Let’s start off with a bit of an overview of the crypto market in the past week. Cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued to generate significant interest in the financial markets. Franklin Templeton, a global asset management giant, has entered the fray by submitting a proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Bitcoin ETF. If approved, this ETF would bear the name “The Franklin Bitcoin ETF” and would be available for listing and trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq has also made its mark by presenting a proposal to the SEC for an , in collaboration with Hashdex, a Brazilian asset manager. What sets this ETF apart is its unique approach, blending both spot ether and futures contracts. Managed by Toroso Investments, the fund aims to mirror the Nasdaq Ether Reference Price. Its diversified portfolio will encompass spot ether, ether futures contracts on the CME, and cash reserves, thereby minimizing potential susceptibility to spot market manipulations.
In separate developments, the United States continues to deliberate the potential advantages and drawbacks of introducing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Speaking at an event hosted by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Michael Barr emphasized that the U.S. remains in the preliminary research phase. The focus is specifically directed towards the “system architecture” and the various tokenization models associated with the CBDC.
FTX once again grabbed headlines this week by seeking approval from a New York judge to initiate the sale of its assets. In recent court documents, the exchange disclosed a significant asset portfolio, totaling approximately $7 billion. This portfolio comprises $1.16 billion in Solana (SOL) tokens and $560 million in Bitcoin (BTC).
Notably, these filings also brought to light substantial payments made to senior figures, including founder Sam Bankman-Fried, shortly before the declaration of bankruptcy in November. In the chart above, we explore the challenges that SOL’s price has encountered in recent months, many of which are intricately linked to FTX.
Currently, FTX holds a substantial share of the SOL supply, potentially exerting considerable selling pressure if it decides to liquidate its holdings. Between August 1st and September 11, SOL witnessed noteworthy declines against prominent cryptocurrencies, with decreases of 13.2% against BTC, 10.7% against ETH, 12.6% against BNB, and a substantial 25.0% drop against TRX. Despite these concerns, it’s worth noting that a significant portion of the SOL held by FTX remains locked until it fully vests in 2028.
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