● Data: 4 of the 15 largest asset management companies in the United States have applied for Bitcoin ETFs
Data released by investor and entrepreneur Alistair Milne on X (formerly Twitter) shows that so far, four of the 15 largest asset management companies in the United States have applied for their own Bitcoin ETFs. State Street is the manager of the VanEck ETF, Morgan Stanley has a private Bitcoin fund, and Franklin Templeton, which has an asset management scale of US$1.53 trillion, has also applied for its own Bitcoin ETF (spot, not derivatives).
● Crypto asset management company Hashdex has submitted an application for a spot Ethereum ETF
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart posted on X (formerly Twitter) that crypto asset management company Hashdex has submitted an application for a spot Ethereum ETF. It is reported that Hashdex's asset management scale has reached US$435 million.
Previously, on August 26, Hashdex had applied to hold spot Bitcoin in its Bitcoin futures ETF.
● Asset management giant Franklin Templeton has applied for a spot Bitcoin ETF
Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that asset management giant Franklin Templeton has applied for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
● The US SEC is reviewing its ruling on Grayscale and its Bitcoin ETF application
According to Bloomberg, Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said the SEC is reviewing the ruling on Grayscale and the Bitcoin ETF application.
● Hong Kong Monetary Authority publishes Project Sela CBDC report: It is of reference value, but it has not yet decided whether to launch the digital Hong Kong dollar in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, in collaboration with the Bank of Israel and the Hong Kong Centre of the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub (BISIH), published the report “Project Sela – Towards a Widely Accessible and Secure Retail Central Bank Digital Currency Ecosystem” and participated in a launch event hosted by the Bank of Israel in Tel Aviv.
Project Sela is the first fintech collaboration between the MAS and the Bank of Israel. Through the design structure of the central bank digital currency at the retail level, Project Sela demonstrates the technical feasibility of non-bank payment intermediaries directly connecting to the central bank digital currency ledger, thereby promoting competition and innovation in the digital payment field. The project established a proof-of-concept prototype using distributed ledger technology (DLT), proving that the design structure can meet strict cybersecurity, legal and policy requirements in technical execution.
● Binance donates $500,000 in BNB to users affected by the Libyan floods
According to the Binance blog, in response to the damage caused by the recent floods in Libya, Binance announced that it will airdrop $100 worth of BNB to all Binance users in Libya who complete the Proof of Address (POA) before September 11, 2023. For existing users who complete the POA after September 11, 2023 and before September 30, 2023, Binance will donate $25 worth of BNB directly to the user's Binance account. In addition, all users who actively trade in Libya will receive $10 worth of BNB. The donated funds will be sent to users starting from September 13, 2023. Binance has pledged to donate up to $500,000 in BNB and expects to directly support approximately 13,000 users through these efforts.
In addition, Binance Charity has also launched a public donation address for everyone to donate. Donations will be accepted in BNB, BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT or BUSD. Binance has also recently provided support for users in Ukraine, Turkey and Morocco.
● Report: Central and South Asia and Oceania (CSAO) becomes the world's third largest crypto market
According to Chainalysis' 2023 Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index, Central and South Asia and Oceania (CSAO) has become a vibrant and eye-catching market, including cryptocurrency-related games such as the Philippines and Vietnam, Coincu reported. CSAO is the world's third-largest crypto market, second only to North America and Central, North and Western Europe (CNWE), accounting for nearly 20% of global crypto activity. India is leading the crypto boom, with an estimated $268.9 billion in crypto assets pouring in during the study period. Over the past year, CSAO's decentralized finance (DeFi) participation has risen sharply, accounting for 55.8% of the region's transaction volume from July 2022 to June 2023, compared to 35.2% in the previous year. In addition, institutional adoption in the region has accelerated, with transfers of more than $1 million accounting for 68.8% of total transactions, compared to 57.6% in the previous period.
