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Fintech firm LMAX Group has partnered with Swiss financial services group SIX to launch a crypto futures product, adding to an industry-wide push into derivatives.
According to a statement today, LMAX’s cash-settled crypto-asset futures product is set to launch in the third quarter of 2022 depending on regulatory approval and will include USD-settled BTC and ETH futures. While it will initially be traded 23 hours a day, five days a week, the company plans to extend this to a 24/7 rollout at an undisclosed date.
“The crypto futures market is three times bigger than spot and by offering access to deep institutional liquidity, we are providing a significant market entry opportunity as crypto and blockchain finance evolves,” David Mercer, CEO of London-based LMAX, said in the statement. “This pioneering solution will close the gap, enabling round-the-clock crypto futures trading, seven days a week, meeting the needs of a rapidly growing number of institutional participants.”
The launch follows several other key players in the crypto sector making moves into derivative markets. Earlier this week, Coinbase outlined its pathway to offering a derivative product after announcing its acquisition of FairX. Crypto exchange FTX.US is also moving forward with its plan for a crypto futures product.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Tom Matsuda
Quick Take
- In her first English language interview, Flat Capital CEO Hanna Wachtmeister lifts the lid on going public, the firm’s investment strategies, and why crypto isn’t likely to be on the horizon anytime soon
- Klarna CEO and Flat Capital founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski says he is not a fan of crypto, citing its use in avoiding sanctions in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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Author: Tom Matsuda
A London-based gaming studio that hopes to become the ‘Pixar of web3’ has raised fresh funding at an eye-grabbing valuation.
Lava Labs, a blockchain gaming startup launched in 2019 and advised by EA founder Trip Hawkins, announced a $10 million Series A raise this morning. Its valuation is now upwards of $100 million, according to a person close to the deal.
The funds will go towards developing its first game, a third-person arcade platform called AFAR that pits 25 players against each other in a series of obstacle course and shooting-based challenges.
“Our vision is entirely around ‘fun’ and creating an enduring world,” said Kaya Tilev, CEO and creative director of Lava Labs, in a statement. “We have been inspired by Pixar and Disney throughout our lives and believe we are in a position to create the next generation of dazzling entertainment through our specialized process.”
Lava’s Series A raise — which closed February 1 — was led by Dialectic, the Swiss investment firm. Other investors in the round included Merit Circle, Dragonfly, DeFiance Capital, Animoca, Razer Computer, Weak Simp Cap, Dapper Labs and Maven11, as well as angel investors Santiago R Santos, Gabbi Dizon and Nick Chong.
The startup had previously been backed by Makers Fund, a venture capital firm focused on interactive entertainment.
According to its announcement, Lava is also preparing a virtual land sale — in the form of NFTs — that will see 10,000 plots hawked to its community. From the second quarter of this year, buyers will be able to use the land in a mini-game while AFAR remains under development.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Ryan Weeks
A long-rumored crypto token tied to the Bored Ape NFT community was unveiled on Wednesday.
The debut of ApeCoin ($APE), detailed in a Twitter thread from the official Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) account on Twitter, follows a report from The Block about some of the initiatives planned by Bored Ape creator Yuga Labs, including a planned token tied to gaming and virtual experiences.
Key to the token is a dedicated decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) as well as a supporting foundation. “ApeCoin DAO is supported by Ape Foundation, and will empower the community to build blockchain games and services, host events (in the metaverse or IRL), and create digital and physical products…along with anything else you can dream up.”
According to the BAYC explanatory thread, an airdrop will be conducted to distribute the tokens in question:
“62% of the total supply of ApeCoin is allocated to the ApeCoin community, a portion of which (15% of total supply) will be available to claim starting tomorrow at 8:30 am ET. The airdrop claim consisting of 15% of the total supply of ApeCoin will be made available to @BoredApeYC NFT holders (Bored Apes and Mutant Apes, as well as [Bored Ape Kennel Club] dogs paired with either #BAYC or #MAYC).”
“For everyone else who wants to ape in: ApeCoin will be available to all and is expected to begin trading on major crypto exchanges soon,” the thread continued.
ApeCoin’s official website includes information regarding a “special council” or board tied to the DAO, comprised of Sound Ventures Maaria Bajwa, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Animoca brands co-founder Yat Siu, FTX head of ventures and gaming Amy Wu, and Horizen Labs president and general counsel Dean Steinbeck. Ohanian tweeted “[t]his is the way” following the announcement.
The total supply of APE is 1 billion tokens, per the website. 150 million tokens will be made available for the airdrop, as well as 470 million for “DAO treasury and resources”, with 117.5 million unlocked immediately and disbursements of 7,343,750 each month for the following four years.
Eight percent, or 80 million tokens, will be allocated to Yuga Labs’ four founders. “Initial lock-up for 12 months, then 2,222,222.22 unlocked per month for 36 months,” the website states. Other allocations, with lockups, are being made to “launch contributors”, Yuga Labs itself as well as the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundations.
Following the publication of this article, Coinbase announced that it “will add support for APE with the Experimental label.” The Experimental label, per Coinbase’s website, refers to “certain tradable assets that are either new to our platform or have relatively low trading volume compared to our broader crypto marketplace.”
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Michael McSweeney
NFTs are coming to Instagram, said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, according to Engadget.
“We’re working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term,” said Zuckerberg at SXSW, where he spoke yesterday, adding that the feature will come “over the next several months.”
Discussions around Instagram getting into NFTs have been happening for several months, but this is the first time Zuckerberg has confirmed the news himself. In December, Instagram lead Adam Mosseri had said the team was “actively exploring NFTs.”
This news also confirms an earlier report by the Financial Times in January, that Facebook and Instagram might allow users to create and sell NFTs directly on the platforms, and potentially introduce NFT profile pictures.
