Digital assets Financial News

trading platform, said on Monday that Britain's M&G Investments has led a $30 million second round of funding ahead of its launch. GFO-X is licensed by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority for global institutional investors to trade digital asset futures and options that will be cleared at the London Stock Exchange Group's Paris clearing arm LCH SA. M&G Investments, which provided most of the latest $30 million funding, is part of M&G Plc, and will have a seat on the board of GFO-X Holdings. «The strategic investment will fund GFO-X through its forthcoming launch and support future innovation in the regulated digital asset sector, enhancing trust and credibility in the market,» GFO-X said in a statement.

South Africa’s financial regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is set to review the applications of 36 cryptocurrency companies seeking operational licenses in the country this month.

finance, the landscape of cryptocurrencies stands as a testament to the continuous evolution of digital assets. As we stand on the precipice of a new year, it is both prudent and opportune to reflect on the trajectory crypto is set to carve in 2024. The past year has witnessed unprecedented growth, technological innovation, more regulatory clarity and an increasing acceptance of digital currencies by retail and institutional players. Mass adoption and mainstream recognition The year 2023 saw a significant surge in mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies. Major financial institutions embraced digital assets, laying the foundation for 2024 to see a boom in mass adoption. With regulatory clarity improving across various jurisdictions, more traditional investors are expected to enter the market. As the stigma around cryptocurrencies dissipates as well, we can anticipate a broader acceptance of digital assets in everyday transactions, ultimately leading to their integration into global financial systems. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have been on the radar of central banks worldwide. In 2024, several countries are expected to make significant strides in developing and implementing their own CBDCs. This move represents a paradigm shift in the way governments perceive and utilize digital currencies. While CBDCs are not decentralized like cryptocurrencies, the shift towards digital currencies indicates a rising acceptance of digital assets. Moreover, the adoption of CBDCs could streamline financial transactions, reduce fraud, and enhance monetary policy effectiveness.

Cryptocurrency products recorded a massive $346 million in weekly inflows, marking the highest figure in the past nine weeks of consecutive gains. 

29% of asset managers said they were set to offer tokenised funds within the next one to five years, while over half said they would do so in the next decade.

virtual digital assets (VDAs). One of the most popular uses of VDAs is for investments and trading which was boosted by the rapid appreciation in their value experienced in 2021. Various surveys indicate that VDAs have been more intensively adopted in emerging market economies than in advanced economies.

digital assets traces its origins to 1998, marked by Nick Szabo's visionary concept of 'bit gold' – a decentralized digital asset. Cut to 2023, cryptos are the most well-known digital assets with more than 20,000 of them in circulation. How did the personal finance industry witness such a significant transformation over the years? Besides adapting to the evolving needs and preferences of investors, it saw rapid advancement of technology, the rise of fintech companies, and the increasing accessibility of information. This shift has empowered individuals with greater control over their financial decisions, offering a plethora of tools for budgeting, investing, and managing money. Moreover, the concept of financial literacy has gained prominence, urging people to take charge of their economic well-being. As a result, the personal finance industry has witnessed a revolution, placing a stronger emphasis on convenience, transparency, and user-centric solutions to cater to the demands of today's investors.Increasing crypto investments over the yearsBetween 2018 and 2020, the worldwide user base of crypto experienced a substantial growth of almost 190%, and this growth trend accelerated even further in 2021.

Coming into force on 1 September, the UK rule applies even when crypto companies use third-party suppliers.

In an unprecedented move, Google Play, the popular Andriod app and game marketplace, has announced policy changes to allow the integration of digital assets such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into its platform.

The Indian government introduced a significant notification on March 7, 2023 bringing into coverage various crypto intermediaries within the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The move comes at a time when many crypto intermediaries are already facing investigations from the Enforcement Directive (ED), the enforcing agency of the PMLA. News reports suggest that over Rs 9 billion has already been attached as proceeds of crime in connection with crypto frauds.

Global banking giant JPMorgan is among the entities leading the series A funding round for digital asset startup Ownera. The startup is building digital infrastructure to connect tokenized asset networks with traditional finance world, and has raised $20 million during the funding round.

Cryptocurrencies are the most widely known digital assets.

In the otherwise male-dominated world of finance, cryptocurrency exchanges saw a sharp rise in the number of women investors over the year, indicating that young women investors are now increasingly shifting from gold to digital assets. Experts believe that not only investors, but even women entrepreneurs are coming to the fore in the crypto industry , given that it is not weighed down by inequalities.

Wealth managers in Asia are holding back from offering digital assets to investors despite soaring demand due to a lack of understanding of these assets, according to an industry survey by consulting firm Accenture published on Monday. Global banks have been cautiously moving into crypto for several years, some building it within existing operations and others setting up new businesses. «Currently, 52 percent of affluent investors in Asia hold digital assets of some sort. Accenture's research indicates this could reach 73 percent by the end of 2022,» Accenture said on Monday.

crypto wallet MetaMask has inked a new strategic partnership with Asset Reality, an end-to-end solution for recovering, managing, and accessing seized crypto and complex assets. MetaMask is a ConsenSys product and among the leading self-custody wallets. MetaMask and Asset Reality will be helping victims of scams recover their digital assets where possible. The support will be available for all MetaMask users globally who have been victims of scams across MetaMask’s most active markets in the United States, the UK, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Brazil, France, Germany and Nigeria.

digital assets from being used to pay for goods and services from April 1, the market regulator said on Wednesday. The move was in line with earlier discussions between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) on a need to regulate such activity by digital asset business operators as it could impact the country's financial stability and overall economy, the SEC said in a statement. Digital asset business operators that provide such services must comply with the new rules within 30 days from the effective date, it said.

Amid the FOMO and volatility, there are some exchanges or platforms, such as CoinSwitch, that provide sufficient resources to rely on when investing. And that helps in beating the herd instinct. So, from an investment standpoint, let us examine the herd instinct. It is the tendency of people to behave or act in the same way as other people in the group or market, also known as mob mentality. Fear and greed factors in the market frequently cause herd mentality, the two emotions that constantly compete for market dominance. Fear causes panic, which increases supply, whereas greed causes exuberance, which increases market demand.

tax virtual digital assets at 30% in the Union Budget has encouraged the crypto industry players to come out with financial products on the asset. Crypto exchange CoinSwitch on Monday launched a recurring buy plan (RBP) (RBP) — a systematic investment plan (SIP) to buy crypto assets in India. Users can sign up through a waitlist to get early access to explore this new feature, the company said. With this, the startup wants users to beat market volatility and avoid making impulsive buying or selling decisions. Ashish Singhal, founder and CEO of CoinSwitch, said that the plan is for people who take a more systematic and long-term approach to buying crypto assets and is not really meant as a product for traders. “We are still reading the Budget fine print. Our initial understanding is that the 1% TDS will usually impact frequent traders who operate on smaller margins,” he said.“The plan will allow long-term investors to invest systematically and avoid the impulse to time the market and make emotional trading decisions, and will also empower users with a lower risk profile to explore this new asset class,” he added. Tax experts TOI spoke to said that though the Budget is silent on products such as crypto RBPs, the taxation will likely be along the same lines as SIPs, which are taxed on withdrawal.

Taxing crypto assets will not provide any legality to their transactions, CBDT chief has said

Taxing crypto assets will not provide any legality to their transactions, CBDT chief has said

As much as we adore digital payments, including NEFTs, UPI transactions, and more, the concept is inherently hinged on the existing banking hierarchy. While in most cases, the bills are paid out instantly, the concerned banks working behind the scenes do need to exchange information back and forth to make the transaction successful.