Cryptos: Marex partners with index provider to develop digital asset strategies

Marex Solutions, Marex’s hedging and investment solutions arm has entered a partnership with Compass Financial Technologies, a Swiss and French based EU regulated index provider to develop digital asset investment solutions for institutional investors.

Marex will leverage the expertise of Compass which designs Benchmark regulation (BMR) compliant crypto indices to provide institutional clients with first class investment solutions.

We’re seeing increasing demand from all markets - Joost Burgerhout, Marex Financial Products

‘OTC products which have a crypto underlying are an integral part of our product offering and we’re seeing increasing demand from all markets,’ said Joost Burgerhout (pictured), head of Marex Financial Products. ‘We thrive to provide the best possible payoff and service to our clients and Compass’ expertise as a market leader in the calculation of crypto indices is a logical leader to work with.’

Compass crypto indices range from single BMR reference prices to thematic indices such as DeFi indices and more sophisticated strategies using options.

Compass has been a market leader in providing crypto index engineering since 2018 by first launching EU benchmark regulated reference rate indices for ETP issuers. Since then, Compass has steadily expanded its scope towards more sophisticated and bespoke indices to meet the demand of institutional clients.

‘This is another important step in the widespread adoption of our indices as benchmarks on this new asset class,’ said Guillaume Le Fur (right), Compass CEO.

Metalpha rolls out first crypto snowball

Digital asset financial service platform Metalpha has announced the launch of the first snowball product linked to BTC & ETH on Thursday (23 June). 

The new Metalpha Crypto Snowball has an autocallable barrier reverse convertible (ABRC), structure and will pay back the initial investment and a knock-out coupon (undisclosed) if the price of the underlying cryptocurrency basket is at or above the knock-out price on the knock-out observation date. If at any time during the investment period there is no knock-out and the underlying price never falls to or below a predetermined barrier price, investors will receive all of the principal and the dividend coupon at maturity. If there is no knock-out but a knock-in, and the final price is lower than the strike price, the investor will buy the target currency at the strike price.

Other crypto products offered by Metalpha include fixed income products linked to USDT, BTC, ETH; a BTC/ETH Dual Coin Product; and a BTC & ETH Shark Fin Product. The firm also offers ‘professional investor product customisation’.

Metalpha is a joint venture between US-listed Long Yun International Holdings Limited and mining pool company Antpool Holdings which provides cryptocurrency financial services to global investors. 

US family office aims at crypto/digital asset wealth preservation

GreatOne Digital Holdings (GOD Holdings), a digital assets firm owned and managed by The Patel Family Office, has launched a decentralised financial investment platform to help digital asset investors construct institutional grade, balanced, digital asset portfolios, with the objective of wealth creation, preservation and growth.

The recent volatility and loss of value in the crypto space not only affects the wealth of direct investors, but also shatters trust in digital products and markets, according to Lakshmi Narayanan, board member of GOD Holdings.

‘Financial markets evolve in response to every downturn,’ he said. ‘This downturn will lead to the evolution of web 3.0 whereby digital assets that mirror traditional structured financial instruments will emerge as one of the most powerful asset classes globally.’

GOD Holdings is seeking to provide ‘democratized access’ to portfolio construction products and strategies from the traditional financial industry, adapted for the digital asset space.

The product designs will ‘prioritise the best interests of investors’, according to Annelise Osborne (right), co-founder and board member of GOD Holdings.  ‘We are looking forward to rolling out a series of unique asset backed, capital protected, assured return yielding products in the coming months,’ she said, adding that the company will also provide responsible investment products that focus on environmental sustainability, as well as opportunities in meaningful community development.

Coinbase launches first crypto derivatives product aimed at retail traders

Coinbase Derivatives Exchange, formerly known as FairX, has launched its first crypto derivatives product targeted at retail traders.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated futures exchange unveiled its Nano Bitcoin futures (BIT) on 27 June.

Coinbase has also applied for regulatory approval on its own futures commission merchant (FCM) license to offer margined futures contracts to investors.

Coinbase bought FairX earlier this year to launch crypto derivatives products. FairX launched its futures exchange platform in May 2021 after receiving regulatory approvals in late 2020.

The launch comes at a highly volatile period in the crypto market, set off by the dramatic collapses of Terra’s LUNA, crypto lender Celsius and crypto fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC). Bitcoin’s price has fallen about 56% this year, while Ethereum’s native token ether is down roughly 70%.

Austrian exchange Bitpanda cuts third of workforce

Austrian exchange Bitpanda has cut almost a third of its workforce as it battens down the hatches for an unpredictable crypto winter.

The company will cut 230 jobs as it seeks to shed positions whose effect on the company’s progress has been negligible due to a lack of managerial coordination amidst a growing headcount.

The company joins Coinbase Global, BlockFi, and Crypto.com in reducing its workforce as it seeks to weather the winter storm caused by fears of a recession, geopolitical tensions, and major sell-offs as investors look to dump riskier assets like cryptocurrencies.

Bitpanda was founded by Eric Demuth, Paul Klanchek, and Christian Trummer in 2014. The company offers retail crypto trading and equity derivatives and commodities, including five exchange-traded notes (ETNs), which are initially listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

These are fully collateralised ETNs that track the price of the relevant cryptocurrency and are traded in EUR. The administration fee for the new crypto trackers is 1.49% yearly. The Austrian fintech introduced the first cryptocurrency bond Bitpanda Bitcoin ETC in December 2021 to offer the EUR as a product currency.