More Finance Giants follow BlackRock in filing for a Bitcoin ETF 👀; Bitpanda does a crypto spin-out 🐼

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1. Investor list that don't need warm intro 💸 [read this if you want to grow your startup 🚀]
2. Prospering amid economic weakness: Visa acquires Brazil's Pismo in one of the largest FinTech M&A deals in LatAm 🤝💰 [deep dive into Visa & my investment thesis]
3. Open Banking is keeping FinTech alive 💸
4. Shares wants to be the ‘Louis Vuitton’ of trading apps 👀
5. How struggling is Robinhood? 🤔
6. Crypto is having a momentum right now 📈
7. AI fraud prevention is the next hot thing? 🤔

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Last week (26-30 June) was another super intense and thrilling week in the world of #Blockchain and #Cryptocurrency. We will look at big names following BlackRock in filing for a Bitcoin ETF (it’s getting very BIG!); Bitpanda that does a crypto spin-out (how it’s following the money & why it makes sense), and other interesting news and developments.

Without further ado, let us dive into what happened in the Blockchain & #Crypto sector last week. Let’s connect the dots.

More Finance Giants follow BlackRock in filing for a Bitcoin ETF 👀

The BIG news 🗞 WisdomTree and Invesco have filed applications for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US, following BlackRock's massive move a week ago.

ICYMI: BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF: a game-changer or just hype? 🤔

More on this 👉 New York-based asset management firm WisdomTree Asset Management has applied for a 3rd time, requesting that the SEC allows WisdomTree to list its “WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust” on the Cboe BZX Exchange under the ticker “BTCW.” The SEC previously rejected its application in December 2021, and again in October 2022, claiming concerns of fraud and market manipulation.

Meanwhile, Invesco US has "reactivated" its application for its “Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF.” According to the filing, the spot Bitcoin ETF will make use of "professional custodians and other service providers."

WisdomTree had $90.7 billion in assets under management as of April while Invesco, one of the largest ETF issuers in the world, had $1.4 trillion in assets under management as of April. That’s a lot of money 👀

✈️ THE TAKEAWAY

Zoom out 🔎 The two firms now join BlackRock , which surprised the market with its filing for a spot Bitcoin ETF filing about a week ago. We must note that thus far, the SEC has only approved bitcoin ETFs that are tied to U.S.-traded futures and has cited the lack of proper cross-exchange market surveillance as one reason why it won't approve a bitcoin spot ETF. Yet, once you zoom out, it's clear that this is just the beginning of a bigger wave we have started seeing as many of the largest financial institutions in the US (and globally) are actively working to provide access to Bitcoin. So far, $27 trillion of client assets are here, and that might not be the end of it.

Bitpanda does a crypto spin-out 🐼

The news 🗞 Digital asset exchange Bitpanda Pro has spun out from its parent company and raised €30 million in a funding round led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures, Finextra reported.

More on this 👉 Rebranded as One Trading , the crypto exchange has now fully separated from digital investment platform Bitpanda , although the latter still retains a stake in its former subsidiary.

Led by ex-JP Morgan executive Josh Barraclough, One Trading aims to address the lack of regulated venues in Europe by offering more sophisticated crypto products, including derivatives and spot trading, to both institutions and retail customers.

The new firm plans to operate as a MiFID Trading Venue, which will augment its existing VASP license, and would allow its platform to offer capital-efficient spot and derivative products for all customer types.

✈️ THE TAKEAWAY

Following the money 💸 In short, Bitpanda is basically following the money. And the money is currently with the institutions. Well, it always has been like that but now these institutions are starting to recognize the value of Bitcoin and are eager to get a piece of the crypto pie. Therefore, this might go down in history as the best move Bitpanda has ever made. Brilliant 👏

ICYMI: More Big names follow BlackRock in filing for a Bitcoin ETF 👀

Extra Reads & Quick Bites for Curious Minds🧠

• Getting paid BIG Time 🤑 The closure of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, is projected to be very costly due to significant professional fees that have already exceeded $200 million, with lawyers and professionals accumulating thousands of billable hours. The lack of regulation and basic corporate governance in the exchange has been cited as factors contributing to the high costs. Reread: A mindblowing FTX report 😱
• SALE 🏷️ SVB Financial Group has entered an agreement to sell its investment banking division, SVB Securities, to a group of some of its own bankers, including Jeffrey Leerink, and backed by funds managed by the Baupost Group, AltFi reported. The bidder group, led by SVB Securities CEO Leerink, will acquire the investment banking business for a combination of cash, repayment of an intercompany note, and a 5% equity instrument. Could this be a very interesting FinTech in the making? Also: The leaked doc shows that regulators saved Big VCs & Big Tech from billions of losses in uninsured SVB deposits 😳
• Revolut’s robo advisor 🤖 Revolut has launched a robo-advisor in the US, offering customers the option to have their investment portfolios automated. Based on responses from customers, the robo-advisor will provide users the opportunity to invest in one of five diversified portfolios based on their risk tolerance. Once a customer deposits money into their portfolio, the advisor automatically invests it in the market and then monitors and manages it. The robo-advisor rebalances the portfolio automatically to stay in sync with the customer’s risk tolerance. This is so much better than the Ultra plan… ICYMI: Revolut launches new premium plan ‘Ultra’: could initial disappointment become a hit? 🤔

Money Moves💸

• UK high street bank Lloyds has invested £2M in an AI-based corporate banking platform for financial institutions and corporates, Fennech. Fennech uses AI, machine learning, and business rules with cloud-based technology, to automate businesses’ finance, treasury, and payments processes in real-time.
• Hong Kong-based OneDegree, a leader in digital asset insurance and generative AI-enabled InsurTech solutions, has successfully garnered a significant amount of funding in its recent investment round. The FinTech firm has concluded its Series B round, amassing a substantial $55M in investments.
• Capital markets fintech TreasurySpring raises £15M. The London-based startup's Series B was led by Balderton and existing investors ETFS Capital, Anthemis, and MMC Ventures.

Continue reading by subscribing to Linas's Newsletter. You will receive fresh news about FinTech, Blockchain & Crypto with hot takeaways every day.

P.S. You might enjoy my earlier pieces as well:

👉 Top 10 FinTech predictions for 2023 🔮

👉 Top banking trends to watch in 2023 🔮

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About: I am a business developer, sales professional, FinTech strategist, as well as Cryptocurrency and Blockchain enthusiast. I'm highly passionate about Financial Technology and Digital Innovation, and strongly believe that it will change the world for the better. Apart from my daily job at a global payments startup where I'm leading the company's expansion into Europe, I'm an active member of the FinTech community and a TechFin evangelist.

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