1. BIS Report Finds Strong Link Between Crypto Prices and Regulators’ Actions
According to the report published September 23 by BIS – an organization based in Switzerland made up of 60 of the world’s central banks – cryptocurrencies retain close links to news of regulatory actions across different national jurisdictions. This is despite crypto’s design to function in a borderless and frictionless manner based on foundational IoT trusted transactions in a peer-to-peer and decentralized manner. The markets responded most markedly to news events regarding the legal status of crypto. Adverse market responses were found to news that pertains to bans, the possible applicability of securities market law to crypto assets, or to announcements that crypto will not be recognized as a currency. Conversely, solid market gains were sealed in response to governments’ unveiling of new legal frameworks tailored to the crypto space. BIS noted that non-specific – or general – warnings against the risks of crypto, as well as announcements pertaining to the possible, but indeterminate, issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), had a negligible effect on crypto price action.
2. Over 75 New Banks: JPMorgan Expands Blockchain Payments Trial
A major blockchain payments trial launched by JPMorgan, Australia’s ANZ and the Royal Bank of Canada has just gained over 75 new banks as participants. The three banks set up the project in October 2017, aiming to slash both the time and costs required for interbank payments using traditional methods. Called the the Interbank Information Network (IIN), the platform is built on Quorum – the ethereum-based blockchain network developed by JPMorgan and possibly to be spun off into its own enterprise. In particular, the trial is aimed to address payments that contain errors or get held up for compliance reasons – problems that can takes weeks to solve with multiple banks being involved across the payments chain.
3. Ice’s Bakkt Reveals First Crypto Product as Physical Bitcoin Futures
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) confirmed that its Bakkt cryptocurrency platform’s first offering will take the form of physical Bitcoin futures. According to Intercontinental Exchange, Bakkt will be a regulated ecosystem for institutional investors and it will offer futures against fiat currencies, such as: the U.S. dollar, British pound sterling and euro. Buying one USD/BTC futures contract will result in daily delivery of one Bitcoin into the customer’s account. The much-anticipated Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), currently awaiting approval from U.S. regulators, are differentiate from Bakkt’s offering in the way that traders of the ETF-s would not take the delivery of any actual bitcoins.