News Roundup — UAE Sees Major Institutional Influx of Crypto Transactions

Major news stories this week;

1. UAE sees major institutional influx: Chainalysis
2. Crypto.com to become preferred exchange for PayPal USD
3. Valkyrie wins nod to add Ethereum futures to ETF as SEC delays Bitcoin call
4. Coinbase Receives Regulatory Approval to List Perpetual Futures Trading to Users Outside US
5. Bahrain’s Bank ABC taps JP Morgan for blockchain-based cross-border payment service

Story Summaries;

1. Blockchain data platform Chainalysis found that institutional investments (each exceeding $1 million in value) constituted more than 67% of cryptocurrency transactions in the federation of seven emirates between July 2022 and June 2023. Following these institutional transactions were transfers linked to professional investments, ranging from $10,000 to $1 million, and retail investments made up 4.63% of all transfers in the Emirates, according to a report published on Sept. 26. The high incidence of institutional investments indicates that a more diverse group of professional investors is actively engaging in the market, bolstering its overall expansion.
2. Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com has partnered with PayPal and Paxos to become a preferred platform for PayPal USD. According to a press release from Sept. 28, Crypto.com currently possesses the deepest liquidity for PYUSD trading pairs globally. The exchange has listed PYUSD for retail and institutional users, with “trading features coming soon.” This move builds on PayPal and Crypto.com’s previous partnership, such as an option to use PayPal to top up the Crypto.com Visa Card.
3. US investors now have access to Ether futures through an exchange traded fund. Asset manager Valkyrie was approved to add Ethereum futures to its existing Bitcoin ETF. The move comes as analysts predict pending Ether futures ETFs will be given the green light imminently. Valkyrie will begin to add Ether futures to its existing Bitcoin strategy ETF; the asset manager will allocate 10% of its fund to Ether initially, increasing this to 50%. The decision is expected to be quickly followed by approval of a host of Ether futures ETFs.
4. Coinbase International Exchange has acquired regulatory approval from Bermuda's financial regulator to enable eligible non-US retail customers to trade perpetual futures, a company said in a blog on Thursday. Thanks in part to Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) the exchange plans to offer eligible customers access to perpetual futures contracts on Coinbase Advanced in the coming weeks. The company has been looking to expand globally and announced its international exchange in May this year and listed BTC and ETH perpetual futures contracts.
5. Bahrain-based Bank ABC is launching a new blockchain-based cross-border payment service for its corporate and institutional clients in collaboration with JP Morgan and the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).The soft-launched service seeks to enable the bank’s clients to complete high-value transfers between Bahrain and the US through JP Morgan’s Coin Systems, which sits upon the JP Morgan Onyx blockchain system which was launched in 2020.

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

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