Eight months after the launch of the first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF), ProShares is launching the first short bitcoin-linked ETF, the ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy, which will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BITI.

The U.K. government is not going to be implementing a proposed version of a controversial rule that would require those sending funds to private cryptocurrency wallets to collect the identification details of recipients.

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency lender, Babel Finance, has reached “preliminary agreements on the repayment period of some debts” with counterparties as it improves its liquidity situation after abruptly limiting withdrawals last week.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• ProShares Launches Short Bitcoin ETF
• UK Government Backtracks on Controversial Crypto Data Collection
• Crypto Lender Babel Finance Reaches Debt Repayment Agreements
• Chart of the Week: Bitcoin’s Market Cap Dominance

ProShares Launches Short Bitcoin ETF

Eight months after the launch of the first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF), ProShares is launching the first short bitcoin-linked ETF, the ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy, which will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BITI.

The ETF is designed to give investors a way to profit from the decline in the price of the flagship cryptocurrency, and has an expense ratio of 0.95%. Its launch comes after the price of BTC fell to a low below $18,000 amid a major crypto market sell-off.

ProShares CEO Michael Sapir said in a news release:

“BITI affords investors who believe that the price of bitcoin will drop with an opportunity to potentially profit or to hedge their cryptocurrency holdings. BITI enables investors to conveniently obtain short exposure to bitcoin through buying an ETF in a traditional brokerage account.”

BITI is set to be the first ETF of its kind in the U.S., although ETFs that short bitcoin have already been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. 

UK Government Backtracks on Controversial Crypto Data Collection

The U.K. government is not going to be implementing a proposed version of a controversial rule that would require those sending funds to private cryptocurrency wallets to collect the identification details of recipients.

Based on received feedback, the Treasury does not believe it would make sense to create a data collection rule for private wallets, according to a document on the subject. The document reads:

"Instead of requiring the collection of beneficiary and originator information for all unhosted wallet transfers, cryptoasset businesses will only be expected to collect this information for transactions identified as posing an elevated risk of illicit finance.”

The controversial data collection rule came as the government tries to implement Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards to prevent money laundering and terror funding. The FATF’s standards require the originator and recipient of funds being transferred to be identified.

The U.K. government is still looking to ensure some form of compliance with the FATF’s travel rule, which recommends some amount of data collection to stifle money laundering.

Crypto Lender Babel Finance Reaches Debt Repayment Agreements

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency lender, Babel Finance, has reached “preliminary agreements on the repayment period of some debts” with counterparties as it improves its liquidity situation after abruptly limiting withdrawals last week.

The agreements have “eased the company’s short-term liquidity pressure.” The company imposed a $1,500 per month withdrawal limit last week citing “unusual liquidity pressures,” but has now eased them following an “emergency assessment” of its operations.

At the end of last year, Babel Finance had an outstanding loan balance of over $3 billion, up from $2 billion in 2020. The company raised $80 million in a Series B funding round last month at a $2 billion valuation.

Chart of the Week: Bitcoin’s Market Cap Dominance

Bitcoin’s dominance of the cryptocurrency space’s total market capitalization has increased over 5% since the Terra-driven cryptocurrency market crash in May, moving from 41.45% at the start of the collapse to over 47% in June.

The move upward coincided with the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies dropping below the $1 trillion mark for the first time since January 2021.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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