Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley has revealed that the market for cryptocurrency exchange products continues to grow throughout the bear market, a sign that institutional interest in the sector remains strong.

Hong Kong-based investment company About Capital Management’s M&A fund is set to acquire cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global, one of the largest token trading platforms in the Asia markets.

India’s central bank is working to introduce its central bank digital currency in phases, and is set to put forth a final design after conducting large-scale pilot projects.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Crypto ETPs Keep Growing Despite Bear Market, Morgan Stanley Says
• Investment Firm About Capital to Acquire Crypto Exchange Huobi Global
• India to Launch Central Bank Digital Rupee in Phases
• Bitcoin Trading Volume Against Fiat Currencies Surged in September

Crypto ETPs Keep Growing Despite Bear Market, Morgan Stanley Says

Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley has revealed that the market for cryptocurrency exchange products continues to grow throughout the bear market,a sign that institutional interest in the sector remains strong.

There are currently more than 180 active cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded products (ETPs), and trusts. Half of these have been launched since the start of the bear market, with total assets dropping 70% from $84 billion to $24 billion.

The report added that the crypto exchange products market “will continue to grow,” and:

“[The] bear market hasn’t deterred asset managers and financial companies from launching ways for their clients to get access to digital assets.”

Fund launches accelerated this year despite the ongoing bear market. Morgan Stanley expects more crypto ETPs to be launched around the world in the coming quarters.

Investment Firm About Capital to Acquire Crypto Exchange Huobi Global

Hong Kong-based investment company About Capital Management’s M&A fund is set to acquire cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global, one of the largest token trading platforms in the Asia markets.

In a blog post, Huobi Global said that About will “control the majority stake” of Huobi once the deal closes, with the ownership transfer having no impact on trading operations. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The announcement comes after months of speculation suggesting that Huobi’s founder, Leon Li, was seeking a buyer for his nearly 60% stake in Huobi, and was asking for $1 billion.

Under About Captial, the exchange is plotting an international expansion and will receive an “injection of sufficient capital in margin and risk provision fund.”

India to Launch Central Bank Digital Rupee in Phases

India’s central bank is working to introduce its central bank digital currency in phases, and is set to put forth a final design after conducting large-scale pilot projects.

The Reserve Bank of India is reportedly exploring the option of implementing an account-based central bank digital currency for the wholesale segment and a token-based currency for the retail sector.

The digital currency will be referred to as the e-rupee and will work as an additional form of money next to coins and notes. A paper released late last week reads:

“As there are multiple compelling motivations for the introduction of CBDCs, the RBI is currently engaged in working towards a phased implementation strategy, going step by step through various stages of pilots followed by the final launch.”

The Reserve Bank of India said that a CBDC holds a “ lot of promises by way of ensuring transparency, and low cost of operation among other benefits and the potential to expand the existing payment systems to address the needs of a wider category of users.”

The central bank acknowledged that privacy and data protection were a matter of concern when designing CBDCs.

Bitcoin Trading Volume Against Fiat Currencies Surged in September

In September, the global economy continued to reel from the high inflation and energy crisis, with several fiat currencies seeing their purchasing power and value decline against the U.S. dollar.

Bitcoin trading volume against these currencies has spiked in recent months, with the BTC/GBP pair seeing a 233% rise in September, after the reserve currency fell to an all-time low of £1.03 against the dollar.

Find out more via CryptoCompare’s latest Asset Report.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

Build your project with CoinDesk Data

Terms | Privacy

13 Charles II St, SW1Y 4QU

London, UK

This email may include advertisements by third parties. None of the advertised or promoted products and services have been verified or approved by us and this email is not any endorsement by us of the third party or of their products or services.