The second-largest stock exchange in the world is reportedly going to offer crypto custody services to institutional investors. According to a new report by Bloomberg, Nasdaq, the world famous New York-based stock exchange, is going to offer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to blue-chip investors, with plans to expand. The report says Nasdaq has hired […]
The post Nasdaq To Offer Institutional Crypto Custody Service With Plans for Expansion: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Authorities in Belgium have obliged providers of some crypto exchange and wallet services to register with the country’s financial watchdog. Targeted platforms that fail to comply with the new regulations will face fines, among other penalties, including prohibition to carry out their respective activities. Financial Regulator Imposes Mandatory Registration for Crypto Exchange Service Providers in […]
“Been working on that since 2016. Unbelievable that Congress won’t unite to end the unjust, immoral, and unconstitutional practice of civil asset forfeiture,” said congressman Warren Davidson.
Ohio’s eighth district congressman Warren Davidson has introduced the “Keep Your Coins” bill in the House of Representatives to protect individuals’ self-custodied crypto wallets from U.S. government agency control.
The introduction on Feb. 15 comes just a day after the Canadian government invoked the Emergencies Act, giving it the power to freeze bank accounts and monitor large transactions (including crypto) without a court order. The move was in direct response to fundraising efforts by the COVID-19 policy-focused Freedom Convoy protesters.
The name of the bill 'Keep Your Coins' is a play on KYC and refers to protections for crypto users from having their own digital assets taken out of their control.
If passed, Davidson’s bill would “prohibit Federal agencies from restricting the use of convertible virtual currency by a person to purchase goods or services for the person’s own use,” and for other purposes such as crypto transactions.
While it appears that the bill has been put forward during an opportune time as the Canadian government’s action causes uproar, Davidson stated on Twitter yesterday that the bill has been in the works for six years before it was introduced to the House of Reps.
Our office will be introducing legislation in the US House of Representatives shortly to protect Americans from this version of overt theft.
— Warren Davidson (@WarrenDavidson) February 15, 2022
Please let your Member of Congress and Senators know… https://t.co/UbNdcj8ZZ4
It is unclear how much support the bill will get from the Democrats however, as they have generally been more in favor of clamping down on crypto and blockchain tech:
“Been working on that since 2016. Unbelievable that Congress won’t unite to end the unjust, immoral, and unconstitutional practice of civil asset forfeiture — AKA government theft.”
The Republican congressman — alongside pro-crypto colleagues such as Senator Cynthia Lummis — has long advocated for the privacy and freedom for individuals’ crypto wallets.
Related: Concerns over Fed nominee may stop Senate from confirming Biden's picks: Report
During the Miami Bitcoin conference last year, Davidson stated that the potential over-regulation of the crypto sector concerning private wallets was “a horrible approach.”
“I wish the country would take the threat to privacy as seriously as they take the threat to the second amendment,” he said.
#DefendFreedom
— Warren Davidson (@WarrenDavidson) February 16, 2022
“So, while financial privacy should already be protected by the Constitution (the Fourth Amendment), preventing the government from being able to prohibit or restrict the use of self‐hosted wallets is a much‐needed policy improvement.” https://t.co/RfpyY6yLQ8
Cointelegraph has reached out to Davidson for comment on the bill, and will update the story once he responds.
The bullish setup also emerged as crypto custodian BitGo announced that it would add AVAX to its service portfolio.
Avalanche (AVAX) strengthened its case for a potential upside run towards $160 in the coming sessions as it broke out of a classic bullish pattern earlier this week.
Dubbed "bull flag," the pattern emerges when the price consolidates lower/sideways between two parallel trendlines (flag) after undergoing a strong upside move (flagpole). Later, in theory, the price breaks out of the channel range to continue the uptrend and tends to rise by as much as the flagpole's height.
AVAX went through a similar price trajectory across the last 30 days, containing a roughly 100% flagpole rally to nearly $150, followed by over a 50% flag correction to $72, and a breakout move above the flag's upper trendline (around $85) on Dec. 15.
AVAX price continued rallying after breaking out of its bull flag range, reaching almost $120 on Friday but eyeing a further leg up towards its bullish continuation target near $160. The level appeared after adding the height of AVAX's flagpole, which is around $75, to the current breakout point near $85.
The recent buying period in the Avalanche market picked momentum also because of a flurry of positive catalysts this week.
AVAX jumped nearly 10.50% on Tuesday as Avalanche added the native version of USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle, on its blockchain.
Additionally, a report penned by Bank of America analysts published on Dec. 10, called Avalanche a viable alternative to the leading smart contract platform Ethereum. That coincided with AVAX gaining another 16%.
On Thursday, AVAX rallied to its two-week high after BitGo, a crypto custodian with over $64 billion worth of assets under management, announced that it would support the token.
Nonetheless, a modest selloff at the local price top pushed AVAX lower. Th recover Friday as Avalanche announced that it has collaborated with web3 accelerator DeFi Alliance to launch a gaming accelerator program.
