All articles tagged with #traditional finance
The Financial Times features scorching hot-takes from traditional finance banks on spot bitcoin ETFs, discussing the potential impact and implications of these investment vehicles on the market.
Bitcoin rallied 8% to $28,800 after traditional finance firms announced moves into the crypto market, including Deutsche Bank applying for a digital asset custody license in Germany and EDX Markets offering trading for BTC, ETH, LTC, and BCH. BlackRock filed for a spot BTC ETF, causing Grayscale Bitcoin Trust's share price to soar on optimism about converting the fund into an ETF. Invesco reapplied for a spot bitcoin ETF, arguing that the lack of one pushes investors toward riskier alternatives. The CME basis or premium has jumped to a yearly high of 12%, indicating bullish action on the global derivatives giant.
Members of CoinDesk's editorial team shared their takeaways on the critical issues that will shape how the cryptocurrency industry continues to unfold at the Consensus 2023 conference. The lack of regulatory clarity is a major concern for the industry, affecting not only crypto but also Web3 development across the United States. Non-US regulators are thinking about crypto while the US remains in a deadlock both in Congress and among regulators. The level of optimism about crypto is high, even with the bad regulatory outlook, and traditional finance remains high on the future of crypto.
Bitcoin has surpassed $30,000 for the first time since June 2022, driven by bets on easier monetary policies and expectations that the banking crisis in the US will force the Federal Reserve to pause rate increases. The digital asset's rapid ascent has seen it beat the Nasdaq 100 tech index's gains by 82% since Dec. 31, 2022. However, persistently low liquidity is a concern for bears who say it distorts pricing and could cause a rapid reversal should central banks stand firm on battling inflation.
The upcoming Shanghai hard fork of Ethereum is unlikely to have a significant impact on the price of ether, according to Ether Capital CEO Brian Mosoff. The upgrade will allow users to withdraw the ether they have staked, but Mosoff believes that this will not lead to a rush to liquidate. Instead, he expects to see more ETH locked into staking, which could attract traditional finance investors looking to earn yield on their investments. The upgrade is the final step towards implementing Ethereum's proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
The recent collapse of several banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, has led some media outlets to blame the crypto industry for these financial disasters. However, many crypto advocates argue that blockchain technology offers a solution to the issues plaguing traditional finance and it isn’t the problem. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has negatively affected the crypto industry by causing a loss of banking services, reserve instability and illiquidity, reduced investor confidence, increased regulatory scrutiny, and short-term price volatility. However, bank failures can also accelerate crypto adoption, as they expose the vulnerabilities of traditional centralized financial systems and prompt individuals and businesses to explore alternative solutions. Blockchain technology holds the potential to revolutionize the financial sector by addressing these long-standing issues and providing a decentralized, secure, and transparent financial system.