London Stock Exchange Group Plc is experiencing a significant shake-up of its ETF team as two out of four members exit. This comes as it prepares to list its first cryptocurrency-related products.
London Stock Exchange Group Plc has recently experienced significant change in its Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) team. The four-person team responsible for overseeing ETFs has been cut in half, down to just two members as the exchange prepares to list its first cryptocurrency-related products.
The cuts come at a critical time as the LSE prepares to introduce new offerings linked to digital currencies, highlighting the potential challenges in managing these new financial products with a decentralizing team.
Key Departures and Upcoming Crypto ETP Launches
Two prominent members of the LSE’s ETF team, head of exchange-traded products Michael Stanley and head of business development Hetil Patel, have left the organisation. An LSE spokesperson confirmed his departure but did not specify the timing.
As the exchange anticipates the May 28 launch of exchange-traded notes (ETNs) tied to bitcoin and ether, the departure of these key figures is notable.
WisdomTree, 21Shares, and Invesco are among the approved issuers for these new crypto ETNs. Although crypto-ETPs have been available in Europe for some time, UK regulatory hurdles previously prevented their listing in London until recent updates from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in March.
An LSE spokesperson expressed optimism about the growth potential of these new cryptoETNs. Meanwhile, the LSE is actively seeking a new senior product manager for ETFs, with Patel indicating on LinkedIn his plans to start a new job at the end of July.
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Impact on Operations and Competitive Landscape
According to Bloomberg data, the LSE currently lists about 1,200 ETFs. Recent departures have complicated the feedback process for technical issues related to new applications, as noted by a senior executive at one of the potential crypto ETP issuers.
This has introduced challenges in communication and clarity during the review process. In January, the US approved its first Bitcoin product, which has since accumulated $60 billion in assets, and the SEC recently approved the first US ETFs based on Ether.
An LSE spokesperson assured that their experts are working closely with issuers to meet the appropriate requirements for newly listed products.
The review process for crypto applications involves both the FCA and the LSE, with FCA-approved prospectuses and the LSE handling the listing. The UK market for crypto ETPs is becoming increasingly competitive, especially as the US market has already seen significant growth.
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The cryptocurrency crisis kicked into high gear on Saturday morning, as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) caused some of the company’s most successful ventures to collapse.

Stablecoin prices fluctuated sharply with rising gas prices as investors rushed to transfer cash hours after regulators shut down SVB among the run-of-the-mill banks, which have ties to crypto. It is the second crypto-linked bank to fail this week. Finally, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen convened the central bank to discuss SVB’s failure.

In no time, the crypto market has gone into turmoil, suggesting that the year-plus bear market has entered the dark ages. There were echoes of the global financial crisis of 2008, when bad news continued to follow even more.

Although in the case of crypto, which does not have a central bank like the Federal Reserve that can bail out the company, the question remains: how will this end? Circle Internet Financial’s stablecoin USDC has been significantly removed from its forecast price of $1 – a devastating development for a product designed as a safe haven for investors to park their money.

The USDC/USDT version (which crosses the Circle coin to the largest Tether) fell to $0.89 on the Kraken exchange at 03:49 UTC on Saturday – much lower than it has been amid market tensions following the FTX debacle and November. The Financial Services Agency confirmed late Friday that approximately $3.3 billion of the securities backing the world’s second largest coin are locked in SVB.

Stablecoins derive their value from these securities; If someone is worth more than $43 billion – as the USDC was earlier on Friday – there will be something like a large currency or financial instrument invested as a hidden currency. USDC market capitalization has dropped below $40 billion.

USDT, meanwhile, at one time reached $ 1.06 on Kraken against the US dollar, a level that is almost not reached as investors seem to be transferring money to USDC. Bitcoin has risen.

Gas bills, which measure how much it costs to complete a transaction above, have increased. For Ethereum, the central gas price rose to around 231 gwei, from around 20-40 previously seen on Friday, according to Nansen.ai.

Crypto was born following – and, for some, in response – the 2008 crisis. The book Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto started in a world where the government still supported the financial system by investing in it. Crypto has no such central authority. If SVB clients, including Circle and the USDC stablecoin, are forced to take a haircut on their funds, the outcome is unclear.

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