Asset manager BlackRock filed an S-1 form with the US SEC for its iShares Ethereum Trust, hence officially applying for a spot ether ETF. Meanwhile, another asset management giant, Fidelity, also filed for a spot ether ETF.
JPMorgan's Onyx teamed up with WisdomTree, Apollo, Avalanche, Oasis Pro, Provenance Blockchain, Biconomy, LayerZero Labs, and Axelar on a blockchain interoperability PoC. The project tests how fund managers could tokenize, buy, and rebalance RWA positions across several blockchains.
Reddit's crypto subreddit token, Moons, is moving toward 100% decentralization. As per an update by the community moderators, the admins have given up control over the contract. They have also burned over 30% of the supply. Moons' price rose 240% after the announcement.
Crypto exchange Coinbase announced an open source "Onchain Payment Protocol" as the latest update to the Coinbase Commerce product. The update offers instant settlement, low fees, and an improved experience.
Aave Companies launched Lens V2 on Polygon. Lens V2 brings in enhanced features that enable developers to build new social experiences and monetize faster.
A US judge lifted the stay on deliberations between FTX and BlockFi. Consequently, the two can start mediation, settlements, and file claims and counterclaims.
South Korea's National Pension Service bought 282,673 shares of Coinbase worth $19.9 million in the third quarter of the year.
DeFi exchange PancakeSwap launched its gaming marketplace for developers to build and launch their games and use crypto and NFTs in their games.
Bankrupt crypto lender Genesis will settle $1 billion in claims by defunct crypto hedge fund 3AC, starting by paying $33 million.
Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority granted crypto.com's Dubai subsidiary a license to offer crypto exchange, dealer, and brokerage services.
Australia's tax authority updated its guidance on the capital gains tax on crypto products. They have clarified that the taxation extends to wrapped tokens and transactions on DeFi lending protocols.
Crypto custodian Hex Trust has obtained a full VASP license in Dubai, allowing it to offer crypto custody services to institutional clients.
Germany's financial regulator BaFin granted Commerzbank AG a crypto custody license that allows the global bank to offer a broad range of digital asset services.
Asia based XREX crypto exchange got an in principle nod for an MPI license in Singapore.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced its plans for a live wholesale CBDC pilot in 2024.
Blockchain security firm SlowMist alerted crypto users of a phishing attack using a fake Skype app to steal crypto funds. SlowMist confirmed that the same bad actors were behind a recent fake Binance app scam.
Standard Chartered's SC Ventures launched Libeara, a platform that plans to tokenize Singapore dollar government bonds. SC Ventures is collaborating with FundBridge Capital.
Disney is launching a "digital pin" platform in collaboration with Dapper Labs, which will enable collectors to trade Disney branded NFTs minted on the Flow blockchain.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore started to test tokenization use cases, including bilateral digital asset trades and foreign currency payments. It has partnered with several financial institutions for this exercise.
Binance plans to launch Gulf Binance, a joint crypto exchange venture with a unit of Gulf Energy Development. Gulf Binance would initially serve Thailand users by invitations and plans to open to the public early next year.
Terra blockchain developer Terraform Labs acquired Pulsar Finance, a cross chain portfolio management and analytics startup.
WonderFi's Canadian subsidiary Bitbuy is buying Bitvo, a Canadian regulated crypto exchange. It absorbs Bitvo's 17,000 customer accounts that generated over $235 million in trading volume last year.
Blockchain tech firm Aave Companies rebranded to Avara. It has also acquired LA based web3 startup Los Feliz Engineering.
Blockchain payments firm Fnality raised $95 million in a round led by Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas.
South Korean blockchain based K-pop startup, Modhaus, raised $8 million in a Series A round led by Sfermion.
Crypto exchange Blockchain.com raised $110 million in a Series E round led by Kingsway Capital.
To bring USDC onto the Sei network for cheap and global transactions, Circle Ventures invested an undisclosed sum in Sei.
Superstate, an asset manager using blockchain, closed part of its $14 million Series A round led by CoinFund and Distributed Global.
Web3 social network platform Sleek raised $5 million in seed funding realized via a SAFT. The round that brought Sleek's valuation to $50 million saw investors including Binance Labs and Shima Capital.
Bitcoin focused Taproots Wizards raised $7.5 million in a seed round led by Standard Crypto.
Web3 interoperability developer Union Labs raised $4 million in a seed funding round from investors, including Galileo and Semantic Ventures. It plans to deploy the money to build a cross chain bridge powered by ZKPs.