News Roundup — Europe's First Spot Bitcoin ETF Lists in Amsterdam

Major news stories this week;

1. Europe's First Spot Bitcoin ETF Lists in Amsterdam
2. Coinbase VP says Canada can be a ‘global leader’ in crypto
3. Ledger announces U.S. PayPal integration, lets users buy crypto from within app
4. Tether discontinues USDT support on Bitcoin, Kusama and Bitcoin Cash
5. Mastercard forges blockchain alliances to power future of CBDCs

Story Summaries;

1. London-based Jacobi Asset Management has listed Europe's first spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Euronext Amsterdam nearly two years after it was first approved. The Jacobi FT Wilshere Bitcoin ETF is regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) and will trade under the ticker "BCOIN." Custody for the fund is provided by Fidelity Digital Assets and trading firm Flow Traders operates as market maker, Jacobi announced on Tuesday. The listing means Europe will see a spot bitcoin ETF traded before the U.S., despite dozens of applications to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the last few years.
2. The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced an expansion of its services offered to Canadian users on Aug. 14 through a partnership with the local financial services company Peoples Trust Company. Coinbase integrated the option for 100% of its users to deposit and withdraw money from their accounts via the Interac e-Transfers service. According to the exchange, this feature was the most requested update from Canadian users, post-launch in the country earlier this month.
3. Hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger has integrated its Ledger Live software with PayPal, according to an Aug. 16 joint announcement by the two companies. The integration allows U.S. residents with verified PayPal accounts to buy Bitcoin, Ether, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin directly through Ledger Live with no extra verification, the announcement stated. PayPal announced on Aug. 7 that it is launching a stablecoin called PYUSD, but the Aug. 15 announcement does not list PYUSD as one of the coins that will be available on Ledger Live just yet.
4. Tether is discontinuing USDT support for Kusama, Bitcoin Cash SLP and Omni (Bitcoin) implementations. The company said it remains committed to the Bitcoin ecosystem, with a focus on the RGB protocol for future growth. “We carefully evaluate the effort required, encompassing security, customer support, compliance, and regulatory oversight, to ensure the security, usability, and sustainability of the chosen blockchain,” Tether said in an announcement today. “If a blockchain lacks significant traction over an extended period and shows no signs of recovery in usage indicators, maintaining support becomes inefficient and may jeopardize security and oversight.” Tether will cease minting of USDT-Omni, USDT-Kusama and USDT–BCHSLP from August 17. However, users can still redeem the tokens as usual for at least the next 12 months and can also swap them for USDT on other chains via platforms like Bitfinex, Tether noted.
5. "On Aug. 17, the payments giant announced its CBDC Partner Program, including other inaugural partners like tokenized assets company Fluency, digital assets platform Fireblock, Consult Hyperion, and Idemia. All the partners in the program have a history of working on CBDC or payment services infrastructure. According to Mastercard, the program will enable collaboration between the key players in the space. Although the company did not specify its plans, it wants inputs in the development and future of CBDCs from its partners. Mastercard has shown an interest in digital fiat currencies since 2020 when it launched a sandbox for central banks to test their CBDC systems."

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

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