📈 BlackRock overtook Grayscale by AUM for listed crypto products; Crypto.com partners with UEFA for UEFA Champions League

Crypto.com partners with UEFA for UEFA Champions League; BlackRock overtook Grayscale by AUM for listed crypto products; 66% of institutional US Bitcoin ETF holders held or increased holdings in Q2.

Quick Take

• Crypto.com partners with UEFA for UEFA Champions League; BlackRock overtook Grayscale by AUM for listed crypto products; 66% of institutional US Bitcoin ETF holders held or increased holdings in Q2.
• US spot Ethereum ETFs saw a US$14 million net outflow last week, while spot Bitcoin ETFs had a weekly net inflow of $32 million.
• On the macro side, New Zealand reduced interest rates by 0.25% to 5.25% last week, its first easing in four years. In the US, weekly jobless claims fell to 227,000 for the week ending 10 August, the lowest since July, suggesting the labour market remains resilient. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.9% year-on-year, the first time in nearly 3.5 years that the annual increase was below 3%. The latest CME FedWatch Tool showed a 100% probability of a September rate cut in the US. 
• Notable updates: MakerDAO (MKR) passed a proposal to reduce the debt ceiling on WBTC Vault and the DAI Savings Rate (DSR); the Crypto.com App listed Across Protocol (ACX).
• Notable events in the coming week: Interest rate decision from China, US FOMC Minutes, and Fed Chair Powell’s speech.

Weekly Market Index

The price index increased by +0.01% last week. Volume and volatility indices decreased by -43.11% and -63.77%, respectively.

Chart of the Week

BlackRock’s iShares exceeded Grayscale Investments by assets under management (AUM) for publicly-listed crypto products on 15 August, according to data from CoinShares. 

BlackRock’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have $22.0 billion AUM, while Grayscale’s cryptocurrency investment products (including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Chainlink) had $20.7 billion AUM in total. As of 15 August, Grayscale’s GBTC and ETHE had a net outflow of $19.6 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively, since inception. 

Weekly Performance

BTC decreased by -0.2%, while ETH increased by +2.5% in the past seven days. Price action for other selected top market capitalisation tokens was mixed. ICP (+4.1%) led the increase, while ATOM (-6.6%) led the drop.

Key categories were mostly down in market capitalisation in the past seven days. The meme category led the drop.

News Highlights

ETFs and Funds

• Two-thirds of institutional US spot Bitcoin ETF holders held or increased their holdings during Q2. In particular, 44% of asset managers increased their ETF positions while 22% maintained their positions. Morgan Stanley, for example, held ~$188 million worth of BlackRock’s IBIT at the end of Q2. Goldman Sachs held ~$400 million of seven Bitcoin ETFs. 
• New York Stock Exchange’s (NYSE) Arca electronic exchange withdrew a rule change proposed in January that aimed to allow options trading on commodity-based trusts, including cryptocurrency ETFs. Nasdaq International Securities Exchange also withdrew proposals to list and trade options on US spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs last week. 
• Franklin Templeton filed an S-1 to launch a new cryptocurrency index ETF. The Franklin Crypto Index ETF will track the performance of the CF Institutional Digital Asset Index, which currently comprises BTC and ETH. 
• Grayscale introduced a new fund for MakerDAO (MKR), the protocol behind the DAI stablecoin. The Grayscale MakerDAO Trust is accessible to eligible individuals and accredited institutional investors.

Regulations

• Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission launched a sandbox for cryptocurrency businesses to facilitate experiments and innovative developments of digital asset services in real-life contexts. The sandbox is currently open for applications. 

Others

• Crypto.com announced a multi-year partnership with UEFA. It is the first and exclusive cryptocurrency platform partner of the UEFA Champions League. The collaboration aims to bring unique experiences to fans at the matches and drive fan engagement around football and cryptocurrency. 
• Malaysia adopted Worldcoin’s iris-scanning technology for personal identity verification. This is part of the broader strategy to improve digital credential verification in the country. 
• Dubai Court of First Instance recognised cryptocurrency as a valid payment under employment contracts. This represents a step forward compared to 2023 when a similar claim was denied because of the lack of precise valuation of cryptocurrency.
• Germany’s state-owned development bank, KfW, teamed up with Boerse Stuttgart Digital (BSD) to prepare for a blockchain-based digital bond offering. The issuance is expected to take place in the coming few weeks while BSD oversees the crypto wallets and secures the private keys.
• The US government moved 10,000 BTC (worth ~$590 million at the time of writing) to an exchange deposit wallet, according to data from Arkham Intelligence. The funds were reportedly seized during the Silk Road raid in 2022.

Recent Research Reports

• Crypto Market Sizing Report H1 2024: Global crypto owners reached 617 million by the first half of 2024.
• Ethereum L2 Interoperability – The Super Chains: Our latest report looks into how Ethereum L2-based solutions like ZKsync’s Elastic Chain, Polygon’s AggLayer, and Optimism’s Superchain address scalability and interoperability challenges.
• Exploration of Web3 Socials: We have seen a surge in interest in decentralised Web3 Socials in 2024. Our report looks into its recent developments, including Solana’s Actions and Blinks, as well as Farcaster and Lens on Ethereum.

Recent University Articles

• What Is Degen (DEGEN) and How to Buy DEGEN: Discover how Degen, a cryptocurrency developed to bridge the gap between online contributions and real-world value, is transcending its meme coin origins.
• What Is Milady Meme Coin (LADYS) and How to Buy LADYS: Find out why Milady Meme Coin (LADYS), a cryptocurrency paying homage to the Milady Maker NFT collection, is generating buzz in the meme coin space.
• Ethereum’s Prague/Electra Upgrade — What to Know About ‘Pectra’: The Prague/Electra upgrade, Pectra for short, is slated for late 2024 and set to be a transformative milestone for Ethereum. Here’s what to expect.

Catalyst Calendar

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