US State Passes Legislation Allowing Financial Institutions To Offer Crypto Custody Services

The US state of Louisiana is allowing financial institutions and trust companies to provide custody services for cryptos.

Binance Launches VIP and Institution-focused Platform

The new platform comes at a time when institutions are panicking over the price crash.

University of Cincinnati turning crypto craze into educational curriculum

The programs, which are funded by a longtime supporter of the university, will teach students about Bitcoin and other digital assets. Cryptocurrencies are attracting a lot of attention from academic institutions as they become increasingly accepted as an alternative to conventional assets.

Institutions are exploring the space — KPMG Canada crypto team

Kareem Sadek and Kunal Bhasin said the team had seen “a lot of momentum” around the tokenization of assets but was also considering the potential growth of NFTs and the Metaverse. The Canadian operations of Big Four auditor Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, or KPMG, may have a role to play in institutions entering the crypto space, according to two team members.Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Collision conference in Toronto on Tuesday, Kareem Sadek and Kunal Bhasin of KPMG Canada’s crypto assets and blockchain services team said the company had added Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to its balance sheet to show others it “had skin in the game.” According to Sadek, holding digital assets was just the first step moving deeper into the crypto space.“We thought it’s better to go through the journey ourselves — show the community we’re part of it, we’re supportive of the community,” said Bhasin.

Crypto Market Crash Pauses Commercial Deals With Sports Firms

The current downtrend of the crypto market has negatively affected financial institutions, particularly those dealing with digital currencies.

Crypto influencers allegedly weaponize conspiracies to fleece QAnon followers

Mixing conspiracy theories, a distrust for traditional institutions and hopium in crypto, two influencers are alleged to have made millions using pump-and-dump schemes. Two QAnon-affiliated conspiracy theorist influencers allegedly caused their followers millions of dollars in losses by running a cryptocurrency pump-and-dump scheme.The pair reportedly persuaded their thousands of followers to invest in a portfolio of cryptos, presenting a misleading mix of conspiratorial and genuine content along with claims about institutions backing the tokens to generate hype and raise the price of the portfolio.The allegations are included in an investigation by Logically, a group of data scientists and developers.

Deloitte and NYDIG set up alliance to help businesses adopt Bitcoin

Deloitte wants to enable blockchain and digital asset-based services across many areas involving Bitcoin products like banking, rewards programs and others. Professional services giant Deloitte is getting increasingly serious about Bitcoin (BTC) amid the ongoing market downturn, setting up a major initiative to promote BTC adoption.Deloitte has partnered with the Bitcoin-focused financial services firm, New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), to help companies of all sizes implement digital assets.According to a joint announcement on June 21, NYDIG and Deloitte are launching a strategic alliance to create a centralized approach for clients seeking advice in order to adopt Bitcoin products and services.The companies will work together to enable blockchain and digital asset-based services across multiple areas involving Bitcoin-related products, including banking, loyalty and rewards programs, employee benefits and others.According to the announcement, global financial institutions and banks have been facing an increasing demand to provide trusted exposure to Bitcoin.

Crypto lender Babel Finance halts withdrawals due to liquidity pressures

Hong Kong-based asset manager Babel Finance is the latest crypto lending firm to signal the growing crisis of the cryptocurrency lending industry amid the bear market. Hong Kong-based asset manager Babel Finance is the latest cryptocurrency lending firm experiencing some serious issues amid the ongoing market downturn.Babel Finance officially announced June 17 a temporary suspension of redemptions and withdrawals from its products, citing “unusual liquidity pressures.”“Recently, the crypto market has seen major fluctuations, and some institutions in the industry have experienced conductive risk events,” the statement on Babel Finance's website reads.The firm said that it’s in close communication with “all related parties” on the matter and is doing its best in order to best protect its customers.Founded in 2018, Babel Finance is a major cryptocurrency financial services provider, offering crypto lending, asset management and financing services to institutional investors.

GBTC premium hits -34% all-time low as crypto funds ‘puke out’ tokens

Dark days for crypto institutional investors as contagion fears are magnified and asset prices tumble. The largest Bitcoin investment vehicle, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), is now trading at its biggest ever discount to the spot market.Data from on-chain analytics resource Coinglass shows GBTC shares down 34% versus BTC/USD on major exchanges as of June 17.GBTC suffers in market downturnAmid continued turmoil in DeFi spilling over to infect the crypto market, conditions have deteriorated for investors big and small.The latest figures now show that institutions have definitively failed to avoid the contagion, and the already underperforming GBTC has hit new lows.The GBTC premium, long a misnomer due to the fund’s shares in fact costing less than Bitcoin itself, is circling its lowest values in history.

