Investments news
- 12 institutional funds, managed by US-based major investment bank Morgan Stanley, may have exposure to bitcoin (BTC) indirectly through cash-settled futures or indirectly through investments in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the bank said in a filing on March 31. Separately, as reported, the bank aims to offer three BTC funds to its rich clients as early as this month.
- BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has already invested in BTC futures on CME, per a regulatory filing. Aggregate notional amount or contract value on trade date stood at USD 6.1m, while unrealized appreciation reached USD 360,457, it added.
Adoption news
- Prescription Songs, the independent publishing company founded by Dr. Luke, will be offering its roster of songwriters and producers the option of payment in BTC, Variety reported. With hits like Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” Miley Cyrus’ “Party In The U.S.A.” and dozens more, Luke himself is one of the biggest hitmakers of the past 20 years, it added.
- Major crypto wallet service Blockchain.com said that it will be rolling out support for native SegWit in the Blockchain.com Wallet across all platforms (iOS, Android, and Web) later this month. “Since SegWit was introduced in late 2015, our user base has grown by over 60,000,000 Wallets and our products have transacted tens of billions of dollars worth of crypto,” CEO and Co-founder Peter Smith said, adding that this announcement is not an April Fool’s joke.
NFTs news
- Major NFT marketplace OpenSea said it will be supporting trading via Immutable X, a gas-free layer-2 protocol for Ethereum NFTs. “Integrating Immutable X enables us to offer users a gas-free trading experience without sacrificing the security of the Ethereum network,” Nate Chastain, Head of Product at OpenSea, was quoted as saying in an emailed press release.
- New England Patriots football star Julian Edelman announced the launch of his NFTs in collaboration with his partner creative company Superdigital. Beginning April 1, Edelman will roll out three different NFT collections combining moments from his career “with his passion for pop culture,” according to an emailed press release.
DeFi news
Coinbase Ventures invested an unspecified sum in Acala, “the all-in-one DeFi hub” of Polkadot (DOT), announced Dar Reecer, VP of Growth at Acala and Karura. According to him, this investment also supports Karura, the DeFi hub being built by the Acala team.
Career news
- Blockcap, US-based major crypto miner, that recently raised USD 38m (USD 75m in total), said that Saifedean Ammous will serve as a strategic advisor to the company. Ammous is best known for authoring The Bitcoin Standard.
- Coinbase has brought on veteran Morgan Stanley lawyer Ian Rooney as its new head of enterprise compliance, Bloomberg Law reported.
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(Updated at 17:04 UTC with a announcement by Acala.)