In this week's roundup, we look at the latest product launches at OKX and Bitget, new funding for Northstake and Islamic Coin, and Fidelity's renewed push for ETFs.
On 4 July, cryptocurrency exchange OKX introduced the snowball, which ‘gives users the opportunity to realize returns while mitigating risk via a knock-in feature which provides a safety buffer if the market moves in the opposite direction’.
OKX Snowball is a non-principal protected structured product for ‘professional and semi-professional investors who want to potentially maximize their earnings on a position while guarding against market movements’. Denominated in USDT, the product is available in bullish or bearish strategies.
The latest launch follows the addition of SOL, APT, SUI and CFX to its dual currency investment shelf over the past two weeks. Shark fin is also available at OKX.
Northstake raises €2.8M to bolster institutional staking
The Copenhagen-based cryptocurrency staking platform has raised €2.8M from PreSeed Ventures, Morph Capital, The Aventures Fund, Funfair Ventures and Delta Blockchain Fund. The proceeds will be used to improve its multi-chain staking platform designed for institutional investors, which offers single asset, multi-asset, thematic and yield generating products, Northstake announced on 22 June.
The staking products are packaged into structured products based on known investment vehicles, according to the firm. The platform operates in compliance with incoming crypto regulation in the EU (MiCA). ‘We will continue to work with regulators on developing crypto regulation in Europe and the Middle East (Emea),’ said Jesper Johansen (above right), CEO and founder of Northstake.
Bitget launches crypto loans
Crypto derivatives trading platform Bitget on 4 June revealed the launch of its native crypto loans product as the cryptocurrency loan sector is ‘rapidly expanding’. The offering is intended to attract a new audience of users dissuaded by traditional credit institutions and seeking alternative means of funding via digital assets, according to Bitget.
The product is based on a dual-coin approach, allowing users to stake one coin from their holdings as collateral in exchange for the ability to borrow a corresponding amount in another coin. Each loan is issued at a specific interest rate to pay, with the borrowed amount determined by the market value of the staked collateral. The loans are issued within a predetermined period, users can choose to repay before or at the predetermined deadline.
‘Users now have the opportunity to stake less-demanded coins, enabling them to obtain loans in more liquid assets for investment purposes,’ said Gracy Chen (above right), managing director of Bitget.
Alpha Blue Ocean (ABO) invests US$200m to Islamic Coin
Bahama-headquartered ABO, an investment firm dedicated to structured products, has put down US$200m in the Shariah-compliant cryptocurrency through its subsidiary ABO Capital. Its total funding of Islamic Coin has reached US$400m, surpassing Circle, BlockFi and Solana, according to a statement issued by ABO on 3 July.
Islamic Coin is a native currency of HAQQ, a community-run network, dedicated to empowering an ethics-first Shariah-compliant financial ecosystem. The latest partnership will ‘help the team structure innovative Shariah-compliant financial products that could be used in the digital asset space to raise alternative funding’. It is ‘revolutionizing the Shariah-compliant market by introducing digitization’, said ABO Digital CEO Amine Nedjai (above right).
Fidelity refiles spot Bitcoin ETF to SEC
US asset manager Fidelity has renewed its push to list a spot bitcoin exchange-traded-fund (ETF) – Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust - on Cboe, according to its filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 30 June. The trust’s investment objective is to seek to track the performance of bitcoin, as measured by the performance of the Fidelity Bitcoin Index PR less the trust’s expenses and other liabilities.
The submission comes around a week after BlackRock's iShares, WisdomTree, Invesco and Van Eck also applied for spot bitcoin ETFs on Cboe BZX, Nasdaq and NYSE Arca, which are awaiting decisions. Like Invesco and Wisdomtree, Fidelity has revived an application that was rejected in early 2022 because the previous filings failed to meet standards that’re required to prevent fraudulent and manipulative practices and to protect investors and the public interest, according to the SEC.
Image: Andrus Ciprian/Adobe Stock