The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially acknowledged the receipt of BlackRock’s application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on July 14, 2023. This marks the first time that the SEC has accepted a filing for a spot Bitcoin ETF, which would track the price of the underlying asset rather than futures contracts or other derivatives.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with over $10 trillion in assets under management, submitted its application for the BlackRock Bitcoin Trust on June 30, 2023. The trust would hold Bitcoin and value its shares based on the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate, a daily benchmark price for Bitcoin in U.S. dollars. The trust would also use Coinbase Custody Trust Company as its custodian for the Bitcoin held by the trust.
The SEC has 45 days from the date of publication of the notice to approve, reject, or extend the review period of the application. The SEC can extend the review period for up to 240 days before making a final decision. The notice states that the SEC is seeking public comments on various aspects of the application, such as the suitability of Bitcoin as an underlying asset, the valuation and liquidity of Bitcoin, the potential for market manipulation and fraud, and the cybersecurity and operational risks involved in holding and transferring Bitcoin.
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The approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF would be a major milestone for the cryptocurrency industry, as it would provide retail investors with a more accessible and regulated way to gain exposure to Bitcoin. It would also likely boost the demand and price of Bitcoin, as well as its adoption by institutional investors. Several other firms, such as Fidelity, VanEck, and WisdomTree, have also filed applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs with the SEC, but none have been acknowledged so far.
BlackRock has been showing interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies for a while. In January 2023, BlackRock added Bitcoin futures as an eligible investment for two of its funds. In March 2023, BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink said that he was “fascinated” by Bitcoin and that it could become a “great asset class”. In June 2023, BlackRock’s CIO of Global Fixed Income Rick Rieder said that Bitcoin could “take the place of gold to a large extent”.
Cardano’s DeFi Ecosystem now stands tall among Top Protocols
Cardano is one of the most innovative and ambitious blockchain projects in the industry. It aims to create a decentralized platform that can run smart contracts, decentralized applications, and support a flourishing DeFi ecosystem. Cardano has seen a surge in adoption and activity in recent months, as evidenced by its impressive metrics and milestones.
DeFi, or decentralized finance, is a term that refers to the use of blockchain technology and smart contracts to create financial services that are transparent, permissionless, and trustless. DeFi allows users to access lending, borrowing, trading, investing, and other services without intermediaries or centralized authorities. DeFi has been one of the most explosive trends in the crypto space, with the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols surpassing $100 billion in 2023.
Cardano has been making significant strides in its DeFi development, especially after the launch of its smart contract functionality in September 2021. The Alonzo hard fork enabled Cardano to support a variety of DeFi applications, such as decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending platforms, stablecoins, NFT marketplaces, and more. Since then, Cardano has seen a surge in activity and adoption in its DeFi ecosystem, as evidenced by the following metrics:
One of the main drivers of Cardano’s success is its DeFi ecosystem, which offers a range of services and applications for users and developers. From lending and borrowing, to stablecoins and decentralized exchanges, Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem provides a secure, interoperable and user-friendly environment for building and accessing decentralized financial products.
Some of the notable achievements of Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem include:
Launching the first decentralized exchange (DEX) on Cardano, called SundaeSwap, which allows users to swap tokens, provide liquidity and earn rewards. SundaeSwap leverages Cardano’s native token functionality and smart contract capabilities to offer a fast, cheap and secure DEX experience.
Introducing the first algorithmic stablecoin on Cardano, called Djed, which maintains a 1:1 peg to the US dollar by adjusting its supply according to market demand. Djed is backed by a basket of collateral assets, such as ADA and other tokens, and uses a governance token called DUSD to enable community participation and risk management.
Creating the first lending and borrowing protocol on Cardano, called Liquid Finance, which enables users to deposit their assets and earn interest, or borrow assets and pay interest. Liquid Finance uses a native token called LQ to distribute rewards and fees to liquidity providers and borrowers, as well as to govern the protocol parameters.
Developing the first non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace on Cardano, called CNFT.io, which allows users to create, buy and sell unique digital collectibles. CNFT.io supports various types of NFTs, such as art, music, gaming and sports, and leverages Cardano’s low fees and high scalability to offer a seamless NFT experience.
These are just some of the examples of how Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem is pushing the boundaries of innovation and adoption in the crypto space. With more projects and partnerships in the pipeline, Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem is poised to grow even further and challenge the dominance of other platforms.
Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem is not only impressive in terms of its features and functionality, but also in terms of its performance and potential. According to data from DeFi Llama, a website that tracks DeFi statistics across different blockchains, Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem has reached a total value locked (TVL) of over $10 billion as of July 15th, 2023. This means that more than $10 billion worth of assets are locked in various DeFi protocols on Cardano, indicating a high level of user confidence and activity.
Moreover, Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem has achieved this remarkable feat in a relatively short span of time, compared to other platforms. For instance, Ethereum, the leading DeFi platform by TVL, took more than four years to reach $10 billion in TVL, while Binance Smart Chain (BSC), another popular DeFi platform, took about nine months. Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem, on the other hand, took only about six months to reach this milestone, since the launch of its smart contract functionality in January 2023.
This shows that Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem is not only growing fast but also growing sustainably. Unlike other platforms that have faced issues such as network congestion, high fees, security breaches and regulatory scrutiny, Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem has maintained a high level of efficiency, security and compliance. This is thanks to Cardano’s robust design principles and rigorous research-based approach that ensure its solutions are scalable, interoperable and adaptable.
Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem is undoubtedly one of the most impressive and promising developments in the crypto space today. By consistently breaking records and delivering cutting-edge solutions, Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem now stands tall among the top platforms in terms of innovation, adoption and performance. As more users and developers flock to Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem, it is likely that it will continue to set new standards and lead the way for the future of decentralized finance.