Kazakhstan Allows Registered Crypto Exchanges to Open Accounts at Local Banks

Government officials in Kazakhstan have approved regulations that will govern interactions between authorized coin trading platforms and traditional financial institutions.

‘Builders rejoice’: Experts on why bear markets are good for Bitcoin

Crypto winters are actually good for Bitcoin as some pivotal BTC projects like the Lightning Network were born during bear markets. The crisis has triggered a wave of panic in the community, with the Bitcoin miners’ selling activity surging to seven-month highs as the BTC mining profitability has dropped to October 2020 levels.Bitcoin’s Fear and Greed Index fell posted the lowest records since pre-pandemic times in Q3 2019, dropping to seven and indicating “Extreme Fear” on June 15.These and other recent events in the industry do not look good, but only at first glance, according to some industry experts and executives.People in the industry continue to reiterate that bear markets are actually good for Bitcoin and healthy for the crypto industry as they remove speculators and scams, while providing space to build real and great products and services.“The current situation is good for Bitcoin in the long term, cleansing the market from leverage, scams and dishonest institutions,” Trezor Bitcoin analyst Josef Tětek told Cointelegraph.According to Tětek, previous bear markets have spawned many pivotal projects, including the Lightning Network, a major Bitcoin-related project enabling cheaper and faster Bitcoin transactions.

Russia's Sber to Complete Digital Assets Issuance by July

One of Russia’s largest financial institutions, Sber, is well on track to begin trading Digital Financial Assets (DFA) on its newly developed trading platform.

Could institutions pulling millions see Bitcoin [BTC] at $20K next

Even though there are many cryptocurrencies recovering today, Bitcoin is continuing to stack up more losses.

Skolem Raises $20m in Series A Funding to Enable Institutions Access DeFi

The fundraise shows Skolem’s commitment to developing an easy way for institutions to access DeFi services, enabling firms to easily and reliably access new markets powered by decentralized finance.

Crypto bank Custodia sues the Fed over 19 month delay on account approval

Custodia wants to compel the Federal Reserve Board and its Kansas City branch to approve its application for a Fed master account within 30 days. Wyoming based digital asset bank Custodia is suing the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, claiming an “unlawful delay” in processing an application for its master account.Custodia, formerly known as Avanti was one of the first Special Purpose Depository Institutions (SPDIs) also known as “blockchain banks” made under a Wyoming regulatory framework.The bank was founded by Caitlin Long, an early advocate of Bitcoin (BTC) who established the institution in 2020 to provide accounts for crypto companies and serve as a bridge for them to the US dollar payment system.Custodia submitted an application for a Federal Reserve master account 19 months ago in October 2020.

Coinbase balance drops by 30K BTC as Bitcoin price nurses 6% losses

Whales and institutions alike are on the radar after the latest data from exchange order books. Bitcoin (BTC) held steady at the June 7 Wall Street open after a night of losses cost bulls heavily.BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp).

‘Bitcoin-thematic’ ETF lists on Italian stock exchange Borsa Italiana

A Bitcoin-thematic ETF lists on the Borsa Italiana providing savers, institutions and pensions planners with exposure to Bitcoin.

Weekly Bitcoin Inflows Totaled $126M as Institutions Keep 'Buying the Dip'

And for a ninth straight week, Ethereum-based funds saw outflows.

Institutions Are Definitely Here: ConsenSys’ Harriet Browning (Interview)

CryptoPotato sat with Harriet Browning, the Lead for Business Development and Strategic Sales for ConsenSys EMEA to talk about MetaMask and the Web3 boom, the $450M seed raise, and MetaMask for institutions and how it's different.

Co-Founder of Africa Focused Fintech: Traditional Banks Not Optimized to Serve the Unbanked

For years, traditional financial institutions in different parts of the world have been attempting to narrow the financial exclusion gap by extending their services to the unbanked population.

Brazilian Development Bank Launches Blockchain Network

The Brazilian Development Bank has officially launched the Brazilian Blockchain Network, a structure designed to aid other institutions in the country in increasing public transparency.

Wealthy Coinbase clients are still 'hodling' Bitcoin since December 2020, data suggests

Institutions that reportedly purchased 10,939 BTC from Coinbase in December 2020 are not selling yet.