GizmoLab Report: Cutting-Edge Developments in Web3📈

A Quick TL;DR:

- Archax and Assetera Team Up for Tokenized RWA in Europe

- Bison Launches Insured Ethereum Staking Service

- RedStone Launches Bitcoin Staking Oracles with Arrington Capital Support

- Binance to List Scroll (SCR), Pre-Market Starts October 11

- BlackRock's Bitcoin Holdings Near $24B After Latest Acquisition

- Fold Files for IPO, Adopts FLD Ticker

Archax and Assetera Partner to Provide Regulated Access to Tokenized Real-World Assets in the UK and Europe

Digital securities exchange Archax and asset distribution platform Assetera have announced a strategic partnership to offer regulated access to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) across the UK, European Union (EU), and European Economic Area (EEA). This collaboration aims to tackle key challenges such as regulatory uncertainty, limited liquidity, and technological complexities in the tokenized RWA market. Through this partnership, investors can gain exposure to tokenized funds, starting with money-market funds from Abrdn, which manages £506 billion ($662.4 billion) in assets. Assetera’s platform, compliant with European regulations like the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), will allow seamless access to these assets.

The agreement also facilitates primary and secondary market trading for digital assets listed on Archax via Assetera’s platform. Nick Donovan, Chief Revenue Officer of Archax, highlighted how the collaboration advances the distribution of tokenized assets in Europe. Both firms plan to onboard more tokenized funds and expand opportunities in traditional financial markets, real estate, art, and commodities. Assetera’s recent deployment of smart contracts on the Polygon blockchain aims to streamline trading and settlement processes, further supporting the growing demand for liquidity in Europe’s tokenized securities space.

Bison, Owned by Boerse Stuttgart, Launches Insured Ethereum Staking with Munich Re Partnership

Bison, the cryptocurrency platform owned by Boerse Stuttgart Group, has introduced an insured Ethereum staking service, providing security for users staking as little as 0.005 ETH. This new offering, developed in collaboration with reinsurance giant Munich Re and staking provider Staking Facilities, covers common staking risks such as slashing, operational errors, and fraud. The insurance, provided by Munich Re, aims to enhance the safety of staking by protecting users from penalties that occur when validators make mistakes or act improperly.

Bison’s Ethereum staking service complies with German regulatory standards, with assets held by the licensed Boerse Stuttgart Digital Custody. This move follows Boerse Stuttgart’s expansion into crypto services, having recently partnered with DZ Bank to provide crypto trading to 700 cooperative banks. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also supported solo staking, advocating for lowering staking requirements to encourage network decentralization.

Arrington Capital-Backed RedStone Launches Bitcoin Staking Oracles, Expanding DeFi Use Cases for BTC

RedStone Oracles, backed by Arrington Capital, has introduced a groundbreaking Bitcoin staking oracle system, allowing Bitcoin liquid staking tokens (LSTs) to be used in decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and other applications for the first time. Prior to this launch, Bitcoin LSTs, such as Lombard Staked BTC (LBTC), were primarily limited to providing liquidity on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). According to RedStone co-founder Marcin Kaźmierczak, these new Bitcoin staking oracles will bridge a critical gap by verifying essential off-chain data like staking rewards and slashing events.

This enables the integration of BTC LSTs into platforms like Morpho and Compound for lending or Gearbox Protocol for leverage generation. This innovation is expected to trigger widespread adoption of Bitcoin LSTs within DeFi, similar to Ethereum-based LSTs like Lido’s wstETH. The move is part of RedStone’s ongoing efforts to expand Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem following their successful $15 million Series A funding round led by Arrington Capital.

Scroll (SCR) Introduced on Binance Launchpool, Pre-Market Trading Begins on October 11

Binance is set to launch its 60th project, Scroll (SCR), on Binance Launchpool, a zkEVM Rollup offering Bytecode-level compatibility. The farming for SCR will start on October 9, 2024, allowing users to lock their BNB and FDUSD tokens for SCR airdrops. The Pre-Market for Scroll begins on October 11, where users can trade SCR/USDT before its official spot listing. Binance has detailed the token's allocation, with 55 million SCR tokens (5.5% of the total supply) available through the Launchpool.

Participants in supported regions can take part by staking their tokens in the BNB or FDUSD pools for a chance to earn rewards. The farming period runs from October 9 to October 10, with users able to unlock their funds at any time. The initial circulating supply upon listing will be 190 million SCR tokens (19% of the total supply), with more details to follow in Binance's official research report on Scroll. Pre-Market participation is limited to eligible users, and trading bots will be enabled after the official spot listing.

BlackRock’s Bitcoin Holdings Surge to Nearly $24 Billion, Now Owning 1.70% of Total Available Bitcoin

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has significantly increased its Bitcoin holdings to almost $24 billion after acquiring an additional $35 million worth of Bitcoin earlier this week. With this latest purchase, BlackRock now holds approximately 1.70% of the total available Bitcoin, cementing its position as a dominant institutional player in the crypto space. The company’s Bitcoin holdings are primarily managed through the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), providing institutional investors with direct exposure to Bitcoin. In addition to its Bitcoin investments, BlackRock has also increased its Ethereum reserves to 350,000 ETH, valued at nearly $1 billion.

The acquisitions come amid growing institutional interest in cryptocurrencies, particularly following the Federal Reserve’s recent decision to reduce interest rates by 50 basis points, which has sparked renewed enthusiasm in financial markets. While BlackRock's expanded crypto investments have been widely applauded, concerns have emerged regarding the physical custody of these assets. Coinbase, the custodian for BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, has faced rumors about issuing "paper Bitcoin." However, both Coinbase and BlackRock have reassured stakeholders that all transactions are settled on the blockchain, ensuring transparency and legitimacy.

Fold App Submits SEC Filing to Go Public, Adopts FLD Ticker as Part of Merger with FTAC Emerald Acquisition

Bitcoin financial services company Fold has initiated its journey to go public by submitting an S-4 SEC filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 7, 2024. This filing is part of the company’s planned merger with FTAC Emerald Acquisition, which was first announced in July 2024. If approved by regulators and stakeholders, Fold will continue trading on the Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol FLD. The merger, valued at a pre-money equity valuation of $365 million, will result in Fold becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emerald.

Founded in 2019 by William Reeves, Matthew Luongo, and Corbin Pon, Fold has raised $20.2 million from 28 investors to date. The app allows users to earn Bitcoin rewards through its debit card, akin to credit card cashback, and currently boasts 574,000 accounts. Additionally, Fold holds over 1,000 Bitcoin on its balance sheet. The funds from the merger are expected to enhance the company’s growth strategies. Notably, Fold has partnered with Visa to offer a card that provides 1 to 2 percent of payments back in Bitcoin, expanding the program to users in Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions in 2023.

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