1/ Avalanche is collaborating with @DeFiAlliance to bring its accelerator programs to the Avalanche community
— Avalanche (@avalancheavax) December 17, 2021
Apply by Jan 7 here: https://t.co/6HcJOLxKxA
Before you apply, check these reasons why Avalanche should be your preferred platform: pic.twitter.com/GhdHBhQNgb
All the events mentioned above pointed towards the Avalanche ecosystem's growth. For instance, with USDC, the project promised to provide a viable alternative to Ethereum's highly expensive Tether (USDT) stablecoin transactions.
Moreover, by gaining BitGo as AVAX's institutional custodian, Avalanche appears to be prepping for catering to accredited investors. Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo, explained:
“Institutional custody is not the same as retail custody, and BitGo wallets and custody were designed from the ground up to meet the needs of institutional investors, and BitGo is the only independent qualified custodian focused on building the right market structure and facilities to enable institutions to enter the digital asset space with confidence.”
One of the remaining downside risks around AVAX concerns the crypto market performance, on the whole.
In detail, AVAC rallied in a week that witnessed the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization lose more than $114 billion, with leading crypto assets Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) plunging over 7% and 5% week-to-date. Concerns over the Federal Reserve's tapering plans catalyzed the market selloff.
Therefore, it appears that traders looked at AVAX as their short-term hedge against the crypto market drop, largely driven by a string of positive news.
Moreover, the AVAX/BTC pair was up nearly 40% week-to-date at around 0.00245 BTC at the time of writing, with the pair's relative strength index (RSI) entering overbought territory. That could prompt AVAX to weaken against BTC in the coming sessions.
Related: ‘Monster bull move’ means whales could secure the next Bitcoin price surge
A similar outcome may be possible in AVAX/USD's case as its weekly RSI treads near overbought levels.
However, the pair is likely to retain its bullish bias as long as it holds above its 20-week exponential moving average (20-week EMA) as support. As shown in the chart above, the green wave has been capping AVAX's downside attempts since August 2020.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
As authorities in the EU are still discussing union-wide cryptocurrency regulations, a major U.S. bank has reportedly lobbied the Irish government to adopt its own rules for the space. BNY Mellon launched its digital asset business in Ireland this year to provide custodian services to institutional investors. Banking Giant BNY Mellon Calls for Irish Crypto […]
Over half of the 100 largest banks by assets under management are reportedly investors in major crypto and blockchain technology-based companies and projects.
Global banking giants are reportedly increasing their involvement in the emerging crypto and blockchain firms by way of early- and late-stage funding for projects and businesses in the industry.
According to research by Blockdata, a blockchain market intelligence outfit, 55 out of the top 100 banks by assets under management (AUM) have some form of exposure to the novel technology. This involvement reportedly cuts across direct and indirect investments in crypto and decentralized ledger technology firms by the banks themselves or via their subsidiaries.
Blockdata’s research places Barclays, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs among the most active backers of crypto and blockchain firms, with JPMorgan and BNP Paribas also identified as serial investors in the emerging space.
These investments are part of a larger trend of significant backing for blockchain startups, with funding figures already doubling the amount recorded in 2020, according to a KPMG report.
The research also shows crypto custody as a major focus point for banks delving into the crypto space. Indeed, almost a quarter of the top 100 banks by AUM are either developing crypto custody solutions or are backing startups that offer custodial services for digital assets.
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, several banks in the United States, Asia and Europe are building crypto custody platforms as part of their preliminary foray into cryptocurrencies.
Related: Cryptocurrency custody gives commercial banks a foothold in the market
Blockdata attributed the growing crypto and blockchain involvement among banks to three main factors — skyrocketing profits of cryptocurrency startups, regulatory advancements, and the increasing demand among bank customers for exposure to digital assets.
Back in May, NYDIG president Yan Zhao stated that the massive revenues of crypto trading giants such as Coinbase were making banks reexamine their initial reticence toward cryptocurrency involvement.
This massive revenue potential is despite the significantly smaller teams working for these major crypto companies.
At $58.09 billion as of the time of writing, Coinbase sits on a valuation almost half that of Goldman Sachs, the 13th largest bank in the world, despite employing only about 4% of the latter’s workforce.
Europe’s largest telecoms company by revenue has tapped Coinbase Custody for its Celo tokens.
Coinbase Custody, the crypto custodial solution offered by United States exchange giant Coinbase, has been chosen by Deutsche Telekom to store its Celo tokens.
According to a release issued on Monday, the telecoms giant identified the robust security protocols offered by Coinbase Custody as a major reason for choosing the service.
Deutsche Telekom invested in Celo back in April, becoming the first telecom member of the Celo Alliance for Prosperity. Apart from making a “significant purchase” of Celo tokens, Deutsche Telekom’s T-Systems MMS subsidiary also became a validator on the mobile decentralized finance Celo network.
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, United States-based venture capital behemoth Andreessen Horowitz, aka a16z, delegated its Celo assets to T-Systems MMS. At the time, Katie Haun, general partner at a16z, stated that both companies had similar visions about the ability of the Celo project to disrupt the global payment sector.
Deutsche Telekom’s selection of Coinbase Custody comes after the latter secured approval from Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority back in June. Indeed, Coinbase became the first crypto exchange to be granted such a license in the country following the news.
