Appold Market Watch - Week 10 to 14 June 2024

Market Update & Industry News - Week ending 14 June 2024

🔷 The Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated that Ether ETFs should trade on US exchanges within 3 months. In a Senate Banking Committee discussing President Biden’s 2025 budget requests, Gary Gensler said he expected the commission to approve the S-1 registration statement for asset managers this summer.

Appold view: We are cautiously optimistic about this as other delays can occur in the approval process. Ether ETFs are unlikely to be as successful as Bitcoin ETFs but it’s certainly a move in the right direction for the industry.

🔷 The European Banking Authority (EBA) published a final draft of technical standards and guidelines under Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) on prudential matters, namely own funds, liquidity standards and recovery plans for firms to comply with legislation. 

Appold view: The EBA’s move to improve regulatory clarity, enhance market stability and protect investors is welcome. We will be producing a deep-dive analysis of this final draft shortly.

🔷 Multinational crypto technology company, MoonPay, announced the integration of a fiat on-ramp through payments giant PayPal to European Union and United Kingdom customers. The ability to on-ramp through PayPal to MoonPay is already available to US customers, with PayPal being the third-most used payment option in the US. The integration is alleged to provide a frictionless experience and lower the barrier to entry for users. 

Appold view: This enhanced accessibility for users will certainly put pressure on the competition, where we expect broader advancements in their services. We would be very interested to see what kind of fees and spreads consumers are paying on these transactions. 

🔷 Crypto-focused venture capital, Paradigm, closed a third fund of $850m to invest in crypto and blockchain-based projects at an early stage. The new fund is the largest raise for Paradigm since it closed a $2.5b fund in November 2021. According to research data by Galaxy Research, over $2.49b was invested into crypto and blockchain start-ups in the first quarter of 2024. 

Appold view: Both Q1 and Q2 2024 were a good time to raise capital in this sector due to the bullish sentiment from BTC price rises and successful ETF issuance. Will this momentum continue? Probably.

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