Appold Market Watch - Week ending 19 July 2024
Market Update & Industry News - Week ending 19 July 2024
🔷 US exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), announced that five spot Ethereum ETFs will begin trading on the 23rd of July “pending regulatory effectiveness”. Spot ETH ETFs from 21Shares, Fidelity Investments, Invesco US, VanEck, and Franklin Templeton have been approved for listing by the SEC but are still awaiting respective Form S-1 regulatory approval.
Appold view: Progress to launch continues to move forward. However, the term “pending regulatory effectiveness” highlights that the SEC is still firmly in control of the final road map, making the ETF issuers largely constrained by the regulatory process.
🔷 US-based cryptocurrency exchange, Kraken Digital Asset Exchange, announced the expansion of its institutional custody service to new and existing clients in the United Kingdom and Australia. This move follows the successful launch of Kraken Custody in the United States earlier this year. It aims to meet the increasing demand for reliable custody solutions in the institutional crypto market.
Appold view: This will allow Kraken to strengthen its global footprint and compete more aggressively with its competitor Coinbase, an already dominant force in institutional custody. It also highlights the increasing demand from institutions and corporations in the growing sector, particularly in the face of the very successful BTC ETF launches earlier in the year.
🔷 The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved spot Ethereum ETFs from Grayscale and ProShares, allowing trading on NYSE Arca. The SEC approved the Form 19b-4 filings, but the issuers must still await final regulatory signoff on S-1 filings before listing the funds.
Appold view: As with the spot BTC ETF, there is a spread of institutional names across the three exchange listing venues, these being CBOE, NYSE Arca and Nasdaq. Regardless of the venue, the SEC remains the gatekeeper.
🔷 The European Union released new tools and guidelines under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation to classify crypto assets. Three European Supervisory Authorities released a consultation paper inviting market stakeholders to submit comments by mid-October. These tools aim to provide legal clarity and standardised rules for digital assets.
Appold view: MiCA aims to set clear rules for market participants by providing a comprehensive and standardised framework while allowing a single license across all 27 EU member states. It is a landmark regulatory initiative, but it is complicated to agree on and harmonise across such a sizeable and sometimes fragmented region.
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