Grayscale Launches 2 New Crypto Trusts Focused on AI and Scalable Blockchain Tech

August 7, 2024 Bitcoin.com

Fidelity renews push for spot Wise Origin BTC Trust, making it 7th applicant this year

June 29, 2023 Coin Telegraph

BTC Markets

The huge asset manager was denied approval for the Wise Origin Trust last year; now, it is joining a long line of spot fund hopefuls.

Asset manager Fidelity Investments has filed an application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to a filing by Cboe BZX Exchange with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated June 19.

Fidelity’s application follows BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF application on June 15 and those of WisdomTree, Invesco and Valkyrie in the following days. According to Bloomberg, seven applications for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF have been filed this year. Like WisdomTree and Invesco, Fidelity was making a second try at a spot BTC ETF. Similar to other spot BTC ETF applications, this one stated that the CME Bitcoin Futures market “represents a regulated market of significant size as it relates […] to the spot bitcoin market.” It argued the point in detail and cited extensive research to support its view. The 193-page application said:

“The lack of a Spot Bitcoin ETP [exchange-traded product] exposes U.S. investor assets to significant risk because investors that would otherwise seek crypto asset exposure through a Spot Bitcoin ETP are forced to find alternative exposure through generally riskier means.”

It went on to mention the bankrupt FTX, Celsius, BlockFi and Voyager Digital as riskier alternatives of the past. It also argued that investors may buy shares in companies such as Tesla and MicroStrategy — that is, unrelated businesses that have significant BTC investments — to gain BTC exposure themselves.

Fidelity Digital Assets Services, a regulated custodian licensed by the New York Department of Financial Services, would be responsible for custody of the trust’s BTC. Cboe BZX said it would enter into a surveillance-sharing agreement with a United States-based cryptocurrency exchange.

Michael Saylor: BlackRock, Citadel, & Fidelity Will Send #Bitcoin to $1,000,000

“It looks like a spot ETF will probably get approved. There’s massive political pressure to approve one. The circumstances have changed & now there’s a way for the SEC to approve it without… pic.twitter.com/NkEepPPbnF
— Crypto News Alerts (@CryptoNewsYes) June 28, 2023

The SEC has yet to approve a single application for a spot BTC ETF. The Fidelity 19b-4 form indicated that the firm is reviving its Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust product, which it filed an application for in March 2021. That application was rejected after two extensions of deliberations.

Fidelity has about $11 trillion in assets under administration.

Magazine: 6 Questions for Jennifer Wines of Fidelity Private Wealth Management

32% of home offices invest in digital assets: Goldman Sachs

May 9, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

While the interest in crypto investments was rising last year among home offices, 2023 saw a massive decline in investors’ certainty about the digital assets market.

While the interest in crypto investments was on the rise last year among home offices, 2023 saw a massive decline in investors’ certainty about the digital assets market.

According to a Goldman Sachs report published on May 8 titled “Eyes on the Horizon: Family Office Investment Insights,” 32% of family offices currently hold investments in digital assets. This category includes cryptocurrencies, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain-focused funds.

*Primary motivations of family offices to invest in digital assets. Source: Goldman Sachs*

Explaining their motivations for investing in digital assets, most (19%) cited a belief in the power of blockchain technology, with only 8% and 9% citing speculation and portfolio diversification, respectively.

The proportion of investments in cryptocurrencies among investors interested in digital finance has risen significantly since 2021, from 16% to 26%. However, the interest in potential investments in crypto has crashed this year, with just 12% of investors indicating it, down from 45% in 2021. As highlighted in the report:

“Opinions on cryptocurrencies seem to have crystallized: a greater proportion of family offices are now invested in cryptocurrencies, but the proportion that are not invested and not interested in investing in the future has grown more.”

The report is based on a survey conducted between January and February 2023 via questionnaires distributed to home offices by email. Overall, 166 home offices participated, 95 of which are based in the Americas, 34 in Europe and the Middle East, and 37 in the Asia Pacific.

Goldman Sachs appeared among the top winners during the recent banking crisis, with many investors deciding to rotate their portfolio investments. Goldman Sachs’ money funds have received $52 billion — a 13% growth — in the biggest monthly volume of inflows since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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