News Roundup — Nexo puts recent woes behind it with Middle East license approval

Major news stories this week;

1. Nexo puts recent woes behind it with Middle East license approval
2. Deutsche Börse exchange debuts crypto platform for institutions
3. BlackRock’s iShares ETF records $788M net inflows as Bitcoin bull run gathers pace
4. Another BlackRock mutual fund can now allocate to bitcoin ETFs
5. Stanford’s Blyth Fund allocates 7% of its portfolio to Bitcoin

Story Summaries;

1. Cryptocurrency lending platform Nexo is looking to set aside its problems in Bulgaria and the United States after its Dubai entity received initial approval from the emirate’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The initial approval awarded to Nexo Services FZE will be for virtual asset lending and borrowing, management and investment and broker-dealer services, according to a March 5 announcement shared with Cointelegraph via email.
2. German exchange giant Deutsche Börse Group unveiled a crypto spot platform on Tuesday in a bid to capture the growing institutional market for digital assets Dubbed the Deutsche Börse Digital Exchange (DBDX), the platform is set to allow the trading, settlement and custody of crypto assets while utilizing “the existing connectivity to market participants,” the company said Tuesday. It was not clear which crypto assets the platform would support. A firm spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
3. BlackRock's iShares ETFs saw a significant net inflow of $788 million on March 5, surpassing its previous high of $612.1 million. This surge coincided with Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high of $69,324 and an increase in spot BTC ETF investments in the U.S. Despite this, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO) experienced net outflows of $332.5 million and $14.2 million, respectively. The total inflow on the day of Bitcoin's ATH was $648.3 million. Notably, the Bitcoin ETF ecosystem has received $8.5 billion in net inflows to date, with BlackRock's iShares and Franklin Bitcoin ETF leading in inflows and never reporting net outflows.
4. Three BlackRock funds now have the ability to allocate to bitcoin ETFs. The fund giant — with roughly $10 trillion in assets under management — said in a Thursday filing that it may buy shares of bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) traded on “national securities exchanges” for the BlackRock Global Allocation Fund. The disclosure came a few days after the company added similar language to the prospectus of its Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio and the BlackRock Strategic Global Bond Fund.
5. Stanford University's student-run Blyth Fund has allocated approximately 7% of its portfolio to Bitcoin investments. Kole Lee, a Computer Science Major and leader at Stanford Blockchain Club, successfully pitched the fund to invest in Bitcoin following his proposal in February. The fund, established in 1978, manages a portion of Stanford's endowment by investing in various assets, now including BTC. Lee emphasized the benefits of Bitcoin as a hedge against monetary chaos and war, ETF inflows, and crypto market cycles.

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And that’s all for last week’s news! Wishing you a great week ahead!

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