Crypto
EU Watchdog: 90% of Crypto Trading Confined to 10 Exchanges
Ten cryptocurrency exchanges account for 90% of the market’s trading.
And that concentration could be a problem, according to a report issued Wednesday (April 10) by the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA).
“While this might be advantageous from an efficiency standpoint due to economies of scale, it raises considerable concerns regarding the implications of a failure or malfunction at a major asset or exchange for the wider crypto ecosystem,” said the report, which noted that Binance accounts for roughly half the market.
The EU made history in 2023 when it became the first jurisdiction in the world to endorse a comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptoassets like bitcoin. The Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) rules won’t go into full effect until the end of this year. Until that happens, the report said, crypto assets and related service providers are more or less unregulated.
“In fact, crypto exchanges largely operate outside of national legal frameworks and are often based in countries with lighter regulatory requirements,” the report said. “Binance, for example, claims to not have a headquarters, while former crypto exchange FTX was based in the Bahamas and incorporated in Antigua and Barbuda.”
The report also cited data from Chainalysis showing that during the last two years, around 20% of crypto transaction value was received by investors from North America, another 20% from central, northern and western Europe, and 20% from central and southern Asia.
“Based on the domiciles of crypto exchanges, we find that most trading is performed on exchanges based in tax havens,” ESMA said. The announcement of MiCA, the regulator said, has not caused an increase in euro transactions.
The report added that despite frequent claims “that crypto assets could represent a safe haven in times of wider market stress, we find a certain co-movement with equities and no stable relationship with gold.”
Earlier this year, ESMA debuted proposed rules for crypto asset firms based outside of Europe that want to offer services to European customers.
“The proposed guidance confirms ESMA’s previous message that the provision of crypto-asset services by a third-country firm is limited under MiCA to cases where the client is the exclusive initiator of the service,” ESMA said in a statement.
“This exemption should be understood as very narrowly framed and must be regarded as the exception. A firm cannot use it to bypass MiCA,” the agency added.
World’s popular digital currency rises as high as $99,073 on expectations Trump will ease legal and regulatory hurdles.
Bitcoin is nearing the $100,000 mark as crypto enthusiasts bet that United States President-elect Donald Trump will usher in a more welcoming regulatory environment for digital assets.
The world’s most popular digital currency rose as high as $99,073 on Thursday, extending its surge since Trump’s re-election on November 5.
The commodity has risen more than 60 percent since election day as investors anticipate Trump’s incoming administration to ease regulatory and legal hurdles to its use.
Trump, who called the asset a “scam” during his first term, accepted campaign donations in cryptocurrency, and has pledged to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet” and accumulate a national bitcoin reserve.
Trump and his three sons in September also announced the launch of their own crypto business, World Liberty Financial, which investors have taken as a promising sign of the president-elect’s belief in the sector.
In another bullish signal for the sector on Thursday, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair, Gary Gensler, who was widely disliked among crypto investors for his aggressive enforcement actions targeting the sector, confirmed that he would step down in January.
Trump had pledged to fire Gensler on “day one” of his administration, though the president does not have the authority to remove the SEC chair before the end of his or her term.
While viewed by supporters as a ticket to big returns and financial freedom, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are known for their volatility and have faced government crackdowns in several parts of the world.
After climbing to a record high of $69,000 in late 2021, Bitcoin plunged to less than $16,000 over the following year.
The commodity burst past its previous peak in March after gaining more than 300 percent since November 2022.
Crypto
Shemaroo Entertainment and PWR Chain Announce Strategic Partnership to Revolutionize India’s Digital Entertainment through Blockchain Innovation – Press release Bitcoin News
WisdomTree has launched a new cryptocurrency exchange-traded product (ETP), the US asset manager announced today, with a focus on the XRP digital currency.
The new WisdomTree Physical XRP (XRPW), joins the firm’s $1.1bn lineup of physically backed cryptocurrency products, designed to provide European investors with a straightforward, regulated means of investing in digital assets without direct ownership.
The XRP asset, native to the XRP Ledger (XRPL), has carved out a unique role for itself in the digital currency landscape, as a blockchain optimised for cross-border payments and high-speed transactions.
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