Bitcoin reached a more than one-year high last week, following BlackRock’s announcement to launch a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The proposed Bitcoin ETF aims to address the issue of accurate price representation. Unlike existing Bitcoin-based products, the game-changing application will enable BlackRock to buy or sell bitcoins at the end of each trading day, ensuring that the ETF reflects the true price of the cryptocurrency.
As the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock’s application created significant waves in the industry. Despite recent regulatory scrutiny and lawsuits against crypto giants Coinbase and Binance, institutional interest in the crypto space has surged! Bitcoin has gained nearly 25% since BlackRock’s filing, signaling growing enthusiasm from traditional financial institutions.
The move by BlackRock, along with the involvement of traditional banks like Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Citadel Securities in the crypto exchange EDX Markets, has reignited investor interest in cryptocurrencies.
However, this is not the first case when TradFi meets crypto, as actors from traditional finance institutions have been venturing into this realm for quite some time. In fact, various projects have been shared at the past European Blockchain Convention.
JP Morgan, for example, has initiated several projects on digital asset tokenization. The bank conducted the first institutional DeFi trade in 2022, and they have issued on-chain bonds, built a cash-on-chain system called JPM Coin, and developed a digital financing app for intraday repo. The Markets DLT – Credit Lead at JP Morgan also stated that there’s a need to revise the whole financial system while both technology and regulations should be taken into account.
Societe Generale-FORGE, believing that the future of finance will be TradFi and DeFi coming together, worked with MakerDAO, a leading DeFi protocol, to issue security tokens. Representatives from both companies host a fireside chat to share the experience of this alliance at the 8th EBC.
HSBC also issued a £50 million blockchain bond on their bond tokenization platform Orion, which allows for native issuance, coupon payments, redemption, and secondary trading.
Professionals from venture capital firms also expressed optimism and high interest in the crypto space at past EBC events. Panelists from Fidelity and NGC Ventures stated that their companies have been actively investing in the Web3 and crypto space. Investors from Pantera Capital and Lattice Fund joined EBC to discuss the future of crypto funding from a VC perspective, highlighting the significant opportunity to disrupt established players in the crypto industry.
Being the largest blockchain, crypto, and Web3 event in Europe in the upcoming 2023, the next European Blockchain Convention is THE event that you simply can’t afford to miss out on! EBC will be the perfect place to delve into crucial discussions about the latest regulations and market trends while getting an amazing platform to showcase your products and stay ahead of the game!
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