Around the block

Three noteworthy items this month:

1.     A prominent institutional study revealed:

• 58% of global institutional investors have invested in digital assets

• Price volatility is the primary barrier to investor interest among 50% of those surveyed

• Most of these investors consider digital assets as an independent asset class.

2.     A new digital asset classification system

• Coin Metrics, MSCI and Goldman Sachs designed an institutional standard classifying digital assets by: Class/Sector/Sub-sector similar to how S&P classifies stocks.

3.     FTX exchange turmoil sends shockwaves

• FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges by volume, is the focus of an SEC and Department of Justice investigation.

• Its overlapping business and ownership interests with Almeda Research present potential implications of fraud.

• This story is rapidly developing and will be covered in a separate publication soon.

Industry developments

• Google is launching cloud-based blockchain software to store and validate Ethereum transactions enabling enhanced security for Web 3 developers. They also will partner with Coinbase for custody.
• Meta’s (Facebook) metaverse, Horizon Worlds, lowered expectations for user growth after its initial user base decline.

Regulatory developments

• The Texas State Securities Board has alleged that crypto exchange FTX is offering unregistered securities
• Regulators CFTC and SEC are examining Three Arrows Capital, the bankrupt crypto hedge fund, for misleading investors with misrepresented financials.

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