutiny of non-bitcoin digital assets, Coinbase (COIN) said in a research report Friday.
The decline in the relationship has become more pronounced following the Ethereum blockchain’s Shanghai upgrade – aka Shapella, the report said, noting that a similar trend was seen in September 2022 following the network’s previous update, the Merge.
The Shanghai upgrade was successfully completed on April 12 and enables validators to withdraw staked ether.
“The relevance of this falling correlation for institutional investors is that it can affect quantitative strategies that rely on cross hedging one asset for the other (or using ETH as a hedge for less liquid altcoins),” analysts David Duong and Brian Cubellis wrote.
From a fundamental perspective “it supports diversification arguments in favor of holding both BTC and ETH,” they wrote.
The weakening in the 40-day correlation of daily returns may continue for another two weeks because the initial phase of ether withdrawals following the upgrade is still in effect, the note said.
Coinbase estimates that as of April 20 an additional 73,000 ether could be unlocked in partial withdrawals and 822,000 unlocked in full withdrawals, and this could take about 15 days to process.
Recommended for you:
Banking Crisis in U.S. Likely to Push Crypto Firms Offshore
The anetaBTC project aims to attract bitcoin liquidity to the Cardano ecosystem.
Wrapped bitcoin token cBTC has gone live on the Cardano testnet, with the project’s developers aiming to attract bitcoin (BTC) users to the nascent Cardano decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
Users can now mint cBTC tokens from the anetaBTC protocol, and use the tokens to fund, trade, or provide liquidity to Cardano testnet protocols. These wrapped tokens are a 1:1 representation of bitcoin, but on the Cardano blockchain.
Wrapped tokens make it easy to transfer value across blockchains, which otherwise lack interoperability, allowing users to access different DeFi protocols without requiring the native tokens of that protocol.
Various DeFi enhancements have aided the rise of such protocols on Cardano since the start of 2023, with total value locked (TVL) rising from under $50 million to over $150 million in this period.
Recommended for you:
Australian Crypto Gaming Firm Immutable Cuts Staff by 11%
DappRadar Says It’s Recalculating Decentraland User Data
DeFi Giant MakerDAO Integrates Blockchain Veri Provider Chainlink for DAI Stablecoin
Join the Most Important Conversation in Crypto and Web3 in Austin, Texas April 26-28
DeFi exchanges such as Minswap, Indigo and Wingriders hold most of the TVL on Cardano, with stablecoin project Djed attracting over $15 million since its early March launch.
European Union countries are making the transition to a tough new crypto regime set by Brussels.
Existing crypto companies could get a “fast-track regime” to new European crypto rules, the country’s Financial Markets Authority (AMF) said in a Friday statement.
France recently toughened its crypto registration procedures in the wake of FTX’s collapse, and in preparation for the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets law, MiCA.
The European Parliament voted in favor of MiCA last week, and the rules are set to take effect starting around July 2023.
There’ll now be “consideration of a possible fast-track modular licensing” between France’s existing regime, known as PSAN, and MiCA, which includes much tougher governance, consumer-protection and financial-stability rules, the AMF said.
The regulator said it will also consider how to bring provisions on reserves, conflicts of interest, custody, and documentation in line with Europe.
Under MiCA, companies already registered in France – such as Binance or Bitstamp – will get an extra 18 months to comply with the higher European norms.
“These players can, during this period, continue to offer their services solely to the French public,” the said the AMF, responsible for administering one of the most advanced crypto regimes currently in effect in Europe.
Recommended for you:
Bitcoin Dips Below $21K to Reach Lowest Level In 7 Weeks as Silvergate Bank Shutdown Shakes Investors
What Hic et Nunc’s Resurrection Says About Decentralized Infrastructure
Crypto Options Market Has Become More ‘Interdealer’ Since FTX’s Blowup: Paradigm
Join the Most Important Conversation in Crypto and Web3 in Austin, Texas April 26-28
The SEC cannot regulate digital assets involved in the case as the UST stablecoin is a currency, not a security, lawyers for the disgraced crypto executive have said.
Lawyers for Do Kwon, founder of collapsed crypto issuer Terraform Labs, have requested a U.S. court to dismiss charges brought against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) partly for lack of jurisdiction, court filings from Friday show.
Kwon, who has been on the run from regulators since the collapse of his multi-billion dollar crypto enterprise in May 2022, was recently arrested in Montenegro for attempting to travel with falsified documents. Following his arrest, the SEC charged the South Korean national with securities fraud.