NFTs could eventually play a role in Meta’s eventual long-term vision of creating a virtual world for its users, Zuckerberg added.
Meta has pitched an ambitious pledge of building out a virtual and augmented reality universe described as the next phase of the internet. The firm has poured significant resources into the effort, but Meta’s Reality Labs, the team working on the metaverse, reported a loss of more than $10 billion in 2021.
It’s unclear yet how the NFTs will be integrated into Instagram in the near term.
“I’m not ready to kind of announce exactly what that’s going to be today,” said Zuckerberg at SXSW, though he did float several ideas in this vein.
“I would hope that you know, the clothing that your avatar is wearing in the metaverse, you know, can be basically minted as an NFT and you can take it between your different places,” he said. “There’s like, a bunch of technical things that need to get worked out before that’ll really be seamless to happen.”
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Anushree Dave
NFTs are coming to Instagram, said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, according to Engadget.
“We’re working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term,” said Zuckerberg at SXSW, where he spoke yesterday, adding that the feature will come “over the next several months.”
Discussions around Instagram getting into NFTs have been happening for several months, but this is the first time Zuckerberg has confirmed the news himself. In December, Instagram lead Adam Mosseri had said the team was “actively exploring NFTs.”
This news also confirms an earlier report by the Financial Times in January, that Facebook and Instagram might allow users to create and sell NFTs directly on the platforms, and potentially introduce NFT profile pictures.
NFTs could eventually play a role in Meta’s eventual long-term vision of creating a virtual world for its users, Zuckerberg added.
Meta has pitched an ambitious pledge of building out a virtual and augmented reality universe described as the next phase of the internet. The firm has poured significant resources into the effort, but Meta’s Reality Labs, the team working on the metaverse, reported a loss of more than $10 billion in 2021.
It’s unclear yet how the NFTs will be integrated into Instagram in the near term.
“I’m not ready to kind of announce exactly what that’s going to be today,” said Zuckerberg at SXSW, though he did float several ideas in this vein.
“I would hope that you know, the clothing that your avatar is wearing in the metaverse, you know, can be basically minted as an NFT and you can take it between your different places,” he said. “There’s like, a bunch of technical things that need to get worked out before that’ll really be seamless to happen.”
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Anushree Dave
The Bank of Canada, the country’s central bank, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have agreed to collaborate on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) research.
CBDCs are digital forms of a country’s fiat currency that are regulated by a nation’s centralized monetary authority.
The agreement, announced via a press release, will see the Bank of Canada work with MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative to build on its ongoing research into CBDCs on a twelve-month basis. After this period, The Bank of Canada says it will provide an update on the findings and outcomes of the research project.
Whilst the centralized bank says that it will largely focus on how this form of digital currency could work in a Canadian context, it stressed that no formal decision has been made to introduce a CBDC in the country.
The announcement comes amid continued research and development in this area. Last week, The Block obtained Biden’s executive order on digital assets four hours early in which it was stressed that the US Federal Reserve should continue its research into a CBDC. MIT has already worked with the Fed’s Boston branch on CBDC research.
Earlier in the month, it was also reported that both the Philippines and Brazil are moving forward with their CBDC research.
The Block reached The Bank of Canada for further comment but did not receive a reply before the time of publication.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Tom Matsuda
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law “on virtual assets” on Tuesday, bringing the crypto “out of the shadows” and legalizing it.
The new law appoints the agencies that will regulate the market and establishes rules around virtual assets ownership rights, among other things, according to a statement. Ukrainian and foreign-based cryptocurrencies exchanges will be allowed to operate and banks will be able to open accounts for crypto companies.
“We believe that crypto industry offers new economic opportunities. We will do our best to bring the bright new future closer as soon as possible,” Alex Bornyakov, the deputy minister of digital transformation, said on Twitter about the announcement.
The law had previously been adopted by Ukraine’s parliament on February 17.
Since the start of the war with Russia, the country has relied on crypto as an additional means of attracting donations from around the world, which have been leveraged to buy supplies for the armed forces.
On Monday, the Ukrainian government launched a website dedicated to crypto donations. In a style similar to that of popular fundraising platforms, it shows a goal of $200 million, with over $54 million raised as of Wednesday afternoon.
Among the cryptocurrencies accepted are bitcoin, ether and USDT.
Ukraine officials announced this week details about its plans to sell NFTs, saying that it will be “like a museum of the Russian-Ukrainian war.”
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Catarina Moura
Virtu Financial, a multibillion-dollar market-making firm, is looking to expand its crypto footprint in the coming months.
That dynamic was on display during the FIA Boca futures industry conference in Boca Raton, where numerous crypto-focused firms have decamped to pitch the broader traditional finance space.
At the conference, Virtu has staked out an ambitious roadmap for its involvement in the crypto market, eyeing a role as a wholesaler for brokers like Robinhood, the popular trading app.
On Wall Street, wholesalers provide large institutions and brokers with flow to support trading for smaller end-clients.
Virtu has been market-making on crypto exchanges, including Coinbase and Gemini, for some time, as previously reported by The Block, as well as crypto exchange Bullish per recent statements. The firm has also played a role in market making for financial products tied to crypto.
High-speed trading companies have long played an active role in the crypto market, with well-known Chicago-based shops such as Jump Trading and DRW long operating desks in the space.
Virtu has also been advocating for crypto firms during meetings with regulators at the Florida conference.
The firm is pushing for agencies such as the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to approve FTX’s plan to roll out its unique structure for offering crypto derivatives in the US. Virtu is also advocating for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which would be yet another exchange-traded product for the firm to make markets.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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Author: Frank Chaparro
