VanEck to donate 10% of profits from Ether ETF to core developers

Global asset manager VanEck will donate 10% of all profits from its upcoming Ether futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) to Ethereum core developers for 10 years, the company announced on X (formerly Twitter) on Sept. 29.

The beneficiary will be the Protocol Guild, a group of over 150 developers maintaining Ethereum’s core technology. According to VanEck, it’s only fair for asset managers to return part of their proceeds to the community building the crypto protocol

VanEck disclosed its upcoming Ethereum Strategy ETF on Sept. 28, saying it will invest in Ether futures contracts. The fund will be actively managed by Greg Krenzer, head of active trading at VanEck, and is expected to be listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange in the coming days.

Other traditional investment firms set to offer exposure to Ether futures include Valkyrie and Bitwise, while the line for a spot Ether ETF keeps growing with Invesco Galaxy, ARK 21Shares and VanEck waiting for regulatory approval. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently delayed a decision on whether to approve a spot Ether product until December

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Ripple pulls back from Fortress acquisition 20 days after announcement

Within 20 days of announcing the acquisition of Fortress Trust to allegedly expand its pool of licenses in the United States, financial technology firm Ripple is pulling out of the deal.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse made the announcement on X (formerly Twitter) on Sept. 28, saying that “we’ve since made the decision not to move forward with an outright acquisition,” although Ripple will remain a shareholder in Fortress Trust’s parent company Fortress Blockchain Technologies.

Ripple first announced the acquisition on Sept. 8, surprising even company insiders with the news, Cointelegraph has learned. At the time, Ripple revealed plans to invest in other Fortress group companies, including affiliated firm FortressPay.

A few days later, Fortress Trust acknowledged that the acquisition was rushed by a security incident involving a third-party analytics vendor. In an interview with Fortune, Fortress CEO Scott Purcell said the company lost $12 million to $15 million in the attack. A majority of the funds were Bitcoin, along with small amounts of USD Coin and Tether. Ripple, an investor in Fortress since its seed round in 2022, had to step in to make customers whole.

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The S&P 500 dropped to a 110-day low as the market digested what “higher for longer” meant for stocks.

On Sept. 20, the United States Federal Reserve delivered a message that reverberated through financial markets: Interest rates are expected to remain at their highest level in over two decades, possibly for longer than most market participants’ expectations. This attitude comes against the backdrop of stubbornly high inflation — with the core inflation rate hovering at 4.2%, well above the central bank’s 2% target — and unemployment at record lows.

Notably, the 10-year Treasury yield surged to levels not seen since October 2007. This movement reflects the market’s belief that rates will continue to climb or, at the very least, that inflation will eventually catch up with the current 4.55% yield. In either case, anxiety is mounting over the Fed’s ability to sustain these elevated interest rates without destabilizing the economy.

Bitcoin does not necessarily follow traditional markets
One intriguing development amid this financial turbulence is the apparent disconnect between the S&P 500 and cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin. Over the past five months, the 30-day correlation between the two assets presented no clear trend.

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Nomura’s Laser Digital receives in-principal approval for operations in Abu Dhabi

The Japanese bank joins a rapidly growing number of digital asset firms operating in Abu Dhabi and the rest of the United Arab Emirates.

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has granted Laser Digital, the digital assets arm of Japan’s Nomura Bank, in-principal approval to provide broker-dealer services and asset/fund management services with both digital and traditional assets, according to an ADGM communication on Sept. 26.

Laser Digital can receive full Financial Services Permission to operate after fulfilling conditions specified in the current approval. Those conditions were not specified in the communication

#news #crypto #UAE

Crypto exchange Binance among firms eyeing new stablecoins in Japan

Crypto exchange Binance is teaming up with Japan’s largest bank, the Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB), to explore the issuance of stablecoins in Japan.

On Sept. 25, Binance Japan announced a joint study that aims to see the companies issue yen and other fiat stablecoins to accelerate Web3 adoption in Japan. The pair plan to utilize a platform called “Progmat Coin” which would be a Japanese regulatory-compliant stablecoin issuance and management system.

The Japanese bank would be pioneering the development of the "Progmat Coin" platform as infrastructure for issuing stablecoins in accordance with Japan’s recently revised and enforced Payments Services Act. The legislation, which took effect in June, allows Japanese banks and regulated crypto providers to issue stablecoins.

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Hong Kong to list 'suspicious' crypto platforms in wake of JPEX scandal

In the wake of the ongoing JPEX scandal, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission says it will issue a public list of suspicious crypto trading platforms.

One of Hong Kong's principal financial regulators, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has vowed to step up efforts to combat unregulated cryptocurrency trading platforms in its jurisdiction.

According to a Sept. 25 announcement, the SFC said it will publish a list of all licensed, deemed licensed, closing down and application-pending virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) to better help members of the public identify potentially unregulated VATPs doing business in Hong Kong.

The SFC said it will also keep a dedicated list of "suspicious VATPs" which will be featured in an easily accessible and prominent part of the regulators' website.

#news #crypto #HongKong