Kalam Crypto #118: Standard Chartered Doubles Down on Crypto

"We have elected to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error."  Tyler Winklevoss

Ahlan wa sahlan, and welcome to the 118th edition of CoinMENA's weekly newsletter, Kalam Crypto. This week, Standard Chartered is doubling down crypto and will launch a spot trading desk, the SEC drops their lawsuit against the Ethereum Foundation, and more companies are following the Microstrategy playbook and adding bitcoin to their corporate treasuries. All that and more in this week’s Kalam Crypto.

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Global News 🌍

Traditional Finance (Trad-fi) is coming to crypto: Standard Chartered is establishing a spot cryptocurrency trading desk in London, focusing on Bitcoin and Ether. This move makes it one of the first global banks to directly trade these cryptocurrencies. The new desk will operate within the bank’s FX trading unit, marking a significant step in Standard Chartered’s broader digital asset strategy. The bank's involvement in the crypto space also includes stakes in Zodia Custody and CoinMENA liquidity partner Zodia Markets, and it recently launched a blockchain unit, Libeara, to help tokenize traditional assets.

SEC drops lawsuit against the Ethereum Foundation: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has closed its investigation into Ethereum 2.0 and ConsenSys, marking a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency industry. ConsenSys, the Ethereum software company, regarded this as a major win, highlighting it as a positive development for Ethereum's regulatory clarity. The investigation closure follows the ongoing efforts by ConsenSys to clarify Ethereum's classification, particularly in light of potential Ether ETF approvals

Keep an eye on 👀

Companies adding Bitcoin to their balance sheet: We are now familiar with Microstrategy’s playbook. Last week, Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy acquired an additional 11,931 BTC for ~$786.0M using proceeds from convertible notes & excess cash for ~$65,883 per bitcoin. As of 6/20/24, $MSTR hodls 226,331 BTC acquired at an average price of $36,798 per bitcoin! 

Japan's MetaPlanet issued ¥1 billion of 0.5% bonds with plans to use the proceeds to fund additional Bitcoin purchases, continuing its aggressive acquisition strategy. This move aligns with MetaPlanet's ongoing efforts to increase its Bitcoin holdings, positioning itself similarly to U.S.-based MicroStrategy, known for its substantial Bitcoin investments.

Blog of The Week ✍️

Bitcoin adoption is moving faster than you think: Check out our CEO Talal Tabbaa’s latest article about the pace of bitcoin adoption compared to the pace of internet adoption in the 90s: https://www.coinmena.com/en/blog/12j4e2XMYE2I5Vk6haGHgf

CoinMENA News 🗞️

$1,000 Prize: Trade & Win: We’re giving away $1,000 to two CoinMENA users who place a trade before the end of June. Two users will qualify to win $500 each simply by placing a trade!

Tweet Of The Week 🐥

The Japanese MicroStrategy

Quiz Corner ✅ 

Last week’s question: how many bitcoins have ETFs amassed since launching in January of this year? The correct answer is D over a million.

This week’s question is, What recent milestone did the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) achieve regarding Ethereum?

A) Approved an Ether ETF

B) Dropped the lawsuit against the Ethereum Foundation

C) Classified Ether as a commodity

D) Announced a new regulation for Ethereum mining

See the answer in next week’s newsletter. Or check out our new learning platform https://university.coinmena.com/