Related: Cryptocurrency custody gives commercial banks a foothold in the market
Custody has always been a focal point of the discussion surrounding broad-based institutional adoption of crypto. Legal requirements in many jurisdictions often mandate regulated entities to store assets with recognized custodians.
Banks and other financial institutions are increasingly making their first forays into the crypto space by leveraging their standing with regulators to offer cryptocurrency. This trend is in addition to the custodial services offered by regulated exchanges such as Coinbase and Gemini.
Fintechs and tech companies, in general, are also making forays into the crypto custody space. Back in June, Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey revealed that the latter was developing a Bitcoin (BTC) hardware wallet.
Indeed, given the maturing crypto custody space, attention has begun to shift to onboarding major institutional players such as retirement funds and sovereign wealth management funds.
British bank Standard Chartered will offer cryptocurrency broker services in Ireland through its Zodia Custody subsidiary. The digital asset custodian will focus on signing up institutional investors in the Republic which has become a European base for many financial institutions and crypto companies. Standard Chartered to Provide Crypto Custody to Institutions in Ireland Zodia Custody, […]
The Australia Securities Exchange says crypto investors in the country need to be mindful of the dangers of holding their cryptocurrencies on exchange platforms.
The Australia Securities Exchange (ASX) has weighed in on the issue of crypto custody amid the ongoing discussions within the country’s Senate Select Committee on Financial Regulatory Technology.
In a submission to the committee on July 16, ASX highlighted crypto custody on centralized exchanges as a significant risk factor for investors.
The ASX submission outlined the implications of crypto exchange custody arguing that investors do not have access to their private keys while their funds are domiciled in these platforms — another way of saying “not your keys, not your coins.”
According to the ASX, crypto funds left on exchange wallets are vulnerable to cybersecurity risks in the form of theft by hackers. Crypto exchange hacks used to be a regular occurrence in times past with over $53 billion worth of virtual currencies stolen from platforms between 2011 and 2020.
Related: Senator warns lack of regulations could harm Australian crypto innovation
However, improved security measures on exchanges have stemmed the tide of these thefts significantly but the odd exchange hack still happens every so often.
Apart from cybersecurity problems, the ASX submission to the Senate committee also stated that investors who chose crypto exchange custody run the risk of their funds being handled in an undisclosed or unauthorized manner.
While noting that cybersecurity risks are not unique to crypto exchanges alone, the ASX outlined measures such as regulation, appropriate asset capitalization, and insurance as quality assurance protocols imbibed by legacy asset custodians.
As part of its submission to the committee, the ASX called for disclosure requirements for crypto exchanges as well as independent assurance protocols to better safeguard assets on their platforms. The securities exchange also recommended the introduction of core standards for digital asset custody services.
Given the absence of clear-cut crypto regulations in Australia, the ASX advised that such measures be included in a broader cryptocurrency regulatory framework for the country.
Jack Dorsey and hardware lead Jesse Dorogusker have both confirmed Square’s plans to develop a Bitcoin hardware wallet.
Digital payments firm Square is building a Bitcoin hardware wallet, with CEO Jack Dorsey and hardware lead Jesse Dorogusker both confirming the plan on Twitter.
The tech entrepreneur and Bitcoin proponent, first teased the idea for a Square hardware wallet and custody service last month, bu revealed today that “we’re doing it.”
We’re doing it #Bitcoin https://t.co/IwbKuBoXGv
— jack (@jack) July 8, 2021
Dorogusker said on Twitter that Square wants to make Bitcoin custody more mainstream, and outlined the pathway for the hardware wallet rollout:
“We have a lot of questions and issues to reconcile and we’ll start with this product direction: Bitcoin first, global distribution, multisig to achieve ‘assisted-self-custody,’ and prioritizing mobile use.”
Our next step is to build a small, cross-functional team, which will be led by @max_guise (welcome back!!). We will incubate this full-stack of tech, design, product, manufacturing, and supply chain with @templetonthomas & Square’s hardware team to start with a strong foundation.
— Jesse Dorogusker (@JesseDorogusker) July 8, 2021
Dorsey explained the term “assisted-self-custody” last month, noting that the firm is looking to provide a simplified experience for managing a hardware wallet.
“Custody doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. We can probably simplify custody through 'assisted self-custody.' Assisted requires great product design: minimal setup time, relying on existing devices, and end-to-end reliability,” he said.
As crypto has seen a massive uptick in speculation from new investors amid the growth of the sector over the past 12 months, the topic of crypto custody is becoming increasingly important.
Hardware wallets are one of the most secure ways to hold crypto-assets because they enable users to store their private keys and holdings on external offline devices. But average users complain they are complicated to learn how to use.
Related: Pioneering hardware wallet brings enhanced staking to cold storage
Storing funds on an exchange can be risky, as the user doesn’t have full control over their assets which can be lost to hacks or caught up in regulations.
It is also alarmingly easy for hackers to swipe users' digital assets by deploying tactics aimed at acquiring personal information, such as sim swaps, malware, and even fake apps on Google Play.
Software wallets on computers or mobiles also face the risk of malware.
