● ARK applies for the first US spot Ethereum ETF
According to BlockBeats, Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, said that ARK has just applied for a spot Ethereum ETF, which is the first one and there may be more soon. According to Blockworks, Ark Invest and 21Shares plan to launch their own spot Ethereum products to the market. The Ark 21Shares Ethereum ETF application submitted by the two companies represents the first attempt at such a product in the US market. Unlike the recently proposed futures Ethereum ETF, the new products planned by Ark Invest and 21Shares will directly hold Ethereum.
● Visa executives: Visa payments will involve multiple blockchain networks, stablecoins, CBDC, etc.
According to Decrypt, Cuy Sheffield, head of Visa blockchain, said in a blog post on Wednesday that despite its flaws and problems, blockchain technology is similar to the early Internet, which is developing from obscurity to ubiquity. Sheffield believes that blockchain technology - in terms of its efficiency, associated costs and ease of use - may mature within the next decade.
Furthermore, he expects Visa’s payments network to involve more than just “multiple currencies and bank settlement rails, but also multiple blockchain networks, stablecoins and CBDCs or tokenized deposits.”
● Google updates ad policy to allow NFT game ads
According to the Daily Planet, Google has updated its advertising policy to allow NFT game ads as long as their ads do not involve gambling or promote gambling businesses. This policy will take effect on September 15.
● CZ: Team members are growing into more important roles and we support everyone
Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said on X (formerly Twitter), “Some of our team members are growing into more important roles, some outside of Binance. Some are working on exciting new ventures. I even made introductions or recommendations for many of them. We are a community and this creates more opportunities for growth within Binance (i.e. Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt, etc.). English means fear, confusion, doubt), keep building!”
● The digital pound pilot has successfully passed the proof-of-concept stage
According to CoinsPaid Media, the UK Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project has successfully passed the proof-of-concept stage, and the UK authorities are ready to start piloting the digital pound using the Regulated Liabilities Network (RLN) infrastructure. According to the latest report from the British Financial Association, the digital pound pilot has successfully passed the proof-of-concept stage and tested three potential usage scenarios in a closed environment: consumer domestic payments, wholesale cross-border payments, and securities settlement.
The report also states that in future trials, the RLN will use its own token for settlement and hold tokenized regulated currencies and digital assets on the same ledger. The Bank of England (BoE) has successfully completed Project Rosalind, demonstrating the potential of Britcoin as a means of reducing the cost of peer-to-peer payments, and has begun developing a wallet for the CBDC.
● Australia strengthens supervision of high-risk derivatives
According to the Daily Planet, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is strengthening supervision of high-risk derivatives open to retail investors. Regulators are concerned that derivatives issuers provide unregulated digital assets while providing regulated financial products, and retail investors may mistakenly believe that unregulated products are also subject to consumer protection.
● Chairman of the Russian Parliament’s Financial Committee: The development of blockchain will weaken the role of banks
According to the Daily Planet, Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Russian Parliament's Finance Committee, said that with the development of blockchain, the role of banks will be weakened in the future. Aksakov believes that private banks must find new uses, and they will be able to participate in the infrastructure of digital financial assets and digital rubles, but their traditional roles will gradually disappear. In addition, Aksakov also pointed out that the Russian Central Bank has limited the daily use of the digital ruble to 200,000 rubles (about $2,000).
● Henley&Partners released the Crypto-Friendly Index, with Singapore, Switzerland and the UAE ranking in the top three
According to the Daily Planet, Henley & Partners, a global residency and citizenship consulting firm, released a crypto wealth report and designed a crypto-friendly index, which includes six dimensions: public usage, infrastructure usage, innovation and technology, compliance environment, economic index, and tax friendliness. The top three are Singapore, Switzerland, and the UAE, and the bottom three are Namibia, Montenegro, and Turkey.