In the civil action brought against Kwon, the regulator failed to prove “personal jurisdiction” as products referenced by the SEC were “available to the world and not directed at U.S. persons,” a 47-page supporting document for a motion to dismiss the charges said. It also says that a digital asset involved in the case, the stablecoin UST, does not fall under the purview of the SEC as it is a currency and not a security.
“Congress has not granted the SEC the power to regulate the digital assets at issue here,” the document, filed with a New York court said.
The company also did not conduct any public offerings of securities that warranted an SEC registration, according to Kwon’s representatives. SEC Chief Gary Gensler has been facing mounting criticism over his handling of crypto regulation, mainly through enforcement action.
Kwon still faces criminal fraud charges by the U.S. prosecutors as well as charges of capital markets law violations in South Korea. Both nations have requested the extradition of the former executive who must first face trial and possible jail time in Montenegro.
The SEC can oppose the motion to dismiss by May 12.
Recommended for you:
Crypto Markets Today: Big Options Trade in Ether Market Would Profit from 69% Price Slide
Why Bitcoin Mining Is a Matter of National Security
Crypto Derivative Volumes Saw Speedy Growth as Prices Rose in January
Join the Most Important Conversation in Crypto and Web3 in Austin, Texas April 26-28
The startup offers multi-chain structured financial products with plans for a buy-side altcoin options market.
Thetanuts Finance, a multi-chain structured products protocol, has closed a $17 million funding round led by Polychain Capital, Hyperchain Capital and Magnus Capital.
The new funding will help the company create new partnerships with layer 1 and layer 2 networks, liquidity providers, blockchain foundations, market makers and exchanges.
The fundraise comes as the industry continues to slowly climb out of the crypto winter deep freeze that’s nearly stalled the investment landscape. Infrastructure product shave proven most resilient and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects have taken favor over centralized products after the collapse of centralized exchange FTX last fall.
Thetanuts Finance is a DeFi firm offering a range of crypto structured products that cater to a wide customer base, including option traders, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), market makers and other liquidity providers. Users of the platform can earn yield on major cryptocurrencies and popular altcoins, provide liquidity, and execute short and long options strategies.
Thetanuts Finance will soon launch a buy-side altocin options market powered by decentralized options vaults (DOVs), which the firm says will make options strategies – particularly those involving altcoins – available for a wider range of investors.
“At Thetanuts Finance, we are dedicated to leading the way in building a thriving altcoin options market for both budding and established ecosystems across different chains, including non-EVMs. Our commitment to innovation and decentralization has never been stronger, and we look forward to driving the DOV model to new heights,” said Thetanuts Finance advisor Sherwin Lee in the press release.
Thetanuts Finance last raised an $18 million funding round in March 2022 led by crypto fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), Deribit, QCP Capital and Jump Crypto. 3AC began its public collapse about three months later due in part to the $60 billion implosion of the Terra ecosystem.
Recommended for you:
How to Build Decentralized Twitter
Why Bitcoin Mining Is a Matter of National Security
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer: There’s ‘A Lot to Unpack’ in CFTC’s Filing Against Binance
Join the Most Important Conversation in Crypto and Web3 in Austin, Texas April 26-28
The exchange will be open to professional investors. HashKey plans to welcome retail users in coming months.
Digital asset financial services firm HashKey Group plans to introduce a regulated exchange in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on its website.
The exchange, called HashKey PRO, will offer bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), USD coin (USDC) and fiat trading pairs, according to the statement. HashKey said it is preparing to offer services to retail investors “in the coming months.”
The company is one of only two firms with the licenses from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to operate a virtual asset trading platform and provide trading services. While the regulator has indicated it is considering allowing licensed platforms to serve retail investors, the investor protection measures under which these services could be offered are not yet set.
The SFC has indicated that licensed exchanges will be able to offer only very liquid virtual assets for retail trading and its token admission requirements are not yet clear.
Recommended for you:
Tron’s USDD Stablecoin Falls to Under 97 Cents, Lowest Level Since June
NFTs Are Now Collateral for Secured Loans. Are You Legally Protected?
Why NFTs Are So Appealing – And How Anyone Can Start Learning for Free
Join the Most Important Conversation in Crypto and Web3 in Austin, Texas April 26-28
The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for April 14, 2023.
This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.
