CoinShares, one of the largest crypto investment firms in Europe, and FTX crypto exchange have united forces to launch a new physically-backed Solana (SOL) exchange-traded product (ETP). The new product, titled CoinShares FTX Physical Staked Solana, is launching with 1 million SOL in seed capital, allowing investors to get 3% in staking rewards, CoinShares officially announced on Wednesday. The new cryptocurrency ETP is the first initiative between FTX and CoinShares. [1/5] We are excited to announce that we've partnered with @FTX_Official and our first initiative is to launch a physically staked Solana ETP with SOL1mn seed capital, Staking Rewards of …

Major global cryptocurrency exchange FTX is expanding operations in the United Arab Emirates by receiving a virtual asset license in Dubai. The license is apparently granted under a new cryptocurrency law adopted last week in Dubai, with Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) becoming a major crypto regulator in the Emirate’s special development and free zones. According to FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX has received the “first and so far only” digital exchange license from Dubai. Binance has also obtained a crypto license in Dubai under the same program, according to a report by Bloomberg. The world's largest …

Self-made wealthy individuals worldwide appear more likely to invest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as opposed to those who hold more of inherited wealth, a new survey suggests. Wealth-X, a research startup focused on wealth information, released on Thursday a new report on the peculiarities of crypto investments made by wealthy people worldwide. This report is devoted to wealthy individuals with a net worth of $5 million and more, including those who are professionally involved in the crypto industry and those who have a general interest in the sector. As crypto moves towards the mainstream, it's gaining popularity among wealthy …

Centre, an open-source technology project developed by Coinbase and Circle, has onboarded crypto exchange FTX and Alkemi Network as its latest partners to collaborate on Verite. Verite is a set of shared decentralized identity protocols — developed by Centre — to empower crypto-centric individuals and businesses by granting total control of personal information. Supporting Verite’s commitment to collaborate on shared decentralized identity standards, FTX and Alkemi have added to the list of 14 crypto companies, which include Coinbase, Circle, Hedera Hashgraph, Ledger, the Solana Foundation and more. Verite launch partners include @circlepay , @blocks, @Algorand, @coinbase, @compoundfinance, @ConsenSys, Espresso Systems, …

Peter Thiel-backed city-building startup Praxis has raised $15 million in Series A funding from a variety of crypto venture firms led by Paradigm Capital, Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research, and Three Arrows Capital. Dryden Brown of New York University, and Charlie Callinan of Boston College, co-founded Praxis, formerly Bluebook Cities in 2019, describing their goal as: “building the city-cryptostate to realize a more vital future,” according to the company website. Praxis wants to pivot away from “artificially scarce metaverses” to build a city-state that is organized around “shared values,” rather than the “labor market principles of the Industrial Age”. The cryptocurrency-run …

Global crypto exchange platform FTX launched a fund called the FTX Future Fund with an aim to support long-term improvements for humankind. The project will deploy up to a billion dollars to support projects focusing on safe artificial intelligence development, reducing biorisk dangers, effective altruism and more. According to the announcement, the team will support both non-profit and for-profit ventures as long as it aligns with the fund's mission such as protecting future generations by addressing issues such as poverty and environmental problems. The fund also aims to look for projects pushing technological progress forward. The firm also underscores that …

American billionaire and CEO of crypto exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried announced that his company acquired Japanese crypto firm Liquid Group and its subsidiaries. As a part of the deal, FTX will acquire Quoine Corporation, a Financial Services Agency (FSA)-approved crypto exchange. As Cointelegraph previously reported, Quoine acquired a Type I Financial Instruments Business license under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act from the Japanese regulatory authorities. FTX is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Liquid group of companies, including an FSA-registered crypto-asset exchange to provide products and services to our customers in Japan! https://t.co/rO5TznWFCU — SBF (@SBF_FTX) February 2, …

Despite growing fears over a potential cryptocurrency market downturn, major industry firms like FTX keep gaining momentum by securing hundreds of millions in fresh funding. FTX Trading, the owner and operator of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX, officially announced Monday that it closed a $400 million Series C funding round, bringing the firm to a $32 billion in valuation. The new fundraise comes several days after FTX’s United States-based sister firm FTX US also raised $400 million in a Series A round on Jan. 26, reaching an $8 billion valuation. According to the announcement, the latest fundraise saw participation from …

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of crypto exchange FTX, reportedly called out regulators to create a single framework for digital assets in the Asian Financial Forum, an event organized by Hong Kong's government to highlight new opportunities within the region's economic landscape. The businessman pointed out that instead of focusing on determining whether assets are securities or not, regulators must focus on consolidating the regulations and creating a rule book on crypto. Bankman-Fried also noted that a framework that focuses on disclosure and the prevention of fraud may be more important than labeling assets as securities or not. While …

FTX crypto exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried is optimistic that clarity provided by regulators around the world will stimulate institutional adoption rates for crypto this and subsequent years. In a Jan. 3 interview with Bloomberg, SBF talked about crypto regulations, institutional adoption, and the Metaverse. Despite the rocky end to 2021 for markets, SBF is “optimistic” about 2022. “The things that make me optimistic basically are more regulatory clarity in the US and globally which I think could help a ton on institutional adoption.” When asked how he thought institutional adoption of crypto could accelerate in the future, he responded, “A …

FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried rounded off 2021 on an optimistic note. SBF waxed lyrical about the crypto market’s state in 2021 while revealing the roadmap for FTX in 2022 in a Twitter flood. In his view, there are three keystones to industry progress in 2022: regulation, scaling, and transaction speeds. He proposes solutions to each puzzle piece, referencing his exchange's involvement. On regulation, SBF states stablecoins could be better reported and audited. In line with FTX stablecoin policies, he says more transparency would solve “80% of the problems while allowing stablecoins to thrive onshore.” Meanwhile, better markets oversight …

The cryptocurrency and blockchain industry experienced explosive growth in 2021, particularly in its decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) sectors. The year was also marked by continued price volatility, baffling behavior from China, a grand experiment in Central America, escalating institutional interest, and the rise of some faster smart-contract networks — all of which is reflected in this year’s list of industry “winners and losers.” Winners in 2021 Kazakhstan When China effectively banned Bitcoin (BTC) mining operations in May 2021, Kazakhstan rushed in to fill the vacuum, pitching displaced miners and others on its cheap and plentiful coal supply. …