Fidelity, one of the world’s largest asset managers, has refiled paperwork for its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, just weeks after BlackRock’s iShares filed for its own spot Bitcoin ETF.

The CME Group has announced the upcoming launch of Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures, set to be available starting July 31. The new offering comes amid increased correlation between the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has shared that its forthcoming Ethereum layer-2 network, Base, has undergone thorough examination by security experts in anticipation of a mainnet launch after more than 100 individuals scrutinized the network’s code as part of a recent audit competition.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Fidelity Refiles for Spot Bitcoin ETF
• CME Group Announces Ether/Bitcoin Ratio Futures
• Base Network Prepares for Mainnet Launch After Successful Security Audit
• Crypto Market Movers – BCH, COMP, BSV

Fidelity Refiles for Spot Bitcoin ETF

Fidelity, one of the world’s largest asset managers, has refiled paperwork for its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, just weeks after BlackRock’s iShares filed for its own spot Bitcoin ETF.

Fidelity first applied to launch its Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust back in 2021, but its efforts were rejected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a year later. Fidelity is the latest company to file for a spot Bitcoin ETF, after BlackRock’s filing in June seemingly triggered a race to list the product.

Other firms that filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF include Invesco and WisdomTree. Fidelity’s filing, just like that of BlackRock, includes a “surveillance sharing agreement,” with an unnamed U.S. spot Bitcoin trading platform.

Fidelity also mentioned that crypto investors suffered losses due to bankruptcies of custodians and centralized exchanges, and argued that a spot bitcoin ETF would have saved “many investors” from such risks.

The SEC has yet to approve any of the new proposals, although some are hopeful about BlackRock’s application, which has a track record of getting 575 ETF applications approved, and just one rejected.

CME Group Announces Ether/Bitcoin Ratio Futures

The CME Group has announced the upcoming launch of Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures, set to be available starting July 31. The new offering comes amid increased correlation between the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

The announcement details that the Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures (EBR) will allow market participants to execute a relative value trade between Ether futures (ETH) and Bitcoin futures (BTC) contracts in a single transaction

The contract is designed to provide investors with cryptocurrency exposure without the need to take a directional view. This offering aims to reduce price slippage and boost matching chances, making the market more efficient.

The EBR futures will trade on the CME Globex platform with the symbol EBR. The ratio is the Ether futures price divided by the Bitcoin futures price, and the final settlement price for EBR is the Ether futures Final Settlement Price divided by the Bitcoin futures Final Settlement Price. The ratio is always positive and applies to all contract months.

The launch of the Ether/Bitcoin Ratio futures is pending regulatory review. Once approved, it will mark a significant milestone in the cryptocurrency market, providing traders with a new tool to capitalize on the market correlations between Bitcoin and Ether.

Base Network Prepares for Mainnet Launch After Successful Security Audit

Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has shared that its forthcoming Ethereum layer-2 network, Base, has undergone thorough examination by security experts in anticipation of a mainnet launch after more than 100 individuals scrutinized the network’s code as part of a recent audit competition.

The contest, orchestrated via Code4rena over a two-week period, challenged participants to locate vulnerabilities within the network’s smart contracts, bridges, and other features. Despite a potential $100,000 reward in stablecoin USDC, no winners emerged according to the competition's results.

Although no major flaws were detected, Coinbase stated that the audit contest had a high level of engagement and that the company is currently examining the various submissions received. Minor or enlightening issues identified are being addressed as the exchange continues to fortify Base.

With Optimism's OP Stack underpinning it, Base is set to make its mainnet debut in 2023. To further secure Base, Coinbase is developing additional precautions, including a tool for developers to probe smart contracts for deficiencies, and another, named Pessimism, to track irregularities within the Base network. The protocol, it’s worth noting, had already undergone security audits by Spearbit and Sherlock.

Crypto Market Movers – BCH, COMP, BSV

Several tokens are leading the charge in the last 7-day period. Some of these are well-known cryptocurrencies with more liquid trading pairs, so we’ll be focusing on these over low-cap cryptos that may have higher percentage changes.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) -Bitcoin Cash is a cryptocurrency that was created in August 2017 as a result of a hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain. It is a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency that is based on the same underlying technology as Bitcoin, but it has a number of differences that make it unique.

Compound Governance Token (COMP) - Compound Governance Token (COMP) is the native token of the Compound protocol, a decentralized lending and borrowing platform built on the Ethereum blockchain.

Bitcoin SV (BSV) - Bitcoin SV (BSV) is a digital cryptocurrency that emerged as a result of a hard fork from the original Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. BSV aims to restore the original vision of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system with a focus on scalability, security, and stability.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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