Latest Prices
Top Stories
Ether (ETH) continues to outperform bitcoin (BTC) following the Ethereum network’s Shanghai upgrade, which has proven to be bullish for much of the cryptocurrency market, with many altcoins following suit. Ether is up 6% on the day vs. bitcoin which gained 1%. Bitcoin did briefly cross $31,000 on Friday for the first time since June 2022, marking a 10% gain over the last 7 days. Ether rose 13% over the same time frame. Arbitrum (ARB) an Ethereum scaling solution, led gains this week, rising almost 30%. According to Sheraz Ahmed, STORM’s managing partner, ARB is bouncing back from the overselling caused by its airdrop in March, which saw the Ethereum layer 2 distribute its long-awaited governance token to community members. The airdrop, however, was plagued with bugs and phishing scams. “The crypto markets are heavily emotionally driven, and we often see overbought/sold tokens based on over-reactions,” said Ahmed.
Top 10 protocols with a market capitalization > $1B. (Messari)
The tokenization of real-world assets gathers pace, Bank of America (BAC) said in a research report Thursday, which noted that the tokenized gold market surpassed $1 billion in value last month. Tokenization is the process of putting ownership of tangible assets – precious metals being one example – on the blockchain, and thus offering the convenience of buying and selling these assets around the clock as the involvement of traditional brokers is not necessary. Bank of America sees this tokenization – which could also include commodities, currencies and equities –as a “key driver of digital asset adoption.”
Solana Labs’ crypto-forward smartphone Saga will go on public sale May 8, the company behind the Solana blockchain said Thursday. Pre-ordered devices are shipping now. The Android smartphone is a gamble on mobile being imperative to the future of crypto, employees at Solana-focused companies told CoinDesk. It was nearly 10 months ago that Solana first teased the radical potential of a cellphone that doubled as a dedicated crypto hardware wallet, and the possibilities such a product could hold for its entire ecosystem. The new device from Solana Mobile costs $1,000 and is built on hardware from Bay Area smartphone company OSOM. Phonemaker names both big and small – HTC and Sirin Labs among them – have previously failed in their efforts to create a crypto-forward smartphone, setting an ominous precedent for Solana, a device built for and marketed to a single crypto ecosystem.
Chart of the Day
Source: Refinitiv, The Market Ear newsletter
Recommended for you:
El Salvador Grants First Digital Asset License to Bitfinex
Calm Before the Storm: Is UK’s Financial Watchdog Gearing Up for Enforcement Action?
Usuario de Uniswap pierde $8M en ether por ataque de phishing
Join the Most Important Conversation in Crypto and Web3 in Austin, Texas April 26-28
The size and price range for the offering has yet to be determined
Blockchain and smart-contract platform Chia Network – founded by Bram Cohen, inventor of BitTorrent – has submitted a confidential draft registration to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering (IPO).
The size and price range for the offering has yet to be determined, Chia said in a press release on Friday.
Chia’s aspirations for a public listing go back to bull run of 2021, when Bloomberg reported the blockchain raised $61 million in a Series D funding round, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Richmond Global Ventures, at $500 million valuation. At the time, then chief operating officer (now CEO) Gene Hoffman was reported to have said that it was on “an accelerated timeline” to an IPO.
Native token XCH has shown little response to the news, currently up around 2.59% on the day, though showing no upward movement since Chia’s announcement at around 13:30 UTC, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Edited by Aoyon Ashraf.
Recommended for you:
Why Venture Capitalists Won’t Be Held Accountable for Investing in FTX
How Ethereum Will Be Transformed in 2022
Dubai Prohibits Privacy Coins Like Monero Under New Crypto Rules
Join the Most Important Conversation in Crypto and Web3 in Austin, Texas April 26-28
APT quickly retraced the entire move after Musk deleted a tweet saying, “AI APT OTT!”
Aptos (APT) rallied by 7.4% in less than a minute on Friday after Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted, “AI APT OTT!”
“APT,” in this context, however, was an acronym for Advanced Persistent Threats, not the Aptos token, and APT retraced the entire move higher after Musk deleted the tweet one hour later.
This is not the first time Elon Musk or companies he’s associated with have moved crypto markets. Only days ago, Twitter changed its logo from the blue bird to the Shina Inu dog that represents dogecoin, sending that memecoin surging as much as 35%. The logo has since been switched back.
Even with the retracement, Aptos, which is the native token of the Aptos blockchain, remains up by 8.2% over the past 24-hours alongside gains for much of the altcoin market following Ethereum’s successful Shanghai upgrade.
Recommended for you:
Bitcoin Soars, Then Retreats. What’s Behind This Week’s Rollercoaster? What’s Ahead?
MakerDAO Favors Holding GUSD Stablecoin as Part of Reserve in Early Voting
Crypto Investors Can Purchase Bankruptcy ‘Put Options’ to Protect Funds on Binance, Coinbase, Kraken
Join the Most Important Conversation in Crypto and Web3 in Austin, Texas April 26-28
APT has now rallied by more than 89% since its debut in October 2022.
