Substantial Steps Toward Regulatory Clarity in the EU and US ; Tokenization as a Service; We Are Partnered with Security Token Group
RedBlock Newsletter #13- Week Ending October 4th
Last week was a pretty big one for DeFi, but this week, dare we say, has been a pretty big week for us…
Not only are we in the closed beta testing phase of our digital asset management platform RedLedgers (check out the announcement here!), we also, if you can’t tell by the big banner below, have partnered with the amazing team at Security Token Group to deliver quality content promoting digital asset tokenization around the world.
Check out the full press release with all the details on this partnership and Security Token Group on our site.
And of course, this week we have a new market research report covering Bitcoin Puell Multiple and Stablecoin Supply Ratio on our site, here- https://www.redblockcap.com/research
Before we get into it, applications to be a RedLedgers beta tester are still open, so apply today!
Please fill in our application form if you are interested- Closed Beta Form
- An Update on the EU’s Digital Asset Regulations
This is a big one. The European Union’s forthcoming legislation on regulating digital assets saw an increase in active speculation and discussion, when, last week, a draft of said legislation was leaked. In an interview with Crowdfund Insider, the Head of Innovation and Fintech at global law firm Gide 255, Franck Guiader, asserted that from a “legal perspective… it will create confidence, certainty, and will open a pan-European market for these players that will benefit from the EU passport mechanism.” Moreover, Guiader also holds hopes that already established capital markets players will be more likely to explore innovative solutions through distributed ledger technology. (Crowdfund Insider)
2. The US’s Own Path Towards Regulatory Clarity
The US, like last week, is seeing more big moves toward regulatory clarity concerning security tokens and cryptocurrency. This time around, two bills have been introduced into congress: the Securities Clarity Act and the Digital Commodities Exchange Act. The point of the former is to allow digital securities, as long as they are registered as securities or practice compliance as exemptions, to be handled without any fear of punishment from regulators. The latter provides clarity for “crypto exchanges who offer the buying and selling of tokens that would fit into the definition provided by” the Securities Clarity Act. (Forbes)
- Our Industry Has Really Grown Up
According to a study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), the total amount of crypto asset users has increased by a staggering amount in the period between 2018 and Q3 2020. That is, in 2018 we had about 35 million unique users and today the crypto asset user base numbers around 101 million. Another, very telling tidbit included in the study was the fact that “cryptoasset service providers operationally headquartered in North America and Europe indicate that business and institutional clients make up 30% of their customers — a significant portion of the sector.” If we’re to say one thing about this, it’s that the amount of institutional adoption here paints a picture of a thriving digital asset sector. (Crowdfund Insider)
2. …And Speaking of Institutional Adoption, News From Visa
It has become clear that Visa is not shying away from the blockchain. Visa is currently conducting meaningful research on crypto and how it can approach digital currency, as well as admitting partners to Visa’s Fast Track program, where Visa will help “crypto partners that want to issue Visa credentials”. Not only this, but Visa is also looking towards treating “interoperating with a blockchain network that [they] don’t control as being no different than a third-party real-time payments platform.” The future for the relationship between this financial industry giant and the blockchain is bright. (Forbes)
3. SaaS, BPaaS, and now TaaS??
If you guessed that we meant Tokenization as a Service, you are exactly right. California-based payment platform Marqeta is now offering tokenization services to mobile wallets holding cards issued by banks or fintech companies. That is, it “enables banks or fintechs to instantly add credit, debit or prepaid cards to a digital wallet by directly managing tokens instead of going through a third party”. Marqeta has truly made it easy for financial service providers to allow for tokenized payments through its new set of APIs. What’s more, “Marqeta already has extensions to the card network certifications, so tokenization service users may add Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay to wallets via tokens”. This rollout is accompanied not only by Marqeta’s recognition of a gap in the market for this type of service, but also its sincere expectations that its tokenization service will be adopted by banks that are adapting to the trend towards digital assets. (PaymentsSource)
- Investor Interest in Long-term Crypto Holdings
In a report by Bitcoin IRA, a ”digital asset IRA technology platform that allows clients to purchase cryptocurrencies and other digital assets for their retirement accounts”, investor interest in holding cryptocurrencies for the long-term has increased by 20% since an initial survey was conducted in June of this year. (Daily Journal)
References
Regulatory News
- “European Union Digital Asset Legislation Anticipated to Create Confidence, Open the Market to DLT Innovators”- https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2020/09/167193-european-union-digital-asset-legislation-anticipated-to-create-confidence-open-the-market-to-dlt-innovators/
- “Two New Bills In Congress Offer Clarity For Blockchain Tokens And Crypto Exchanges”- https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbrett/2020/09/24/two-new-bills-in-congress-offer-clarity-for-blockchain-tokens-and-crypto-exchanges/
Industry News
- “Global Cryptoasset Benchmarking Study: CCAF Updates on Digital Asset Ecosystem During Period of Growth”- https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2020/09/167220-global-cryptoasset-benchmarking-study-ccaf-updates-on-digital-asset-ecosystem-during-period-of-growth/
- “Visa’s Crypto Strategy Is Driving Its Next Stage Of Growth”- https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2020/09/23/visas-crypto-strategy-is-driving-its-next-stage-of-growth/#7c7fca315c4c
- “Marqeta rolls out instant card-tokenization service”- https://www.paymentssource.com/news/marqeta-rolls-out-instant-card-tokenization-service
Investment and Financing Progress
- “Bitcoin IRA™ Survey Shows More Bullish Long-Term Investor Sentiment Today Than In June”- https://www.djournal.com/bitcoin-ira-survey-shows-more-bullish-long-term-investor-sentiment-today-than-in-june/article_7031fd9f-7860-54ba-85e1-219cd04a904d.html
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About RedBlock
RedBlock Inc is a digital investment and fintech firm leveraging blockchain technology for asset digitization and management, from issuance to secondary liquidity. Its global network of capital market participants, including issuers, broker-dealers, secondary exchanges, funds, liquidity providers and custodians, are supported by its end-to-end blockchain-powered asset management platform. RedBlock also manages an investment fund to support companies in its ecosystem that align with its investment thesis. With a growing track record and pipeline, the RedBlock team hails from top tier global investment banks, venture capital firms and blockchain technology companies.
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