Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Crypto adoption news
- FiCAS AG, a Swiss-based crypto investment management boutique, said it has registered the Bitcoin Capital Active ETP (Exchange Traded Product), “the world’s first actively managed crypto exchange-traded product, listed at the SIX” stock exchange. The company claimed that this ETP “provides the green light for retail and institutional investors to tap the burgeoning asset class.”
- Crypto trading platform Bakkt has reported the highest single-day volumes for its physically-settled monthly bitcoin (BTC) future contract. Bakkt Bitcoin Futures reached a new record high of 11,509 contracts traded on Monday, which is an increase of 85% from the last record-setting day, said the platform.
- Major crypto derivatives exchange Deribit said today that the daily volume for BTC options hit a new all-time high of USD 539m and 47,513 BTC contracts traded.
- Crypto derivatives exchange FTX is the first to join the Deposit Acceleration Program, launched by Fireblocks, a digital asset security and asset transfer platform. The partnership enables Fireblocks customers to deploy assets onto the FTX exchange in real-time with zero confirmations, the platform said in an emailed press release.
- Peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading platform LocalBitcoins has struck a deal with Elliptic, a crypto risk management provider, per a press release. Elliptic said the deal will allow LocalBitcoins to “prevent the illicit use of its platform.” The firm added that LocalBitcoins would also be able to use its solutions to “comply with regulations such as the EU’s 5th Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations.”
- UK-headquartered fintech firm Revolut has added stellar (XLM) to its list of supported cryptoassets. Per the announcement, users can now buy, sell, and hold XLM directly in the app. Revolut now offers six different cryptoassets on its platform: BTC, ethereum (ETH), litecoin (LTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), XRP, and XLM.
Defi news
- The Synthetix Foundation has been decommissioned. The protocol is now under the control of three distinct decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs): 1) the protocolDAO which controls protocol upgrades and variable configuration; 2) the grantsDAO which funds public goods in the Synthetix ecosystem; 3) the synthetixDAO which manages and deploys funds to contributors and other project needs. This shift puts more power into the hands of the SNX token holders, while also providing a mechanism to protect token holders from collusion and censorship, the Foundation said.
Blockchain news
- The operator of China’s Blockchain Service Network (BSN) said it will “add support for 100 public networks within a year.” In an interview with Bloomberg, Red Date Technology, the firm operating BSN, said it hopes to “unify” the world’s diverse blockchain networks.
- South Korea’s Shinhan Card said that it will develop a blockchain-based contactless identity authentication solution, reported Whitepaper. The firm will promote the project as part of its startup incubation drive.
- New South Wales, Australia, appears ready to make regulatory changes in order to boost blockchain-powered business growth. The state’s Treasury Department released a report on July 28, stating that it is concerned that it could lag behind industry 4.0 progress. The report’s authors suggested helping firms make 5% cuts in their compliance-related overheads.
- The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) said they aim to launch “a Central Blockchain Securities Lending Platform” on November 2. The platform will “enable direct lending among all major financial instruments.” The TASE added that it hopes its platform “will function as a one-stop-shop for all securities lending activities, permitting access to larger securities volumes within shorter timeframes.”
- The Graph, a protocol for building decentralized applications on Ethereum and IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), has announced the launch of Mission Control – an incentivized testnet designed to test the limits of the protocol before launching the mainnet. Co-founder Yaniv Tal said that the testnet is open to accredited US investors or non-US persons or entities, who will have to fill out an Indexer Agreement and complete all the missions in order to be eligible for rewards.
Security news
- Kaspersky Labs and other security providers said that crypto-related scams are on the rise in Russia, reported Kommersant. Kaspersky stated that it has counted a whopping 23,000 scam sites that make use of the Russian language – with many promising lucrative rewards for actions such as completing surveys.
- A doctor in St Petersburg, Russia, has fallen for a USD 11,160 bitcoin (BTC) scam, reported media outlet Konkretno. The 61-year-old medic was allegedly duped by a scammer via Skype, and invested the money in a bogus crypto firm named BTC Generation.
