This week's latest trends and insights in the digital asset market from our asset management team.
Market Commentary
Bitcoin has seen notable volatility this week, hitting a peak of US$69,470 before levelling off to where it started earlier in the week. Meanwhile, US spot Bitcoin ETFs have reached record-breaking asset values, following a six-day streak of inflows. Ten months after their launch, these funds now boast total net inflows exceeding US$20 billion—a milestone that took gold ETFs about 5 years to reach, according to Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, outlined several potential future upgrades for the blockchain in a series of recent blog posts this week. Among his proposals, he suggested lowering the staking requirement from 32 ETH to just 1 ETH, aiming to make Ethereum more accessible. He also supported the concept of “single-slot finality,” which could cut transaction finalisation times to 12 seconds. Additionally, Buterin reiterated his commitment to scaling Ethereum to 100,000 transactions per second through “The Surge,” which combines sharding with Layer 2 solutions. He further proposed “the Verge” focus on making a fully verifying node more computationally affordable and achievable for a critical mass of people. The Surge and the Verge are part of the network’s roadmap towards ‘Ethereum 2.0’ which includes “surge,” “scourge,” “verge,” “purge,” and “splurge” phases.
BlackRock pitches to major exchanges to use its BUIDL token for derivatives trading. According to Bloomberg, BlackRock wants cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, OKX and Deribit to use BUIDL as collateral for derivatives trades, enabling the token to become more widely accepted as collateral for crypto-related products. With over half a billion in assets under management into U.S. T-Bills and repo agreements, the BUIDL fund is positioning itself as a trailblazer in establishing stable crypto collateral, with two of the biggest crypto prime brokers – FalconX and Hidden Road – already allowing the use of the BUIDL token as collateral among their clients, including hedge funds.
CRYPTO TOP 20 7 DAY PRICE CHANGE
*All figures throughout are in USD unless otherwise specified
Market Updates
- Bitcoin eyes $70,000 milestone as US presidential election nears
- Global crypto investment products add $2.2 billion in weekly inflows amid US election optimism: CoinShares
- Spot Bitcoin ETFs shift to negative flows after 7-day inflow run
- Institutional interest soars as CME Bitcoin futures open interest sets new all-time high
- Sam Altman-backed Worldcoin project launches mainnet blockchain following a rebrand
- Crypto exchange Kraken launches wrapped Bitcoin token kBTC
- Staked Ether is creating benchmark for the crypto economy, says ARK Invest
- Robinhood confirms plan to support Bitcoin, Ether futures trading amid desktop rollout
- Polymarket betting volume for US presidential election winner crosses $2 billion
- Nansen integrates Solana analytics, touts memecoin alpha
- Tether’s USDT hits records $120B market cap, flashing ‘Uptober’ signal
- Sui launches ‘incubator’ hub in Dubai for ‘on the spot’ solution engineering
- Chainlink partners with major financial players to improve corporate actions data reporting using AI and blockchain
- Sky mulls further changes to brand identity, return to MakerDAO on the table
- Nomura-backed Komainu to acquire crypto custodian Propine amid Singapore expansion
- MetaMask and digital identity firm Space ID aim to simplify crypto
- Avalanche Foundation introduces Visa crypto spending card
- Winklevoss-backed DeFi platform launches after $6.9M investment round
- Ledger Live enables THORChain’s decentralised native cross-chain swaps
- Uniswap’s permissionless bridging goes live across nine networks
- Kalshi adds global elections to betting platform
The Shift List
- Asia’s elite embrace crypto, foresee bitcoin at $100K by year-end
- Buenos Aires rolls out blockchain-based ID for 3.6m residents
- EU launches ‘Trusted Investors Network’ to boost VC investment in tech
- Zanzibar’s new blockchain sandbox aims to drive tech startup growth
Tinkering with Tokenisation
- Singapore’s DBS Bank starts new suite of tokenised banking services for institutional clients
- U.K. pension giant L&G looks to enter crypto’s tokenisation space
- BlackRock pitches Binnace, OKX and Deibit on using its BUIDL token for derivatives trading: Bloomberg
- Stripe acquires stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion in crypto’s largest acquisition: TechCrunch founder
- Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank introduces stablecoin service for international payments
- Euroclear invests in Singapore DLT fund platform Marketnode
- Deutsche Börse Clearstream’s D7 issues €10 billion+ in digital securities
- ANZ explores stablecoin to track pension payments
- ANZ to kickstart Chainlink private transactions protocol in RWA boost
- Aurum launches $1B tokenised fund for data center investments on XRP ledger with Zoniqx
Macro and Regulatory Environment
- ‘Battle against inflation is almost won’ says IMF chief economist
- US lagging behind in global stablecoin adoption – Chainalysis
- SEC greenlights CBOE, NYSE bids for spot Bitcoin ETF options
- SEC lists crypto as an examination priority in 2025
- DeFi can complement centralised financial systems, says Federal Reserve’s Christoper Waller
- UAE to introduce legal framework for DAOs
- Tether CEO Ardoino says he expects U.S. will catch up in crypto regulation
- FBI arrests alleged hacker behind fake SEC Bitcoin ETF X post
- CFTC says court got it wrong in allowing Kalshi to offer election bets
- Nishad Singh’s defense pushes for no jail time, citing ‘limited’ role in FTX case
- Cyprus freezes crypto applications ahead of EU-wide MiCA transition
- Ireland drafting urgent crypto laws before EU money-laundering rules
- Ripple co-founder Larsen flooding Kamala Harris’ election effort with XRP
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong backs Republican Senate candidates
- Indonesia extends deadline for crypto exchange license requirements following regulatory updates
- As Japan election looms, political parties emphasise need to reform crypto tax regulations
- Nigeria drops money laundering charges against Binance exec Tigran Gambaryan
- Vietnam releases blockchain strategy, aims for regional leadership
- Japan slow to approve crypto ETFs, maintains strict taxes, regulations
About DigitalX
DigitalX Ltd (ASX:DCC) is a leading ASX-Listed Bitcoin and digital asset funds management business. The Company has a 9 year track record mining Bitcoin, blockchain and smart contract development. DigitalX Asset Management is the investment manager of digital asset investment products that provide qualified investors with highly secure and streamlined access to digital asset exposure. To learn more contact the team at [email protected] or visit our website https://digitalx.fund/.
Disclaimer:
The information in this document is prepared by DigitalX Asset Management Pty Ltd (ACN 629 653 121) (DigitalX).
DigitalX is a corporate authorised representative (CAR) (CAR No. 1270748) of Boutique Capital Pty Ltd (AFSL 508011) and True Oak Investments Ltd (AFSL 238184). Boutique Capital is the Trustee of the DigitalX Fund and the DigitalX Bitcoin Fund. True Oak Investments is the Trustee of the DigitalX Real World Asset Tokenisation Fund (RWAx). All three funds are open to wholesale investors only.
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The information herein is presented in summary form and is therefore subject to qualification and further explanation. The information in this document is not intended to be relied upon as advice to investors or potential investors and has been prepared without taking into account personal investment objectives, financial circumstances or particular needs. Recipients of this document are advised to consult their own professional advisers about legal, tax, financial or other matters relevant to the suitability of this information. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.